The Magician & I

Chapter 7: Most Important Person

A/N: Waee~ I haven't update this for 21 days... Kek. I'll get onto it. It's a short novel, but no promises on consistent updates! If no release by the end of the week, expect one by the start of the next week. Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting!

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Sitting at the table, Clay is scribbling lines and dots. The sun was shining in the distance and radiated down through the crystalline windows. His long white hair had been trimmed, reaching only down to his mid-back. Neatly braided into one immaculate braid with flowers stuffed within its compact tresses, his hair was extremely beautiful to see. It has a nice sheen and glow to it as it is now in a healthy state, no longer dull and coarse as it had been when he first arrived. His crimson eyes sparkled with life as his small hands move.

Tilting his head, he finally puts down the pen in his hands and looked. Clay, "MaoYu, I am done."

Yan MaoYu who was in his child form got off his seat and walked over. He picked up the piece of paper, the contents on the paper made his mouth twitch. It was a nicely drawn picture of him sitting across from Clay. Sighing as he had already experienced his bizarre ways. He felt that Clay had a few loose screws in his brain as he had an inkling that this little rabbit here considered him to be his mother. Yan MaoYu coughed, "It is very nice, Clay. But I told you to write down what you think is the most important to you."

Clay blinked his eyes, "You are though."

Yan MaoYu squinted his eyes and pointed at the piece of paper, "You have to write, not draw."

Finally understanding, Clay bobbed his head and started fiddling with the pen again. A smile perked on his lips the moment Clay looked away. It has already been half a year since his arrival and Clay knew how to do simple conversations. He still wasn't able to do complex sentences, but nevertheless conversing with him was much easier than it was when he first started. Spending every day with Yan MaoYu, it gradually healed the scar in his heart.

It could be said that he was initially reminded of the youth from the past when he saw Clay, but he saw how different they were as he spent time with them. Yan MaoYu did not find it repulsive being around Clay and enjoyed accompanying him. He was very cute at times, especially that memory of him getting his first bath. A chuckle escaped his lips as he remembered how afraid he was and how he thought that he was going to drown. It was a relatively large bath but his feet could definitely touch the bottom of the bathtub, so his worries were unnecessary. The elation visibly appearing on Clay's face when he realized that he could touch the bottom of the tub was too funny and cute. Shimmering like rubies, he gave Yan MaoYu a giggle.

Warmly looking at Clay who was very focused on his current task. Yan MaoYu doesn't want to admit it outwardly, but Clay had crawled into his heart and has occupied a precious spot in it. Tapping his fingers on the table, he asked, "What do you think of Master?"

Clay stopped writing and lifted his head, "He's very kind."

Yan MaoYu, "Do you like him?"

He nodded, "Very I like much."

Laughing, he corrected him, "You mean 'I like him very much', Clay."

Mentally taking a note on his mistake, he smiled, "Yes. I like him very much."

Yan MaoYu, "After your free period, go meet with Master, okay?"

Clay doesn't question the reason why and agreed, "Okay."

Finishing up the last character, he handed it over to his 'teacher', "Here you go."

Unable to stop a grin from emerging on his lips, he covered his mouth to conceal it. On the paper were poorly written characters that look no better than chicken scratch. It read as the following: 『My most important person is Yan MaoYu. He told me I can't call every man 'laogong' because we are not 'married'. I don't know what 'married' is, but he says that he is 'married' to Da Hua¹. I want to marry him too, but Da Hua said that I can't. So I asked Master if I could 'marry' him but he only looked away. Someday I want to be just like MaoYu. His cooking is very good. He smells very nice and comforting. He is very nice to me and helped the pain go away. I like him very much; he's like my sun.』

It was like a written confession from a child. He found out that based on the bone growth, Clay should be around thirteen to fourteen years old. It is such a shame that his current looks resembled that oten-year-old. The tips of his ears turned red and Yan MaoYu banged his head on the table, hiding his blushing face. His ancient heart couldn't take how meng Clay was and perhaps he would be getting a heart attack soon.

Peeking up from the surface of the table, Yan MaoYu saw the gentle and pure smile on his face. Clay poked at his head, "MaoYu, are you in pain?"

Yan MaoYu wanted to go and hide so that he screamed out all of his contained feelings, but he couldn't. He felt so embarrassed at this moment that he could just roll over and die. Just before he could reply, the guileless child started firing questions.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Should I go get Da Hua?"

"Should I go get Master?"

"Are you sleeping?"

...

Feeling his head swell from Clay's excessive inquiries, Yan MaoYu abruptly sat upright. His face still flushed fiercely as he tried to sternly look at him. Yan MaoYu, "Clay, you can't ask so many questions at the same time."

Clay showed understanding... Or so he thought. Instead of speaking rapidly, he slowed down his pace.

"Are you in pain, MaoYu?"

After waiting a few seconds, he then asked the next question. Clay, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Continuing on with this pattern, Clay continued to ask all of his questions in this manner. Not knowing whether he should laugh or cry at how silly Clay was being, he covered his face with his hands. Why not do both? So for the first time in ages, Yan MaoYu burst out laughing until he cried into tears. This scared Clay very much, to the point where he got off his seat and checked Yan MaoYu's forehead as if he knew what he was doing.

Calming his laughter, he wiped the remaining tears on his face and restored his stoic facial expression. Waving his hands, he dismissed his student, "Go. Remember to go meet Master in an hour, Clay."

He had decided to split Clay's learning sessions into small batches or else they might fry his poor brain. In the morning, Clay would wake up around five in the morning and get ready for the day. At five thirty, he would have his breakfast and start his first lesson. He would have two-hour intervals throughout the day with half an hour breaks and snacks, consisting of different materials until three in the afternoon. Clay would then have an hour to himself before he's sent off to their Master. For now, they're going over the most basic materials and the lessons don't last more than an hour and a half. So for the remainder of the day, he usually practices absorbing mana and accompanying their Master. Then at eight o'clock, they would have dinner and after, Clay would go bathe and head to sleep. That was how his daily life was like.

Waving goodbye, Clay walked out of the room. Even after living here for half a year, he was still awed by the architectural designs and the flourish of life that surrounded the place. He made his way over to the back area of the residence and started to wander around. This was an area that he had yet to explore. Like a newborn cub, he was very curious about everything as he was no longer caged; he could spread his wings and soar in the sky as the others could.

After looking around, Clay found out that the environment no longer looked familiar to him. Scratching his head, he pursed his lips and mumbled, "I am lost?"

Trying to backtrack, Clay only made the situation worse as it only made him go deeper into the forest. Even though he was in an unknown place, he was not scared. His master and his two teachers all said that there is nothing inside of the forest that would harm him, and he believes them.

Hearing the sounds of water, he walked over to it as he remembered that there was a small creek by his home. So if he followed it... He should get home eventually? He wasn't sure but it was best to try, and he can explore at the same time.

As soon as he was a few meters away, he heard voices.

"Ah, I told you we shouldn't have come here!"

"You wanted too! I wasn't the only one."

"Ugh! Now we are lost."

Hearing familiarity in the voices, Clay stepped out and saw three figures walking by the small creek.

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¹Da Hua: '大花', it is how Clay refers to Lan Huaban. '大' da can be used in front of someone's name elevating their position higher or older. Literally means 'big flower'.