"Is this your gift?"
Shen Yi tore off the wrapping paper, opened the box, and held up the small crown inside.
It was so exquisite.
She remembered when she had held a magazine, pointing at a small crown to tell Shen Wenta that she liked this kind, and he had teased her for having Qing Dynasty tastes.
Shen Ruxu leaned over, tilted his head to take a look, and let out an ambiguous "Wow."
He went around causing trouble and committing crimes outside, so he at least possessed basic appraisal skills.
"You're really rich to make a crown out of taaffeite, and you actually had someone polish a collection-grade diamond like this?"
This damn rich guy.
Shen Wenta didn't look at him; his gaze fell on the small crown. "Do you like it?"
The small crown was delicate. Its main color was so pale it almost looked like champagne, and the surrounding edges resembled overlapping rose petals closing upwards from the base.
A gemstone was inlaid in the center of the petals, an extremely pale pink that leaned towards light purple under the light. All the edges of the crown were rounded, making it look like a rose about to bloom resting in her hair.
No girl would dislike such a gift!
None!
Shen Yi was completely mesmerized.
"I like it, it's beautiful!" She raised her voice, holding up the small crown, her eyes sparkling. "Brother, help me put it on."
Shen Wenta was very satisfied with her reaction.
He took it, helped her put it on, carefully adjusted it, and then looked her over.
It looked good.
Crowns were suited for children; on her small face, it looked very striking.
She naturally had slightly chestnut-colored curly hair, snow-white skin, and sweet features. The sight of her wearing the small crown was as delicate and exquisite as an oil painting.
Shen Wenta decisively dropped his prejudice against crowns and casually took a photo.
He posted it to his social media moments.
Cute.
Shen Ruxu stared dumbfounded at his selfish, vicious younger brother, who now looked like he was hopelessly addicted to raising their little sister.
Truly terrifying.
He didn't want to become like that.
Among all the gifts, Shen Wenta's was undoubtedly the most expensive, but surprisingly, their mother's was on par with it.
Wen Ya had dug out her spoils of war from her early years.
"I don't remember which country's royal family it was, but I took her commission. We got along very well at the time, and this set of jewelry was her parting gift to me."
"Little Yi is still young now, but you can save it to wear when you grow up. It will definitely be beautiful."
The earrings and necklace were dark green. Royal designs tended to be intricately layered without looking dull. An entire set of golden hollowed-out designs wrapped around the gleaming emerald green, looking exceptionally pleasing.
Wen Ya didn't really like wearing jewelry.
She gestured it against Shen Yi and was extremely satisfied.
She could already imagine how Shen Yi would look wearing it when she grew up.
Their father's gift had been given in advance—a handgun, which was still locked in her drawer, untouched.
Among everyone, Shen Ruxu's gift was the most fun.
He had all sorts of trophies, like a wild man who only liked to roam around hunting.
There were incredibly valuable items, taken from who-knows-which museum or private collector.
There were also useless things, like a Swiss Army knife, highly exotic handmade wood carvings brought back from some unknown country, bizarrely shaped stones, and weirdly colored shells.
In short, he just dumped everything on her all at once.
Opening them was like opening blind boxes; you never knew what you were going to get.
It was quite interesting.
"You gave her a bunch of garbage," Shen Xun said.
"It's not garbage," Shen Ruxu corrected.
Although it was a mess, Shen Yi still found it very amusing. She hugged the gifts and carefully put them all away, "Thank you, it's very interesting."
Shen Ruxu froze for a moment.
His amber eyes suddenly darted back, looking straight at her.
A bit dazed.
Eh? He actually wasn't scolded?
In the past, whenever he gave things, he was always scolded by his younger brothers.
"I really like it."
"Thank you, brother."
Shen Ruxu pursed his lips, his amber eyes swirling slightly.
Then, he ran off without a trace.
When Shen Ruxu gave his gifts, he really had just shoved everything he had on hand to her.
There were quite a few weird things inside.
He had even prepared himself to have things thrown in his face.
But surprisingly, he wasn't scolded, nor were things thrown at him.
He was actually a little happy right now.
"Is Second Brother really this easy to make shy?"
Shen Yi blinked as she watched his almost fleeing back.
Shen Wenta glanced twice in the direction Shen Ruxu disappeared and twitched the corner of his mouth. "A wild boar showing tender affection? Disgusting."
Shen Yi: "...Say something nice, he is still our brother after all."
