"A Li?" A trace of bewilderment flickered in Liu Yun's eyes.
Mu Li couldn't help but sigh inwardly: As expected, no one remembers me anymore, huh?
But the next second, Liu Yun's expression changed drastically. There was no longer any bewilderment in her beautiful eyes; instead, there was extreme shock: "A Li? Mu Li? Don't tell me, you're A Li?"
A joyful smile also appeared on Mu Li's face: "I didn't expect Sister to still remember me! That's right, I'm A Li."
Liu Yun no longer had any semblance of a lady at this moment. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, but her head felt as if it were engorged with blood, about to explode.
For Liu Yun now, her ability to hold back from screaming was already an extreme exercise in self-control.
Others might have forgotten the name A Li, but Liu Yun would not forget. She would forever remember the young man who always wore a mask on the competition stage.
About seven years ago, Liu Yun had just resigned from her first job after graduation. That period was when Liu Yun was at her lowest and most confused.
She submitted resume after resume but never found a suitable company. Either she wasn't satisfied with the salary and benefits offered, or the company didn't think highly of her.
At that time, she had fallen into the lowest point of her life.
Her family urged her to go back and get married, and the money she had was dwindling, barely enough to sustain her life.
It was then that she saw Mu Li on television.
At that time, Mu Li was participating in the Olympics, the most watched event in the world.
That year, a total of 64 contestants worldwide qualified, 80% of whom were Champion Level players.
Everyone knew that in such individual competitions, Heavenly King Level trainers were merely a backdrop; they were only there to gain competition experience. The ones who could truly win medals were always those Champion Level players.
And at that time, Mu Li was merely an unknown in the National Team. He also participated in the Pokémon individual battles that year.
At the beginning of the competition, no one was optimistic about him. The internet was filled with insults and sarcasm directed at him.
Almost everyone believed that this entry spot should have been given to more seasoned National Team players, not to such an unknown newcomer.
But that year, the other three Champion players from the National Team, due to bad luck, faced Champion players from other countries early on and were eliminated, not even making it into the top 16.
The unprecedented defeat of the National Team was fiercely criticized by the entire nation. Everyone believed that the National Team was taking money without training, only knowing how to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves, which was why they were in this situation.
But when the list of the top 16 came out, everyone realized that the Heavenly King Level trainer they had been least optimistic about had surprisingly surpassed many Champion Level trainers to enter the world's top 16.
Even so, no one was optimistic about him, believing that he could only stop at the top 16.
Liu Yun also thought so at the time. Back then, she even saw herself in Mu Li.
Ahead were insurmountable peaks. No one was optimistic about her. The only thing she could rely on was herself, but she was so weak, almost as insignificant as dust in the face of those difficulties.
She was like this, and so was Mu Li.
Yet, it was this young man, whom no one had been optimistic about, who, in the subsequent top 16 battles, surpassed all others and won a bronze medal for the National Team.
The world was shocked!
Before him, no one had ever thought that a Heavenly King Level trainer could win a medal at the Olympics, even if it was just a bronze medal.
Mu Li's appearance shattered the world's perception.
Liu Yun would always remember Mu Li's battle when he won the bronze medal. Mu Li commanded the heavily injured Dragonite to unleash its final move, Seismic Toss. It was that almost mutually destructive blow that sealed Mu Li's victory.
She would forever remember that when Dragonite shakily stood up from the ground, two lines of tears streamed down Mu Li's eyes, which seemed to never be moved by anything.
At that moment, Liu Yun fell in love with this young man, or rather, she saw courage in his eyes.
With the courage this young man gave her, she entered an agency, starting as a low-level assistant, and began a brand new life.
And that young man, as she had hoped, soared to great heights.
She had intended to watch the young man's match up close at the next Olympics, but she didn't expect him to retire the year before the Olympics began.
At the time, she couldn't believe it. She thought that young man would accompany her on her journey.
With a final glimmer of hope, she watched the young man's retirement press conference, wanting to hear his explanation.
But when she turned on the television and saw the young man, she understood why he had chosen to retire.
At that moment, what she saw in the young man's eyes was not reluctance, but a kind of loneliness, a kind of melancholy of being unrivaled in the world.
Perhaps he had grown tired of a life without opponents. What was the point of forcing himself to continue?
At that moment, she felt relieved. The resentment and dissatisfaction in her heart quietly faded away, leaving only beautiful blessings for the young man.
She had thought that separation would be forever, but no one would have imagined that five years later, she would meet this young man again.
In that instant, she felt as if she had returned to the past. Like an innocent young girl, she looked at the young man with immense excitement, unable to speak, only silently shedding tears, her heart filled with the joy of reunion.
However, this left Mu Li utterly confused.
What happened?
What did I do?
Why is she crying?
If you're going to cry, why are you crying and laughing at the same time?
...
Looking at Liu Yun, whose emotions were fluctuating before him, Mu Li was at a loss, only able to silently wait for Liu Yun to regain her composure.
