"Are you still worried about that? Neither Yuan nor I blame you for what happened— not even in the slightest." Meixiu said to her.
"I know, but it's just a feeling that I cannot shake off. Of course, I have other reasons why I want to leave the Yu Family— such as wanting to be independent like you and Brother Tian. I don't want to rely on the Yu Family forever, and I feel that if I remain in the family for any longer, I will never be able to leave."
After a moment of silence, Meixiu said, "I understand. Let me transfer you to Yuan so you can speak with him."
Meixiu then knocked on Yuan's room and said, "It's Yu Rou."
Yuan opened the door while wearing only his pants, his body soaked in sweat from exercising.
"Here you go…" Meixiu handed him the phone with a slightly rosy face.
"Good morning, Yu Rou." Yuan placed the phone on speakers then on his bed before speaking with her while he continued to exercise.
"You're exercising already? Don't push yourself too hard." Yu Rou said to him, as she could hear him exercising.
"Don't worry, I know when to stop," Yuan said.
"Anyways, I am calling to let you know that I have decided on a cultivation faction. I will be joining them next week. They're also in another city, so I will be moving out soon."
"Eh? Already?" Yuan stopped moving and expressed his surprise.
"I didn't think you'd leave so soon, and going to another city? How far are you traveling? What about this cultivation faction? What's their name?" Yuan bombarded her with questions.
"About 8,000 miles away, so I will be traveling pretty far."
"Eight thousand miles?! That's around 16 hours with a plane! Why are you going that far? Why can't you just join a cultivation faction that's already in this city?"
After all, it would only be more difficult for them to visit each other the further away they are from each other.
"Well, this cultivation faction is a little special, and even if it's a little far, I think it's worth it." Yu Rou said.
After a moment of silence, Yuan asked, "What's this cultivation faction called?"
"They are called Eternal Lotuses— it's a female-only cultivation faction that's led by the one and only White Lotus, who is a top player in Cultivation Online. They already have over a thousand talented cultivators, and they are a powerful faction and also one of the fastest-growing factions in the world."
"White Lotus?" Yuan recalled hearing this name before.
"White Lotus is a well-known player from a top 10 Legacy family. She is also a trustworthy individual according to my sources. I think it'll be fine if I go there."
"Furthermore, I won't be going there alone. I spoke with Xia Jingyi yesterday, and she agreed to come with me."
Knowing that Yu Rou won't be traveling alone made Yuan feel more relieved, but he was still worried.
After all, Yu Rou was only 16 years old.
"Brother, I know what you are thinking. I may be young, but I can take care of myself."
"I know you can… After all, you took care of me for many years. However, it's a brother's duty to worry about his sister, right?" Yuan said with a gentle smile on his face.
"Anyways, have you spoken to your parents about this yet?" He then asked.
"No… I haven't, nor do I plan on telling them since they will definitely refuse to let me go," she responded calmly.
"How long do you plan on staying there? In the Eternal Lotuses?"
"I don't know… But it's going to be at least a couple of years."
"Give me the address so that we can visit you in the future when we have the time."
"Of course, but I don't think they allow male visitors inside their place, so I will have to meet you somewhere else."
"That's fine."
Yuan and Yu Rou spoke to each other for many minutes until Yu Rou had to go.
"I will call you later, Brother."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Yuan asked Meixiu, "Do you think we can do a performance before Yu Rou leaves in a week? I don't care what kind of performance. Even a contest is okay as long as I get to play an instrument."
"You want to perform in public right now? That's a little risky, no?"
"I think it should be fine. I want to fulfill Yu Rou's dream a little before she leaves."
"Alright… I will try to do something about it."
"Thank you, Meixiu."
Yuan returned to his training shortly after, and Meixiu began looking for a place where he could perform.
Two days later, Meixiu found a place and said, "There's going to be a small piano contest in five days, and it's the earliest one I can find."
"Five days… Right when Yu Rou leaves, huh? Let's do it."
"I have already signed us up for it. It'll start at 8 AM in the morning, but we won't be on stage until 10 AM."
"Great. Now we just need to let Yu Rou know."
Meixiu then called Yu Rou.
"Yu Rou, I have a surprise for you. Can you come to this location before 10 AM in the morning?"
"10 AM? Why? What's going to happen in this place? Our flight is at 1 PM." Yu Rou asked.
"It's okay, you can go to the airport from that place. As for why… It's a surprise. Don't worry, it won't last long at all— a few minutes at most."
"Okay… I will be there." Yu Rou agreed.
"You won't regret it! I promise!"
After hanging up, Yuan and Meixiu began preparing for the small contest.
Meanwhile, Yu Rou called Xia Jingyi to let her know that they'll be leaving a little earlier than planned to make a pitstop before their flight.
And in the blink of an eye, five days passed.