Above the Galaxy
Chapter 155 - 117, There’s a good show to watch!

Chapter 155: Chapter 117, There’s a good show to watch!

"Brother Xing Lan, you’re so good at fishing, why don’t the fish bite my hook?"

"Brother Xing Lan, this is the most delicious delicacy in the whole world, you must taste it quickly..."

"Brother Xing Lan, is this the amethyst chalcedony you gave me? I heard it’s quite rare, even the palace doesn’t have it..."

"Brother Xing Lan..."

------

The boy comes riding on bamboo horses, circling the bed to play with green plums,

Living together in Changgan, both youngsters without suspicions or envy.

Where are we now?

Does everyone still hold no suspicions or envy in their hearts?

Seeing Phoenix’s troubled and hesitant expression, Shen Xinglan comforted her with a gentle voice, smiling and saying, "It’s okay, I just thought about some scenes from our childhood, those were truly happy days... Now we have both grown up."

"Yes, we have both grown up," Phoenix also said with infinite sentiment.

"Regardless, seeing you return safely truly makes my heart happy."

"Thank you, this is our first meeting since I came back, right?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes," said Shen Xinglan, "There may have been times when we passed by each other, you just didn’t care."

"Really?" Phoenix looked at Shen Xinglan with a skeptical gaze and said, "You have been cultivating in White Crane Academy all this time, you rarely come down from the mountain, right?"

Shen Xinglan smiled without answering and said, "Today is your coming of age ceremony, as well as your birthday, everyone is here to celebrate for you... I can’t monopolize so much of your time..."

With that, he elegantly stepped to the side.

Hearing Shen Xinglan’s words, the restless distinguished guests immediately took the opportunity to rush forward to present their own birthday gifts.

"Princess, this is a Spiritual Pearl our family gathered from the North Sea, I think it matches your temperament well, you should make it into a necklace..."

"This bracelet is made from thousand-year-old rare woods and has been worshipped under the Luo Jia Mountain Buddha for three years, it will ensure that Princess Xiu Xue remains safe and sound..."

"A small gift, not worth much, but please Princess, do not refuse it..."

"Princess Xiu Xue, you are so beautiful, may we take a photo together?"

------

In an instant, Phoenix was surrounded and crowded by countless people.

Everyone was here for her, and now that they had their chance, how could they let it slip away easily?

Little Fatty looked at the bustling scene before him and asked, "Bro, is your gift ready?"

"It’s ready."

"That guy has no shame, he even wants to give Sister Phoenix a small bird... Bro, you can make small birds too, shall we also give Sister Phoenix a small bird?"

"I can give, but you can’t," said Tang Fei.

"Why not?"

"Because you don’t have one."

"Oh." Little Fatty nodded.

He really didn’t have one.

Phoenix let the etiquette officer receive and record everyone’s gifts one by one—some gifts could be accepted, while others needed to be returned.

Some modest gifts could be accepted, but some precious ones also had to be given back.

Because some people, after giving their gifts, expected a corresponding return.

Phoenix didn’t want to, or couldn’t offer the return others desired, so the gifts had to be returned.

Of course, in front of everyone, she still accepted them all.

This was to avoid embarrassing those who had offered gifts...

After being busy for quite some time and finally managing to disperse the huge crowd gifting and taking photos, Phoenix saw Tang Fei and Little Fatty being squeezed into a corner and proactively walked over to them, smiling and asking, "What about the two of you? You’re not going to tell me you don’t have gifts, are you?"

"The gifts from others were too precious, I’m embarrassed to present mine," Tang Fei said to Phoenix.

"Others are others, you are you," Phoenix said, extending her little hand to Tang Fei, "Give it here."

Tang Fei, having no choice, took out a small box from his pocket and said, "It’s just this... don’t look down on it..."

Phoenix took the box and found a bamboo hairpin inside.

At the tail end of the hairpin, a phoenix was carved, the craftsmanship was exquisite, and the bird seemed lifelike.

But, compared to the priceless Phoenix Dance Crown on Phoenix’s head...

There was no comparison, not at all.

"Do you still remember, on the Old Land, we competed in hunting, and the loser had to give the winner a gift..." Tang Fei began to explain, "I thought I was going to lose, so I prepared this gift for you... It’s just that you left so soon, I never had the chance to give it..."

Phoenix’s eyes lit up slightly as she asked, "So, you brought it to New Star?"

"Yes, while packing my luggage, I thought maybe there would be a chance to give it to you, so I brought it along..."

Phoenix casually inserted the bamboo hairpin into her hair bun and asked, "Does it look good?"

"It looks good," nodded Tang Fei.

Phoenix then squinted and smiled, turning her gaze to Little Fatty’s face and asked, "Little Fatty, your gift?"

Little Fatty’s face turned red, and he said in a low voice, "Sister Phoenix, I don’t have a gift, I didn’t know what to prepare... I discussed it with my brother, asking him to share his gift with me, but he refused..."

Little Fatty felt very guilty, having eaten so much of their food, yet unable to present any gift...

