Ye Qingxian hadn't shown up even once in three whole days.
Every evening, I sat at the entrance to the cave dwelling, staring wistfully into the distance like a stone waiting for his wife to return from a long journey. I was practically turning into a weathered statue.
"Mom."
"If you miss her, why not just go see her?"
"Why keep staring at the sunset and moping to yourself? Do you think you'll spot a flower, or make Ye Qingxian appear?" Yangyang couldn't help herself and scolded me again, exasperated.
I whipped around to glare at Yangyang as she launched into another long speech. Her chatter came to an abrupt halt, and she even looked a little intimidated.
There was no helping it. A mother's authority was terrifying.
Yangyang shrank her neck, only for a toy to suddenly be shoved into her arms.
"Here. Your New Year's gift."
"New Year's?" Yangyang asked, puzzled. "What's that?"
I explained, "It's a holiday in the Lower Realm. There's a Spring Festival every year, symbolizing a new beginning. On New Year's Eve, people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new."
"Cultivators in Supreme Heaven can spend decades or even centuries in seclusion, so they naturally don't celebrate the Spring Festival. But Mom still remembers the date of the Spring Festival in the Lower Realm. You can have this toy as your New Year's gift."
A gift? Wait, she had a gift too?
Yangyang began spinning in place.
A little girl's natural innocence shone through.
She had no idea what the Spring Festival was, but Mom had made it sound so important. She could tell from the gift just how much it meant.
The more heartfelt the gift, the happier Yangyang felt.
What child didn't want to feel cherished by her mother?
What