Xia Hu Naos, nearly cooked, left the secret base and happened to run into Shen Yu on her way home from school. Xia Hu Naos had intended to surprise her, but that plan was completely ruined.
Upon seeing Xia Hu Naos, Shen Yu rushed towards him and threw herself into his arms. Xia Hu Naos held her and said, "Xiao Yu, I'm back. Are you happy?"
Shen Yu looked at Xia Hu Naos, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "Mm, of course, I'm happy. How long are you staying this time? You'll be celebrating the New Year in Jinghai City, right?"
Xia Hu Naos thought for a moment. "Well, theoretically, I can stay until March. I'll go out for more training after you start school. But we have development tasks, so the three of us should go to the Alliance Headquarters."
Shen Yu gave a sly smile. "Training? You mean going to work, don't you?"
Xia Hu Naos was taken aback. "Xiao Yu, what are you talking about?"
Xia Hu Naos was internally panicking. The information that he was an assistant professor at the Six Spirits University was very well-guarded, and Xia Hu Naos couldn't find any related news. How did Shen Yu know?
Shen Yu pushed Xia Hu Naos away. "I know everything now. Honorary Vice President of the Research Association, Honorary Chairman of the Grand Festival Committee. Do you dare say you don't have to go to work? Will the Alliance be happy if you wander around aimlessly every day?"
Xia Hu Naos took Shen Yu's hand. "These are all honorary positions, I don't need to go to work for them. The Pokémon Research Association doesn't require me to participate in any secret projects, and for the Grand Festival, I only need to go to Six Spirits University when they hold the Rose Cup. Other than that, it has nothing to do with me. After all, I'm just a novice trainer."
Xia Hu Naos breathed a sigh of relief. The secret of him being an assistant professor at Six Spirits University should still be unknown to them.
"Is that so? You promise you won't lie to me."
Shen Yu pressed her face close to Xia Hu Naos, staring into his eyes as if trying to see something.
Xia Hu Naos felt a bit unnerved by Shen Yu's gaze and quickly raised his left index finger to the sky. "I swear, I am absolutely not officially employed by the Alliance. If this statement is a lie..."
Xia Hu Naos thought for a moment, then uttered the most dreadful oath on the entire Spirit Monster Star. "If it's a lie, then I'll be punished to fly around Spirit Monster Star with Groudon, or I won't be allowed to see you."
Hearing Xia Hu Naos utter such a terrible oath, Shen Yu quickly covered his mouth. "What nonsense are you spouting? You're not allowed to make such oaths anymore!"
Xia Hu Naos quickly slapped his own mouth lightly. "Yes, yes, yes, I was wrong. I won't say such things anymore."
In his heart, he thought: I only said I'm not officially employed by the Alliance. Although Six Spirits University is a Pokémon university, it's not an official institution, so it doesn't count as a lie.
Somewhere, but seemingly for the second time, Groudon appeared. "It seems someone is talking about me again, but I just can't get away..."
Walking home with Shen Yu, watching the passing cars and the trees lining the road, they chatted and laughed. Xia Hu Naos said, "Xiao Yu, let's go out and play after the final exams."
Shen Yu took out her phone and checked the calendar. "We should be able to. Although the New Year is quite early this year, we can still play for a few days. I just don't know if Mom and Dad will agree."
As they walked, they arrived at Shen Yu's family's small hot spring. Shen Yu's parents, busy behind the counter, were also very happy to see Xia Hu Naos and invited him to have dinner with them.
The family had a harmonious meal. Shen Yu's mother kept serving Xia Hu Naos food, as if he were her own child. As for Shen Yu, it was as if she had been adopted from somewhere, which made Shen Yu a bit jealous of Xia Hu Naos.
After dinner, the family sat on the sofa chatting. Shen Yu's mother looked at the sky outside and said to Xia Hu Naos, "Xiao Xia, it's getting late. Why don't you stay here tonight?"
Xia Hu Naos glanced outside. It was already dark. He asked, "Is that okay?"
"Of course. You can stay in Xiao Yu's room. That way, Xiao Yu won't miss you and stay up all night. Besides, did your parents tell you? They've been very busy lately and might not be able to look after you. They said if you come back to Jinghai City, you should stay with us."
Shen Yu's face turned red. "Mom, what are you talking about!"
Watching Shen Yu blush and retreat into her room, Shen Yu's mother leaned in close to Xia Hu Naos. "Xiao Xia, I've arranged the room next to Xiao Yu's for you. No night raids tonight! Your Uncle Shen and I will be watching you."
Seeing Shen Yu's mother go to tidy up the room, Xia Hu Naos looked at his "future father-in-law." "Uncle Shen, Auntie is..."
"Don't mind her. She just likes you two too much. While I agree you two should date and go on dates, you can't get into any trouble before Xiao Yu graduates from university."
Xia Hu Naos blinked, chuckled awkwardly, "Mm, I'll listen to you, Uncle Shen..." He thought, what in the world is happening.
