The next day.
The morning mist in the mountains was unusually thick, even damper than the mist in the Inner Court on Heart Lake Island.
Moisture coated the windows, blurring the world outside.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door, and an unfamiliar male voice rang out from outside.
"Junior brother, time to get up. Master wants to see you."
Chen Tianyuan startled awake, still somewhat dazed. "So it wasn't a dream?"
Zhang Lexuan stretched, a soft murmur escaping her lips.
Unlike Chen Tianyuan, she felt no discomfort. Instead, she felt at ease.
At Shrek Academy, she was the Inner Court's senior sister, an Inner Court teacher, and a prospective member of the Sea God Pavilion...
But here, she was simply Zhang Lexuan, simply Chen Tianyuan's beloved.
With the burden lifted from her shoulders, she had enjoyed a good night's sleep for the first time in ages. In her dreams, she seemed to have become that carefree girl once more.
Zhang Lexuan gathered her hair behind her head and secured the bun with a silver hairpin.
The room had every daily necessity. She pressed Chen Tianyuan into a seat before the dressing table, picked up a wooden comb, and worked through his somewhat tangled hair.
Hearing movement inside, Long Aotian did not hurry them. After all, he already knew that Du Busi had forcibly abducted the two of them.
The fact that they were not smashing things was already a good sign.
After a long while, the door opened.
Chen Tianyuan and Zhang Lexuan stepped out.
Looking at the tall man before him, Chen Tianyuan suddenly remembered that he had called him junior brother. He immediately asked, "Du Busi only kidnapped us yesterday. How did I become his disciple?"
Long Aotian gave an awkward smile. "That, I'm not sure