Back at Forgotten Waters sect, Li Meirong had waited and waited in her cabin, and then waited some more. That night, she had clutched the blanket to her side, her fingers gripping fabric tightly in anticipation for Senior Zhu's return. She remained in a state of turmoil until the early break of dawn.
As her vision gradually turned blurry and she could no longer keep her eyes open, sleep finally relieved her of the pointless expectation and her eyes closed, not to open until noon.
When she woke up hours later, her grogginess had been eradicated by a quick wash of her face. She grabbed the small hand mirror and assessed her own reflection. The lucid orbs had lost their bright lustre, the eyes that had misted over with passion only the night before were now glinting with the cold fury of a woman scorned.
To the aggrieved girl, all thoughts of missing out on the entirety of the morning classes were thrown to the far recesses of her mind, which was perhaps all for the better, for she was far too occupied with turbulent thoughts and had no mind for studying.
As if chancing upon a divine opportunity, right before her gaze had completely frosted over, the sound of Snowball's claws scratching against the door filtered into Li Meirong's ears. She moved the mirror aside to conceal the bitter disappointment shrouding her heart, quickly dressed herself in a simple gown and stepped forward to open the door. She managed to welcome the fox cub with a halfhearted smile.
A young snow fox slowly stepped inside and circled around Li Meirong several times over with a calculative look, as though he was scrutinizing her for any ailing conditions. Seemingly satisfied, Snowball became unusually respectful and obedient for a change and simply perched himself by the entrance, supposedly guarding the house with his furry little form.
Despite her pretense at reassurance, Li Meirong was internally berating her own foolish decisions in life after having been dumped in the wake of an intimate moment with a man, not once but twice by the same person, no less!
Li Meirong had glanced at the overwhelming pile of medicine scrolls taking all the space atop the table and bit her lip in silent frustration. She had spent plenty of hours in the dimension learning how to concoct and brew medicine for Zhu Qingyue, hoping to be the person who would bestow him with a cure, yet now, she was left wondering how many years it would take for her to see the man again, if ever.
Crash!
With one quick movement, Li Meirong's dainty hand furiously swiped all the bamboo scrolls off the table, muttering under her breath, "I'm such a fool for still thinking about him!"
Meanwhile Bai Yu who had been tactfully pretending to sleep by the doorway while hearing Her Ladyship berate herself in a muffled voice, opened his large yellow eyes and rose to peer at Li Meirong huff at herself when he heard the loud noise of the cluttering scrolls.