Dual Cultivation

"Mmmm…"

Mei Ying slowly opened her eyes, feeling a little drowsy from sleeping more than she normally got to sleep.

The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that Mei Xing had disappeared from her side.

Mei Ying thought that Mei Xing had already gone to work, but then she noticed the small figure sitting by the window.

Once her vision cleared, to her surprise, it was Mei Xing, and she appeared to be fully indulged with the scroll in her hands.

"Mei Xing…?" Mei Ying subconsciously called out to her.

However, Mei Xing didn't respond, almost as though she didn't hear her name being called at all.

Mei Ying then slowly got out of the bed and walked to stand behind her.

'Is that the cultivation technique she got from the Manager? How long has she been studying it?' Mei Ying wondered to herself.

This is the first time that she has seen Mei Xing being so absorbed in something before.

'She really wants to become a cultivator, huh?'

Mei Ying then recalled what Su Yang told her yesterday.

"Haaa…" She couldn't help but release a stressed sigh after remembering everything.

"Hm? Mother? Good morning."

Mei Xing finally noticed her mother's presence, and she stopped reading the cultivating technique.

"Mei Xing, how long have you been studying that cultivation technique?" Mei Ying decided to ask her.

"Ever since you went to sleep," she responded honestly.

"W-What? You stayed up all night?" Mei Ying stared at her daughter with wide eyes.

This is also Mei Xing's first time experiencing a sleepless night, as she would normally fall asleep before her mother due to her work.

"Yes."

"Are you going to be okay for the rest of the day like that? Won't you be tired?"

"I will be fine, mother." Mei Xing said with a confident look on her face.

"You say that now… But once the fatigue starts to kick in, you will regret staying up all night."

"I will keep that in mind." Mei Xing nodded.

Sometime later, Mei Xing left the building and made her way to the massage parlor for another day at work.

"Good morning, Manager!" Mei Xing greeted him, feeling a little different than usual when she saw him today.

Perhaps it was due to him visiting her mother yesterday, but Mei Xing felt very close to Su Yang for some reason, and she wondered if this is what it would feel like if she had a father.

"Morning." Su Yang greeted her back.

A few minutes later, they opened the massage parlor, and Mei Xing began greeting the customers.

"Welcome to Heavenly Massage!"

Everything went well for the first few hours, but Mei Xing was beginning to feel drowsy when fatigue from missing last night's sleep started affecting her body and mind.

Unlike a cultivator that can operate without any sleep as long as they cultivated, Mei Xing was a mortal, and a child at that, so missing sleep really messed with her.

However, Mei Xing somehow managed to make it to the end of the day without falling asleep through sheer determination and willpower.

"Are you okay? You look like you are about to fall asleep at any second now." Su Yang said to her with a smile on his face.

"Yes… I just stayed up all night yesterday studying the cultivation technique…" She said in a low voice, her body swaying slightly, clearly struggling to stay awake.

Su Yang chuckled and said, "Let me take you back home."

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Manager…" She said to him.

"Don't worry about it."

Su Yang then carried Mei Xing on his back.

The moment Mei Xing felt his back, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Sometime later, Su Yang carried Mei Xing back to the hotel, and to his surprise, there was a crowd of people standing outside the place, and all of them were men.

"What's the meaning of this?! You told me yesterday that she will be available today, but now you're telling me that she won't be available for another week? What kind of fucking bullshit is this?! I paid in advance, you know!"

"Right?! I didn't pay you to keep telling me that she's not available! Why are you keeping her from us?!"

The tall middle-aged man showed a bittersweet smile on his face, and he said, "How many times do I have to apologize? It's not that I am keeping her away from you guys… It's just that she's been reserved by an esteemed guest… I have already offered to refund your money, but with none of you willing to accept the refund, there's nothing I can do..."

"You know what you can do?! You can let us see Mei Ying!" Another person there shouted.

Obviously, these people gathered outside Mei Ying's brothel were her customers— people that were supposed to see her yesterday and today, but because of Su Yang's actions, they were forced to wait an entire week.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that since the esteemed guest—"

"Esteemed guest my ass! You keep talking about this 'esteemed guest' but you have yet to give us a name! Who's this esteemed guest?! We'll decide if he's really an esteemed guest or not!"

The middle-aged man felt cornered, but as though the heavens had answered his call for help, he noticed Su Yang approaching them.

"E-Esteemed guest!" The man immediately called out to Su Yang.

When the others heard this, they all turned to look at Su Yang.

"He's the esteemed guest that reserved Mei Ying for an entire week? If you're going to fart, at least make it less obvious! How can someone like him be an esteemed guest?! He looks just like the rest of us!" The people there immediately doubted that Su Yang was the esteemed guest because of his ordinary appearance that had nothing 'esteem' about it.

However, Su Yang ignored the rowdy crowd and approached the building.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" One of them called out to him.

Su Yang turned to look at him and spoke in a calm voice, "Where? I'm going to see the woman I paid good money for, obviously."

His words immediately left the crowd speechless.