svetikya Chapter 498 Two people, each lost in their own thoughts, in the dining car late at night.
Chapter 498 Two people, each lost in their own thoughts, in the dining car late at night.
(PS: The scenes in Serena's nighttime episode are a setup for the short theatrical version I plan to write later. These chapters are a bit slow-paced, so I suggest waiting a day and reading them all together tomorrow night or the day after for a better experience~)
(P.S.: Some people had questions before, so I'll answer them here as well. Serena and Ash's summer camp storyline is almost entirely original, so it's normal for there to be some oddities. After a few chapters of setup, the storyline will directly move into the League Tournament. This is also the last foreshadowing before the Unova arc begins.)
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As night deepened, the train continued its tireless journey forward.
The wheels collided rhythmically with the rails, making a "clack, clack" sound, like a monotonous yet reassuring lullaby.
Outside the window, all was silent darkness, with the occasional faint light in the distance flashing by before being swallowed up by the boundless night.
The few passengers in the carriage were almost all asleep, their even breathing rising and falling. The conductor thoughtfully turned off some of the lights, allowing the light inside the carriage to blend into the pitch-black night sky.
Even in the dead of night, a corner of the food cart was still lit with soft light.
Ash sat alone in a seat in the food cart, a notebook open in front of him.
The light shone on his profile, outlining his focused features.
His pen tip glided lightly across the paper, or paused, his knuckles tapping unconsciously on the table.
The upper half of the notebook was densely covered with the names of Pokémon, and each name seemed to be followed by some brief tactical ideas or other notes.
Clearly, Ash is preparing for the upcoming Lily of the Valley Conference, carefully considering how to make each of his partners, who have fought alongside him until now, shine their brightest on the important League Tournament stage.
The order of appearance and tactical coordination both require careful consideration.
However, the content changes completely in the second half of the notes.
The handwriting also appears somewhat messy.
Several keywords were displayed there alone: "Serena", "summer camp", "Pallet Town", "forest", "the following days", etc.
Xiao Zhi frowned slightly, staring at the words as if trying to unearth some forgotten fragment.
He remembered some of the things that happened at summer camp, and his memory was indeed accurate.
From the moment he found Serena weeping in the forest, to the moment he bandaged her injured knee, and the moment he led her by the hand out of that familiar woodland.
But then what?
Summer camp is not just one day.
There should still be several days after that.
Was that one brief encounter the only thing that connected him and Serena?
His memory was as if locked by an invisible lock; he could not recall any details about what happened after those days.
This kind of forgetting is not the kind that fades naturally over time, but a more thorough kind of blankness, as if it has been forcibly erased.
This is very abnormal.
Xiao Zhi put down his pen and rubbed his temples with his fingers.
He rarely forgets an experience so completely, especially since he still remembers a lot of the conversations he had with Professor Oak and his mother before summer camp started.
But they completely forgot what happened a few days after summer camp.
He had a vague feeling that something important was hidden in that forgotten time.
"No, I can't remember at all..."
Even when he was in the quiet dining car, he still couldn't recall a single thing.
Feeling somewhat tired and futile, Xiao Zhi took a sip of the coffee milk on the table that had been sitting there for half an hour.
Although it was no longer as hot as it was half an hour ago when I bought it, it was still quite warm in the moving train, still emitting a faint warmth.
Should we just go and ask Serena directly?
Perhaps this decision is the best one, although Serena might feel disappointed if she knew he had forgotten that important memory for her.
Just as he was hesitating, the door connecting the dining cars clicked open gently.
A somewhat bewildered figure peeked in.
It's Serena.
As she stepped into the dining car, Serena seemed dazed, as if she had just woken up or was in a half-asleep state.
Serena, who was in a daze, suddenly became clear-headed after seeing Ash's figure through the soft light.
Judging from her eyes, Serena was clearly somewhat surprised.
She seemed surprised that Xiao Zhi would be in the food truck at this hour, even though it was already late at night.
Serena subconsciously pursed her lips, which felt a little dry.
Serena had come to the dining car because she couldn't sleep at her seat in the middle of the night and was in a semi-conscious state.
When she opened her eyes, she felt thirsty, but the water in her backpack was gone, and Sakiko was already asleep. Not wanting to disturb others, Serena decided to come to the dining car to find something to drink.
It's no wonder Serena couldn't sleep.
Having left her hometown for the distant Sinnoh region, and unexpectedly reunited with the person she had been longing for, a mix of emotions overwhelmed her, making it difficult for her to fall asleep.
"Little... Ash? So you're still awake?" Serena's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible nervousness as she greeted her softly.
She instinctively wanted to back away, feeling inexplicably embarrassed to be alone with someone in this environment where there were only two of them.
"Yes, I'm tidying up some things."
Ash was somewhat surprised to see Serena there, and then noticed her slightly uneasy expression and her subconscious urge to leave.
“Wait, Serena!” he called out to her. “Are you free now? I have something I’d like to ask you.”
Serena stopped and turned around, her hands unconsciously twisting together. She looked at Ash with a puzzled expression, but then nodded: "Well... nothing's wrong right now, and I can't sleep anyway."
She slowly walked to the seat opposite Xiaozhi and sat down.
Xiao Zhi noticed that when she came in, she subconsciously looked at the service counter of the food cart, which was empty. The neatly displayed goods during the day were locked in the cabinet.
The flight attendants had probably already gone to rest by now; the one who had served Xiaozhi coffee and milk half an hour earlier already looked quite tired.
"Are you here to buy a drink?" Xiao Zhi asked.
Serena gave a soft "hmm" and whispered, "I'm a little thirsty..."
Xiao Zhi glanced at the coffee and milk beside him.
He thought for a moment, then pushed it to Serena's side.
"It seems the train attendants have already gone on break, and it's impossible to buy anything on the train at this hour. If you don't mind, here, have this."
Xiao Zhi's tone was natural, with his usual easygoing manner.
"Huh?" Serena's cheeks flushed slightly, looking somewhat bewildered.
But looking at Xiaozhi's open and honest eyes, she felt embarrassed to refuse his kindness.
After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and gently touched the still-warm milk bottle with her fingertips, then took it.
"Thank you..." Her voice trembled slightly.
She carefully held the coffee milk in her hand, gently brought it to her lips, and took a small sip.
The warm, sweet, yet slightly bitter coffee milk slid down her throat, dispelling the heavy drowsiness she had felt earlier and slightly easing her inner tension.
It was very quiet around, with only the regular clatter of the train continuing to run.
The steam from the coffee milk rose and wafted under the light, creating a hazy halo that enveloped the two figures, making the atmosphere seem somewhat subtle.
However, the two of them had different thoughts.
Silence spread between the two.
Finally, Serena couldn't hold back any longer. She looked up at Ash and mustered her courage to ask, "Um... Ash, you said you had something you wanted to ask me. What is it?"
Xiao Zhi looked at her; her blue eyes appeared exceptionally clear under the light.
He thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and then spoke.
“Serena…” Ash’s voice was slightly lower than usual. “Do you remember what happened after I took you out of the forest?”
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P.S.: Many thanks to Ms. He, who loves the trombone, for her wonderful help these past few days! And thank you to Beipingchuan from Alice Island for summoning my character!
Thanks to Menghen Yaoxiu, User, Yiyi, Fifteenth Thinking, and Lin Chenyi who likes Guofeng for their update reminders! Thanks to Wangshengtang Hutao Miao, Shuhuangle Miao, and User's Bobo Milk Tea!