It was a new day. The boy had finished dressing Li Chyou up and asked, “Young Miss, what do you want to do today?”

“More training,” Li Chyou replied without hesitation.

The boy shook his head, “Young Miss, I suggest you take a day off. Training is good but overdoing it will lead to complications.”

“But the Inter-clan Tournament is right around the corner!”

“I understand your worries, Young Miss! But I strongly believe that taking a rest is better.” The boy then pointed towards the dressing mirror, “Look, you are already look tired and haggard!”

“What!?” Li Chyou cried out in alarm. A woman’s most prized possession was her beauty and Li Chyou’s concern proves it. When she looked at her face in the mirror, she was horrified. She had eye bags underneath her eyes and had oily skin. W-Were those wrinkles?

Indeed, the boy had been speaking the truth. These past few weeks she had been training like a madman- er, a madwoman. As such, she didn’t have the time to take a good look at herself.

“I look just like you!” Li Chyou cried out.

The boy: “…” That is uncalled for!

“I strongly advise you to rest for today,” he urged again.

“Fine!” Li Chyou agreed without missing a beat.

The turn-around was so quick that it simply left him speechless. Sighing, he asked, “What would you like to do?”

“Make me something!” Li Chyou’s eyes lit up as she remembered the promise he made weeks ago.

“By something, might you be asking for Fried Chicken?” he inquired just to be sure.

“Yep! You promised, so no going back! The ingredients are all here.”

“Very well!” The boy thought for a while before saying, “Young Miss needs to have breakfast right now. I’ll make it for lunch!”

“Why not now?” she pouted.

“Because, breakfast has already been served and we shouldn’t let it go to waste,” the boy tried to pacify her. “And also because Fried Chicken isn’t really something you eat for breakfast!”

“Really~?” Li Chyou narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Really.”

“Fine, then let’s go!” Li Chyou left her room with a fling of her sleeves.

After a short walk through the halls, they came towards the dining room. The Patriarch and his family resided in their own private house within the clan grounds. So, naturally, they also had their food together in the dining room.

Li Chyou opened the dining room and entered inside followed by her butler. Inside, there was a large dining table with eight chairs of the same style. Li Yan, the Clan Head, sat at the head of the table with Li Fen at his right followed by Li Daoyun. Li Chyou sat at his left as the boy cupped his fists and bowed at the others before taking his place behind Li Chyou, standing in front of the wall.

The boy glanced at Butler Yu who stood behind Li Yan. Butler Yu smiled in response and said nothing. Soon, the servants brought plates and plates of food. Some sweet and some savory; all of them looked lavish.

“So, Chyou`er,” Li Yan looked at his eldest daughter as he ate, “More training today?”

Before Li Chyou could open her mouth to speak, Li Fen said, “Why don’t you rest today? Just look at your face! You look like him now.” She pointed at the boy.

The boy: “…” You must have planned this!

“He told me the same thing,” Li Chyou pointed her chin towards his direction. She calmly ate and spoke, “I intend to just that!”

“Good! You shouldn’t just train all the time, take some time off!” Li Fen nodded in satisfaction. In the next moment, she narrowed her eyes at the boy, “That’s not for you! You still need much training!”

“I…” The boy felt stifled.

“If you learn archery after two months-” Li Fen’s gaze turned flirtatious, “-maybe I’ll let you inside my bedroom.”

“Kheuk! Kek!” Caught off guard, Li Yan coughed heavily as he nearly choked on his food.

“What the hell are you saying!?” he looked at his wife with an incredulous expression on his face.

“Come on, it was just a joke!” Li Fen waved him off.

Butler Yu coughed and looked at the boy, “It seems Mistress has become quite close to you, no?”

“Who’s close to this brat?” Li Fen rebutted.

