Mu Xue had absolutely no defenses up.
The moment the door opened, she blurted out anxiously,
"Don't open the wardrobe in this room—"
Before she could finish, she saw Oliver standing there bare-chested.
Although Oliver was only eighteen, years of training alongside Pokémon had given him a well-built, athletic physique.
Mu Xue froze on the spot.
Her mind went completely blank.
Then—slam!
She yanked the door shut.
Oliver was stunned too. He tugged at the door and realized it wouldn't open—Mu Xue was holding it from the outside. He lowered his head, glanced at himself, and immediately understood.
She probably thought he wasn't wearing anything.
"Hey, don't misunderstand!" Oliver quickly called out.
"I'm just not wearing a shirt, that's all!"
There was no response from outside.
Left with no choice, Oliver hastily pulled on a top and raised his voice again,
"I'm dressed now. What did you want to say?"
After quite a long while, the door finally opened again.
Mu Xue stood there with her head deliberately turned to the side, absolutely refusing to look at him.
"…This is a bit much. I'm fully dressed now," Oliver said helplessly.
Mu Xue sneaked a glance. Seeing that he really was properly clothed, she relaxed slightly—but the image of his bare upper body instantly resurfaced in her mind, her eyes flickering with complicated emotions.
She wasn't angry.
But if she didn't say something, her pride wouldn't let it go.
Putting on a stern face, she said,
"This time I'll let it slide. But from now on, you're not allowed to strip in my house."
"Hey, I was about to shower! And I was wearing pants—long pants, even!"
"Then you should've put on a shirt before opening the door."
"Alright, alright. I'll be more careful next time. So—what was it?"
Seeing Oliver give in, Mu Xue finally felt satisfied.
She walked into the room, opened the wardrobe, then somehow produced a bedsheet and wrapped all the clothes inside the wardrobe into it, bundling everything up like a sack before hoisting it onto her back and leaving.
Oliver stared at the scene in silence for a moment, then shrugged.
"…Weird."
The Next Morning
Oliver woke up refreshed.
Years of training had long since ingrained the habit of waking early. After a quick wash, he rummaged through the fridge, found some eggs and a bag of noodles, and cooked himself a pot of egg noodles.
Just as he started eating, Mu Xue came downstairs—walking unsteadily enough that it almost looked like she might tumble at any moment.
Normally, someone who had become one of the Four Heavenly Kings through sheer effort shouldn't be sleeping in this late.
But last night, every time Mu Xue closed her eyes, the image of Oliver's bare upper body resurfaced. Coupled with the fact that she had never once had a man stay overnight in her home, her mind simply refused to calm down.
She'd tossed and turned until well past midnight before finally drifting off, which explained her current state.
"There's still noodles in the pot," Oliver said casually.
"Go wash up first, then eat."
Mu Xue nodded slowly and drifted toward the bathroom.
The moment she closed the door—
She suddenly realized something.
Her heart started pounding wildly.
Below…?
I'm going to eat…?
It wasn't that she truly misunderstood his meaning—it was just that Mu Xue was in a strange, chaotic emotional state.
She didn't know how to face her feelings toward Oliver, and that uncertainty caused all kinds of wild thoughts to spiral out of control. Even when she knew perfectly well that Oliver meant nothing of the sort, once her thoughts ran off, they were impossible to reel back in.
Outside, Oliver had no idea Mu Xue was in the middle of an internal war.
He finished his noodles in a few bites, washed the bowl, then headed straight to the underground training room and released Garchomp.
Garchomp stretched a bit after being released. Its weighted gear was currently set to four times gravity, a level it had already fully adapted to.
"Garchomp," Oliver said with a smile,
"look at this. Your turn has finally come for a legendary resource."
He took out that drop of Landorus's blood from his system storage.
If it hadn't been so late last night, he would've let Garchomp absorb it immediately.
The instant the blood appeared, Garchomp's breathing quickened, its eyes locked onto the faintly glowing yellow droplet, filled with raw desire.
Oliver didn't hand it over right away. Instead, he warned seriously:
"This is the blood of the legendary Pokémon Landorus.
It doesn't just contain a trace of its origin power—more importantly, it carries insights into how to absorb wind and lightning to strengthen oneself."
"I hope you can grasp that from it."
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