"Good morning!"

Mei got up groggily as a blur of cyan whizzed around her.

"Oh, good morning, Su Qing."

It had been a while since she had been wakened up by the little spirit, so she really wasn't used to it.

She yawned. Outside, the skies were still dark, with the faintest hints of orange.

"Let's go out and play!"

"This early?"

"You're still tired? Okay... I'll wait a bit..."

She was feeling a little tired, and for some reason, a spot on her back felt rather sore, as if something smashed into it. Was this the effect of the charm?

Though, circulating her qi, she could sense a fair amount of progress! If it was just at the cost of feeling just a little more tired, she could bear with it. At worst, she would nap in the afternoon without wearing the charm.

Hm?

"Su Qing, your Chinese... it's improved a lot?"

He was actually speaking properly?

"Oh, uh... I studied hard!"

Improving in a language so much since the last time she saw him... Su Qing's learning speed was terrifying... or was this a trait spirit shared?

"My teachers only taught me the bare basics of language when I first joined them, then taught survival skills! Last week, we switched back to learning Chinese!"

Okay...

"Wait, but weren't you talking childishly yesterday, back when you were talking to Hong Ling?"

"I thought it was cute... then I forgot..."

Mei: ...

Anxious now that the "jig was up", Su Qing quickly changed the topic.

"I can use spirit magic properly now too! Want to see? Want to see?"

"Sure..."

"Um, lend me some of your qi!"

"Huh?"

At the little spirit's insistence, Mei sent a portion of her qi towards Su Qing. Growing green with the absorbed qi, he flew to the window and directed it towards a tree branch, making it reach into the room.

Mei wasn't sure if she should be feeling underwhelmed or impressed.

"I can control water too! See this!"

Drawing more of her qi, he condensed droplets of water from the air, spinning them.

"Wow..." Mei said weakly.

Somehow, not being a part of Su Qing's growth made seeing him obtain these new powers really unsatisfying...

Though, at least, it seemed he had only grasped the basics.

That stupid giant white block... tofu in a bamboo forest...

For the first time in months, Mei was back at Qian Shun's residence, and so early in the morning...

"Su Qing... are you sure this is a good idea?" she sighed.

Earlier, while talking, Mei ended up sharing her plan to spend time with her friends. But then, once she started talking about the community service in the afternoon, she realised how awkward it was to find time... and that was when Su Qing suggested asking for a day off.

"Don't worry! I'll sure he will understand!"

After pressing the formation on the wall, Xiao Huo flew out.

"Hello! I am Xiao Huo!" it said in a childish voice. "Oh, it's you again? What are you here for."

"Um, he'll do the explaining..." Mei pointed at Su Qing, shuffling backwards, behind the spirit.

"Ehh?" Su Qing let out a sound of dismay.

"Um, so... my friend Mei wants to take a day off so she can spend time with her friends! But she has community service every afternoon, so she would like to take a day off, just today!"

"Okay! I'll tell him!"

Cheerfully, Xiao Huo flew back in, popping back out in seconds. That was fast...

"He says it's fine! You'll have today and tomorrow off! Have fun!" the spirit said. "Oh, and he says this isn't an excuse to skip lessons!"

With those words, Xiao Huo left.

Mei let out a sigh of relief.

Hong Ling chuckled, speaking into her mind alone.

"Hiding behind a child like that, don't you feel embarrassed as Su Qing's master?"

...

"If you annoy me, I'll put you back in the cabinet." Mei harrumphed.

"Hey! Petty much?"

Not wanting to be caught in an awkward conversation early, today, Mei arrived to the canteen unusually late. By now, all her friends were probably already sitting at the table.

Now, all that was left was to ask them.

Honestly, she was a bit afraid. Part of her wanted to ask Su Qing for help explaining, but remembering Hong Ling's "insult", she couldn't bring herself to.

Not to mention... she was feeling a little worried.

Initially, when she had first gotten Su Qing, she thought of spirits as just pets. Even after Da Xing's talk, and being aware of that, unbeknownst to her til now, some lingering sense of that remained.

No... to saying she thought of him as a pet, perhaps even that could not be said. If she were to be compared to a pet owner, she would be a very negligent one.

Having spent a few hours with Su Qing today, after so long, she realised. Su Qing was a lot smarter than she originally thought. And she was a little afraid of that.

Surely, especially with how much the teacher spirits disliked her, he must have been aware that she only took him in for her own benefit... especially with how she barely interacted with him, even forgetting about him.

Up to now, it was almost as if in her life, Su Qing was nothing but a passing thought. Even back when she bought him out to the cultivator city, she barely noticed him at times.

Su Qing... do you hate me?

A small part of her wanted to ask that frightful question, but she didn't have the courage to. She bit her lip, looking down at the floor of the cafeteria. With the serving trays close by, many disciples walked past her, some glancing at her.

"Mei? What's wrong?" Su Qing asked. "You don't want to talk to them?"

"Ah! I'm just thinking..."

...

Calm down, everything will be fine.

What was that? In her mind, her own voice echoed. But weirdly enough, it didn't feel like she thought that herself.

As she walked towards the table, holding a plate of food, somehow, she felt more at ease.