"Wow, this place is bigger than I'd expected." Xia Jingyi said as she looked around the room that had two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and even a small backyard.
"It feels like we're studying aboard as exchange students." Yu Rou smiled.
"Right? I was thinking the same thing!"
"What should we do now?" Xia Jingyi asked.
Yu Rou pondered for a moment before speaking, "Since we have the whole day to ourselves, I will use this time to meet with Brother Tian in Cultivation Online just like I'd promised him."
Yu Rou then unpacked her luggage, retrieving the console.
"Can I join you?" Xia Jingyi asked.
"Of course. I don't see why you can't." Yu Rou nodded.
Once everything was set up, Yu Rou called Meixiu to tell them that they'd arrived safely and will be entering Cultivation Online shortly.
"Although it's morning here, it should be nighttime where you are right now, right?"
"Yes. We were just getting ready to sleep, but I will let Yuan know."
Meixiu then knocked on Yuan's door and told him about Yu Rou.
"Hello? Yu Rou? Are you going to enter Cultivation Online in a bit? I will meet you there." Yuan said to her.
"Sorry for the inconvenience. I know it's late over there." Yu Rou said.
"Don't worry, this isn't my first time staying up late." Yuan chuckled.
"Then I will see you in a bit alongside Jingyi."
"Alright."
After hanging up the phone, Yu Rou and Xia Jingyi logged into Cultivation Online and waited for Yuan and Meixiu to appear.
Meixiu appeared a few minutes later, but Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's my brother?" Yu Rou asked Meixiu.
"He's coming here. He left the city for a moment recently to do something." Meixiu explained to her.
"Okay."
Sometime later, Yuan returned to the city and met up with the others.
"Where's Feng Feng and the others?" Yu Rou asked him.
"Oh, I told them to explore the Lower Heavens without me since I won't be active for god-knows-how-long," he said.
"I see… Then let's go somewhere more private so we can talk." Yu Rou suggested.
They proceeded to rent a room in a random hotel for some privacy.
Once they were all seated, Yu Rou began speaking, "Let me tell you about our journey first."
"Sure." Yuan nodded.
Yu Rou talked about their flight, the food they had during the flight, their landing, and their meeting with Grandma Yin and White Lotus. She also talked about their new living quarters and some information about the Eternal Lotuses.
"What do you think, brother? Are you still worried?" Yu Rou asked him afterward.
Yuan smiled and said, "Judging by what you've told me, the Eternal Lotuses does sound like a safe place."
"What about the Yu Family? Have they tried to contact you since you left the family?"
Yu Rou shook her head, "No, they haven't contacted me just yet. Maybe they still don't know about my departure. Or they know but don't care enough to contact me."
"I think it's better if they don't contact you." Yuan then said.
"I think so too." Yu Rou chuckled.
"What about you, brother? How have things been since the contest?"
"Well… We've been receiving a lot of emails since then. In fact, we even got one from the Yu Family. We haven't read any of them, but we can imagine what they want from us." Yuan said.
"That's only to be expected with your level of performance. It will only become worse, you know?" Yu Rou said.
"Yes, I know."
After talking to each other for some time, Yu Rou asked, "Brother, what surprises do you have for me? I think I have been patient enough."
Yuan smiled and said, "Honestly, I wanted to save this surprise until you're ready to use it, or at least during a more proper setting."
He then retrieved a beautiful fan from his storage ring and offered it to her.
"Here. It's an upgrade to your current weapon. It's called the Dragon Fan, and it's an Earth-grade treasure."
Yuan finally handed Yu Rou the treasure he'd gotten from the Dragon Essence Temple.
Yu Rou accepted the beautiful fan with a speechless expression on her face.
"T-Thank you…" Yu Rou muttered after a long moment of silence.
"It's nothing much, but I hope you like it."
Yu Rou then jumped off her seat and into Yuan's embrace.
"Thank you, brother! I will definitely treasure this fan— as well as the old one! Forever!" Yu Rou said in an excited voice.
Yuan then turned to look at Xia Jingyi with an apologetic smile on his face, "I'm sorry, but I don't have a gift for you now. However, I will definitely find one for you in the future."
Xia Jingyi shook her hand and her head at the same time and said, "It's okay, you don't need to worry about me. I don't deserve any gift, anyways."
"That's not true. I will be relying on you to make sure that Yu Rou doesn't get herself into any trouble, so it's only natural I pay you back."
"I won't get into any trouble!" Yu Rou refuted.
"Sure, sure…" Yuan laughed.
They proceeded to spend a couple of hours just talking to each other since it might be some time before they can see each other again.
"Alright, brother. I have taken up enough of your time. Go get some sleep. You too, Meixiu." Yu Rou suddenly said to them.
Yuan nodded and said, "Remember. If you get into any trouble, let us know."
"And you'll come to rescue me like a prince on a white horse, right? I know, brother." Yu Rou chuckled.
"I am serious, Yu Rou. You're very important to me. I do not wish anything bad to happen to you… or Jingyi." Yuan said with a solemn expression on his face.
"I promise." Yu Rou nodded.
After saying their goodbyes and giving each other a hug, Yu Rou gave Yuan a kiss on the cheeks before they eventually logged off to do their own things.
