After a delicious breakfast, the Lu family dispersed — work called, errands beckoned.
The whole house now had only Liu Xiangjun left home. School was out for the holidays, so she had no classes to attend.
Dad and Grandpa Lu Xingguo headed to the research institute. Mom went to open the shop. It was already eight in the morning — the store usually opened at nine.
But today was special: Auron Vale's article on the [Evolution Conditions of Milotic] was being officially published today.
And because Mom had gotten wind of this news in advance, she had stockpiled a huge supply of Feebas eggs — and she'd also gotten from Auron Vale the key item: Energy Cubes that could boost the Beauty stat.
Exclusive Energy Cubes, and practically one of the conditions for Feebas to quickly evolve into Milotic. If people weren't fighting over her stock, Mom felt she'd wasted her years running a Pokémon store.
"Why is Mom grinning like an idiot?"
On the way to work, Auron Vale naturally tagged along too. Today was the day for reviving various fossils, so he wanted to see it for himself, and顺便 discuss the scheduling of the match with Rayquaza with Zhuge Ziyu.
"Your mom is thinking about how much money she's going to make today."
Dad watched Mom grinning the whole way there and scoffed. After all these years of marriage, he knew exactly what his wife was thinking.
But it was fine — having a wife with this personality actually complemented him perfectly.
He was a researcher, the type who could focus on nothing but his studies. So he simply handed all the family finances over to Mom to manage.
That way, both of them were happy. Dad didn't want to deal with money. Mom loved managing money. Win-win.
Auron Vale nodded. "Fair point. But I doubt we'll get a chance like this again."
He paused, then seemed to remember something. "Hey Dad, did you put an ad for Mom's shop in your paper?"
Dad's expression twitched. He caught Mom's sudden sharp gaze and admitted — he panicked.
"Uh, when I was writing that paper, we were still in Changan city. That shop didn't exist yet."
Dad finished, and only when Mom turned away did he silently wipe his brow. Thank goodness I reacted fast.
"Um…"
Auron Vale had barely started speaking when Dad shot him a glare that communicated two words clearly:
"Shut up!"
Auron Vale awkwardly rubbed his nose. I wasn't trying to provoke you — I was just genuinely asking.
While the family drama unfolded behind him, Grandpa Lu Xingguo's entire mind was already on the fossils waiting inside — he'd missed out on reviving more yesterday due to circumstances beyond his control. He appeared unbothered on the surface, but his heart had been attached to those fossils ever since.
"I'm off~"
"Yeah, bye."
Auron Vale and Dad said their goodbyes to Mom, then entered the research institute together.
They came in through the main entrance. Mom's Pokémon store was located behind the institute, so she had a bit more walking to do.
Once inside the institute, Zhuge Ziyu was already waiting for them.
"Good morning, three Doctors Lu."
The greeting made Auron Vale's face flush slightly, but he still extended a hand to greet Zhuge Ziyu.
"Good morning, Uncle Ziyu."
"Those fossils today — no problems, right?"
While Auron Vale was still being polite with his greeting, Grandpa Lu Xingguo didn't bother with pleasantries at all.
Zhuge Ziyu smiled with a dry laugh: "Rest assured, absolutely no problems. Yesterday was just an accident. The fossils are already in the testing grounds — we can start the experiment whenever."
"Alright, let's go."
Grandpa Lu Xingguo took the lead and strode toward the testing grounds. He couldn't wait any longer.
"Xiao Ze, the Milotic evolution conditions article is out — did you see it?"
"Hm? It's already published?"
"Yeah, just now."
Auron Vale shook his head. "I was on the way here, didn't check my phone."
"Oh~ well, your mom's shop is going to be packed today."
Zhuge Ziyu shot Auron Vale a knowing look and said with a grin.
Auron Vale studied Zhuge Ziyu's expression and the information in his words, and something clicked. "Wait — did you put my mom's shop name or address in the article too?"
Zhuge Ziyu smiled with pride. "Not just that. I also wrote that her shop carries Energy Cubes that can boost the Beauty stat."
Now Auron Vale was baffled. "How did you know I put those Energy Cubes in my mom's shop for sale?"
Auron Vale was confused. Zhuge Ziyu was confused too. "I didn't."
"You didn't know, and you still wrote it? What if I hadn't given the Energy Cubes to my mom?"
Zhuge Ziyu scratched his head. "That shouldn't happen…"
"It would!" Auron Vale looked at Zhuge Ziyu with pity. "I only gave my mom the Energy Cube formula yesterday when I got back. What if I hadn't come back yesterday?"
As Auron Vale spoke, cold sweat immediately broke out on Zhuge Ziyu. "In that case, I'd get chewed out by both of them."
"Thank goodness you came back yesterday."
Zhuge Ziyu exhaled deeply.
His wife and Auron Vale's mom were best friends.
If things had gone the way Auron Vale just described — if Mom had complained to his wife — Zhuge Ziyu's life would've been very difficult.
Auron Vale watched Zhuge Ziyu's expression and couldn't help but grin. Why were all the men in his life afraid of their wives?
Grandpa was afraid of Grandma. Dad was afraid of Mom. Even usually mild-mannered Zhuge Ziyu, at the mere mention of making a mistake, pulled this exact face at the thought of his wife.
"Me, a true-blooded man, will never be afraid of his wife!"
As they talked, they'd arrived at the testing grounds.
The testing grounds were surrounded by fossils of all sizes — big and small — leaving only the fossil revival machine in the center and a narrow path from the entrance leading to it.
"What do you think, Old Lu? I wasn't exaggerating, right?"
Grandpa Lu Xingguo gave the smug Zhuge Ziyu a single glance, said nothing, and immediately got people to start the experiments one by one.
Grandpa Lu Xingguo's method was efficient. He only needed to use his Aura's special ability, "Penetrate," to examine the interior of each fossil. Then he'd place the fossils into the fossil revival machine to see which could revive a Pokémon and which couldn't. After identifying the common characteristics of the revivable fossils, he could filter directly.
While Grandpa Lu Xingguo, Dad, and the researchers were hard at work, Zhuge Ziyu and Auron Vale stood off to the side watching.
"Xiao Ze, we've collected everything that can be collected in the world. Can we start the next phase of the plan?"
Auron Vale glanced at the quietly conspiratorial Zhuge Ziyu and said with a dry laugh: "Uncle Ziyu, you don't need to be this quiet. It's not like it's some secret."
(Chapter complete.)
———
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