The intricately-carved wooden door opened by itself, and Li Meirong carefully stepped inside, making sure not to spill the hot tea as she did so.
The study wasn't overly large, but it was spacious enough to be filled with tall cabinets stacked with scrolls, and unique trinkets she had never seen before. It also included enough room for a screen door to be placed near the entrance.
The screen concealed the main seating and the Grandmaster's 'scholar' desk. Despite the many pieces of furniture, the room did not appear at all cluttered. The impression she received was that of careful consideration for the placement of every object in the room, and it provided a pleasant atmosphere.
As she rounded the screen door, the person that greeted her sight made her tight grip on the tray slacken, the contents of the platter almost dropping from her hands.
"Y-you…!" Li Meirong blurted. She could barely believe her eyes, her thoughts caught in a jumbled mess. That the past came to haunt her, today of all days…!
Standing by Grandmaster Zhu Zhang's side was the beautiful man she had met, years ago, in the brothel, on the night her soul had first transmigrated into this world.
How could it be a coincidence to meet that man once again?!
The man's imposing height and sculpted features were the same as she had recalled. Try as she might, she could never forget him and his pair of haunting eyes...
He still looked exactly the same as he had that night. His every movement was filled with the same grace and arrogance she had remembered.
She had tried, over the years, not to think about their encounter, instead placing the memory at the back of her mind. If she could narrow down her feelings to a single emotion, to describe how she felt after the brothel ordeal, the only one coming to mind was shame.
She refused to condemn herself for her actions that night; the aphrodisiac had clouded her rationality and made her desperate for his touch. She could admit to herself, if secretly, that she had enjoyed every moment of their intimacy, and she knew that she couldn't lay blame on the man since he had been affected by the same drug.
Yet another part of her despised him for taking advantage of her, even more so for his disappearance directly after.
That day, she had lost consciousness so quickly that to this day she was uncertain if she had lost her innocence during the event.
The shame of being used and tossed aside later, like an object, left her bitter.
In the past, when his piercing eyes had surfaced in her dreams, Li Meirong had tried to avoid heavy thoughts and instead casually cheered herself up: 'It could have been worse, you could have stayed in the brothel and become a plaything for any passing stranger. Think of it as a bad memory and a one-night-stand with a handsome guy instead.' That was what she used to silently tell herself.
Li Meirong shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. She forced herself to calm down, and instead properly take in the details of the scene.
The man was garbed in the sect's robes, and with him standing right beside Grandmaster Zhu Zhang, the similarities between the two became all too apparent. If not for that person's different hair and eye colour, she would have thought the pair to be siblings when she had first encountered Zhu Zhang.
Seeing them together now, they resembled each other a tad too much to be strangers.
It was hard to look away from the silver-haired man's liquid-gold irises, so similar in shade to Snowball's. His entire countenance made the alarm bells in her head ring, a little voice shouting 'trouble!'.
He was definitely the type of man to make a woman fall hopelessly in love with him, only to break her heart in the end. Li Meirong feared these types of men more than any other. After repeated heartbreaks, she could quickly tell who she needed to avoid.
She had already had one Mo Cheng in her life, and she didn't need another. Not to mention, the silver-haired stranger seemed ten times worse than her womanizing friend.
His eyes had not widened in surprise like hers did. No, instead they narrowed while his golden gaze bore into her, making her squirm in place.
Grandmaster Zhu Zhang cleared his throat, an attempt to clear the tension within the room, and succeeded in grabbing Li Meirong's attention.
"Do you two already know each other?"
"Not at all," the silver-haired man said, shaking his head.
"You must be wondering who my guest is," Grandmaster Zhu Zhang said, beckoning to Li Meirong with one hand. "Allow me to introduce you. This is Zhu Qingyue, my one and only son."
Bai Qingyue's brows furrowed in discontent when he heard his father change his surname to Zhu. He clasped his hands together in silent greeting.
Li Meirong quickly placed the tray on the desk and respectfully greeted him in return.
So his name was Zhu Qingyue… she vaguely recalled a mention of Qingyue that night, now that the name was mentioned.
Zhu Qingyue's displeased expression and his denial of any possible relationship made Li Meirong realize he must be just as embarrassed about the past as she was – not to mention the Grandmaster was his father! What a mess…
He did proclaim in their last 'meeting' at the brothel that he would not touch her. She had certainly not forgotten that statement. Maybe he already had a family? It wasn't uncommon for men in this world far younger than him to already have several wives and plenty of children.
Clearly, Zhu Qingyue was a man of prominent status, considering that he was the only son of a prominent sect leader. It was probably a mark of humiliation for him to bed someone lowly such as her. Even if the sect claimed there was no status among disciples, the wealthy disciples mingled with the wealthy, and the poorer were often the servants.
No wonder he had vanished. She only ever thought about her own unwanted experience, but wasn't he a victim as much as she had been? The thought of him seeking her out had not once crossed her mind.
Li Meirong's self-esteem had never been high. She had grown up in a family that preached humility and self-abasement, where even speaking a word out of turn was considered improper and impolite. The traditional values of her family had skipped a generation and had been passed directly to her by her grandmother, the one to raise her. It was only during rare moments of losing her cool that she ever managed to speak up.
As she finally let herself remember that night, deep in the recesses of her mind, she came to the decision to let bygones be bygones. She wouldn't mention the past, nor blame him, and he would most likely avoid her after this second meeting too.
Focusing on her responsibilities, Li Meirong glanced about the room, expecting to find her little Snowball.
Her eyes darkened with instant malice, and her now hardened gaze focused on Zhu Zhang as she internally cursed herself for being inattentive.
"Where is Snowball?!"