Of course, Shi Fa Ke had no idea that Young Master Lu, whom she considered very reasonable, was waiting like a baby for her to coax him. She simply left with the food container.

In the afternoon, carrying the food container and the painting scroll, she went to the He family home, which she hadn’t visited for quite some time.

Although she hadn’t come for many days, she was quite familiar with the He family residence. She didn’t need anyone to guide her or a visiting card—she could enter on her own.

The gatekeepers all recognized her.

As soon as she entered the main gate, she happened to run into He Kexian, who was preparing to go out.

Ever since returning from the Shi family that day, He Kexian had been feeling uncomfortable. Chu Yizhi’s ambiguous words stuck in his throat like a fishbone. He wasn’t stupid either—after pondering for a day or two, he vaguely glimpsed his own feelings. Now, suddenly encountering the person in question, he was stunned and instinctively said: “Why are you here?”

After speaking, He Kexian felt it was somewhat inappropriate—it sounded as if he didn’t welcome her visit…

“I made plans with Ketian to come find her.” Shi Fa Ke didn’t take it to heart, since He Kexian’s temperament had always been peculiar.

He Kexian cleared his throat softly and, unusually, explained: “Don’t misunderstand. I was just surprised since you haven’t come to see Ketian for so long.”

Ever since the martial arts tournament marriage proposal fiasco, Shi Fa Ke and He Ketian had fallen out. Later, when He Ketian harbored ulterior motives and frequently visited the Shi family, Shi Fa Ke never stepped foot in the He family home again.

Seeing Shi Fa Ke visiting now, it was no wonder He Kexian was surprised.

Shi Fa Ke blinked—she hadn’t been surprised before, but now she was a bit… He Kexian seemed rather strange today.

He Kexian felt uncomfortable under her gaze, his eyes wandering before settling on the large food container she was carrying: “What’s this?”

It looked… very familiar.

“This is your family’s food container. I brought it back while I was at it.” Shi Fa Ke replied.

He Kexian’s eyes sharpened, immediately misunderstanding, thinking this food container was something his foolish sister had taken to the Shi family to curry favor.

He Kexian wanted to say a few more words to Shi Fa Ke, but a servant came to urge him—he had an appointment today to discuss business, and looking at the time, he couldn’t delay any longer. Had he known Shi Fa Ke was coming today, he might have postponed this business meeting. Thinking this, he suddenly realized… his restless feelings had become so obvious.

“It’s rare for you to visit. Stay and play a bit longer before leaving.” He Kexian instructed, then left with his mind in chaos.

Shi Fa Ke watched his hurried departing figure with an expression as if she’d seen a ghost… Had He Kexian taken the wrong medicine today? Being so reasonable simply didn’t seem like him.

Shaking her head to dismiss her doubts, Shi Fa Ke carried the food container inside.

Just past the second gate, she saw a familiar little maid—the one called Rouge from He Ketian’s room.

“Miss Shi, you’ve finally come! Our young lady has been waiting for you for a long time.” The little maid’s eyes lit up upon seeing her, speaking sweetly.

Shi Fa Ke inexplicably felt these words sounded familiar—she seemed to be quite popular lately…

Casually handing the food container to the little maid, Shi Fa Ke chatted with her briefly before entering He Ketian’s room.

He Ketian was practicing calligraphy. Her characters were beautiful—she had put in considerable effort. She felt that practicing calligraphy could calm the mind and cultivate character… Right now, she felt she very much needed to calm her mind and cultivate character.

After several rounds of large characters, she indeed felt much more peaceful.

Seeing Shi Fa Ke arrive, she could treat her with equanimity.

“Ah Ke, you’ve come. I’ve prepared tea and pastries you like. Come quickly.” He Ketian beckoned gently and softly.

…She had turned into that somewhat frightening appearance again.

Shi Fa Ke smiled stiffly: “You were practicing calligraphy.”

“Mm, I’ve finished.” He Ketian walked aside to wash her hands, then sat beside Shi Fa Ke, offering her a pastry.

