Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 406 - 54: Reunion with Old Friends (Part 2)

"Stop always talking about me, seniors, tell me about your university lives—I’ve heard for a long time that the support atmosphere of the Tokyo Big Six is very intense. Did you seniors have a good time at Waseda?"

As soon as this topic came up, the atmosphere suddenly got a bit tense, and Tsuchiya Ryota, who had been very lively before, also fell silent—this suddenly cooled atmosphere made Lin Guanglai a bit embarrassed, wondering if he had said something wrong.

After being silent for quite a while, it was Suzuki Kensuke who finally spoke up and responded to Lin Guanglai’s question.

Picking up the cup in front of him and taking a sip of water, Suzuki Kensuke smiled and said:

"Hmm...how to put it, although I was a starter in high school, compared to those who got the baseball special recruitment quota from the coach, we certainly were the ones with less talent when we got to Waseda..."

"For rookies like Yasuyuki and Wakiyama who haven’t even been in school for a year, university baseball, although not as cutthroat as professional baseball, still has a rather strict internal selection system—unless you’re a superstar like Guanglai or those top high school players specially invited by the coach, it’s hard to get a first team spot upon joining. Most people start from the second team."

"Kenshu and Shinjiro, although they didn’t enter Waseda as special recruits, they were Koshien champion-level players, so Coach Okamura is more willing to give them more opportunities..."

"Like Shinjiro performed very well. After moving from infielder to outfielder, he is now able to take a main rotation spot on the first team of Waseda. He often got chances to start in the spring season this year—it is quite remarkable for a sophomore!"

"Even our coach Okamura said that at the current development speed, after the seniors graduate this year, Shinjiro could secure the main outfielder spot next year, and even challenging pro baseball after university is not impossible."

"As for us third-year old guys..." At this point, Suzuki Kensuke was too embarrassed to continue; he looked at the teammates of his grade beside him, signaling them to continue from where he left off.

The people who were excitedly chatting upon reuniting with Lin Guanglai were now nodding left and right like frostbitten eggplants, nudging each other, unwilling to speak.

"Ryouta, you were our vice-captain back then, since the captain doesn’t want to speak, you be the one!"

"No no no... not me, this kind of thing should be left to the professional speaker. I think Suzuki should continue, he was doing rather well..."

Seeing that none of them wanted to talk about their own affairs, Suzuki Kensuke had no choice but to continue:

"Let me talk about myself first—my athletic talents are average, there’s nothing to deny about it. Naturally, I’m not a pitcher who makes a living off speed, even though my fastest pitch is slightly over 140 kilometers, my pitch quality can’t compare with others’; plus, in our batch, we have Arihara Kouta, specifically appointed by the coach. His status on the team is probably similar to yours in the Softbank Team, Guanglai..."

"Plus other senior players—when I joined Waseda’s baseball team, I also got moved from starting pitcher to relief, and now I occasionally get some first-team appearances."

"As for Ryouta, you know the special nature of the catcher position. Ryouta barely had any chance to play at first, mostly staying in the bullpen catching for pitchers; but because his batting is good, Coach Okamura had him practice infield defense while being a catcher, sometimes even going up as the first baseman."

"Shunsuke is about the same as us, only occasionally getting a chance or two on the field—like those who didn’t come today, many have already quit the team, either focusing on academics, or they’ve moved to the semi-hard baseball club, treating the sport as a hobby, returning to daily life."

"How about it, Guanglai, does it feel disillusioning? We who once fought alongside you, the genius player, even mentored you, now in university can’t even secure a stable substitute spot, isn’t it a bit useless?"

Lin Guanglai didn’t speak—at this moment, he had much to say, but when the words reached his mouth, he found them hard to express: From high school baseball to professional baseball, Lin Guanglai’s career was smooth sailing—a straight shot—in such times, he always felt that no matter what he said, there was an air of superiority—it seemed better to keep quiet, expressing his stance with silence.

In the end, it was Tsuchiya Ryota, the usual mood moderator, who broke the silence once again, pulling back the increasingly heavy topic:

"Hey, we seniors shouldn’t be talking this much to Guanglai—let’s order food, let’s order food! Before we came, Guanglai specifically said that today, as the younger brother, he’s treating us, since he has an annual salary of 15 million now... everybody, don’t just stand there, shouldn’t we eat a lot today?"

Facing the topic thrown by him, Lin Guanglai also responded with a smile, "Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve met with you seniors. I’m really happy today—order whatever you like, at the very least, I now have a bit of money as a professional player, it’s enough to treat you seniors to a meal!"

"Manager Take!!! Everyone at our table, let’s have a Waseda set meal each! Be sure to get the L meal, or else we won’t be full!" After asking around for opinions from people nearby, Tsuchiya Ryota ordered without even glancing at the menu in front of him, looking like someone who frequents the place.

"Ryouta senpai, what is a Waseda set meal...?" Ryota’s bold ordering was quite amusing, and the set meal named after Waseda that he mentioned piqued Lin Guanglai’s interest as well.

Facing the question raised by his junior, Tsuchiya Ryota chuckled, responding:

"The owner of this place, Mr. Takeshi Enomoto, is a Rikkyo University graduate, and he opened this restaurant after graduation. The name ’Beside St. Paul’s’ comes from St. Paul being another name for Rikkyo University."

"Did you see the signboard over there? Manager Take specially made a Tokyo Big Six Baseball Support Set Meal plan, where members from the six major sports clubs can get a large L meal for a cheap price, and each school corresponds to a different set meal..."

"Like Manager Take’s alma mater, Rikkyo University, has Nanban Fried Chicken, University of Tokyo has Grilled Pork Rice, Keio has Cheese-coated Tonkatsu, Meiji has Teriyaki Rice Bowl, Hosei has Fried Chicken Curry Rice... The so-called Waseda Set Meal, in fact, is a rice bowl made with pork, kimchi, and sweet chili sauce—"

"Because it’s delicious and cheap, many sports club members come here to eat—you see those walls over there, there are souvenirs from Olympic athletes, all old regulars here."

Not long after, owner Takeshi Enomoto, who quickly prepared the rice bowls, served the dishes one by one. Lin Guanglai took a bite, and it did taste good, and the portion was at least twice the size of the same price elsewhere, no wonder it attracted so many to eat here.

"Manager Take, my junior here is a professional baseball player... he might even play in the Major League in the future! You really earned it today!" On the other side, Tsuchiya Ryota continued boasting to the owner.

After quickly finishing the meal, Lin Guanglai checked the time and felt it was about time to say goodbye to his seniors—today he could come out mainly because of moving day; tomorrow, he has to play an exchange match with the Yakult Swallows at Shengong Stadium, and going back too late might get him scolded by the coach.

Just as Lin Guanglai reached the outside of the store, Tsuchiya Ryota, who had been chatting inside, chased after him as if there was something more he wanted to say.

"What’s up, Ryouta senpai? Is there something else you wanted to say?"

"Guanglai..." Tsuchiya Ryota called to him, "Among our batch, you’re the most talented, the one progressing the smoothest, you see, you’ve secured a starting spot just a few months into pro baseball..."

"Work hard, Guanglai! The path we couldn’t continue, I hope you can keep walking for us!"

"I’ll always be supporting you, as your senior!"