Yan Yan left with her grandfather. Although she still bore resentment, she understood that she needed someone and surviving alone wouldn't be easy. Besides, the man had already gone to the extent of damaging his arteries for her. Upon reaching her grandfather's place, Yan Yan became even more bitter. Why must she suffer so much while the man claiming to be her grandpa had so much? Why did her mom die from internal injuries while her acclaimed grandfather was a mighty respected doctor? "So, your dad?" Yan's grandfather asked, reminding her of another memory she didn't want to remember. Yeah, she was young, but her condition led her to maturity quickly. Being exposed to some of the most awful parts of life made her act like an adult.
"He abandoned us...just like you did," Yan said through gritted teeth.
Hearing her, the grandfather's face turned ugly. Yan might not understand, but he never abandoned them. He couldn't believe the man his daughter abandoned him and eloped with abandoned her. Cracks soon started appearing on the pillars near them, and the ground started shaking, as if an earthquake was about to take place. "Mu Fan!" Yan's grandpa called out through gritted teeth as a tear slid down his eyes. It hurt even more knowing that his beloved daughter was abandoned by the man she didn't mind sacrificing him for. After some time, Yan Yan's grandpa finally managed to control himself and led Yan in. He had lost a daughter. He should bear and make things up to his granddaughter, who he could tell bore resentment towards him.
Years flew by as Yan Yan continued living with her grandfather. Soon enough four years passed.
"Yan'er, Yan Yan's grandpa called softly, appreciating the fact that Yan Yan's mum named her with the family name. "Yan'er," he called softly again but got no answers, causing him to open the door. To his surprise, the room was empty. "Where did Yan go?" he asked himself only to see a letter placed on a table. "Grandpa, I am going to look for someone. It will be better if you don't look for me as I will return back by myself after a year," Master Yan read out the letter, causing him to immediately turn sad. "Was I not treating her well enough?" he thought to himself before immediately scrapping that. "No, I was. If I wasn't, she wouldn't say she would return. She doesn't bear resentment towards me anymore. She has been treating me better. She must want to go search for her dad to know the real reason he abandoned them," Master Yan said, consoling himself and giving himself a reason why Yan left. "I will wait for a year then go look for her. If anything happens to her...I will go down with the whole Mu lineage," Master Yan said with seriousness.
Yan returned to the outer part of Weixen. She had been living at the capital of Weixen with her grandpa, and she hadn't actually left because she wanted to go search for her father. To her, he left, and there was no need to ever look for him. She had actually left to go search for the young master who was the first person to treat her with kindness, and now that she was living better, she felt she should fully appreciate him. She had said she would return after a year because she didn't know how long it would take her to find the young master. She didn't ask his name back then, and with four years already passing, she was sure he wouldn't look the same. The only clue she hoped for in looking for him was his neck pendant. Stepping into Weixen, Yan did not know where to start from and asking people either was not an option, since something like a pendant wouldn't be easily noticeable enough for most people to know who wears it. "I need to go to places where people frequent. My only option is Du Gu Pavilion and Lan Inn. Du Gu Pavilion has marketers, sellers, and a few cultivators frequenting it, so he might have gone there before, but going there will make grandpa find me fast if he goes stubborn and looks for me. Lan Inn should be a suitable option. The only problem is, in the inn, I can never find him if he was just a young prodigy that visited Weixen and not an indigen. I should give it a try, though," Yan said as she headed to Lan Inn. Another reason why she had decided to come and say a proper thanks to the boy that helped her years back was that she would turn fifteen after a year and would be going into a cultivation sect according to her grandfather. She thought if she didn't say proper thanks now, she might not be able to ever say it.
Er Xi was doing calculations when she was called by one of the servants that someone wanted to meet with her. She had actually grown Lan Inn into a mini empire. The caretaker had been showing his hands more, but it was still not too much for her to keep up with.
Leaving her calculations, Er Xi walked out to see who was looking for her. On seeing the young lady, she was struck speechless by her beauty. "She will be a great wife candidate for the young master," Er Xi immediately made conclusions as she looked the lady up and down.
Seeing her look, Yan was a bit creeped out but then still decided to stick to her reason for being there. "I want to work here," she said directly.
"You are hired," Er Xi replied, totally catching Yan off guard. "Just like that? You don't even ask what I can do, what are my talents, or give a test?" Yan said, finding this more and more surprising. She hadn't thought it would be this easy. She thought whoever is in charge of Lan Inn should have a condescending attitude towards others.
"Being beautiful is a talent too," Er Xi said straightforwardly. She had actually immediately accepted because she thought maybe her young master would make a good impression on the girl. Also, she thought Yan working for her is a good way to keep her closer too.
"I don't plan on working as Geji or Yiji," Yan immediately tried to clarify things.
"Pffft," Er Xi burst out laughing. "We don't keep that here; I just happen to have a work that fits," Er Xi added, and like that, Yan started working at Lan Inn.
Days passed and soon turned to weeks, then months. Yan kept searching and checking all the customers that came to Lan Inn with no progress.
"Young master," Er Xi called with a smile as she helped straighten out Ling's clothes. She was looking like a proud mom that has watched her son grow.
"Aunty Er Xi, I am not a kid anymore," Ling said, trying to use his hand to straighten his clothes himself as Yan burst into laughter. Those two mostly crack her up. Er Xi had actually employed her as an assistant. She could see how she was trying to match her up with Ling, but she didn't mind much, anyway, since neither side was forcing her.
"Go get a lady to marry then," Er Xi said.
"I am fifteen. Besides, you should marry first," Ling said.
"I am just a servant," Er Xi said, shocking Yan. She had always thought Er Xi to be the boss. Since she had been staying with them, Er Xi was the one in charge of everything. She only thought of Ling as an overprotected little brother to Er Xi. As for Er Xi calling Ling Young Master, she had only taken it as Er Xi trying to let people know Ling is the male and the heir.
"You are my big sister," Ling said.
"Okay, if you say so. Why are you not noticing the beauty beside me, though," Er Xi said with a smile.
"Don't you think the competition will be high," Ling said.
"I trust the young master to win," Er Xi said.
Hearing them talk about her in her presence made Yan unable to stop smiling. She really found them cute, but she already knew her plans. After saying proper thank you, she would be returning to join a sect. And about saying proper thank you, she had spent ten months here already without yet seeing the young master. She was already thinking the young master was from some influential family that happened to be in Weixen at that time. Who would have told her the person she had always been searching for had been seeing her for ten months? Yan continued watching conversations between both till there was a commotion down stairs.
"let's go check what Is going on" Er Xi said as the three walked down