Shi Xu’s skilled painting technique had essentially been honed thanks to his younger sister’s constant pestering.

When she was younger, she never had the patience to sit still for long. After a short while, she’d ask, “Is it done yet?” And he would be forced to speed things up to let her go sooner. Now, before Shi Buyu could even begin to wonder “Why isn’t it finished yet?”, the painting was already done.

Moreover, this time, she didn’t run off before he was done.

Looking at the portrait, it was clearly a face he knew all too well, yet it still felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“You’ve grown up,” Shi Xu said with emotion. Catching his younger sister’s puzzled gaze, he smiled and added, “This is the first time your second brother has seen you all dressed up—like a real young lady.”

That’s it. Shi Buyu looked at the portrait and suddenly understood where that unfamiliar feeling came from. In the previous thirteen portraits, she was never dressed so finely. Her hair had never been styled like this. She didn’t wear any jewelry, had no makeup on, and never had decorative forehead ornaments.

Had she really grown up?

Shi Buyu rested her chin on her hand and pondered. She had indeed grown a year older, but even if she aged ten more years, makeup wasn’t going to appear on her face by itself.

She leaned over the railing and shouted toward the kitchen, “Auntie, I look great today!”

Wan Xia appeared at the kitchen door, holding a spatula and smiling brightly. “You look great every day, girl. It’s just that usually your shine is hidden under dust. Today, Auntie polished this pearl clean.”

“Polished it till it sparkled!”

She waved her spatula and went back to cooking.

Shi Xu watched the easy closeness between the two and couldn’t help but think of their mother, who had spent the Mid-Autumn Festival hoping Buyu would return home. Even if she couldn’t, she had at least hoped for a few words from her. She had already sent someone to stay by Buyu’s side to help and deliver letters—it shouldn’t have been hard. But their mother had received nothing in return.

Was it fair to blame Buyu? No, not really.

Her life no longer revolved around family. She had long gotten used to not having to think about them. She didn’t spend holidays with family, nor exchanged letters. That had been her life for years. Just because she risked her life this year to come rescue them didn’t mean they could now turn around and accuse her of being rude.

Still, seeing her and Wan Xia getting along so warmly, and thinking of their mother’s longing gaze, it was hard not to feel a pang in his heart.

But there was no need to say any of this in front of Buyu. The fact that she had voluntarily brought up the portrait this year—and even sat still and patiently posed for it, unlike previous years—was already a sign of change. They might not be fully close again just yet, but at least she had made room for her family in her heart once more. The rest could only come slowly.

Thinking this, he tentatively asked, “Can I take the portrait with me?”

“Don’t you always take it?” Shi Buyu looked confused. “Isn’t that why you paint it?”

“Yes,” Shi Xu smiled and completed the thought, “so I can take it back and show the family how you look now.”

Well, let them see then. Why did he have to tell her? Shi Buyu turned away—just in time to spot Yan Shi’an and immediately used him to change the subject. “What about you? Did you bring me a birthday gift?”

She had already prepared to follow up with, “It’s fine if you didn’t this year, just remember next year,” but Yan Shi’an surprised her by bringing out a box he had hidden behind his back. He held it out to her and smiled, “Happy birthday.”

His unexpected response made Shi Buyu feel a little embarrassed—but who ever complained about getting too many gifts?

“Then I’ll accept it without holding back,” she said cheerfully. She was extremely curious what kind of treasure her rich cousin had picked out for her. But Auntie had taught her never to open a gift in front of the giver. So she turned away and opened it behind her back.

The way she did it didn’t match the elegant, noble look Wan Xia had given her today, but it only added to her spontaneous, unpretentious charm.

“This is… a storybook?” Shi Buyu wasn’t entirely sure, so she turned to ask.

“It’s the new manuscript from your favorite storyteller, Mr. Yajie. I bought it,” Yan Shi’an replied.

A handwritten manuscript! Not yet printed! One-of-a-kind!

Shi Buyu’s eyes lit up. She had it, and no one else did—how could such a wonderful thing happen to her?

“I love this birthday gift!”

Yan Shi’an saw her smile and thought to himself, Having money does have its perks—at least it can buy the things she likes.

There was still some time before dinner. Shi Buyu let Shi Xu do as he pleased while she curled up with the manuscript.

The manuscript had clearly been copied neatly after being written, not messy, but not mechanically neat like printed text. The handwriting had a relaxed, natural feel to it that was very pleasant to read. And the story itself was excellent—not about dramatic love and heartbreak or life-or-death conflicts, but about a tale of finding a soulmate through shared music and understanding. She loved it.

“Just thinking that no one else will get to read such a good story makes me feel sorry for them,” she said.

Yan Shi’an, who was playing chess with Shi Xu, heard her and said, “You could publish it—then all the proceeds would be yours.”

“Nope.” Shi Buyu tilted her chin defiantly. “It might be a shame, but it’s more satisfying to enjoy it alone.”

Yan Shi’an laughed. That was just like Miss Shi—always going against the grain, mischievous in spirit. If others were unhappy, she was delighted.

Shi Xu, listening to their exchange, placed a piece on the board. Watching Yan Shi’an interact with his little sister so naturally, he couldn’t help but overthink things. But then seeing how she treated Yan Shi’an, he felt slightly reassured. If they could stay like this, it would be ideal.

“One wrong move, and you’ve lost the whole board,” Yan Shi’an said calmly as he placed a piece that captured all of Shi Xu’s dragon formation. The game was decided.

“You’re the better player,” Shi Xu admitted, setting his pieces aside in surrender.

“You lost?” Shi Buyu walked over and glanced at the board. She pushed Shi Xu aside and sat down herself. “Let me try.”

Shi Xu watched as what seemed like a lost board was revived in his sister’s hands. She battled fiercely with Yan Shi’an for over half an hour—and in the end, she actually beat him by half a point.

“Well?” Shi Buyu looked across the board. “Admit defeat?”

“I admit it,” Yan Shi’an said, gazing at the game board. There had been two times where she was absolutely about to lose, yet she had clawed her way back both times. If it had been him, he would’ve conceded like Shi Xu. But it seemed the idea of surrender didn’t exist in Miss Shi’s mind—she would always search for a way to turn the tables. And somehow, she always did.

He looked up at her. “Lesson learned.”

Shi Buyu didn’t care what he learned. Just hearing the words made her feel she ought to do something. She held out her hand to him, palm up. “Tuition fee.”

Without hesitation, Yan Shi’an took the jade ring off his index finger and placed it in her hand.

Shi Buyu held it up to the light like a greedy little dragon and nodded solemnly. “Good jade.”

Of course it was good jade—how else could it be on Yan Shi’an’s hand? He smiled, “Just something I wear casually. I’ll send more later.”

“No need.”

She tried it on every finger and finally found that only her thumb could hold it without slipping off. She frowned slightly. The thing looked nice, but it wasn’t practical. Even one was too many—any more would just take up space in her jewelry box and make Auntie worry about where to put them. No need, no need.