Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

Mingyi was indignant. "Do you really think I still can't beat you next time?"

Xia Chen thought for a moment and replied, "The main reason is that I don't think the Niangguang Dojo will be open tomorrow."

Mingyi asked, puzzled, "Why? Niangguang Dojo is known for its hard work. Unless Qishu has something to do, it opens on time every weekday without fail, rain or shine."

"Something might happen tomorrow."

Xia Chen replied casually and then went back to texting.

Seeing Xia Chen replying to messages even while walking, Mingyi suspiciously guessed, "Could it be related to you? Are you chatting with Qishu?"

"No, I'm talking to the managers of those two restaurants and asking them to let me know if they hear of any other restaurants experiencing similar situations."

With that, Xia Chen handed the phone screen to Mingyi in an annoyed manner, trying to dispel the little jealous girl's suspicions.

"I'm sorry."

Mingyi's most endearing trait is that she never argues back; she timidly apologizes for her misunderstanding.

Just as Xia Chen was about to make a few teasing remarks, his Rotom phone suddenly rang.

"Loto's calling! Loto's calling!"

Xia Chen glanced at the caller ID and saw it was an unfamiliar number from Niangguang City.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, already having some guesses in his mind.

When the call connected, a slightly high-pitched female voice came from the other end, "Hello, is this Mr. Xia Chen?"

"I am Xia Chen, and who are you?"

Xia Chen led Mingyi to a chair in the square and sat down, attracting a group of bean pigeons, who were probably wild, to come and beg for food.

…………

"Hello Mr. Xia Chen, my name is Adrina, and I am Qi Shu's agent. I am looking for a collaboration with you. Do you have time to discuss this in person?"

Hearing the perfectly warm voice on the other end of the phone, Xia Chen smiled slightly.

Just like the teddy bear smelled something sweet, it followed the scent and found its way here.

"Let's skip meeting. I have something to do later. Let's talk on the phone."

Xia Chen's indifferent attitude did not dampen Adrina's enthusiasm. She conceded, "No problem. Here's the thing, I'd like to plan a collaborative video between Qishu and you. The content can be related to Pokémon or not, such as a travel guide to Brewmaster City. Would you be interested?"

"No."

Xia Chen's decisive refusal clearly surprised the person on the other end of the phone. After a few seconds of silence, Adrina said, "Mr. Xia Chen, please reconsider. Cooperation would be beneficial to you in many ways. Qi Shu is a popular content creator with millions of followers, and the traffic he attracts would help boost your fame even further."

Stopping from feeding the pigeons, Xia Chen suddenly said, "Excuse me for interrupting, but to make our conversation more efficient, I have to correct something. I don't care about fame, and being a content creator on Pixiv is just a hobby, not a career. Okay, you can continue."

After a long silence, Adriana finally said, "Alright, then please state your request."

As a shrewd person, she naturally understood Xia Chen's implied meaning.

If Xia Chen really wasn't interested, he could have hung up the phone long ago; why bother explaining so much?

The point of saying all this is to convey that you are asking me for a favor in this cooperation, so don't talk about a win-win situation.

Having finally taken control of the situation, Xia Chen leisurely said, "I want to meet with Qi Shu alone and talk to her."

Adrina frowned slightly. "I'm Qishu's agent; it's more efficient to talk to me."

Xia Chen pursed his lips and interrupted directly, "Don't rush me. Agree to this request first, then we can talk. I have something to do, so I'll hang up now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Why did you bring up this condition?

Mingyi sat next to Xia Chen, and the conversation was not deliberately concealed, so Mingyi naturally heard most of it.

She didn't ask the question out of jealousy; she was simply curious about Xia Chen's reasons for doing so.

Xia Chen stretched. "Why? Maybe it's out of curiosity. Aren't you curious about what the strange tree looks like underneath?"

What he didn't say was that he was even more curious about why Qishu, as a gym leader, seemed to be acting against his will.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Xia Chen put the matter aside for the time being and asked with a smile, "I heard there's a very famous high-tech amusement park in Niangguang City. Do you want to go?"

"Messi!"

Before Mingyi could answer, Xiaoduolong started dangling in front of Xia Chen to make his presence known.

Undoubtedly, amusement parks are exactly what this playful guy wants.

Mingyi tugged at the little dragon's tail, which was wagging excitedly in the air, and smiled, "Okay, it's still early before mealtime anyway."

