Then came the afternoon pop quiz, a test graded out of a hundred.
Dian looked at their papers and frowned. What on earth had they been listening to in class? Every question had been covered in the lesson, yet they could still write such blatant nonsense.
"Li Jia, 59."
"Linai, 58."
Near the end of school, Dian tucked the textbook into Hera's hands and said in the kindest tone possible, "Your Majesty Hera, you can help Li Jia study grammar at home and reinforce what she's learned."
Li Jia stuffed the test paper into a gap at the very bottom of her schoolbag. How could she dare let the demon find out? She would never hear the end of it.
"Take it out."
Li Jia stayed as still as a turtle.
"Take it out and let me see. Don't make me say it twice."
Playing dead didn't work. owo
She could only pull the paper out from the very depths and hand it to Hera with trembling hands. Afraid Hera might work herself into a fit, Li Jia felt she needed to give her some advance warning.
"I was only one point away from passing. It's still a 59, isn't it? One more multiple-choice question right and I'd have had 60."
Rounded up, that was 60. She had scored well over half of a hundred, which was already pretty impressive.
"I got 59. Linai only got 58."
Sorry, bestie.
"I swear I'll pass the next pop quiz."
She would plant the flag first. Whether she could actually make it happen would have to wait until the day itself.
Hera ignored Li Jia's excuses. Sitting in the chariot, she looked through Li Jia's paper and gave a derisive laugh. "Did you do this on purpose? Which of the following was a writer from Ancient Greece-what were you thinking? You picked Pythagoras."
Because he looked like Godzilla. She didn't recognize any of the other three names listed.
"Pythagoras was a famous mathematician from Ancient Greece. What were you thinking?"
"Does the Vance Family place no importance on education? I vaguely remember that the Northern Territory and Ollit began allowing girls to attend school long ago. How do you not even know the most basic biographical accounts?"
Dian was right. She needed to prepare for class beforehand. Being unable to answer a single question was frightening too.
"..."
She didn't know Western mathematicians. She only knew Hua Luogeng from the East.
She had completely lost any means of arguing back. Hera was looking at her as if she were illiterate now. How was she supposed to explain that she had received a higher education?
How could I explain it in a way that makes sense?
Tell her I'm actually not from this era, so I can't understand their questions? But wouldn't that expose my identity?
Or say I've lost my memory, that I actually learned all this but forgot it? That doesn't hold up logically either.
Ugh, forget it. Better to let Hera think I'm illiterate. Any explanation would sound utterly unreasonable.
Li Jia looked away and mumbled, "Because I'm kind of stupid."
Hera rolled the paper into a tube and lightly tapped her on the head, then raised her head and said, "The slow bird must fly first, and diligence can make up for lack of talent. From now on, I'll come back earlier in the evenings to help you prepare for class. I don't expect you to be exceptionally clever, but you should at least know basic common knowledge."
The little one hung her head. "Then you have to come back early, Your Majesty. I don't want to come home at night and still have to put in overtime studying."
Hearing Li Jia's childish muttering, the beating heart in Hera's chest felt as though a damp heaviness had just begun to gather, only to encounter a fierce, lingering rainy season.
Only when the rain gradually faded did she discover that the misty moisture was already densely covered in traces of a sickness beyond cure.
When they returned to Hot Spring Ravine, the meal had already been laid out in the Deep Hall. It was all food Li Jia loved: sweet fermented rice with osmanthus, creamy truffle baby potatoes, a tender pan-fried steak, and a porcelain bowl of borscht.
Winslow had already lost the right to have dinner with Li Jia, because someone else wanted to eat with Li Jia even more.
Two sets of pink bunny tableware sat on the table. Li Jia was just about to sneak a baby potato when a voice sounded beside her ear. "Go wash your hands. It's time to eat."
"Oh," Li Jia said, then scampered over to the pool in the little garden and washed her hands thoroughly.
Because of Li Jia's presence, more and more of her belongings filled the Deep Hall. She liked pink, adorable things full of girlish charm.
There was the little wooden shelf specifically for snacks, and the round, fluffy rug. Li Jia said she could do yoga stretches on it to lose weight, but in reality, she spent most of her time using it for naps. There was also that beanbag chair, which she liked to curl up in while reading storybooks.
The temple was filled with her scent. Beside her, breathing was steady.
Gods did not need to eat or sleep.
Hera did not know when it had started, but she would leave a light on for Li Jia and prepare food for her. After dealing with troublesome matters outside, she would start noticing local specialties and interesting things wherever she went, wondering whether Li Jia would like them.
Hera discovered that she liked watching Li Jia eat. Li Jia was not ladylike at the table. She was careless and unrestrained, and liked stuffing her mouth full, like a little hamster that loved hoarding food.
She would also drop grains of rice onto the table, then pick them up and eat them, muttering, "It hasn't been three seconds. It hasn't been three seconds."
The more mysteries surrounded her, the more Hera felt she could not hold on to her. Only at night, when she lay in her arms, did Hera feel that the little one was truly there beside her.
After dinner that evening, Li Jia summoned Yellow Springs and enjoyed a lovely bath.
Although the private hot spring had a rather underworldly name, soaking in it left her feeling comfortable to her very core. She also felt her skin getting better and softer. What woman didn't love looking beautiful? Especially when she was still a girl in the bloom of youth, not yet eighteen.
The longer she stayed here, the more she came to depend on this place. She liked Hot Spring Ravine, liked Fragrant City Spring Capital, liked everything here.
Including its mistress. She liked her too.
As she thought about it, Li Jia fell asleep again.
Hera: "..."
She had no idea how Li Jia managed to sleep so much. Or were mortal constitutions simply that much weaker?
She had channeled a great deal of divine power into her through Yellow Springs, which could prolong her life. Her lifeline could not be linked to hers. She would age and die normally, like any mortal, and then leave her.
Whenever Hera thought of this, she grew terribly anxious and agitated. The indescribable palpitations were close to driving her mad.
As a god, she could not interfere with mortal life and death.
She hated this feeling, this despair beyond her control. She would not let Li Jia leave her. She would take back her Spirit-Binding Lamp and grant her eternal life. What did the price matter?
Li Jia had spent the whole day away from both Hot Spring Ravine and the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage. With her absent from her side, Hera kept thinking of her, wondering how she was doing and whether she was doing well.
She let her listen, yet all day long, she had not received even a single greeting from her.
Hera said, "You little ingrate. What am I to do with you?"
She sighed quietly, kissed her forehead, lifted her out of the private hot spring, and carried her to bed.
When Li Jia woke up, she found herself looking into a pair of red eyes.