Chapter 56: Little Gang's Story
(First Update, New Book Seeking Collection, Seeking Flowers!)
“Huh?? You're not that old man??” Turning around upon hearing the voice, she realized it was a familiar figure.
“Uh... I'm called Wu Neng!” While he was indeed an older man, he had already introduced himself. He was still a little embarrassed that he wasn't remembered by name.
“What does Wu Neng Old Man mean by saying that it’s not entirely their fault?” Xia asked, confused.
“Because they are all a bunch of pitiful children!”
Wu Neng, after hearing her words, walked to the bench by the side of the road and sat down, looking up at the sky. He gave off a sense of age, and Xia didn’t know why this old man’s aura had suddenly changed.
“Actually, Little Gang really yearns for life outside of Ni Bi City. He also wants to travel outside like you two!” Wu Neng said.
Hearing this, Xia’s expression changed. She had been a little angry, but suddenly seemed to understand something.
“Because of his younger brother and sisters?” Girls are more sentimental, thinking that it might be because of his younger siblings, her heart immediately filled with sympathy.
“That’s right, because he has nine younger siblings to take care of, so he can’t leave!” Wu Neng also answered truthfully.
“But, don’t they have a father or mother?” Xia couldn’t help but frown and ask when she heard this.
“His father was a very irresponsible person, claiming he would become an excellent Pokémon Trainer and then left Ni Bi City, and then disappeared without a trace.”
“And his mother, perhaps heartbroken by her husband’s departure, left not long after. So, the children in the family were all left to the eldest son, Little Gang, to care for.”
As Wu Neng spoke, Xia might not have felt it, but Xiaozhi could hear a deep sense of self-blame and shame.
“So that’s how it is... Those parents are really irresponsible!” Xia, who wasn’t aware that Wu Neng was actually Little Gang's father, didn’t hesitate to criticize the couple with her straightforward personality.
But Wu Neng didn’t seem angry. Besides feeling even more ashamed, hearing Xia’s criticism actually seemed to reduce some of his guilt.
And in fact, Xiaozhi didn’t hear anything unusual at first, but when Wu Neng mentioned his wife, Xiaozhi really wanted to laugh.
He couldn’t help but want to say, Old Man, you don’t need to take all the responsibility yourself. Your wife didn’t think that way.
Although it was a long time ago, Xiaozhi remembered that in the Pokémon side story, when Little Gang finished his journey and returned to the gym, his mother, who had been gone for many years, also came back.
And upon her return, she even casually wanted to change the Ni Bi Gym into a Water-type gym, and Wu Neng didn’t even have a say in the matter. If Little Gang hadn’t returned at the right time, the Ni Bi Gym would really have been remodeled in a flashy way.
When he was a child watching the anime, he didn’t think anything of it. But now that he was older, Xiaozhi genuinely thought that maybe it was because the word "tea art master" didn’t exist back then.
She also left Ni Bi City to pursue Pokémon training, but like Wu Neng, she also didn’t achieve success and eventually returned to Ni Bi City.
Looking back now, Little Gang’s mother was really a tea art master, and his father, besides being irresponsible, was also a complete love-sick puppy.
But in the end, the tea art master was a tea art master, and the love-sick puppy was a love-sick puppy. One was willing to hit and the other was willing to be hit, but the most unforgivable thing about the couple was their irresponsibility towards their children.
Even though children in this world matured earlier and were more independent, Xiaozhi still didn’t agree. Although Xiaozhi hadn’t seen his father since he was a child, his mother loved him dearly, and Hanako never thought her husband was irresponsible.
After Little Gang’s mother came back, Wu Neng always thought that his wife left home because of his departure, and felt guilty. So he let her remodel the Ni Bi Gym.
Fortunately, these two parents didn’t reach the point of being hopeless. Maybe out of guilt towards Little Gang, only he could subdue them.
But Little Gang’s trust in them wasn’t even as great as his younger brother Jiro’s. When he went on his journey, he even asked Jiro to take care of the gym rather than letting his parents do it.
“Besides taking care of the gym, he also has to train and care for Pokémon. At the same time, he has to take care of his nine younger siblings.”
“And his younger siblings also know how hard Little Gang works, so that’s why they came out to defend the Onix that Little Gang had worked hard to raise.” Wu Neng seemed to be defending the children. Actually, he hoped Xiaozhi would understand.
“So that’s how it is! Uh? Wu Neng Old Man, were you there at the time? Otherwise, how would you know?”
Xia listened and nodded, then became a little surprised. He knew so much, did he also see the match just now?
“Ah?? Oh! Hehe! Yeah! I was actually watching. I was curious about your match against Little Gang, so I came over. You two were too focused and didn’t notice me. Hehe!” Wu Neng awkwardly scratched his head and changed the subject.
“Wu Neng Old Man, you know a lot about Little Gang’s affairs! Isn’t this something everyone in Ni Bi City knows about?”
Xiaozhi listened and gave a faint smile. Then his eyes fixed on Wu Neng, as if he could see through his heart, making Wu Neng feel uncomfortable.
“Uh... This... is... yeah! You can find out these things if you just ask around.” Having heard Xiaozhi’s words, he realized that he had spoken a little too much.
“So that’s how it is, but this is Little Gang’s family matter. However, Pokémon battles are Pokémon battles. Once the match starts, the outcome cannot be stopped by anyone.” Xiaozhi replied calmly.
“Little Gang’s situation is indeed worthy of sympathy, but once on the battlefield, they are Pokémon Trainers and should respect the battle.”
“I won’t blame the children, nor will I blame Little Gang. If things are really like this, then this pair of parents should feel ashamed.” Xiaozhi spoke to Wu Neng without any reservations.
“If I were these parents, knowing all this, I would immediately go home and apologize to Little Gang, seeking his forgiveness.”
“Ugh!!!” Wu Neng’s pupils under his knitted hat suddenly trembled at Little Gang’s simple statement. He had been completely ashamed by Xiaozhi’s previous words, but now his heart was shaken.
Yes! He, this irresponsible father, had been back for so many years, but he didn’t even have the courage to admit his mistake. Knowing that Little Gang had a hard life and couldn’t even pursue his dreams, he was actually arguing with others here!
“Xia, let’s go!” Xiaozhi didn’t say anything more, and said to Xia who was beside him.
“Ah? Oh, oh! Okay!!” Xia didn’t know what was going on, but she felt that the atmosphere was strange and didn’t dare to say anything, so she left with Xiaozhi.