Standing beside Red, Sabrina lowered her head slightly. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she spoke in a quiet voice:
"The fireworks last time were really beautiful. If there's a chance, I'd like to see them again."
"Of course! No problem at all!"
Red replied with obvious delight.
Just as he was feeling pleasantly surprised, another figure entered the VIP viewing lounge.
Joy Xue swept her gaze across the room and instantly locked onto Red. She quickly walked over to him and said:
"Gym Leader Red, long time no see!"
Seeing Joy Xue, Red immediately nodded.
"Yeah, it's been quite a while."
But then Joy Xue suddenly leaned close to his ear and said with a smile:
"Gym Leader Red, thank you. If it weren't for you, the Joy family wouldn't have been among the first groups to receive qualification for testing Dynamax devices."
"Grandma has been telling me these past few days that I've made a reliable friend. She even wants me to bring you to visit the Joy family."
"Our grandma is really too polite."
As soon as Joy Xue arrived, the atmosphere in the VIP lounge immediately became rather delicate.
Someone couldn't help whispering:
"Is the Joy family trying to compete with Gym Leader Sabrina for him?"
"Aren't their statuses unequal?"
"What do you know? This isn't an ordinary Miss Joy! She's one of the future heirs of the Joy family, and she even owns a Latias!"
It was Shinji's first time witnessing a scene like this. Looking at Xiaowen nearby—and even Ninetales—he asked in confusion:
"Master is...?"
Gary patted Shinji on the head.
"Quiet. Let's just pretend we didn't see anything."
Looking at the curious Shinji, Gary thought silently:
This is nothing. If I told you that even the Sinnoh Champion has visited Songzao Gym and has a very good relationship with Master, you'd be even more confused.
Meanwhile, with the arrivals of Joy Xue and Sabrina, Lt. Surge had completely become roadside grass.
Nobody paid any attention to him anymore.
"Why? First Sabrina from the Golden Gym, and now the precious jewel of the Joy family?"
"What exactly does this brat have going for him?!"
If before, Surge had merely hated Red, now he genuinely wanted to tear him limb from limb.
He desperately wanted to say something threatening.
But looking at the two women present, either one of them could crush him effortlessly.
In the end, he could only curse inwardly.
Red! Let's see how arrogant you can be during the qualifiers!
Meanwhile, Red looked at Sabrina on his left and Joy Xue on his right and immediately felt a headache coming on.
Why do these two always show up at the same time?
Can't I get even a little buffer time?
Truthfully, Red could more or less understand both of their feelings.
For most people, this might be a multiple-choice question.
But for Red, it was a question with multiple correct answers.
Whether it was Sabrina or Joy Xue, both of them were his wings.
Since he had the ability, why should he reject one girl just because of the other?
Even so, Red didn't think his charm had yet reached the point where both of them could peacefully coexist in the same place.
After noticing Joy Xue standing beside Red, Sabrina's eyes flickered with disappointment.
"Sorry. I've interrupted you. I'll leave first."
After speaking, Sabrina used Teleport and disappeared.
At this point, everyone present entered full spectator mode.
Ninetales sighed regretfully.
"Sigh... it looks like Master's little boat is about to capsize."
Meanwhile, Xiaowen gritted her teeth viciously.
Shinji looked at the scene and couldn't help commenting:
"It's really lively."
Gary somehow produced a bag of sunflower seeds and said:
"This is nothing. I'm sure there'll be even more exciting drama to watch in the future."
At this moment, everyone's attention was focused entirely on Red.
Even Ash's Kingler evolving and successfully sweeping three opponents in a row barely caused any commotion.
Only Lt. Surge suffered another emotional breakdown upon seeing it.
"FUCK! What kind of level are League trainers these days?!"
"How can this kid sweep three Pokémon with a Kingler that wasn't even evolved before the match?"
"Do you even know how to battle?!"
Not only had he failed to regain any face, but now nobody in the entire VIP section paid him the slightest attention.
Yet nobody cared.
"Uh..."
Red scratched his head awkwardly, unsure whether he should chase after Sabrina first or stay and comfort Joy Xue.
But he quickly made his decision.
Remaining where he was, Red said to Joy Xue:
"Don't worry. Next time, I'll definitely come visit our grandma."
"Then you'll be very welcome. After all, you're a celebrity now."
...
In the end, Red chose to stay and take care of Joy Xue's feelings first.
Ever since Joy Xue had disguised herself to secretly observe him, Red had realized that beneath everything else, she was essentially a playful young girl.
For girls like that, a sense of ceremony and attention mattered most.
So when Joy Xue saw Red choose to stay with her, her eyes immediately filled with pride and satisfaction.
She quietly took out a fruit and handed it to Red.
"This is a little gift from me. I've been busy lately. I promised I'd come see you, but I never got around to it."
Red glanced at the gift.
A fruit produced by a Champion-level Venusaur!
His pupils instantly trembled.
As expected of one of the Joy family's future heirs. She really is generous!
After agreeing on a time to visit the Joy family's headquarters, Red used preparations for upcoming battles as an excuse and quietly left the VIP lounge.
Now he needed to save his second little boat.
Sabrina's situation was somewhat different from Joy Xue's.
Although Sabrina always appeared strong and domineering in front of Red, that toughness was merely a façade.
When facing him, her true feelings were actually somewhat insecure because of her circumstances, making her hesitant to take the initiative.
Very soon, Red used his psychic powers to locate Sabrina, who was by herself.
When Sabrina saw him appear, a trace of secret delight flashed through her eyes before being replaced by annoyance.
"How did you find me?"
Hearing that, Red grinned.
"I can't help it. We've undergone psychic fusion together. It'd be hard for me not to find you."
Though Sabrina was trying to scold him, her expression had already softened considerably.
Red immediately pressed his advantage.
"You know, the bite mark you left on me last time still aches now and then. You can't just bite me and then pretend nothing happened."
"You jerk! You were the one lying on top of me! I told you to get up, but you wouldn't move. Then you even pretended to be unconscious. That's why I bit you!"
"But you still bit me. Sometimes I wonder if you're part Growlithe. It hurt a lot."
"You're the one who's a Rockruff!"
Looking at Red constantly teasing her, Sabrina became increasingly annoyed.
On impulse, she suddenly opened her mouth and bit down on his shoulder again.
"I'll teach you to talk nonsense!"
"Hiss! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Red immediately put on an exaggerated expression of pain.
The reaction startled Sabrina.
"Are you okay? I wasn't even biting hard."
Just as she began feeling guilty, Red gently cupped her beautiful face in his hands.
Looking at the Psychic Queen standing before him, her cheeks slightly flushed, he said:
"As revenge, I'm going to bite back."
Seeing Red's face rapidly drawing closer, Sabrina silently closed her eyes.
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