Chapter 6

Thus, in the Han City area, a legend quickly spread among elementary and middle school students on summer vacation: It was said that there was a child, only about ten years old, whose name no one knew, but who was simply called "Number 1" because he wore a Los Angeles Angels No. 1 jersey. He often carried a bat and appeared alone in the Dongcheng and Gangnam districts around the Han River.

Whenever he saw other youth baseball teams playing, he would step forward and challenge both teams as a pitcher. The bat he carried was not for hitting the ball, but for hitting people who refused his challenge. Although he was just a pitcher, no one in the Han City area, from elementary to middle school, could hit his pitches.

Jin Zhongming never expected that his feat would gradually become the most famous urban legend in Han City. After more than ten years, this magical "Number 1" had elements of curses, violence, and conflicts between seniors and juniors. It was even adapted into a horror movie. But when he watched the movie in the cinema, he had no idea that this urban legend was actually about himself at the age of eleven.

However, the "Number 1" on Jin Zhongming's back was indeed well-known between the Han River in Gangnam and Dongcheng. In less than five days, he had subdued the only half-formed youth baseball team in Dongcheng, which consisted of a mix of elementary and middle school students. Then, as the team captain, he led the team to thoroughly defeat the two elementary school-level baseball teams in Gangnam. Eventually, even the children in Gangnam began to follow Jin Zhongming. For a time, all adult sports teams in Gangnam and Dongcheng were on high alert, fearing that their sports venues would be invaded by dozens of unruly children. However, considering that Jin Zhongming's summer vacation would last until early September, these adults would have to live in constant fear for a while longer.

Throughout July, Jin Zhongming's life was so enjoyable that he almost forgot about everything else. Apart from Li Tingxiang's call inviting him to attend the premiere of a movie at the Samsung VIP Cinema in Gwangheemun on August 3rd, Jin Zhongming had almost nothing significant to do. But because of the lack of events, he gradually began to feel bored. At his age, his grandmother found it difficult to let him go to places far away to play, and in Dongcheng and Gangnam, his reputation (or infamy) in baseball meant he had few challenges left. At this point, he even began to miss school, filming, and even taking care of the little princess Seohyun.

So, on the last day of July, when more than ten unruly children from Gangnam came to him to complain, Jin Zhongming almost jumped up immediately.

According to the children's description, they had planned to practice baseball at an outdoor stadium by the Han River that morning, but a team of adults had arrived at the same time. Without consulting them, the adults had chased them away like little kids. They didn't dare to argue with the adults, but with such good weather during the summer, they were reluctant to give up baseball. So they decided to ask their leader to step in and negotiate with the adults to use the venue together.

"Look at you, you little rascals. I'll go and get the field back for you," Jin Zhongming said excitedly. Then he shouted to the children from Dongcheng who were watching: "Don't just stand there. Follow me across the bridge and play a game with those adults."

"Okay!!" The unruly children, who were always ready for trouble, cheered excitedly.

Thus, a group of children around ten years old, each holding a bat and a glove, followed Jin Zhongming and marched along the Han River bridge, drawing curious looks from passersby as they headed for Gangnam.

"Sir, can I ask you a question? Did you take our team's practice field?" Jin Zhongming asked a fat uncle with a gap-toothed smile and a striped baseball uniform.

The fat uncle with small eyes was clearly shocked by the dozens of children with bats and gloves. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

"Hey, you old man, as an adult, how can you take a field from elementary school kids?" Jin Zhongming, standing with his hands on his hips in the river breeze, accused the fat uncle, who looked easy to bully. The team uniform had a large Chinese character "Hate" embroidered on it, but it lacked any intimidating presence.

"Hey, little brother, we didn't take your field. When we arrived, it was empty. We just wanted to play baseball, and we were afraid of hurting the kids, so we asked your teammates to leave. It's for your own good," a handsome uncle quickly came to the fat uncle's defense.

"It's So Ji-sub! You're So Ji-sub from 'Bridge of Spies'!" A small, fat child with small eyes pushed through the crowd and pointed at him. Jin Zhongming recognized this small, fat child as the catcher, Jiang Dasha. But then Jiang Dasha did something that made Jin Zhongming want to throw him into the Han River.

"So Ji-sub-ssi, can you sign for me? My name is Jiang Dasha, and I want to become an idol in the future." The small, fat child pulled out a pen from somewhere and offered his glove for a signature.

"Everyone, stand still!" Jin Zhongming raised his hand to stop the group of children behind him who were eager to follow the trend. Fortunately, after a month of being led by him, they had been tamed, and no one dared to step forward.

After watching Jiang Dasha return to the group with his signed glove, Jin Zhongming immediately challenged the team, which seemed to be composed of entertainers: "Hey, uncles, it looks like you're all entertainers. But whether you're entertainers or ordinary people, there are rules on the field. Let's play a game. The losing team leaves, and the winning team stays."

The captain of the entertainer team, the fat uncle with small eyes and a gap-toothed smile, discussed with his teammates and agreed to the challenge.

While the fat uncle was discussing with his teammates, Jin Zhongming carefully observed the entertainers and recognized a few familiar faces: the fat captain was none other than the future star of the Korean hit variety show "Infinite Challenge," Jung Jun-ho, who was only in his late 20s at the time and had a clean face, making him hard to recognize; So Ji-sub, he immediately recognized, was the character Wu He from the 2004 drama "Sorry, I Love You"; a thin, bespectacled "Black" was a familiar face, Yoon Jong-shin from "Family Outing"; and the uncle with the black-rimmed glasses who had just walked by almost made Jin Zhongming want to ask for a signature like Jiang Dasha. This was none other than the "Big Nose" uncle from his favorite variety show "Running Man," born in 1966, who looked almost the same as he would 16 years later.

