Chapter 25: Making a Wish

Weirui Courtyard.

After finishing her calligraphy practice, Yaoyao moved her familiar three-legged stool into the courtyard and sat quietly. Her nanny, afraid she might catch a chill, hurried over with a brazier and placed it by her feet, adding a generous amount of charcoal. She gently reminded her,
“Miss Yaoyao, don’t play with fire, alright? Or you might wet your pants.”

Yaoyao looked down at the brazier by her feet, the heat warming her little legs.

She hugged a warm kettle in her arms, her chubby white-red hands gripping it tightly. Her obsidian-like eyes fixated on the nanny, and she couldn’t help but pout slightly.
“When is Persimmon Brother coming back?”

In her memory, Xie Yixing had never been gone for this long.

The nanny met Yaoyao’s clear, innocent gaze and couldn’t bear to lie to her. She simply reached out and patted her round little head,
“Once the young master finishes his work, he’ll come back to keep you company.”

“Does Persimmon Brother need Yaoyao’s help?”

Yaoyao’s eyes sparkled. She wished she could sprout wings and fly to Xie Yixing right away.

The nanny instinctively shook her head. “What kind of birthday girl needs to work—”

Mid-sentence, she realized she had nearly slipped up and immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. Using the excuse of fetching some pastries, she turned and gave herself two light slaps on the cheek.

She had almost given away the little master’s plan.

Sigh.

Keeping secrets was hard!

Miss Yaoyao had already asked her more than three times today. She was afraid that if Yaoyao asked again, she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut.

As the nanny went back inside, the courtyard was left with just little Yaoyao, a soft, chubby ball.

Since Xie Yixing wasn’t around, she had wanted to play shuttlecock with Caiwei, but found that Caiwei wasn’t there either.

Yaoyao sat dejectedly, watching the tiny flames flicker in the brazier. The firelight reflected her downcast expression.

Even though she was dressed in the newly sewn brocade tassel jacket the nanny had made for her, with new cloud silk cotton shoes on her feet and a scarf around her neck embroidered with a white rabbit with blue eyes, and her little braids tied with velvet flowers—she still felt alone.

From a distance, she looked like a chubby little snowman—adorable and endearing.

Yet, this little snowman had waited from dawn until dark and still hadn’t seen the one she wanted most.

The nanny had tried several times to persuade her to go inside, but Yaoyao refused each time.

She watched as the charcoal in the brazier burned out and was replenished again and again. Her eyes began to well up, and the feeling of grievance climbed like ivy on a wall—relentless and persistent.

In the past, on her birthdays, her mother would cook a whole table of delicious food. Her father would perform magic tricks for her, conjuring beautiful bracelets and gold chains. Her eldest sister would make her new clothes, and her second brother would share half the toys he bought on his outings.

She used to love birthdays—so lively and warm.

But now the courtyard was cold and quiet. Yaoyao could only hug herself tightly.

She watched the sun set and the bright moon rise above the treetops. Suddenly she sniffled hard, opened her cherry-like mouth, and whispered to herself:
“Yaoyao must not cry. Yaoyao has to be strong. After today, Yaoyao is a big girl.”

Saying this, she closed her eyes gently and made a wish to the moon.

“Dear Immortal Uncle, Yaoyao wants to make one more wish.”

“This time, Yaoyao wants to include Persimmon Brother, Aunt Wei, Sister Caiwei, Nanny Wu, and Uncle Shen.”

“They’re all so nice to Yaoyao. They give me pastries and make me new clothes. Yaoyao wants to do something nice for them too.”

“Immortal Uncle, can you bless them to be healthy just like Yaoyao?”

The little girl was so engrossed in her whispering that she didn’t hear any movement nearby.

Just as she finished speaking, a grumpy voice spoke by her ear,
“You made so many wishes—how do you expect the Immortal to keep up?”

Xie Yixing frowned slightly, a faint, sarcastic smile on his otherwise gloomy face. The air around him seemed to drop a few degrees.

