Chapter 321

She quickly took a few breaths, and after feeling a little better, she looked up at Qiao Ran, but soon blushed and buried her head in the pillow next to her.

"Are you... alright?"

Don't ask me!

Mei just wanted to smash her head against the Piloswine and die. Thinking about what had just happened, she didn't know how to express her emotions.

Seeing her like this, Qiao Ran could only wait a while before cautiously asking another question.

"... Isn't this Mei's room?"

Mei's room?

Mei reacted immediately.

"Who told you this is Mei's room? This is clearly my room..."

She finally realized what she was talking about halfway through her sentence.

"I know, they must have told you that, right? That's how they tricked you into coming here, wasn't it?"

"This..."

Qiao Ran was also taken aback. The room number was indeed given to him by Mei. He hadn't bothered to memorize everyone's room numbers, and he hadn't doubted the number Mei had given him at all.

"So, they actually came to your room and tied you up?"

"Stop talking!"

Qiao Ran was hit directly in the face with a pillow.

"Them... Hmph..."

Mei gave a soft hum, clearly in turmoil, but still unwilling to point out Lillie and Mei's faults.

"..."

Soon, silence fell between the two of them again. Neither of them had expected the situation to turn out this way.

Before Lillie left, she told me to "do my best"... What kind of "do my best" is that?!

Qiao Ran was utterly speechless with despair.

You guys are messing with me!

Is there anything else I need to do?

However, Mei's mood is clearly off right now. If I do something, won't I get pinned to the wall by Decidueye that suddenly appears?

"Have you taken a shower?"

"Ah?"

Suddenly, Mei, lying on the bed, asked a question.

"You... you washed it?"

Qiao Ran nodded in puzzlement. He was just about to Rest; how could he not have washed?

"... I washed too."

"Ah... um."

Qiao Ran responded blankly.

Then the two fell silent again.

"Should I... just go back like this? They probably just wanted to play a prank, right?"

Qiao Ran his hand to ask a question. Although he said that, he would find the two people who framed him sooner or later and make them suffer.

Even if you want to do something, you should discuss it with him beforehand.

Seeing that the other party did not react, Qiao Ran tiptoed away, but at the last moment, the other party made a sound, stopping him.

"... Wait!"

"A little chat... that would be nice..."

No one knows what happened last night. Even Mei and Lillie, whose eyes were extremely strange early this morning, couldn't guess what had happened in that room last night.

Finally, during a break from breakfast, Mei and Lillie, unable to contain their anxiety, finally turned their unease into action. They found an opportunity to Qiao Ran out.

"Um... who exactly are you two...?"

"Yes, you two last night..."

Both pairs of eyes turned to look in Qiao Ran's direction, their gazes filled with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation, as if they were both expecting and afraid of something.

We talked for a long time yesterday.

Qiao Ran looked at the ground and pondered for half a second.

"That's it?" Mei was taken aback.

"... I also watched a little bit of video."

"And then?" Lillie was also stunned.

"And then... wait, what are you all expecting?"

Qiao Ran finally understood. It wasn't him who was acting strange; it was just that these guys... they were all acting so oddly!

"But normally, when something like this happens, it doesn't immediately..."

Mei's suspicious gaze lingered. "You're not hiding this from us..., are you?"

"What do you mean 'directly'? That's absolutely impossible!"

Qiao Ran rolled her eyes. If it really happened... that wouldn't be bad, but the problem is that it's simply impossible.

Last night, he at most got a little closer to Mei, just a tiny bit. At least, in terms of ordinary contact, she didn't seem to reject him.

"If you were in that situation yesterday, what would you have done?"

Hmm.

Upon hearing this, Lillie and Mei finally realized what he meant. They exchanged a glance, and after a moment of contemplation, both shook their heads helplessly.

Mei: "She'll probably... be completely consumed by the humiliation of defeat, and then she won't want to do anything anymore."

Lillie:

Being tied up... would be incredibly embarrassing.

For Mei, taking that step was destined to be a very important turning point; if that had happened under these circumstances, they would probably have preferred to die by crashing their heads into Piloswine.

There's no atmosphere, and it's not romantic at all...

"However, Mei probably already knows what we're thinking."

"Yes..."

Lillie and Mei both sighed. Things had already turned out this way, and they had no intention of turning back. The shackles of the past had been shattered like Torn World. Now, being able to be with their favorite group of people and do what they loved seemed quite interesting.

"You don't need to be in such a hurry."

Qiao Ran couldn't help but make a comment.

"And... why did you make that kind of phone call to me last night... Mei, what are you thinking?"

