Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Hanako's worries were completely unnecessary.

After returning from the VIP cafeteria last night, Xiaoxia took Togepi and played wildly on the deck for a long time.

There is a dedicated battle zone for Pokémon on the deck.

Although Xiaoxia didn't participate in any matches, she watched others play for almost two hours.

In the midst of this excitement, he almost threw Togepi away.

Startled, she quickly hugged herself tightly and dared not wave her hands wildly anymore.

After the activities on deck are over.

She ran back to the cafeteria.

We ate another round.

Oysters, scallops, and that special seafood fried rice.

I ate two large plates full.

After finishing our meal, we even packed a dessert to take back to our room.

They said they wanted it as a late-night snack.

As soon as I got back to my room, took a shower, and collapsed onto the bed, I was done.

The person simply fell into a deep sleep and died.

The dessert was left untouched on the bedside table.

Even the next morning, when the sun was high in the sky, Xiaoxia was still sleeping soundly, clutching her blanket like a little pig.

Togepi had been awake for a while and was jumping around next to her, but she didn't react.

In the end, it was Togepi who patted her face with his little hands to wake her up.

"Ugh... Togepi... Stop messing around..."

Xiaoxia turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

Togepi persisted and continued filming.

Xiaoxia then sat up groggily.

Her hair was a complete mess, like a bird's nest.

She glanced at the time; it was almost eleven o'clock.

"Ah...it's so late..."

Xiaoxia yawned, rubbed her eyes, and got out of bed.

The desserts I packed last night are still on my bedside table.

She picked up the spoon and ate it directly for breakfast.

Cream was all over his mouth from eating.

On the other side, Hanako had already finished tidying up everything.

She changed the sheets in Jiang Chuan's room, cleaned up the trash, and sprayed the room with her own cleaning spray.

Although the VIP cabins are cleaned by dedicated staff, she still felt embarrassed to have others clean these things.

What if the cleaning staff comes in and sees those stains on the sheets?

Just thinking about it made her blush furiously.

So while Xia was still asleep, Hanako got up early and tidied everything up.

Jiang Chuan leaned against the headboard, watching Hua Zi bustling around inside and out, and felt incredibly happy.

After tidying up, Hanako washed her hands and went to the window.

The sea view outside is perfect.

"The weather is nice today."

Hanako looked out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, and was in a good mood.

Jiang Chuan walked up from behind and put his arm around her waist.

"Yes, it's not bad."

Hanako leaned against Jiangchuan and nodded gently.

This kind of life on the ship continued for two more days.

Over two days, Xiaoxia tried all the dishes in the VIP cafeteria.

I even became familiar with the head chef of the cafeteria.

The head chef is a chubby middle-aged woman who has a particular fondness for Pokopf.

Every time Xiaoxia brings Togepi to eat, she prepares an extra small portion of special Pokémon food for Togepi.

Pokerby also enjoyed his meal.

Hanako took charge of transcribing the travel notes from Egawa.

Jiang Chuan meticulously recorded everything he saw and heard along the way, including the new spirits he encountered and the wonders of the Mysterious Garden, in his notebook.

The handwriting is neat and the logic is clear.

It's time to record some nights that are inconvenient to describe in detail.

With a blush, she wrote down only four words based on Jiang Chuan's dictation.

Nothing was said that night.

Jiang Chuan laughed for a long time after seeing these four words.

Of course, the important business on the ship still needs to be done.

The two would also occasionally find opportunities to stay a little longer in Hanako's room.

With Xiaoxia playing around outside as a cover, it was still quite convenient.

Although Hanako still gets incredibly shy every time, she's gradually gotten used to it.

And so, two wonderful days of life on the ship passed.

The afternoon of the third day.

The ship's loudspeaker came on.

"Dear passengers, this ship is about to arrive at Honglian Island Pier. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark."

Jiang Chuan and his two companions had already packed their luggage and were standing on the deck looking ahead.

The outline of Crimson Lotus Island is becoming clearer.

From a distance, the entire island is covered with green vegetation, with a not-too-high mountain standing in the middle.

The mountain has a dark red color, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding environment.

The dock was filled with boats of all sizes.

It was several times more bustling than the dock where we departed before.

The ship docked and the gangway was lowered.

Jiang Chuan and his two companions disembarked from the boat with the flow of people.

As soon as Xiaoxia stepped onto the dock, her eyes widened.

"Why are there so many people here!"

The dock was packed with people.

There were backpackers carrying large and small bags, families on vacation, and tour groups in uniform.

