Xia Huanao nodded. "That explains it. Truly, a family gets worse with each generation. Song RuSi wasn't much of a good person, and it's clear his unfortunate grandson is no better. But then again..."
Tong Ruo asked, "But what?"
Xia Huanao scoffed, "Is this Song ZiFu really Song RuSi's grandson? Based on all the information I've gathered, this kid has every kind of messed-up flaw imaginable. When you put them all together, it's like he has schizophrenia. Does his family have a history of mental illness? But if you look at it that way, it's not just a worse generation; purely in terms of disgustingness, he's truly surpassed his elders."
"According to gossip, his family forced him to study until he graduated high school. Only after he finished college did they allow him to publicly acknowledge his grandfather was Song RuSi. Perhaps the abrupt change caused him to act erratically."
As they were talking, the phone in Tong Ruo's office rang again. Xia Huanao glanced at Tong Ruo, then directly pressed the speakerphone button. "Hello, this is Xia Huanao, a teacher in the Pokémon Battle Department at Liu Ling Sprite University. Whom am I speaking with?"
Xia Huanao's rapid speech momentarily stunned the person on the other end. After more than ten seconds, a voice finally came through. "You are Xia Huanao? I am Song RuSi."
Xia Huanao gestured wildly on his end, his weapon showing no change. "May I ask what business you have with me?"
The tone on the other end was quite displeased. "I want to ask what you intend to do about my grandson?"
Xia Huanao replied, "Your grandson has disregarded our school rules, skipped classes, and refused to participate in our normal teaching activities. This is a rather serious issue."
"Bah, teaching activities? What kind of teaching activities do you call those? I'm telling you, if my grandson gets disciplined because of your so-called activities, you'd better be prepared to die!"
Xia Huanao paused slightly, then asked, "Are you implying that your grandson did not use our school's sprites to interfere with our normal teaching today?"
"Of course! My grandson is an exemplary student. How could he possibly do something like that!"
Listening to the voice on the phone, Xia Huanao nodded. "Alright, I understand. I'll consider your grandson as having not done such a thing, and we won't discipline him for skipping class. Will that be acceptable?"
"There's also something else I need to ask. My grandson isn't in good health. I hope you can provide him with a certificate. You understand what I mean."
Xia Huanao nodded on his end. "Yes, I understand. I will not only allow your grandson to skip this training session but will also significantly reduce his physical activity going forward. Is that acceptable?"
"You're very perceptive."
However, Xia Huanao continued, "Although I can let your grandson skip this training, it is still a collective school activity. Therefore, he must be present at our training site no matter what. This point..."
Song RuSi on the other end let out a cold snort. "I will instruct him. That's all. Goodbye."
Xia Huanao listened to Song RuSi hang up abruptly and smiled. "That old man has quite a temper, throwing the phone around. But what good does that do? He can't avoid the trouble that's coming for him."
With that, Xia Huanao gently hung up the phone in Tong Ruo's room and sighed. "Alright, since things have come to this, so be it. I'll be going back now."
Seeing Xia Huanao seemingly defeated by power and influence, Tong Ruo asked with concern, "Xiao Xiazi, are you alright?"
Xia Huanao shook his head, then pushed his wheelchair and left Tong Ruo's office. Tong Ruo watched his dejected figure and sighed, helpless. After all, the connections of a Champion-level trainer were entirely different. And if one were to talk about connections, Liu Ling University only had Zheng Xiaoxiao, Tong Ruo, and Xia Huanao who could barely be considered to have any. But even the three of them combined couldn't compare to a single Champion-level trainer.
Although Zheng Xiaoxiao was still one step away from Champion-level, she was still a Heavenly King-level trainer before completing her assessment. Tong Ruo's connections were entirely encompassed within Zheng Xiaoxiao's network. As for Xia Huanao, his connections were entirely reliant on favors that might be useful, and their impact was negligible.
"I hope Xiao Xiazi doesn't get too bogged down in this."
...
A night passed. Xia Huanao, in his wheelchair, emerged from his home without a word, skipping breakfast and heading straight to the training field. There, Song ZiFu, armed with his "imperial sword," was boasting to his teammates about his privilege.
"Just watch, that drill instructor and that idiotic teacher won't dare to do anything to me today."
As he was speaking, Song ZiFu saw Xia Huanao. He waved a provocative hand at Xia Huanao, but Xia Huanao acted as if he hadn't seen him and directly wheeled himself onto the main platform.
Song ZiFu said to his classmates, "See? They can't afford to offend my grandfather, a Champion-level trainer. As long as my grandfather speaks up, I don't have to participate in training. When I become a Champion-level trainer in the future, I'll have this kind of power too."
