Chapter 142: A Night Shared with Larulas in the Same Room

Because the wash had been so rushed, Larulas's hair was still dotted with water droplets she likely hadn’t bothered to dry.

“That won’t do. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry your hair before bed,” Tang Yi said, rising to his feet and approaching her.

“Wh-what are you going to do?” Larulas asked timidly.

“I’m going to dry your hair,” Tang Yi replied as he went searching for the hairdryer.

“I can do it myself,” Larulas’s voice was faint.

“No worries. Tonight, let me do it,” Tang Yi volunteered.

Since the evening was dull at the hotel and he had no laptop, he figured helping Larulas dry her hair would at least pass the time.

“Actually…” Larulas hesitated, her tone uncertain.

“Got it!” Tang Yi called out, returning with the hairdryer from a drawer. He looked back at the young girl. “What were you saying earlier?”

Larulas’s voice was low and unclear.

“Never mind,” she suddenly smiled softly. “You can dry it for me then.”

Fresh from the bath, the girl still exuded a fragrant mist from her skin. Her radiant smile held a unique charm that momentarily left Tang Yi dazed.

Quickly shaking his head to dispel such thoughts—this was a competition trip, after all, and he couldn’t afford distractions—he focused on the task at hand.

Larulas sat upright in the chair, hands gently folded in her lap.

Standing behind her, Tang Yi set the hairdryer to medium speed. He spread his fingers through her hair to fluff it slightly, starting from the crown and slowly moving to the bangs, then to the sides and back.

Larulas’s hair was not long, roughly neck-length, with bangs long enough to cover her eyes if left unstyled.

Drying a girl’s hair was a time-consuming task, but Tang Yi had nothing else to do tonight and patiently continued until her hair was nicely fluffy.

“How does it feel?” After a while, Tang Yi glanced at Larulas in the mirror, uncertain if it was better—he had no experience, after all.

“Hmm, it’s better than when I just wipe off the water droplets myself!” Larulas said, surprised and pleased.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use a hairdryer before.” Tang Yi himself had short hair and only towel-dried after bathing.

Larulas answered softly, “I don’t use one because the hairdryer is noisy, and I’m afraid it would disturb your studying.”

Tang Yi couldn’t help but smile wryly—what a sweet, naive girl.

He teased gently, “You don’t skip washing your hair at home, do you?”

“You’re the one who doesn’t wash!” Larulas snapped, clearly concerned about cleanliness.

Tang Yi quickly switched tone. “Okay, okay, I’m just joking. Impossible—my Larulas always smells so lovely.”

“You haven’t actually smelled me,” she muttered, cheeks flushing lightly, then added, “Actually, I was going to say that I usually just use my psychic power to remove the water droplets.”

Raising her hand slightly, a faint blue aura shimmered between her palms. The water vapor lingering on her arms condensed into droplets that floated upward one by one.

With another wave, all the droplets were swept into the trash bin.

“See? Pretty impressive, right? Fast and convenient,” Larulas boasted with a small triumphant smile.

Tang Yi looked at the hairdryer in his hand and scratched his head in mild discouragement. “Uh, was this unnecessary?”

He had only intended to dry her hair, but it seemed like a pointless gesture. He almost forgot Larulas wasn’t an ordinary girl—she possessed psychic abilities.

“It’s not that bad. Psychic power just removes the droplets, but the hairdryer feels warmer and more comfortable,” Larulas said, lips pursed, eyebrows curved into little crescent moons, truly enjoying the sensation.

After a pause, her tone softened. “And having you dry my hair makes me happy. I was just thinking, other trainers probably aren’t so patient with their Pokémon.”

There was another thought she kept to herself: from what she’d seen in stories, only couples very close to each other would help dry each other’s hair.

Unfortunately, Tang Yi behind her didn’t notice her flushed cheeks or the sudden flutter of girlish feelings.

He smiled politely. “It’s nothing special. I was just bored tonight and had nothing else to do, so I offered to dry your hair.”

“Oh, I see,” Larulas’s expression instantly turned blank as she rose and headed toward her small bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Tang Yi asked, puzzled.

“To sleep.”

Bang!

The door slammed shut heavily.

Tang Yi stared at the still-warm hairdryer in his hand, feeling as if he’d said something wrong.

Well, an early night wouldn’t be bad.

It was the first time they shared a room outside their home. Tang Yi had thought it might be a memorable night.

In reality, he slept soundly, exhausted from the day’s exertions. After his bath, he nearly collapsed into bed and slept straight through until morning.

He was awakened by the alarm he had set for seven o’clock.

Slowly opening his drowsy eyes, Tang Yi felt he had slept well. The hotel, though expensive, was worth it—the bedding was soft and fragrant, and the mattress had a pleasant bounce.

He planned to grab another ten minutes of sleep, turning over—only to find a pair of ruby-red eyes staring at him from the bedside.

“Ah!”

Tang Yi shouted.

Larulas was startled as well, her voice trembling with concern. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Tang Yi’s heart raced. Waking up to someone staring unblinking right beside him was genuinely frightening.

The shock instantly banished all his sleepiness.

Rubbing his head, he said helplessly, “When did you get here? Why didn’t you sleep more?”

Larulas looked aggrieved. “I woke up at four and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I wanted to talk with you. But you were sleeping like a log, so I had no choice but to watch over you here, and then you scared me by yelling.”

You were the one who scared me, he thought.

Not wanting to argue, Tang Yi said, “Okay, my fault. I shouldn’t have startled you.”

“Alright, I forgive you,” Larulas said, her face brightening instantly, or rather, her earlier grievance had been an act.

Tang Yi found it odd—last night before sleep, she seemed a bit upset, but this morning she looked unusually cheerful.

Why was that?

He pondered briefly, then casually asked, “Did you have a good dream last night?”

“No.”

“Then did I say something in my sleep?”

“No, no,” Larulas suddenly sounded flustered.

“That tone sounds suspicious,” Tang Yi said, puzzled. He quickly shook his head, deciding not to dig into such trivial matters. “Forget it. Let’s get an early breakfast and then get familiar with the competition grounds.”

“Okay, you go change first. I’ll squeeze the toothpaste for you,” Larulas said enthusiastically as she dashed toward the bathroom.

It seemed odd—Larulas never took the initiative to help with such things before.

Tang Yi was full of question marks but ultimately sighed. The thoughts of a young girl were truly hard to decipher.

In any case, it wasn’t bad. Both had rested well, and Larulas was in a good mood. They could give their best in the competition.

Inside the bathroom, Larulas squeezed toothpaste while gazing at the reflection of the young girl blooming like a flower in the mirror, her brows filled with uncontrollable joy.

He called my name several times in his dream just now.

The books say that words spoken unconsciously are often the truest.

Could it be that I’m really important to him?

Hehe, so happy, so satisfied!

But I mustn’t let him know, or he’ll get conceited again.