When Xia Huanao woke up, he looked at himself lying on the soft and comfortable bed, with a Poké Ball of Grookey beside him, and a happy smile appeared on his lips.
He pressed the button by the bed, and the curtains were drawn open. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating; it was overcast, and it looked like something was about to fall.
Xia Huanao went to the window, opened it, and stuck his body out, breathing in the air that belonged solely to this moment.
Xia Huanao was staying in a semi-detached two-story house by the lake. It was a duplex, with a front yard and a back garden. It was one of the high-level residences allocated to faculty by Liuling University.
Generally speaking, Liuling University faculty lived in faculty dormitories. Even these dormitories had a ceiling height of three point five meters and an area of seventy square meters. For a configuration of one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom to have seventy square meters was already considered "luxurious."
However, faculty members of a certain caliber could reside in semi-detached houses like Xia Huanao's. This "certain caliber" generally referred to being at the lowest "special grade" position within their respective Pokémon career classification.
Of course, there were also those who lived in detached houses. For instance, esteemed figures like Elder Zheng Hongde had their own small house at Liuling University. However, the Elder preferred to live at the research institute. In his words, the closer he was to his workplace, the more at ease he felt.
As for why Xia Huanao was living in this type of house, it was solely due to the immense authority of the principal.
After a while, Xia Huanao came to the balcony with a toothbrush cup to brush his teeth. Zheng Xiaoxiao's voice came from beside him: "Huh? Why are you waking up now? It's already half-past eight?"
While rinsing his mouth, Xia Huanao turned his head to look. Zheng Xiaoxiao was wearing a pink sweater, her hands resting on the railing, looking over with a smile.
Xia Huanao almost swallowed what was in his mouth. After spitting out the water, Xia Huanao spoke, "Sister Xiaoxiao, why are you here? Isn't this Sister Ruo's house?"
"That's right, it is indeed Ruo's house. But you already know the secret between us, so what's so strange about it?"
Yes, he knew about the relationship between Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo. They weren't just best friends; their relationship was even deeper. Therefore, it wasn't strange for Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo to be living together.
"I'm asking you, why are you only waking up now?"
"Don't mention it. You two don't care about your neighbors at all. This house probably hasn't been cleaned in years. I was busy with a big clean-up until two o'clock last night, so it's quite impressive that I'm awake now."
"Mmm, you worked hard. After all, no one has lived next door for a long time."
Xia Huanao went back inside to change into milk and bread and then came out again: "Sister Xiaoxiao, has Sister Ruo gone to work?"
As soon as he asked, he saw Tong Ruo stand up from beside Zheng Xiaoxiao: "You were looking for me?"
"Ahem, oh my, Sister Ruo, don't suddenly appear like that, it's scary. And can't you be a bit more restrained and put down what you're holding?"
...
Xia Huanao's morning passed just like that. After changing clothes and walking through the campus, Xia Huanao wanted to see what development his news from last night had made after a night. However, he overlooked one problem: himself.
He was a new face at this university. Furthermore, as we've discussed before, he wasn't tall, and his appearance was delicate. He could be mistaken for a middle schooler. It was hard for such a "big shota" to walk around a university campus without attracting attention.
Before he could even inquire about the first trending topic he had created, he had already climbed onto the second trending topic, which was titled: Mysterious Junior, Picture Proof...
Just as all the girls in the school were trying to find out where this junior came from, nine o'clock arrived. The official website of Liuling University was refreshed, and Xia Huanao's profile appeared under the faculty introduction. Although it was at the end, countless people had been waiting since last night for Liuling University to officially announce news about the mysterious new assistant instructor.
Xia Huanao's page read:
Xia Huanao, Male, 16 years old, Assistant Instructor.
It was truly concise and to the point, not a single extra word. It didn't mention his educational background, his resume, or anything else. This only made the students more perplexed.
Suddenly, doubts arose. However, soon, the students of the school were divided into three factions.
The first faction questioned Xia Huanao's abilities. These students were mostly freshmen because, upon investigation, it was found that Xia Huanao's assistant instructor position was under Tong Ruo's name, and Tong Ruo's primary teaching targets were freshmen, although she occasionally served as a training instructor for the school team.
The second faction was the peanut gallery, a group that existed everywhere. Their purpose was to watch the show, with no particular bias, but there was a possibility of a large-scale shift in allegiance as events unfolded.
