Pokémon: Master System.

"Mm." Xia Yu nodded.

…………

Xia Yu escorted Su Muzi to the vicinity of the girls' dormitory.

"That's enough for now." Su Muzi looked at the girls' dormitory in the distance, then turned to Xia Yu with a long-lost smile on her face. Her gaze fell on Xia Yu's face, and she spoke softly, as gentle as ever: "Xia Yu, thank you for telling me all this. I feel much better now."

"I'm sorry, Mu Zi." Looking at Su Mu Zi's smiling face, Xia Yu felt even more guilty and couldn't help but whisper.

“Xia Yu, you really don’t need to apologize to me.” Su Muzi looked at Xia Yu with a serious expression: “I should be the one apologizing to you. I didn’t know about you and I couldn’t stay by your side. I missed you.”

Hearing Su Muzi's considerate words, Xia Yu was slightly taken aback, then he nodded gently and replied, "Muzi..."

"Xia Yu, you should go back now." Su Muzi's face lit up with a bright smile, like the most beautiful flower blooming in winter: "I've figured it out, thank you."

Looking at Su Muzi's beautiful face, Xia Yu suddenly remembered the gift box Wei Xianzhe had given him. He immediately took out the gift box containing flowers and presented it to Su Muzi in surprise: "Muzi, I'm sorry. I hope you are happy every day. This bouquet is for you."

Su Muzi's face was filled with surprise, her eyes sparkling, and she teased, "Thank you, go back now, it's too late, Teacher Long will be worried about you."

"..."

"Bye, I'm going back to my dorm." Su Muzi walked towards her dorm without looking back, while Xia Yu also turned and walked out of the school.

…………

As Su Muzi reached the dormitory entrance, she finally couldn't help but look back, only to find that Xia Yu's figure was getting farther and farther away, gradually disappearing into the night.

Su Muzi couldn't resist picking up the gift box Xia Yu had given her and unwrapping the exquisite packaging.

Looking at the vibrant flowers, Su Muzi smiled brightly. This was the first time she had received flowers from Xia Yu. She picked up the flowers and gently smelled them. Suddenly, she noticed something at the center of the flowers.

Is this a gift from Xia Yu?

Full of anticipation, Su Muzi reached out and removed the thing from the flower's stamen, carefully reading the small print on the packaging.

"XXX brand Biyuntao".

When Su Muzi saw the small print on the packaging, her face instantly turned bright red and felt hot. Her ears also turned red and purple. She felt like a steam engine, and her mind went completely blank.

Xia Yu... what does this mean?!

What does it mean that he gave me this?!

…………

Su Muzi staggered back to her dormitory in a daze, her mind filled with the little "gift" in her bag.

"Mu Zi?"

"Mu Zi?"

"Mu Zi!"

Xia Jie called Su Muzi several times before Su Muzi finally snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Xia Jie: "Xia Jie... what is it?"

"Where did you go? Why are you so late?" Xia Jie frowned as she looked at Su Muzi, whose condition was clearly off. "That bouquet of flowers you're holding..."

"Nothing much..." Su Muzi quickly explained, "We just... chatted for a while and then came back."

"Then what's the deal with that bouquet of flowers in your hand?" Xia Jie asked, looking at Su Muzi.

"It was given to me by Xia... Xia Yu."

"Why is your face so red?" Xia Jie frowned as she looked at Su Muzi's nervous appearance. She was sure that Su Muzi was hiding something from her.

What kind of spell did Xia Yu cast on Su Muzi this time?!

"No...it's nothing." Su Muzi was startled when she heard Xia Jie's words, afraid that Xia Jie would see through her disguise. She quickly waved her hand and said, "Xia Jie...I'm a little tired. I'm going to wash up and go to bed."

…………

As Xia Yu walked back, she let out a long breath and secretly rejoiced. Sending flowers at such a crucial moment was truly a stroke of genius; she was incredibly clever.

However, I have to thank Wei Xianzhi. If it weren't for the flowers he sent me, I really wouldn't have thought of such a move.

Wei Xianzhi is not bad; he's a pretty good person.

It seems I should learn from Wei Xianzhi and always keep some fresh flowers and small gifts on hand, just in case.

While thinking about this, Xia Yu also started searching for information about the person "Wei Xianzhi".

Upon searching, he discovered that Wei Xianzhi seemed to be quite famous at Imperial University.

However, his reputation doesn't seem to be very good, with many girls calling him a scumbag, a playboy, and the like.

…………

Chapter 533 Laboratory Launch Ceremony

Walking back to her apartment, Xia Yu couldn't help but think to herself that Wu Yaozu, that cunning strategist, was still quite capable despite his terrible ideas.

Sincerity is indeed the only surefire way to win. It seems that Su Muzi has been appeased for the time being, but what about Teacher Long and Xiao Wanyu?

Sigh, it seems I'm going further and further down the path of being a scumbag.

…………

"Squeak."

Xia Yu took out his key and opened the door, startling Long Yanning, who was combing the wind fairy's cotton-like fur on the sofa.

