After finishing their meal, the six of them walked out of the packed cafeteria, drenched in sweat from the heat.
Back in the dorm, they immediately turned on the fan. Guo Yong stood underneath it and complained, "When is the school going to install air conditioning? It's so hot I feel like I'm melting."
Wang Yi came back after washing his feet and said, "Damn, the school promised to install AC last month, and now it's almost break time and still nothing. Who knows what the school leaders are even doing?"
Jiang Jing took a sip of iced tea and said leisurely, "Maybe they'll install it after we graduate."
That's what happened in his previous life—constant talk about installing air conditioners and renovating the dorms, and everyone looked forward to it like fools. In the end, the renovations and AC installation only started after they graduated.
The good stuff always comes after you leave.
Liu Bin, also done washing his feet, got into bed and said, "But after the subject stream division next semester, we'll be changing dorms. I remember the dorms for the Pokémon major have air conditioning and are single rooms for four people."
"But you guys are out of luck—you'll probably still be stuck in these dorm buildings."
Guo Yong grumbled, "Damn, the Pokémon major gets all the perks. I'm actually thinking about switching majors. I'll die from the heat if I stay in these dorms."
After wrapping up that topic, Liu Bin continued, "Kyron, the World Tournament is starting next week."
Kyron was startled, "Right! I almost forgot. If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have remembered. Good thing finals are next week too—once those are over, I'll have time to watch."
Liu Bin said, "I'm planning to stay home and watch every day. Let's hope finals end early."
That afternoon, the homeroom teacher distributed the subject selection forms but didn't require immediate submission. They said to hand them in next Monday.
After finishing classes, many students returned to the dorms to pack up and head home.
Kyron did the same. He stuffed his laundry and textbooks into his backpack and got on the bus home.
Watching other students board the bus one by one, some with their Pokémon at their side, he couldn't help but start looking forward to his own starter Pokémon.
"Everyone, take your seats, we're heading out!" the bus driver uncle shouted as the vehicle started moving.
Kyron's home was in Taiyu Residential Complex, located on Shangcang Avenue, five kilometers from Song City No. 8 High School.
After a 30-minute ride, he arrived at the Taiyu stop. Getting off the bus, he walked 30 meters under the blazing sun to reach the complex gate.
The outer walls of Taiyu Residential Complex were somewhat old. Surrounding the area were restaurants and convenience stores, with a steady flow of people coming and going.
Near the gate, various Pokémon could be seen. For pet-level Pokémon, prices weren't very high—some could be bought for just a few hundred yuan.
Kyron approached the gate, pulled out a blue key card, and tapped it against the sensor. Inside the security booth, the guards were all on their phones, scrolling through Douyin. Only an older security guard was standing outside.
"Uncle Li!" Kyron greeted him.
The old guard recognized Kyron and smiled, "Oh, it's Kyron. Back from school?"
Kyron replied, "Yeah, just home for the weekend."
The complex had eight buildings. Kyron's home was in Building 6, Unit 501. He walked along the well-maintained path, entered Building 6, and took the elevator up.
Once the elevator arrived, he turned right and stopped at the first door at the end of the hallway. He took out his key, inserted it into the lock, turned it, and opened the door.
The first thing he saw was the shoe cabinet by the entrance, followed by the round brown dining table in the middle of the living room.
A rich aroma of food filled the air. To the left was the living room, with a flat-screen TV playing the news.
While changing shoes, Kyron called out, "Mom, I'm home!"
A woman's voice responded from the kitchen, "Okay, time to eat."
As Kyron stepped into the living room, two figures leapt off the sofa and pounced into his arms.
"Pikachu! Jigglypuff! Long time no see!"
One was a yellow, mouse-like Pokémon with red cheeks—Pikachu. The other had a pink, balloon-like body—Jigglypuff.
They were his mom's Pokémon, both extremely cute and always keeping her company when she was home alone.
"Pika-pi! Pikachu~!"
Jigglypuff rubbed its round face affectionately against Kyron's body.