"N-nothing... hahaha." Mei blushed slightly and promptly began to play dumb. Lillie's expression also became strange; it was obvious that she was present when Mei made that phone call.

Sure enough... the two of them did that kind of thing without my knowledge...

No... no, I can't think about this anymore.

Lillie quickly stopped her own thoughts; she simply couldn't believe she was having negative feelings about something like this.

Am I... jealous?

No... we clearly agreed that we wouldn't hide things from each other anymore...

Qiao Ran and the others didn't talk for long. When they returned to the dining table, Mei seemed to understand something and glanced at them, while Acerola seemed oblivious and took out her phone to talk about the videos she had watched the night before.

"Many things in this world are different from the Pokémon World, but there are quite a few experts who study Ghost Pokémon."

"Look at these people, gathering together in the middle of the night to watch Gastly, how strange."

"... And there are only fewer than thirty Ghost Pokémon discovered in this world, not even Dragapult is recorded in the Pokédex."

Acerola seemed very excited; it was obvious she had watched a lot of videos after returning to her room last night.

Lillie and Mei exchanged a glance; both of them felt that Acerola was very reassuring.

"Dragapult is probably because it's relatively rare; after all, it's a powerful Pokémon that's a signature of the Galar region."

Mei shared her opinion. She had been to the Galar region and had asked Gloria there about Dragapult, but the answer she received was still the same Grudge reply, "You won't meet her, don't ask me."

Catching this kind of Pokémon requires more than just your own strength.

You also need a lot of luck.

"Oh, right, speaking of which, it's been a while since we went to Galar. We haven't told Marnie and the others about Acerola either..."

Listening to their conversation, Qiao Ran seemed to remember something.

"Hmm... yes..." Lillie nodded as well.

It seems that... it's been a while since I've been there.

Especially... after all that's happened recently.

"Marnie?"

Acerola also became interested. In fact, these names had been mentioned many times in Qiao Ran and the others' previous conversations, but she had never had the chance to see their true faces. Moreover, being able to visit this unfamiliar land of the Galar region seemed like a very novel experience.

She's never left Alola before.

"She's an expert in Dark type, and she even manages a town. You'll see when you meet her."

Qiao Ran said a few words, but not too much. The key impression had to be built by Marnie herself. With Marnie's unique charm, Acerola would definitely be able to get along well with her.

"As for the rest of the day, let me see... We have to go hiking tomorrow, so we need to buy some necessary equipment and supplies today. Also, Altaria's song is almost finished, and we need to get her to do a live stream sometime... The hike will probably take quite a while, so we can't stay at the Pokémon Center any longer. We need to find an Inn to stay at for the night, which will also make it easier for us to discuss information. And..."

Qiao Ran organized the things she needed to do today, rattling off a whole bunch of things, and realized that today was indeed quite busy.

From breakfast until evening, my schedule was packed full.

"Sigh... maybe this is what it means to be Pokémon Trainer."

Besides these, the basic training of Pokémon cannot be neglected. The only thing that makes Qiao Ran feel gratified is that he doesn't need to worry about most of his Pokémon. Even those outstanding "legendary" Pokémon train on their own.

Sometimes, when you get busy, it's really beyond your control.

But Qiao Ran doesn't dislike this kind of life.

"We don't need that many people to go procure supplies. I'll stay here this morning to take care of the Pokémon."

"Yes, I'd like to see how they are too."

After yesterday's battle

Mei and Lillie both wanted to spend more time with their Pokémon. They had given their all in yesterday's Competition, and they should go see them more often.

"Then I'll send you to the Wild Area; it's not hard to get out anyway."

Qiao Ran nodded, not refusing.

"I want to go too." Acerola raised her hand as well. She had only recently joined the team and still had a strong curiosity about the Wild Area. Since Lillie Mei both wanted to go there to be with their Pokémon, she wanted to go and see it too.

"Then... I'll go too."

Mei realized the situation was dire. Everyone present had gone to the Wild Area, and Qiao Ran would inevitably be there to Wild Area supplies. If she didn't go with them, wouldn't it end up with her accompanying Qiao Ran?

... If it were before, Mei would never have thought so much, and might even have thought it was a good thing. However, after experiencing so many changes recently, her thinking has begun to undergo some subtle changes.

--If she did that, it would definitely cause disharmony within the team. Besides, Mei would probably have some opinions about her and Qiao Ran. After all, she and Lillie had just tricked Mei last night, and Mei hadn't even settled the score with them yet.

Therefore, it's better to decide to go and Wild Area together.