I Really Never Meant to Make a Living Off My Face

"Morning, Feebas. How did you sleep last night?" Xia Chen yawned as he walked over to the aquarium.

He had spent the whole night trying to come up with a training plan for Feebas, yet he had not managed to think of even half a plan. It had even kept him awake for ages.

For the first time, he felt that his imagination was so lacking. All he could type into the blank document he had created were a few words—eat well and build a solid foundation.

Everything else could wait until Feebas evolved into Milotic.

Feebas, who had always been alone and helpless, was not yet used to Xia Chen's concern. He blew bubbles in flattered surprise.

He had saved me from the abyss, given me a system that could let me evolve into a divine dragon, and cared for me so attentively.

Feebas might not have been educated enough to understand sayings like, "If one treats me as a worthy man, I shall repay them as one."

But a similar thought sprouted in his heart. Once I evolve into Yinglong, I'll definitely take Xia Chen through the depths of the sea and soar across the blue skies!

Xia Chen had no idea that Feebas was making such a grand vow in his heart. He headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

At the dining table, Xia Chen opened Pixiv as usual. Yesterday's video had given him quite a surprise.

One million!

This was Xia Chen's second video to surpass one million views, and judging from the comments, no big-name creator had driven traffic his way this time.

It had achieved this result purely because the video was novel and high-quality. The account's follower count had also surpassed three hundred thousand!

At the beginning of the month, he had not even had one hundred thousand followers. This rate of growth was downright terrifying.

"Eevee, come here and let me cuddle you~"

In an excellent mood, Xia Chen scooped up the Eevee beside him, who was happily wolfing down her food.

Ever since he had found Eevee, good things had kept happening. She was practically his lucky goddess!

"Vee~" Eevee had no idea what was going on, but she never refused Xia Chen's cuddles.

After cuddling for a while, Xia Chen let Eevee go back to eating while he continued browsing the comments, ready to see how the viewers were going to praise him this time.

Before he could read any comments, however, he noticed that Marnie had sent him a message on the Piplup chat app.

"Xia Chen, your identity's been exposed!"

Xia Chen's heart skipped a beat. His first reaction was that someone had discovered he was a transmigrator.

In an instant, all sorts of consequences flashed through his mind—being invited in for tea, being captured and dissected.

Only after Marnie sent him an image did he realize that while editing the video, he had failed to notice that he had left in a frame showing himself.

It was not exactly good news, but for some reason, Xia Chen did not find it quite so unacceptable.

At least it was much better than having his transmigration discovered.

Forget it. Editing the video now would be no different from burying his head in the sand. If his face was out there, then so be it.

At most, he would have to bear the accusation of making a living off his looks. Xia Chen sighed to himself.

After breakfast, Xia Chen went back into the kitchen to try something very new.

A kind of Pokéblock different from ordinary Pokéblocks, one that could raise a Pokémon's [Beauty].

Although he knew such things existed in the games and anime from his previous life, developing Pokéblocks capable of increasing Beauty was still no easy task.

Fortunately, Xia Chen loved the Pokémon franchise enough and had a fairly good memory.

After browsing every Berry listed on the Berry website last night, he had identified the varieties that could increase Beauty in the games.

They were Belue Berry, Belue Berry, Cornn Berry, Magost Berry, and Rabuta Berry.

The blue blocks made from these Berries had a chance of raising a Pokémon's Beauty in the games.

The bad news was that these Berries were rather rare because they were highly sensitive to growing conditions.

They were generally cultivated commercially only in Hoenn, Sinnoh, and certain parts of southern Donghuang.

The good news was that precisely because the Berries were so scarce, Beauty Pokéblocks made from them had not yet appeared in this world.

Much less had anyone fed them to Feebas and discovered the second method of evolving it into Milotic.

Xia Chen had visited several Berry shops that morning before finally finding somewhere that sold all five kinds.

Combined with the multifunctional Pokéblock maker he had bought from Silph Co. last night, Xia Chen had begun experimenting with Pokéblock-making early in the morning.

Since he knew a little about cooking, Xia Chen's control over quantities was fairly precise.

As it happened, Pokéblock-making was something that demanded extremely precise timing.

After following a Pixiv tutorial twice, Xia Chen more or less understood why the same machine could produce Pokéblocks of varying quality.

Like Pokémon, Berries were things that could not be explained by the science of his previous life.

The stirring time, direction, speed, and the exact moment to stop before the mixture solidified could all determine a Pokéblock's quality.

There was no less know-how involved than in raising Pokémon, which was why high-quality Pokéblocks could sell for so much.

Generally speaking, because of accumulated proficiency, the older the Pokéblock maker, the more sought-after they were.

It looked like nothing more than pressing a few buttons, but in truth, technique, mindset, and reaction speed were all indispensable.

That was why methods in video tutorials looked so simple, yet the moment you tried them yourself, you would realize—

Oh no, why won't my hands do what I tell them to?

In that respect, it was actually a lot like cooking.

After tinkering around all morning, Xia Chen stared thoughtfully at the Pokéblocks of various colors on the plate.

Walking a road no one had walked before really was a long and arduous task.

"Lunch is served~"

Xia Chen carried over all the Pokéblocks he had made that morning and placed them before Eevee.

The anticipation written all over Eevee's face instantly collapsed into a miserable expression.

As she looked at the plate piled high with Pokéblocks in every imaginable color, Eevee was suddenly reminded of the terror of Xia Chen's first attempt at homemade Pokéblocks in her memories of her previous life.

She would never forget that meal for as long as she lived.

That had been the hardest period of their lives. Xia Chen's career as a content creator had not been going anywhere, and their savings had dwindled more and more. Eevee had nearly been unable to afford food.

Back then, Xia Chen had made a bold decision. If they could not afford to buy them, they would make them themselves!

And the innocent Eevee, trusting Xia Chen, had chosen to taste-test them without hesitation.

Then, in a single meal, she seemed to have tasted every flavor in the world.

That idiot Xia Chen had actually bought every Berry on the market and started mixing and matching them!

One could only imagine it: the spiciness of Tamato Berries, the bitterness of Razz Berries, the astringency of Magost Berries...

After the first bite, Eevee had nearly burst into tears.

People often said that one bad deed left a deeper impression than a hundred good deeds.

The same was true of chefs. The better Xia Chen's cooking had been in the past, the more despair Eevee felt at that moment.

As a result, that meal had left an indelible wound in Eevee's heart.

Even after being reborn, she had been unable to forget it for a very long time.

And now, looking at the identical scene before her, Eevee was on the verge of tears.

If I've committed some crime, then punish me for it. Why do I have to suffer this kind of torture?!