Good morning, Cheng Tian

Before long, the first round ended. The winners beamed, while the losers hung their heads.

The teacher on the field said, "The first round is over. Those who won, don't celebrate too soon, and those who lost, don't be discouraged just yet. We have another round coming up, so get yourselves ready."

At that, hope rekindled in some of the students who had lost, and they eyed the others with rather fierce expressions.

Ten minutes later, the second round began. Everyone fought with all their might to defeat their opponents, and Cheng Tian and his friends were no exception.

Bai Yun's Chimchar faced a Farfetch'd in the second round. As successive uses of Fury Cutter stacked up damage, the move became terrifyingly powerful. The leek sliced through the air with a faint whistling sound.

Chimchar had a tough fight, at one point trading injury for injury. In the end, with one last desperate burst of strength, Chimchar defeated the opponent with Fire Punch.

Su Han's Sylveon faced a Magnemite, but the unfavorable type matchup did not put Sylveon at a disadvantage. Magnemite opened with a piercing Metal Sound, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

Sylveon covered those ears with ribbons too, disgust showing in those big blue Carslan eyes.

For some inexplicable reason, someone below the stage shouted excitedly, "That's right! Look at me like I'm trash!"

Cheng Tian: ...

Your kinks are way too weird!

Once Metal Sound ended, Sylveon swiftly charged at Magnemite with Take Down. Magnemite tried to stop the charge with Thunder Shock, but Sylveon did not dodge at all, taking the hit before slamming straight into Magnemite. Magnemite instantly lost the ability to battle.

Then Sylveon used Wish, healing every injury. Trotting back, Sylveon wrapped ribbons around Su Han's arm, making a lovely picture.

Lin Lin went third among their group. She happened to face a Murkrow, against which Pachirisu had a type advantage, and defeated the opponent within a few exchanges.

Meanwhile, Cheng Tian's Froakie faced a Fighting-type Pokémon, Machop. Reading the information the system provided, Cheng Tian's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

A female... Machop... with a Lonely nature and No Guard...

Cheng Tian held his forehead. How had Froakie managed to run into both of the Pokémon world's notorious online dating traps?

Machop looked at Froakie strangely, flexed her arm muscles, then abruptly turned her gaze toward Froakie.

HEY BOY∽

Froakie inexplicably tensed up and gave Cheng Tian a deeply reproachful look.

Didn't you say there wouldn't be any more opponents like this?!

Cheng Tian could only smile awkwardly. Then the battle began. After dodging a karate chop, Froakie blasted the opponent in the face with Water Pulse, then finished her off with Lick. With that, all four of them had passed the second round.

"All right, you may leave in an orderly fashion. Keep an eye on the group messages tonight. The results should be out this evening," the teacher on the field said.

Everyone headed out. Cheng Tian said goodbye to Bai Yun and the others and set off toward home.

After working hard for two weeks to prepare for the exam, Cheng Tian chose not to ride home with Bai Yun today. It was not far anyway, so he would treat it as a relaxing stroll.

The sun was no longer as hot as it had been at noon and had shifted slightly westward. Cheng Tian did not return Froakie to the Poké Ball, taking his partner along instead.

On the pedestrian bridge, Cheng Tian gazed at the clouds gilded by the sun. The evening breeze swept away the day's frustrations, and his spirits lifted.

"Mmm-" Cheng Tian stretched hard and let out a groan. "The Pokémon world really is the best."

"Froa?" Froakie looked at Cheng Tian in confusion. Cheng Tian chuckled. "You know, Froakie, there are so many wonderful things in this world. The sunset gilds the clouds, and at night, moonlight spills over the courtyard in our neighborhood. When we're watching Naruto in our room, we can open the curtains and see the bright moonlight outside. Doesn't that sound lovely?"

"Froa." Froakie nodded thoughtfully, then hopped onto the bridge railing and stretched just as Cheng Tian had.

"Hehe, that's the way! Enjoy life!"

Below the bridge, a black sedan drove slowly past. "Young miss, how did your exam go today?" Uncle Wang asked from the driver's seat with a warm smile.

"Pretty well. The questions were quite easy, and I won the battles too." Su Han held Sylveon in her arms, a faint smile on her face.

"Oh? You seem to be in a very good mood today, young miss."

Su Han paused. "Do I?" Uncle Wang smiled. "Yes, young miss, you look especially happy today. Did you make some new friends?"

"New friends?" Su Han's hand stilled as she stroked Sylveon's head. "Sylve∽" Sylveon leaned toward Su Han's face and licked her with a little pink tongue. Remembering how she had spent the afternoon eating popcorn with Cheng Tian and his two friends, Su Han smiled faintly. "I suppose so."

"Oh? That's wonderful. You don't make many friends, young miss." Uncle Wang chuckled.