The various sounds mingled together, making it even noisier than a regular cabin on a ship.

Hanako took a small booklet out of her bag.

This is a free tourist guidebook for Honglian Island that you can pick up on the ship.

She flipped through it and found the section introducing the island.

"I heard that a large hot spring was recently discovered on Honglian Island and it has been developed into a tourist destination."

Hanako said as she looked at it.

"Honglian Island has a volcanic landscape, making its scenery unique and its tourism resources much richer than those of other islands."

"Now that a new hot spring project has been developed, it has attracted even more tourists to come here specifically."

"The manual says that last month alone, the number of tourists visiting Honglian Island more than doubled compared to the same period last year."

Xia's eyes lit up immediately when she heard there was a hot spring.

"Oh! There's a hot spring to soak in?"

She lifted Togepi high and looked it in the eye.

"Togepi, did you hear that?! There's a hot spring!"

Whether Pokerby understood or not, it waved its little hands along with Xiaoxia because Xiaoxia was happy.

"There's a beach, a sandy beach, and hot springs here! My goodness!"

Xiaoxia counted on her fingers.

"No wonder there are so many people!"

"I could easily spend a few days here and have a great time!"

She looked at Jiang Chuan with shining eyes, her eyes clearly saying "I want to play".

Seeing her expectant look, Jiang Chuan smiled and reached out to pat her head.

"Let's go have some fun."

"You've traveled such a long way, through forests and incredible gardens, and then spent so much time on a ship. You really need to relax."

"Pick whatever you want to eat, it's on me!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoxia jumped up.

"Yay!"

She threw herself at Jiang Chuan and gave him a big hug.

I love you so much, darling!

Pokopi, sandwiched between the two, struggled to stick its head out and protested twice.

Xiaoxia loosened her grip on Jiangchuan, still buzzing with excitement.

I circled around twice, pondering what to eat, which hot spring to soak in, and which beach to take Togepi to.

Despite her excitement, Xiaoxia didn't forget her business.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Well, let's play tomorrow or the day after."

She held Togepi in her arms and said earnestly.

"Let's go check out the dojo first, let's take care of business first!"

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xiaoxia with some surprise.

Hanako also smiled with relief.

She walked over and gently patted Xiaoxia on the shoulder.

"Xiaoxia, now you know to do your work first before playing. You've grown up!"

The way Hanako looked at Kasumi held a hint of the gratification an older sister feels watching her younger sister grow up.

Xiaoxia proudly raised her head, her chin almost pointing to the sky.

"Of course!"

"I've grown by more than just a little bit!"

After saying that, Xiaoxia's eyes darted around.

Suddenly, he added with a grin.

"When I was on the ship, I didn't disturb you two while you were fighting in your room~"

Upon hearing this, Hanako's face instantly turned bright red.

Her face turned red, as if she had been scalded by boiling water, from her cheeks all the way to the base of her neck.

She spoke softly, with a slight stutter.

"Ah...you...you knew?"

Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment.

Actually, she just said it offhand without thinking much about it.

But seeing Hanako's incredibly shy expression, she quickly smiled and explained.

"Of course I know."

"I can still read people's expressions and know when to show up and when not to."

"Isn't this for the sake of our harmony?"

As Xia spoke, she patted Hanako's shoulder with a rather smug look on her face.

The actual situation is...

That night, Xiaoxia ate a super delicious baked lobster with cheese at the buffet restaurant.

The taste was absolutely amazing.

She took a bite, and her first instinct was to share it with Jiang Chuan and Hua Zi.

So she put down her fork, grabbed Pokopf, and ran out of the restaurant.

I'm going to call Jiangchuan and Hanako to come eat with me.

As a result, they had just reached the entrance of the VIP floor corridor.

Then they saw Hanako standing outside Jiangchuan's door.

She was about to call out "Hanako-nee" when the words were cut off.

Jiang Chuan's door opened.

Immediately afterwards, a hand reached out and precisely wrapped around Hanako's waist.

He pulled her inside in one swift motion.

Then the door slammed shut.

Xiaoxia's voice caught in her throat.

She stood there and blinked.

Even if she's stupid or slow-witted.

She could roughly guess what would happen next.

So she took a deep breath.

He picked up Togepi and turned around.

We're back at the buffet restaurant.

I finished the whole plate of baked lobster with cheese by myself.

Then I went to the deck and watched the Pokémon battles for two hours.

Then we went back to the restaurant and had a late-night snack.

Finally, after playing until I was exhausted, I went back to my room and fell asleep immediately.

