The next morning, sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting golden flecks on Chen Kai's face.
He was currently nestled in his warm blanket, dreaming of swimming with Seadra and Dracovish among the coral reefs, so much so that he was practically drooling on his pillow.
"Thump, thump, thump!" A rapid knocking on the door brutally shattered his dream.
"Xiao Kai! Xiao Kai! Are you awake?" Chen Ma's voice, laced with obvious anxiety, came from outside the door.
Chen Kai groaned in discomfort, burying his head deeper into the pillow, trying to block out the external disturbance.
He didn't understand why his sleep always had to be interrupted.
However, the knocking persisted, growing louder and louder.
"Coming, coming…" Chen Kai struggled to emerge from his blanket, his black hair a messy bird's nest, his eyes bleary with sleep, and his steps unsteady as he shuffled to the door and pulled it open.
The dazzling morning light made him squint.
Standing at the door was his mother, dressed in casual resort wear, but her face showed no sign of vacation leisure; her brows were tightly furrowed, filled with an expression of "extreme urgency."
"Mom… What's all this about so early in the morning…?" Chen Kai's voice was muffled, thick with sleep.
"Xiao Kai, have you seen Exeggutor?" Chen Ma cut straight to the chase, her words rapid-fire.
Chen Kai's brain was still in a semi-dormant state; he blinked blankly, trying to focus his vision: "Ex… Exeggutor? Which Exeggutor?"
He rubbed his eyes and let out a big yawn: "Aren't there several outside in the woods near the guesthouse? Wasn't there one standing next to Grandpa and Grandma yesterday evening?"
He thought his mother was asking about the wild ones, or the common Alolan Exeggutor around the guesthouse.
"Oh, no! Not those!" Chen Ma stamped her foot in exasperation, her voice rising several octaves, "It's my Exeggutor! The Exeggutor I've raised since it was a child! The regular form! It was still strolling in the coconut grove by the terrace last night, but this morning it's gone! I've searched everywhere, inside and out, and haven't even seen a single hair!"
Only then did Chen Kai become slightly more awake.
Oh, so it was his mom's Exeggutor.
He tried to recall the situation before he went to sleep last night… It seemed… he had no particular impression.
After returning from the mountain forest last night, he had been in his room playing on his phone and then resting, so he wasn't aware of what was happening outside.
"No… I haven't seen it." Chen Kai shook his head, looking innocent and bewildered, "I've been in my room since I got back last night. It's so big; if it had come into my room, I would definitely have noticed."
He pointed to his small guest room.
Chen Ma looked at her son's face, seeing his just-woken, clearly not-yet-online intelligence, and knew he wasn't faking it.
She sighed heavily, the worry on her face deepening.
"How strange… Where could it have gone? It always loves to wander around aimlessly, whether in Sichuan Province or abroad. When I find it, I'm going to make it stay quietly in its Poké Ball!"
Chen Ma muttered to herself, her brows knitted into a knot: "No, I need to ask your Dad and Grandpa and Grandma again, and then go look by the beach! Please, nothing bad must happen…"
As she mumbled, she turned around abruptly, even forgetting to close the door for Chen Kai, and hurried down the corridor, her slippers making quick "pat-pat" sounds on the wooden floor, quickly disappearing at the stairwell.
Chen Kai scratched his messy hair, looking at the empty doorway and the direction his mother had disappeared, still a bit dazed.
After a quick wash, Chen Kai, his hair still somewhat dishevelled, arrived at the guesthouse's open-plan restaurant, intending to fill his stomach along with his Pokémon.
The air was filled with the sweet scents of coffee, fried eggs, and tropical fruits.
Just as Chen Kai picked up a plate to get some food, he saw his father, Chen Weiguo, rush in from outside, his face even more anxious than his mother's had been that morning, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and one button of his vacation shirt askew.
"Dad? What's wrong?" Chen Kai's heart tightened; he held his empty plate and stopped his hurrying father, "Did you find Exeggutor?"
"Not yet!" Chen Weiguo panted, grabbed an untouched glass of iced water from the table, and gulped down most of it before urgently saying, "Just now! Right now! I was looking for your mom's Exeggutor in the coconut grove behind us and ran into a group of wild Alolan Exeggutor!"
Chen Kai nodded; that was quite common.
"And guess what?" Chen Ba slapped his thigh, speaking incredibly fast, "One of those Exeggutor told me! It said that last night, around the time the moon rose above the treetops, your mom's Exeggutor specifically went to look for them!"
"Huh? Why would it look for wild Exeggutor?" Chen Kai grew even more puzzled.
"Good question!" Chen Ba had a "you'll never guess" expression, "Your mom's Exeggutor actually asked that wild one if it had seen… a regular Exeggutor on the island recently!"
"A regular Exeggutor?" Chen Kai was stunned: "You mean?"
"Yes! Sigh… It probably wants to find Ya'an." Chen Ba glanced at Exeggcute, who was eating breakfast nearby, unaware of the commotion, then continued, "More importantly, that wild Exeggutor told it that there really was one! Just in the past few days, it seems it really did glimpse one on Ula'ula Island! Not tall, a short, regular Exeggutor."
Chen Kai's brows furrowed tightly: "A short, regular Exeggutor? On this island?!"
"Yes!" Chen Ba rubbed his hands anxiously, "That wild Exeggutor said it thought it was a bit strange at the time, but didn't pay much attention. But when your mom's Exeggutor heard that news, its three heads shook with excitement! Then it thanked the wild one, turned, and hurried off into the distance! From the looks of it, it went to find that 'regular' Exeggutor!"
"So… it didn't go missing, but went to find Ya'an on its own?" Chen Kai felt things were developing beyond his expectations, "And then it didn't come back all night?"
"That's right!" Chen Ba looked worried, "So I have to tell your mom quickly! We need to search all over the island immediately! This big oaf, I really hope nothing bad happens to it!"
After Chen Ba finished speaking, he didn't even bother to eat breakfast; he grabbed a piece of bread from the table, stuffed it into his mouth, and rushed out while chewing: "Xiao Kai! You eat! Your mom and I are going to look for it first! If you see it come back, contact us immediately!"
Before his words faded, Chen Ba's figure had already disappeared through the restaurant's exit to the terrace, leaving Chen Kai standing there with an empty plate.
And today was the weekend, so Zhou Zicheng, who was helping out in his family's restaurant, overheard Chen Kai and Chen Ba's conversation.
He walked over with concern and asked, "Kai Ge, do you need my help?"
Chen Kai considered his English proficiency and realized he really did need Zhou Zicheng's help.
Zhou Zicheng also knew the matter was urgent; he was very loyal and put down his work to go search with them.