Reborn Pokémon: My childhood sweetheart is Xiaoguang.

Xiao Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at her:

"Salina, is your swimsuit new? I've never seen you wear it before."

Serena's heart skipped a beat.

He noticed! He noticed!

"Yes, I bought it in the Aroma City..."

Serena whispered, a hint of anticipation in her voice.

"It suits you very well, and you are a perfect match for each other."

Xiao Zhi said with a smile.

Serena was stunned.

Did Xiao Zhi compliment her? Did he notice her swimsuit? He even said it suited her well.

Could it be... that he's finally figured it out?

The next second, Xiaozhi continued, "You know, when I traveled with Xiaoxia before, she also liked to soak in hot springs, just like you do."

"..."

Serena felt her newly risen expectations shatter into dust with a snap.

Pikachu is holding its forehead in the water.

It knew it...

Xiaoxia, Xiaoyao, Xiaowang, Alice...

Serena suddenly felt a deep sense of crisis. Ash had so many girls in his life, and each of them had unique memories with him.

And what about her?

In his long and exciting travels, she was just one of Carlos's companions for this part of his journey.

Perhaps, it's not the most special one.

Thinking about this, Serena suddenly didn't want to soak anymore and prepared to get up.

Just then, as expected, an accident occurred.

"what!"

Her calf suddenly twitched, and a sharp pain shot through her.

Oh no, I'm getting a cramp!

She lost her balance and fell forward.

"Salina!"

Xiao Zhi reacted very quickly and immediately reached out to help.

But the bottom of the pool was too slippery, and Ash couldn't stand steadily. The two bumped into each other and fell into the water with a splash.

In the chaos, Ash felt his mouth brush against something soft.

Those are Serena's lips.

Serena stared wide-eyed at Ash, who was standing right in front of her.

They fell into the pool, the water only up to their waists, and Xiaozhi put his arms around her shoulders to support her.

Because of the pain and loss of balance, she leaned against him.

Time seemed to stand still.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

With a loud bang, Serena's face turned bright red, the color spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears and then to her neck.

Her mind went blank, with only one thought remaining:

Ahhh! Ash kissed her!

Xiao Zhi was also stunned.

For once, he didn't jump up immediately, but stared blankly at Serena, his hand unconsciously touching his mouth.

It feels weird.

Pikachu emerged from the water and its eyes lit up when it saw this scene.

Oh my, the silly thing has finally figured it out.

It froze for a few more seconds.

The other women in the hot spring pool stopped chatting and looked at the young couple with smiles, as if to say, "It's so good to be young."

Why didn't they chase this little boy away? Wasn't it all for this moment?

"I'm so sorry!"

Serena finally regained her voice and stumbled backward, but her legs were still cramping, making her movements unsteady.

"I didn't mean to! Um, I just got a leg cramp, I didn't want that..."

She became increasingly incoherent as she spoke, and she was so embarrassed she felt like she was about to burst into flames.

Xiao Zhi then realized what was happening and blinked, "Oh, it's okay, it doesn't hurt..."

He silently added in his mind: It's still a little soft.

No, no, what kind of thinking is that?

Ash shook his head, looked at Serena's flushed face, and asked, "Which leg cramped?"

"Left, left foot..."

Serena whispered.

After saying that, Ash immediately snapped out of his daze, helped Serena sit down by the pool, straightened her left leg, and then held her ankle.

"When you get a cramp, you have to pull your foot upwards, like this, Xiaoxia taught me..."

Xiao Zhi said earnestly, his movements very gentle.

He brought up other girls again.

But this time, Serena didn't feel disappointed. Because Ash moved very quietly and his eyes were very focused.

He knelt down in front of her, carefully helping her relieve her pain, completely ignoring the unexpected kiss from earlier.

Or rather, he cares.

But he didn't know how to handle it, so he chose to solve the problem in the way he was best at.

The pain gradually subsided.

"Are you feeling better?" Xiao Zhi asked, looking up.

"Hmm... much better." Serena nodded, her voice soft, her face still flushed.

"That's good."

Ash released his grip, stood up, and unusually, didn't immediately say anything to spoil the mood. Instead, he remained silent for a few seconds before saying:

"Well, soaking for too long isn't good either, shall we go back?"

"Good, good."

Serena also stood up and wrapped herself in a towel.

As they left the hot spring, Serena noticed that Ash touched his mouth again.

That small gesture made her heart skip a beat.

........

On the way out of the hot spring, the atmosphere subtly changed.

Ash was unusually quiet. He helped Serena walk slowly, glancing at her every now and then.

But every time Serena looked back, he immediately looked away, pretending to be looking at the ice sculptures by the roadside.

Serena kept her head down, her face still flushed, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

Although the process was awkward, she was quite satisfied with the result.

Regardless of whether it was unexpected or not, even if it was unexpected, even if Xiaozhi might not have taken it seriously, it was still a big step for her.

Moreover, Ash's reaction seems a little different now.

Pikachu followed at their feet, looking at Ash and then Serena, with a look of utter dismay.

As the two slowly walked back to the Pokémon Center, they didn't notice that two figures were following them furtively not far behind.

"Brother, what's wrong with Ash and Serena? The atmosphere is so strange."

Yulijia asked softly, hiding behind Citron with only half her head showing.

