One Pitch, One Soul [Baseball]

[This is a girls’ love story, but romance is not the main focus. The story is told in chronological order from the female protagonist’s seventh year, and the two leads won’t meet until more than ten chapters in. There are few girls in the club during the childhood arc. Baseball also has complicated rules. I’ll do my best to explain them through the story, but it may not suit readers who have no familiarity with the sport at all.]

[The manuscript is in progress. I’ll begin serializing it properly once Softball Net is complete.]

Blurb:

[It’s nothing more than an uprising and revenge by ordinary people.]

Before graduating from elementary school, Shan Jiang and her friend promised to attend the same school. But her friend went to City No. 1 Middle School, home to a powerhouse youth baseball team, and became its starting catcher. With a genius ace and a genius catcher, City No. 1 swept aside one opponent after another over the next three years.

They were unstoppable, undefeated.

In the final game of middle school, Shan Jiang faced her friend again. This time, they were opponents.

She fought desperately until the final inning, only to be completely crushed by the other team. Her season ended with a bitter loss in the semifinals.

The next day’s semifinal felt like history repeating itself: their hated rivals from Jiayu Middle School were also knocked out by that team.

Watching Bian You lose yet still grin and act as if she didn’t care, Shan Jiang’s hatred for her reached its peak.

·

By a twist of fate, she ended up at the same high school as her nemesis.

Bian You: Give me a break.

Shan Jiang: You’re disgusting.

They disagreed on everything. Whenever they met, they fought, and their coordination was a constant disaster. Apart, they were stars scattered across the sky; together, they were a lump of trash.

Shan Jiang: Are you a spy sent by the other team? Could you stop calling pitches that make no sense?

Bian You: What a poser. You can’t even pitch accurately, and you still have the nerve to talk?

Their teammates opened their eyes to find their future looking utterly bleak.

·

Then the two of them discovered that the strongest pitcher-catcher duo of their generation, the pair who had shattered their pride in middle school, had joined the reigning national champions.

A lineup made up of the children of geniuses stood between them and the road to nationals.

·

On the day of the provincial final, their teammates, already resigned to their fate, said, “Just play. What else can we do, run away?”

In the second half of the game, watching their own pitcher and catcher tear through the opposition, the teammates’ eyes grew brighter with every play. “Are those two together now?”

Bian You: Why are you shaking your head at me? Are you unhappy with my pitch calling?

Shan Jiang: Can you even catch it before you call it?

Bian You: &□**#%@*×□

Shan Jiang: □□□#@%#*□

Their teammates: ...

·

“Ready to play?” The catcher lowered her mask.

“Bring it on.” The pitcher raised her arm.

·

P.S.:

1. Thanks to a certain teacher who prefers to remain anonymous for polishing the blurb.

2. Baseball is a very niche sport in mainland China, with a small audience and little public awareness. I couldn’t write this if I tried to stick closely to reality, so the setting is fictional. Treat it as a parallel or future world if you like. There are tons of original rules, so please don’t compare it to reality.

3. A cool, resentful one x a trouble-seeking personality. Rivals and friends, a couple on the road of opposition, and the strongest pitcher-catcher duo. A story of growth, not a wish-fulfillment novel.

4. My eyes are in very poor condition. I won’t be online outside of posting chapters. Thanks in advance for your support.

Theme: I will make you receive