Next was Shen Xun's gift.
Shen Yi opened the small packaging box. Inside was a small velvet bag. She pulled open the drawstring and poured the contents into her palm.
It was a tiny rag doll, about half the size of her palm, as exquisite as a work of art.
Shen Yi reached out and gently squeezed the doll's body.
There was something inside.
It wasn't the soft feel of cotton; rather, there was something hard hidden inside, wrapped in cotton, so she couldn't feel what it was.
A small safety pin was sewn onto the back of the doll, allowing it to be pinned to the waist as a decoration.
Shen Yi held the doll in her hands, her heart softening. "I'll keep it by my side."
"Don't wash this one."
Shen Xun instructed her.
Shen Yi naturally agreed, "Okay."
After all the gifts were opened, the floor was covered in wrapping paper, ribbons, and empty boxes, a complete mess.
A few of the children voluntarily squatted on the ground to clean up.
Of course, the only voluntary ones were Shen Yi and Song Sijun.
The others all looked lazy and sluggish.
Wen Ya got angry and kicked each of them.
In the end, many hands made light work, and the floor was clean again in no time.
Shen Sixing placed the cake right in the middle of the dining table.
"Turn off the lights, I'm going to light the candles."
The lights went out, and the room instantly plunged into darkness.
Only the two candles on the cake remained, dancing with warm orange light.
The candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows over everyone's faces.
"Make a wish, darlings."
Shen Yi didn't make a wish at all.
Song Sijun closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, his expression very serious.
But she had a feeling that he probably wasn't thinking of anything either.
The two opened their eyes at the same time and exchanged a glance.
Then they lowered their heads and gently blew out the candles.
The room went dark for a moment, and after Shen Ruxu turned on the lights, brightness filled it once again.
"I'm so hungry," he opened his mouth to say something that ruined the mood, dragging out his words like a refugee who had starved for three days.
Wen Ya ignored him.
"Little Yi, Sijun, come here and look at the camera."
Shen Yi and Song Sijun both had their hands gripping the edge of the table, observing the large cake. Hearing the noise, they instinctively looked up together—
Wen Ya quickly pressed the shutter button.
A photo of the similar-looking twins was firmly captured.
The woman was so happy her voice went up an octave: "Awesome!!"
She zoomed in on the photo to look at it, then zoomed out, then zoomed in again, looking at it repeatedly.
She truly loved children.
As long as that child wouldn't take Shen Yi away, Wen Ya could completely accept this little boy who looked so much like her daughter.
Not to mention, Song Sijun was genuinely no trouble at all.
He wasn't noisy or fussy, quiet like Shen Xun in a way.
But his emotional intelligence was far higher than her blockhead of a son's; he would actively help her do things, and he was a sweet talker.
Truly wonderful!
After cutting the cake, taking photos, and finishing dinner, the adults were busy cleaning up the mess, leaving only the kids in the living room.
Shen Xun sat on the far left side of the sofa, and Song Sijun sat on the far right. Neither of them spoke.
Shen Yi sat right in the middle, looking to her left and then to her right. The atmosphere was a bit stifling.
She felt that this simply would not do.
After all, they were celebrating their birthdays together today; they could not just let this awkward silence drag on until the very end.
Finally, she suggested that they play a video game together.
No matter how stiff a relationship was, once people started playing a game, all problems faded away.
Everyone would get fierce, get completely absorbed, and let the desire to win dominate all their emotions, allowing them to temporarily set aside all their real-life grudges.
Facts proved this to be absolutely true.
Song Sijun knew how to play.
Shen Xun went without saying; he picked up any game incredibly fast.
Only Shen Yi would frequently drop to the ground in a pathetic state after just a few gunshots.
She covered her mouth and let out a couple of tragic screams.
Then, unwilling to accept her defeat, she muttered a few curses under her breath.
Which happened to be overheard by the adults.
Don't use bad words, Shen Yi.
Shen Yi turned her head, her expression as deeply sorrowful as if she were attending her own funeral.
I died, Dad!
I was brutally murdered by the enemy on the battlefield. It is bad enough that you do not care about me, but you will not even let me swear.
...
Respect the dead. Her expression was so profoundly tragic that Shen Sixing pondered for a moment before saying lightly, Go ahead and swear.
When he killed people, occasionally, in a rare fit of mercy, he would also allow the dying to deliver their last words.
After all, one must respect the dead.
