305 So Terrifying, the Artis

"Little XuXu?" he quoted after her, "Yu'er?"

Yujia stared at him. "You were eavesdropping?"

"It's not eavesdropping if I was just passing by and happened to overhear your conversation," he argued back.

Yujia flattened her lips into a thin line. "Alright, Senior Brother." She began to walk into the villa. 

He followed behind her. "So… I didn't know that you two became this close. Isn't Junior Brother Zixu just returning back from his business trip?"

"I'm sure you're glad that your efforts, along with Master's, have worked out," she replied, giving him an implicit answer.

"Really?" Yunhe understood. He grinned widely and rushed to walk by her side. "Does Master know?"

Yujia stopped in her footsteps, her attitude becoming serious. "No, and don't tell him yet, alright?" 

"Why? He would be the happiest to hear this news."

Thinking back to how her master would likely overreact at the news— it had already taken her forever to convince her master that simply because Yu Zixu practiced saying "I like you" to her, it didn't mean that the two of them would be getting married— Yujia shuddered a little.

"Things just… aren't that final yet," she decided to say.

It was true.

Even though it would be nice to pretend like all of her problems in the world were solved now, Zixu's father was a major issue.

Yunhe continued asking his questions. "Since when did you two get together?"

Resuming her strides, Yujia turned to look at him, giving him a smirk. "So, how about you tell me Jiang Muyun. Didn't you like him?"

Ye Yunhe immediately shut up after that.

Feeling a little bad for bringing up one of Yunhe's troubles, Yujia threw in a small joke to ease the tension that suddenly built up.

"I didn't know that Senior Brother liked gossip like this?" She cracked a smile. "Next time I go attend one of those gatherings with the other young ladies, I should ask you to come along."

There were a few pieces of truth within her first sentence. Yunhe always seemed so dedicated to art, barely having any time or willingness for nonsense. She hadn't seen much of this gossipy side of him until now.

"It gets a little boring just studying all day long," Yunhe responded, sighing.

"Then, Senior Brother, help me think of a solution." Yujia stopped again. "You know the issue my identity has with the Yu Household."

He fell silent.

"I have no idea."

Yujia sighed. "Well then."

She really needed to think of a solution soon. She had to.

…

Some time passed. Things occurred as normal, with more art, more practicing, and more learning. 

Zixu, wearing his Lingxin disciple robes like her, was holding a scroll in his hand. When he entered the library, he still hadn't noticed her, so she quietly set down her brush and snuck around the shelves, across from the one he was at. And then, she popped up, resting her chin on one of the shelves.

"Yu Zixu!"

He looked up calmly, not startled at all. While setting the scroll on a shelf below, he replied, "Hello."

Yujia made a face, narrowing her eyes. "You weren't surprised?"

"I already heard you walking close," he answered, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "It's a silent library, and the sound of walking is still not completely quiet, no matter how hard you try to make it that way."

She stepped back, moving across the shelf to his side. "Well, maybe you could've pretended like you were surprised. Entertain my horrible stealth?"

"I'll remember next time." He turned away, quietly shuffling through a few books on the opposite shelf. 

"What are you looking for?" Yujia asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

"Ah!" 

Zixu whipped around, pure shock across his face. His eyes were as wide as they could be; his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "You— you— when did you— get here?" he stuttered.

An incredulous laugh escaped Yujia. "Skies, what are you doing?"

The shock immediately vanished from his expression, replaced by blankness. "Didn't you want me to pretend to be surprised? Your stealth back there truly blew me away. I didn't even know that you were in the same room as me."

And then, Zixu cracked a small smile, seemingly unable to hold that back.

"You're so—" Yujia rolled her eyes, though a smile appeared across her expression as well. "I'm wordless."

He took a book from the shelf, flipping through the front pages without much attention. Then, he explained, "I'm looking for just some good books on art history. It's interesting to see the progression of history through the timeline of art. Lately, I've been fascinated with this topic."

"I see." Yujia picked up a book on the same shelf too, one that also seemed to be about history. She opened it to the first page and read through it, finding nothing that seemed particularly enticing. "This is quite bland, I feel."

Zixu grinned. "Once you read enough of these books, the ones that are slightly less boring than the other ones seem quite engaging."

"How is Mimi doing? And the dog you picked up along the way, during your trip?" Yujia switched the topic, sliding the book in her hands back where it belonged.

"Mimi has been wonderful, as usual. The puppy has been eating well and growing more, compared to when I first met him. He was skin-and-bones back then." Zixu closed the book in his hands as well. "He's really adorable. You'll have to meet him sometime."

"I would love to!" Yujia exclaimed, eyes shining. Puppies were the cutest. "Do you have a name for him yet?"

He thought for a second and replied, "Not yet. I'm waiting for the perfect name to appear."

"I see, I see." 

"Actually," Zixu continued, leaning forward with his eyebrows raised and a small smile, "would you like to come with me to meet the puppy? I was planning to take both Mimi and him on a walk through the forest today. It would be nice for you to come along."

Yujia parted her lips, about to respond, but then she froze. Flashbacks of the first time she walked with Zixu through the forest— which involved being lost for an entire night, after the two of them cluelessly wandered off the normal path— appeared in her mind.

"Will you use a leash on the dogs? Or…"

"Of course." He laughed. "I'll use a leash, and I've trained Mimi a bit more since then as well. He won't go taking off after a rabbit and lead us off the path. It'll be a great experience for you to get to know the puppy as well."

"Alright then!" Yujia nodded, having faith in his words. She did really want to meet the puppy, and if Zixu put it that way, then the incident that happened before surely could not happen again. Things had to turn out okay.

…

Things did not turn out okay.

For some twist of fate, some unforeseen reason, some unpredicted occurrence, Yujia found herself, along with Zixu, lost in the middle-of-nowhere again.

She should've known better.

After all, the idea of two directionally challenged people, in an expansive forest, led by two rabbit-crazy dogs… was never a good idea.