August 22nd, Saturday.
Sunlight streamed through the window.
On the screen, a blue-haired man in a suit, with a Key Stone brooch pinned to his lapel, smiled faintly and said:
"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Lu."
Being addressed as "Teacher" by the former Hoenn Champion felt a bit awkward.
So Lu Ye requested that both Steven and Cynthia use his full name instead.
Lu Ye cleared his throat.
"No problem. Just let me pay for the Dawn Stone in installments."
"Of course," Steven nodded.
"I'll have someone deliver the Dawn Stone to your residence. Also, please take care of your health—the temperature differences between day and night can be significant."
"Oh, sure, sure."
Lu Ye's face flushed slightly.
What the heck? Why does it feel like I'm being flirted with?
On the leaderboard, after a night of grinding, Steven had firmly secured the top spot.
Meanwhile, Old Man Wattson, despite his age, was steadily climbing the activity leaderboard...
Lu Ye's expression turned strange.
Old Man Wattson, are you... actually using cheats?!
"I should probably check the backend logs. Maybe it's time to ban him..." Lu Ye muttered.
After bidding Steven good night, Lu Ye turned off the computer and fell into deep thought.
Despite spending the whole evening playing with Steven, he still ended up owing him 5,000,000 Pokedollars...
Adding that to Cynthia's 5,000,000 Pokedollars debt...
Lu Ye rubbed his chin.
This is really strange.
I've been working so hard to earn money...
So why is my debt only getting bigger?
"Whatever."
Shaking his head, Lu Ye clenched his fist, eyes full of determination.
"Someday, I'll pay it all off!"
---
In Lu Ye's fan group chat:
[Wattson: Hey, Little Lu, why did I suddenly get banned?! I just got a custom physical hack from the Gadget King!]
Lu Ye's eyelid twitched.
Old man, you really don't hold back, do you?
[Gold: Haha! Now that the old man's banned, my rank's gone up!]
[Wattson: Aren't you having Pichu play for you anyway?!]
[Gold: But I didn't get banned, did I? 😏]
[Group Member "Gold" has been muted by Group Owner "Teacher Lu" for 5 minutes.]
Gold "Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Lu Ye sighed wearily.
Can you two not just mock each other for your own shortcomings?
[Green: Oh, by the way, Qixi Festival is coming up soon! Have you guys decided who you're giving gifts to? 😏]
Lu Ye froze for a moment.
Oh, right... It's already late August, and Qixi is just around the corner.
Having only been in this world for less than three months, Lu Ye had gradually lost track of holidays.
Who'd have thought that the season for public displays of affection would come so quickly?
Lu Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Giving gifts, huh...
But I don't have anyone to give a gift to...
How about giving something to Eevee?
[Green: If you don't know what to gift, I've got plenty of options for sale!]
Green said with a smile, posting several pictures in the chat.
[Green: These gifts are guaranteed to make the recipient cry tears of joy! 🥲]
Lu Ye's mouth twitched as he clicked through Green's images.
A glowing Jigglypuff music box, a flower-shaped Jynx makeup kit, a Machamp body pillow...
Do people actually buy this stuff?
Are you sure the recipient won't cut ties with you instead?
[Red: Oh, these look great! Reserve one for me!]
Lu Ye froze.
What the heck? There really are people who'd buy this stuff?!
[Green: Are you sure just one is enough? Why not get a few more? 😏]
Red rubbed his chin and pondered for a while. Then he smacked his palm with a fist, his eyes lighting up.
[Red: In that case, I'll get one for Blue too!]
Green chuckled.
[Green: Sure thing!]
Blue covered his face with one hand and sent a voice message in an icy tone: "If you dare give me that, I'll cut ties with you."
Red scratched his head with a sheepish laugh.
[Red: Well, worst case... I could always give it to Professor Oak!]
Lu Ye burst out laughing, rolling around on his bed.
Classic Red. You never disappoint!
[Brock: Qixi is basically the Donghuang equivalent of Valentine's Day, right? But my younger siblings aren't old enough for that yet, so I'm planning to cook a big meal at home for a family dinner,] Brock seriously replied.
[Lu Ye: "What about yourself? Shouldn't you try courting a few lovely ladies or something?"]
Brock's dark face flushed red as he scratched his head.
[Brock: To be honest, I've thought about it... But I'll wait until my siblings are older first.]
Lu Ye gazed up at the ceiling.
The Brock from the Special manga...
He really is more mature than his anime counterpart.
But Brock not chasing after pretty ladies anymore...
My youth is officially over!
The conversation made Lorelei, ever sensitive about such topics, cough awkwardly as she tried to change the subject.
[Lorelei: Speaking of Qixi, this year there's supposed to be a once-in-a-millennium comet!]
[Lance: Are you bringing this up because no one's giving you a gift, @Lorelei?]
Lorelei's forehead vein bulged, and she exploded in rage.
[Lorelei: Want me to come to Kanto and teach you a lesson in a 6V6 battle?!]
Lance laughed heartily.
[Lance: I'm game anytime!]
Lu Ye chuckled to himself.
The longer I stay in this group, the more I feel like everyone's starting to act like Gold.
Suddenly, Lu Ye smacked his palm as realization dawned on him.
I get it!
Making everyone act recklessly...
That's the power of you, the Reckless Legend!
That aside, Lorelei's comet topic did pique Lu Ye's interest.
[Lu Ye: A once-in-a-millennium comet? Where can you see it?]
[Lorelei: It seems to be in the Donghuang region,] she typed.
[Lorelei: I'm not too into astronomy, but they say it's visible from Xiangchu!]
Xiangchu?
Lu Ye's expression turned odd.
Xiangchu's Wulingyuan is the real-world inspiration for Fans...
Could this comet have something to do with Jirachi?
Still, Jirachi, like Celebi, had multiple individuals within its species.
There were already three in the TV series and Special manga combined.
Astronomy magazines even published special reports on Jirachi.
If someone managed to spot Jirachi, it wouldn't be all that surprising.
[Yellow: Oh, I'd love to see it, but Donghuang is just too far away! 😿]
[Red: It's fine; watching the broadcast is the same.]
[Gold: Isn't Teacher Lu already in Donghuang? Why not have him livestream it for us?]
[Yellow: Oh! Great idea! (✪ω✪)]
Lu Ye looked up at the sky.
Come to think of it... I really haven't taken the little ones on a trip this summer.
Camping under the stars, surrounded by Pokémon, with an orange-yellow campfire glowing...
It does sound like a dream.
"If I can invite Cynthia, that'd be even better!"
Lu Ye smacked his forehead.
That way, no matter what happens, there's no need to worry about safety!
"A date and a chance to take the little ones traveling..."
Patting his shoulder, Lu Ye grinned.
"Well done, Lu Ye!"