Duan Yuxian had a habit of sleeping in. Whenever she woke up, she would be completely dazed, her head still groggy, needing at least half an hour in bed to come to her senses.
This time, she snapped awake immediately.
*What happened yesterday? Why am I here?*
She hastily checked her clothes. She had been so exhausted yesterday that she had fallen asleep without undressing. Aside from being slightly rumpled and disheveled, there was nothing amiss.
Zhou You calmly headed off her next move. "Don't scream. If you bring my mom in here, explaining this will be even harder."
Seeing that Duan Yuxian had no intention of screaming and that he had worried over nothing, Zhou You paused and added, "Besides, I have absolutely no idea why you're in my room."
Duan Yuxian furrowed her pretty brows, wracking her memory for what had happened yesterday.
Last night, it seemed she had gone straight to sleep in the tent, but midway through the night she found it too stifling, wandered dazedly into Zhou You's bedroom to freeload on the air conditioning, and planned to wake up early and leave without him noticing.
The result was obvious: she had overslept.
"I was sleepwalking last night," Duan Yuxian said earnestly.
*Really?*
Zhou You was a bit skeptical. An immortal cultivator sleepwalks all the way from the roof into his bedroom?
However, considering Duan Yuxian's background, cultivation attainment, and fame, Zhou You gave a tactful, worldly-wise nod.
"So Fellow Daoist Duan has such a habit."
She had bluffed her way through. Duan Yuxian breathed a sigh of relief, then snapped to attention.
"Wait. How do you know who I am?"
Before, Zhou You had politely addressed her simply as "Fellow Daoist," clearly not recognizing her. How had he suddenly switched to "Fellow Daoist Duan"?
"Although I don't know much about the cultivation world yet, I've heard quite a bit about Fellow Daoist Duan's reputation. There probably aren't many who wouldn't recognize you."
Zhou You pointed at her mouth. "And you aren't wearing your mask."
Duan Yuxian suddenly remembered—she had taken off her mask before going to sleep last night.
Now that her identity had been recognized, failing to introduce herself properly would breach etiquette.
She stood up and performed a standard greeting in ancient rites. "Duan Yuxian of the True Martial Great Hall greets Fellow Daoist."
Zhou You returned the courtesy. "Zhou You of the Carefree Sect greets Fellow Daoist."
"Please do not speak of my circumstances to anyone, Fellow Daoist."
If Zhou You posted about her on the forum, it would surely draw busybodies and disrupt her life.
Even though she was short on money and could get it simply by asking them, that wasn't what she wanted.
"Very well. I won't tell a soul about your business, Fellow Daoist," Zhou You promised.
"Xiaoyou, aren't you up yet?" Mother Zhou began knocking on the door.
"I have things to do. I'll take my leave." Duan Yuxian clutched her pillow and vaulted out the window.
Before she left, Zhou You kindly suggested, "By the way, if you have nowhere to go during the day, you can stay in my room. There's nobody home during the day."
"No need." Duan Yuxian waved her hand, rejecting Zhou You's offer, and made a breezy exit.
"I'm up, I'm up!" Zhou You called back to Mother Zhou. He glanced at the time—talking with Duan Yuxian had cost him precious minutes. If he didn't hurry, he would be late. He hastily washed up, ate, and rushed out the door like the wind.
Perhaps because something had happened first thing in the morning, forcing him to jolt awake instantly, Zhou You felt like he hadn't rested well. Even after arriving at the classroom, he was still yawning non-stop—he had yawned the entire way there.
Seeing that Tang Shiyin hadn't arrived yet, he placed the plastic bottle he had picked up along the roadside onto her desk.
"Why so sleepy? Stayed up late browsing the forum again last night?" Chu Xiaoyao teased.
Zhou You yawned again. He had originally wanted to mention Duan Yuxian, but then remembered she had asked him not to tell anyone.
"Something like that," Zhou You mumbled vaguely, averting his gaze.
...
Up on the roof, Duan Yuxian dropped her composed front, dove into the tent, and buried her flushed face under the pillow.
That was utterly mortifying!
She had actually snuck into someone else's bedroom to sleep the whole night, and then claimed she was sleepwalking!
"Oh, Duan Yuxian, Duan Yuxian, as a disciple of the True Martial Great Hall, how could you tell lies?"
"What else could I have said? Tell the truth?"
"Just this once. Never again."
After a brief inner struggle, Duan Yuxian made peace with herself.
Calming down slightly, she let out a sigh. How was she going to get back to the hotel? Taking a taxi was definitely out of the question.
"Forget it, I'll run back."
Originally, she had planned to leap from rooftop to rooftop until she reached the hotel, but unfortunately it was broad daylight now, and doing so would easily be spotted by passersby.
Slinging her guitar bag onto her back, she leaped down from the roof and sprinted down the street, turning heads all along the way.
