Chapter 163: Wei Chenhai Comes to Apologize

Safety shorts are arguably one of humanity's greatest inventions.

Though, for some, they might also be one of the most detestable.

This was not hard to understand; after a brief explanation from Tang Yi, Kirlia quickly caught on.

"What brand of safety shorts is good?" Kirlia had never encountered such items before, so she had no concept of them.

This touched upon a blind spot in Tang Yi's knowledge. Telling Kirlia to hold her horses, he opened WeChat to message Gu Qingyue, who, after recovering from her surprise, thoroughly despised him for a moment.

Even so, Gu Qingyue promptly sent over a few links, all for reasonably priced items.

Probably guessing that Tang Yi was completely inexperienced, Gu Qingyue also sent a few pictures with captions.

[Image] This is the loose and breathable type.
[Image] This is the form-fitting athletic type.
[Image] This is the summer-refreshing type.
...

To be honest, if Gu Qingyue hadn't enlightened him, Tang Yi would never have figured these out. He showed the pictures and links to Kirlia.

The young girl felt a mixture of shyness and astonishment, marveling at how amazing humans were to invent such bizarre things. To her, it was an absolute blessing.

Yet, Kirlia soon grew troubled again: "If we have them delivered by courier now, will it be in time? The competition is the day after tomorrow."

Although most of the time Kirlia's matches did not require strenuous physical exertion, large-scale teleportation—or even teleportation at high altitudes—would still be a bit awkward in her current short skirt.

Muttering to herself for a moment, Kirlia answered her own question: "Oh well, I'll just use psychic power to keep it under control then. It shouldn't be a problem."

The girl was very sensible, knowing that this was a crucial moment for the competition and she shouldn't make things difficult for her trainer over such a minor issue.

However, Tang Yi's reaction was stronger than the girl had anticipated.

Without even thinking, Tang Yi rejected the idea: "No way! Your skirt doesn't come with a built-in anti-gravity effect. What if you forget to use psychic power during the intense moments of the match? No, absolutely not. If delivery is too late, we'll go straight to the mall this afternoon and buy them."

Are you kidding me?!

The match would be broadcast live. If the hem of the skirt were to accidentally fly up...

Just thinking about it made Tang Yi feel that this was completely unacceptable.

Kirlia gradually came to her senses. Looking at Tang Yi's serious and earnest expression, she felt a strange urge to laugh, but even more so, a small swell of happiness.

She offered no further rebuttal and obediently nodded in agreement.

By a little past one in the afternoon, Tang Yi called upon Feebas and headed down to wait in the main lobby.

Fang Tianze and the others did not tag along.

Although Eevee was dying to come along—loving nothing more than a good spectacle, she even volunteered to serve as a top-tier bouncer should things turn ugly—she was, quite predictably, dragged away by the sweep of Ninetales's tail.

Tang Yi could understand. Although most people no longer recognized this former champion, if someone were to spot her, it would always spell trouble.

Arriving early at the first-floor lobby with the two young girls, he found a relatively empty corner and sat down.

Compared to Wei Chenhai's pending apology, Feebas was much more interested in Kirlia's post-evolution state. The two girls sat side by side, whispering softly and giggling from time to time.

Naturally, Tang Yi was relegated to a spot far away, left to gaze over with curious helplessness, having no idea what they were chatting about.

Ten minutes later.

Wei Chenhai came downstairs as well, spotted Tang Yi at a glance, and walked over.

"I shouldn't be late, I hope," Wei Chenhai's opening remark seemed intended to slightly diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

Tang Yi looked around and asked with some surprise, "Su Chengtao didn't come?"

He had originally expected Su Chengtao to accompany him, perhaps even resorting to threatening him once more.

Wei Chenhai shook his head, his expression somewhat unnatural: "He didn't want to come. Besides, I was the one who lost the bet; it has nothing to do with him."

Since he hadn't come, it mattered little.

Tang Yi continued, "Our bet was that you would apologize to Feebas."

Wei Chenhai nodded: "That's right. Rest assured, I am not a man to go back on my word."

"But what I want is more than just an apology."

Thinking that Tang Yi was trying to make things difficult for him, Wei Chenhai frowned and said, "Don't push your luck. Our wager was strictly about this."

Tang Yi turned his head to glance at the two young girls not far away, then turned back to look at Wei Chenhai, saying calmly, "I have no intention of making things difficult for you. But since you are going to apologize, shouldn't you first understand why you are apologizing?"

"I lost the match."

"I don't mean that. Before this, I think it's necessary for you to know the truth."

"What truth?"

"The truth about why Feebas left Su Chengtao."

For the next twenty minutes or so, the two stood nearby while Tang Yi summarized the key points of the investigation conducted by Officer Wang Wan regarding the origins and events surrounding Feebas.

Before coming, he had specifically consulted Officer Wang. These matters were not considered classified secrets, and it was fine for him to share them with others.

Of course, whether others believed it was another matter entirely.

Wei Chenhai was indifferent at first, but as he listened, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper, his expression shifting uncertainly.

When the tale ended, he fell into a prolonged silence.

Tang Yi remained silent as well, giving him time to process.

A few minutes later, Wei Chenhai hesitated and said, "According to you, such behavior is indeed despicable, but this is entirely one-sided. Do you have proof?"

"If I had hard evidence, I would have gone straight to the police. If you want proof, Feebas herself is the proof. Naturally, it depends on whether you choose to believe it or not. By the way, how long have you known Su Chengtao?"

"We met last year. There was a joint summer camp in Yuanshui City back then, and I happened to meet him there."

Tang Yi was slightly surprised; he had originally assumed the two had merely met during the preliminary rounds of the previous tournament.

"Then what kind of person do you think Su Chengtao is?"

Wei Chenhai pondered for a moment: "He is very polite to people, and his family is actually quite wealthy. Yet he is never overly flamboyant when interacting with others, and his words and actions are always proper."

"He puts on a very good act." Tang Yi acknowledged that Su Chengtao must have maxed out his camouflage skills.

"As for what you've said, I can't make a rash judgment just like that. I hope you can understand. However, as a trainer myself, I personally cannot condone the kind of behavior you described. I think I understand how I should apologize to Feebas now."

Pausing for a moment, Wei Chenhai offered Tang Yi a friendly smile: "So, can I go over and apologize now? Don't worry, I won't say anything inappropriate."

Wei Chenhai was clever; he instantly guessed that the reason Tang Yi had intercepted him from afar was to inoculate him against making sarcastic remarks, which might otherwise cause the apology to backfire completely—violating Tang Yi's original intent.