Butler Yu chuckled but said nothing. The boy was also caught between laughter and tears. Even if Butler Yu hadn’t said this, he felt that this was indeed the case. Compared to when they first met, Li Fen’s attitude towards him had become quite casual; even occasionally making suggestive remarks. He hadn’t done particularly anything except what he was supposed to. So, it’s more of a case of him growing on Li Fen.

Well, he had no complaints about that. It’d make his jobs much smoother. If only she stopped saying those flirty words…

“Fen`er, don’t you think you’re being too hard on him?” Li Yan looked at his wife, “I mean he’s not even a cultivator, so juggling his duties and archery might end up being too much for him.”

The boy looked at Li Yan with eyes full of gratitude. As expected, it’s the Clan Head who understands my pain the best!

“Not at all. Wasn’t Yu Hao the same?” Li Fen said gesturing towards Butler Yu.

“Yeah, but that’s because he was groomed by the clan from the start!”

“Then, groom him as well.”

Li Yan shook his head, “You know very well that’s not going to happen. At least, not right now.”

“Then, I have nothing to do. I have my considerations as well.” She was strangely adamant about this.

“But-” before Li Yan could rebut, Li Fen looked at him with menacing eyes, “Old Yan, are you bent on singing a different tune from me?”

“Ah?” Li Yan was startled.

“If you keep this up, don’t even think about sleeping in my bed tonight!”

“I...” Now it was Li Yan's turn to feel stifled. In the end, he couldn't say anything and shut up. Due to this turn of events, the boy looked at him with disdain hidden in his eyes. Just the splitting image of a Clan Head, aren't you?

“Haha! Good!” Li Fan nodded in satisfaction. Then she looked at the boy, “Keep on practicing. My daughter's butler will not be a weakling!”

He felt speechless. Can you say that when you won’t even let me be a Cultivator?

“You’ll have to do both your duties as a butler and learn archery,” she then paused and said with a laugh, “If you feel tired, why not just start cultivating?”

“You-!” Li Yan was startled. He knew the risk of trying to absorb Qi without a Cultivation Art. “What are you telli-?”

But before he could finish, a knock came from outside the doors.

“Come in,” Li Yan ordered. Immediately, the doors opened and a male servant entered. “Master, Murong Fang from the Murong clan is here.”

“Ah?” Li Chyou stopped eating and looked at the servant with surprise.

“That lecher is here again?” Li Fen looked displeased.

“Don’t call him that!” Li Chyou chided her.

The boy looked calm but was inwardly surprised. Hey…the Second Young Miss hasn’t spoken much today.

He looked at Li Daoyun who was looking at him with shimmering eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something. As soon as their eyes met, she giggled and ate a spoonful of food. She had food smeared around her mouth. Clearly, she was a messy eater.

“Say,” Li Fen looked at her husband, “Why don’t you say anything when you see Chyou`er falling for that pretty boy?”

“How many times are you going to ask?” Li Yan let out a wry smile, “It’s good even if they get married. At least, our rivalry would end!”

“Absolutely not!” Li Fen refused without hesitation. “Have you seen that boy? He has a pretty face but is a snake through and through. If we needed a son-in-law, we’d get someone like him!” She pointed at him.

The boy smiled bitterly. Please no! I’m already her butler; I don’t want the mantle of husband.

“Even though he’s a weakling, at least he’s thoughtful and has a good head on his shoulders.”

“And Murong Fang doesn’t?” Li Yan asked.

“Hah!” Li Fen snorted, “Who knows what goes on in that brain of his? It’d be good if he stopped scheming for a second. Don’t we both know what he’s here for?”

“Ai…” Li Yan sighed ruefully, “D-Don’t bring this up.”

The boy had a bad feeling. Just what is the problem?

“Let’s go!” Li Chyou stopped eating and hurriedly wiped the corner of her mouth.

“Understo-!” The boy instinctively nodded but froze when he looked at her face.

She had an excited expression and there was anticipation in her eyes. She had a skip in her step and her cheeks would occasionally become red.

The boy started rubbing his face in frustration. Oh, Gods above! She’s in love!