Chapter 350

Most importantly, she actually has the ability.

There are probably very few people in the Pokémon World who can do this.

It had been a long time since Qiao Ran and Mei had spoken alone together.

Unlike Lillie or Mei, he Mei basically had no time to be alone together. Although Qiao Ran personally didn't approve of Mei and Lillie's methods, he thought it was pretty good in terms of the outcome.

"Since you're willing to hear it, I'll tell you a little about what happened in the past."

Following Qiao Ran's question, Mei also talked about her past. She was an outsider from the Kanto Region who moved to the Alola Region to settle down due to certain family reasons. However, after spending a long time in the Alola Region, she had completely fallen in love with this land.

"Unlike Kanto, Alola is full of very natural scenery... Of course, I'm not saying Kanto has no natural scenery at all. Apart from the Saffron City and Celadon City areas, the rest of Kanto isn't as heavily urbanized."

"The first Captain I challenged was Ilima... You probably haven't met him, but I've heard he has some connection to Guzma, though I don't know the specifics."

Mei recounted her story bit by bit, starting from when she received her Starter Pokémon and continuing through the changes that occurred within the Aether Foundation. However, her memories of Lillie differed somewhat from Qiao Ran's.

"The first time I met Lillie... actually, which city was it again?... I can't quite remember, but it was in a clothing store in some city. She seemed to have sneaked out, and when I saw her clumsily struggling with something, I went up to her and started talking to her."

"Huh? Haha?"

Qiao Ran smiled and paused for a moment. In his memory, if the plot of the so-called "game" were true, Lillie Mei's first encounter should have been because Lillie took "Nebby" without permission. However, in this world, this part seemed to have deviated from the original plan.

Even so, Mei and Lillie still met and became good friends.

"Lusamine was acting a little strange back then, which gave Lillie the opportunity to sneak out. Later, we would also arrange to meet in the city I was going to."

Mei's face also showed some helplessness. Although Lillie's status was very prominent, this special status was also quite restrictive. At that time, it was not an easy thing to meet her.

When Lillie was mentioned, Mei became more talkative, but as she spoke, Mei steered the conversation toward Qiao Ran.

"... By the way, what's your opinion of Lillie?"

"I?"

Qiao Ran blinked. This question... wasn't actually that difficult to answer, but considering there were two people secretly following them, suddenly asking him to answer such a question... what kind of embarrassing play is this?!

"Um... well... to put it simply, she's a really good girl... kind, understanding, hardworking, and has a great presence... whether it's research or being Trainer, she's constantly working hard, and she'll definitely achieve something in the future..."

Qiao Ran stammered as he spoke. Although his first reaction was that the question was difficult to answer, when he started speaking, he listed the answers point by point, as if making a list.

"Okay, okay, that's enough."

Qiao Ran talked on and on, but Mei eventually interrupted Qiao Ran, rolling her eyes in the process.

Qiao Ran also sensed a certain aura nearby, and his emotions gradually became disordered.

"I know, how can you say so much?" Mei couldn't help but complain.

Most importantly, Qiao Ran's narration revealed many "advantages" that she hadn't even noticed.

"... Then why do you do this kind of thing?"

"

I didn't force anyone.

Qiao Ran replied.

"And I'm serious."

He had made up his mind about this path a long time ago, and even if someone questions him, he will not regret it.

One thing he learned from his Trainer career was that regret solves nothing; he can only look to the future.

At least for now, Lillie and Mei are willing to walk with him, as are the other Pokémon in the Wild Area.

"Mei, and you too..."

"We've known each other for so long, don't you know what I'm thinking?"

"You..." Seeing Qiao Ran suddenly become serious, Mei couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"What... what are you thinking? I have no idea!"

Even now, she still wants to escape. Compared to Mei and Lillie, Mei is perhaps the proudest of them all. Her pride prevents her from ever admitting anything, and even Lillie, whom she often mentions, is perhaps just a cover-up.

You probably already know, right?

"If you don't know, I can tell you."

Looking at Mei, whose face was already slightly flushed, Qiao Ran couldn't help but take a step forward. These actions didn't require any other person's command or any preparation; they just happened naturally. Qiao Ran had been waiting for this moment.

He also wanted to convey his thoughts to Mei, but he never had a good opportunity.

"Varied..."

"You... you stay away!"

Mei retreated repeatedly, but Qiao Ran did not give up.

"I want to travel with you forever, Mei."

"..."

"... From the very first time we met, when we fought together, I knew you were a very special person."

As Qiao Ran spoke, he moved closer to her. Surprisingly, as Qiao Ran spoke, Mei's initially fierce resistance gradually subsided. Her chest rose and fell slightly, and her beautiful black eyes shimmered in the moonlight.

"It's about time you gave me an answer, isn't it?"

Qiao Ran had already reached her and reached out to touch her cheek.

Mei, who had initially resisted fiercely, was now like a docile kitten. As Qiao Ran approached, she offered no resistance whatsoever, only passively panting.

"I..."

"Click."

However--

Just then, a sound of something breaking came from behind Mei.

--The already somewhat rotten wooden railings collapsed down the muddy ground along the lake.

Then, the girl standing in front of Qiao Ran vanished from his sight, letting out a gasp.

"..."

Qiao Ran was startled by the scene, but he quickly recovered and jumped into the lake without any hesitation.

What... what on earth is going on?!

