Chapter 335

No, wait, why are you suddenly handing me this?

"Ahem... it contains recordings of Lillie's performances and Competition."

Qiao Ran looked away somewhat awkwardly. Perhaps because of his relationship with Lillie, he suddenly didn't know how to face Lusamine.

However, he still wanted to send out the things he had planned to give beforehand.

"I also recorded the comments from another website; many of them are from people supporting Lillie, and she's quite popular right now."

You mean... Lillie?

Lusamine asked, somewhat incredulously.

"That child also participated in the performance and the Competition?"

"Hmm... she's never dared to tell you these things. Well, I guess you can't say that. She's not really a show-off, but I thought you should see them."

Qiao Ran didn't know what Lillie was thinking, but from what he had seen, Lillie never told Lusamine about her achievements. Maybe she didn't like to show off, or maybe it was because of what had happened before. In any case... Qiao Ran felt that this was not a good thing.

As Lillie's... um... Trainer?

Qiao Ran felt he should do something to help Lillie.

"Lillie's video... not bad, not bad."

Lusamine nodded in satisfaction and looked at Qiao Ran in front of her, but her face was filled with an undisguised smile.

"In the future, this kind of thing will also be acceptable..."

"I know."

Qiao Ran immediately nodded in agreement. Lusamine felt satisfied, and he also felt that he had achieved his goal. His small action had reduced the estrangement between the mother and daughter. He must be doing something great.

"Good job, you did well."

Lusamine put the box away and then carefully examined Qiao Ran's face.

"You and Lillie... shouldn't you... tell me something else too?"

"Or rather, are you planning to call me something else?"

Taking this opportunity, Lusamine asked another question directly. However, looking at the face in front of her that resembled Lillie by seven or eight points, like Lillie's older sister, Qiao Ran couldn't help but take a step back.

Although she resembles Lillie, she is completely different; both her demeanor and physique are much more mature.

Will Lillie develop to this extent in the future?

"Um..." Qiao Ran's voice caught in her throat.

He didn't intend to answer right now, after all, Lillie wasn't prepared either, and... this was his first time doing this, and he didn't know how to handle it if Lillie wasn't there.

"Um... it's getting late, you should get some rest. I'll head back now too."

Qiao Ran left a message and rushed into the Spatial Rift as if he were fleeing. It wouldn't be good if he stayed here too long and aroused suspicion from others. However... the person he was talking to was only Lillie's mother, so no one should suspect him, right?

"... Did they escape?"

Watching the Spatial Rift gradually close, Lusamine couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head.

"But youth is truly wonderful."

She fiddled with the box in her hand and sat down in the chair.

Although Qiao Ran himself might not have realized it, there was a clear hint of panic in his expression when Lusamine directly said those words, and it was obvious that he reacted to them.

However, he eventually ran away because he was too shy.

At least, that's how Lusamine sees it.

"I wonder how things are going with Lillie..."

Qiao Ran didn't actually know how far the development had progressed.

All he knows right now is that he's in a very awkward and irreconcilable situation.

It was already late at night, and for some reason, Lillie and Mei appeared in the room at the same time.

"..."

In the past, the two would arrive one after the other, and Mei would hide and pretend nothing had happened. But this time was different; the two bumped into each other at the door.

In this

In this situation, it was practically impossible to fool them by pretending to be stupid. So, the two of them went into the room at the same time, but no matter what Qiao Ran said to them, they kept their heads down and remained silent.

"..."

"..."

This atmosphere... is completely different from during the day!

Qiao Ran's forehead looked as if it had been doused with water, and a large patch of hot sweat rolled down his forehead.

Has this been entered into some kind of Otherworld?!

"Um... would you like to watch the video?"

Qiao Ran really didn't know how to change the subject, so he grabbed a tablet next to him in an attempt to distract himself.

How about we play some Mew Westward Journey?

Qiao Ran tried to reason with them for a long time, but the two of them were like wooden stakes, stuck in place. In the end, Qiao Ran had no choice but to use his last resort.

Since Mei has already witnessed a similar situation before, and things have been very calm recently, it means that Mei is the only breakthrough point.

So, Qiao Ran reached out and hugged Lillie from behind, deliberately lowering his voice.

"You came here... not to talk to me about this, right?"

"!"

Qiao Ran's sudden action caused the two who had been pretending to be oblivious to react immediately. Lillie's cheeks flushed red, and her body trembled.

"... No... no, Mei's still here..."

Lillie didn't want Mei to see her, and Mei, on the other hand, was also startled, taking several deep breaths at the scene before her.

"..."

No... no!

Finally, unable to bear the shame in her heart, Lillie took the initiative to push Qiao Ran away.

If this continues... she's going to start acting strangely.

"Tonight... tonight, let's keep it simple... keep it simple..."

Lillie took the initiative to ask for a hug, and then Mei also gave Qiao Ran a brief hug.

Finally, the two hugged each other and left the room. Nothing really happened until they left.

