“Ding-a-ling!”
Early in the morning, Chen Kai was woken up by a phone call. He groggily answered the phone, and Bai Yuchun's voice came through:
“Xiao Kai, Xiao Kai, I have some shocking gossip! Come to the Botanical Garden quickly, and I’ll tell you!”
“Huh?”
But as soon as Chen Kai uttered a question, the other party immediately hung up.
Having no choice, Chen Kai got up, swayed on the bus, and headed to the Botanical Garden.
Upon arriving at the Botanical Garden, he saw Bai Yuchun pulling Sun Qian and Ye Gai into a corner, whispering.
“Chun Jie, what’s wrong?”
When Bai Yuchun saw Chen Kai, she quickly pulled him over too and chattered away:
“Where was I just now? Oh!
Do you know? The Bai Family and the Long Family have been utterly disgraced this time!
Those two kidnappers were spies from the Western Europe Alliance, did you know?!”
Before Chen Kai and the others could react, Bai Yuchun continued, “The key thing, do you know, is that the person whose arm was shattered in the Bai Family warehouse was actually the mastermind behind those two kidnappers!”
“Huh?” Chen Kai uttered a sound of confusion.
“So he was a traitor! Then why was his arm shattered?” Sun Qian asked.
“This involves the Long Family! Spies also infiltrated the Long Family’s bodyguard team! And it was the globally famous master spy, Mu Li!
He infiltrated the Long Family, came with them to the Bai Family, got the treasure in the Bai Family warehouse, shattered his accomplice’s arm, and ran out.
But not long after, I heard he fainted from excessive blood loss and was discovered by the police!
And I heard that nothing was found on him. Some people speculate that he has another accomplice who hasn't been caught, and others guess he hid the treasure somewhere in the Capital City.”
Chen Kai thought to himself: So that person wasn’t a security guard…
The Bai Family’s treasure was hidden somewhere in the Capital City, which most likely means it was hidden in his own home and Miraidon’s belly…
“Should we go look for it?” Sun Qian excitedly suggested.
Bai Yuchun also said with anticipation, “We can! I heard the stolen items are worth hundreds of millions! Elite Bai Zhuo’s most cherished Dragon Scales, and the Bai Family Chieftain’s most treasured Millennium Ginseng, are all gone!
If we find them, we’ll be rich!”
Damn it! Hundreds of millions were eaten by Miraidon in a few bites? And it even thought they didn’t taste good! Chen Kai felt a bit helpless to complain.
Bai Yuchun took a sip of water and continued, “And I heard that because of this, the Bai Family Chieftain and the Long Family Chieftain fought fiercely! The Bai Family blamed the Long Family for bringing spies, and the Long Family accused the Bai Family of poor security. The two old men beat each other up, their faces scratched! Hahahaha!
Now the two families have become the laughingstock of the Dragon Kingdom. Do you know what people are saying online? It’s 2025, and they’re still doing this family business, but spies know what color underwear their family members are wearing.
When I saw that, my face cramped from laughing, haha!”
Chen Kai suddenly realized: “Hey! Chun Jie, you said there was a person in the Bai Family warehouse, his arm was shattered, and he was a foreign spy?”
Bai Yuchun nodded and replied, “Yes! An old man, he doesn’t have a grandson at all, and he even hired a child to impersonate his grandson to get into your pre-high school competition. Do you know him?”
“Is that old man surnamed Hu? Is he from the Capital City Research Institute?”
“That’s right, you know him? I heard he’s even a Section Chief, someone with some status. Now that it’s exposed he’s a spy, I heard the Capital City Pokémon Research Institute exploded!”
Chen Kai frowned and said, “That’s troublesome. My uncle’s maternal grandfather introduced him to enter the Bai Family competition.”
Chen Kai also blamed himself; if he hadn't caused trouble, his uncle wouldn’t have owed Section Chief Hu a favor.
Bai Yuchun was a bit surprised: “Ah! Was he introduced by Grandpa Wei Min? That is a bit troublesome.”
Chen Kai said remorsefully, “Yes, it’s my fault too. Chun Jie, Teacher Ye, I’ll go home and see my maternal grandfather first.”
Bai Yuchun said, “Xiao Kai, then go back and see Grandpa.
But it’s nothing, the Bai Family Main House isn’t anything good anyway. At worst, we just don’t associate with them; it’s not like we’ll lose a piece of meat. I don’t even want to see those old men from the Bai Family, but unfortunately, my grandfather always refuses.”
At this moment, Ye Gai also stood up and said, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Sun, I’ll give you two a day off. Be careful.”
Sun Qian happily waved: “Yay!”
Then Ye Gai patted Chen Kai’s shoulder and said, “Xiao Chen, you don’t need to worry too much about the Bai Family. You are my student; you can contact me anytime if anything happens.
Also, regarding the honey apple, you don’t need to worry too much; I will help you figure out a solution.”
Chen Kai didn’t expect Teacher Ye Gai to say that. After all, he was only introduced by Chun Jie for temporary special training, but Teacher Ye Gai clearly treated him as his own student.
Chen Kai was quite touched. He scratched his head and said, “Actually… I don’t need the honey apple anymore.”
Everyone was a bit confused: “Hmm?”
Chen Kai hesitated for a moment, then called out Dipplin from his Poké Ball.
Bai Yuchun suddenly realized and said, “Ah! You little rascal! Did you perhaps fish in troubled waters and get a honey apple in there?”
Chen Kai considered his words carefully and said, “Something like that.”
Bai Yuchun complained, “You didn’t even tell me to come along. If I had gone, I would have emptied the Bai Family warehouse!”
Ye Gai smiled and said, “Alright, since it has already evolved, then there’s no problem. If anyone asks about the honey apple later, you can say I gave it to you.
You still have a few days before school starts, right? If you’re willing, you can continue training in the Botanical Garden these days.”
“Okay, thank you, Teacher Ye!” Chen Kai said gratefully.
Although he wasn't afraid of the Bai Family, having Ye Gai cover for him would give him a better explanation for his family.
Chen Kai jogged away from the Botanical Garden.
Having a day off, Sun Qian quickly pulled Bai Yuchun out to go shopping and play.
As Sun Qian walked, she said to Bai Yuchun with some confusion, “Teacher seems especially concerned about Xiao Kai. He wasn’t even that concerned about our senior brother.”
Bai Yuchun asked mysteriously, “Do you know why?”
“Why?”
Bai Yuchun chuckled, “You don’t know, do you? Teacher’s ace, Vine, originally had F-rank aptitude! And most of Teacher’s Pokémon don’t have high aptitude.”
Sun Qian was a bit stunned: “Are you implying…?”
“Yes, Xiao Mei also has F-rank aptitude, and based on my many years of experience, that Applin’s aptitude clearly wasn’t very high when it first arrived in the Capital City.”
Sun Qian recalled the scene of her and Quilladin losing to Xiao Mei and exclaimed, “Oh my god, I thought that Flaaffy had A-rank aptitude! Its Thunderbolt is so powerful.”
“So the reason Teacher thinks highly of Xiao Kai is probably because he sees his younger self, right? I heard that when Teacher was young, he often mocked his opponents:
There are only bad trainers, no useless Pokémon!”
