CHAPTER 346: CHAPTER 195: CAN’T SAY GOODBYE 2

With the attitude of putting a perfect end to their high school career, even though they had already achieved almost all the honors a high school student could obtain, the members of Waseda Jitsugyo still displayed exceptionally strong competitive spirit and desire to win on the field.

In the first game facing Yabe Hongjo, the representative of Yamaguchi, Yagaki Kentaro, who had not had many opportunities to start before, got the starting chance. Even against a relatively average opponent, he did not hold back, and with the great support from his team’s batting line, Waseda Jitsugyo smoothly defeated the opponent with a score of 5-0.

In the next round, the semi-final opponent was Sendai Yuuying, the representative of Miyagi. In this match, Lin Guanglai also gave the opportunity to other teammates who usually didn’t get much play time, only stepping onto the field at the end surrounded by cheers from the audience to secure the victory for the team — the 11-0 score didn’t reflect the true gap in strength between the two sides, it was just that everyone’s state seemed overly excited in this game.

After the matches of the day ended, while all the players looked forward to the final match against Osaka Tsubaki the next day for one last exciting game, an unexpected event occurred: the weather did not cooperate, and the entire Gifu Prefecture was drenched in continuous heavy rain, showing no signs of stopping the next day.

Given the event arrangement rules and the fact that the Sports Conference is not considered a particularly serious event and is more of a memory opportunity for third-year students who usually don’t get the chance, the organization directly announced the results of the current Qingliu National Sports Conference after confirming that the match could not proceed due to weather conditions:

Co-champions!

Waseda Real and Osaka Tsubaki, both winners of the semi-finals, were declared co-champions of the 67th National Sports Festival’s hardball baseball event, leaving players on both sides somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Understandably, while Waseda Jitsugyo was relatively relaxed, Osaka Tsubaki hoped even more for the match to proceed on schedule — before coming to Gifu, they were all set up for a revenge mission, but who would have thought it would end this way.

However, just like what Fujinami Jintaro said to Lin Guanglai during their handshake at the awards ceremony:

"Lin, it’s a pity we didn’t get to face each other this time, but I’ll always remember the grudge from the Summer League final; I hope in the professional arena in the future, we’ll have the chance to compete against each other again — after graduation, you’ll be going professional, right?"

Thinking back now, these things happened just a few days ago, but to Lin Guanglai, it feels like a long time has passed.

Standing at the familiar school gate, the massive banner celebrating the school’s baseball team’s Summer League victory still hung on the teaching building. As Lin Guanglai walked through the crowd, he often heard the faint whispers of passersby — he had gotten used to being the focus of attention wherever he went.

After the morning classes ended, Lin Guanglai had just finished lunch and was about to chat with classmates about a recently released game when Supervisor Izumi Minoru appeared at the classroom door, gesturing for him to come over.

After saying hello to his classmates, Lin Guanglai left the classroom and approached Izumi Minoru: "What’s up, Supervisor, is there something you need — wasn’t the baseball club’s graduation ceremony supposed to be after school today?"

Izumi Minoru shook his head but didn’t respond; instead, he gestured for Lin Guanglai to follow him. Though unsure of what was happening, from the excitement and joy on Izumi Minoru’s face, it seemed like it wasn’t anything bad.

Following closely behind Izumi Minoru and based on his understanding of the campus layout, Lin Guanglai knew this path would eventually lead to the school’s largest conference room, generally used only for special important guests or events, such as when the principal met with the entire baseball team after past Koshien victories.

Entering through the opened door, Lin Guanglai found the conference room occupied by several people, some very familiar, like the baseball club manager Sasaki Shinichi, but also some unfamiliar faces.

Once everyone was seated, Sasaki Shinichi, the reception manager, began introducing the people to Lin Guanglai:

"Guanglai, these gentlemen have specifically come today to inquire about your future development plans —"

"This is Mr. Tom Allison from the United States, the Executive Vice President of the Seattle Mariners scouting department;"

"This is Mr. Teraguchi Noto, a scout responsible for Japanese affairs for the Seattle Mariners;"

"This is Mr. Anthony Suzuki, who will be translating for this meeting."

As soon as Sasaki Shinichi finished speaking, the tall Tom Allison seated directly across from Lin Guanglai straightforwardly stated his intentions:

"Player Lin, at this point, you probably already know our purpose —"

"What I want to ask is, after graduating from high school, are you considering directly going to the United States to further your career?"

Even though the identity of the visitors already hinted at this question, when it was finally asked, Lin Guanglai had to admit he felt quite a bit of excitement.

Being approached by a Major League team scout about his future development plans meant Lin Guanglai had entered the sights of the Major League — there was no denying this was quite an enticing option.

Why become a professional baseball player? Different people might have different answers to this question.

But ultimately, it boils down to a few old standbys: dreams, honor, money, exposure... and all of these are available in Major League Baseball.

Even talking about money, often seen as a banal topic, the basic contract of a minor league is comparable to the annual salary of star players in many Nippon Professional Baseball teams.

For Lin Guanglai, going to the Major League has always been his goal — and now such a straightforward opportunity has presented itself right before him.

By joining the Seattle Mariners, he wouldn’t even need to worry about potential communication and cultural differences, as the Mariners are entirely owned by Nintendo and currently include well-known Japanese players like Ichiro Suzuki, Aoki Naoki, Munenori Kawasaki, and Hisashi Iwakuma.

The Mariners’ scouts had clearly given this invitation considerable thought, analyzing all of Lin Guanglai’s various matches before approaching him.

Even after Lin Guanglai expressed a need to think carefully and discuss with his family before making a decision, they maintained a significant level of respect — just this attitude alone made the offer very appealing.

Before leaving, Tom Allison said to Lin Guanglai:

"Lin, regardless of whether you choose to stay in Japan or go to the United States, we at the Mariners respect your choice — I believe with your talent, entering the Major League is only a matter of time, and I hope at that time you’ll consider coming to Seattle. Trust me, it’s a truly beautiful place..."

That afternoon after school, the baseball club held the graduation ceremony for the third-year players as scheduled, with all attending players in formal attire to show mutual respect.

After almost three years together, their bond had grown stronger than ordinary school friendships, not quite family but deeper than mere classmates.

Holding the graduation ceremony meant everyone was about to go their separate ways; although the Waseda Jitsugyo players generally didn’t need to worry much about college admissions, the arrival of the moment of parting still left a feeling of reluctance in each person’s heart to some extent.

Towards the end of the ceremony, Lin Guanglai earnestly patted Tanaka Justice on the shoulder and said in a gentle tone:

"Justice, I’m leaving this team entirely up to you from now on!"

The future of the baseball club was thus entrusted to the younger players by Lin Guanglai, just like in the summer of 2010 when Suzuki Kensuke handed the title and responsibility of captain to him.

As the currently acknowledged strongest player on the team, Lin Guanglai believed Tanaka Justice could bear the corresponding responsibilities and continue leading the team forward after his departure.

No longer being a part of the baseball club meant Lin Guanglai did not have to board at school anymore. Now he could start enjoying his youth like a regular high school student.

Walking out of the clubroom’s door, with the training field visible through the window, Lin Guanglai glanced over before turning and leaving.