Chapter 140: Ralts’s Flights of Fancy

To ensure fairness and impartiality, the draw ceremony was broadcast live on television. Tang Yi watched the live stream online in his room, while simultaneously refreshing the various news feeds regarding the upcoming selection tournament.

The draw was conducted electronically and randomly, and it officially began only after being verified and confirmed by notary officials. After just a few dozen seconds, the bracket finally settled into place.

Tang Yi’s first opponent was named Ye Yu, from Chengsu City, whose partner was a Mudkip. This information had already been published online.

After reviewing his opponent, Tang Yi immediately scanned the bracket for someone else: Su Chengtao, the former trainer of Feebas. Unfortunately, Su Chengtao had been placed in the other half of the bracket, which meant that for the two of them to meet, both would have to win their way through to the semifinals.

Once the bracket was released, online discussions immediately heated up. The college entrance selection tournament was a perennial hot topic; beyond the major universities tracking the top-seeded students from each province, there were plenty of idle observers analyzing each contestant’s odds of winning the championship based on the published rosters. If gambling weren't prohibited in this world, bookmakers would surely have opened the markets long ago.

The schedule was also released promptly following the draw. Unlike the second round, the final main stage required contestants to travel to the provincial capital, Yuan-shui City. All matches were to be decided within seven days, making for a rather intensive schedule.

After the broadcast ended, Tang Yi received a succession of messages from friends offering encouragement or greetings. Just as he was busy replying to them one by one, he received a message from Fang Tianze.

Fang Tianze: "We just finished watching the broadcast and are planning to head to Yuan-shui City to cheer you on."

Tang Yi: "Must be Butterfree’s idea, right?"

Fang Tianze: "Hahaha, you guessed wrong this time. It really wasn't Butterfree who brought it up first."

Tang Yi: "Then it was Eevee? It certainly wouldn't be you, Old Fang."

Fang Tianze: "It was Feebas."

Tang Yi: "..."

Today, Butterfree and the others were all at the orphanage. As the annual college entrance selection tournament was a major event, Feebas couldn't help but pay attention, and naturally, she had seen the name Su Chengtao.

Tang Yi felt a sudden headache and immediately initiated a voice call with Fang Tianze. The call was hung up, but five minutes later, the other party called him back.

Unexpectedly, on the other end of the screen, it was the grey-spotted face of Feebas who appeared. "Sorry, Sister Butterfree wanted to hang up the phone just now, but I felt it wasn't necessary, so I called back."

Tang Yi observed her carefully; through the screen, he couldn't detect anything unusual—though, of course, it could have been a calculated act.

"Well, I actually don't think you guys need to come to Yuan-shui City. I checked the tournament rules; spectators are not allowed on-site," Tang Yi said.

"Is that so?" Feebas hesitated, looking puzzled.

Butterfree's gentle voice chimed in from the side: "Yes, that's right. So, staying here and watching the live broadcast is the same thing, you know."

Feebas frowned in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, even if it's just watching the broadcast, I want to go to Yuan-shui City. I want to cheer for Sister Kirlia from as close as possible!"

*How fake!*

The others exchanged glances, all aware that while Feebas and Kirlia were on decent terms, it certainly wasn't to that extent.

"Let's just do it then. We'll take Feebas to Yuan-shui City next week to look around and clear her head," Fang Tianze suddenly suggested.

"Tianze!" Butterfree scolded him.

Fang Tianze brushed it off with a laugh: "It’s fine! Do you really think this kid can make it to the semifinals? That's impossible."

Tang Yi was speechless: "Hey, I’m still on the line."

"Oh." *Click.* The phone hung up instantly.

Kirlia looked at Tang Yi with some concern: "Feebas definitely isn't going for my sake!" Even the innocent Kirlia could see that Feebas wasn't truly there to cheer for her.

Tang Yi smiled and teased, "Then why do you think Feebas is going?"

Kirlia pursed her lips, her red eyes flickering with concern. "I have a guess, though I'm not sure if I should say it."

"Oh?" Tang Yi blinked, his curiosity piqued by Kirlia's intuition. "Let's hear it."

Kirlia sat on the edge of the bed and began counting on her fingers. "Feebas still has feelings for that Su Chengtao and wants to rekindle their connection, but Su Chengtao already has a new partner—I saw the data online, it's a Charmander, right?"

"Even though Charmander is the 'third party,' Feebas is the abandoned original partner. Su Chengtao definitely doesn't want her back, and if Feebas keeps pestering him, he'll only grow more disgusted. Maybe he’ll even strike her. If Feebas harbors resentment and gets any twisted ideas, doing something she shouldn't... she might end up in prison."

"So, it's best we don't let Feebas go."

Tang Yi was left dumbfounded. After a long silence, he shook his head. "Kirlia, it’s a real shame you aren't a novelist. From now on, if you aren't the one writing it, I'm not reading it!"

Kirlia gave a shy smile. "Ah, it's... it's alright. I just don't have the time right now, so I haven't started writing yet."

*Ugh, that last comment wasn't a compliment to your writing skills.*

Tang Yi knew that Kirlia had been harboring the desire to write for some time, but she hadn't started yet due to the importance of the college entrance selection tournament.

Tang Yi sighed helplessly. "This is reality, not a soap opera. The melodramatic plot you're describing is impossible. Actually, I don't really care; if she wants to go, we can't stop her anyway. Might as well let her come along. With Butterfree and the others looking after her, nothing will happen."

"You just don't care about Feebas!" Kirlia expressed her slight dissatisfaction.

"Because my eyes are only on you," Tang Yi looked at Kirlia affectionately. He had said these lines so often that they now came naturally.

Yet, the young girl fell for it every time. Her small grievances instantly melted into tenderness, and she looked up at her trainer with watery eyes, stammering softly:

"It seems like Mom and Dad are coming home a bit late today."

"Hmm, yeah." Tang Yi was confused; how did they get on the topic of his parents?

"Well, there's nobody else home," Kirlia said, shifting her gaze slightly.

Tang Yi began to understand. "There are still a few days before the tournament starts. We can't let our training progress fall behind. Right, we should practice energy perception more."

Kirlia nodded shyly, her voice barely a whisper: "Mhm, you still aren't very skilled at it..."

Tang Yi swallowed hard. Since it had reached this point, he couldn't bring himself to ruin the mood. For the sake of the college entrance exam and the upcoming tournament, he had to demonstrate a selfless spirit of dedication!

Tang Yi rose abruptly and pulled the curtains shut.

Their lips met once more. The two engaged in a much deeper exploration and practice of energy sensing and guidance.