Even Wei-shi instinctively took a step back.

Though she was touched by the wish Yaoyao had made, she sighed helplessly, knowing her son was about to get jealous again.

If only she could have a sweet little daughter to soothe his temper…

Fortunately, Xie Yixing didn’t lash out or drive them away. By default, he allowed them to stay and celebrate Yaoyao’s birthday with her.

Wei-shi thought of how her son had worked the entire afternoon just to make a bowl of noodles. She was both proud and amused.

Even though the noodles weren’t for her, she was glad they weren’t.

Wei-shi didn’t cook often, but she could manage the basics.

So when she had stood at the kitchen door and watched her son dump an entire spoonful of salt into the noodle soup, she immediately lost all interest in tasting it.

As long as her son was willing to change, she was already happy.

But Shen the imperial chef refused to believe it. He thought noodles couldn’t possibly taste bad, especially not after he had taught the young master everything.

Once Xie Yixing scooped out Yaoyao’s portion and took it away, Shen took a spoonful of the remaining broth for himself—and was nearly knocked out by the saltiness.

He quickly downed two big cups of water, yet the salty taste lingered on his tongue.

He looked at the now-empty salt jar and suddenly felt bad for Yaoyao.

The young master’s cooking skills were… truly lacking. The little birthday girl was in trouble.

But Yaoyao, upon hearing Xie Yixing’s voice, instantly opened her eyes in excitement. Forgetting about her wish, she threw her chubby arms around his waist and beamed,
“Persimmon Brother, you’re finally back!”

Feeling the little girl’s affection, Xie Yixing’s jealousy slowly faded.

At least she hadn’t welcomed anyone else like she did him.

Being the only one treated so specially made Xie Yixing’s lips twitch slightly into a half-smile.

He picked her up—struggling a bit under the weight—but he refused to let the nanny or Caiwei help.

Once they entered the room, Yaoyao immediately spotted the longevity noodles on the table and her eyes lit up.

“Your birthday gift,” Xie Yixing said softly, his voice gentler than usual. “I made it.”

Yaoyao hadn’t expected that—besides her mother, there would be another person in the world who would cook longevity noodles just for her.

Warmth flooded her heart, washing away all the disappointment.

Under Xie Yixing’s expectant gaze, she quickly climbed onto the high stool, grabbed the soup spoon, and began to eat.

Everyone else in the room turned away, unable to watch.

The young master had rarely done anything out of his own will before—they dared not ruin this moment.

But they had seen him scoop salt straight from the jar into the pot. They could only imagine how the noodles tasted.

Meanwhile, in the front courtyard—

Lord Chengming had just finished his paperwork and left the study, heading to Wei-shi’s quarters for dinner.

From a distance, he noticed that her courtyard was pitch dark.

He stopped a maid in the corridor to ask and was told that Wei-shi had gone to Weirui Courtyard.

Because of Xie Yixing’s obsession with cleanliness, the three of them had never shared a meal at the same table.

But now it was dinnertime—and Wei-shi had gone to Weirui?

Could it be she was having dinner there?

For some reason, Lord Chengming’s legs took on a will of their own and started moving toward Weirui Courtyard.

As he neared, he saw the lights shining brightly—it was unusually lively tonight.

He quickened his pace and, not paying attention, bumped into a dark figure.

Seeing the man clearly, Lord Chengming straightened his robe and coldly called out,
“Chef Shen.”

Shen was about to bow when Lord Chengming stopped him.

His eyes swept to the bowl of noodles Shen was holding, and just then, his stomach let out a loud growl.

After a whole afternoon of work, he was indeed hungry.

If he went to Weirui Courtyard, he’d have to wash up and change clothes—what a hassle. So, he reached out to take the half bowl of noodles from Shen to stave off his hunger.

Before Shen could warn him about where the noodles came from, Lord Chengming had already gulped them down.