…………

The overwhelmingly positive reviews of Brewlight Park are not without reason. Whether it's humanoid Pokémon like Gardevoir and Zoroark, medium-sized Pokémon like Sylveon, or even small Pokémon like Dragapult and Goomy, the park has facilities for them to enjoy.

The afternoon passed quickly, and Xia Chen and the elves had a great time.

If there were a panel or something similar, Xia Chen felt that it would be something like "The elf's happiness level +100, and your intimacy level with the elf +100".

After the tour, it was lunchtime, so Xia Chen followed the guidance of the money-seeking spirit to another elf restaurant, and then easily arrested and interrogated the money-seeking spirit.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Master Xia, exhausted from a long day, counted his gold coins, marking the end of his second day in Niangguang City.

"81, 82, and 83 are a total of 83 completely mutated coins."

Xia Chen weighed the heavy gold coins in his hand and muttered to himself.

The 83 coins represent all the gold coins found in the three Treasure Chests, including the one belonging to the Treasure Chest owner.

Of course, in addition to these, there are 179 coins with different golden lusters that have not yet been fully transformed.

Xia Chen didn't know how many gold coins were needed for the evolution of the Money-Gathering Spirit; to be precise, he wasn't even sure if this was the way the Money-Gathering Spirit evolved.

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long."

After putting all the coins into the Money Spirit's treasure chest to continue the mutation, Xia Chen took out his phone, Rotom.

"Xiao Luo, check if there were any missed calls this afternoon?"

"There were two missed calls from the same number that I received in the afternoon."

Only two? That woman is quite patient.

Xia Chen clicked his tongue and said, "Xiao Luo, call back."

"Okay Lotto!"

Rotom responded and then dialed the number. After two dial tones, the call was answered.

"Hello, Mr. Xia Chen."

Adrina's voice was calm and unhurried, showing no sign of annoyance at being stood up for hours.

"Sorry, I just finished. I asked Rotom to turn off Do Not Disturb mode earlier."

"It's okay, I saw the video you uploaded. It got over a million views in two hours, which is an amazing level of fan engagement."

Xia Chen was slightly speechless. Did this guy think his actions were a show of force?

Actually, he just felt bad about not updating for so long, so he took the opportunity to film a travel vlog at the amusement park with the elves, and also to test Rotom's video shooting and editing skills.

Forget it, let’s just misunderstand.

"So, what do you think of my terms?"

Xia Chen didn't have time to beat around the bush and asked directly.

Adrina had clearly thought it through long ago, and immediately replied, "No problem, you can decide the time and place for the meeting."

Xia Chen didn't stand on ceremony, "Then let's do it tomorrow morning. We'll meet at Oliva Elf Restaurant, is that alright?"

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

After setting a time to meet Qi Shu, Xia Chen sat in his chair, slightly lost in thought.

He felt that he was acting strangely today. He could have simply refused that person's request, but instead he got involved in something that had nothing to do with him.

Is it just out of curiosity?

Xia Chen himself couldn't explain it clearly.

If he really wanted to get to the bottom of it, he thought of the look in Qi Shu's eyes on the battlefield. Through that look, Xia Chen saw a tired and bewildered soul.

Ha, when did I become such a saint?

Xia Chen shook his head slightly and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Mingyi, do you think I'm being nosy?"

He suddenly asked his childhood sweetheart, who knew him best.

Mingyi, holding the Liangjilong that had fallen asleep from playing too much with Xiaoduolong, replied without hesitation, "No, I think it's fine this way. Just do what you want to do. Traveling is supposed to be relaxing. Thinking too much will only make you tired."

Xia Chen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with relief, "I never thought I'd be the one to be ridiculed by an idiot like you."

Mingyi said, embarrassed and annoyed, "Hey, who are you calling an idiot?"

"Idiot is cursing you!"

Xia Chen deliberately fell into the trap.

"Haha, you admit it, you idiot!"

Mingyi, who had finally outsmarted Xia Chen once, clapped and celebrated joyfully, but woke up Liangjilong, who had just fallen asleep in her arms.

"goo"

A confused sound came from Liangjilong's throat, and Mingyi quickly stroked her body again to coax her to sleep.

He even looked up and mouthed the word "idiot" to Xia Chen.

Xia Chen shook his head and smiled, "What an idiot."

…………

The following morning, in a private room at the Oliva Restaurant atop the Brewing Tower.

Xia Chen and Ming Yi sat facing the two women in silence.

Mingyi curiously observed the younger girl among them. With her smooth, black hair and delicate, beautiful features, she was undoubtedly an extremely beautiful girl.

But no one could possibly connect her with that popular streamer, Kisuke!