This was like getting a free meal, wasn’t it? It was quite embarrassing.

"Indeed, it can’t be split," Phoenix nodded, acknowledging Tang Fei’s words and explaining, "If we split this hair ornament, wouldn’t it become two pieces?"

"Yeah, but my brother said that if you really don’t know what to give, you could also offer a few words of blessing..."

"Blessing words? That works too, have you thought of something?"

"I have," Little Fatty said happily.

"Let’s hear it."

"I can’t say it in front of everyone..." Little Fatty hesitated and added, "I can’t let others hear."

So, Phoenix bent down, bringing her body close to Little Fatty, and said, "How about now? I’ll listen to it alone."

Little Fatty nodded in satisfaction and then whispered a few words in Phoenix’s ear.

After listening, Phoenix’s smile became even more radiant.

She glanced at Tang Fei and said to Little Fatty, "Very good, I like the gift you’ve given me very much... Thank you, Little Fatty."

"No need to thank me. I didn’t know what to give anyway... And I don’t have any money..."

Phoenix then glared at Tang Fei unsatisfactorily and inquired, "What about the money I transferred to you? Why didn’t you share some with Little Fatty?"

"What does a kid need money for?" Tang Fei replied matter-of-factly, "What if he spends it foolishly? Isn’t it better if he wants something, I’ll buy it for him?"

"Stingy," Phoenix scolded. She took Little Fatty by the hand and said, "We won’t ask him, I’ll transfer some to you later."

"Thank you, Sister Phoenix. But my brother is right; I really don’t need any money. If I want something, I just ask my brother, so there’s no need for you to transfer anything to me."

"You..."

Phoenix was truly helpless in the face of Little Fatty’s ’brother-slavery’.

How could a younger brother be so subservient and humble?

Phoenix’s gaze then shifted to Sheng Xinhua’s face, who, with a sly smile, said, "I sent my gift over in advance... you promised to wear it for me..."

"What thing are you supposed to wear for him to see?" Tang Fei asked, "Can I see it too?"

"No," Phoenix glared at Sheng Xinhua, thinking, how could this woman dare to say anything?

"You’ll have plenty of chances to see later; I’m seeing less and less..." Sheng Xinhua explained, "Since she doesn’t want to, we won’t show it to you this time. Let me just enjoy it by myself..."

"When did I ever say I’d show it to you?"

"Should I show it to you then?"

"..."

While Phoenix, Tang Fei, and Little Fatty were idly chatting, Shen Xinglan found himself surrounded by an impenetrable crowd.

"Brother Xing Lan, can we take a picture together?"

"Brother Xing Lan, what realm are you in now? Could you be the youngest Grandmaster in the Phoenix Empire?"

"Xing Lan, long time no see, shall we have a drink together?"

------

Shen Xinglan responded to each one, polite and refined.

When the crowd had mostly dispersed, only a few young people from the nine major families remained nearby.

Yu Huoshui looked at Shen Xinglan with a smile and said, "How does it feel? The Head of the Seven Stars, the first-ranked Xing Lan, rejected? Isn’t that feeling terrible?"

With a hand stroking Xiao Bai’s head feathers, Shen Xinglan softly said, "At every stage in life, one makes the choices most beneficial to oneself. I do, you do, why can’t she?"

"Most beneficial? That’s not necessarily the case," Yu Huoshui shook his head, "Maybe it’s even more disadvantageous?"

Shen Xinglan’s gaze settled on Phoenix, who was chatting lively with Tang Fei and the others. Her smile was so bright, sincere, different from the perfunctory smiles given to other guests. It came from deep within her heart.

Clearly, Phoenix was in her most comfortable and contented state at that moment.

She could express her thoughts and emotions unrestrainedly, every bit of happiness or unhappiness.

Phoenix at that time seemed genuinely enviable.

Once, she had shown a similar side of herself in front of him.

Alas, times change.

"Xing Lan, you’ve been outplayed by a guy from the Old Land, huh? Look, Princess Xiu Xue is over there, having such a good time chatting... Someone gave her a worthless bamboo hairpin, and it’s still in her hair, she hasn’t taken it off..."

"Yeah, you gifted Xiao Bai, whom you hatched yourself, only to be rejected... It’s quite sad when you think about it."

Shen Xinglan scanned them and said, "Why do I feel like all of you are very happy? It’s rare to see such excitement, isn’t it?"

"Of course."

"It’s false to say we’re not happy. In one’s lifetime, having a chance to see Shen Xinglan take a blow... hehehe, how can it not be refreshing?" Dongguo Yan covered his chest and chuckled.

The composed Dongguo Xin said to Shen Xinglan, "That youngster from the Old Land does have some skills. Before you returned, Qin Jianyi challenged him, just to a point... but Qin Jianyi was repelled with a single move and willingly admitted defeat..."

Shen Xinglan looked toward Tang Fei for a while before walking towards where they were standing.

The proud white crane, Bai Lu, followed closely behind him, like an ostentatious little sidekick.

With a profound look in his eyes, Yu Huoshui smiled and said, "This will be a good show to watch."