Chapter 38: Squirtle and Pikachu

Lin Mo was woken up by a waft of fragrance.

It wasn’t the smell of breakfast, but the girly body fragrance of a young woman with a hint of milky sweetness.

He opened his eyes.

Then, he froze.

Su Qing was lying on top of him, wearing that Squirtle homewear T-shirt. Below, she wore a miniskirt, and her straight calves were wrapped in white silk stockings.

From Lin Mo’s perspective, he could see that Su Qing was wearing the Pikachu pantsu they had bought yesterday.

A foot wrapped in a white silk stocking was currently stepping on his stomach.

“Hey, hey, hey! Stinky Brother! Wake up!”

Lin Mo’s brain was still foggy as he subconsciously checked the time.

It was 8:00 AM.

(°△°|||)

“Su Qing! What’s wrong with you!”

He sat up, his face full of indignation.

Su Qing withdrew her foot and curled her lip.

“Your mom made breakfast and told me to come wake you up. She had to head out for something and said you should eat by yourself.”

Lin Mo blinked.

“Where’s my mom?”

“She left,” Su Qing said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “My mom worked overtime last night and didn’t come back, so I came over to mooch a meal. As it turns out, you were still sleeping. I couldn’t even wake you up.”

Lin Mo rubbed his eyes.

Fine, that made sense.

“Then head out first. I’m going to change.”

Su Qing didn’t budge.

She tilted her head and looked at him, the corners of her mouth curling into an arc.

“Lin Mo.”

“Yeah?”

“Look at me.”

This familiar phrasing…

Before Lin Mo could react, he felt that familiar spirit power drill into his mind.

Cooperatively, he relaxed his shoulders and let his gaze become vacant.

Su Qing stared at him for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction.

“Very good.”

She sat up on the bed and pulled two Switch consoles out of her bag.

“Play a round with me.”

Lin Mo: “…”

What kind of development was this?

Su Qing stuffed one Switch into his hand and picked up the other herself.

“I’ll choose Pikachu and Squirtle. You pick the Destined One.”

Lin Mo maintained his dazed expression, but his fingers skillfully pressed the confirmation button.

The game loading screen flashed by.

The battle began.

Round one, stage selection: Final Destination.

Su Qing’s Pikachu jumped backward at the start, opening up the distance.

Squirtle stayed in front, using Withdraw for a shell-based defense.

Lin Mo controlled the Destined One, starting with Pillar Stance to apply forward pressure.

Squirtle stayed tucked in its shell. When the Destined One’s staff struck it, only a few numbers popped up.

“No damage,” Su Qing said triumphantly. “Brother, you’re not good enough.”

Lin Mo didn’t say anything.

He controlled the Destined One to take a step back and began to charge.

Pillar Stance Level 1.

Pikachu suddenly darted out from the side as a flash of electricity sparked — Thunderbolt.

The Destined One was paralyzed by the electricity for a moment.

“Sneak attack!” Su Qing burst out laughing.

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, controlling the Destined One to roll away and dodge the follow-up attacks.

Pillar Stance Level 2.

The Destined One’s staff began to glow.

Su Qing’s Pikachu closed in again.

This time, it got very close.

Lin Mo’s fingers paused for a split second.

On the screen, Pikachu was almost pressed against the Destined One.

In reality, Su Qing also leaned toward his side.

(；¬＿¬) …

—

Round two, Pikachu’s harassment tactics.

Su Qing clearly wasn’t playing the game seriously.

Her Pikachu didn’t attack; it just circled around the Destined One.

One moment it would graze him with Quick Attack.

The next, it would swipe at him with its tail.

Squirtle didn’t attack either; it just stayed in its shell, slowly bumping into the Destined One.

Lin Mo’s Destined One was forced back step by step.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t win.

It was that he couldn’t even fight.

Every time he wanted to charge, Pikachu would stick to him.

Every time he wanted to use a skill, Squirtle would bump into him.

The two characters were stuck to him like adhesive bandages.

“Brother —” Su Qing’s voice was soft. “Why aren’t you fighting back?”

Lin Mo: “…”

What could he even say?

On the screen, the Destined One had already been pushed to the edge of the stage.

Pikachu and Squirtle were on his left and right, sandwiching him in the middle.

“You’re going to lose,” Su Qing said.

Lin Mo took a deep breath.

He controlled the Destined One to jump up, charging in mid-air —

Pikachu suddenly used Quick Attack, slamming into his chest.

The two characters tangled together in mid-air and crashed to the ground.

(°△°|||)

Su Qing burst into a fit of giggles.

“Heh heh heh heh —”

—

Round three, an unexpected finishing move.

Lin Mo decided to play seriously.

The Destined One began to unleash a frantic output of damage.

Pillar Stance, Smash Stance, jumping strikes, and horizontal sweeps.

Squirtle was sent flying out of the stage by a combo.

Pikachu hid in the corner, trembling.

“Brother, you’re a bully!” Su Qing protested.

Lin Mo’s mouth twitched.

‘You were the one bullying me first.’

He controlled the Destined One toward Pikachu.

Pikachu suddenly jumped up, using Quick Attack to crash into the Destined One’s chest.

And then…

A strange image appeared on the screen.

Pikachu was riding on top of the Destined One, its two short legs gripping his waist.

Electricity crackled and sparked.

Lin Mo froze.

What kind of move was this?

Su Qing laughed even louder.

“Pikachu’s hidden ultimate! Thunderbolt: Mounted Version!”

Lin Mo: “…”

He stared at the image on the screen.

Pikachu was riding the Destined One.

The electricity flashed repeatedly.

And in reality…

Su Qing was lying on her side next to him, with one leg draped over his body.

The distance was close.

So close that he could smell that sweet fragrance on her.

So close that he could feel the frequency of her breathing.

(，，ʘ̅ーʘ̅，，) …

The health bar of the Destined One on the game screen was dropping.

“Pikachu” also began to release Thunderbolt.

Once.

Twice.

And again.

Lin Mo’s breathing began to grow erratic.

The hand holding the Switch trembled slightly.

On the screen, the Destined One stood motionless, letting Pikachu ride him while dealing damage.

[The Destined One’s weapon] was charging.

Pillar Stance Level 1.

Pillar Stance Level 2.

Pillar Stance —

“Brother.” Su Qing’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Lin Mo snapped back to his senses.

He didn’t know when she had leaned in, but her face was very close to his.

It was close enough to see his own reflection in her eyes.

“Your face is red,” she said.

Lin Mo opened his mouth.

“I…”

Before he could finish, his phone rang.

Su Qing paused.

She reached out to grab the phone from the nightstand and glanced at the caller ID.

Then, her expression shifted.

Shen Qingyue.

She stared at those three characters, remaining silent for two seconds.

Then, she held the phone up to Lin Mo’s ear.

“Answer it,” she whispered. “Put it on speaker.”

Lin Mo was stunned.

Su Qing looked at him.

“Answer it,” she said, her voice soft. “Don’t let her find out.”

The game screen remained frozen right there.

Pikachu was riding the Destined One.

The electricity continued to flash.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”