Xia Henao generously welcomed the two in, asking, "What's the matter? You two look like the sky is falling."
Yu Longdu handed his phone to Xia Henao, motioning him to watch the video playing on it. "Boss Xia, you just revealed your new Pokémon so easily? When this news first broke online, no one could confirm it. After all, people say anything these days. Every now and then, someone claims to have seen you parading around with some Pokémon. Even Arceus has been targeted. But by you posting this, you've confirmed it, haven't you?"
Xia Henao nodded. "Yes, confirmed. So what? Is there anything wrong with it? I just wanted everyone to know I have a Breloom, so I could leverage their collective efforts to save my time. I have to say, the methods netizens came up with to deal with Breloom are quite complete; I hadn't even considered so many aspects."
Xia Henao scrolled through the comments under his video, nodding. "Hmm, this move is good, I'll have to remember it. But seeing this reminds me of something even more interesting."
As he spoke, Xia Henao suddenly realized Shen Yu was also in the training room and immediately asked her, "Xiao Yu, did you come to see me about something?"
Shen Yu nodded. "Yes, it's almost dinner time. I came to ask what you want to eat tonight?"
Yu Longdu was taken aback. "No, that's not what you were saying earlier. Weren't you also very concerned about why he did this?"
Shen Yu smiled. "I was very worried initially, but after seeing Xia Xia so confident, I'm not worried anymore. He must have his reasons for doing this."
Yu Longdu muttered to himself, *You two are both crazy. I've never seen anything like it!*
To find out Xia Henao's specific intentions, Yu Longdu decided to lure them to Yu Rui's shop, have Yu Rui distract Shen Yu, and then he could gather information. So, Yu Longdu said, "How about this? Rui'er has made some new snacks recently. Why don't you all go try them?"
Shen Yu looked at Yu Longdu. "Didn't you call her Xiao Rui before? Why are you calling her Rui'er now?"
"None of your business. She's my girlfriend, and I'll call her whatever I want. You can have Old Xia call you that too."
Shen Yu glanced at Xia Henao. "Xia Xia would never call me that. It's too mushy."
Xia Henao also nodded. "Yes, if I called Shen Yu 'daughter,' would she call me 'dad'?"
The two of them were stunned. Even if the pronunciation was similar, it wasn't right to take advantage like that. Shen Yu's small hand was already targeting Xia Henao's waist. "Sure, if you dare to call me daughter, I'll dare to call you dad. How about it, want to enjoy your daughter's massage service? But don't forget to give me pocket money."
Xia Henao felt a pang in his stomach. This was definitely taught to her by Tong Ruo; no one else would do something like this. It seemed he would have to educate Xiao Yu properly in the future, not to learn too much from Tong Ruo. Even though he had tried such useless things before.
"Alright, alright, let's go. Weren't you saying Yu Rui has new desserts? Let's go see."
Xia Henao, unwilling to dwell on the so-called "father-daughter relationship" for too long, quickly shifted the topic to Yu Rui's shop.
The group arrived at Yu Rui's small shop. With Yu Rui's help, Tong Ruo's attention was indeed drawn away. It was then that Yu Longdu began to inquire about Xia Henao's thoughts. "Boss Xia, what exactly are you thinking?"
Xia Henao sat down. "I have a Breloom in my hand right now, but I never said I would use it. Why do you insist I'll use Breloom in the tournament?"
"If you weren't going to use it, why would you have caught it?"
"See? Everyone thinks the same way. I caught a Breloom at such a critical juncture, so I must use it in the upcoming competition. This way, I can draw some of everyone's attention to Breloom. This will give my other Pokémon, like Guagua, more room to perform. You know, even in the finals, it's only a three-on-three match. It's normal for me to have two Pokémon as decoys."
Yu Longdu understood Xia Henao's thinking. "Then, Old Xia, why didn't you catch one more? To complete a full team of six Pokémon? Wouldn't that draw even more attention?"
"A'Du, I have a task for you. Go catch two Pokémon right now, and then take them and win the championship for me."
Yu Longdu shook his head. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Can I train two Pokémon in such a short time?"
Xia Henao propped his chin. "Hmm, well said. You can't train two Pokémon, so why do you think I can? What do you take me for? An immortal?"
Yu Longdu nodded. "Yes, I do think of you as an immortal. I truly believe you can do it."
