"After cleaning, it looks so neat and fresh. Spacious enough to arrange everything thing." With satisfaction after cleaning the room, Long Yuzhen lay on the bed while holding a drawing of Zoya. "Passing all difficulties, I reached your doorstep. When will you come out to greet me, Zoya? Where are you? How long are you going to make me wait?"
Placing the drawing close to his heart, he fell asleep after sharing his complaints, worries, and concerns with Zoya, not knowing he had already met her.
The next day, Long Yuzhen went to meet his master at his room in the early morning to show his respect, but the one he encountered was a sleepyhead. Chen Zoe was still sleeping in his room.
Without disturbing Zoe's sleep, Long Yuzhen enjoyed the view of the sleeping beauty. He couldn't realize he was being drawn towards Zoe without his knowledge.
As usual, to wake him up, Rui came to the room, and seeing Long Yuzhen there embarrassed him after watching his senior still sleeping in front of his disciple.
"Am I invisible or are you ignoring my presence?" To distract the attention of Long Yuzhen's towards Chen Zoe, Rui harshly spoke.
Long Yuzhen was momentarily shocked by Rui's sudden confrontation. Quickly grasping the situation, he bowed his head in apology, showing respect to Rui. "Please accept my sincere apology for not sensing your presence in the room, Master."
"No need to be so sorry. Anyone would be mesmerized by my senior's beauty. But getting carried away by the feelings isn't a good thing; try to control it, unless it puts you in big trouble one day. Anyway, I'm Rui, a junior physician in the Chen Long Sect. I haven't reached the master level yet, so feel free to call me as senior. You are Long Yuzhen, right? I saw your performance yesterday, and it's really impressive." Rui tried to ease the situation, freely talking to Yuzhen.
"I will remember your words, senior."
"What's going on here? Why are you two in my room?" Awakened by their voices, Chen Zoe looked at both Rui and Long Yuzhen, clearly annoyed.
'What the hell he is doing in my room this early?' Seeing Yuzhen, Chen Zoe anxiously think but never showed it in his face.
"I brought him here to kowtow, isn't it his first day as your official disciple?" Seeing the moody look on Chen Zoe, Rui tried to protect Long Yuzhen.
"Then do it."
"Senior, you just woke up. Take a bath first..."
"I don't think it's necessary." Crossing Rui, Zoe continued. "He is going to learn under me, so he is the one who must adapt to new situations, not me. Don't waste my time; do it quickly."
Long Yuzhen showed his respect towards his master without showing any discomfort. For him, staying there was a temporary plan; afterwards, everything would depend on Zoya's decision. So, he didn't want to cause any trouble during the time period, in case, what if she preferred to stay at the sect after marriage. [Long Yuzhen's way of thinking.]
"When you came here to complete the ritual, you must have been aware of the remaining rules, right? Taking care of your master isn't the primary one, Rui..." Trying to clarify things, Chen Zoe asked.
"Y-Yeah..."
"So let me make some things clear. The sect rules are not valid inside my residence; I make the rules here.
You are free to enter anywhere in my residence, but you are not allowed to enter my room without permission. We are going to be living together for a long period, so you should take care of my daily needs. Don't try to make excuses in this regard.
Also, there isn't any fixed time for class; you can learn by yourself and practice anytime you want after taking care of assigned tasks. If you face any problems or have doubts, don't hesitate to look for me." Even though he didn't like to be a teacher to Long Yuzhen, Chen Zoe didn't run away from his responsibilities.
"Yes, master."
"Then what are you waiting for? Prepare the table. I'm getting hungry." Chen Zoe made him leave the room.
"Did he win you over?" After Long Yuzhen left the room, Rui curiously asked.
"What??? No, not at all… Only one test is over. Let's see if he can win this time." With a wicked smile, Chen Zoe replied.
"What test? Preparing a table is a test?"
"It won't be hard task, but how will he prepare a table without any food? Except for the maid Hua, there are no other maids currently available in this mansion."
"What?"
"Yesterday, I gave them a whole week of paid vacation." After saying, Chen Zoe went to get ready.
"Senior, you are truly a devil."
Meanwhile, Long Yuzhen went to the kitchen and found the whole place empty. He couldn't understand what to do; his master would come to the dining hall anytime, and there was no food in the kitchen.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the kitchen?" An old lady's voice gave Yuzhen hope for a moment.
"My name is Long Yuzhen, Master Zoe's disciple. Grandma, may I know where the rest of the maids are? My master is really hungry, and there is nothing prepared yet."
"Currently, instead of me, there is no maid here. Let me prepare something quickly." She said it easily, but seeing her weak body, trembling hands, and slow actions, Yuzhen realized she couldn't prepare anything in such a short amount of time.