Just as Li Chen was incredibly awkward and didn't know what to say to break the silence, the old man suddenly sighed, his voice becoming low, and his eyes softening considerably.
"My dear grandson, you must listen. Grandpa is old and doesn't know how many more years he can last. So you must grow up quickly. Only the two of us, grandfather and grandson, are left in the Li family. In the future, you will have to support it alone. It's not that I can't bear to leave, it's that I'm worried about you!"
The old man's voice was very old and low, with a hint of sadness and self-mockery on his face.
Listening to the old man's extremely sincere words, as if he were making his last arrangements, Li Chen felt very uncomfortable and didn't know what to say to comfort him.
Finally, he could only call out, "Grandpa," with red eyes and a choked voice.
"Brat, boys bleed, but don't cry. Don't be so sentimental. Grandpa won't fall before you've grown up."
"Let's go. Grandpa and I will try the food you made."
The old man suddenly reverted to his usual dignified demeanor, telling his eldest disciple to stay and handle challenges from Gym challengers.
He, meanwhile, dragged his old body through the Gym hall and arrived at the backyard.
In the dining room, the table was indeed filled with dishes and two bottles of good wine.
The old man stared at Li Chen with an incredulous and astonished expression, making Li Chen feel embarrassed.
How much of a scoundrel must his predecessor have been to make the old man distrust him so much? It was just cooking a meal, not a big deal.
"Alright, my grandson can cook now. This is a good thing. I'm happy today, so I must have a drink."
"Grandson, why are you still standing? Sit down quickly and pour the wine."
The old man looked at the table full of dishes, his old face beaming with smiles, and he clumsily took photos of all the dishes with his phone.
"Yes!"
Li Chen responded to the old man's call, quickly opened the two bottles of good wine, and filled the old man's glass.
Then, Li Chen also sat down and ate with the old man, immediately refilling the old man's glass whenever it was empty.
As they ate, the old man suddenly realized something and picked up a bottle of wine.
"Xiao Chen, you made all the food yourself, so did you buy this wine too?"
The old man put down the wine and asked with a half-smile.
"Of course! I made the food. If I didn't buy the wine, did it fall from the sky?"
Li Chen pretended not to see the old man's half-smile and replied shamelessly.
"You haven't changed, kid. You even dare to fool me. These two bottles of wine are clearly good wines I collected in my cellar, and I've frozen your bank card. Where did you get the money to buy good wine? Tell me, did you go to the wine cellar and steal my good wine again?"
"Grandpa, your eyesight is so good, you saw it right away. I did take it from the wine cellar, but I didn't steal it, I took it."
"Besides, I had no choice! I wanted to buy you wine myself, but my bank card is frozen, and I don't have a single penny. It's so hot, and I can't even afford to buy a slice of iced watermelon."
Seeing that the old man had recognized it, Li Chen gave a thumbs-up, admitted it directly, and then used buying wine as an excuse to complain to the old man.
"Oh, stop it. You're talking as if you're so pitiful. You eat my food, live in my house, drink my drinks. You don't spend any money at home. Otherwise, you would have jumped up already."
"Before, you often took things from the Gym to sell outside and exchange for money."
The old man wasn't angry at all. He took a sip of wine and then exposed some of Li Chen's past misdeeds.
Li Chen was so embarrassed he could barely face anyone. He had already cursed his predecessor thousands of times in his heart. That predecessor was truly a scoundrel, capable of anything.
The old man had a very happy meal, his smile never fading. Li Chen poured wine for the old man while chatting about childhood memories.
After the meal, the auntie started clearing the dishes, the old man, having drunk too much, went back to rest, and Li Chen also returned to his room.
However, Li Chen tried every trick, exhausted every method to get the old man to unfreeze his bank card, even resorting to emotional appeals at the end.
The old man didn't fall for it and consistently refused, brushing him off with a phrase like, "I'll consider it."
At this moment, Li Chen was restless. By the time the old man woke up, it would probably be tomorrow, and even if his bank card was unfrozen then, the Shiny Charmander would have already been swiped.
Moreover, the system could only be bound to his personal bank card, not others. Even if he were to apply for a new bank card now, there wouldn't be enough time.
At this time, the staff at the dog bank would have already gone off duty.
Having no other choice, Li Chen decided to take a risky approach: bribe the Gengar in the greenhouse garden to help him hypnotize the old man, and then, without anyone knowing, use the old man to unfreeze his bank card.
However, just then, his phone in his pocket chimed with a new message notification.
Li Chen seemed to have a premonition, quickly pulled out his phone, opened it, and indeed, it was a notification message about his bank card being unfrozen.
"Grandpa, you are truly too good! Although I may not necessarily inherit the Gym, I will definitely take care of you in your old age. I will never disappoint you!"
Li Chen was incredibly excited upon seeing the message that his bank card had been unfrozen, filled with gratitude towards the old man.
With his bank card unfrozen, the first thing Li Chen did was to have the system reopen that illusory interface and instantly purchase all three limited-time offer items.
As the words "Successfully purchased" appeared next to the three items, three things suddenly appeared on the table in front of him.
At the same time, his phone also received several new debit messages.
Li Chen opened his phone and saw that the deduction was from a very famous domestic company. He hadn't expected the system to be so capable and considerate.
Even if someone discovered something later, they wouldn't be able to find any useful information.
Then, Li Chen put away his phone and examined the three items on the table.
The largest item was naturally the box of exquisitely packaged Dragon-type High-Grade Energy Cubes, and the smallest was undoubtedly the pristine, incredibly sharp Dragon Fang, which looked like the tooth of some animal.
Finally, there was a Poké Ball. Unsurprisingly, the incredibly cool and strongest Charmander in history was inside.
Li Chen didn't open the Dragon-type High-Grade Energy Cubes for now because his Salamence wasn't here. He could let Salamence try the taste of the Dragon-type High-Grade Energy Cubes later.
Then, he picked up the Dragon Fang and examined it carefully for a while, but couldn't discern anything, so he carefully put the Dragon Fang away to use for his Salamence in the future.
Finally, only a Poké Ball remained on the table. He swallowed hard, then reached out and grabbed the incredibly precious Luxury Ball, because inside lived a Shiny Charmander with Master-level potential.