"Study hard and even hold a book while eating; this is indeed good, but once you are our age, you'll cherish watiching the summer sunsets, cheering with classmates, and striving with the baseball team. Those will become beautiful youth memories."

This was the school rule; there was no use complaining, everyone simply had to accept it.

"Kunii! You bastard, if you don't win the Koshien championship, you better perform seppuku!" Saito Keisuke gritted his teeth.

He had planned to play through his video games all summer vacation.

"Exactly!" a girl agreed, "Don't embarrass Goda! We can't let our tans go to waste!"

"Don't worry, everyone!" Kunii Shuichi stood up, "This year, we will definitely dominate at Koshien!"

Of course, there were also those who were happy, like those who were in love and enjoyed coming to school every day.

Everyone had their own opinions, but those who agreed wouldn't stand up to oppose, making it seem as if everyone hated it.

The first day of summer vacation, the hot summer began.

"Goda!" "Go for it!"

"Goda!" "Win!"

The cicadas sounded like rain; during the heat of summer, the shouts from the sports field carried all the way to Shibuya Station, drowned out by the rumble of trains.

"One, two, three, four!"

Nearby, the cheerleaders, dressed in shorts and short-sleeved shirts, waved pom-poms and inflatable baseball sticks; the hair at their temples stuck to their faces with sweat.

"Idiots! Swinging the bat is not for you to just wave it around! Get your spirits up! If you can't endure this heat, how can you enter Koshien? How can you win the championship?"

"Yes!"

"Where's the voice? The cheerleading squad is louder than you!"

"Yes—!"

The baseball team, drenched in sweat and covered in mud.

Swinging the bat, dripping with sweat, as the ball was hit.

The metallic "bang" could be heard along with the Wind Instrument Club's majestic and powerful "Crown Shines on You" anthem for Koshien.

The entire school, except for the Human Observation Department, fit right in.

Dubian Che stood by a window, which seemed to be hot to touch, looking out over the sports field.

From here, you could see the whole school lifting the black and white colors, forming the school emblem, "Goda," "Victory."

Dying hair wasn't allowed by the school rules; those people's black hair shone under the sunlight.

The cheerleaders' legs, moving up and down with the chants, brimmed with youthful vitality.

"Summer's here," Kiyono Lin suddenly said while reading.

"Yeah," Dubian Che returned to his seat.

He pulled the curtain, but it still couldn't block the intense sunlight.

The book on his stomach fell to the floor with a 'clap' as Jiutiao Meiji woke up.

"Ah—" she yawned, "What time is it?"

"Just past ten," Dubian Che replied.

"Boring, might as well work," Jiutiao Meiji shifted her sleeping position and closed her eyes again.

"Auntie meant for you to enjoy your youth, not to sleep through school," Dubian Che said.

"You want me to go down and foolishly hold up signs with those people?"

"How about the Wind Instrument Club?"

"No. I'll sit in the VIP seats, watch them strive, and enjoy their performance. To them, that's already an honor," her voice flowed melodiously, carrying a mysterious charm.

"I don't agree with your idea, but I approve of your approach," Kiyono Lin's voice, even in this summer day, sounded cool.

"You just hate physical activity and sweating," Dubian Che called her out.

"That's very impolite, Mr. Dubian," Kiyono Lin smiled gracefully, "It's an aristocrat's awareness. No principal or teacher would agree with me enjoying my youth under this scorching sun in such weather."

"You might as well get used to it early," Jiutiao Meiji murmured sleepily to Dubian Che.

"Sitting in the VIP seats, training under the scorching sun, I can accept both— if possible, I'd like to maintain this mindset," Dubian Che said.

Jiutiao Meiji didn't respond; she had already fallen asleep.

Not working at Jiutiao Meiji's home, Dubian spent most of his time sleeping in Shinbashi, so she still seemed short on sleep.

Kiyono Lin, tired of reading, closed her book and took out a chess set.

While she set up the chess, Dubian Che took cold grapes from the fridge and placed them beside the board.

They ate and played chess together.

The air conditioner blew cold air, the chess pieces clashed with the board, the sound of chewing grapes, the twisted air, the noisy cicadas, the distant shouts from the sports field.

Time passed day by day, and before long, it was July 28, Saturday.

Today was the final of the East Tokyo qualifiers, and the winner would earn the right to represent the twenty districts of East Tokyo and go to the Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture for the National High School Baseball Championship.

The two teams in the final were the Shinjuku District representative—Goda, and the Chiyoda District representative—Sansong.

The final was held at the Meiji Shrine Baseball Stadium, also known as "Island Country's Sacred Ground of Baseball" along with Koshien.

The match was at two in the afternoon, everyone gathered early at the school, and the school arranged for school bus transportation.

Dozens of buses, like a dragon, set out from Shibuya where Goda High School was located, heading for the Shengong Stadium.

Inside the school bus, classmates who had endured a week of intense training held hopes for the upcoming baseball game; nobody wanted their efforts to go to waste, even those just cheering.

The atmosphere was lively with excited discussions.

On the bus for Class 2-4, Saito Keisuke and a group of boys video called with Kunii Shuichi, who was on the baseball team's bus.

"Kunii! Go for it!"

"Relax! I'll let you see Mr. Kunii's striking style!"

"Can you hit the ball over here? I heard that balls knocked out of the field can be taken home by spectators!"

"Goda is sitting on the side! Hitting there would be out of bounds! Are you trying to kill me?"

"It doesn't matter with one ball, but we definitely have to win today, right?"

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