In Which the Detective Gets Exposed

There were many uncertainties for how Yujia could test out her disguise in front of someone like Yu Zixu. The first issue she thought of was that Zixu wasn't a part of the residential area in Lingxin. Thus, she couldn't just pretend like a maid and find him in his villa. 

Yujia turned to stare at Ye Yunhe some more. 

After what happened with her master, she wasn't so sure that she wanted Yunhe as her helper. She lost most of her trust in his capabilities to keep up with her disguise.

Except, other than Yunhe, who could help her? Her master?

Yujia glanced at her master, who was talking to Yunhe at the moment, while Yujia listened and ate sunflower seeds. 

Her master noticed Yujia's stare, then spoke up. "What are you scheming now, kid?"

She had already explained to him the deal about the Yang Villa. So, Yujia decided to just speak her thoughts. "I want to figure out a way to practice on Senior Brother Zixu."

A wicked smile appeared across her master's face. "Ah, so you mean that you've been missing your senior brother's face for so long that your heart aches to see him; as a result, you're thinking of excuses to see him—" 

"Um. No," Yujia's face scrunched up in distaste, "Master, why are you like this?"

"Me?" He crossed his arms. "I'm perfectly normal. On the other hand, let me guess… you're out here trying to get me to call over your senior brother?"

Yujia nodded. "How did you know?" 

"I'm your master. Of course I know," he stated with a scoff. "I also happen to have a free morning, so I'm quite open to these kinds of things." He turned to face Yunhe. "Brat, nice talking to you, but you got to go."

Yunhe didn't seem all that reluctant. "I told my father that I'd go talk to him today, so I was about to leave as well. Good luck with your disguise, Junior Sister," he stated.

Yujia thanked him, and after bidding farewell, Yunhe left the courtyard.

Now, it was just Yujia and her master, who had this eerie smile on his face that just didn't give good vibes. She was a bit scared of what he was going to do.

Zixu was summoned over an hour later, when he dropped by Lingxin and was told that Master Yue wanted to see him.

Yujia and her master moved to Lingxin Pavilion, instead of the villa. They had a decent plan too. Yujia would act as an ordinary servant. The test would be to see if she could stand behind her master without being noticed. Then, she would have to go fetch a plate of pastries from the kitchens, bring them back, and serve them, all while trying to be disguised. 

The moment Zixu neared the pavilion, Yujia tensed up. She took a deep breath, stepped into the shadows as much as she could, and looked down. 

She felt like as long as she passed the first test of looking like a background servant, then she would be happy even if her other two objectives failed.

Zixu stepped into the pavilion, and her master grinned brightly at the sight of him. "Yu Zixu," he said, "How have you been?"

Zixu bowed politely and greeted, "Master Yue, I've been well. I heard that Master was looking for me?"

Her master continued his smile. "Yes, in fact. I just wanted to talk. Do you enjoy being a disciple under your Master Ye?"

"Master Ye is skilled and knowledgeable. This disciple learns well under him," Zixu replied as an answer.

Yujia didn't dare to look up, not even by an inch. She just stared at her feet while the conversation went on.

"Ah, that's good, that's good. Are you using the resources provided by the school? Are they helpful?"

Zixu nodded in agreement, so her master went on.

A flood of questions began escaping her master. "I am here to just talk today, so you should tell me more about yourself. Like… for example… things you enjoy doing outside of art. Surely, you have interests other than just painting. For example… do you have an interest in good food, like roasted duck and fine wine? How do you feel about the Three Inks store that's opened across from Lingxin? They're quite innovative with their art supplies, aren't they? Do you like their products? This is a purely hypothetical question, but if your family members, like… your future wife, for example, were interested in inventing new art supplies, would you support them and their hobby?"

The questions were bombarded at Zixu without mercy. Yujia almost visibly winced at some of them. She knew exactly what her master was doing, and she didn't like it. She already had suspicions about her master trying to matchmake either her or Ye Yunhe. Now, she finally realized that she was the one he was trying to matchmake. 

She had to put lots of mental effort into controlling herself from stopping her master from spewing all of this nonsense. Zixu definitely must've been super uncomfortable right now, and Yujia felt pity for him. Except, when Yujia glanced up at Zixu's face for only a brief second before flinching her gaze away, she noticed that his expression hadn't changed from his calm smile.

Patiently, Zixu waited for all of Yujia's master's questions to cease. Then, once her master was finished, Yu Zixu asked, "Master Yue, that's a lot of questions. Yet, before I get to answering them, may I ask you one myself?"

Her master nodded and waved his hand. "Go ahead."

"I've been wondering for a while now," Zixu began, "but why is it that Junior Sister is standing behind you, dressed like a maid?"

Yujia blinked. Her head jerked upwards, making eye contact with Zixu for the first time since he walked into her sight.

His calm smile had changed the slightest, with his eyebrows raising upwards, becoming something more like a knowing grin. And that was when Yujia knew, right from the very start, maybe before he even walked into the pavilion, he had known that it was her.

She wanted to cry. 

Lesson #5 of the Day: Some people are just too observant. When around these people, there is no such thing called hope.