Another day passed in the blink of an eye. It had been two days since Cynthia left the Pokémon Day Care.
Fang Yan got up early that morning and, with help from Gengar and the other Pokémon at the Day Care, finished all the chores ahead of time.
Then he sent Dali to pick up Shauna while he sat in the lounge with Vulpix in his arms. The other Pokémon sat nearby, quietly watching television.
The Sinnoh League's League Conference was being held today, with Rotom providing a live broadcast of the entire event.
Holding a small brush, Fang Yan gently brushed the fur on Vulpix's back, working his way down to the tail. The fur on the tail had slowly begun changing from white to red, but it still showed no signs of splitting into six tails.
He believed that with his care and the rich nutrition available at the Day Care, Vulpix would soon become a true Vulpix.
"Good morning, Uncle! Good morning, everyone!"
Shauna's voice came from the doorway. Fang Yan turned to see her holding a large bunch of flowers as she slid down Dali's body.
"Good morning, Shauna, and Chingling too."
"Ching-ching~"
Shauna wore her hair in two buns, one on either side of her head. Paired with her beautiful princess dress, she looked utterly adorable.
Carrying her flowers, Shauna came over to Fang Yan and took the honey water he offered with one hand, gulping it all down in one go.
"Uncle, these are for you."
Fang Yan watched as she gently pulled two flowers from the bunch in her hands and offered them to him.
He accepted them and looked at the wildflowers in his hand. Their stems were of uneven lengths, and they were the sort of wildflowers found everywhere along the roadside. Some stems had snapped from being clutched tightly in her little hands, and some petals were barely hanging on.
"This one's for Gengar, this one's for Petilil, and these are for Dali, Er Li, San Li, Mime Jr., and Vulpix. The rest are for the Staravia who protected me yesterday."
Even Fang Yan could not tell Er Li and San Li apart, yet Shauna identified them without a single mistake.
"Gengar-(◦˙▽˙◦)"
"Lili~"
"Ni-keh." ×3
"Mime-mime~"
"Vul~"
Starly stared blankly at the flowers Shauna had given it.
I get some too?
Once she had handed out all the flowers, Fang Yan reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead and said, "Thank you, Shauna. We all love them."
Shauna gave him an impossibly adorable smile.
"Where did you pick these flowers, Shauna? They're so pretty."
"When Dali came to pick me up today, I saw them on the way. I thought they were really pretty, so I asked Dali to take me over to pick some and bring them here for all of you."
"Because I thought, if it weren't for you, Uncle, I might never have met Gengar and everyone, or Little Jingle, and I might not be this happy every day."
"So I wanted to repay you and Gengar and everyone, but I'm too little, and there are lots of things I can't do. So I'll do my best at the work you asked me to do. Then I saw how pretty these flowers were, so I picked them and brought them here for all of you. I hope you can be happy every day."
Shauna's cheeks were bright red, and she paused for a long time as she spoke, but Fang Yan, Gengar, and the others still listened attentively without interrupting her.
When she finished, Vulpix jumped down from Fang Yan's lap and came over to Shauna's feet.
After another glance at the flowers in his hand, Fang Yan handed them to Gengar, stood up, and reached out with both hands to lift Shauna into his arms.
"How is my little Shauna so adorable?"
Fang Yan looked at Shauna in his arms and smiled. "You know, this is your home. You don't need to think so much about it, all right?"
Shauna gazed at Fang Yan with bright, dewy eyes. "That's why I want to make you a little happier every day."
"When you're happy, we're happy too."
"Then I want to make you even happier, every single day, just like Shauna and Little Jingle."
"Every day, you have to be even happier than Shauna is when the grandpas and grandmas who order herbal tea praise Shauna and the Day Care."
Fang Yan froze for a moment. Then he reached out and brushed a finger over her cute little nose, saying softly, "Then you have to be even happier every day too."
Shauna's eyes darted about before she said in a clear, sweet voice, "Okay! Shauna will be happier every day, a little happier today than yesterday, and a little happier tomorrow than today."
"Then you have to promise Shauna you'll be just like Shauna every day too, Uncle."
"All right~"
Fang Yan answered with a smile.
"You too, Gengar and everyone."
All the Pokémon immediately voiced their agreement.
The words of an innocent heart could always touch people when they least expected it-childlike innocence, childlike words.
After playing with Shauna for a while, Fang Yan set her down and collected all the flowers from the Pokémon. He took out some scissors to trim the stems, then found a treasured vase and arranged the flowers inside. After tidying the petals as well, they looked quite beautiful.
After all, this was Shauna's first gift to him and everyone at the Day Care, so Fang Yan placed it in the most prominent spot on the counter.
On the left was the group photo with Cynthia, and on the right was the group photo with Xia Lan and the others.
Looking at Shauna, who had been following along beside him, Fang Yan set down the vase and picked her up again. "Shauna, actually, I've been happy every day since I came here."
Back in the lounge, Fang Yan set her on a chair and sat beside her. With a group of Pokémon gathered around them, he continued:
"There aren't any tedious, annoying social obligations here, or endless overtime, or endless scoldings. Instead, with Gengar, all of you, and this Day Care here, all I need to do every day is water the plants, loosen the soil in the growing area, pull a few weeds now and then, have afternoon tea, and make delicious food for you."
"I've grown more and more fond of these days, playing with Petilil now and then, sparring with Gengar, watching Dali and the others wrestle, teaching Mime Jr. to make delicious food, and petting Vulpix."
After living through a nine-to-nine, six-days-a-week work schedule, who could turn down a life like this?
Fang Yan silently thought to himself.
The Pokémon listened quietly, but Shauna was completely lost. There were many things she did not understand.
Seeing her frown as she tried hard to understand, Fang Yan could not help bursting into laughter.
After laughing for a while, he patted her little head and said, "It's all right. All you need to know is that I'm happy every day too."
"Mm-hmm."
Shauna nodded happily.
She understood that part. Uncle had said he was happy every day too.
As for everything he had said before that, she did not understand and planned to ask her parents when she went home that evening.
Mom and Dad should know what it means, right?
Shauna held Petilil in her arms, with Chingling sitting on her shoulder as usual. Her little hand gently stroked the top of Petilil's head.
Ever since she discovered that Fang Yan liked patting the top of her head, she had taken after him and grown fond of stroking Petilil's little head too.
While she was still thinking, the ceremonial cannon salute announcing the opening of the League Conference rang out from the television.
"The conference has started."
Fang Yan's words brought her attention back, and she turned to look at the television.