When the training began, Song ZiFu sat on the sidelines, watching Xia Huanao. He wanted to see Xia Huanao's look of unwillingness, but when he saw Xia Huanao's calm demeanor, he started to feel uneasy, muttering to himself, "Putting on a show, pretending to be calm..."
Xia Huanao was unaware of Song ZiFu's mutterings. He was merely looking at his watch, calculating the time. Then, five minutes before the first break, Xia Huanao took out his phone and sent a message.
The five minutes passed quickly. Just as the first break began, Xia Huanao's "reinforcements" arrived.
Seeing Xia Huanao walking over with an unfamiliar teacher, Song ZiFu was taken aback. However, he quickly remembered his grandfather's backing and straightened up.
Xia Huanao approached their squad and said to Song ZiFu, "This is Teacher Gu Ao from our school's Breeding Center. He has some questions for you."
Gu Ao directly asked, "According to our Breeding Center's records, you borrowed a sprite and did not return it on time. So I've come to get the sprite back. Where is it?"
Song ZiFu was stunned. The Ditto had already been "kidnapped" by Xia Huanao and his group. It was impossible for him to hand it over. After discussing with his grandfather last night, he had forgotten about this matter. Now, it was trouble.
Song ZiFu couldn't tell the truth. If he told the truth, the questioning would inevitably lead to the fact that Song ZiFu used the sprite to evade training. Although Song RuSi had suppressed this matter, if Song ZiFu himself ignited the fuse, no one could save him. But what could he do if he didn't tell the truth?
As sweat beaded on Song ZiFu's forehead, Gu Ao asked him, "The sprite? Did you lose it and can't return it?"
Song ZiFu couldn't answer. Xia Huanao then said, "According to school regulations, if a rented sprite is lost, it will result in a demerit and be announced to the entire school."
Then, Xia Huanao pulled Gu Ao aside. "Alright, Teacher Gu, the sprite escaping is also fate. Let's leave it at that. At most, Song ZiFu will have to compensate the school for the loss. Don't be angry, don't be angry..."
Watching Xia Huanao persuade Gu Ao to leave, Song ZiFu almost ground his teeth to dust. He had narrowly avoided a demerit, only for Xia Huanao to seize the opportunity and add another charge to his name.
After seeing Teacher Gu Ao off, Xia Huanao wheeled his chair back to Song ZiFu. "By the way, there was something I forgot to tell you earlier. After deliberation by the relevant school departments, considering student Song ZiFu's health condition, it has been specially approved that Song ZiFu will not need to participate in our school's one-week collective training course. Furthermore, to ensure Song ZiFu's health, his academic major will be changed from the Battle Department to the Sprite Husbandry Department, reducing his physical exertion to guarantee his health. The above is official."
After delivering this news, Xia Huanao leaned closer to Song ZiFu. "Please relay a message to your grandfather for me. In the face of schemes, whether it's relying on age or specious arguments, they are still far from enough."
With that, Xia Huanao turned his wheelchair and left without looking back. Upon hearing this news, Song ZiFu's vision went black, and he felt dizzy before collapsing.
Watching his classmates frantically carry Song ZiFu to the infirmary, Xia Huanao sighed regretfully. "What a wonderful cascading trap, and it was almost perfect."
Xia Huanao's original plan was a series of traps. First, catch Song ZiFu using a sprite to evade school teaching content. Then, with the matter of losing the sprite today, two offenses combined would result in a major demerit and a school-wide announcement.
But after last night's phone call, things had changed. This fool Song ZiFu was clearly intimidated by the demerit Xia Huanao mentioned, and only had his grandfather handle it with a single demerit, leading to him being ensnared by another punishment.
Xia Huanao didn't ponder for long before devising the subsequent, more devious plan. "You say you have poor health? Then you shouldn't be battling; switch to a research department. After four years of research study, with Song ZiFu's abilities, it would be very difficult for him to become a top trainer in his lifetime. And Song RuSi's dreams of his descendants all being top trainers will be abruptly shattered here by Xia Huanao."
More importantly, Xia Huanao's actions left Song RuSi with no grounds for complaint. After all, he had only agreed not to pursue the matter of skipping class and had only mentioned reducing physical activity, not the specific methods. Even more importantly, Xia Huanao had recorded the conversation.
Xia Huanao smiled, holding the recording pen in his hand, then turned his wheelchair and left. Not far from the training field, behind the window of a teaching building, Tong Ruo and Zheng Xiaoxiao watched the scene unfold from afar.
"Xiaoxiao, you were right. Xia Huanao isn't someone who gets easily intimidated. But his actions are bound to enrage that old man Song RuSi."
Zheng Xiaoxiao patted Tong Ruo's shoulder. "Don't worry. Xia Huanao knows what he's doing. He must have another plan up his sleeve."