“Let's go, Sprigatito!” Ling You, with his backpack on and a piece of toasted bread in his mouth, said to the newly awakened Sprigatito, who yawned and slowly walked towards Ling You.
“Meow!”
Sprigatito lightly leaped onto Ling You's shoulder. Ling You had been watching the World Championship after making Sprigatito's berry salad last night, and almost ended up being late again today.
Ling You rode a shared bicycle, rushing towards school. Seriously, he should have feigned illness and taken the day off. Ling You's school was in a relatively remote neighborhood. After turning a corner, there was a very steep downhill road.
Normally, one would slow down, but because he was in a hurry, Ling You accelerated directly, speeding down after the turn.
Suddenly, two figures tumbled over the high wall beside him. Ling You looked at the people climbing over the wall in surprise and quickly slammed on the brakes. At this speed, if he hit them, it would be over.
The inertia of the sudden stop flung Ling You off the bike. The moment he took flight, Ling You's mind went blank. 'My life isn't going to end like this, is it? If I had another chance, I would definitely take the day off.'
“Meow~” Sprigatito, however, landed gracefully on the ground. Although the sudden brake had startled Sprigatito, her innate feline agility allowed her to quickly land steadily.
“Student Ling, are you alright?” Lin Qiuyu asked, holding Ling You and looking at his peacefully closed eyes.
“Alright? I'm actually alright!” Ling You only then realized something was wrong. If he hadn't fallen to the ground and died, then where was he now?
Ling You opened his eyes and saw Lin Qiuyu's face. At this moment, Lin Qiuyu was holding Ling You in a bridal carry. After Lin Qiuyu released him and let Ling You stand steady, she explained, “I watched the World Championship a bit late last night, so I took a shortcut and climbed over the wall. I didn't expect to run into you and almost hit you.”
“I also watched the World Championship. Otherwise, I would be leisurely Sleeping in the classroom right now,” Ling You said with a helpless sigh. “Oh, right, did you watch that match yesterday?”
“Which one?” Lin Qiuyu asked curiously. Every match yesterday was exciting, so Lin Qiuyu didn't know which specific one Ling You was referring to.
“It was the internal battle between Grass-type Heavenly King Lin Kong and Dragon Champion Lian Baiying! It was so exciting!” Ling You couldn't help but share with Lin Qiuyu.
“Indeed, I never expected both of them to bring out their strongest teams to battle. It was truly a feast for the eyes. Although the Dragon Champion I supported lost, it was incredibly exciting!” Lin Qiuyu also got excited and started chatting with Ling You.
“Riolu~”
“Meow~”
Riolu and Sprigatito glanced at each other and quickly went to remind their Trainers. Riolu tugged at Lin Qiuyu's sleeve, while Sprigatito jumped onto Ling You's shoulder and waved her paws in front of him.
'Pay attention to the time! You idiot Trainer, aren't you going to be late?' The moment Sprigatito's thoughts entered Ling You's mind, Ling You suddenly realized he was still on his way to school.
“Student Lin, we're going to be late!” Ling You instinctively called out to Lin Qiuyu, then grabbed Lin Qiuyu's arm and ran towards the school.
“Oh no!” Lin Qiuyu also realized. They could have made it, but after chatting for a bit, they were now completely late.
Ling You and Lin Qiuyu, standing in the hallway as punishment, exchanged a smile. Although it was a bit unlucky, this incident brought the two of them much closer.
“Excuse me, I'm looking for Ling You.” During lunch break, Lin Qiuyu came to Ling You's class and politely asked a boy in the front row.
“Ling You, someone's looking for you!” The boy called out to Ling You, who was playing with Sprigatito.
“Coming.” Ling You picked up Sprigatito and walked out.
“Strange, how did you two get so close?” He Pingfan was stunned. It had only been one day, and they were already so familiar.
“Well, it's a bit complicated to explain. Maybe another time.” Ling You waved his hand and walked out. What a joke, was he supposed to tell He Pingfan that a girl gave him a bridal carry? That guy would definitely tease him relentlessly.
“Hey, you two couldn't be…” He Pingfan suddenly thought of a possibility. These two couldn't be together, could they? Could it be love at first sight? After all, Ling You was handsome and refined, even without an official selection, he was a recognized heartthrob, and Lin Qiuyu, needless to say, was the recognized school beauty.
“You're overthinking it. You should focus more on getting stronger and defeating me.” Ling You found He Pingfan's words a bit funny and quickly interrupted him.
“I'll definitely win next time! Just you wait!” He Pingfan said, releasing Scorbunny. “Come on, let's go train.”
“Scor~”
Scorbunny nodded and hopped along with He Pingfan to the sports field.
At this moment, a dense crowd surrounded the battle arena on the sports field, including Ling You and Lin Qiuyu. He Pingfan curiously pushed his way to Ling You's side and asked, “Xiao You, what's going on here?”
“Shh, watch carefully. That's a senior who graduated two years ago, and over there is our battle class Teacher. They're doing a 1-on-1 singles battle,” Ling You explained to He Pingfan.
Lin Qiuyu had originally come to call Ling You to train the new moves their two Pokemon had learned, but they unexpectedly encountered a senior who had returned to visit his alma mater and was now sparring with the battle class Teacher.
“Gallade, Darkest Lariat!” The senior commanded his Gallade to charge at the Teacher's Indeedee. Gallade's arms glowed with a dark aura as he swung them at Indeedee.
“Indeedee, Psyshock!” The Teacher, without a hint of panic, commanded Indeedee to counterattack.
Indeedee extended her hand, concentrating Psychic energy. Indeedee's eyes emitted a light blue glow, and a surge of energy directly struck Gallade, as if someone had brutally hammered Gallade. Gallade, already weak in physical defense, was directly knocked out of the battle arena and lost its ability to fight after taking a Psyshock.
“Gallade is unable to battle, Indeedee wins, so the victor is Teacher Qin!” The student who was pulled in to be the referee announced.
“Teacher Qin, I lost.” The senior recalled his Gallade and said to the woman in front of him.
“While Gallade has poor resistance to physical moves, you can't neglect training in that area,” Teacher Qin said with a smile.
“Understood, then Teacher, I'll go see Teacher Liu first. I'll be leaving now.” The senior finished speaking and walked towards the teaching building. The onlookers also gradually dispersed.
“You are Teacher Qin from the battle class, aren't you?” Lin Qiuyu stepped forward and asked.
“Ah, I am. Is there something I can help you with?” Teacher Qin recalled her Indeedee and replied.
“No, nothing. I'm just surprised, I didn't expect the Teacher to be so young.” Lin Qiuyu had originally thought that the battle class Teacher would be a jaded middle-aged man who had retired from a disappointing Trainer career and found a leisurely job, as most school battle Teachers were like that. Young Trainers like Teacher Qin were mostly active in competitions or striving to become stronger.
“Haha, you must have just been thinking why I'm not a jaded middle-aged man who retired from a disappointing Trainer career, right!” Teacher Qin said.
“Psychic? Teacher Qin, how did you know!” Lin Qiuyu said in surprise.
“You're a bit too straightforward, aren't you?” Ling You couldn't help but retort, but why could Teacher Qin know Lin Qiuyu's thoughts? Could it be?
“I guessed.” Teacher Qin smiled and said, “Alright, I don't have class today, so I'm going to rest. Don't be late for class tomorrow, bye-bye.”
“Goodbye, Teacher.” The three said in unison.