Ye Jingchen's momentary rudeness resulted in him completely offending Xie Chang'an.
The next morning, during his morning exercise, he greeted Xie Chang'an with a smile, but was completely ignored.
He wanted to run with Xie Chang'an, but Xie Chang'an quickly pulled ahead, leaving him far behind.
Watching Xie Chang'an's departing figure, Ye Jingchen curled his lip.
If he ignores her, so be it. Let him go and show up in front of Xie Shaoling and Xu Jingjing tomorrow, and see if Xie Chang'an can still keep his composure.
For the rest of the day, Xie Chang'an kept a cold face and exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay. He ignored everyone, and even the enthusiastic Yun Shu was frustrated in front of him.
Since being ignored in the morning, Ye Jingchen has not taken the initiative to approach Xie Chang'an again, because he is afraid of being beaten.
However, he did not let Xie Chang'an off the hook either.
Although he didn't get close, his eyes would subtly fall on Xie Chang'an.
Xie Chang'an had an exceptionally sharp intuition. Every time he watched for a while, Xie Chang'an would catch him in the act, and then he would be subjected to Xie Chang'an's death stare.
Under the pressure of his gaze, he would behave for a while, but before long, he would deliberately sneak glances at Xie Chang'an again.
His behavior was as childish as a primary school student who likes to pull a girl's braids to get her attention, but it was very effective against Xie Chang'an.
After playing all day, Xie Chang'an seemed even angrier than in the morning when school ended, his aura so cold it felt like ice crystals could fall from his body.
As soon as the school bell rang, he didn't stop for a moment and walked very fast.
The next day was Ye Jingshu's birthday.
Her birthday banquet was very grand, and she invited many people to attend.
After Ye Jingming finished the morning court session, and all the princes and princesses gathered together, Ye Jingchen led them out of the palace to the princess's residence.
Although there was a grand banquet at the princess's residence, Ye Jingshu didn't need to host it herself. After dressing up carefully, she just waited to receive the gifts.
Receiving gifts every year is the time she looks forward to the most, especially gifts from Ye Jingchen.
Every year, a unique storybook is created, tailor-made for Ye Jingshu, and she always gains many insights after reading it.
This year's storybook is thicker than in previous years, which means that the stories in the storybook are more intricate and bizarre than before. If it weren't for the many gifts she would be receiving and many guests she would have liked to find a quiet place where no one would disturb her to read the storybook the moment she received it.
After Ye Jingchen presented his gift, the other children took turns presenting their birthday gifts, some of which they had prepared themselves, and others of which were prepared by their mothers.
Ye Jingshu was the eldest princess and was deeply favored by the emperor. The birthday gifts she received were all carefully chosen, except for Ye Jinghe.
He still remembers the first birthday gift he gave Ye Jingshu when he was four years old. It was a maple leaf that he picked up from the ground, still covered in sand.
Later, when Ye Jingshu celebrated her birthday again, Ye Jingchen wanted to prepare something for her, but she refused and insisted on preparing it herself.
So his gifts were either leaves he picked up casually, stones he picked up casually, fallen flowers, or a few weeds, and so on.
Anyway, I've never received a proper gift.
However, when he gave gifts to Ye Jingshu, he would always solemnly tell her that the leaves/stones/fallen flowers/weeds were prepared with care and that he hoped his elder sister would not find them distasteful.
Ye Jingshu would grit her teeth and accept the gifts each time, then display his junk in the most conspicuous place. On Ye Jinghe's birthday, she would return the 'gifts' he gave her.
Every year, the two of them play like this; it's very childish.
This year, Ye Jinghe once again packed a few ordinary pebbles into a top-quality sandalwood box, intending to give them to Ye Jingshu.
Ye Jingshu took the wooden box and shook it, making it clang. She sneered, opened the box, and was about to make a few sarcastic remarks when she discovered that the box did indeed contain stones, but not ordinary stones; they were exceptionally beautiful pebbles.
She picked up a stone and found it to be crystal clear, lustrous, and colorful.
The other stones in the box are all different in color and pattern, and it is clear at a glance that they were carefully selected.
The sarcastic words were on the tip of his tongue but he choked back down.
Ye Jinghe was just about to perform when he saw the stone in Ye Jingshu's hand and was stunned.
This was not a 'gift' he had carefully prepared at all!
"Jinghe's gift this year is so thoughtful!" Ye Jingchen broke the silence with a smile.
It's fine for the siblings to bicker, but Ye Jingshu's birthday banquet this year is very grand, and they can't afford to embarrass the royal family.
Moreover, although Ye Jingshu and Ye Jinghe don't get along, they have almost always treated each other like air for the past seven years. Ye Jingchen felt that their relationship should be eased.
Ye Jingshu and Ye Jinghe exchanged a glance, both knowing exactly what was going on. They each snorted coldly and remained silent.
Seeing this, Ye Jing'an presented his gift, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
Later, on Ye Jinghe's birthday, he especially hoped that Ye Jingshu would return the gift he received that day, but Ye Jingshu gave him another piece of jade instead.
The jade was fine, but Ye Jinghe only glanced at it before discarding it and asking Ye Jingshu for a stone instead.
"What kind of logic is it to ask for a gift back after giving it to someone else?" Ye Jingshu said disdainfully, arms crossed.
If those pebbles were really prepared by Ye Jinghe, she would of course return them, but would Ye Jinghe give her such a thoughtful gift?
Unless the sun rises in the west!
So why did she give the gift that her younger brother gave her to Ye Jinghe?
Ye Jinghe's face darkened for several days because of this, and it wasn't until Ye Jingchen found some more pebbles and gave them to him that the matter was finally resolved.
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