Long Time No See

Lola looked at everyone and smiled, "Don't worry, with His Majesty King Alexander and Queen Lily of Qin here, one day the docks in Chang'an will be bustling. When that time comes, there'll be so much work you won't be able to finish it all!"

"Haha, that's great! We'll all be waiting for that day!" everyone laughed and cheered.

After chatting with the dock workers, Lola turned and saw the place where wages were being settled—Mrs. Penny was busy at work.

Mrs. Penny looked up and spotted Lola from afar.

Everyone had been busy lately. Lola and Martin Wu were always out training teachers, so the mentor and her apprentice hadn't seen each other for quite some time.

"Mrs. Penny!" Lola greeted her confidently and openly.

Mrs. Penny was momentarily stunned. Lola had always been quiet and reserved, rarely speaking or taking the initiative to talk to others. But after a few months apart, Mrs. Penny suddenly realized Lola had changed quite a bit.

She'd grown taller, become more cheerful, and talked a lot more.

She was no longer that little girl who blended into the background.

"You're Dean Lola now—don't call me 'teacher' anymore, that's old news. Just call me Penny." Mrs. Penny smiled as she looked Lola up and down.

"Penny." Lola smoothly changed how she addressed her, glancing at the line of dock workers waiting for their wages. "You're so busy, I won't disturb you. I still have something to report to the Queen, so I'll head in first."

"Alright, go ahead." Penny replied with a smile.

Lola walked away, and Penny watched her retreating figure, feeling emotional—how that little girl had grown up.

She had trained, she had matured, and without realizing it, she had already become Dean Lola, capable of carrying great responsibilities.

It's wonderful...

"What are you looking at, my dear?" Sean Hayes, in charge of guarding the goods, returned at the tail end of the delivery team and, seeing Mrs. Penny lost in thought, followed her gaze to Lola's departing figure.

"Sean Hayes, have you noticed that Lola has changed? She's not the same as before, is she?" Mrs. Penny nudged Sean Hayes's shoulder.

Sean Hayes paused, then nodded, "She's not a little girl anymore, of course she's changed. No one stays the same forever. I heard the Queen say Lola and Martin Wu are now responsible for all teacher training. She has to interact with people all the time—if she wasn't good at talking before, she's definitely been trained by now."

"Mm, that's true." Penny nodded thoughtfully. Lola had always been like a piece of fine jade, her worries weighing her down like mud, wrapping her in layers.

Now, after all her training and hard work, she's finally shaken off that mud and revealed the brilliance of jade within.

The uncut jade has finally become a beautiful gem.

Penny glanced at Xie Yun again, thinking to herself that after all they'd been through, Lola's old feelings for Xie Yun must have faded.

"My dear, what are you thinking about?" Xie Yun noticed Penny staring at him in a daze and reminded her.

Penny snapped out of it and said, "Oh, nothing. I'm busy. You should go report in."

"I'll go now." Xie Yun nodded and strode into the Qin Palace to find Su Li for the handover.

Xie Yun walked quickly and soon saw Lola ahead of him.

Lola was skilled in martial arts, so she naturally heard footsteps behind her and knew who it was.

She had memorized that person's footsteps since she was a child.

He was the man who rescued her from the abyss, the one who gave her young heart warmth and kindness.

He was the first man to enter her heart and let her taste the flavor of love.

Lola took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she last saw him.