"Master is right."
Fugui had gone a little pale. Pupitar was fine now, but back when it was still a Larvitar, the food it burned through was outrageous. Fifteen years' worth of his pocket money and New Year's gift cash—gone—and it still wasn't enough. In the end he had to ask the family for more so he could buy a rare stone, let Larvitar accumulate the energy it needed, and evolve into Pupitar. Otherwise… just thinking about it was despair.
"Huh? After term starts? What do you mean, after term starts?"
Fugui blinked, suddenly remembering that his master had just said something about what to do once the semester began.
Auron blinked too. "You don't know?"
Fugui blinked back. "What should I know?"
"Er—Skyspire has a 2v2 Pokémon battle one week after classes begin. Two months later it's 3v3, and at the start of the second semester, it's a full 6v6 team match. Your brother didn't tell you?"
Fugui gave a wry smile. "No. He didn't come out of Skyspire University—he went to a regular university."
"Okay, got it. No big deal—now that I've told you, you know. Same advice as before: get Pupitar evolved into Tyranitar as soon as possible, and then, based on what your team needs, find your third Pokémon."
Auron patted Fugui on the shoulder and reminded him.
"Mm-hmm. Yes, Master."
Fugui was genuinely excited. He felt like he'd found the road he wanted to walk—one different from his brother's.
"All right, recall your Pokémon and let's head back inside. You can go home with your brother first; I have research to do and things to write. You can stay if you want, but I probably won't be able to look after you much."
Fugui thought about it.
"I'll head home."
After all, even if they were master and disciple now, this was still their first meeting; they weren't that familiar. It wouldn't be right to impose by sticking around.
"Okay. Add me on Feixin—if anything comes up, you can ask me anytime. If you really can't find a suitable Pokémon, I can take you to pick one out. Up to you."
"Yes, Master!"
The chubby boy trotted along half a step behind Auron.
He even hurried ahead to open the door for Auron, making Auron feel a little embarrassed.
"Fugui? You learned that fast."
Yu Xiuzhu had been chatting with Dax when he suddenly saw Fugui and Auron walk in together. He blurted out his surprise.
"Bro, my name is Wang Quan! And Master only told me some team-building basics for Sandstorm teams today," the chubby Fugui said helplessly. He couldn't understand why Yu kept calling him "Fugui." His uncle's given name was Baye ("Supremacy"), and Yu never called him that, did he?
"And Master also assigned me tasks. Right now what matters most is evolving Pupitar and then getting the third member of my Sand team."
The moment he heard that, Yu Xiuzhu lit up.
"Many thanks to Master Xiaoze for your generous teaching—truly grateful."
"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing. He's my disciple now, after all."
Auron really couldn't get used to Yu Xiuzhu acting like this; he could only answer a bit awkwardly.
Thankfully, Fugui had a good sense of the room. Seeing his master's discomfort, he took the initiative and tugged Yu along.
"Bro, let's head back first. Master told me to look for the third member of my Sand team, and Master just told me that the third member is best if it's—"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening. I'll take you there and you can pick for yourself. How could I listen to what your master taught you?"
Before Fugui could finish, Yu flung off the hand holding his arm, clapped his palms over his ears, and shook his head, refusing to let a single word in.
Fugui shot his master a helpless look; Auron could only give Fugui a strained, helpless smile back.
Fugui couldn't bear to watch his big brother embarrass himself any longer. He grabbed him and hauled him toward the door, talking as they went.
"Hey—there's no need for me to tell you anything. When the time comes, Master will pick for me. For now, take me home so I can get the apprenticeship gifts ready with Dad and the others."
"Right, right."
At the mention of that, Yu instantly returned to normal. He turned and waved a farewell to Auron and the others.
"Master Xiaoze—see you next time!"
"Just go already."
Fugui had had enough; he dragged the still-trying-to-say-a-few-more-words Yu Xiuzhu away.
"Uh… has he always been like this?"
Auron was so embarrassed he didn't know what to do with his hands. He scratched at his cheek and asked.
"Mm. He's always like this," Dax said solemnly, nodding to endorse Auron's read.
"No he isn't," Ji Qianyi murmured, giving Dax a light smack and a reproachful look before turning to Auron.
"He's just a bit… traditional. He takes the old teacher-lineage boundaries very seriously—so that's why he behaved like that. Usually, he's… well, if he's not having an episode, he's fine."
As she said it, Ji Qianyi's confidence faltered. She pinched the hem of her clothes, a little embarrassed herself.
"Okay, enough about him. You two have work—since we're not going with him, we'll head out too," Dax said, patting the back of Ji Qianyi's hand. He spoke, then made to leave.
Ji Qianyi, however, was looking at Dax with eyes like gold—like he was shining with radiant light. In her eyes, he'd brought it up just to spare her embarrassment. A man who thinks of me—how am I supposed to deal with loving him this much?
Dax glanced at Ji Qianyi, who had suddenly gone shy and red-faced, a little puzzled about what had set her off. He didn't dwell on it, though, and turned to Ashen Vale.
"No need to see us out. We know this place like thieves; we'll find the way."
"Okay. Take it slow on the road," Ashen said.
"Mm—will do."
Dax waved behind him without turning and headed out.
Ji Qianyi walked after him, eyes brimming with affection.
So happy. Did he just say "we" out loud? We're a "we" now, publicly? I'm over the moon.
"Whew—"
After seeing the group off, father and son—Auron and Ashen—let out the same long breath, then traded a knowing smile.
"They're gone. Let's start on the paper," Ashen said.
"Mm. Okay."
Auron answered, and the two of them each sat down at a computer and got to work.
Researchers tended to be homebodies—at least Ashen was. In general, he didn't like interacting much with others, and crowds weren't really his thing.
Auron, having followed his father for a while, had picked up a touch of the same habit.
The saving grace was that while neither of them particularly liked it, they didn't resist it either.
......
"Er… Ma'am, it's really hard to find a space that big inside the Second Ring for your breeding house. The capital may be big, but within the Second Ring, every inch is literally worth its weight in gold."
A young man in a real-estate company uniform spoke with a bitter smile.
"But outside the Second Ring is too far from home. With how bad the traffic is in the capital, I can't be driving to work every single day," Mom said, just as dissatisfied. Don't tell me there isn't a single place inside the Second Ring where I can open a breeding house?
"Er, uh, Ma'am—maybe we can look at other agencies? See, the folks across the hall from us are very good…"
(End of this chapter)