Chapter 43: Past Events of the Lin Family

Deep into the night, the conversation among Xia Yu's family was still ongoing.

Xia Luo resolutely insisted on giving the shiny Charmander Pokémon egg to Xia Yu. Because the upcoming High School Cup in half a year was of paramount importance to Xia Yu, Xia Luo, as his older family member, naturally gave his unconditional and full support.

After all this twists and turns, the Charmander Pokémon egg that Xia Yu had been yearning for finally returned to his hands. Yet, at this moment, he also made up his mind to make it up to his older brother. Remembering the S-grade item, the Thunder Stone, he took it out and solemnly handed it to Xia Luo. "Older brother, you must accept this Thunder Stone, or I will absolutely not take that Pokémon egg."

"Alright." Seeing Xia Yu's resolute attitude, Xia Luo did not hesitate this time and nodded in agreement.

"With three Pokémon now confirmed, Xia Yu, you must do your utmost to improve your strength over the next half year. Tomorrow, you need to ask for leave from school and prepare for the battle with everything you have. Let me make this clear: going out to train alone for the past six months is definitely not going to work. I will figure something out to see if I can find you a training camp or a mystic realm for intensive training." Saying this, Xia Yong lit a cigarette and began to smoke. Amidst the curling wisps of smoke, he pondered the matter of the training camp. "Is there any place you'd like to go?"

For a small city like Starlight City, the capabilities of local training camps were limited. At the very least, they needed to head to Capital City. Every year around this time, numerous High School Cup special training shock classes and the like popped up. Some were genuinely capable, while others merely used the guise of training to swindle money.

"I want to go to the Dragon-type Mystic Realm for special training," Xia Yu stated. With three Dragon-type Pokémon, heading to a Dragon-type training ground was undoubtedly the best choice.

There were only two Dragon-type Mystic Realms in the country: one located in the Imperial Capital and the other in Chang'an City. The fees for intensive training in both mystic realms were ridiculously expensive, making them worth a thousand gold pieces yet hard to secure. The crucial point was that quotas were extremely limited. Training classes targeting the High School Cup typically offered only thirty slots per mystic realm each year, with application fees soaring as high as one million. More importantly, the mystic realm would verify the aptitude of the applicants' Pokémon; accepting substandard specimens would only tarnish the reputation of the realm.

Hearing Xia Yu's answer, Xia Yong took a deep drag of his cigarette in silence, glanced secretly at his wife Lin Xuemei, and slowly spoke, "Xia Yu, go to sleep first. Your mother and I will discuss it and let you know tomorrow. Remember to ask for leave from school tomorrow."

"Alright, Dad."

"Xia Luo, you go rest too. You're someone about to get married, so be more sensible and give me fewer things to worry about."

"Understood, Dad."

As both sons retreated to their respective rooms, the couple fell into silence. After a full ten minutes, Xia Yong finally spoke, "Xuemei..."

"Old Xia, you don't need to say it, I know." Lin Xuemei sat in her chair with a complex expression. "Let Xia Yu go to the Imperial Capital. I'll make a call to my father."

"Xuemei, how about we spend some money to send Xia Yu to the mystic realm in Chang'an City instead?" Xia Yong pulled Lin Xuemei into his embrace, feeling immense heartache. "We won't go to that mystic realm in the Imperial Capital; there's no need to call your father and subject ourselves to this indignity."

"It's fine, it's been so many years," Lin Xuemei leaned against Xia Yong's chest, speaking in a soft voice. "I stopped hating them long ago. When I saw him last time, he had aged a great deal. After all these years, he is over seventy now."

Back when Lin Xuemei was twenty-five years old, she had just graduated with a joint bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree from Xishu University. Right upon graduation, she met Xia Yong, who was then a penniless young man. The moment they laid eyes on each other, Xia Yong fell head over heels in love with Lin Xuemei, a wealthy young heiress from the big city, and immediately launched a relentless pursuit.