The last faction consisted of girls attracted by Xia Huanao's shota image. How could such an appealing junior not be liked? After Xia Huanao was confirmed to be an assistant instructor, this faction not only did not shrink but grew larger, because a considerable number of girls believed that a shota assistant instructor was even more appealing than a shota junior student.
For a time, the Liuling University forum was abuzz with activity and excitement.
Meanwhile, the instigator of this storm was at home playing games...
"Ah, I have to say, the internet at Liuling University is great. Gaming is not laggy at all. Looking at our home internet, downloading a 100/..."
...
Let's be concise and skip the rest of the boring morning and noon, fast-forwarding directly to the afternoon battle class.
Xia Huanao stood in front of the mirror, appraising his attire: "Hmm, very good, just missing a hat. I must go check for any events hosted by the Pokémon League when I have time and get one."
The system projected an image of Xia Huanao wearing a hat into his mind: "It looks good, but are you sure you want to play it this way? The 'Shay' strategy for girls might be completely replaced by the Pokémon's abilities with this hat."
"Perhaps you have a point, but don't you think it's cool when Ash turns his hat and throws a Poké Ball?"
The person and the system argued about the hat until the phone rang, and Xia Huanao remembered he had to go to class. He quickly grabbed his backpack and ran.
He ran all the way to the battle arena, out of breath: "This, this almost killed me. Why is the battle arena so far from my dormitory?"
Tong Ruo looked at Xia Huanao's panting state: "Let's go, class is starting."
Inside the battle arena, as Xia Huanao walked in, a wave of sound erupted. Tong Ruo led Xia Huanao to the center of the arena, looked at the students opposite, cleared her throat, and began to speak.
Liuling University's battle arena utilized a special design and construction technique, which is also used in many large venues, allowing every corner of the arena to be heard clearly.
"Students, I'd like to introduce the assistant instructor standing beside me, Xia Huanao. Come, Assistant Instructor Xia, please introduce yourself."
Assistant Instructor Xia stepped forward, looked at the camera placed beside the arena, and walked over to ask: "Classmate, can you mute what I'm about to say and not broadcast it?"
The boy beside the camera shook his head: "No, this is a live broadcast, it can't be edited..."
"Then never mind."
Xia Huanao walked back to face the students: "Hello everyone, I am Tong Laoshi's assistant instructor, Xia Huanao. Xia from 'summer,' Huanao from 'huanao' (making trouble). Please take care of me."
Seeing the silence from the other side, Xia Huanao started to playfully provoke them:
"You see there's nothing on my profile, and that's right. I dropped out of high school, so it's normal that nothing is written."
This statement truly stirred up a thousand waves. A student who dropped out in their second year of high school was now an assistant instructor in university? Everyone watching the live broadcast at Liuling University was also surprised.
Xia Huanao continued to provoke them: "So why am I working as an assistant instructor here? Classmate, you answer that."
Xia Huanao pointed to a girl who looked fiery. The girl said indignantly: "You must have gotten in through the back door."
Hearing the girl say this, the battle arena erupted with shouts of agreement. Xia Huanao nodded approvingly: "Mmm mmm mmm, you're right, I did get in through the back door. Not only that, but I went through the back doors of both Tong Laoshi and Principal Zheng. You probably don't know, but I call them 'sister.'"
Xia Huanao's statement was something the people present dared not agree with. Tong Ruo and Zheng Xiaoxiao were extremely popular at Liuling University precisely because they were approachable and treated students like siblings. Of course, this was only done in private; no one dared to call them 'sister' in formal settings.
However, something unexpected happened: "Sister, can you confirm that I got in through the back door?"
Tong Ruo nodded: "I confirm, he did get in through the back door."
The entire venue fell silent. After a long while, a boy from the corner said: "He really dares to call her 'sister,' and Tong Laoshi agreed..."
Instantly, Xia Huanao's "street cred" soared. Regardless of his strength, being able to openly call her 'sister' was a symbol of extraordinary status.
Xia Huanao continued: "I know some people are unconvinced. The current chairman of the Pokémon League said it best: battles are the fastest way to understand a trainer. Let's battle. Me, against your entire class."
Xia Huanao instantly turned around, pointing his left index finger at the students taking class in the battle arena.