Chapter 936: Hanging Out with Friends (I)

"So, what have you guys been doing so far?" Higo asked while enjoying the melting meat in his mouth. "I know that Kuroki is still busy searching for an internship, but what about you three?"

Indeed, of everyone here, Higo only knew about Kuroki. After all, he was closer to the boy and Makino than to any other members, what with them coming from the same generation.

Hiroshi himself didn’t mind answering it first.

"I am still struggling to get a main place in the youth team. I’m mostly just a substitute, and with the COVID still around, the youth team doesn’t have that many games to play."

Higo nodded silently, observing his kouhai’s expression intently as well.

Even though Hiroshi spoke so casually about it, he could imagine how stressful it was for him to be unable to get into the main roster for the youth team.

It also didn’t help that Higo and Makino, the two people from Hakodate Nishi, had already gained a foothold in their teams, even a reputation big enough to be considered the best in the whole world for the former.

Compared to them, honestly, Hiroshi was the most talented footballer, and while Higo didn’t know about Makino, he would never shy away from admitting this fact.

That was why, though, his still struggling in the youth team hurt more than anything else.

"As for me, just like any normal college student, I guess," Takaaki spoke briefly, pushing his glasses upward once again.

"We medical students don’t have a lot to do in our first year, especially when we could only stay at home for all of our classes, so we only learned about theoretical problems so far. Nothing more and nothing less."

Well, this didn’t really give Higo any information. Fortunately, Hiroshi snorted a little when he heard that, clearly disagreeing with something that the glasses boy said here.

"Don’t let him fool you like that, Senpai. HE didn’t mention it, but he was considered the best one in his generation. His GPA score is still 4, perfect in everything he studied, just like the usual."

Even though no one could see it, Takaaki’s ears turned bright red instantly as he bowed his head, eating the food in front of him to distract everyone else here.

"Oh, that’s great, Takaaki-kun!" Kumiko praised in delight. "I know you still look down on your own achievement because it is just your first year, but this is a big step for you to achieve your dream, right? Don’t sell yourself short, and stand straight with your chest high!"

She was beaming proudly when she heard that. The girl was probably the only one who was concerned about everyone’s studies, so it was great that one of them treated it seriously.

Well, not that Higo was surprised, considering she achieved the same back in Cologne.

"Eh, don’t say it like that, Kumiko-chan. Look, his head is fuming right now." Kuroki chuckled while pointing one of his chopsticks at Takaaki.

True enough, the boy’s face was like a boiled lobster right now, not knowing how to handle the praise from the team’s former goddess manager.

"As for me..." Usami was about to speak before Takaaki interrupted him with a sharp glare.

"Don’t you dare try to understate your achievement, Usa, or I will reveal everything here!" The glasses boy said. "If I have to be down here, you have to join me as well!"

Now, this was interesting. Higo and Kumiko couldn’t help but lean forward, and even Kuroki himself was also on the same page.

As for Hiroshi, it seemed that he had already known what Takaaki meant, and the boy had a similar expression to Kumiko’s when she knew about Takaaki’s achievement earlier.

"Ah... I just opened a new clothing brand with some friends, and the reception is quite good..." Usami rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, still not used to being the center of attention.

"Don’t understate it, Usa!" Takaaki snorted before turning around to Higo and Kumiko. "What he didn’t tell you is that everything happened in the USA, and his clothing brand has just gone viral after it sponsored one of the best basketball players of all time, Stephen Curry! You don’t know how explosive the news is here, Senpai!"

This time, Higo couldn’t help but widen his eyes, never in his wildest dreams thinking that something like this would happen.

Oh, he knew that Usami was studying in the States. The boy had already told everyone that his father wanted him to build connections here. However, Higo had never thought that his kouhai would be big so quickly like this.

Usami himself squirmed in his own seat, feeling uncomfortable under the awe-filled gaze that he received from both Higo and Kumiko.

"Stop it, Senpai! It is still nothing..." He whispered in his usual low and unconfident tone, the one that everyone knew best from high school.

"No, no, no, that’s nothing!" Kumiko shook her head strongly, showing her disapproval. "This is something that you’ve built for yourself! You have to wear it with pride, for no one will do that if you cannot!"

"See! I told you so!" Takaaki pointed at the blushing Usami, whose face turned bright red like a boiled lobster.

At this point, Higo just chuckled as he looked at how everyone was teasing Usami, letting out a deep sigh while leaning back against the seat relaxedly.

"So, yeah, you can see it, Senpai." Hiroshi laughed self-deprecatingly. "Out of everyone else, the worst one is definitely me, still not knowing what to do to get the spotlight on my team."

"Bah! That’s because your coach is stupid!" Kuroki brushed off the concern casually. "You have the talent to do that, I tell you! A diamond can be unrecognizable to foolish people who don’t know how to handle it, but it will never be hidden forever!"

Higo had one of his eyebrows crooked when he heard that.

"Since when did you become so wise like this?"

"Bah! That’s what life will give you, okay?!" Kuroki waved his fist once again, not giving any exact answer. "Anyway, let’s not think too much about it! Let’s cheer for how far we have come since our school time, okay?!"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and in the next second, they raised the glass in front of them simultaneously.

"CHEERS!"