It wasn't that people were particularly shocked by her appearance, but rather that nobody had ever seen someone sprint so fast with such a massive bag.
*Rushing to catch a high-speed train or what?*
After running for nearly an hour, she finally made it back to the e-sports hotel. The very first thing she did was plug in her phone and power bank to fully charge them.
It wouldn't be this convenient to recharge them next time.
The mere thought that her life ahead might be one struggle after another made her scalp tingle with dread.
"I'll just treat it as experiential training," Duan Yuxian consoled herself. As an esteemed disciple of the True Martial Great Hall and the Hall Master's prized pupil, could she really fail to support herself without money?
Worst case, she could take a summer job.
She packed her luggage and stayed at the e-sports hotel until check-out at two in the afternoon.
Returning to the tent, Duan Yuxian left her suitcase outside, lay back comfortably inside the tent, and connected to Zhou You's home Wi-Fi.
"Finally back. Time to reward myself with a couple of games."
After two games, Duan Yuxian rolled over, feeling that it was a bit stifling after all.
"Maybe I should hang out in Fellow Daoist Zhou's bedroom for a bit?"
Though she had rejected Zhou You's offer that morning, going back on her word by afternoon felt somewhat embarrassing.
"But it's fine as long as I don't get caught."
No sooner said than done. Duan Yuxian stealthily gripped the eaves, pushed open the window, and, as if reenacting the scene from the previous night, slipped back into Zhou You's bedroom.
"Last night I was focused purely on sleeping, and I left in a rush this morning. Taking a proper look now, Fellow Daoist Zhou's bedroom is actually pretty clean," Duan Yuxian remarked casually, easing the awkward guilt of feeling like a burglar.
"Time to run the air conditioner for a bit."
Before long, the whole room filled with cool air. Duan Yuxian stood right by the vent, savoring the convenience brought by modern technology.
"Back to life."
She lay on Zhou You's bed and continued gaming until around seven in the evening, when her stomach let out a rumbling growl.
From last night until now, all she had eaten were fried skewers and a starch sausage.
"If only I could reach Foundation Establishment."
If the Qi Refining stage was merely an exceptionally strong ordinary person, then Foundation Establishment truly separated one from mortals, establishing the divide between immortals and mortals.
At Foundation Establishment, one achieved an innate body unharmed by firearms, immune to extreme heat and cold, and capable of nourishing on qi and fasting. In ancient times, one could establish a sect and truly earn the title of an immortal master revered by millions.
"Should I look for something to eat?"
Duan Yuxian tiptoed out of Zhou You's bedroom. Even though she knew she was the only one home, she inexplicably felt guilty, doing everything with utmost caution.
She opened the refrigerator and saw half a loaf of sliced bread inside.
"I'll just eat one slice. Nobody should notice, right?"
She quietly pulled out a slice, spread a spoonful of strawberry jam over it, folded it in half, and popped it into the air fryer for two minutes. Both sides were toasted crisp and fragrant, smelling thoroughly appetizing.
Whenever possible, eat hot food; hot food tastes better than cold. That was Duan Yuxian's culinary philosophy.
"My apologies, Fellow Daoist Zhou. I will definitely pay you back later."
She took a bite of the bread. The strawberry filling flowed out slowly like lava; to keep it from dripping, Duan Yuxian hurriedly took a second bite.
With one slice of bread in her stomach, her hunger was temporarily staved off. Duan Yuxian returned contentedly to Zhou You's bedroom.
She had only been lying down for a few minutes when she heard the rustling sound of someone searching for keys, followed by the front door opening and shutting with a bang.
*Fellow Daoist Zhou is back this early?*
Duan Yuxian sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes, focusing her attention to listen closely to the sounds outside. *No, these footsteps don't belong to a cultivator. Is it Fellow Daoist Zhou's mother?*
Duan Yuxian listened with her heart in her throat. Reason told her the best course of action was to retreat to the roof, but the comfort of the air-conditioned room kept reminding her that this was the coziest place to be.
Zhou You's bedroom door was closed. Duan Yuxian pressed herself against the door, listening intently to Mother Zhou's footsteps.
Changing clothes, heading into the kitchen, cooking and eating, watching TV in the living room...
Several times in between, footsteps drew close to Zhou You's bedroom, terrifying Duan Yuxian. Fortunately, it was just her own paranoia; Mother Zhou had no intention of entering her son's room.
Duan Yuxian waited all the way until ten o'clock, when she heard the sound of keys jingling once again. She scrambled to her feet, straightened Zhou You's bed, erased all traces of her presence, and quietly slipped out the window back to the roof.
Zhou You returned to his room, pushed open the door, and paused in surprise. Why was the room so cool?
"Why is the AC on? Did I forget to turn it off before leaving this morning?"
Chapter 63