The Gift She Liked Most

Xu Yan also remembered the young woman called Mu'er. Smiling, he said, "Hello, Miss Mu'er!"

Girls as adorable as her always gave people a pretty good impression.

"Senior, you're so handsome," Mu'er said suddenly after staring at Xu Yan for a moment.

She was the sort of person who said whatever came to mind. She never hid her thoughts or kept them to herself.

Qin Yudie's expression shifted. "Mu'er, you mustn't be rude to Senior Xu!"

A great figure like Senior Xu shouldn't be judged by his looks. That would be an insult to him.

Although... she also thought Xu Yan was very handsome.

"Oh!"

Mu'er looked aggrieved, unable to understand when saying someone was handsome had become rude.

Xu Yan was at a loss for words, too. He'd been about to praise Mu'er for having good taste, but Qin Yudie's remark left him no choice but to swallow his original response and say instead, "It's fine."

Inwardly, he hoped Mu'er would say a few more honest things. No man truly disliked being called handsome.

"Miss Yudie, this is a Thousand Year Moon Mushroom. I'd like to give it to you. Happy birthday."

A handsome young man walked over, holding out a mushroom shaped like a crescent moon.

The Thousand Year Moon Mushroom was a rather precious Spirit Material. His father had prepared it for him so he could build a good relationship with Qin Yudie—and, ideally, win over the young lady of the Tianren Sect.

That way, he would have ties to the Tianren Sect.

"Thank you," Qin Yudie replied politely, making no move to get up.

Mu'er knew Qin Yudie wanted her to take the gift, so she snatched the Thousand Year Moon Mushroom from the man and set it aside.

The man's mouth twitched. Then he walked away.

As expected, the young lady of the Tianren Sect was as cold as the rumors said.

But what gave that guy in white the right to sit beside Qin Yudie and even receive the special treatment of having her peel fruit for him?

One after another, the young talents presented their gifts. Mu'er accepted every one of them and immediately set them aside.

Judi approached Qin Yudie with an Inner Armor in his hands. He had intended to give it to her directly, but Mu'er stepped in front of him.

He frowned slightly and looked past her to Qin Yudie. "Yudie, this Inner Armor is a Spirit Form Grade Treasure. I'd like to give it to you. Happy birthday."

Spirit Form Grade Treasures were meant for cultivators at the Spirit Form Realm and powerful enough for them to use. Qin Yudie was only at the Spiritual Roaming Realm, so wearing this Inner Armor would provide her with a good measure of protection.

"Thank you," Qin Yudie said coolly, not even looking at the Inner Armor in Judi's hands.

If a man gave her a treasure that clung to her body, she would never use it. Even thinking about it disgusted her.

Mu'er took the Inner Armor from Judi and tossed it in with the other gifts without a second thought.

Anger surged in Judi's eyes, but he held it back.

He took a deep breath and looked at Xu Yan. "Friend, Yudie clearly thinks very highly of you. I wonder if you've prepared a gift for her?"

Xu Yan raised his eyebrows. He could sense the anger and displeasure in Judi's heart.

But Judi's displeasure had nothing to do with him. In fact, it could even make Xu Yan feel better. He smiled faintly. "I did prepare a gift."

Judi looked at the small wooden box in Xu Yan's hand and wondered if that was what he meant to give Qin Yudie. The box was ordinary; there probably wasn't anything valuable inside.

He wanted to see what Xu Yan could possibly offer that had earned Qin Yudie's special regard. "Then I'm looking forward to it. It must be an extraordinary treasure."

The others in the courtyard all turned to look at Xu Yan, eager to see what kind of gift this young man, who had received such special treatment from Qin Yudie, would present.

"Happy birthday, Miss Yudie!" Xu Yan said, holding the wooden box out to Qin Yudie.

Hearing Xu Yan call her that made Qin Yudie very happy.

"Miss Yudie" sounded much closer than "Miss Qin." It meant Senior Xu approved of her even more.

She took the box and looked up at Xu Yan, unsure whether she should open it there.

"Go ahead. See if you like it," Xu Yan said.

His gift wasn't expensive—in fact, it was extremely cheap—but he had put a lot of care into making it.

When Qin Yudie had told him about her birthday celebration a few days ago, he had started thinking about what to give her.

But after turning it over in his mind, he knew he couldn't afford anything valuable. So he decided to carve a wooden puppet modeled after Qin Yudie, something made exclusively for her.

He had just finished carving it today when Qin Yudie came to invite him to the celebration. It really was a coincidence.

Qin Yudie closed the wooden box and hugged it to her chest, her face breaking into a radiant smile.

"This is my favorite gift ever!"

She would treasure the wooden puppet, made just for her. She wouldn't even let outsiders look at it.

Judi and the others hadn't seen what was inside the box. After hearing Qin Yudie's words, they were baffled, all sorts of thoughts rising in their minds.

Could there be nothing inside the box? Or was it some worthless trinket that Qin Yudie was too embarrassed to show everyone, so she'd said that to protect Xu Yan?

The more Judi thought about it, the more convinced he became. He sneered. "What amazing treasure is it? Why not show everyone?"

He didn't believe Xu Yan could give her anything good. The box was so ordinary; whatever was inside was probably junk.

Qin Yudie's beautiful eyes turned cold as she looked at Judi. "This is a gift from Senior Xu. I have no reason to show it to you."

It was a gift from Senior Xu. These people didn't deserve to see it!

"It can't be anything good. Maybe it's just an empty wooden box and you're putting on a show," Judi said mockingly.

Qin Yudie had angered him badly today, and he had started speaking without restraint.

Qin Yudie's face went cold. Anger flashed in her eyes. "Judi, you're not welcome at my birthday celebration. Please leave!"

It was her birthday celebration, and she didn't want to get angry. But Judi had shown such disrespect to Senior Xu that she was truly furious now.

Judi stopped looking at Qin Yudie and fixed his gaze on Xu Yan. "Do you dare to have a match with me?"

Today, he was going to stop holding back. Qin Yudie had treated him this way, so why should he keep trying to please her?

He, Judi, was a genius of his generation. It wasn't as if he couldn't find a woman to marry. Why should he lower himself?