You are not allowed to date a trainer.

Chapter 36 The owner is not at home

Qin Zhen put down his phone and touched the back of his head in confusion.

Beside him, a pair of large Klein blue eyes had been stealing glances at him for a long time, and now, finally finding an opportunity, they turned towards him openly.

"Qin Zhen, who is looking for you?"

"It's Ajue." Qin Zhen answered casually.

"What does she want from you?"

"It's said that it was an accidental mistake, but..."

Qin Zhen pinched his chin and pondered. Perhaps it was because his superpowers were gradually awakening, his perception became more and more acute. Just when the phone was hung up, Qin Zhen clearly heard the roar of a woman who did not belong to the owner of Xiaoying Pavilion.

Could it be that Gym Leader Ying was being bullied at school? But that didn't make sense. Just thinking about the older loli's mother, who raised her hand and broke her leg in warning, made it clear Ying Jue wasn't someone who would tolerate such humiliation. Not to mention that she was a Gym Leader-level trainer, with Snorlax at her disposal. It was those who were criticizing her behind her back who should be wary of bullying and violence at school.

Or... did something happen at Baiyun Gym?

While he was thinking, the driver in the front seat took the initiative to talk to him: "Young man, your accent doesn't sound like you are from here?"

Qin Zhen raised his head and smiled. "Yes, Master, I'm from Tanzhou City."

"Oh! Tanzhou! They eat spicy food there too, so you should be quite used to it. What are you doing in Jinguan City? Tourism? Then you must visit the Wuhou Temple!"

"Master, I'm here to challenge the Jinguan City Gym."

"Oh, you can even visit the Wuhou Temple after challenging a gym!" The driver beamed, clearly genuinely fond of Prime Minister Zhuge. "He's also a trainer, the last Flying-type master of the Han Dynasty. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, he used the Tailing Wind to such perfection that he completely routed Cao Cao..."

Qin Zhen's eyes twitched when he heard this, and he didn't know how to react for a moment. The "tailwind" that the driver mentioned was a flying-type elf move, which doubled the speed of all the team's units in the game.

At this moment, Qin Zhen thought back to history, imagining that Prime Minister Cao in this world was standing by the Yangtze River, and saw from afar that the fireboats rushing towards him suddenly doubled in speed. He must have felt as upset as he did now.

He looked out the window. It was June and the weather was already very hot, but the streets of Jinguan City were still crowded with people. Occasionally, among the crowd, one could see a domineering panda as tall and strong as an iron tower with a fierce face. Children sat on the shoulders of the domineering panda with smiles on their faces, holding small lotus-shaped umbrellas in their hands.

"Hey boy! Here we are!"

"Thank you, Master."

The taxi stopped, Qin Zhen opened the door and got out, and Teng Teng Snake jumped out. The little snake came to Qin Zhen's feet, looked up at the four-character sign of "Fox Hotpot" above its head, and its eyes became confused.

"Qin Zhen, is the next opponent here?"

"No, this is just a hot pot restaurant. The Qingcheng Pavilion Master we are going to challenge lives at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain outside the city."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"Since we're in Jinguan City, how could we not try the hot pot here?" Qin Zhen bent down and picked up the little snake. "I heard on the phone that this Fox Hot Pot is great, and that Pokémon can dine here if they're accompanied by a Trainer, so I thought I'd bring you here to try it."

The little snake snuggled into Qin Zhen's arms and looked up at his trainer's face. The blue eyes that were usually so stern and cold that people dared not look directly at them were now soft as a mirror, like the sparkling ocean under the midday sun.

"Wouldn't that cost a lot of money?" "It would be painful," Qin Zhen smiled. "But I made a fortune recently, so I can afford a hot pot meal."

The so-called windfall was a considerable sum of money that had suddenly arrived in Qin Zhen's bank account yesterday. Qin Zhen had discovered this while buying his plane ticket and, perplexed, called the bank. The call was transferred several times before the customer service representative who finally answered respectfully replied, "That's the bonus you received after defeating the Baiyun Gym, the number one ranked gym in the Donghuang Alliance."

Pushing open the door of the hot pot restaurant, cold air hit him in the face, followed by the spicy smell of hot pot, accompanied by a hint of butter. Qin Zhen stood at the door and couldn't help rubbing his nose, feeling that the chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns were dancing tango in his nasal cavity.

"Hello, welcome to Fox Hotpot. How many people are dining here?" A waiter in a small vest came up to greet them.

"Four, I'm partnered with my three elves."

"Okay, please follow me."

The waiter led Qin Zhen upstairs and found a square table by the window on the second floor. Qin Zhen released Milton and Caterpillar, picked up the menu and called out to everyone on the left and right. The man, the snake, the dog and the lizard put their heads together and studied the menu together.

Millerton and Caterpie were illiterate, so they could only place their orders by looking at the photos on the menu. The dog and the lizard looked at the photos with great interest. When they saw a dish they liked, they stretched out a paw to point at it, and then said "Guaoaoao" or "Woof woof woof", asking Qin Zhen to draw a tick on it with a pencil.

At this moment, the back of Qin Zhen's hand was suddenly poked lightly, and the voice of Teng Teng Snake sounded in his mind.

"Qin Zhen, look to the right."

Qin Zhen turned his head and was suddenly stunned.

To his right was a window, facing the building across the street. The building's exterior wall had been entirely transformed into a large LED screen. The display had lit up at some point, and a giant green python was coiled in the center of the screen, its scarlet vertical pupils overlooking all living things, filled with the majesty of a queen.

It turned out to be the final evolved form of his own vine snake - the monarch snake.

Just then, the waiter brought up the hot pot. Qin Zhen waved at him and curiously pointed at the monarch snake outside the window and asked, "Hello, what is that?"

The waiter put down the hot pot and looked up. "Oh, that's someone canvassing for votes for Monarch Snake."

"Canvassing for votes? Canvassing for what?"

"Is this your first time in Jinguan City?" Seeing Qin Zhen's bewildered expression, the waiter smiled. "This is a traditional event here. Every year, Jinguan City holds a grand selection event, where the public votes to choose the most popular elf."

"If an elf wins first place..."

"Then it'll be the most popular elf of the year. Its supporters will head to Yulin Road for a celebration, filling up the bars on the entire street with singing and dancing. The revelry will last from noon until two or three in the morning, and sometimes even all night long."

"What's the point of this?" Qin Zhen asked his soul. In his opinion, this had nothing to do with the elves. It was just a group of bored people finding an excuse to indulge in a party.

"It's really meaningless," the waiter shrugged. "If you must say, it's just a little entertainment provided by Jinguan City for those who failed to find a gym challenge and passed the time."

"Gym Challenger?" Qin Zhen was stunned. "What does this have to do with Gym Challenger?"

"Because our owner is not at home at this time."

　I'm really sorry, sorry to all the readers. Pig Nose author finished writing yesterday and went to sleep directly. Today, the editor reminded me that I had not updated and I found that the chapter had not been uploaded. I apologize for updating twice after I got home from get off work today.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)