Chapter 20: Graduation
Two years later.
Today was the day Bai Feng graduated from Fifth Junior School. He was twelve years old, making him the oldest child in the entire Fifth Junior School, and also the most outstanding child Fifth Junior School had seen in recent years.
In these two years, Bai Feng consistently ranked first in every exam. Because of this, he rarely came to School for classes. At the school, besides a few teachers and Yangtai, he hardly knew anyone else.
Teacher Takeda, his homeroom teacher, looked at the child who was almost as tall as him and said with emotion, "I can't believe you're graduating in the blink of an eye. Time really flies!"
"Teacher Takeda, thank you for your care these past two years," Bai Feng said gratefully.
Teacher Takeda gave a wry smile. "How could I have helped you? I'm truly ashamed."
Bai Feng had always been self-taught. His homeroom teacher hadn't been able to teach him anything. On the contrary, because he had such an excellent student, he had indirectly gained some benefits.
"I mean it, I'm truly grateful to you."
Bai Feng was genuinely grateful to Teacher Takeda from the bottom of his heart. If Teacher Takeda hadn't withstood the pressure and allowed him to study at home, he wouldn't have had so much time to manage the Orchard and cultivate fruit trees. His Orchard also wouldn't have gotten on the right track so quickly.
"Sigh~" Teacher Takeda sighed. "Let's not talk about this. You must continue to work hard in the future. I wish you a bright future." As he spoke, he found Bai Feng's Graduation Certificate and handed it to him.
"Teacher, I will. I'll be going now. I'll come back to visit you when I have time," Bai Feng said after taking the Graduation Certificate.
"Go on, go on. I also need to attend this year's Graduation Ceremony."
After leaving Teacher Takeda's Office, Bai Feng planned to go home.
Passing by the School Plaza, he saw from a distance that all the students in the School were gathered there. The Graduation Ceremony was being held.
But he didn't show himself and turned to leave directly.
Actually, the Principal had approached him before, hoping he would go on stage to represent the graduating students and give a speech on graduation day. But Bai Feng refused.
What would he say on stage? Say that he only came to School a few times a year? Say that when he was at School, he spent classes reading other books? Say that his relationship with his classmates wasn't good and he was a loner?
Anyway, he felt he had nothing to say.
Moreover, his good grades were due to a certain talent, coupled with a more mature mindset, not because he had some amazing learning method. So there was even less to say.
This wasn't Principal He Mao's first interaction with Bai Feng and he knew his nature. Seeing Bai Feng's insistence, he didn't force him further.
To be honest, Bai Feng was quite famous at School now, because his name was always at the top of the list in every exam. Especially for the new students who enrolled in the past two years, he was practically a legendary figure, only heard of, never seen.
For the classmates who had met Bai Feng, he was a strange person with a solitary nature who kept to himself. But for the Junior Students who hadn't met him, he was full of mystery and could greatly pique their curiosity.
A top student who was specially allowed not to come to School for classes because his grades were too good – that was truly awesome!
Many Junior Students were disappointed that they couldn't see Bai Feng at the Graduation Ceremony today.
After leaving School, Bai Feng went directly back to the Blue Bird Orphanage. As soon as he stepped into the Yard, a little ball of energy rushed into his arms like a cannonball.
"Oh my!"
Bai Feng picked up the little ball of energy. Who else could it be but Xiao Limo?
Xiao Limo was already four years old, but she still couldn't speak.
Ever since the Orchard got on the right track and Bai Feng made some money, he and Director Meili had taken Limo to a Major Hospital to see a Pokémon Doctor.
The Pokémon Doctor said that Limo's throat could be treated, which was undoubtedly good news.
But Limo was too young, and her throat hadn't developed properly yet. Surgery was impossible at the moment. The Pokémon Doctor said that treatment could only begin when she was around ten years old, when her throat was fully developed.
So Bai Feng and Director Meili had no choice but to take Limo home.
However, the fact that Limo's throat could be cured was already great news for everyone.
"Where's Director Meili?" Bai Feng asked gently, holding Limo.
Two years had passed. Yihui and Xiao You had also reached the age and were sent to Fifth Junior School one year ago and not long ago, respectively. Now, only Director Meili, Xiao Limo, and another child less than a year old were left at home.
That's right, the Blue Bird Orphanage had a new member not long ago, a baby boy less than a year old. No one knew who abandoned him at the Orphanage door, but he was eventually picked up by Director Meili.
Later, Officer Jenny couldn't find his parents, so she decided to register the child at the Blue Bird Orphanage.
Director Meili named him Xiao Huang.
Bai Feng usually spent most of his time on Fangxing Mountain. He wasn't present when Xiao Huang was registered at the Orphanage. It was only when Director Meili visited him on Fangxing Mountain one time and mentioned it casually that he learned he had a new little brother.
Xiao Huang's body was fine, but no one knew why his parents would abandon him.
Hearing Bai Feng's question, Limo pointed towards the Kitchen. Just then, Director Meili heard the commotion in the Yard and came out. Seeing Bai Feng, she said happily:
"Bai Feng, you're back? Did you get your Graduation Certificate smoothly?"
Because Bai Feng hardly ever went to School for classes, Director Meili had been worried that the School wouldn't give him his Graduation Certificate, which was why she asked.
"Don't worry, it went very smoothly." Saying this, Bai Feng put Limo down and said to her, "You go play with Helioptile and Popplio. I'm going to help Director Meili." After speaking, he took out his Poké Balls and released Helioptile and Popplio.