"Sylve?" Looking up from Su Han's arms, Sylveon spotted a familiar boy stretching on the pedestrian bridge outside the window. He seemed to be the person from that afternoon, and Sylveon hurriedly called out.

"Hm?" Su Han looked outside and saw Cheng Tian enjoying the breeze on the bridge, resting his chin on his hands against the railing. Beside him sat Froakie, legs dangling beyond the railing and swinging back and forth. Both boy and Pokémon looked lazy and relaxed.

Cheng Tian's school uniform jacket was unzipped, fluttering in the wind. The golden evening light fell over them, making the scene look like a warm, comforting painting.

Instinctively, Su Han leaned out with her phone and took a picture. "Young miss, that's dangerous! Don't lean out of the window!" Uncle Wang called urgently.

Coming back to her senses, Su Han said apologetically, "Sorry, Uncle Wang. I just took a photo."

"Ah, that's very dangerous. Please don't do it again, young miss." Su Han nodded. "Okay, okay. I won't."

Su Han turned her phone around. On the screen, that moment had been preserved forever. The smile on the boy's face had come out clearly.

"Sylve∽" Sylveon called at the sight of Froakie in the photograph. "Be good, Xianxian. We'll have Pokéblocks when we get home."

"Sylve∽"

Cheng Tian had not noticed Su Han from the bridge. After enjoying the breeze with Froakie for a while, he headed home.

By the time he arrived home, Cheng Tian's Mother had already finished cooking. Seeing Cheng Tian return, Yamper bounded over joyfully, little tongue hanging out.

"I'm home! Haha, good Yamper. Go play with Froakie." Cheng Tian scratched Yamper's head.

"You're back, son! Wash your hands and come eat! How did the exam go today?" As Cheng Tian washed his hands, he answered, "Really well. I won both battles."

"Oh? So you'll make it into Class 1 this time?" Cheng Tian's Father asked with a smile.

Cheng Tian nodded. "I probably will." Cheng Tian's Father looked pleased and finally took out a bank card.

"Tian, this is the money I've set aside for raising your Pokémon. Buy whatever supplements or TMs you need, and take good care of Froakie."

Cheng Tian paused, then felt deeply touched. Taking the bank card, he nodded firmly. "I will, Dad. I'll definitely raise Froakie properly."

Cheng Tian's Mother brought out the final dish, seaweed and egg-drop soup, and patted Cheng Tian's shoulder. "As long as you did well. This whole table of food is for you today."

"Yam! Yam!" Yamper licked Froakie's face. Looking rather helpless, Froakie still patted Yamper's head.

Dinner ended in a warm, cheerful atmosphere. After a quick rinse in the bathroom, Cheng Tian returned to his bedroom and saw Froakie holding his phone. "Watching Naruto again?"

"Froa." Cheng Tian patted Froakie's head. "Let me check QQ first."

Froakie obediently handed over the phone. When Cheng Tian opened QQ, he saw that Bai Yun had already sent messages.

My Wife Miku: Results.docx

My Wife Miku: The results are out. Take a look. (smirk)

Cheng Tian tapped it, only to find that it was not a report card at all. Instead, it showed the five heroines from The Quintessential Quintuplets lying on a bed. He was speechless.

Orange Peel: Have you got nothing better to do? You even made a PPT out of them.

My Wife Miku: Hehehe, I don't show this to just anyone.

My Wife Miku: Results.jap

My Wife Miku: We both ranked pretty high. We'll probably be in the same class again! (excited)

Cheng Tian opened it. Bai Yun ranked twenty-fifth in their year, while he ranked twenty-eighth. That was the result without any academic subjects on the exam, and Cheng Tian had even left some of those ridiculous, ill-conceived questions blank.

Cheng Tian scrolled down and found Lin Lin. She ranked thirty-seventh.

Orange Peel: Saw it. Lin Lin did pretty well too. They'll probably put us together again.

My Wife Miku: Ugh, that annoying girl. (dejected)

My Wife Miku: Look at the name in first place.

Cheng Tian tapped back and saw Su Han's name at the top.

My Wife Miku: Su Han came first this time. She's definitely going to be in our class, so you'd better seize your chance. (smirk)

Orange Peel: Get lost.

After chatting with Bai Yun a little longer, Cheng Tian went back to watching Naruto with Froakie. Meanwhile, in a bedroom on the third floor of Bingzhou's administrative building, Su Han lay on her bed with her hair loose. Her white nightdress had ridden up slightly, and her fair, long legs kicked alternately, revealing a generous expanse of alluring skin. She had also seen her results. Without question, she was first again.

