Chapter 174

Today, Vulpix was by Qiao Ran's side. As soon as she appeared in the Real World, she grabbed Qiao Ran's hand tightly and refused to let go.

"Um, really, you don't need to be so careful."

"No, no, I'm the first one, so I have to be extra careful. And I'm the weakest one, so I need to be even more careful."

Vulpix cautiously observed her surroundings, and no matter how Qiao Ran tried to persuade her, it was to no avail; she was taking caution to the extreme.

Qiao Ran had never remembered raising someone to be such a cautious child, but perhaps that was just her own judgment.

Therefore, Qiao Ran gave up on the futile attempt to persuade her. Vulpix was also a very stubborn child; once she made up her mind about something, she would stick to it to the end.

"Then... shall we go to the venue together to register first?"

Now that the plan had been decided, signing up for the Performance Competition became the first step.

As per Qiao Ran's previous request to Phoebe, in exchange for assisting with their research, not only did Lillie and Mei gain the status of Pokémon League Trainer, but even his Pokémon received similar identification—except for Yveltal had only recently Humanoid Transformation.

However, only Qiao Ran and Lillie will sign up this time; as for the other Pokémon... they'll have to perform on stage.

"This is my identification."

"Okay, your information has been registered."

The young lady at the registration desk handed Qiao Ran his ID back, but her gaze couldn't help but drift to Vulpix's face.

"What a lovely child! Is this your little sister?"

With her petite figure, large eyes, and long, slightly wavy hair as white as snow, if it weren't for the fact that she might be a little young, the young lady at the registration desk would have wanted to persuade her to participate in the Performance Competition.

How can there be such an adorable child?

If they could participate in the Competition, they would absolutely be the winner in these preliminary rounds.

Performance Competition – While these are Competition designed to showcase the charm of Pokémon, the charisma of the Performing Family is sometimes equally important. After all, the final scoring and judging are done by humans, and people naturally have an extra affinity for attractive people.

As for how much credit Performing Family's own qualities can add, that's a matter of opinion.

However, one thing is certain—being good-looking can indeed allow you to do whatever you want.

"... Um."

Qiao Ran reached out and took his identity card. Although Vulpix seemed reluctant and wanted to say something, he still accepted the role of his younger sister.

After all, that's how they've been pretending from the very beginning.

This is what it truly means to stay true to our original aspirations and forge ahead.

After submitting the materials to the organizer, Qiao Ran arrived at the entrance of the venue.

While waiting for Lillie and the others to come out, compared to Qiao Ran who had a smooth experience, Lillie and Mei seemed to naturally attract attention in this situation. During the waiting time, Qiao Ran saw several people secretly recording something.

"..."

Vulpix probably noticed this as well. Like trainers, excellent Performing Family are targeted by various clubs and agencies from a very early age. Although these people's goal is to exchange a smaller initial investment for greater later benefits, it can still be helpful for some Performing Family who are not very wealthy.

Qiao Ran didn't intend to stop them; he simply watched quietly. However, if these guys were planning to secretly film anything strange, Qiao Ran wouldn't mind letting Yveltal go.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the registration area.

A slender, stylishly dressed woman with huge sunglasses covering half her face stepped out of the car and appeared at the door.

She frowned as she looked at the crowd that seemed to have frozen in place.

"... Can I come in?"

The voice was very pleasant, but Qiao Ran looked at it from a distance, indicating that she didn't recognize it.

Who is that?

But the Performing Family in line seemed to be all hyped up, creating complete chaos.

"Oh my god!"

"... I... I've seen her on TV!"

"One of the most talented trainers at the Magic City Gym... and a strong contender for the Performance Competition Champion, how did she end up here?!"

"This is the outermost preliminary selection venue, practically the very edge of the competition!"

Qiao Ran watched this scene with a twitching at the corner of her mouth. "..."

Good grief, are they blasting up a fishpond?

As a well-mannered trainer, Qiao Ran never intended to do something like bombing a fish pond. However, judging from the other person's appearance, it seems that their purpose in coming here was not simply to bomb a fish pond.

"Trainer from the Magic City Gym... and he seems to be a very experienced and popular Performing Family."

Qiao Ran's gaze lingered on the person with the purple hair and a slender, model-like figure, but her face was unclear, and Qiao Ran was unsure if she had seen her before.

But soon, Qiao Ran noticed something strange.

"Owner."

The Vulpix fox seemed to Frisk as well—after the woman appeared at the door, she seemed to be adjusting her posture, and her target was clearly the photographers hidden in the crowd.

She was looking for the right angle in front of the camera.

Was it intentional? Was it pre-arranged?

Qiao Ran's eyes flickered. If all of this was a pre-arranged show, then the "fish pond bombing" incident was easy to understand. However, if viewed from another angle, what if the other party didn't know about all of this beforehand and only made this series of reactions after entering the room? That would be too terrifying.

In the few seconds it took to enter, Qiao Ran found all the hidden reporters; he didn't believe that was something a human could do.

"Thanks."

The woman walked smoothly past the crowd that had already made way for her to reach the registration area, and the Performing Family in line also made way for her as a sign of respect.

After all, many people in these preliminary Competition are fans of these individuals, inspired by their success, which is why they went to the Competition venue to register.