It was unclear how long it took before Liu Yun emerged from her memories.
Only then did she realize she had been crying for a long time. She subconsciously pouted and glared at Mu Li: "Hmph! It's all your fault."
In that instant, she felt as if she had returned to eighteen.
"Huh?" Mu Li's eyes widened.
Heaven knows, I didn't do anything.
Once Liu Yun had fully recovered, she began to examine the young man before her.
She covered the lower half of the young man's face with her hand, carefully observed his eyes, and finally nodded in satisfaction, saying, "He really looks like him, but much more mature than before."
Hearing Liu Yun's words, Mu Li was also a little happy: "I didn't expect Sister to truly remember me."
Liu Yun smiled slightly: "More than just remember."
Seeing that she was about to fall into reminiscence again, Liu Yun took a deep breath, forcibly calming her emotions: "I really didn't expect you to be A Li."
Mu Li shrugged, puzzled: "I'm nothing special."
Liu Yun smiled, didn't answer, and started another topic: "What made you decide to become a singer?"
"Because I find performing on stage quite interesting," Mu Li said. "It reminds me of being on the battle stage before."
Liu Yun was startled, seemingly not expecting Mu Li to answer this way, then smiled: "Then why don't you go back to competing?"
Mu Li sighed slightly: "I can't go back."
A hint of confusion flashed in Liu Yun's eyes: "Why can't you go back?"
Mu Li was taken aback, then explained with a bit of embarrassment: "Because they can't beat me!"
Liu Yun was completely stunned. She hadn't expected Mu Li to give such an answer.
Was he too arrogant? Or too confident?
Seeing Liu Yun's reaction, Mu Li vaguely guessed what she was thinking: "Hey, you probably don't know, a large part of the reason I chose to retire five years ago was that I felt the competition lacked challenge."
To Mu Li's surprise, Liu Yun nodded, looking like she already knew: "I thought you just couldn't find an opponent among the active players, but in recent years, there have been quite a few geniuses emerging worldwide..."
Mu Li smiled and shook his head: "Do you know Ortans?"
Liu Yun subconsciously nodded: "Of course, no one who watches Pokémon battles doesn't know him, he's recognized as the world's number one Pokémon trainer."
Mu Li smiled mysteriously: "Five years ago, I battled him. In ten battles, I won eight, drew one, and lost one."
Liu Yun felt that the shock she had received today was simply too much. Even if Mu Li were to say he was Arceus, the Creator God, she wouldn't doubt it now.
Mu Li shrugged, feigning indifference, and said, "So you know why I don't go to the arena anymore, right?"
After a long while, Liu Yun finally recovered: "I must be crazy. If anyone else told me this, I'd just think they were a lunatic."
Mu Li could only smile: Who are you calling a lunatic?
Seeing Liu Yun come back to her senses, Mu Li redirected the conversation back to their collaboration: "Speaking of which, there's still something that needs attention."
Mu Li also told Liu Yun about how other countries forced him to retire five years ago: "If my identity is exposed, the higher-ups will probably place some restrictions on my commercial activities. You need to be mentally prepared for this in advance."
Mu Li was worried that this matter would affect the studio's profits, so he brought it up beforehand.
Who knew that Liu Yun seemed not to have heard the latter part of his sentence and immediately bristled: "I knew the reason for your retirement back then wasn't that simple. What kind of people are those?!"
She cursed for over ten minutes, and Mu Li could only awkwardly agree.
This guy, why does Liu Yun seem even more indignant than him?
Once Liu Yun finished cursing, she waved her hand dismissively: "A Li, don't worry. With me here from now on, I won't let them bully you."
Mu Li couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Then I thank Sister very much."
Liu Yun's pretty face immediately flushed.
However, the main business was finally concluded, and Mu Li felt relieved.
Liu Yun also reverted to her human gossiping nature.
"How's your Dragonite doing now? Can I see him? I love him so much, I even specifically bought a Dragonite pillow..."
"You mean him? He's a brute, fighting at home every day..."
...
The two chatted for a long time until Chichi called Mu Li for dinner, and they finally stopped.
"There's one more day left for this recording, so I won't be accompanying you. When it's time for the next recording, I'll assign you an assistant," Liu Yun said her goodbyes directly. She had a flight booked for Magic City that evening.
Mu Li and Wu Yao were setting up a studio, and there were many trivial matters waiting for her to resolve, so she didn't have time to stay there longer.
"Oh, and don't let Wu Yao know my identity for now. I'm afraid he won't be able to accept the fact that I'm better than him," Mu Li instructed half-jokingly.
"Little fun between brothers, I understand," Liu Yun raised an eyebrow, revealing a strange smile.
Mu Li's expression immediately stiffened: "Sister Liu, not all strange CPs can be shipped."
After Liu Yun left, Mu Li went directly to the private room Chichi had booked.