After a while, Kyron and his mom sat at the table for dinner, with Pikachu and Jigglypuff happily eating their own meals beside them.
While eating, Kyron asked, "Mom, why isn't Dad home?"
His mom replied, "Your dad's still working at the construction site. He won't be back until the day after tomorrow."
Kyron said anxiously, "Maybe I'll go visit him at the site tomorrow."
Kyron's father was a contractor—what people call a "foreman." His mom used to help him by cooking for the crew, but her health declined, so now she stays home.
Their family was middle class, and his dad fully supported Kyron's dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer.
The next day, Kyron took a two-hour bus ride to his dad's construction site.
This residential area had a section enclosed by metal fencing between several buildings, filled with the noise of excavators, cranes, and construction.
This was his dad's site. But at the entrance, Kyron was stopped—unauthorized personnel weren't allowed in.
He had visited before and was usually recognized, but today the security guard was new and wouldn't let him pass.
Left with no choice, Kyron called his dad. A minute later, a muscular gray Pokémon appeared, wearing a red hard hat and holding a yellow one—Machoke.
Kyron immediately recognized it as his dad's Pokémon and waved. Machoke sped up when it saw him.
Taking the hard hat and signing in, Kyron followed Machoke into the site.
All around him were busy workers and Pokémon, surrounded by steel bars, concrete, bricks, and materials.
Soon they arrived at a row of container offices. In the second one, there were sofas, a desk, and a tea table. A middle-aged man in a black T-shirt was talking on the phone.
"Dad!" Kyron called out.
This was Kyron's father. Seeing him, he said into the phone, "Just get it done and cleaned up. I'll come inspect it later."
He hung up, looked at Kyron, and asked, "Why'd you come today?"
Kyron replied, "Just wanted to check in… and see the starter Pokémon you prepared for me."
His father chuckled, clearly seeing through Kyron's real motive, but said nothing. Instead, he stood up and said, "Wait here. I'll go get it."
He left the room with Machoke, and after a while returned holding a transparent, capsule-shaped incubation pod.
Inside the pod was a Pokémon egg with black patterns on its surface.
The moment Kyron saw the egg, his heart started racing, and he swallowed nervously.
Was this… his starter Pokémon?!
Kyron's dad placed the incubation pod on the table and said, "This is the starter Pokémon I prepared for you. Honestly, I don't know what it is either."
Kyron was surprised. "Huh? You don't know?"
His father lit a cigarette and took a puff. "Yeah, funny story. I was just about to buy one for you when I found this egg on the site a few days ago. No one around claimed it, so I took it in."
"Take it home and hatch it. If it's got good potential, it can be your starter. If not, give it to your mom as a pet—I'll go buy another one for you."
Kyron nodded. This arrangement was actually pretty ideal. Clearly, his dad had everything planned out.
His dad continued, "Tomorrow I'll transfer you 20,000 yuan. Use it to raise your Pokémon. If you get into university as a Trainer, your mom and I will be proud."
"You'll have to buy the Pokémon food yourself. We don't really know much about it—you'll have to figure it out."
The two of them chatted for a while about recent events. His father knew Kyron's grades weren't great and didn't expect him to get into top schools like Modu University or Imperial University.
But since his son wanted to become a Trainer, he supported him—he knew enough to understand that Trainers had good career prospects.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked in wearing a suit, with a beer belly and a square face.
As soon as he entered, he said, "Old Jiang, enjoying life huh? Sitting in the office drinking tea!"
"Oh? This must be your son? Handsome kid!"
Kyron's dad laughed, "President Li! What brings you here? Come, have some tea!"
President Li flopped onto the sofa and said with a smile, "Just stopping by to relax and sip some tea."
Kyron, seeing the man in a formal suit, guessed he was likely a supervisor or manager from the client's side.
His dad brewed some tea and poured a cup each for President Li and Kyron.
After taking a sip, President Li asked, "Old Jiang, which school does your son go to? How's he doing in class?"