However, under the background of a selection system, such things are not unprecedented—in this context, before the exact results are announced, the players are inevitably a bit nervous: who could refuse the chance to compete at Koshien?
January 28, 2011, the day when the participating schools for the 83rd Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament are decided.
The teacher on the podium was passionately lecturing, while Lin Guanglai was sitting at the back of the classroom by the window, feeling a bit distracted.
Looking out through the classroom window, besides the beautiful greenery on the campus, one could vaguely see the outline of a baseball training field, which was some distance from the school.
As his gaze continued to scan downward, suddenly, Lin Guanglai noticed something significant—several cars were heading towards the school outside the gate not far from the school building; with his good eyesight, Lin Guanglai could barely make out the large characters for "Daily News."
"Thump thump, thump thump—" In an instant, his heart began to beat wildly—the Senbatsu tournament is hosted by the Daily News, something all those paying attention to Takano Ren know.
"Could it be?"
"No way?"
"Do we really have a chance?"
Various thoughts surged into Lin Guanglai’s mind like a tidal wave, making him feel a bit restless, leading to the teacher on the podium calling his name.
As soon as the bell for the end of the class rang, Lin Guanglai swiftly rushed out of the classroom—several baseball team members from the neighboring classroom did the same.
They exchanged excited glances and then ran together towards the clubroom.
Pushing the door open, Lin Guanglai realized that many people had already arrived; in addition, several cameras were set up in the activity room.
Finding a place to sit down, Lin Guanglai nudged Uesugi Yasuyuki beside him: "Does this setup mean we’re in?"
The other shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either; Yagaki Kentaro, on the side, remained calm and offered his opinion: "Is there a possibility that even if we’re not in, they could still come to film?"
Upon thinking again, Lin Guanglai realized that possibility wasn’t out of the question—after all, considering the nature of Japanese media, they tend to prefer the bittersweet beauty of youthful regrets over ultimately perfect storylines. Perhaps today, the Daily News was here to capture the disappointed reactions of Waseda Jitsugyo players upon their regretful non-selection?
Taking a deep breath, Lin Guanglai tried to calm himself, but his body language still revealed his current nervousness: his hands seemed to have nowhere to go, his expression was tense, eyes fixed intently on the screen in front of him.
At the Daily News headquarters in Osaka, the venue was now fully set up.
Behind the selection committee members was a giant whiteboard—soon the fate of each school would be announced, and the name of the selected schools would be hung on that whiteboard.
In the center of the camera’s lens, Takano Ren President Oshima Takakou was reading the list of schools and supplementary slots for the Senbatsu, following the order from north to south—the so-called supplementary slots were for schools that could replace if a selected school was disqualified due to collective illness or large adverse events, though this probability was nearly zero.
In the Hokkaido Region, Hokkai High School, the champion of the autumn Hokkaido Tournament, rightfully secured the only spot for Senbatsu, followed by the Northeast, and then Kantou—Yokohama High School, which Lin Guanglai and his team had faced in training before, snatched the spot shared by the Kantou Region and the Tokyo Region, qualifying by a narrow margin.
This meant that, besides Nihon University Third High School, only one school from the Tokyo Region could go to Senbatsu.
Now it was the turn of the Tokyo Region.
For a moment, the whole clubroom was silent, except for the increasingly loud heartbeats of the players.
In the television, President Oshima Takakou’s steady voice reading the names pierced through the TV screen, traveling hundreds of kilometers from Osaka to Tokyo.
"The schools selected from the Tokyo Region are as follows."
"Japan University Third High School."
"And..."
On the screen, Oshima Takakou paused slightly, then spoke again:
"Waseda Industrial School!"