After three whole days of sleep, Junjie finally awoke. It was in the afternoon as Xingjuan was preparing to cook dinner and the sun was retreating over the horizon that he had come to. He had felt rested, very well rested in fact!
He stood up, still a little confused, but he was unbelievably hungry! He was so hungry he could eat whatever presented itself before him. So with quickened steps he made his way to the common area. The door leading there was already opened though. He cautiously approached, no longer hurried.
He stood frozen, looking at Lihua, who was now wide awake and lazing about on the couch. She looked bored. He then looked at Xingjuan and saw that she was in the kitchen washing potatoes. She was humming a small tune to herself, and she looked quite content preparing food.
He stepped forward, and the wooden floor slightly creaked, alarming the two women of his presence. Lihua glanced up immediately with a worried face; Xingjuan, though less worried, also appeared a little concerned.
"Ah, you are finally awake, young man, just as I was beginning to get a little worried too. How relieving." She said with a sigh. But why had she looked so concerned for him? And what exactly did she mean by 'finally awake'? Had he slept for long?
Junjie did not know, but now he was concerned too. He played it off and grinned before replying,
"Why, was I out for long?" This wasn't just some stupid comment; he was also a bit curious about how long he was asleep.
"Three days. You were out for three whole days." It wasn't Xingjuan who spoke this time but Lihua instead. He knew it was bad when even she was worried, but he hadn't expected he would sleep for so long!
"Damn!" He paused for a moment, processing what he had just heard. It was then that he had remembered what he had done to Lihua. While he had felt a bit guilty, he still felt justified in what he had done. In his mind she had been arrogant and been put down, simple as that.
Still, even though he felt like he was right, he felt compelled to apologise.
"Look, Lihua. I'm sorry for hitting you like that."
She stared at him for a few moments before shrugging and sticking out her hand.
"Don't even worry about it; let's call it even?" Perhaps she had really changed for the better. This could be the start of a wonderful friendship. Junjie smiled at the prospect and also stuck his hand out.
"Alright, we'll call it e-" As soon as their hands made contact, she gripped it tightly and punched him straight in the stomach. An evil grin crept onto her alabaster face. After days of patient waiting, she had finally enacted her revenge!
He looked up from the floor with narrowed eyes. He held a small glimmer of hope in his heart, but inwardly he knew she couldn't possibly have changed that much in just a few short days.
'What a fool I am for putting my faith in this girl.' He thought to himself.
Xingjuan stared at the two silently with a gentle smile. She was glad that Lihua had finally found someone she could mess around with and grow closer to. Humans were born to connect with one another; they are social creatures after all. When her daughter had shut herself out from the world after a certain incident, she had been worried, but it looked like that was all for nought after all.
"Lihua, take it easy now; he is still recovering." She made her voice sound stern, though the smile she still had plastered on her face didn't look very intimidating.
Junjie slowly stood up and began patting down his hanfu. It was practically the only thing he had worn since he had arrived, after all; even the spare clothes Xingjuan had were just more plain black hanfus.
"I see my trust was misplaced." To that, Lihua let out an obnoxious laugh before returning to the couch, Junjie's eyes followed her the whole way back. His eyebrows knitted together, and he let out a very audible scoff before turning around and facing Xingjuan. As he turned to look at her, his face noticeably loosened up, and by the time they were face to face, he looked dead calm.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but what's for dinner? I'm starving!"
"I bet you are; you haven't eaten for three days, and on top of that, puberty!" She started laughing to herself, as if she had somehow told the funniest joke in the world. She wouldn't stop for the next minute while Junjie silently stared at her face.
After she had finally calmed down, she finally answered his question.
"I have stewed beef and seasoned potatoes going now. A roast and some vegetables are also about to finish up. Nothing fancy or traditional; I'm feeling lazy tonight." Nothing fancy? A roast by itself took several hours to cook!
'What a show-off.' Although Junjie was acting like he was surprised, he really wasn't. Xingjuan would usually cook about this much each night; it made one wonder where she was getting all the money for these meals.
"Sounds amazing, Ms Xu, thank you for your efforts!" It didn't matter how he acted; Junjie was always grateful from the bottom of his heart. He might've just been a little too self conscious to show it properly sometimes.
"Do I need to say 'you're welcome' anymore, you brat? Besides, you've earned this meal, so take it easy and eat to your heart's content!" His achievement had actually greatly shocked Xingjuan. It wasn't unheard of to awaken one's spiritual veins at the rate Junjie did; in fact, it was common. It was unheard of to understand and immediately apply something as complex as Will during a single exchange, though.
Understanding and application were two different things after all. Junjie had already comprehended what Will was, but he didn't understand how to use it. During his battle with Xingjuan, he had simultaneously understood and applied his Will in one moment to overpower his opponent. People typically took the time Junjie did, if not a little longer, to understand and apply Will, and it most certainly would not happen at the same time.
The only difference between Junjie and a normal person is the rate of understanding. Over the same month and a half, a mundane person would learn in increments and slowly piece together the puzzle, which would all accumulate in one moment. In other words, their rate of understanding followed a linear trend. Junjie, on the other hand, had been stuck at a rather low level of understanding the whole time; even Xingjuan almost started giving up hope when suddenly his comprehension rapidly increased. His understanding mimicked an exponential line.
In other words, Junjie is incredibly unique.