The reunion with Junior Brother that Ning Xiang had imagined-
The two of them would hold each other tight, weeping with joy and pouring out their hearts, while the onlookers were moved to floods of tears.
The reality-
Ning Xiang nodded calmly. "You're back. Come inside, then. It's windy out here."
She walked toward the house with perfect composure.
Mm, another year older soon, and I've become a steadier senior sister, too. People really do grow. It's time to shoulder the weight of being their senior sister and set an example for my junior brothers and sisters.
Yu Tingchao asked, "Senior Sister, why are you walking with your arm and leg on the same side moving together?"
Ning Xiang froze and snapped at him, "Not another word!"
Yu Tingchao suddenly wrapped his arms around Ning Xiang, bent slightly, then lifted her above his head and spun several times in the snow.
Ning Xiang pounded his shoulder. "You bastard! Put me down!"
This was mortifying! Only her father and brothers had ever held her up and spun her around like this when she was little.
Yu Tingchao's smile was radiant. "No. I've already missed ninety-nine whole days with you, Senior Sister."
Then the two of them toppled into the snow together...
All around them, trees blazed with jewel-like lights and candles shone brilliantly. They could even see crowds milling about. Ning Xiang ventured, "How about we go inside to hug?"
Naturally, they never got the chance. They had been away from the sect for so long that countless cultivators came calling as soon as they returned, some cultivating connections, some bearing gifts, some catching up, some proposing marriage, and some flirting with the men.
Never before had Ning Xiang found the sect's cultivators as adorable as she did today.
She gathered