The scene from yesterday afternoon was like a pebble tossed into a calm lake, sending ripples through Zhao Yi’an’s heart all day long.
Liu Yao’s declaration, the feel of her hands pinching his cheeks, and her vibrant, smiling face so close to his—all those images took turns spinning in his mind until he felt dizzy, making him forget what he had even eaten for dinner.
That night, lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and could only count the stars through the hole in the roof that was still waiting to be fixed.
Then, he sighed in his heart.
‘Thank goodness it didn’t rain tonight.’
In the end, he didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep.
But that night, he felt this was likely the best sleep he had ever had in his life; there was no anxiety and no pain, and his heart felt as settled as if he were being held in someone’s arms.
The summer nights in Xiang’an town were always cool, enough to lull one into a worry-free slumber.
But perhaps not everyone could find rest in the night.
Some slept soundly, some suffered from insomnia, some were happy, and some were busy scheming.
This night, eventually, would pass.
When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright.
Zhao Yi’an stared at the ceiling beams, stunned for a long while, as the scenes from yesterday scrambled to rush back into his mind.
“Stop looking at her, look at me.”
“Wow!”
He sat up abruptly and rubbed his face vigorously.
No, no, he couldn’t think about it anymore. If he kept on like this, he wouldn’t be able to get anything done today.
He braced himself and rummaged through his clothes. Suddenly, a small cloth pouch fell out from among his things.
Zhao Yi’an looked down at the somewhat shriveled pouch, which contained the private savings he had scraped together over the last few months, originally kept for emergencies.
He scratched the back of his head, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind:
Now that he had officially become an apprentice, how could he keep letting his Master pay for everything?
She had bought the drinks by the river, brought snacks in oil-paper bags the next day when she came to the horse gang, and even repaired the roof all by herself; as for him, the wounded patient, he hadn’t helped with anything other than sitting there like a fool.
Lately, it seemed like Liu Yao was always the one footing the bill.
Although Liu Yao didn’t say it out loud, Zhao Yi’an knew that, as an apprentice, he should have some common sense.
Even if this elder appeared to be only a few years older than him.
As Zhao Yi’an thought about it, the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
But just as they reached halfway, they suddenly drooped again—if Liu Yao asked where the money came from, what would he say? He couldn’t just say, “It’s my private savings,” could he? That would be too embarrassing.
Furthermore, with her temperament, she would most likely say something like, “You’re a patient, what are you fussing about?”
No, he had to think of an excuse.
While he pondered, his hands didn’t stop while he dressed.
Just as he was fully dressed and pushed open the door, inhaling the familiar scent of dry grass from the stables, he heard familiar footsteps at the courtyard gate.
Zhao Yi’an looked up and saw Liu Yao strolling in, carrying an oil-paper bag as usual, with a teapot-like object in her other hand.
Seeing Zhao Yi’an just stepping out, the young girl lifted the things in her hands and hooked the corner of her lips.
“Yo, you’re up pretty early.” She cast him a glance, sat down at the stone table, and set the items down. “Here, I brought you some soy milk; drink it while it’s hot. The steamed buns are also still warm.”
“Eat some of this to nourish yourself; you’ll get better faster that way.”
“Then you’ll be able to learn those martial arts you’ve been pining for.”
“Uh… Master, I want to go out for a while later.”
He walked over, but instead of eating right away, he stood there hesitating before speaking up.
Liu Yao was pouring herself some soy milk and didn’t even look up at the remark.
“What for?”
“To the medical clinic.” Zhao Yi’an had already prepared his story. “Doctor Niu said earlier that I should go change my bandages today and see how the recovery is going.”
Only then did Liu Yao look up at him, sizing him up from head to toe.
There was a hint of worry in the young girl’s tone: “Can you make it on your own? Do you want me to accompany you?”
“Yes, yes, yes, it’s just a few steps away.” Zhao Yi’an nodded hurriedly. “Besides, Master, aren’t you going to fix the roof? I can’t help much here anyway, so I might as well go myself so I don’t delay your great house-repairing project.”
“Alright then, be careful and don’t trip again.”
“Mm.”
Zhao Yi’an replied, but he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood in place, fidgeting, wanting to speak but seemingly unsure of how to say it.
Liu Yao took a bite of her bun, chewing and chewing; seeing that he still hadn’t moved, she raised her eyes at him suspiciously, urging him with her mouth full.
“Mmph… what are you staring at? Go on.”
Zhao Yi’an opened his mouth, but his feet stayed put.
He stood there, his fingers subconsciously twisting the hem of his garment until the fabric was wrinkled. After a few long moments, he seemed to finally gather enough courage to look up.
“That… Master.”
“Hmm?”
“I just wanted to ask…” He paused, his gaze darting away for a moment before finally landing on Liu Yao’s face, “Why, why are you so good to me?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Yao stopped chewing her bun.
She froze right there, with the bun still inside her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, forgetting to chew for a moment.
Two breaths later, the young girl finally seemed to snap out of it; she bowed her head to swallow the bun and picked up the bowl to take a sip of soy milk.
“Cough,” she set the bowl down, her gaze drifting to the side, anywhere but on Zhao Yi’an’s face. “What kind of question is that… My Master, who is your Grandmaster, used to treat me like this too, you know.”
Her voice was lighter than usual, laced with a sense of unease.
She paused, then suddenly added another sentence, her tone uncharacteristically flustered:
“Besides… it’s my first time being a Master too, how would I know what I’m supposed to do? I just… I just followed my Master’s example.”
“Don’t you dare laugh at me!”
By the time she finished, she couldn’t help but glance at Zhao Yi’an, then quickly shifted her gaze away and reached out to scratch the back of her head, messing up the few stray locks of hair sticking out.
Zhao Yi’an watched her, suddenly stunned.
So, both of them were doing this for the first time…
He was an apprentice for the first time.
And she was a Master for the first time.
Two people who didn’t know anything had just stumbled into this arrangement together.
He lowered his head, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, refusing to be kept down.
From the corner of her eye, Liu Yao caught the smile at the edge of his lips, which only made her feel more uncomfortable. She stood up abruptly, walked over in a few steps, and gave him a push on the shoulder.
“Laughing, laughing, what are you laughing at! Get to your medical clinic already! If you keep dawdling, Doctor Niu will have closed up shop!”
Her push wasn’t particularly hard, but her face was stained with a light red, and even the roots of her ears had turned pink.
Zhao Yi’an was pushed forward and stumbled a step; he looked back at her, the smile on his face impossible to hide.
“Then… then I’ll be going, Master.”
“Go, go, go!”
Liu Yao waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. Only when he had walked out the gate did she slowly draw her hand back and stand there, stunned for a while.
Then, she suddenly clicked her tongue and buried her face in her palms.
‘First time being a Master’ indeed… she sounded like an absolute fool.
She rubbed her face and scratched her hair vigorously, making her already messy hair even more chaotic.
‘Forget it, forget it, whatever.’
‘At least… the kid didn’t laugh at me.’
‘Is it just me, or have I been blushing more often lately?’