The video call connected, and Indeedee's face quickly appeared on the TV screen… along with Qin Shu's.
"Huh?"
Lin Feng was startled.
"Alcremie! Alcremie! Lin Feng, I want to see Alcremie!"
The moment the call connected, Qin Shu immediately started shouting, her face flushed red with excitement.
Her sudden scream made Lin Feng instinctively move the phone farther away.
"You saw Alcremie?"
He turned to look at Alcremie, who was lying lazily behind him in its little bowl, looking completely dazed.
"Why do you want to see her? She's practically drifting off already."
As he spoke, he carried Alcremie over, bowl and all.
ヾ(≧▽≦*)o
"Waaah… Alcremie…"
The moment Qin Shu saw Alcremie getting closer, her eyes lit up even more. She nearly pressed her entire face against the screen.
"How can something be this magical?"
Alcremie still looked confused and half-asleep after being brought over.
Even when it saw Qin Shu on the other side, it didn't react right away.
It only felt that the person in front of it looked a little familiar.
After a moment, it remembered. This was the person who used to come to work with one of the little ones.
"Alcremie?"
It tilted its head in confusion.
"She's praising you. She says you're really strong."
Lin Feng explained.
Then he watched as Alcremie's face bloomed into a bright, happy smile once again.
Honestly, this Alcremie was very easy to satisfy. It was timid and shy, and in the past, even a little praise would make it blush from embarrassment.
Later, it gradually got better.
Now, when it was praised, it wouldn't get nearly as flustered.
"How is its luck so ridiculously good?"
Qin Shu remembered the match she had watched that morning and couldn't help asking.
Who knew?
Even Lin Feng couldn't explain it.
He had made dishes that could improve luck before, but Alcremie wasn't the only Pokémon who had eaten them.
And yet, only it had developed luck like this.
"Mmm… fine…"
Qin Shu didn't dwell on the question, but her eyes stayed fixed on Alcremie, sparkling with longing.
"You little cutie, I had no idea you were this adorable and this strong! I want to hug you right now and see just how amazing you really are…"
Lin Feng rolled his eyes.
Judging from the background of the video, Qin Shu was clearly at home right now.
And if she was at his house, there were already twelve other Alcremie there.
Besides, what exactly was Alcremie made of?
Cream.
It was literally cream.
Still, he didn't argue with her about it. Instead, he waved his hand.
"Alright, alright, move aside for a second. Let me talk to Indeedee."
Qin Shu reluctantly stepped away, and the cute little Indeedee came forward.
"Where's your brother?"
Lin Feng's first question was immediately about the male Indeedee.
"Indeedee~"
(He's washing dishes.)
Indeedee stood there with both hands clasped together and answered softly.
Lin Feng asked again,
"Did anything happen at home? If there's something you can't handle, call me anytime."
"Indeedee~"
(Actually… yes, something did happen today. Several people came to the entrance of the ranch saying they wanted to join the Sky Challenge.)
"The Sky Challenge?"
Lin Feng frowned.
"Indeedee…"
She nodded.
Then she continued.
"Indeedee~"
(But brother said we're not accepting challenges right now, so they left and didn't bother us anymore.)
"So that's how it is…"
Lin Feng understood.
This was the result of his sudden rise in popularity.
His Sky Challenge videos and the announcement video saying the challenge was temporarily suspended hadn't been posted at the same time.
So sometimes people would only see one of them, leading to misunderstandings.
Still, it wasn't difficult to solve. He just needed Rotom to pin a video explanation at the top.
Then he asked the real question.
"Are you scared being home by yourselves?"
"Indeedee?"
Indeedee froze for a moment.
The little hands she had been holding tightly in front of her clenched even harder.
She wasn't scared.
Grandpa was home, Tsareena and Steenee were there too, and there were so many Pidgeot around…
She was only worried that the food she made might not suit everyone's tastes.
And then there was Salamence. Feeding it was always a little scary.
But after spending enough time together, she realized that although Salamence had many terrifying scars on its body, it was actually just a big dragon that loved sleeping.
So overall, she wasn't really afraid.
"If you're scared, then we can come back right now…"
"Indeedee?"
Her eyes lit up instantly.
But just then, Eldegoss seemed to have finished washing the dishes and walked out of the kitchen, arriving just in time to hear the conversation between Lin Feng and his little sister.
He walked over with a serious expression and gently pulled her away from the screen.
"Good, very good!"
Indeedee jumped in surprise.
"Indeedee?"
"Indeedee…"
Eldegoss became even more serious.
"Indeedee…"
She pursed her lips and made an expression that clearly said, I understand.
Lin Feng, on the other side of the screen, was stunned.
He leaned closer and pressed his ear toward the phone before he could vaguely make out what they were saying.
Big brother was scolding his little sister.
He was saying that Lin Feng was busy with something important right now. They needed to take good care of the house and not distract him by making him rush back.
Indeedee's voice sounded weak, like she had accepted the lesson.
When the two of them appeared on screen again, they had clearly reached an agreement.
"Indeedee~!"
(Really! Leave it to us, we're not scared at all!)
Big brother looked incredibly serious, as though he had accepted a major mission.
And honestly, that was exactly how he felt.
On one hand, Lin Feng was in the middle of a competition. That was important, and he shouldn't be distracted.
On the other hand…
Eldegoss also wanted Lin Feng to know that even if he and Gardevoir weren't home, they could still take care of everything perfectly.
Because Lin Feng's foundation was here. He couldn't stay home forever.
Sometimes, he would have to leave to handle things outside.
And during those times, Lin Feng should be able to trust them completely with the home.
"Mm… is that really okay?"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Even though he couldn't fully know what Eldegoss was thinking through the screen, seeing that serious expression made Lin Feng give up the idea of going back immediately.
The competition would last at most another day and a half.
If he went back now, he'd have to trouble Dragonite to fly him back again tomorrow.
Even though Dragonite was incredibly fast, flying in this freezing weather was genuinely exhausting.
It was better to just finish the competition as quickly as possible…
…and then go home for the New Year.
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