To Think I Was Poisoned

By the time she had returned to her room, she was already very tired and fell onto the bed. Looking at her table from her bed, she could still see the afternoon light shine over her table. Seeing the old alarm clock she had placed on the bedside table, she could see that it was only six hours since she left for the nurse's office that morning. There wasn't too much work to be done, but the number of cases and having to calm down Zhang Li and Zhang Yong has left her so drained. She never thought that a silent Zhang Yong could be so terrifying. She must never underestimate him like that again! After all this, she felt that a cup of alcohol would do the trick right about now. However, she can't say that nobody could be watching her right now either. Last she needs is to run into trouble for bringing alcohol onto school grounds.

With a heavy heart, she turned to her suitcase and took out some jars of herbs and tea leaves with her as she walked down into the lounge. Yuu and Grim was busy cramming on their homework last minute with Ace and Deuce. According to Yuu, those two only showed up after they managed to mediate the situation in the Scarabia dorm. As a result, they are on the second floor working on their assignments. It was then that she heard something from the Daimond Butterflies and raised a brow. Then, a couple knocks softly echoed in the room. She put the jars onto the table and walked over to the entrance.

"Hello, Lotus."

"Jade?" Lotus looked to him in surprise before letting him in. The guy was only in his dorm uniform which surprised her with how cold it was outside! Worried, she frowned, "It's not cold for you?"

"It's all right. I have a scarf." He pointed to the scarf provided by his dorm.

"I see..." She nodded and closed the door behind him when she noticed the paper bag he brought with him, "Hm? Did you have something to inquire about?"

"Hm? Ah, this." He smiled and responded, "I obtained some tea recently and wanted to see what's your opinion on it."

"Eh? Me?" She looked to him in surprise.

"Yes." He nodded, "Or could it be a bad time?"

Lotus laughed and shook her head, "Not at all. I was just surprised by the timing because I was about to have tea as well."

"Interesting." Jade chuckled, "Then, shall we?"

"Sure!"

She brought the guest into the lounge and saw the ghosts had come to see who had come by. She told them that it was a guest from the Octavinelle dorm and reassured them that there was nothing amiss as it was just a friendly visit, so they returned to the room they were occupying.

As she entered the lounge herself, Jade thought curiously aloud, "You get along with the ghosts really well..."

Lotus chuckled, "Yes. I don't know about them, but I'm quite comfortable with them around."

"You're not worried that they would come to poke fun at you?" Jade questioned her curiously.

It was understandable as she supposedly had no magic compared to Yuu who has Grim. However, she chuckled and replied, "Should I be worried? I have so many siblings back at home who love to play small pranks every now and then, what's another three going to make a difference? Instead, it makes things rather lively, I must say.

Jade laughed, "Haha, it must've been quite lively in your household."

"Yes." Lotus smiled, "It's always impressed me how my parents could manage to care for the well being of all of us together. There were even some of us who are grown up as well but still retain that fun nature. I was like the youngest amongst the group, but also not. Anyway, you wanted me to try tea leaves?"

Jade nodded, "That's correct. I managed to obtain some interesting kinds from my home. Someone delivered it to us."

Lotus pondered in surprise, "I see. They must've been rather unique to have piqued your interests."

"I'm glad to hear that you trust me so much." Jade smiled coldly.

"Hah! trust you?" She sneered and laughed, "Rather than you, I trust your sense of taste for tea leaves. Your abilities speak louder than your character."

"Haha!" He laughed, "So, that's it. I'm honored that you think that way, then. Then, you're not worried that I might trick you into paying for the leaves?"

The edge of her lips hooked up as she responded, "Would you like to try?"

Jade's eyes widen in surprise before he laughed aloud, "Hahaha! I don't dare to right now. That performance you put up in Mostro Lounge speaks for itself. With the information you've provided for us, we already ended up in your debt and Azul has been busy trying to dig himself out of it for the two weeks now."

"I see." Lotus smirked, "Let's continue this a little later. First, I'm curious what tea leaves you've brought with you this time."

"All right." He nodded and took out the glass jars from the paper bag.

There was about eight jars of dried tea leaves in all when he was done with them. Lotus looked to him in suprise. To carry eight all at once and glass of all things, he must be rather strong to be able to do so. However, seeing how tired he was, she could assume that he probably did seem to have used a bit of strength after all. She examined the jars curiously and pondered in thought. After a while, she responded curiously, "You even have Da Hong Pao and Comfrey... A couple of these are rather interesting and you even got an expensive one at that."

"Expensive?" Jade looked to her in surprise.

Lotus nodded and picked up one of the glass jars, "This one... Pu-erh is an expensive type of tea in this world. In the past, the tea was worth gold and, the best in the present could also be worth as much, the quality of this also isn't bad. It is harvest before its ripe period and it's also known for it's ability to evolve and mature over time. Not to mention, there is no expiration date when it comes to this tea. That's why this is so special and expensive. The tea leaves are usually dried and rolled into a tight bundle, then you have to break it up when using it."

"I see..." Jade sighed shaking his head wearily in deep thoughts, "I'll have to keep this in mind, then. I've heard of the tea, but not why it's so expensive... Our parents said that there was an interesting type in the purchase. They must be referring to this one..."

"Yes..." Lotus glanced up at him curiously, "Are you all right?"

"Hm?" Jade raised a brow and nodded, "Yes, I'm just a little tired from walking through the snow."

With a hand stretched out to the tea leaves imported from Scalding Sands, she paused when her eyes swept across one of the jars and frowned before looking up at him again. She thought for a bit before shifting her hands to the Comfrey from Rose Kingdom. She opened it and took out the kettle of boiling water from the electric stove on the table.

"Lotus?" Jade looked to her in surprise. Wasn't she going to wait for him to show her his combination?

She took a couple large pieces of tea leaves and brewed it in her porcelain cup before Jade could stop her. She watched the leaves unfurl from the hot liquid before she grimaced, "This... Have you used this tea yet?"

"Huh?" Jade frowned, "Yes. It's one of the ingredients I have used for the combination."

She looked up to him and responded, "How are you feeling, right now?"

"Huh? I'm..." He paused in confusion before placing a hand on his forehead, "Wha..."

He swayed to one side a little before Lotus quickly took out a pill from her ring and stuffed it into his mouth without a second lost. Jade's eyes widen in surprise as he unconsciously swallowed the pill.

"Don't force yourself to calm down. Just lie down on the sofa." Lotus caught him before he could fall onto the couch and placed him on it, which was awkward with his long legs sticking over the edge of the sofa.

Jade grimaced as it finally hit him. He gave her a bitter smile as he said, "To think I was poisoned by tea... Hah, how embarrassing..."

"Just lie down and don't talk too much. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while." Lotus responded, "I gave you an antidote just now. However, the effects still needs a little more time show itself. If you find this embarrassing, then you have time to reflect on it. Don't make the same mistake like this again. Also, don't take water. It'll weaken the effect of the pill."

Jade sighed and nodded with a smile as if the poisoning wasn't all that serious. Lotus laughed inwardly seeing how composed this guy was. As expected of someone from a rich background...