The soft moonlight illuminated the familiar handwriting, causing Yuanxi to feel both surprised and delighted, with ripples of emotion stirring in her heart.
At this moment, Xiao Zixuan had approached, smiling mischievously. “I never expected my brother to play such a trick.”
Yuanxi turned to her, playfully glaring. “Don’t pretend. You were sent by my brother to bring me here today, weren’t you?”
Xiao Zixuan stuck out her tongue, neither confirming nor denying, and asked, “But what does this compass mean?”
Yuanxi’s eyes shifted as she replied, “If I’m not mistaken, this compass should be used in conjunction with the iron fish made by the stall owner. By setting different scales and directions, the pointer can indicate a fixed direction.”
But what was used as the orientation? She pondered for a moment and mused, “This year is the year of Chen Wei, so let’s try this direction first.” She then used the tail of the iron fish from the stall owner as a pointer, following the direction indicated by the compass to arrive at a nearby stall. The stall owner, smiling, handed her a lantern, saying, “Congratulations, madam, on your birthday.”
Perplexed, Yuanxi took the lantern, feeling its weight, but found no candle lit inside. After some thought, she removed the lampshade and discovered a small, exquisite silver lock inside, accompanied by a note: “A gift for the birthday of a one-year-old child, only the best silver lock from Jinbao Pavilion.”
Yuanxi found it strange that Xiaodu would send her a silver lock for a one-year-old child. She followed the clues and unraveled the mystery for a three-year-old, uncovering a pair of white jade earrings, accompanied by a note: “Bai jade without flaws, pearls are hard to come by, congratulating you on coming of age.”
Feeling touched, Yuanxi continued to uncover gifts for different ages, including drums for five-year-olds, sachets for twelve-year-olds, rouge for thirteen-year-olds, and hairpins for sixteen-year-olds. Each gift was carefully selected, and Yuanxi was moved by the thoughtfulness behind each one.
Finally, she found the gift for her current age. Opening it, she discovered a beautifully crafted hairpin, along with a note: “Wishing you a happy birthday.”
Overwhelmed by emotions, Yuanxi looked up, ready to approach Xiaodu, but he shook his head with a smile, gesturing for her to remain silent. Yuanxi blinked, feeling as if the noise around her had disappeared, leaving only the two of them facing each other amidst the shimmering moonlight.
Suddenly, the sound of fireworks erupted behind Xiaodu, illuminating the sky with a dazzling display. Yuanxi’s eyes sparkled with tears as she reached out her hand to him. “This is the most beautiful fireworks I’ve ever seen.”
Xiaodu’s expression softened as he gently took her hand, leading her onto the boat. “I hope you’re satisfied with my arrangements.”
Looking up at him, Yuanxi asked, “Why did you send me so many gifts out of the blue?”
Xiaodu said, “You always said that your birthdays in childhood were very lonely, and you never received any gifts. Today, I’m helping you relive each birthday and making up for all seventeen with gifts. These gifts were carefully selected by me. Do you like them?”
Yuanxi couldn’t control the tears in her eyes anymore. She lowered her head and whispered, “I like them, every single one of them!” Feeling a bit embarrassed by her display of emotions, she extended her hand and coquettishly said, “What about this year’s gift?”
With a mysterious smile, Xiaodu suddenly covered her eyes and led her to the cabin. Wondering what game he was playing now, Yuanxi found herself speechless as Xiaodu released her and whispered in her ear, “Here it is.”
Yuanxi opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what she saw. The entire cabin had been transformed into a study, with bookshelves lining the walls. Not only were the shelves full of books but they were also categorized and labeled. It felt like stumbling upon a treasure trove, and she eagerly started flipping through them. To her surprise, she found some rare books that she had only heard of but had never seen before. Overjoyed, she turned to Xiaodu and exclaimed, “Where did you find all these books?”
Xiaodu proudly replied, “It took a lot of effort. Some of these books aren’t even in the Imperial Library.”
He walked over to Yuanxi, resting his head on her shoulder, and continued, “Unfortunately, time was short, and I only managed to find these books for you. If you find any without annotations, I’ll make sure to annotate them for you later.” His voice was low and gentle, blending with the melodious music outside, and it seemed to seep into Yuanxi’s heart, making her feel like the night on the street couldn’t compare to what she had at that moment. So she turned around, hugged his waist tightly, and found herself unable to speak, just burying her head in his chest and murmuring, “Dudu, thank you.”
Xiaodu chuckled softly, took her hand, and led her to look around the room. He pointed to a cozy armchair by the window and said, “You can sit here and read. When you raise your head, you’ll see the lake and the bustling street.” Then he pointed to a small round table nearby and said, “I’ll make tea for you here and accompany you while you read.” Finally, he pointed to another desk and said, “We can teach our children to write here and tell them stories from the books.”
Yuanxi was captivated by his descriptions and imagined the scenes he described. Suddenly, when she heard the mention of children, she remembered something and blushed. But she still tiptoed to Xiaodu’s ear and whispered something. Xiaodu was surprised and lowered his head, saying, “So we have to do it in this position.”
Yuanxi blushed even more but tried to cover his mouth with her hand. “You can’t say such things out loud!”
But Xiaodu just smirked and held her hand, pulling her into his arms. He bit her earlobe and whispered, “We’ll have to try more later. Now, let’s try all the poses in that album. There must be one that works.”
Yuanxi was embarrassed by his boldness and tried to cover her face with her hands, but she couldn’t resist Xiaodu’s persistence. He wrapped his arms around her waist, sealing her lips, and the two of them became entangled in a passionate embrace. The lake rippled, the music played softly, and the two of them couldn’t help but sink deeper into this kiss until the room was filled with their heavy breaths. Xiaodu then picked her up and said hoarsely, “There’s no time to waste. Let’s try it now.”
Yuanxi was about to protest, but Xiaodu silenced her with a kiss. She knew she couldn’t resist him, so she obediently let him carry her to the inner room. Outside the window, the moon in the sky and the one reflected in the lake shone brightly, like two lovers, inseparable and intertwined, rising and setting together, never to be parted again.