Xia Henao thought for a long time, then nodded under Yu Longdu's expectant gaze. "You're right, I actually can do it. Although it's impossible to train two Pokémon to Guagua's level of combat power in just a few days, it's still possible to have a back-and-forth exchange once they're on the field."
Yu Longdu was confused. "Then why didn't you choose them? Were you afraid others wouldn't waste their energy?"
Xia Henao leaned back. "Mainly because it's too tiring. Training one Breloom already made my vacation very exhausting. Adding another one, is that still a vacation?"
As he spoke, Xia Henao glanced around. Seeing that only the two of them were in the shop, he continued, "Don't forget what this competition is for. I'm somewhat preparing for that time."
"I see. I understand now."
"It's good that you understand. I will continue to hide my strength. For that goal, I will strive to rank fourth."
Striving to rank fourth? What did that even mean? Who enters a competition aiming for anything less than first place? And how could he be so sure he'd get fourth? That was even more outrageous than claiming he could win first.
"Have you heard the saying 'once is enough, twice is too much'? I must make it so that once is enough and twice is also enough."
Yu Longdu exclaimed, "No need, no need, Boss Xia. I beg you, at least play a few more serious matches. If you withdraw directly after reaching the top four, that would be so inhumane. At least pretend to play a few games."
Unexpectedly, Xia Henao's eyes widened, and he slammed the table. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
This immediately drew the attention of the two girls in the back kitchen. Shen Yu and Yu Rui came forward. "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so angry? Don't quarrel."
Xia Henao, playing the victim, said, "It's all because of this kid! He actually wants me to throw matches. Do you think this is something a person would say?"
Upon hearing Xia Henao's words, Yu Rui nodded. "Boss Xia is right. Yu Longdu, how could you ask Boss Xia to throw matches?"
Yu Longdu quickly explained, "No, I didn't mean that. What I meant was, if he insists on withdrawing, it would be more appropriate to throw matches than to withdraw."
The words "withdraw" were even more alarming than "throw matches." Shen Yu looked at Xia Henao and asked, "Are you really going to withdraw?"
Xia Henao nodded. "Yes, I think ranking fourth is very suitable. If I defeat all my opponents at once, it would actually make the league look worse. Think about it, a young person under twenty winning the championship for the under-twenty-five category. Isn't that clearly proving that the universities' training is inadequate? So, to leave some room for the various universities, I've decided to withdraw after reaching the top four."
Shen Yu believed him halfway after hearing this, but she still asked, "Then why withdraw at the top four?"
Xia Henao explained, "The fourth place ranking is the best. On one hand, it shows my strength, and on the other hand, it avoids any other trouble. Think about it, if I win the semi-finals and then give up the finals, I'll get second place. This not only doesn't save the league's face but also leads people to say the champion won because the runner-up withdrew. This is not beneficial to the league. Moreover, getting second place would make me even more unwilling."
Shen Yu nodded. "Yes, you're right. I support you."
Yu Longdu was on the verge of tears. "Is this the time to favor kinship over reason? What he said isn't right at all."
Even so, Yu Longdu had no way of reversing Xia Henao's decision. And so, in this small room, Xia Henao's ranking was decided. Not only that, but Xia Henao had also considered another issue: making Mu Zhishui the team captain, or at least the vice-captain.
Since Xia Henao intended to conceal his strength, his influence within the team would be insufficient. Even with a trump card in hand, a fourth-place finish was still fourth place. Therefore, he would need to use other means to gain some decision-making power. The best way was to have Mu Zhishui take the lead.
So, while the two girls went to the backyard, Xia Henao waved at Yu Longdu. "Think of a way. I want to face Mu Zhishui in the semi-finals. This way, she'll at least be in the top two. Do you understand what I mean?"
Yu Longdu considered for a long time, then nodded. "Okay, I understand. I'll relay your idea to Chairman Ma Lanqi. However, regarding Mu Zhishui, if she finds out you used her, there will be significant trouble."
Xia Henao sighed. "That's true, this girl is too difficult to fool. But don't worry, I still have some means I can use."
"Then, do you think she might have the same idea as you?"
"You mean? She wants me to reach the finals? Don't say it, there's a possibility. It seems I'll have to consider a lot more things now. How about this then, let's put us in different groups. She'll play me in the semi-finals, and I'll play after her. That should work."
"Hmm, good idea. But the premise is that you two... Forget it, you two are not someone they can stop."