Regarding this matter, neither of them could bring themselves to back down, and Lillie was also very concerned about Mei's situation. She didn't want her image to be damaged in Mei... Although she herself didn't know that Mei had actually secretly observed her completely last time.

Mei's reaction was particularly strong tonight, probably because she was thinking about what happened that day.

"Sigh... Trainer are definitely different from Pokémon."

Qiao Ran lay on her bed and couldn't help but sigh. If it were Dianxi or Vulpix, they wouldn't have encountered such a troublesome situation. The two of them accepted this strange situation immediately. Even some other Pokémon, after Humanoid Transformation, didn't even have the most basic sense of shame.

Take those Ultra Beasts, for example.

The issues between Lillie and Mei will likely require some time to work things out, and there's still no news from Mei's side. However, there's no need to rush these issues; they have plenty of time.

"Huh? What's wrong with you guys now?"

Early the next morning, Acerola saw Lillie and Mei looking somewhat unwell and couldn't help but ask them what was wrong.

"... I'm having a little... a little insomnia."

"Yes... that's right."

After returning to their room last night, neither of them could sleep, not only for one reason, but more importantly because it was the first time they had been seen by others in this situation.

Although some things were already known to everyone, no one dared to utter a word about it!

But now they've run into each other in the middle of the night, and they're completely stumped.

How can we communicate after this?

On the other side, Mei, who was silently eating breakfast, was also observing Lillie and Qiao Ran. She had deliberately stayed up a little late last night, and sure enough, she discovered that Lillie had sneaked out. She had already expected that Lillie would sneak out last night, since they would not be sending those researchers to Po Town until the afternoon of the next day, and they could use the morning to rest.

This means that it's okay to stay up a little later.

Just as Mei had predicted, Lillie secretly got up in the middle of the night and tiptoed out, clearly already a naughty child who had learned to wander around at night.

However, to Mei's surprise, Lillie returned to her room in just over twenty minutes this time, a significant reduction compared to before.

Moreover, after deducting the travel time and other time, the time is reduced by too much!

Wait, what exactly happened in between??

Thinking about this, Mei's gaze towards Qiao Ran became strange.

No wonder... Lillie didn't sleep well.

"..."

Qiao Ran was completely confused. No, Acerola was asking about Lillie and Mei, so why was Mei staring at him with such a resentful look?

Has something strange happened???

Qiao Ran said what he was doing

He had no idea what had happened, and even if something had, he was prepared to play dumb. He still had to escort those people to Po Town that afternoon, and then they had to go to the small police station in Nanu to get Anabel's information.

Only after completing these tasks can they return to the Shrine on the island, and only after visiting the Shrine can they proceed to Exeggutor Island and the Altar of the Moone. There's no time to waste here.

"Let's go back to Alola this morning; it's been a while since we've seen those kids."

"Um!"

Upon hearing the news, Acerola couldn't help but smile brightly. These children were like family to her, and she often thought of her life there when she was traveling.

The same applies to Qiao Ran and the others. Although they haven't spent much time at the Aether House, it holds many memories for them, and if they could, they would like to stay there a little longer.

Once everything settles down, staying here longer shouldn't be a problem, right?

The morning passed quickly. After lunch and packing up, Qiao Ran and his group, along with the researchers, continued their Pokémon Journeys.

Is Guzma still the current administrator of Po Town?

On the way, Molayne also asked about some other things.

"Yes, he's basically handling things over there now, although it seems like he's not actually in charge."

Qiao Ran curled his lips. Although he hadn't known Guzma for long, no matter how you looked at it, this King of Destruction who only knew how to destroy was clearly not a good manager. Compared to Marnie from Galar's side, they were worlds apart.

Standing behind him, the second-in-command of the Team Skull, Plumeria, was probably the one actually handling things over there.

Of course, Guzma's own combat strength is also indispensable to Po Town. As a top-tier Trainer below the Elite Four, his mere presence is a reassuring Pillar of Reassurance.

"I didn't expect that Guzma would also be in charge of managing Survivor."

Molayne adjusted his glasses and smiled.

"... It seems he's changed quite a bit too."

Next, he briefly told Qiao Ran about his relationship with Guzma. He, Guzma, and another professor from the Alola Region were all Trainer participated in the Island Challenge back then. However, the three of them embarked on completely different paths.

Molayne stayed in Alola and became the Observatory Director, while the doctor who wasn't a professor back then went to other continents to study and challenge the Pokémon League. It's said that Defeat four Elite Four along the way, but finally fell to the Champion.

"... It was precisely because of those experiences that he kept thinking about establishing his own Alola Pokémon League after returning to Alola as a professor."

"Professor Kukui?" Qiao Ran followed the other person's logic and said the person's name.

In the Pokémon games, this professor is Professor Oak from the Alola Region, and the only professor who participates in the Champion. But what's most surprising is something else entirely—besides being a researcher, this professor is also a masked wrestler with a hidden identity, making him quite the martial artist.

"Hmm, you know him?"

Molayne blinked and looked at Qiao Ran.

"I've heard his name before; Lusamine and Acerola have also mentioned him."