"Shaozhi..." The expression on my face faded as I looked at Shaozhi seriously. Of course I knew she was no longer a child. We had come this far through the long years, and I was her anchor. Everything she had was built upon me. If that anchor became unstable, her emotions would collapse with it.
So don't be fooled by how mischievous she usually was. When it came to matters of the heart, she was unusually single-minded, refusing to let anyone pluck that heartstring.
"Master, you've watched us come all this way, haven't you? You've always asked us to give you time, but we did... We've been waiting all along, standing right where we were... Yet you just refuse to agree... A girl's youth passes too. By Earth standards, we've all become aunties dancing in the square, but you still want us to wait. If this goes on, are we supposed to wait until we're sitting in wheelchairs?" Shaozhi said aggrievedly.
When I heard that, I felt guilty toward her. But we were master and disciple, after all. That was an insurmountable chasm.
"Master, even if it isn't entirely proper, we can't care about that anymore! Shaozhi has practically worn calluses into my ears! She keeps chattering about this every day. Isn't it just romantic feelings between a man and a woman? We don't think it's complicated. Do you, Master?" Xiangling said, her face full of gloom.
I smiled bitterly at her. "You really don't want to find a man you like? You're both in the prime of your youth..."
"Master, we don't want to hear that." Xiangling rejected me bluntly. I could only fall silent. Seeing that I had stopped speaking, Xiangling grabbed my hand and said, "Shaozhi and I have always been completely devoted to you, whether as