Chapter Eight

After returning to her room, Bai Ruyi sat at her desk and read while Xiao Bai took a peaceful nap on her lap. The room was filled with a serene silence, only broken by the gentle turning of pages.

 While she was reading, there was a knock on her door.

 "Come in," she said.

 The door slowly opened, and her mother, Bai Xueling, stepped in. Her eyes immediately fell on Xiao Bai, who was sleeping peacefully on Bai Ruyi's lap. With a soft smile, she motioned for her daughter to stay still and not wake the little one. Sitting beside her daughter, she gently stroked her face, a touch filled with unspoken concern and love.

 "You've grown so much. Why didn't you tell us that you were back?"

 Bai Ruyi smiled at her mother and said.

 "I only got back last night. I didn't want to disturb you guys and planned on coming to see you this morning."

 "It must have been hard for you this morning."

 Bai Ruyi shook her head and smiled. She knew her brother well, and she had expected this, which was why she had returned the night before.

 "Mom, he's my brother. There's nothing hard about covering for him, but I think that people now think I am the second young master of the family instead of Xiaolan."

 Her mother chuckled. Since young Long Yuzhe was always the troublemaker, and Bai Ruyi was the one to help clean up his messes. The children were complete opposites, yet their bond was inseparable.

 Gently holding her Bai Ruyi's hands, she said.

 "I have a favor to ask of you."

 Bai Ruyi smiled and asked.

 "You want me to continue to attend the lectures in place of Xiaolan, right?"

 "Hmm. With the current situation, swapping you guys again will be a headache. Besides, your brother is currently locked in the library."

 Although a little surprised, Bai Ruyi couldn't say that she hadn't expected her brother to be locked in the library. Over the years, the number of times he had been locked in there as punishment was more than one could count on their fingers.

 Nodding, she agreed to continue to attend the lectures. Even though her grand-uncle was known to give long lectures, he always tried to make it fun and interactive for the students.

 "Ming Yue, even though you have to attend the lectures, you don't have to be there for the entire three months. A few weeks will be enough. Besides, it will be a good chance for you to make some friends your age," her mother said.

 Bai Ruyi simply smiled, and her mother did not continue the topic. Instead, she said.

 "Come, let's go to dinner. You're father and grand-uncle are waiting for us."

 In the dining room, her father and grand-uncle were already seated. Bai Ruyi greeted them before taking her seat. Throughout dinner, the family had small talks, and Bai Ruiyi caught up on things within the clan.

 After dinner, she made a special trip to the library with a food basket. When she got to the door, the two disciples greeted her and opened the door. Inside the room, papers were scattered everywhere, and at the table in the center, Long Yuzhe was leisurely copying the family rules as he rested his head on his hand.

 Seeing the sight before her, Bai Ruyi could not help but smile.

 "It seems our family rules don't apply during punishments."

 Hearing his sister's voice, Long Yuzhe looked up, and a smile broke out. During her three years in seclusion, no one was allowed to visit her.

 "I'm already locked up in here. The least I can do is try to be comfortable."

 Bai Ruyi could only shake her head. Setting down the basket of food, she began to clean up the mess. Long Yuzhe quickly took off the lid and saw an assortment of dishes. Having not eaten anything all day, he quickly devoured the food.

 "How far along are you?" Bai Ruyi asked as she took a seat.

 "Five. I've done five. There are still 295 left for me to transcribe."

 "Do you plan to be here for the rest of the lecture?" Bai Ruyi asked.

 Looking up from his food, he pouted.

 "It's not like I want to. You know how I am."

 Bai Ruyi knew her brother too well and could only let him be. As the sun set, one of the disciples came in with bedding and a pillow for her brother. After so many years, their father found it best to have him sleep in the library, as it would prevent him from running away.

 Leaving her brother to continue his work, Bai Ruyi took the empty basket to the kitchen and returned to her room. Upon returning to her room, Bai Ruyi saw Xiao Bai was up and playing around. She quickly fed her little bunny dinner, and the two headed to bed.

 In the morning, after getting ready, she went to the lecture hall for class. Xiao Bai was still sleeping when she left. After the traumatizing experience, it had the day before, the bunny thought it was a good idea not to leave the room for the day.

 As today was the first official lecture, basic materials were being covered, which ended up putting a lot of students to sleep. The most noticeable person was Yu Yichen. At various times, people could hear him snore, and following that, Feng Zhiyu knocked on his table to wake him up.

 Initially, Bai Lanxun tried to ignore the people falling asleep. However, the snoring eventually got to him, so he called Yu Yichen out.

 "Yu Yichen!"

 Still, in a sleeping trance, Yu Yichen quickly stood up.

 "Yes!"

 "Tell me, what element represents the Bai clan."

 "The element of wind."

 "What is the best way to subdue a wind demon."

 The room became quiet as Yu Yichen tried to figure out the answer. He glanced at Feng Zhiyu for help a few times but was caught by Bai Lanxun. Ultimately, he had no choice but to say he didn't know the answer.

 "Yu Yichen, meet me after class."

