Amidst the gentle breeze and calm waters, a week had swiftly passed by without Li Meirong's notice.

Much to her surprise, Zhu Qingyue did not move in right away and respected her wishes. The enigmatic devil did, however, force her into a refurbishing agreement, under the excuse of accommodating his own set of furniture. The bewitching man had a special way with words, and somehow, she seemed to succumb to nearly every demand that flew out of his mouth.

Confounded and slightly frustrated, the girl couldn't help but think back to how Zhu Qingyue had easily brushed off her questions. When she had asked him which type of objects he had planned on moving into her cabin, he had barely bothered to provide her with an answer.

In spite of her reluctance, a tiny piece of her still anticipated his arrival, and she held on to that feeling in hopes that it would overcome any residual feelings of mistrust and reservation she may have still had.

What had greatly pleased Li Meirong during the past week was Snowball's clingy behaviour. He seemed to have regressed to his old, spoiled ways, sticking to her like glue.

This entire week, Snowball had not left her side. Only when Senior Zhu visited during the evenings to teach her martial arts, did the little fox mysteriously vanish until the lesson was over.

A soft blush spread across the girl's cheeks as she remembered her first martial arts training session. Since that time, Zhu Qingyue hadn't laid a hand on her, and she wondered if the kick to the gut had finally made him back away from his intentions to wed her. Was he having second thoughts about his marriage proposal?

She had presented him with the lingzhi infused medicinal brew upon meeting with him the next day after their first lesson, as a form of atonement for her actions.

The gesture seemed to have pleased him, that is, if the slight upward curve to the corners of his lips could possibly be any sort of indication. Albeit, his hesitation to drink the concoction had left her a tad disappointed.

Zhu Qingyue gently caressed the top of her head before taking the container, his aloof expression, hiding his thoughts when he chose to pack the beverage instead of drinking it before her eyes, had cooled the expectant girl's heart.

At the time, she had also tried to pry for more information regarding the poison that afflicted him, but any of her burning questions, particularly those about Senior Zhu's ailment, had been quickly evaded as he extended his long fingers to correct her posture. Otherwise, he would always shake his head and change the subject entirely by launching into a discussion about cultivation.

Furthermore, another peculiar thing happened during the past seven days. She had not managed to see Xiong Mei ever since their first encounter. Li Meirong wanted to relay to her what happened with the mad spirit beast, Tiny. Then again… she wasn't certain that she wished to actively seek out the aqua-eyed girl, still feeling slightly awkward from their previous meeting.

When she finally gathered to courage to seek the girl, Xiong Mei appeared to have vanished into thin air. Even after questioning the fellow inner disciples about the whereabouts of the exotic looking beauty, all Li Meirong had received in response were countless blank stares and looks of confusion.

Over the week's course, Li Meirong's cultivation had improved at a steady and visible pace. However, according to Senior Zhu, she was still not yet ready to practise the art of qinggong.