Qin Jiao fell silent. She even wanted to cover her ears, to stop listening to the Shen Family’s secrets.

Fortunately, Shen Yi didn’t continue. They had already reached her front gate. Qin Jiao took off the scarf and handed it to him. "I’m heading home now. If you need our family’s help with anything, just ask."

"Okay."

Qin Jiao turned to leave. The gate was ajar—her dad had left it unlocked for her. But after a few steps, she felt something was off. She looked back and saw Shen Yi still standing there. He was slowly and carefully tying the scarf, which still carried her scent, around his neck. Then, he waved at her.

"Qin Jiao, we’ll be in the same exam room for the next test."

Qin Jiao replied, "...I know. I’ll get you a Christmas present."

She turned, went inside, and slid the bolt on the gate. A sense of frustration washed over her. ’What on earth should I get Shen Yi for Christmas?’

Christmas was in two days, which was an incredibly tight deadline. Unlike Shen Yi, she couldn’t draw, so she couldn’t just give him a sketch.

Qin Jiao sat in the living room and listened to her parents talk about the neighbors for a bit. But since Qin Zhonghui and Su Yun weren’t the gossiping type, they didn’t say much, and soon Qin Jiao went upstairs.

Even after finishing a practice test, she still couldn’t figure out what to get Shen Yi.

"Sis, what are you thinking about?"

Xiao Shi waved a small hand in front of Qin Jiao’s face. Then, in a very serious tone, she asked, "Sis, you’ve been zoned out for ten minutes. Is the problem really hard?"

Looking at her sister’s concerned expression, Qin Jiao nodded earnestly. "Xiao Shi is right. This problem is incredibly difficult."

In her last life, she had given Shen Yi plenty of gifts to try and improve their relationship. But, unsurprisingly, he had scorned every single one. Once, he’d even thrown a pair of shoes she gave him on the ground.

He had said coldly, "Using my money to curry favor with me? Qin Jiao, you’re pathetic."

Qin Jiao’s face had burned with humiliation. The truth was, she had been in a really tough spot back then. The money for the shoes hadn’t come from the Shen Family; she had saved it up from a part-time job.

But at the time, she had been so disheartened that she didn’t even want to bother explaining anything to Shen Yi.

The Shen Yi from her last life had despised any gift she gave him, yet the Shen Yi of this life was actively asking her for one.

Qin Jiao was once again certain: ’This person couldn’t be the original Shen Yi. He must have been transmigrated into!’

That night, after Xiao Shi fell asleep, Qin Jiao went into her space to study as usual. She found that while the two-bedroom, one-living-room layout hadn’t changed, the balcony had somehow expanded, looking at first glance like a small garden!

The climate in this little garden was remarkably pleasant, with both temperature and humidity remaining perfectly stable. Qin Jiao saw that the fish in the water tank had gotten fatter, and over in the corner, the Spiritual Spring was bubbling away merrily. GURGLE, GURGLE.

Sitting on a small wooden stool, Qin Jiao finally confirmed it. ’It seems like every time my space levels up, it has something to do with Shen Yi.’

The closer they became, the larger the space would grow, and the more Spiritual Spring Water it would produce.

Qin Jiao was speechless.

She was a bit numb. She immediately returned to the living room area and ground out a practice test, which finally helped her calm down.

When Qin Jiao’s gaze fell upon some of the flowers and plants she was growing, she made a casual decision. ’Maybe I’ll just give Shen Yi a potted plant!’

Qin Jiao had planted quite a few flowers and herbs in the space, mainly to test its various properties. Of course, she couldn’t get her hands on any particularly rare specimens at the moment.

After picking through her options, Qin Jiao chose a cactus. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Well, in my last life, he never liked the carefully chosen gifts I gave him. This time, I’ll just pick something random.’

So, the next day, as they were walking home together after school, Qin Jiao told Shen Yi to wait at her gate. She went inside and came back out a moment later, holding a flowerpot.

"Here. Your Christmas present."