Gengar continued its persuasion.
[Xiao Yao, you've got it wrong.]
[Facing someone like him, there's no way to escape if he truly wants to catch you.]
[Besides, we never actually captured his disciple back then—so there's no real grudge between us.]
[Worst case, if he does recognize you, we'll just pay some kind of price.]
[The fact we escaped at all means he doesn't care that much.]
[Otherwise, do you really think we'd have gotten away so easily?]
If Beedrill had merely been Champion-tier, Gengar could have argued they'd fled by their own strength.
But Beedrill had defeated Zapdos—that Pokémon was certainly beyond Champion-level.
Against someone like that, escaping meant nothing more than he'd chosen not to chase them.
"Even so, I still feel uneasy!" Wu Yao protested, but her voice no longer carried the earlier determination.
Seeing this, Gengar pressed its advantage.
[Think about it carefully, Wu Yao.]
[For someone at his level, even casually shared knowledge would benefit you immensely.]
[Haven't you always wanted revenge for the old guy? This is your shortcut!]
At the mention of revenge—
Wu Yao's eyes sharpened instantly.
She recalled vividly how badly the old man had been wounded.
Finally, her resolve hardened.
"You're right."
"The timid starve, the bold prosper."
"I'll go look up his course schedule right now."
Since students freely chose classes, every teacher's schedule was readily available on the university's website.
With that—Wu Yao headed straight back toward her dormitory.
As for Guo Yi, Wu Yao was nothing more than a small episode, barely leaving a ripple.
After finishing a simple lunch, he returned to his office and quietly awaited the afternoon's opening ceremony.
...
In the main auditorium— All the freshmen of Shanghai Pokémon University had gathered.
The school's leadership had also taken their seats early.
"Director Tang, I heard Teacher Bai won't be speaking for the faculty this time?"
"What happened there?"
From his seat, the principal suddenly turned to Tang Ming and asked.
Tang Ming nodded. "Principal, that's correct. Teacher Bai isn't speaking this year."
Seeing the principal's expression shift, Tang Ming hurried to explain, "Principal, it wasn't my decision. Teacher Bai herself willingly stepped aside and recommended someone else."
Only after hearing it was Bai Cai's own choice did the principal's face soften.
He picked up his teacup, taking a sip.
"Then, who's speaking this time?"
"Actually…not a teacher, but a teaching assistant."
Cough—cough!
Hearing that the speaker was just a T.A., the principal nearly choked, coughing several times as his face darkened.
"Director Tang, even if Teacher Bai recommended someone, you still should've considered carefully."
"Having a T.A. represent faculty at the ceremony—many teachers won't be happy about this."
Truthfully, had the speaker been an ordinary teacher, the principal wouldn't have reacted so harshly.
But a T.A.?
He knew exactly what those T.A.s were usually like.
"Principal, calm down first," Tang Ming soothed.
"Let me explain slowly."
Tang Ming had long expected the principal's anger upon hearing a T.A. would be speaking.
He'd already prepared what to say.
"Then explain clearly."
"If you can't convince me, don't blame me if I strip you of your position as director."
The principal set down his teacup, half-joking and half-threatening.
Tang Ming smiled confidently. "Principal, although he's a T.A., his abilities far surpass most teachers."
"This T.A.'s name is Guo Yi—I'm sure you've heard of him recently."
"These past few days, he's been a hot topic throughout Shanghai."
Hearing the name "Guo Yi," the principal immediately perked up.
"You mean that Guo Yi who gave away a [Perfect-Grade Evolution Stone] at the birthday banquet, and who owns an Elite Four-level Ninetales?"
Guo Yi's feats—were no secret among Shanghai's elite circles.
Either one of those things alone wouldn't warrant so much attention.
But both combined—that was a mix of wealth and power, an entirely different kind of influence.
Facing the principal's question, Tang Ming nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, Principal, that's exactly him."
"If Guo Yi didn't already have both strength and reputation, how could I possibly have let him speak at Teacher Bai's mere suggestion?"
"And let me add something else—Guo Yi meets the criteria for the national elite university teacher evaluation."
Tang Ming hadn't risen to director solely on his Tang family background;
his own competence mattered greatly as well.
He knew exactly what the principal cared about most.
