Jing Yi stared at the painting scroll that had been unfurled in front of him blankly. The painting … it was exactly the same one as on the teacup: a couple sitting beneath a tree at the side of the lake, watching the flight of a pair of cranes. At this size, he could see a few more details but it stayed the same painting.

He didn’t really care about paintings but just like with the teacup he could recognize that Hong Bao had tried to do something nice for them so he forced himself to nod and say his thanks. Inwardly, he winced though when she brought up living together.

Not to mention that he and Qiu Ling had long been living together even without being married, there also wasn’t any ‘after the wedding’. No, after the wedding, he would give up his soul to Jing He.

Actually, thinking about it in this context, it might even be a bit funny. After all, Jing He appreciated paintings a lot more than he did. He would probably be happy about receiving such a gift. Although then again, it wasn’t for his own wedding. Who knew what Jing He would be gifted when that time came?

Jing Yi cleared his throat, trying not to think about it, and turned to Qiu Ling. “Well, you’d better think of a good spot then.”

Qiu Ling nodded solemnly, similar thoughts going through his mind. He finally reached out and took the painting scroll from Hong Bao, rolling it back up, and putting it into the tube again. “We should make sure it doesn’t get damaged.”

Hong Bao nodded seriously. “Right!” She waited for him to close the tube and then motioned at the other boxes. “Do you want to see the rest?”

Qiu Ling smiled wryly. “Do I assume right that you went to buy us some wedding gifts?”

Hong Bao nodded. “Yes! I made sure to buy all of them at the same place to make sure they would fit together. They all have the same design.”

“You mean the same painting?”

Hong Bao looked at him, pondered for a moment, but then shook her head. “No, not all of them. I think the painting is only on the tea set, the painting scroll, one of the vases, the leaf-shaped fan, and the decorative fan you can hang on the wall. Oh, they also had a folding screen with it! I originally wanted to buy it but Wu Ya meant it might be too big. Should we have gotten that for you?”

Qiu Ling turned to Jing Yi, feeling that he couldn’t have the rest of this conversation. Who had said this woman had changed? He’d beat the person up later on! Clearly, she was still exactly the same as back then. The only difference was that she wasn’t just a chatterbox without common sense anymore but a weapon-wielding chatterbox without common sense instead.

Who would go and buy a bunch of wedding gifts that were essentially used to decorate another person’s home? Especially when half the things they bought had the same painting on them. An item or two might be an interesting tidbit but all of that? What was next? A robe with that painting embroidered on the back? A jade hairpin with the end carved into it? Heaven, he didn’t even want to know what the inside of that store had looked like …

While Qiu Ling was starting to regret having to spend time with her again, Jing Yi had to hold back a laugh. She had caught him off guard when she mentioned decorating their place after the wedding, accidentally poking a still somewhat sore spot. But seeing her pull out these gifts and describe what else she had, he didn’t think about it anymore.

“Thank you, Hong Bao. These are … well, they are a gift that will always remind me of you for as long as I live. Kind of unexpected and yet really thoughtful. It must have been difficult to find all that.”

Hong Bao beamed when Jing Yi thanked her. “Actually, it wasn’t all that difficult. We simply went everywhere for a moment and had a look around. Then, I saw the painting hanging outside and liked it. It was really a coincidence but it spoke to me. After all, it’s a painting talking about love, right? And you’re getting married! So it’s like it was made for you!

“Anyway, Wu Ya and I went inside. I thought it would be a store selling paintings but as it turns out, they sell all kinds of things. Paintings are just one of them. So we looked through everything and I picked out everything I thought you might be in need of in the immortal realm.”

“Mn. Thank you. We’ll … we’ll find the perfect place for everything. You should come and have a look when we’re done!” He knew she definitely wouldn’t be able to do that but he did like imagining such a scene. Qiu Ling would probably be really against it though.

He looked up at his fiance and then reached out, holding onto his arm. “Anyway, we were just about to show the others the city for a bit. Do you want to come along? Otherwise, your sister is still at the guesthouse. Your brother-in-law hasn’t returned yet.”

Hong Bao thought for a moment. “Well, just give us a moment! We’ll bring all of this to the guesthouse so you can look through it when you’re alone later on. After that, we’ll join you!”

Jing Yi nodded and motioned down the road. “Then we’ll first go in that direction. Just catch up when you’re done.”

“Will do!” Hong Bao nodded and then dragged Wu Ya along to the guesthouse at the fastest speed possible.

Qiu Ling faintly raised his brows while watching them. “Looks like they did get a bit closer.”

Jing Yi gave a hum but didn’t say more. Instead, he waved at the others and they continued on their walk through the city, soon being joined by Hong Bao and a very happy Wu Ya again.

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