Sleepy in spring, tired in autumn and sleepy in summer

The room was crammed with cabinets full of medicinal materials, leaving little empty space. A table was also squeezed in, so the lighting wasn’t very bright either.

It was narrow, dim and...perfect for sleeping. Especially with the faint herbal fragrance in the room, it made people even drowsier.

Qin Ran pushed open the door and saw Li Shiyin sleeping soundly face down on the table. The book on medicinal materials was pressed under her face, and her originally chubby cheeks looked even rounder.

It was an exaggeration to say the table was flooded, but the book was indeed drenched. The pages had become damp. Qin Ran could only sigh that he didn’t have a cellphone with him after transmigrating, otherwise he could have taken a picture of this scene and played it on loop around the world after Li Shiyin became a powerful figure...

Thinking this, he looked from the backlit doorway at the sleeping girl’s blurred features.

The girl had fair and delicate skin, contrasting with the dark yellow book pages. Her brush-like eyelashes had their own allure. Her pouty lips...with glistening drool dripping from the corners, seemed even more rosy.

“She does look good...No! Her face must be stained black by the ink.” Qin Ran suppressed the strange things arising in his heart, and pretended to shake his head with a sigh, blaming the girl for not learning properly.

After standing at the door for a while, he walked in lightly, found a chair, and sat down opposite the table. He took out a book from his cosmic bag, and quietly started reading.

Li Shiyin didn’t wake up until sunlight shone in through the window behind her. Still groggy, she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight reflecting off the book pages. She noticed the pool of drool on the page mixed with the words.

She was stunned for a moment, vaguely thinking she had fallen asleep again in class, and hurriedly sat up to look ahead. But instead of seeing the white-bearded old teacher, there was a handsome young man.

This young man was reading a book while leaning against the chair back, a picture of leisure. The sunlight shone in through the window behind him, bathing him in its glow, making him seem to radiate light.

“Did the old teacher become younger?”

This was Li Shiyin’s first reaction. She was about to apologize, but suddenly realized the old teacher would never be so gentle, and should have caned her already. This couldn’t be the old teacher. She then remembered this was the master she had just taken on as a disciple yesterday.

As her mind slowly shook off its grogginess, she finally recalled her master had asked her to recite information about medicinal materials...

“Awake?” Qin Ran closed his book over his chest. Squinting in the sunlight, he looked at Li Shiyin.

“Awake...I’m awake...” Li Shiyin mumbled in reply. At this moment, the shame of being caught slacking off and the embarrassment of drooling in her sleep exploded in her mind simultaneously, making her want to find a hole to hide in. But her master’s gentle tone finally enabled her to speak.

Although she kept her head lowered like a child admitting wrongdoing, with her face flushed red from embarrassment.

“How much did you remember?” Qin Ran asked. His gaze shifted down to the book page that had been dirtied into an illegible mess by her drool. As expected, it was still the first page.

Li Shiyin also looked at the book, and saw the damp stains on it. Flustered, she hurriedly closed the book, trying to cover up her misdeed.

“Oh dear...” Qin Ran sighed with faux maturity, shaking his head as if blaming her inability to meet expectations. He closed his own book, stood up, and said, “Perhaps because you just arrived and didn’t rest well last night, or the spiritual energy in the milk this morning was too much for your body. Anyway, rest first. We’ll talk again after lunch.”

Li Shiyin thought for a bit. Recalling her performance in school, she wanted to say it wasn’t due to objective reasons. But in the end she just nodded and said, “It was the milk this morning, it made me sleepy.”

“Let’s go!” Without another word, Qin Ran waved his hand to summon Li Shiyin’s book back to him.

“Master...” Li Shiyin felt awful. She reached out to snatch the book back, because the evidence of her misdeed was still on it.

But Qin Ran ignored her, turning to walk out with his inner force evaporating the drool on the book. With a flip of his hand, the book went into his cosmos bag.

Li Shiyin had no choice. Face red, head lowered, she followed Qin Ran out of the medicine room.

Stepping outside, Li Shiyin realized the sun had already moved west. It must be afternoon now. When she had entered this medicine room earlier, it was not even eight o’clock. She was supposed to be studying, but had slept until now instead.

Qin Ran walked ahead, sneaking a glance back at Li Shiyin. Seeing her hanging her head, looking as if regretting her actions, it reminded him of his university days, when classmates had the same expression after leaving the self-study hall.

He suddenly felt nostalgic, and said with a laugh, “Was it more comfortable sleeping here than in bed?”

“Huh?” Li Shiyin didn’t react at first, unsure if this was casual chatting, or mocking. But from understanding her master over the past day, she felt he was sincerely asking her opinion. She thought about it, and honestly replied, “Yes...it really was.”

Qin Ran shook his head and continued, “It’d definitely be even more comfortable if I was lecturing you.”

“Mm...” Li Shiyin actually agreed with this very much, because she always felt especially sleepy whenever the old teacher gave lectures. But she sensed unknown danger, and didn’t respond, only giving an ambiguous murmur.

“In the past...” Qin Ran’s tone was rather nostalgic, “A long, long time ago, a classmate used our math teacher’s lecture audio as a lullaby at night, with great results.”

Li Shiyin raised her head to look at Qin Ran’s back, sensing a loneliness in him.

Master has an interesting past! She thought, and kept staring. But as she looked on, Master suddenly turned his head. Caught off guard, their gazes met directly, and she panicked for some reason, lowering her head.

Qin Ran also panicked, hurriedly turning his head back, and continued speaking, “In the future...if you can’t sleep, you can also listen to my lecture audio...”

It was just normal joking around, but the guilty-minded found something off about his words, and trailed off, voice getting smaller and smaller until it couldn't be heard.

Li Shiyin was flustered, but suddenly noticed something strange in Master's voice...

As they walked downstairs and out the front door, onto the grass by the creek, she listened to the waterfall in the distance, and realized Master seemed embarrassed, even more than her.

Sensing this, she didn't feel as embarrassed anymore. Raising her head, she stared straight at Qin Ran's back.

She was the esteemed young miss of the great North Chu Li family. Her writing could stabilize the realm (×), her martial arts could mount a horse to establish the universe. How could she put on such a petty act?

The Qin Ran ahead was completely unaware that just casual chatting for a few sentences had already ruined his master image. As he walked ahead, his heart pitter-pattered chaotically...

It wasn't that he had any strange thoughts about his disciple. She seemed underage still, so it'd be a crime, although North Chu girls could marry at fourteen. He truly didn't have any indecent ideas, she was his disciple after all, although so pretty and foolishly cute. No no no, he was a righteous gentleman, he absolutely wouldn't commit such beastly acts, even if he shut himself in for twenty more years. He wouldn't randomly fall for a girl.

"I must maintain the prestigious image of a master!" He warned himself, and secretly took a deep breath, straightening his back and lifting his head to appear taller and grander.

One was forcibly maintaining his already collapsed master image there, strangling the strange sprouts arising in his heart. The other was secretly toppling her master's image in her mind, and planting an unseen seed in the ruins.

They left the research building, crossed the creek, and entered the living room of the residential building. Still, Qin Ran ducked into the kitchen to cook while Li Shiyin sat in the living room, cupping her scalding hot face, pondering unknown thoughts.