Indeed—mentioning the evaluation, the principal's eyes immediately lit up.
Pleased, he clapped Tang Ming on the shoulder. "Good, good job on this matter, Director Tang."
"But still—why not directly promote Guo Yi to an official teaching position? Wouldn't that be even better?"
Tang Ming's smile turned bitter.
That was exactly what he'd tried to do.
But Guo Yi himself had firmly refused, even threatening resignation.
What could Tang Ming do?
Recalling how he'd humbled himself, begging Guo Yi to accept an official teaching post, only to be bluntly refused—he felt deeply aggrieved.
He, the dignified school director, had never bowed his head to subordinates before, especially not to mere T.A.s.
Who'd have thought that this rare concession would be in vain?
Understanding the situation, the principal likewise sighed.
"Sigh."
"True geniuses really do things differently."
"Since Guo Yi refused, let's not force him."
"Oh—and arrange for his treatment and pay to be equal to official teachers."
For geniuses like Guo Yi, the principal was naturally inclined to show the greatest flexibility.
Tang Ming nodded.
At the same time—Guo Yi had followed the crowd of T.A.s into the auditorium.
"Teacher Guo, over here!"
Guo Yi had barely begun looking for a seat when Bai Cai's voice called to him.
He turned his head.
Bai Cai sat in the very front row, waving enthusiastically at him.
Her gesture immediately drew countless male teachers' eyes onto Guo Yi.
"Who's that guy? Never seen him before."
"He came in with the T.A.s, probably one of their new hires."
"A new T.A.? Then how'd he get to know Teacher Bai so quickly? Their relationship looks pretty close."
"Who knows? But honestly, he's quite handsome. Do you think—"
"Impossible. Teacher Bai wouldn't be that shallow."
In an instant—Guo Yi became the hottest topic among the male teachers.
Noticing this, Zhou Yue, standing beside Guo Yi, teased him immediately: "Impressive, Teacher Guo!"
"You've barely arrived, and you've already snatched our university's most beautiful flower."
"Better hurry over, don't keep her waiting."
The other T.A.s joined in enthusiastically. "Yeah, Teacher Guo! You can't make Teacher Bai wait!"
Although Teacher Bai hadn't chosen any of them—seeing their campus goddess, untouchable even by top-level teachers, won over by a mere T.A. filled them with pride.
"You guys…sigh!"
Being shoved forward by the crowd, Guo Yi sighed inwardly.
What's with this situation?
I just wanted a low-profile teaching gig to mentor my students in peace.
Now, great—I'm about to become the school's biggest celebrity.
Having experienced his information-saturated previous life, Guo Yi knew perfectly well that romance—especially celebrity romance—was always what people cared about most.
And Teacher Bai wasn't just the target of countless male teachers' pursuits; she was also the goddess of many male students' dreams.
Guo Yi could imagine that after today, he'd likely skyrocket to campus-wide fame, with no end of troubles afterward.
But it was too late now—even if he didn't go over, the damage was done.
Realizing this clearly—Guo Yi walked directly to the empty seat beside Bai Cai and sat down.
In that instant, countless male teachers swore they could hear their own hearts shattering.
"Teacher Guo, your face doesn't look so good."
"What's wrong?"
Bai Cai noticed his gloomy expression and asked innocently.
Guo Yi rolled his eyes unceremoniously.
"You're asking even though you already know."
"Forcing me onto stage was bad enough."
"Now you've painted a giant target on my back. I'd be amazed if I looked happy."
If he'd known Bai Cai would cause this much trouble, he'd never have shown off his strength in front of her.
But regretting it now was useless.
Bai Cai understood his meaning immediately.
Glancing at the burning jealousy of the male teachers behind her, she suddenly had an idea.
Leaning slightly closer, she whispered softly into Guo Yi's ear:
"So, Teacher Guo—what can I do to make it up to you?"
Her gentle voice tickled his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.
At the same moment, Guo Yi felt the temperature of the entire auditorium spike several degrees.
The source of that heat, naturally, was the jealousy burning from the male teachers behind him.
Cough, cough!
Just then, the principal loudly cleared his throat into the microphone.
Blushing, Bai Cai quickly straightened herself.
"It's all your fault!" she whispered accusingly.
But Guo Yi was left completely baffled.
What did I even do?