Compared to two years ago, although Helioptile hadn't evolved into Heliolisk, its body size was much larger than when it was first caught. Moreover, its golden scales shone brightly, showing that it had been raised very carefully.
"Ai bi~ Ai bi~"
As soon as Helioptile came out, it stood upright, waving its little paws to greet Limo. It was a polite young fellow.
Popplio hadn't changed much, but its deep blue fur had become as profound as the ocean, easily attracting attention. It could be considered a distinguished-looking young lady.
Helioptile hadn't evolved into Heliolisk because it needed a Sun Stone. So why hadn't Popplio evolved after two years?
Because Bai Feng had given it an Everstone to hold.
For two years, Bai Feng had been helping Popplio, Bai Ye, and Helioptile light up their Hidden Energy Circuits. Before completely lighting up all the Hidden Energy Circuits, he wouldn't let Popplio and Helioptile evolve.
Now, it wasn't that Bai Feng couldn't afford a Sun Stone. He wasn't letting Helioptile evolve because its Hidden Energy Circuits hadn't been fully lit up yet either.
Who knew what changes would occur to a Pokémon's Hidden Energy Circuits after evolution? So Bai Feng would rather let the two Pokémon evolve later than risk incomplete potential development due to impatience.
Moreover, even without evolving, it didn't hinder their strength from improving. Now in the Orchard, besides Gardevoir and the Talonflame Leader, no other Pokémon were their opponents.
Currently, most of Popplio's and Helioptile's Hidden Energy Circuits had been lit up, with only a small corner left to complete. He believed it wouldn't be long before they were fully lit, and then they could evolve to the next stage without worry.
Bai Ye, on the other hand, was still far behind. Its Hidden Energy Circuits were too complex, and only half had been lit up so far. Anyway, it was already in its final form, so whether its Hidden Energy Circuits were fully lit up or not didn't hinder it in any way.
Bai Feng had put in a lot of effort to light up Helioptile's Hidden Energy Circuits because Paralysis didn't affect it.
Later, one time when he passed by the Pokémon Center, he happened to see a Pokémon Trainer rushing in with a severely injured Pokémon. Then that Pokémon was arranged by Nurse Joy to enter the operating room.
He suddenly thought, he could use anesthesia on Helioptile!
Finally, he asked Officer Jenny for help. Officer Jenny introduced him to Nurse Joy, and he bought an anesthetic from Nurse Joy.
This anesthetic could block all sensation throughout the Pokémon's body and caused no harm to the Pokémon. It was a common drug used by Pokémon Doctors during surgery.
With this drug, Helioptile's Hidden Energy Circuits were successfully lit up.
This anesthetic was not easy to buy. If Officer Jenny hadn't vouched for him, Nurse Joy definitely wouldn't have been willing to sell it to Bai Feng.
Xiao Limo was already very familiar with Helioptile and Popplio. She obediently stretched out her hands, holding Helioptile with one hand and Popplio with the other, and then waddled off to play nearby.
Today was Bai Feng's graduation day, so Director Meili specially asked him to come back and celebrate with everyone. At this moment, she was in the Kitchen preparing a feast for everyone.
Seeing Bai Feng walk into the Kitchen, she quickly said, "What are you doing in here? I can manage by myself!"
"It's fine, I'm just idle anyway." After saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and helped Director Meili wash vegetables.
By the time Dongyu, Yangtai, Caicaizi, Yihui, and Xiao You returned from School, Director Meili and Bai Feng had already prepared a table full of delicious lunch.
"Wow~ So much delicious food!"
Seeing the table full of delicacies, Yangtai and Xiao You exclaimed loudly, dashed to the table, and reached out to sneak a bite.
*Slap! Slap!*
Caicaizi followed closely behind them. The moment they reached out, she slapped the back of each of their heads.
"Sneaking food before everyone is here is ill-mannered! And you didn't even wash your hands, it's unhygienic!"
Yangtai and Xiao You covered the back of their heads and didn't dare to retort. In the whole house, besides Dongyu, the person they feared most was Caicaizi.
During the meal, Dongyu looked at Bai Feng and asked, "Bai Feng, after entering Junior School, you're going to enter the Pokémon Department, right?"
"That's right." Bai Feng nodded. This was something he had decided long ago, but he didn't plan to enter the traditional Pokémon Trainer major.
Speaking of Dongyu, although he hadn't graduated from Junior School yet, he already had his own business. The look of worry he used to have was gone, replaced by an air of youthful ambition.
When the first batch of berries from Bai Feng's Orchard ripened, Dongyu truly gave him a huge surprise at the time. A large order from a Pokémon Day Care almost bought out that entire batch of berries.
Later, Bai Feng learned how much effort Dongyu had put in to help him sell the berries.
Of course, it was also because Bai Feng's berries were indeed better than most berries on the market, otherwise, people wouldn't easily abandon their original partners and choose him.
Now that Pokémon Day Care had become a fixed partner of Bai Feng's Orchard. It was also because of this that Bai Feng was able to pay off Grandpa Fu's loan in just two years.
Because of Dongyu's excellent performance, Bai Feng fully entrusted him with the sales rights for his berries. He himself only needed to manage the Orchard.
Leave professional matters to professional people.
Actually, Dongyu's original major in Junior School was Architecture, but after taking over Bai Feng's business, he transferred to Business Management.
(End of Chapter)