“Try this—it’s jade belt cake the kitchen just made. I thought it was quite good and saved some for you.”

Shi Fa Ke accepted it with some surprise, taking a bite. It was soft and glutinous, with the fragrance of lard and sweetness of white sugar, filled with hawthorn. The hawthorn’s sourness perfectly balanced the lard and sugar flavors. After finishing one piece, her mouth retained the fragrance without any greasiness. Shi Fa Ke’s eyes brightened: “Delicious.”

“I knew you’d like it. I had the kitchen make extra so you can take some when you leave.” He Ketian said very thoughtfully.

Shi Fa Ke had grown accustomed to this appearance of hers. While eating several pieces of jade belt cake, she naturally didn’t forget her purpose, saying as she ate: “I brought back the food container from Young Master Lu’s place while I was at it. I gave it to Rouge outside.”

Hearing this, He Ketian nearly couldn’t maintain the gentle smile on her face, almost cursing “meddlesome” out loud.

She had been thinking… if Young Master Lu came to return it personally, she might get to see him again…

“However… there’s something I need to apologize to you about.” Swallowing the cake in her mouth, Shi Fa Ke blinked and glanced at her carefully, steeling herself to speak.

“What is it?” He Ketian was already feeling frustrated, and hearing this, looked at Shi Fa Ke rather unkindly.

For this person to show such an expression… she must have done something bad.

“Um, there’s one dish missing from inside—I accidentally broke it.” Shi Fa Ke said apologetically, then showed a frightened expression: “Only after breaking it did I recognize it as your favorite set of painted porcelain. I was scared to death at the time, thinking you’d probably kill me… Fortunately, you were tired of it.”

At this point, Shi Fa Ke looked relieved.

He Ketian, who was already frustrated, immediately widened her eyes, so angry her hands were shaking, feeling that the peace she had barely achieved through practicing calligraphy was once again thrown into turmoil.

No! I wasn’t tired of it! That was just my excuse!

“However, regardless of whether you were tired of it or not, breaking your dish was still my fault. I thought I should compensate you with something.” Shi Fa Ke said, placing the painting scroll she had brought on the table: “I’ll compensate you with this painting. I hope you won’t be angry.”

He Ketian was already so angry her head was throbbing, feeling heartbroken over the broken dish. That painted porcelain had been so hard to obtain, and because she loved it, she normally couldn’t bear to use it… She had only taken it out this once and one piece was already broken—the set was incomplete!

Seeing He Ketian glaring at her with an unfriendly expression, Shi Fa Ke said carefully: “Didn’t you like that Jiangnan Misty Rain painting in my room?”

He Ketian suddenly paused, her eyes brightening immediately. Could it be that she was compensating her with the Jiangnan Misty Rain painting?! Her previous displeasure was swept away, and she almost eagerly lowered her head to look at the painting scroll.

Just as her hand touched the scroll, she heard Shi Fa Ke continue: “But that was given by Young Master Lu, so I really couldn’t give it away.”

“…” He Ketian’s smile immediately froze on her face.

Don’t only say half the sentence! It’s very annoying!

“So I asked him to paint another one.” Shi Fa Ke continued.

He Ketian’s temple twitched, and her expression could no longer keep up with the changes. She gave up trying to change expressions and looked down at the painting.

Upon unrolling it, her eyes immediately brightened.

Although it wasn’t that Jiangnan Misty Rain painting, it was indeed a work by Master Linyuan.

“Ketian, are you angry?”

Shi Fa Ke wasn’t completely dense, so she asked carefully.

How could He Ketian still care about being angry at this point? She reached out to gently stroke the landscape painting before her, feeling its magnificent grandeur. The waterfall cascading down the cliff seemed to carry the forest’s moist air.

She was immediately enchanted by it.

Hearing Shi Fa Ke’s careful question, He Ketian kept her eyes fixed on the painting and waved her hand absently: “That set of dishes is yours now—break them however you like.”

Shi Fa Ke felt relieved.

Mm, she really did like it very much.

Gift-giving really required knowing what the recipient wanted.