Women really are a mysterious species.
Just then, the two student hosts stepped forward, signaling the official start of the opening ceremony.
"Respected teachers—"
"Dear fellow students—"
...
Under the hosts' guidance, the ceremony proceeded smoothly.
Soon, it was the student representative's turn to speak.
Holding her mic elegantly, the female host declared clearly, "Now, let's warmly welcome this year's student representative—Su Qingxue!"
Pa-pa-pa!
The auditorium instantly filled with applause.
But Guo Yi sat frozen in shock, muttering blankly to himself, "Qingxue's the student representative? She never even told me…"
Bai Cai, hearing this, was about to explain that Su Qingxue had entered Shanghai Pokémon University as the top-scoring student—of course she'd be the student representative.
But Guo Yi's next words left her speechless:
"If I'd known Qingxue was speaking too, I'd have made her write my speech."
Hearing this—Bai Cai finally understood: this lazy fish Guo Yi intended to coast all the way to the end.
Seems like my plan with Xiao Yue was totally necessary!
Guo Yi wanted an easy life? She'd make sure that didn't happen.
Meanwhile, Su Qingxue was cheerfully heading for the stage when suddenly she caught sight of her teacher seated intimately beside Bai Cai. Her expression instantly darkened.
I knew it! This Teacher Bai absolutely has improper thoughts about Teacher.
I need to team up with Yan'er and think of something soon!
Su Qingxue took a deep breath to calm herself, then began her speech.
After speaking fluently for more than ten minutes, Su Qingxue finally bowed to the teachers and students and stepped down.
With Su Qingxue finished, it was naturally Guo Yi's turn next.
However, his speech didn't start smoothly at all.
As soon as Guo Yi reached the podium, voices of protest rang out from below.
"How can a mere teaching assistant qualify to represent us teachers?"
But—the teacher who spoke instantly regretted it.
This was the opening ceremony, after all.
Questioning openly like this—wasn't that accusing the leadership of incompetence?
However—earlier, he'd been thoroughly incensed by Bai Cai and Guo Yi's intimate behavior. Now, seeing Guo Yi—a mere T.A.—representing the teachers, he simply couldn't contain his anger.
His words, like a fuse, instantly ignited dissatisfaction among the other teachers.
"That's right! Why does a T.A. get to represent us?"
"I don't accept it!"
"This reeks of favoritism!"
In an instant—the whole auditorium fell into chaos.
On stage, the leaders' faces darkened completely.
As for Guo Yi—he seemed totally indifferent to the uproar.
Seeing Tang Ming looking his way, Guo Yi shrugged helplessly, as if saying:
This was your idea, making me speak—I can't help you here.
Cough, cough!
Seeing Guo Yi had no intention of clarifying, Tang Ming quickly stood to speak for him.
"Teachers, please calm down."
"Teacher Guo might be a T.A., but his abilities far surpass the average teacher."
"He even possesses an Elite Four-level Ninetales, and considering he's newly arrived, we chose Teacher Guo as our representative."
"Also, there's never been any rule stating that a T.A. can't represent the faculty, right?"
When the crowd heard Tang Ming's explanation, they collectively gasped.
"An Elite Four-level Ninetales? Isn't that terrifying?"
"He looks barely older than me, yet he already commands Elite Four-level strength?"
"I thought I was a genius—turns out I'm just ordinary compared to Teacher Guo…"
Both students and teachers couldn't help feeling deep admiration for Guo Yi.
The teacher who had first raised the objection now lowered his head in shame.
He knew clearly—because of his rash impulse just now, his teaching career was effectively over.
After this brief disturbance, Guo Yi began his speech.
Since he'd copied it straight from the internet, the speech was thoroughly ordinary and unremarkable.
Finally—it was time for the principal's closing remarks.
"I warmly welcome all our students to join the big family that is Shanghai Pokémon University."
"I hope everyone will work together to make our university even better."
"In addition, half a month from now, the university will hold an introductory Pokémon tournament."
"We encourage interested students to participate enthusiastically."
"The rewards will be extremely generous."
"Details and rules will be posted later on the university website."
"Lastly, I hereby declare this year's opening ceremony concluded."
As the principal's voice fell, Guo Yi's brand-new journey as a university T.A. officially began.