"Sylve∽" Sylveon came in from outside, jumped onto the bed, and gave a soft, babyish cry while nuzzling Su Han's hair. "Xianxian, stop it. My hair isn't dry yet." Su Han rubbed Sylveon's belly helplessly. Like a big cat, Sylveon rolled over to expose a creamy-white belly, letting Su Han stroke it and looking perfectly content.

"Xianxian, why do I feel like you've gotten a lot fatter?"

Sylveon's expression froze, then those cheeks puffed up sulkily as that head turned away.

"Sylve (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)" But the ribbons still wrapped around Su Han's arm plainly betrayed that sulky act.

Amused, Su Han poked Sylveon's puffed-up cheek with a finger. "Sylve 凸(｀0´)凸" Sylveon turned back and caught Su Han's finger between gentle teeth. It did not hurt at all and felt more like licking.

"Makka Pakka, mikka makka, makka pakka..." Just then, her WeChat ringtone sounded. The screen displayed the word "Dad."

Su Han answered, and a narrow-eyed man in his early forties appeared on the screen, dressed in a black suit.

"Han, how did the exam go?" Su Mulin asked with a smile as soon as the call connected.

"First place. Same as always," Su Han said, her indifferent tone making it sound utterly insignificant. "That's my daughter," Su Mulin said, nodding with a smile.

"Was there anything else?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you to get some rest early and not stay up late. Oh, and remember to let Xiaobo out for some fresh air. A little one shouldn't stay in a ball all the time."

Su Han glanced at the desk, where two Poké Balls sat. "Xiaobo played for ages earlier and is tired now."

"All right. Go to bed early, and don't look at your phone lying down. It's bad for your eyes."

"I know." With that, Su Han hung up.

In the mayor's office at city hall, Su Mulin looked helplessly at the words "Call ended."

"Hahaha, Su, your precious daughter hung up on you again, didn't she?" A booming voice rang out. A square-faced middle-aged man dressed much like Su Mulin spoke with a grin.

"Ah, that girl. The older she gets, the less she clings to me. When she was little, she used to follow me around all day." Su Mulin looked thoroughly dejected.

"Can't be helped. Your little padded jacket keeps growing, and it lets in more drafts every year. Once she marries, she'll only be shielding someone else from the wind."

Su Mulin glared. "Get lost, Huang. You just had to poke the sore spot." Huang Haifeng chuckled. "All right, I won't say any more. You've been gone for over twenty years. What suddenly made you think of coming back to a little place like Bingzhou?"

Su Mulin lifted his teacup and took a sip. "Magic City was too exhausting. The Breeders Association had endless things to deal with. I'm getting old and can't manage it all anymore, so I figured I'd come back and retire."

Huang Haifeng curled his lip. "Oh, please. We're the same age. As if I don't know whether you're old. You just wanted to come back and spend some time with Qianqian."

Su Mulin fell silent. Seeing that, Huang Haifeng sighed. "Su, what happened back then wasn't your fault. You don't have to do this."

Su Mulin shook his head. "After Qianqian and I got together, I was always busy with work. I never spent time with her and our daughter. Even at the very end, I didn't make it back in time to see her..."

Huang Haifeng did not know what else to say. After all these years, her death remained a hurdle Su Mulin could not get past. The two grown men sat in silence, drinking their tea.

"Oh, crap! I'm done for! I'm going to be late again!" When Cheng Tian woke up, it was already 7:47.

This time, he really was going to be late. Cheng Tian hurriedly returned the still-sleeping Froakie to the Great Ball and quickly got dressed. Amid Cheng Tian's Mother's nagging and Cheng Tian's Father's morning greeting, he stuffed a few bread rolls and a pouch of milk into his schoolbag and rushed out the door.

"Huff... huff..." On the grounds of Bingzhou No. 1 High School, Cheng Tian gasped for breath. Although he had sprinted the entire way, he had woken up far too late and still failed to make it on time. After reluctantly leaving his name in the duty monitor's notebook, he went to the noticeboard in the first-floor lobby to find his assigned class.

Cheng Tian-Pokémon Class 1

After finding his name, Cheng Tian hurried up to the fourth floor and located Class 1.

When he stepped inside, the classroom was not particularly noisy. Perhaps because the classes had only just been assigned, everyone was still unfamiliar with one another.

"A-Tian, over here!" Bai Yun stood near the back of the classroom and waved, calling his name. Cheng Tian immediately went over. Seeing him drenched in sweat, Lin Lin teased, "Cheng Tian, did you oversleep again?"

Cheng Tian choked on his words. Lin Lin had hit the nail on the head. Just then, a beautiful face behind them suddenly caught his attention.

With a faint smile on her face, Su Han said, "Good morning, Cheng Tian."

New author, new book! Please recommend and bookmark!

Today's update was a little late. There should be one more chapter, so please wait patiently, dear readers.