As the saying goes, a resolute woman fears a persistent suitor. How could a refined lady like Lin Xuemei withstand such a barrage? Coupled with Xia Yong's handsome, celebrity-like appearance in his youth, Lin Xuemei quickly fell madly in love with him, and their relationship soon progressed to the point of marriage.

However, Lin Xuemei's father had always looked down upon Xia Yong, who lacked both cultural refinement and a family background, and thus firmly opposed their union. But Lin Xuemei was stubbornly headstrong; once she set her mind on something, no one could change it—otherwise, she would never have dated a penniless man like Xia Yong in the first place.

In the end, after a furious quarrel with her father, her enraged father declared bluntly, "If you marry Xia Yong, don't ever step foot back into this house."

Lin Xuemei possessed an equally unyielding spirit and a stubborn streak. She directly ran away from home, settled in Starlight City, and married Xia Yong to start a family. Later, Xia Yong became a Gym Leader, while Lin Xuemei became a doctor at a Pokémon hospital.

From that day forward, Lin Xuemei had never seen her parents again. Even when her two sons were born, Lin Xuemei never returned to her maternal home once, nor did her parents ever visit her, save for her mother who secretly wired her some money.

This state of affairs continued until a few years ago when Lin Xuemei received a phone call from her eldest brother stating that their mother's health was failing. Only then did she hurriedly take her two sons to visit the Imperial Capital, and the family's relationship finally thawed somewhat.

Ever since then, every Lunar New Year, Lin Xuemei would allow her two sons to spend a period of time with her parents and would occasionally invite her mother to travel in Xishu Province. Yet she and her father remained as stubborn as two mules, maintaining their estranged standoff where neither was willing to bow their head first.

Therefore, when Xia Yong heard that his wife Lin Xuemei was actually willing to take the initiative to contact her father for the sake of their youngest son, he felt a wave of deep emotion.

"Xuemei, when you call your dad later, tell him that I am willing to offer a ten percent stake in the Insectoid Mystic Realm," Xia Yong said firmly after a moment of thought. "I cannot let your future father-in-law look down on you."

"Old Xia, there really is no need..." Lin Xuemei was deeply moved by Xia Yong's words.

Xia Yong smiled and said, "Rest assured, I know what I'm doing. This ten percent stake isn't for your dad; it's for Xiaoyu. I've already thought it through. After all, when we pass away in the future, everything we have will go to Xiaoyu and Xiaolu. The two-percent stake in the Insectoid Mystic Realm will be split evenly between the two brothers, one percent each. Xiaolu has a reckless temperament, and since he's about to get married to that girl Yu, it's time for him to settle down. Afterward, besides the Insectoid Mystic Realm, the rest of our family property in Starlight City will be inherited by him."

"As for Xiaoyu, although he is young, he has a steady personality and always listens to us the most. Didn't I keep talking to you about an arranged marriage a while ago? We need to find Xiaoyu a good girl. Since we're going to the Imperial Capital this time, I want your dad to help look for a wife for Xiaoyu there. This ten percent mystic realm stake will serve as Xiaoyu's betrothal gift. The moment they marry, we will immediately transfer this ten percent stake into the names of Xiaoyu and his future wife," Xia Yong explained. "With this ten percent stake, coupled with the fact that it concerns the marriage of his own maternal grandson, knowing your father's meddling personality, I refuse to believe he won't pull out all the stops."

"Old Xia, have you been plotting against your father-in-law this whole time?" Lin Xuemei asked, pretending to be angry.

"Wife, aren't I just helping you vent your frustration?" Thinking of this, Xia Yong suddenly sighed. "Xuemei, to be honest, I've understood your dad for a long time. If I had a daughter as beautiful as you, and one day she suddenly announced she wanted to marry a penniless guy, I'd break that kid's legs right on the spot. Besides, look at how I'm any different from your dad now? Your dad arranged your marriage, and I'm arranging Xiaoyu's."

"You still have the nerve to say that?" Lin Xuemei poked Xia Yong on the forehead. "Now you know how much I sacrificed to marry you back then. Just make sure you cause me less grief in the future."

"Understood. That's why I always say the luckiest thing in my life was marrying such a good wife."