"Huh?"
The unexpected hug, the subsequent promotion… Xiaoyuan froze, the joyful giddiness instantly evaporating, replaced by stunned confusion at Xiu's final statement. 'Leaving?'
"I have… other matters to attend to," Xiu repeated calmly, gently disentangling himself from her frozen grasp. "Things that require my personal attention, away from here. Which means," He met her wide, shocked eyes, "all the work here – the printing, the distribution network we're building, managing the bookstore front when it's established – I'm leaving it entirely in your hands."
He offered a small, reassuring smile. "You handled things excellently while I was focused on repairs and planning. I have complete confidence you can manage the day-to-day operations. If anything truly urgent comes up, anything you absolutely can't solve yourself… find a secure line and use the encrypted channel we set up. I'll check in periodically."
"Eh… but… not… this…" Xiaoyuan stammered, letting go of Xiu, her hands fluttering uselessly, unsure how to react, what to even say. The responsibility felt overwhelming, terrifying.
Before she could articulate her panic, Xiu preemptively offered a dose of encouragement. "It's okay," He said firmly, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. "I believe in you, Xiaoyuan. More importantly, you need to believe in yourself. You've proven you're capable."
With that, he gave her shoulder a final pat, turned, and walked towards the attic stairs, leaving Xiaoyuan standing alone amidst the humming silence of the printing workshop, her mind reeling.
— — —
Later that night, in the small, partitioned office space in the attic. The single desk lamp cast a pool of light on Xiu's open notebook.
"Are you asleep?" Xiaoyuan's hesitant voice came from the other side of the makeshift curtain dividing the space.
Xiu looked up from his book, then deliberately reached over and switched off the desk lamp, plunging the small office into near darkness. "Asleep now~" he whispered back into the darkness, his voice flat.
His abrupt response effectively killed the conversation before it could begin. A heavy, awkward silence filled the room.
After a long moment, a faint rustling sound came from the other side of the curtain, followed by Xiaoyuan's voice again, softer this time, laced with anxiety.
"Are… are you really leaving?"
Xiu sighed inwardly. He reached over and switched the lamp back on, the sudden light making him blink. Xiaoyuan was squatting just inside the curtain opening, peering at him anxiously.
"Come here," Xiu said, managing a wry smile. "Sit down." He awkwardly shifted his position on the floor where he'd been studying and patted the space beside him.
Xiaoyuan hesitated for only a second before silently moving over, sitting cross-legged opposite him.
"Your question," Xiu began, choosing his words carefully, "is understandable. But the reality is, you know the entire operation now. You've seen the process, managed the initial sales, understand the logistics. You can handle it." He gestured towards the stack of printed book samples and digital files nearby. "And I've already reviewed and prepared the print files for the next batch of titles. From an operational standpoint, my physical presence here isn't strictly necessary for a while." He paused, then added more vaguely, "And besides this project… I do have other matters I need to pursue."
"What matters?" Xiaoyuan pressed, frowning. "Why can't you deal with them from here?"
"Because," Xiu replied, his expression turning serious, "for us to develop safely in the long run, for this entire venture to survive… I need to step away from this relatively stable environment temporarily. I need to seek… more reliable power."
His cryptic answer clearly didn't satisfy her. Her frown deepened.
"Your thinking," Xiu observed gently, "is still bound by your previous experiences. You don't see the bigger picture yet. Let me ask you some questions, maybe that will help you understand."
He looked at her intently. "Who truly holds power in this world right now?"
"The… the Pokémon League? The Alliance?" Xiaoyuan answered uncertainly.
"And what is the core of the Alliance's power?" Xiu pressed, not waiting for an answer before firing off the next question like a machine gun. "Why do they control the regions? Why do governments listen to them?"
"Trainers?" she guessed again.
"No." Xiu shook his head slowly.
"Pokémon?"
"No." Xiu denied her answer again, deciding not to let her guess further. "Trainers, Pokémon… they are merely the vessels, the carriers of power. The essence, the true foundation of the Alliance's control, the thing that underpins this entire world order… is power itself. The unique abilities, the raw strength that Pokémon represent and the Trainers that command them."
"But… what does that have to do with us?" Xiaoyuan asked, still confused.
Xiu raised an eyebrow, feigning astonishment. "You don't seriously think the powers that be – the Alliance, the big corporations, the established families – will just let us develop peacefully, do you?" He stared at her pointedly. "What we're doing… providing cheap, accessible knowledge about Pokémon training and breeding… we're undermining their control. We're digging at their foundation. They can't wait for an excuse to shut us down, to eliminate us. Why do you think I insisted on absolute secrecy, on cutting ties quickly if anything goes wrong?"