"You're back?" Hearing the sound, Long Yanning turned around and looked at Xia Yu, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "It's so late, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"

"Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry. Let's eat something." Xia Yu nodded, then continued, "I just went to school to talk about the international Pokémon exchange tournament..."

"After I finished, I took Su Muzi back to her dormitory, which took a little longer." Although Xia Yu's tone was calm, his eyes were always on Long Yanning as he spoke, observing the changes in her expression.

"Su Muzi?" Long Yanning's expression remained unchanged as she continued preparing a late-night snack for Xia Yu, sighing softly, "Sigh."

“She… is quite pitiful. She seems like a completely different person after all this time. Xia Yu, you don’t really need to tell her. It’s fine as long as we keep it from her.”

"Yan Ning, can you really keep this a secret forever?" Xia Yu looked at Long Yan Ning with a smile. Long Yan Ning had always been so kind.

“But you… are too direct. You need to give her time to adjust.”

"I couldn't do anything about it either," Xia Yu said with a smile. "By the way, Yan Ning, when I dropped Mu Zi off today, she asked me who my girlfriend was."

"Huh? Did you tell her?" Long Yanning asked nervously.

“She’s already figured out you’re my girlfriend,” Xia Yu replied.

"Ah?" Long Yanning's face paled in surprise, her expression tense, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Did she say anything? What if she told others? What if we..."

"What are you afraid of?" Xia Yu smiled at Long Yanning: "This is a normal relationship. Besides, if anyone goesssips, you can just have Master kill them."

“If anyone should be silenced, it should be Sakaki.” Hearing Xia Yu’s teasing words, Long Yan Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Xia Yu, reached out and patted him, and also joked: “Besides, if my dad finds out, I don’t know if he will kill others, but he will definitely kill you first.”

"You definitely won't want to part with her." Xia Yu smiled and walked behind Long Yanning, gently embracing her.

"Stop messing around, I'm making a midnight snack." Long Yanning couldn't help but roll her eyes at Xia Yu.

…………

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.

Perhaps because he had temporarily resolved Su Muzi's matter, Xia Yu was in high spirits lately, and he devoted most of his time to training Pokémon.

Among them, the Ankylosaurus and the Axetooth Dragon both evolved into the Bloodwing Wyvern and the Double Axe Dragon.

Xia Yu's team has finally grown stronger, almost reaching the level of all members being at the level of a gymnast.

This also means that Xia Yu can participate in the upcoming Gym Leader ranking competition. With his Pokémon setup and strength, he can be considered one of the best in the Gym Leader level.

Besides training Pokémon, Xia Yu was busy handling matters in the laboratory while also diligently searching for an expert who was well-versed in the history of ancient Shu.

In the past few days, Su Muzi's contact with him has become more and more frequent, as if they have returned to the past.

However, the content of their conversations changed from greetings and expressions of concern to asking Xia Yu what she was doing and if she needed any help.

Xia Yu didn't refuse and took her on a tour of the giant laboratory, which dispelled Su Muzi's gloom and made her smile brightly all the time.

As the end of the year draws ever closer, so too does the launch ceremony for the giant laboratory project.

…………

"At the launch ceremony of this laboratory, we need to present some of the experimental results to reassure the Pokémon Association." In Xia Yu's office, Chi Hanqing, Sylvia, and two others sat opposite him, having a short meeting.

The three of them also represent the core power structure of the entire laboratory.

"My plan is to temporarily introduce the concepts of Dynamax and Gigantamax this time," Xia Yu said seriously. "Right now, the whole world is in the exploratory stage regarding Dynamax. There is no clear definition of Dynamax, and they don't know the difference between Dynamax and Gigantamax. Instead, they all refer to them as Giant Pokémon. We must be the first to propose the concepts of Dynamax and Gigantamax."

"Then, by taking advantage of this opportunity, we can seize the initiative, enhance the reputation of our laboratory, further improve its status, and attract more investors and resources."

"Then, if I have time, I will host the launch ceremony. If I am not available, Chi Hanqing, the deputy director of the laboratory, will host it." Xia Yu's gaze fell on Chi Hanqing. To be honest, he trusted Sylvia more than Chi Hanqing.

However, Sylvia is a foreigner after all, and her identity is sensitive. Even if Xia Yu wants to promote her to deputy director of the laboratory, it can only be done after she has outstanding experimental results and gains the trust of the Chinese Pokémon Association.

Chi Hanqing nodded as she listened to Xia Yu's words. Her dark circles were very heavy, and she looked exhausted. She was clearly in a very bad state.

She's been really busy lately. Compared to Xia Yu, the elusive lab director, she's more like the lab director, taking full responsibility for all the lab's affairs.

Xia Yu also noticed that ever since he arranged work for Chi Hanqing, she has been so busy that she has no time to mention Gigantamax Pokémon.

Therefore, Xia Yu simply assigned her new tasks, making her and Sylvia jointly manage the artificial Pokémon, squeezing every last drop of value out of Chi Hanqing.

…………