Shared Haven

"What is happened here?" Meisha's sharp voice echoed through the room, startling Zhihao to his feet. Meanwhile, Jia settled onto the sofa, adjusting her blue hanfu to shield her sensitive area.

"Wait, sister!" pleaded the man, extending both hands in an attempt to explain. "It's not what you're thinking!"

With an expression that was still in shock, the red-haired woman took a step forward. "You dare to do this kind of thing, Zhihao?" Meisha's tone did not drop at all, still harsh. "Who is this woman?"

"Please, listen to me," Zhihao implored and approached his sister. "This woman is Xinran's caretaker; she has a backache, so I massaged her."

Meisha, standing close to Zhihao, halted, casting a skeptical glance at Jia before turning back to her brother, a sense of disbelief in her eyes. "What? Since when can you do massage? This is outrageous! You can't fool me!"

"No, I have had that talent since I was in the orphanage," he asserted, trying to reassure Meisha. "I haven't done that in a long time because I'm focusing on our concoctions."

Meisha furrowed her brows and shook her head. "I don't believe you! That orphanage has no therapist at all!" she exclaimed, her eyes betraying a hint of concealed tears. "Don't lie to me!"

"Yes, it's true, but I learned it on my own!" Zhihao sighed, standing firm before Meisha. "Sister, what you've seen is a misconception! She is here on behalf of Xinran and wanted to discuss your offer from back then to stay here!"

Meisha fell silent, directing her attention to the woman on the sofa who had donned her hanfu, their eyes locking in anticipation of the next move.

"So why did you do that?" the red-haired woman questioned, turning back to Zhihao. "The massage, why would she want that?"

Zhihao felt a slight sense of relief as his sister seemed to calm down, the embers in her eyes had faded. Just as he was about to respond, Jia interjected, "It is because he healed Xinran."

The sibling shifted his attention to Jia, listening intently. Choosing to explain further, Jia continued, "Xinran told me she took shelter here, and she happened to have a muscle strain that was healed instantly by his massage."

"What?" Meisha turned to her brother. "I thought you heal her with concoction."

"Weird and impossible as it sounds," Jia remarked, twisting her torso to check its condition. "But, I must admit he has a natural talent that can cure my one-year backache in hours."

Meisha stood there, stunned and disbelieving, struggling to accept the words of the unknown woman. Yet, half of herself wanted to know her more because she intended to discuss about staying here.

Still disappointed, Meisha found herself frustrated with her brother for the second time, letting a stranger woman enter and engage in indecent activities without her consent. She sighed and whispered, "What a mess."

"Please, sister. What she said is true! I've never lied to you, and you know that, right?" Zhihao implored, emphasizing Jia's statement in a final attempt to convince Meisha.

Closing her eyes, the red-haired woman reorganized her wrath and disappointed mood. "Let's hear it then," Meisha now watched Jia. "The response from Xinran's caretaker."

The morning, still sunny and not yet heating up, felt markedly different from the atmosphere in Meisha's house this time. Tension hung in the air, resembling turmoil, while Zhihao busied himself preparing dumplings in hopes of fostering a more amicable conversation.

Meisha, sitting across from Jia, couldn't take her eyes off her. Lowering her ego, she spoke up, "Did Xinran at the school?"

Jia was taken aback by the unexpected turn in the conversation, not anticipating that Meisha would still inquire about Xinran despite the tense atmosphere. "Yes, there's a practice that she can't miss. So, she's not with me."

Zhihao arrived with the steaming food and set it on the table between the two women. "Please enjoy," he said, taking a seat in the next chair.

"First of all, can we start over again?" Meisha stood up. "Apologize for the misunderstanding, I am Lin Meisha, Zhihao's sister." She bowed, surprising Zhihao.

Impressed by her extraordinary behavior, Zhihao watched as Jia flustered, also rose to her feet, and mirrored the gesture. "I am Chen Jia," she declared. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have waltzed in with a man without supervision, which caused a slander."

Meisha tried to smile as she responded, "All blame should be on my brother here," she sat back and Zhihao, who was looking down, lifted his face. "I've told him the rules of this house many times but he won't listen."

Zhihao, acknowledging his fault, couldn't defend himself. "It won't happen again."

"I'll keep an eye on you," Meisha warned tersely, then turned back to Jia. "Well, this is our house. It's not that immense and beautiful."

Jia smiled at Meisha's humbleness. "It doesn't matter. What matters is, are you serious about having us here?"

"Yeah, of course," she replied, enthusiasm evident in her voice. "I know how it feels to live in a village inn. They're troubled. Not to mention their crime rate is so high."

"I understand, that's why I want to ensure Xinran's safety and comfort to get out of there," Jia explained with a respectful bow.

"You are her caretaker, correct?" Meisha leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "She must not be from among the commoners, then."

Feeling that there was nothing to hide since they would be living together, Jia let out a breath and answered, "Indeed, she is a princess from the kingdom of Huazhou."

"Ah, no surprise that I am familiar with her name," the red-haired woman nodded with comprehension. "But you came so far from there to this village. There are not many who know the name of a leader from another continent."

"It is intended; it will be fatal if they find out," Jia's voice turned serious. "Although I am alone enough to take care of her, I can't sleep with respite if the threat can come from anywhere."

"Can't be careless for a caretaker, right?" Meisha stood up from her seat. "So now, do you want to look around and see our rooms?"

"Oh, sure," Jia also arose, following Meisha to introduce the rooms in her house while Zhihao still sat on the chair, as if not considered.

But for him, the most important thing was that the two of them got to know each other well and forgot about the embarrassing incident he had committed earlier. Especially for his sister who seemed to still be upset with him, evident from her movement.

"This is your bedroom, enough for two individuals," Meisha informed, to which Jia responded in kind. "So, let me know what are your thoughts?"

Jia looked deeply into Meisha's brown eyes, responding with a beaming face. "Yes, I found it wonderful to call it home."