 Embarrassed, he could only nod and sit back down. The answers had already been discussed in class, so it wasn't meant to give him a tough time. However, since he slept through most of the class, there was no doubt he wouldn't know the answer.

 After class, Bai Ruyi started to head back to her room, but just as she left the door, someone called out to her. Turning around, she saw that Feng Zhiyu called out to her. Giving him a slight bow, she asked.

 "How can I help you, Feng gongzi?"

 Awkwardly, he asked.

 "Um, I... I was wondering if you knew anyone who owned a pet rabbit?"

 Slightly taken aback by the question, she asked him.

 "Is something the matter?"

 "Oh, um. So you see. Yesterday, my dog found a little white rabbit and was chasing it. I don't know who the owner is, and I just want to apologize."

 After yesterday's event, Bai Ruyi asked her mother about the dog during dinner. It turned out the dog was Feng Zhiyu's spirit dog. This time, Sect Leader Feng asked that they allow his son to bring his dog along. Her mother agreed, thinking it would be a good idea since Bai Ruyi also had a spirit pet. Who would have thought Xiao Bai would have to run for its life instead of making a new friend on their first day there?

 Although Bai Ruyi was displeased with the dog and its owner, seeing him sincerely wanting to apologize, she no longer held a grudge. However, she still preferred to keep Xiao Bai away from Xiao Ling.

 "The owner is not here right now. I will pass on your words to them."

 Thinking the owner might not want to see them, Feng Zhiyu did not push to know the owner's identity and thanked Bai Ruyi. He then stood quietly outside the lecture hall to wait for Yu Yichen, who was still inside with Bai Lanxun. As he waited, he watched Bai Ruyi walk away. Yet before she could go far, a young girl came up to her and gave her a big hug. Judging from the clothing, the girl belonged to the Long clan. However, this was the first time that Feng Zhiyu had seen her. Besides, seeing the smile on Bai Ruyi's face gave Feng Zhiyu a little surprise. From what he's seen and heard, the young master in front of him rarely smiled at anyone and always kept themselves at a distance from others.

 Meanwhile, Bai Ruyi was also shocked. The person in front of them was Long Hua, a childhood friend. Long Hua was the only daughter of a clan elder and had grown up playing with Bai Ruyi and Long Yuzhe. However, she was only 13 years old, so it was a surprise to see her here.

 "Ming Yue! I missed you so much!"

 Long Hua was still hugging Bai Ruyi tightly as she tried to get Long Hua to lower her voice. Letting go of Bai Ruyi, Long Hua looked at her in confusion. Only when she saw that Bai Ruyi was wearing her brother's uniform did she realize something was off.

 "Why are you-"

 Before she got a chance to finish her question, Bai Ruyi dragged her back to the Eternal Shadow pavilion. When they were finally alone, Long Hua asked again.

 "Why are you wearing your brother's uniform?"

 "Xiaolan ran away on the day of the welcoming ceremony. So, now I have to cover for him."

 Long Hua burst out laughing. Although it was typical of him to do so, it was still funny. In between her laughing fits, she asked.

 "So... so does this mean he is currently locked up in the library?"

 "Hm." Bai Ruyi responded.

 Holding her stomach, Long Hua finally managed to stop laughing. So now it was Bai Ruyi's turn to question her.

 "What are you doing here? I didn't see you when everyone first arrived."

 Long Hua smiled as she responded.

 "I just arrived today. I spent an extra day in town to explore. The reason why I am here is because of you. I heard you were coming out of seclusion this year, so I begged my father to let me come to see you. What do you think? Are you touched by my thoughtfulness?"

 Bai Ruyi chuckled.

 "Yes, I am very touched that our precious young lady has graced me with her presence."

 Standing proudly and smiling, she pointed her finger to the entrance of the clan and said.

 "Good, since you are so touched, then let's go out and have some fun."

 Just as she started to skip off, Bai Ruyi pulled her back and said.

 "Long Hua, we can't go out."

 "Huh? What do you mean?"

 "I still have class tomorrow. I won't be able to leave the mountain for the next few weeks."

 "Ahhh?"

 Hearing this, Long Hua was incredibly disappointed. She then grabbed Bai Ruyi's sleeve, pouted, and gave her puppy eyes as she pleaded with her.

 "Long Hua... be good, okay? Once I finish class, I will ask mom for permission to take you down the mountain, okay?"

 Despite her efforts, Long Hua knew Bai Ruyi would not easily change her mind. Family, rules, and duty were always her top priority for her.

 "Fine... But you promise to take me out when you're done."

 "Alright, I promise you."

 Happy with her deal, Long Hua headed off to bug Long Yuzhe and left Bai Ruyi to rest. Inside her room, Bai Ruyi found Xiao Bai nibbling on the carrot that she had left for it.

 "Xiao Bai."

 Hearing its name being called, Xiao Bai looked up to Bai Ruyi and hopped over. Bai Ruyi picked up her little bunny and nuzzled its little nose.

 "You didn't go out today?"

 Although her little bunny could not answer her, she could see a little head shake as its response.