It seemed that this was a team of entertainers who were mostly variety show hosts. Jin Zhongming had heard that the number of Korean entertainers was large, and the competition was intense. Forming sports teams with people of similar ages and interests could help relieve stress and build networks. Big-name actors like Jang Dong-gun loved playing baseball, and although Kim Jong-kook wasn't very good at it, he still played soccer with his fellow Dragon Year brothers.

Looking at this team of entertainers, Jin Zhongming immediately realized it was a great opportunity. If he could build good relationships with these people, the benefits would be numerous. If he decided to enter the entertainment industry, the connections from this team would be invaluable. Even if he never entered the industry, he could still bring Sica and Seohyun to cheer for the team, which would help the two girls.

Since that was the case, he would have to show these uncles the skills of the best pitcher in the entire California U-12 league.

"Hwang Jae, don't use too much force. Just get the kids to leave, don't hurt them," the Big Nose uncle advised before the game started.

An hour later, the 33-year-old Big Nose uncle, who was in his prime, already showed the traits of the future "weak old man," though his body wasn't tired, his heart was.

The child who had brought dozens of unruly children to challenge the team, the most annoying of them all, displayed god-like pitching skills and a solid first baseman's performance.

Although he was still a bit unstable due to his age, he still managed to strike out four times. It was worth noting that Chi Seok-jin, who had played amateur baseball for five years, had only seen two strike-outs in person.

The adult team was at a loss. Even if they could touch the ball with their bats, they couldn't score. Most of the time, the boy's pitches left the batters helpless. On defense, the boy could match the adults' first baseman and performed competently.

Another hour later, the game ended. By this time, Jung Jun-ho was already sitting on the field, exhausted. He loved baseball and had initiated the formation of this "Hate" team. Entertainers had little time, but under his leadership, the team had a good record in matches against other community teams. Today, they had come to scout a field for a match against a nearby community team, but they never expected to be defeated so thoroughly. If this news spread, the team's reputation would be ruined.

"Uncle, um, the opposing captain, we won. Do you have any objections?"

A hateful voice came from behind, and Jung Jun-ho turned to see the unruly child. It was just a matter of the field, but his team had been so badly beaten.

"Hey, uncle, have some spirit. Winning and losing is a common thing in sports. Pick yourself up, and you'll be a hero again in 18 years."

Jung Jun-ho chuckled. This kid was funny. Well, adults shouldn't hold grudges against children. He got up and shook the child's hand: "Kid, you did well. We lost, and the field is yours. Our 'Hate' team will never come to this field again."

"Hey, uncle, you make us sound petty. You're welcome to come to Gangnam and Dongcheng to play. We'll be starting school soon, and these fields belong to the city. Wouldn't it be a waste to leave them unused?" Jin Zhongming smiled and held Jung Jun-ho's hand, showing his generosity and a bright smile.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Jin Zhongming. I just returned from Los Angeles a month ago. If I did anything impolite, please bear with me." Jin Zhongming bowed, looking like an innocent little rabbit.

"Ah... yeah... I..." Jung Jun-ho was already dazed.

Thus, under the happy communication between the two captains, Jung Jun-ho and Jin Zhongming, the two teams quickly shook hands and made peace. Jung Jun-ho praised the children's skills, and Jin Zhongming invited the "Hate" team to visit the public sports venues where the children gathered. The atmosphere became much friendlier, and the children began to ask for So Ji-sub's autograph.

Many of the "Hate" team's entertainers gathered around Jin Zhongming, asking where he had learned his skills.

After a full game, it was already noon. The children, losing interest, gradually went home. The entertainers invited Jin Zhongming to a nearby shop for ice cream.

"Since you uncles are so kind to treat me to ice cream, I should return the favor," Jin Zhongming said, licking the cream from his fingers with a smile. "There's a movie premiere at the Samsung VIP Cinema in Gwangheemun next Tuesday at 7 PM. I invite all of you uncles to come and watch the movie!"

Before the group could react, Jin Zhongming took out his Nokia phone and called Li Tingxiang: "Hello? Aunt Li, it's Jin Zhongming."

"There's something I want to tell you."

"Yes, I have a few uncle entertainers I know. Can I invite them to the movie premiere?"

"Um, should I tell them?"

The oldest, Chi Seok-jin, took the phone, still a bit dazed, but quickly nodded in agreement and passed the phone to Jung Jun-ho.

Thus, most of them agreed to attend the premiere.

The reason they agreed so quickly was simple. Even the most successful in the entertainment industry, So Ji-sub and Yoon Jong-shin, were only second-tier actors and singers at the time, and Jung Jun-ho and the Big Nose uncle were even less successful as comedians. Li Tingxiang's invitation to the premiere was a mutually beneficial opportunity.

Thus, after a magical baseball game, Jin Zhongming not only met the members of the "Hate" team but also obtained their phone numbers and their promise to attend the premiere.

For Jin Zhongming, this day was incredibly fruitful.

PS: The previous chapter took over half an hour to upload. I'm not sure why Gangnam is restricted.

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