Although Mei's fall into the water was an unexpected accident for Qiao Ran, they still appeared together in Qiao Ran's room thirty minutes later.

"Um... why don't you take a shower first? You can get a change of clothes from the Wild Area."

"Um..."

With the existence of the Wild Area, the group's luggage wasn't actually carried with them. A significant portion of it was stored Wild Area. For example, right now, Mei didn't need to go back to her room to get any changes of clothes; she could do everything with Qiao Ran.

However, at this moment, she was thinking more about what had happened thirty minutes earlier than about these things.

After the railing broke and she accidentally fell into the water, Qiao Ran jumped in immediately and pulled her into his arms.

Although she wasn't "weak" and wouldn't panic to the point of drowning when she fell into the water, and could even call upon her Pokémon to help her, she clearly didn't need to do so at this moment.

"..."

Before she could act, Qiao Ran had already come to her rescue, so she could even enjoy it all without any guilt.

She didn't speak or struggle, simply savoring this sensation she'd never experienced before. If it were the old her, she probably wouldn't have allowed Qiao Ran to press so tightly against her body, but in this special situation... it should... be alright, right?

"..."

It was under these circumstances that Mei and Qiao Ran came to his room together. However, what she didn't know was that even if she objected, the hidden Lillie and Mei were destined not to let her wishes come true. Even if they destroyed the bathrooms in the other two rooms, they would still achieve their ultimate goal.

After all, in their view, this matter should have been over long ago.

It's just that these two people are a bit awkward, which is why it's dragged on until now. If things continue like this, it might stay like this for the rest of their lives.

She went to the Wild Area to get a change of clothes, and then washed up in Qiao Ran's bathroom. The whole process didn't take too long, since she had already taken a shower before, and this was just to clean off the dirt.

However, wait

After she came out, she found that Qiao Ran's gaze was fixed on her.

"What's wrong...? Is something strange?"

Mei wanted to appear as usual, but so much had happened tonight that made it impossible for her to react that way.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to take a shower too."

Qiao Ran looked at her slightly flushed cheeks and her skin, which had a faint pinkish hue after her bath, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Before Mei could say anything, he had already gone into the bathroom.

"I..."

Qiao Ran didn't give her a chance to speak at all; she couldn't even come up with an excuse to say thank you and leave the room.

"..."

She could only sit blankly on the edge of the bed, and when Qiao Ran came out again, still wearing a bath towel around her neck, she sat there very obediently.

It's fine no matter what.

Mei had completely given up thinking. Perhaps... things wouldn't be so bad if things just continued like this. However, before that, she wanted to hear Qiao Ran continue what he had said earlier.

"Um... is there something you didn't finish saying earlier?"

Mei looked at Qiao Ran and offered a pointed reminder.

"Is there anything else...?"

The night was still long. When the sunlight shone in again the next day, Mei groggily woke up from her dream and suddenly Frisk that she hadn't been back to the room she shared with Lillie all night.

"It's... it's all over! Oh no!"

Mei's slightly happy expression froze on her face. She didn't go back to her room, and her encounter with Qiao Ran was orchestrated by Lillie and the others. Didn't that mean that the two of them already knew everything about this?

This is not what she wanted to see at all!

"It's alright, you'll all find out sooner or later anyway, right?"

Qiao Ran didn't mind these things, and even secretly told Mei some little secrets that neither Lillie nor Mei knew about each other.

"Wha... what? Lillie and Mei... there's such a thing?"

After hearing Qiao Ran's account, Mei was completely shocked. Mei actually had a history of hiding in the closet. If it had been her hiding in the closet back then, then Lillie...

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

"Let me get ready first. Let's get out of here early and then split up."

Mei got out of bed, quickly cleaned up the mess, and tidied herself up. Only after making sure everything was in order did she carefully walk separately from Qiao Ran towards the Restaurant.

Qiao Ran watched her attempt to cover up her lie with amusement. This would probably only fool Acerola; as for the other two... Mei probably didn't know that those two had followed them all night.

Inside the Restaurant, Mei and Lillie acted as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring Mei and Qiao Ran's situation. Lillie didn't even ask Mei why she hadn't gone back to her room to Rest. This unusual behavior puzzled Mei, but she still breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as no one talks about it, she can comfortably bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.

"By the way, what are your plans for today?"

At the dinner table, Acerola picked up her phone and showed the screen to everyone.

"... I found something interesting, what's it called... Haunted House Escape Room? I guess it's one of those places where people Role Play Ghost type and scare people. It even says something about solving a case... seems pretty fun."

Although the description is a bit strange, judging from Acerola's excited expression, she seems genuinely interested in this kind of place. There's no such novel form of entertainment in the Alola Region, and even in Qiao Ran's world, this kind of entertainment has only suddenly become popular in the last few years.

Simply put, a scenario is set up, and participants Role Play the roles of players, while the store arranges staff to Role Play of NPCs. There are some interactive storylines, as well as some role -Role Play with horror elements.

Qiao Ran herself wasn't opposed to it, but she wasn't interested in Acerola to that extent either. However, her excited appearance did indeed lighten the strange atmosphere at the dinner table.

Qiao Ran quickly followed her train of thought and continued speaking.

"Yes, how about we go here this morning?"

"... We'll be waiting for Cynthia and the others to come these next few days, so it's okay to relax a little."