Citron pushed up his glasses: "Based on my observation, these two have been acting strangely since they came out of the hot springs; they've been making eye contact more frequently."

"In addition, Ash touched his mouth unnaturally six times, and Serena looked down and chuckled twelve times."

He was holding an instrument with various data displayed on the screen.

Heart rate, distance, frequency of conversations, number of eye contacts...

Relationship Observation Recorder Version 3.0

"Are they dating?" Yulijia's eyes lit up.

Citron analyzed, "Based on the current data, it hasn't reached that point yet."

"But if Serena continues to persist, and Ash continues in this state, the possibilities for future developments..."

"How much is it?!" Yulijia asked anxiously.

Citron thought about it carefully: "I need more data, and we need to continue to observe."

The two continued to follow furtively.

Ash and Serena had already reached the entrance of the Pokémon Center.

Ash stopped at the door and turned to look at Serena. In the moonlight, his expression was a little unnatural.

“Um…Salina.”

"Hmm?" Serena looked up at him.

"Thank you for spending time with me today." Xiao Zhi scratched his head, his eyes darting around. "Although I didn't talk to you much, and we kept talking about the past..."

Serena paused for a moment, then smiled: "It's okay, I like listening to Ash talk, and I also like playing with him."

This is the truth.

She loved listening to Xiaozhi talk, loved seeing his eyes light up, loved everything about him.

She was happy as long as she was with Xiaozhi.

Xiao Zhi smiled and said, "See you tomorrow, have a good rest."

Serena nodded: "Yes. Ash should also get some rest."

The two entered the Pokémon Center.

In the lobby, Yulijia and Citron had already returned and were sitting on the sofa pretending to read magazines.

"Ash, Serena! You're back! Did you have fun?"

Yulijia jumped up and greeted him with great enthusiasm.

"It's alright," Xiao Zhi replied, though his voice sounded a little unnatural.

Serena blushed slightly: "Hmm...it's fine."

Yulijia jumped off the sofa and ran to Serena's side: "Serena, your face is so red! Did you soak in the hot spring for too long?"

"Maybe... "

Serena said vaguely.

Citron's glasses reflected the light as he looked at the two men and then at the instrument in his hand.

On the screen, Xiao Zhi's heart rate data showed a significant peak when he entered the lobby.

"interesting……"

Citron whispered that he was certain there was something wrong with these two!

Serena felt a little embarrassed by the siblings' stares, and she whispered, "I'm going back to my room now, goodnight."

"Well, I'm going back too."

Seeing Serena leave, Ash also spoke.

Down in the lobby, Yulijia was still pressing Citron for an answer: "Brother, do they even have a chance?"

Citron looked at the data curves on the instrument and pushed up his glasses:

"According to tonight's data, Ash's emotional arousal index has risen to 15%, which is a huge improvement, while Serena's perseverance index has remained above 85%..."

He paused, then concluded:

"Statistically speaking, if Serena continues to persist, and Ash continues to maintain this slow but steady awakening rate, then the possibility of a qualitative change in their relationship within the next six months is..."

How much is it?

Yulijia stomped her feet in frustration.

“It’s 55%.”

Citron reported a precise number:

"Although it's not high, considering Ash's special circumstances, it's already quite good."

Yulijia cupped her face in her hands: "I really hope they get together..."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Citron put away his tablet and tapped his sister on the head: "Relationships should be left to their own devices; you can't force them."

"We should head back now; we still have to watch Xiaoyun and Xiaoguang's dojo match tomorrow."

"Oh……"

Yulijia pouted, but still obediently followed her brother back. After a few steps, she suddenly turned back and muttered softly, "When will my brother find a girlfriend? He's even invented a relationship monitoring device, but he's still single..."

Hitterlon stumbled: "Uh, well, doing scientific research is very busy, let's talk about it later."

As night deepened, the lights at the Pokémon Center went out one by one.

Serena was in her room, reflecting on everything that had happened that day.

She lay in bed, gently touching her lips with her hand.

"Stupid Ash..."

Serena said softly, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Although it was just an accident, she will remember the feeling.

Take your time, there's no rush, she has plenty of patience.

......

Next room.

Xiao Zhi was also lying on the bed, his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

Pikachu was curled up asleep, making soft snoring sounds.

Training, acting as a relationship coach, and eating ketchup ice cream—life is tough for a rat!

Xiao Zhi, however, suffered from insomnia, which was unusual for him.

He turned over and touched his lips, where the soft touch seemed to linger.

This feeling is strange; my heart beats faster.

The clashes when battling Pokémon are different, and the intimacy when rubbing your face against Pikachu is also different.

Moreover, Serena's face was so red at the time, as red as a ripe tomato, she looked... cute?

Xiao Zhi was startled by the word that popped into his head.

Of course he knew Serena was cute; everyone said so. Yulijia often praised Serena for being both beautiful and gentle, but he had never thought about it carefully before.

Looking back now, Serena was indeed... very special.

She would quietly help him pack his luggage, hand him towels and water after training, remember that Pikachu likes ketchup, and proactively invite him to go shopping...

“Salina…”

Xiao Zhi murmured the name, a strange yet warm feeling welling up inside him.

Outside the window, the night in Yingxue City is quiet and beautiful.

Tomorrow is another new day.

And some things are quietly sprouting.