When the Takano Ren staff called him over, Lin Guanglai was initially a bit confused—after all, this moment should belong solely to the players' celebration, and Takano Ren generally wouldn't do something so insensitive.

After waiting a little while, the staff member standing in front of Lin Guanglai spoke in a slightly apologetic tone:

"I'm really sorry, Lin, sorry to interrupt your celebration—but there's been a small situation with the ball you hit for that grand slam in this game..."

For every high school player, being able to hit a home run in Koshien is certainly something memorable; therefore, as one of the organizers, Takano Ren would try their best to collect the balls hit by the players and hand them to the players as souvenirs.

Regarding the grand slam ball from Lin Guanglai, Takano Ren naturally also prioritized it, searching for the ball on the field as soon as it was hit and communicating with the spectators who retrieved it, offering corresponding compensation.

However, this time, the situation was somewhat different.

The spectator who picked up the ball was a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, and he was also a baseball enthusiast from Tokyo—after Takano Ren made the request to retrieve the ball, the other party readily agreed; however, he had one request, which was to meet Lin Guanglai.

Logically speaking, this isn't a difficult matter; however, out of respect for the player himself, the Takano Ren staff still needed to seek Lin Guanglai's opinion.

In response, Lin Guanglai readily accepted and nodded in agreement:

"Sure!"

In the player's tunnel, Seiomi Koutaro was waiting anxiously—after the Takano Ren staff mentioned needing to consult the player's suggestion, they vanished, leaving him there alone with no news for a long time.

This made Seiomi Koutaro feel a bit anxious, and various thoughts began to surface in his mind: What if Lin doesn't come? Is my request too much? Shouldn't I be so greedy, after all, the ball rightfully belongs to him...

Just as all kinds of thoughts were flooding his mind, two figures appeared at the end of the player's tunnel: the person leading in front was someone Seiomi Koutaro recognized, it was the staff member he spoke to earlier;

As for the person behind, he hadn't seen before—Seiomi Koutaro squinted his eyes for a long time, always feeling the silhouette looked familiar; as the two approached, getting closer and closer, Seiomi Koutaro finally realized who it was and couldn't suppress his excitement as he shouted:

"Lin!!!"

His shout attracted the attention of many around, seeing himself become the center of attention, Seiomi Koutaro quickly covered his mouth in apology and then hurriedly approached the two of them.

The moment he truly got to meet the idolized senior, Seiomi Koutaro felt like he was about to have stars in his eyes, quickly reaching out for a handshake towards Lin Guanglai's position.

Whether it was because he was too excited, Seiomi Koutaro's voice was somewhat stuttering:

"Lin... Lin, you... hello, my name is Seiomi Koutaro, just like you from Tokyo, I... I idolize you!!!"

The air froze.

When Seiomi Koutaro looked up and saw the tall young man's teasing gaze in front of him, he realized he had misspoken, quickly correcting himself:

"I'm... I'm really sorry, I misspoke—I meant, Lin, you you you... you're my fan!!!"

At this, Lin Guanglai couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing.

Seiomi Koutaro's face turned completely red, realizing that the more anxious he got, the more mistakes he made, so he simply lowered his head and stopped speaking.

In the end, it was Lin Guanglai who broke the silence first—he waved a hand at Seiomi Koutaro to show he didn't mind, then asked:

"Mr. Seiomi, you said you're also from Tokyo, looking at you, I'd guess you play baseball, right?"

In Japan, for someone like Seiomi Koutaro who would come to watch the games on site, it's unlikely they wouldn't play baseball—the best way to ease the awkwardness is to steer the conversation towards a mutual topic.

Mentioning baseball, Seiomi Koutaro suddenly appeared much more confident, nodding and speaking:

"Lin, you can just call me Seiomi—I just started middle school this year, and now I play hardball at the Tokyo Beisai Club, serving as the main third baseman on the team."

Hearing this, Lin Guanglai raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by this self-introduction—being born and raised in Tokyo, of course, he knew the prestige of the Tokyo Beisai Little League Club; being a starting third baseman in the club as a first-year, Seiomi Koutaro could be described as a prodigy.

"Alright, Seiomi—being able to become a starter so quickly in Tokyo Beisai, you're a prodigy too!" Lin Guanglai, not one to hold back praise, immediately complimented the junior.

Seiomi Koutaro scratched his head, grinning sheepishly: "Hehe, Lin, you flatter me—with a genius like you leading the way, who would dare call themselves a prodigy in all of Tokyo now..."

Looking at this baby-faced boy in front of him, as the current captain of Waseda Jitsugyo, Lin Guanglai felt a bit tempted to recruit for his team.

Though by the time Seiomi Koutaro joins the team, Lin Guanglai would have been graduated for years, managing to recruit Seiomi Koutaro into their team still felt like making a contribution as a captain!

With this thought, Lin Guanglai cleared his throat, trying to probe, "Seiomi, since you're such an impressive player, I imagine you'll want to join a strong school to play in Koshien—have you decided which one, with so many high schools in Tokyo, where do you wish to go?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Seiomi Koutaro replied, "Senior, rest assured, I'll definitely join Waseda Jitsugyo in the future—although it's a pity I can't play alongside seniors, once I join Waseda Jitsugyo, I'll strive to replicate seniors' achievements and fight for the Koshien championship!"

Hearing this, Lin Guanglai was overjoyed, nodding in satisfaction—securing such a formidable addition to the team without lifting a finger, surely Mr. Izumi would have to thank him in a few years?

"Great, very spirited! Seiomi, since you say so, as a senior, I naturally must show some gesture..." Saying this, Lin Guanglai paused, asked the staff for a pen, signed his name on the baseball he was holding, and handed it over to Seiomi Koutaro: "I'll give you this grand slam ball from the finals!"

Seiomi Koutaro felt dizzy, overwhelmed with happiness; Lin Guanglai patted his shoulder and chatted a bit more before bidding farewell and returning to his team.

Sitting on the bus back to the hotel, with his teammates continuing to make noise, Lin Guanglai sat at the very back, continuously fondling the medal in his hand, a happy smile on his face.

Whether for him personally, or for the entire Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club, 2011 was as perfect as a fairy tale—looking towards the front of the bus, Lin Guanglai couldn't help but start anticipating next year's story.

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