From beginning to end, he never went to Jiangchuan's room to look for Hanako.

This is what Xiaoxia meant by "reading between the lines".

After listening to Xiaoxia's description, Jiang Chuan had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

He stepped forward and put his arm around Hanako's shoulder.

Hanako was so embarrassed that she almost buried her head in her chest.

Don't be shy.

Jiang Chuan leaned close to her ear and whispered comforting words.

"She in the room doesn't know either, and you didn't do anything wrong."

"Besides, you're sisters, and you'll be spending a lot of time together in the future."

"Maybe we'll need to get to know each other better in the future."

Hanako's ears twitched when she heard this.

She knew what Jiang Chuan meant by "get to know each other better."

But she was too embarrassed to continue the conversation and just wanted to move on from the matter as quickly as possible.

"Alright, alright..."

Hanako took a deep breath and looked up.

Her face was still flushed, but she tried to calm herself down.

"Let's hurry to the dojo!"

She changed the subject.

Jiang Chuan smiled and released his grip.

Xiaoxia was also very perceptive and immediately echoed her.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go to the dojo! Let's go to the dojo!"

The three reached an agreement and began searching for the location of the Crimson Lotus Dojo.

Leaving the dock, there is a main road.

The main road was packed with people, and various stalls lined both sides of the road.

There were vendors selling souvenirs, snacks, and promoting hot spring hotels.

It's very noisy.

Jiang Chuan took out a map, on which the location of the Crimson Lotus Dojo was marked.

It is located at the foot of Red Lotus Mountain in the center of the island.

The problem is that Honglian Island has been developed for tourism too quickly.

The road layout on the island has deviated considerably from the markings on the map.

Many newly built side streets, commercial streets, and hot spring resorts are not even shown on the map.

Some of the old roads have been rerouted or closed.

So even if the location is marked on a map, it's still not easy to find.

The three walked along the main road for a while.

We came to a fork in the road, and the map showed that we should turn left.

But the road on the left was blocked off, with a construction sign hanging on it.

The only option is to go to the right.

After a detour, we found ourselves in a commercial area.

Shops and people were everywhere, and I couldn't even tell which way was which.

"This is so hard to find..."

Xiaoxia stood on tiptoe and looked around.

"The map says there should be a road leading down to the foot of the mountain, but all we see are shops!"

Hanako also frowned as she looked at the map.

"It seems a new commercial street has been developed here, taking up the original road..."

Jiang Chuan closed the map and looked around.

"Ask someone."

He set his sights on an uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside.

This uncle looks like a local; he should know the way.

"Excuse me, sir, how do I get to the Crimson Lotus Dojo?"

The middle-aged man looked up at them.

"Crimson Lotus Gym? You're the challengers?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

The middle-aged man wiped his hands on his apron and pointed to the right.

"Go that way, cross two intersections, and you'll see a hotel called Red Flame Hot Spring. Then turn left and keep walking until you get there."

The three thanked the man and followed the directions he had given them.

After crossing two intersections, we indeed saw the hotel called Red Flame Hot Spring.

Turn left.

But after walking for a while, we didn't see a gym, but instead ended up at a Pokémon center.

Jiang Chuan asked the pretty young lady again.

The young lady suggested another route.

"Go up that path and turn right when you see the red sign."

The three of them walked up the path.

When you see a red sign, turn right.

Then we came to a dead end.

At the end of the road was a wall.

Xiaoxia looked at the wall and her lips twitched.

"Is this really the way to the dojo...?"

"Have we been tricked?"

Jiang Chuan was also speechless.

The Crimson Lotus Dojo is really well hidden.

He then asked a woman selling Poké Ball charms by the roadside for directions.

The older woman's explanation was even more far-fetched.

"Crimson Lotus Gym, do you see that crooked tree? Go in from there, there's a small path, follow the path to the end, then climb a few stone steps and you'll get there."

Based on the description, the three found the crooked tree.

There really is a small path.

As expected, a set of stone steps appeared at the end of the path.

The stone steps are flanked by dense woods.

It was very quiet around, a completely different world from the hustle and bustle down the mountain.

"This time it should be right..."

Xiaoxia, holding Togepi, said somewhat uncertainly.

Jiang Chuan shrugged, unsure of the answer: "Anyway, Crimson Island isn't that big. If we go to the wrong one, we can just consider it sightseeing. The gym isn't going anywhere!"

After listening to Jiang Chuan's words, Hanako and Xiaoxia agreed that they made sense, so they cheered up again and followed Jiang Chuan on a sightseeing trip, heading towards the dojo...