"It… it can't be that bad, surely?" Xiaoyuan whispered, finding it hard to believe.
"You've lived as an ordinary person, disconnected from these power structures," Xiu explained patiently. "Of course, it seems unbelievable. I didn't want to frighten you unnecessarily before, but since we're on the topic…" He leaned forward slightly. "Let me be blunt."
"Blunt about what?" Xiaoyuan asked nervously.
"You've bought regular books before, right? Textbooks for school, novels, things like that. Think about their prices. Why is it," Xiu asked pointedly, "that a standard textbook might cost fifty, maybe eighty Poké Dollars, a hundred at most… but the moment a book deals specifically with Pokémon knowledge – breeding techniques, skill analysis, advanced strategy – the price instantly jumps five, ten, even twenty times higher?"
"Because… the research costs are high?" Xiaoyuan offered uncertainly. "Studying Pokémon in depth must be… difficult and expensive?" She looked at Xiu, her confidence fading under his intense gaze.
"That's part of the narrative they want you to believe," Xiu conceded. "Yes, research has costs. And yes, anything related to Pokémon tends to carry a premium in this society. That's a known phenomenon." He sighed. "But the scale of the price increase? It's wildly disproportionate to the actual production or research costs. Think about it logically, Xiaoyuan. Ultimately, it serves one primary purpose: to artificially inflate the barrier to entry. To keep advanced knowledge out of the hands of ordinary people like us."
He saw the dawning horror in her eyes. "They want to maintain their monopoly," he continued ruthlessly. "The established powers, the wealthy families, the high-ranking members within the Alliance itself – they control the flow of information, control access to resources. By keeping advanced knowledge expensive and exclusive, they ensure that their children, their chosen successors, maintain their privileged positions, generation after generation. It perpetuates the system."
He gestured emphatically. "You saw it yourself when you were researching families for me! How even a moderately well-off family struggles to afford the tuition and required materials for a decent Pokémon-focused education. For ordinary people, surviving day-to-day is hard enough. But breaking through the barrier that divides the rich and the poor? Accessing the knowledge needed to become a truly powerful Trainer or Breeder? It's designed to be almost impossible without immense luck or external patronage."
"And what we're doing…" Xiaoyuan whispered, finally understanding the full, dangerous implication, "…is lowering that barrier. Giving people who couldn't afford it before a chance to learn, to compete…"
"Exactly," Xiu confirmed grimly. "Which makes us a threat to the status quo."
"But… the Alliance!" Xiaoyuan grasped at a final straw, hope flickering. "Surely the Alliance itself, the governing body, wouldn't allow something like this? They're supposed to uphold fairness and opportunity…!"
Xiu smiled sadly, reaching out instinctively to gently brush a stray strand of hair from her forehead. He felt her slight tremor at his touch. "Oh, silly child," He murmured, his voice soft but mercilessly breaking her final illusion.
"Why do you think it's called the 'Alliance'? It is the product of their union. The wealthy families, the powerful corporations, the entrenched elite… they ARE the Alliance, or at least its controlling core. Relying on them for fairness? You might as well wait for a Pidgey to out-muscle a Dragonite. Their public statements, their promises… they're just words. Behind the scenes…" He let the implication hang. "You saw how your uncle operates. That's the reality, just on a larger scale."
His words, stripping away the veneer of legitimacy from the world's governing body, left Xiaoyuan reeling, her foundational understanding of society crumbling.
She looked at him, suspicion returning, fueled now by a different kind of fear. "So… you're not really leaving just because you need 'more power', are you?" she asked quietly. "You're leaving because you're afraid. Afraid they'll find out about this operation, afraid they'll come after you."
Xiu met her gaze, his expression serious again. "Is ensuring our long-term survival not reason enough?" He countered smoothly, sidestepping the direct accusation of fear. He quickly changed the subject again. "Speaking of survival… remember what I said about cutting ties? You need to do the same, continuing to use the name 'Xiaoyuan' is dangerous. Your uncle, those records… they could potentially be traced. You need a new name. A new identity, completely detached from your past. And never, ever reveal your history to anyone we bring into this operation. As for your uncle, your stolen inheritance… leave that to me. I'll find a way to investigate, to gather leverage, when the time is right."
Hearing him talk about changing her name, erasing her past… it brought the reality crashing down again. Xiaoyuan felt utterly panicked, overwhelmed. She'd jumped onto this 'pirate ship', as she'd thought of it before, seeking escape, seeking hope. But now the ship felt like it could sink at any moment, caught between ruthless criminals and a potentially corrupt establishment. And the captain? The one who knew the course?
He was abandoning ship!
"No!" The word burst out of her, raw with desperation. She grabbed Xiu's arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "You can't leave! Not now! Not leaving me alone with all this!"