"A gift?"
As she gazed at the hairpin the young man offered, Ning Xueyao felt a strange mix of emotions.
She remembered a time when her birthdays meant mountains of gifts and compliments from countless insincere faces, filling her with disgust.
Five years ago, she had sought refuge in this small place, experiencing the world's sorrows and helplessness as she fell from paradise into the mortal realm.
For the first two years, a towering man had sheltered her.
Three years ago, that man left and never returned.
But for these five years, a tender youth had been by her side day and night. They had relied on each other in their loneliness, crying and laughing together. Their days were simple and poor, yet peaceful and fulfilling.
And now,
the tender youth from her memories was gradually growing tall and straight.
As this confident, bold young man sincerely offered her the hairpin, her first reaction was a long-absent flicker of pleasant surprise and warmth.
Suddenly,
