The jade pendant resting in the palm of her hand was a translucent, vibrant imperial green.
Under the light, the splash of green seemed to come alive, so rich and deep that it looked as if it might liquefy and flow away.
The pendant was carved into the shape of a tiny, curled-up, snoozing kitten. Its expression was lazy and utterly endearing; even the tiny toe beans on its paws were sculpted with lifelike precision.
Most importantly, the kitten looked exactly like the cat plushie Jiang Yunlu hugged to sleep every single night.
A gentle tickle brushed against Jiang Yunlu's heart.
She recalled that during Chu Lintian's birthday, Lin Mo had also gifted a piece of imperial green jade.
She just hadn't expected to receive a piece herself.
But thinking about it this way, perhaps they both had one now.
Even though they weren't the exact same item, that sense of unique exclusivity felt as if it had been split in half.
Without her even realizing it, the upward curve of her lips quietly flattened just a fraction.
A subtle sourness at the bottom of her heart, one she was too embarrassed to even admit to herself, began to slowly ripple outward, like a lemon seed dropped into a glass of clear water.
It wasn't full-blown jealousy, but it was still incredibly tart.
"Hmm?" Lin Mo's gaze landed on her face, catching that fleeting look of disappointment.
He lowered his head, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
"What's wrong? You don't like it? If you don't like it, I'll just take it back."
As he spoke, he actually reached out, making a show of snatching the pendant from her palm.
Jiang Yunlu reacted lightning-fast. Like a little beast guarding its food, she yanked her hand back, clutching the jade tightly in her fist, while her other hand swung out to hit him.
"Hmph! You want to take back a gift you already gave? Have you no shame?!"
Her fist was soft, landing weakly against Lin Mo's firm chest. Rather than a punch, it felt more like a flirtatious caress.
"It's mine now! Mine!" she announced with a touch of bossiness, tilting her face up at him.
Lin Mo chuckled softly, letting her hit him, his eyes filled with indulgence.
Just then, Jiang Chengshan walked over carrying a small cake.
His eyes immediately caught the breathtaking flash of green in his daughter's hand, and his gaze narrowed slightly.
Imperial green jade. It was priceless.
However, given Lin Mo's background and influence, bringing out such a treasure wasn't entirely shocking.
Besides, he felt his daughter was more than worthy of it.
What concerned him more was the blatant, oblivious intimacy shared between the two kids.
"This jade pendant took me quite a bit of effort,"
Lin Mo suddenly said, his voice losing its previous teasing tone and turning serious. "I carved it myself. You have to wear it close to your skin; it will keep you safe."
Jiang Yunlu stopped hitting him and abruptly looked up.
He carved it himself?
Her fingertips brushed over the kitten's rounded back. Beneath the smooth, warm texture of the jade, it felt as though the heat of his fingers and the depth of his devotion were still hidden within.
A precious gift was instantly endowed with a meaning that money could never measure.
Her cheeks immediately burned up, and her heartbeat accelerated out of control. Even the tips of her ears flushed a suspicious shade of pink.
She lowered her eyes, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Then... put it on me."
Lin Mo took a matching chain out of the box.
Even though it was a jade pendant, Lin Mo naturally wasn't going to string it on some cheap red thread.
It was a silver chain with a minimalist design. Paired with the classical jade pendant, while perhaps not a match made in heaven, it exuded a uniquely elegant and refined charm.
Seeing this, Jiang Chengshan said nothing. He simply took a few silent steps back, leaving the space entirely to them. Though he was annoyed, he knew that interrupting a moment like this would surely earn him their resentment.
Holding the necklace, Lin Mo didn't step around to her back. Instead, he approached her from the front.
He leaned down, wrapping his arms around her neck and shoulders to fasten the clasp.
This posture practically enveloped her entirely in his embrace.
His crisp, pleasant scent, mixed with the sweet aroma of the cake, wrapped around Jiang Yunlu so tightly she could barely breathe.
Her breath caught in her throat. She could clearly feel the warm pads of his fingers occasionally brushing against the sensitive skin at the back of her neck, making her heart pound wildly.
"One gift, split into a necklace and a pendant,"
Lin Mo's breath brushed against her ear, his voice deep and magnetic. "And I even have to personally serve you and put it on. Am I getting the short end of the stick here?"
"Then take off your watch, and I'll put it on for you," Jiang Yunlu replied, her heart fluttering from his teasing. She tilted her face up and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.
Lin Mo fastened the clasp but didn't step back immediately. "That could work. From now on, I'll always come to you to put it on."
"Okay!" she agreed without a second thought.
Amidst their playful intimacy, Jiang Yunlu's gaze inadvertently fell upon Lin Mo's thin lips, which were hovering just inches away.
They were beautifully shaped, and when he spoke, they held a distinct, captivating allure.
An uncontrollable thought popped into her head.
I really want to... stand on my tiptoes and kiss him.
But her dad was still watching from a short distance away.
The mere thought made her cheeks burn even hotter.
To hide her guilty conscience, her eyes instinctively darted away before she boldly began to study him.
Over the past year, he seemed to have grown taller again.
They used to be roughly the same height when standing side by side, but now she had to tilt her head much higher just to see his face clearly.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Mo sharply caught her staring.
"You've grown taller again," she mumbled softly.
"Yeah, I'm about half a head taller than you for now." Lin Mo took a step back, watching her with a relaxed, amused expression. "I'll try my best to grow a full head taller than you in the future."
Suddenly, Jiang Yunlu leaned in close to his ear. With a breathy whisper that only the two of them could hear, tinged with a hint of frustration and a subtle, flirtatious pout, she complained,
"Why do you need to be so tall?"
"I won't even be able to kiss you when I stand on my tiptoes."
The Old Geezer watched the two of them being all lovey-dovey. Feeling rather displeased, he could only stuff his face with massive bites of strawberry popping boba cake.
Meanwhile, Uncle Zhao stood off to the side, happily enjoying his cake.
He occasionally glanced at the web novel in his hand, The Return of the City's War God as a Wealthy Heir.
He was just having a grand old time.
The two finally separated, and Lin Mo picked up a slice of the cake he had made himself to take a bite.
He asked casually, "By the way, where is your aunt? Isn't she coming to celebrate your birthday?"
Jiang Yunlu sighed. "She went on a business trip last week and hasn't made it back yet."
It didn't matter; Lin Mo was just asking in passing anyway.
As he ate his cake, he looked up at the sky, then glanced at the tent, and finally looked over at the Old Geezer.
Then, he casually asked, "Alright then, I still owe you one wish. What kind of wish do you want to make?"
Hearing this, the Old Geezer finally found an opportunity to interject.
"That's right! I'll agree to whatever wish you make."
Jiang Yunlu narrowed her eyes, flashing a mischievous Anya smile.
"Really? My dearest daddy?"
Oh no. The Old Geezer suddenly had a very ominous premonition.
Jiang Yunlu smiled and said, "My request is very simple. I want to sleep in the tent tonight."
Uh oh. The true motive had been revealed.
His sweet little girl was about to throw herself right into another man's arms.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