However, at the front of the line, two people stood motionless, clearly not understanding what was happening.

These two were Mei and Lillie, who had come to register.

"Huh?"

Lillie and Mei didn't know any of the famous local Performing Family or elite Gym Elite Trainer; they had only just arrived.

Several Performing Family watching nearby seemed to have noticed this as well, and quickly whispered a reminder.

"This is the regional Champion from last month, and an elite member of the Magic City Gym. You should let them register first; their time is very valuable."

"Yeah yeah."

The ordinary Performing Family wasn't offended by the other person's act of "blowing up the fishpond"; on the contrary, he was a little excited about the other person's appearance. After all, this was someone he had only ever seen on television before, and now that he had met him, he had to give a good performance in front of him.

Who knows, I might even get an autograph and a photo with you later.

"..."

Mei frowned. Was this an attempt to force her to let the other person cut in line?

She doesn't like this kind of thing, especially if the other party insists on forcing it...

Mei observed the other person's reaction, but through the thick black sunglasses, she couldn't see the other person's expression or face clearly.

Who is this?

"Don't worry about me, you guys go here first. Of course, you should register first. Just treat me like any other contestant."

The last to speak was the woman who had suddenly appeared. She stood directly behind Lillie and Mei without doing anything else.

"The same goes for everyone else. You can come back and line up; I'll just line up in the original order."

The situation, which had been on the verge of erupting, seemed to vanish in an instant.

"Queuing... queueing is fine, we'll just go behind you."

"Then... could you sign your name for us?"

"Is that right?"

The novice Performing Family nearby excitedly stepped forward. Rather than queuing, they wanted autographs and photos. The woman nodded to each of them and did not refuse any of their requests.

"Okay, you can all come one by one. Remember to line up in order."

"Hmm...? Why did I register here? Because I'm currently on vacation at a nearby tourist attraction, and I was thinking of registering here first, since it's relatively close."

Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Lillie and Mei successfully registered, but Qiao Ran, who was watching from the side, noticed that after the woman showed her kindness, the other Performing Family were watching praised her behavior highly, greatly increasing her popularity. They almost hailed her as a goddess.

Furthermore, the photographers hidden in the crowd also captured this scene. What's most terrifying is that even at this moment, the woman didn't forget to pose for the hidden cameras and find the best shooting angle.

I'm afraid it won't be long... no, as soon as this guy starts participating in Competition, all sorts of news will definitely come flooding in, praising his kindness and approachability.

"..."

Qiao Ran's brows twitched; this guy was far too knowledgeable!

Is this really Trainer, or some actor from somewhere?

At noon, Qiao Ran and his friends bought some things at a random restaurant and then had lunch Wild Area.

"What? So much has happened in just this short period of time?"

Qiao Ran recounted everything she had seen to Lillie and Mei, and after hearing Qiao Ran account, they couldn't help but marvel.

Is this the real world, full of scheming?

They just lined up and signed up.

"... I'm afraid that guy, like us, is hoping to seize this opportunity to become famous overnight. The moment she entered, she was able to pinpoint the location of those secretly filming; it's obvious she came prepared."

"The people in line who suddenly gave up their places were likely actors lying in wait. As long as a few non-actors didn't realize what was happening and were still standing there, she could play her part in the rest of the scene."

"So... we just happened to run into each other?"

Lillie nodded, seemingly understanding.

"That's right, it doesn't matter who these people are still standing there, as long as they express their goodwill and establish themselves as approachable."

Qiao Ran a deep breath. This level of skill was truly worthy of an established Performing Family. Compared to the "Shi Yiyi" he had encountered on his Pokémon Journeys, she was far superior.

Character design is indeed a very useful tool.

"By the way, do you guys know what that person's name is?" Qiao Ran suddenly asked.

"Have no idea."

I don't know.

Lillie and Mei shook their heads simultaneously. Despite the huge commotion that had occurred earlier, they hadn't managed to hear each other's names clearly during the chaos.

As for finding out the other party's identity, they had no interest in doing so for the time being. In the end, the "performance" they had just witnessed had not left a good impression on them, and they did not want to know more.

"However, becoming famous is indeed quite difficult; even ordinary minor celebrities work so hard."

Qiao Ran stared blankly at the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, unaware that on the other side, the woman who had signed up earlier had already gotten into a black sedan.

She took off the sunglasses she was wearing, revealing the sharp eyes hidden beneath them.

"... Yes, help me investigate the identities of those people."

Before her, a stack of documents Levitate quietly in the air, as if grasped by an invisible hand, turning page by page.

"Remember, investigate thoroughly."

"Yes... yes! Miss Sabrina."

The voice on the other end of the phone trembled slightly, but dared not disobey in the slightest.

In the Magic City Gym, not many people dare to mess with this young lady anymore.

After hanging up the phone, the woman fell into deep thought.

"... I didn't hide my name, so why didn't you recognize me?"

The woman in the car twitched her fingers slightly, and a stack of documents automatically folded up and placed aside.

She herself looked at the photos sent to her phone screen, pondering the reasons behind them.

--The two people in the photo are Mei and Lillie.

The woman's gaze fell on Mei's face.

Was it intentional... or...?