As Chen Mei stepped out of the bathroom, she immediately saw Shen Long who was wrapped in a blanket, like a mummy. Despite that, she didn't seem surprised at all. "Senior Brother Long, you're finally awake? Are you feeling alright?"
Shen Long, on the other hand, instinctively curled himself up even more as he was completely naked. The last thing Shen Long wanted was to see Chen Mei here. It was an embarrassing scene, especially in front of a girl that Shen Long liked. Shen Long tried his very best to calm down as he replied gently.
"Yeah. I'm feeling much better. The room's really cold, hahaha. Maybe I've caught a cold just now. Hahahahaha. It's cold, isn't it?" Shen Long attempted to find an excuse for his abnormal behaviour. He spoke in an uneasy tone as he appeared extremely suspicious. His forced laughs, especially, made it even less convincing; he also spoke as sweat started dripping from his face.
Chen Mei gave a slight nod, instead of responding. Silence followed as neither of them was willing to talk. Even with the ability of telepathy, Shen Long couldn't ask for help from anyone. After all, it was too embarrassing for him to ask his basketball friends, much less his Master or Qingyu. As a newcomer, he had yet established any proper friendships with anyone yet.
Shen Long couldn't stand the awkwardness, and he desperately wanted to leave this place. However, there was no way that Shen Long would walk out of the room in the mummy costume. It would completely shatter his image as a "basketball legend". Shen Long had no choice but to ask Chen Mei for help. However, Chen Mei interrupted him before he had a chance to speak.
"Senior Brother Long, there's no need for you to wrap yourself around the blanket. The Matriarch had already prepared you a new set of clothes, so please just change here. I'll take my leave for the moment before I bring you to the Matriarch's." She said as she handed over Shen Long a set of an orange robe.
Shen Long quickly dressed up as he felt extremely fortunate and glad. After wiping off the sweat, he quickly left the room as they headed to Li Qingyu's office. Shen Long, however, had yet to find out what exactly happened after he passed out.
Li Qingyu was dressed in a long black dress, showing off her elegance and beauty. It was Shen Long's first time seeing Qingyu dressed like this, and he was very surprised at her attire as a formal apothecary. She sat cross-legged, holding an ancient-looking medical manual in her delicate hands.
"Junior Brother Long, how are you feeling? I deliberately instructed Mei-er to stay with you while you lied unconscious. How did it feel to wake up next to such a beauty? By the way, does the orange robe fit you? You know Mei-er knitted that for you while you were sleeping? Have you thanked her yet?" Qingyu teasingly said while chuckling lightly upon seeing those two standing next to each other.
Shen Long glanced at Chen Mei who was standing on the side anxiously. Upon seeing Shen Long's gaze, she looked away to avoid any eye-contacts. Shen Long, however, was feeling extremely happy. Besides his mum, no one had ever knitted something for him. Even though knitting was quite uncommon on Earth, there were no excuses for Shen Long. He hadn't received a single gift from any girls, and he used to long for one back in the days.
"Thank you, Chen Mei. It fits me perfectly! Your knitting skills are so admirable! How could you knit so quickly? I was only unconscious for three hours. How did you figure out my sizes? I'm not even joking. It actually fits perfectly!" Shen Long exclaimed enthusiastically as he asked Chen Mei.
Chen Mei's face turned bright red as she wasn't sure how to respond. She stared at Li Qingyu, asking for help. "Silly girl, there's no need to be this embarrassed! Shen Long, were you not aware that you were naked when you woke up? Mei-er and I had to teleport you back, so of course, she knew your body size. But if what you've said is true, then she must have paid a lot of attention to your body when you were unconscious... Hahahaha." Qingyu said teasingly.
This made both Chen Mei and Shen Long extremely embarrassed. However, Shen Long was fuming with mixed emotions - anger, regret and embarrassment. After all, he was the one who brought up the topic, causing this awkwardness. He wanted to drill a hole into the ground and hide in there forever. He couldn't believe that he was THIS stupid to ask a question like this.
"Why the f*** did I ask that question!? Brain, are you trying to embarrass me? I even knew that I was naked. It was so bloody obvious that they had to teleport me back. Why did I even ask that? How am I ever going to speak with Chen Mei again? F***. No f***ing way I actually said it..." Shen Long cursed inwardly as tears almost flowed from his face.
Shen Long didn't respond as he continued to stand there, avoiding any eye-contact with anyone. This was the same for Chen Mei. Seeing how embarrassed they both were, Qingyu chuckled again as she added another comment. "Young people these days... so easily embarrassed! I wish I was still young... You two, go back to your own businesses. We'll meet again tomorrow at the celebration event anyway."
Both of them attempted to leave the room as soon as possible. However, just like those typical anime cliches, they were stuck in another awkward situation. They both stood next to the door, telling each other to go first. When one of them planned to walk out, the other followed. They were stuck in a blisterfield.
(There's actually a term for a situation like this ^ - never heard of it until today)
Shen Long rushed back to his residence. There was a red envelope on the floor, most likely about the celebratory event tomorrow. Shen Long picked it up and read the letter swiftly.
"Dear Shen Long,
Tomorrow is Master's 4,000th Birthday. To celebrate this joyous event, the honour of your presence is requested by the Apothecary Department. Due to your status as a personal disciple, you must arrive two hours before the actual event started. As a traditional practice of the Birthday events, all personal disciples will be required to attend a friendly contest.
Although the results are insignificant, we do sincerely hope that you take this event seriously, to show your respect towards Master. Every personal disciple would prepare a gift for Master, and the Master will choose the best gift that matches his needs the most. Rarity isn't Master's main priority, but thoughtfulness and meaning are.
By the time you have received the letter, you should have already prepared a gift. This is merely a reminder. We expect you to be there at 2.00 pm tomorrow.
Apothecary Department"
Shen Long's eyes popped outwards after he finished reading the letter. He had one day to prepare a meaningful, thoughtful and useful gift for his Master.
"Why is everything happening at once!? No one ever told me about this contest... What should I even buy for Master!?" Shen Long cursed as he screamed as loud as he could, in his residence.