After sitting for a while longer to digest his food, Xia Hu Naos decided to take a bath. He went to the hot spring in the front, and Xia Hu Naos, along with Froakie, soaked in the pool.
Although Xia Hu Naos had four Poké Balls with him, Sylveon was female. Despite being raised by Xia Hu Naos since childhood, he still wasn't entirely comfortable sharing a hot spring with her. Diancie couldn't either, and what's more, Diancie was a Rock-type Pokémon. If she went into the water, it would be super effective. Before she could even enjoy the bath, she'd probably end up at the Pokémon Center.
Rotom, being male, was even more unthinkable to put in the water. If he were to discharge electricity while soaking in the water with Rotom, it would likely be over thirty volts. The theoretical safe voltage for humans is thirty-six volts, and being submerged in water would amplify the effect. Xia Hu Naos really couldn't handle that.
Xia Hu Naos soaked in the hot spring with Froakie, who was happily diving. Only its eyes were above the water. Xia Hu Naos watched Froakie stretch its limbs and soak in the water. Inspired, he decided to try it too.
Taking a deep breath, he stretched out his limbs and submerged a little, leaving only his eyes and above exposed. Xia Hu Naos felt it for a while. He didn't feel particularly comfortable in this posture. Perhaps only Froakie felt comfortable? Froakie, seeing Xia Hu Naos with only half of his head exposed above the water, was startled. Had his trainer turned into a frog?
The person and the frog had been soaking for a short while when Xia Hu Naos heard the door being opened. He turned his head to look. Shen Yu stood at the doorway, poking her head in. "Xia Xia, I'm coming in to join you."
Xia Hu Naos was startled and choked on some water, almost sinking. "Cough, cough, Xiao Yu, why are you back?"
Shen Yu came to the edge of the pool and picked up Froakie from the hot spring. "Froakie, be good. I'll take you to the Pokémon-exclusive hot spring. There are many Pokémon like you there. Fennekin is also there. Go play with Fennekin, and don't disturb us."
Froakie didn't understand much, but it didn't mind being carried by Shen Yu. Playing with Fennekin was more fun than watching Xia Hu Naos.
After carrying Froakie away, Shen Yu returned and stepped into the hot spring, leaning against Xia Hu Naos from behind...
Although nothing happened next, we'll thoughtfully skip it so everyone can imagine what they wish.
After the hot spring bath, Xia Hu Naos walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the room and looked at the scenery outside. "I can't take it anymore. Soaking in a hot spring with a beautiful young lady, this has escalated into a galgame."
The more Xia Hu Naos thought about it, the more his mind became chaotic. Looking at it through a peculiar filter, Xia Hu Naos's mind was filled with pink bubbles and mosaics...
Xia Hu Naos shook his head. "No, I can't think about it. I'll just go to sleep. If I fall asleep, I won't think about it."
Xia Hu Naos turned around and climbed into bed. He felt blissfully comfortable. Then he thought of Shen Yu again. "Ah, a gentle haven is indeed a hero's grave. Even if the current Xiao Yu isn't a complete haven that could lead to ruin, it makes me lack the motivation to continue working hard."
Xia Hu Naos lay in the warm, soft bed, feeling groggy. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Xia Hu Naos heard a sound. Xia Hu Naos's eyes widened instantly. "Holy crap? No way, did Xiao Yu sneak into my room?"
Xia Hu Naos turned his head and saw Xiao Yu opening the window, then looking left and right as if to confirm no one was watching her. Finding no one, she tiptoed in through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Seeing Shen Yu skillfully snuggle into his bed, Xia Hu Naos asked, "Xiao Yu, why didn't you come through the door? Why did you come through the window?"
Shen Yu pointed to Xia Hu Naos's bedroom door. "How could I come through the door? Wouldn't Mom and Dad find out? Even if I came through the window, I had to be careful, just so I could sleep with you without them knowing."
Xia Hu Naos gave a wry smile. "Do you think they don't know you're here? If it weren't for the fact that we're both too young, they'd be urging us to get married and have children already."
Shen Yu lay in Xia Hu Naos's arms and pouted. "I don't care. I'm staying here anyway."
... Stop looking, nothing is going to happen.
The next morning, Xia Hu Naos opened his eyes and looked around. "Something's not right. I should be holding Xiao Yu, but how did I end up on the floor?"
The System sat in his mind. "You should see what time it is. Nine in the morning. Do you think she doesn't go to school? And besides..."
Xia Hu Naos looked at the System. "And what? Did some earth-shattering event happen?"
The System nodded. "Yes, something happened. But it wasn't an earth-shattering event, more like an earth-splitting one."
Xia Hu Naos was shocked. "Earth-splitting? When and where did the earth split?"
The System took out a globe of Spirit Monster Star and gently flicked it downwards in Xia Hu Naos's mind. "Something like this. The entire Spirit Monster Star trembled."