Feng Qishi continued to look at Mu Anxiao with a cold expression, saying nothing.
Mu Anxiao lowered her head under Feng Qishi's gaze.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's lowered head, Feng Qishi suddenly asked, "Is this portrait of me really like a memorial photo?"
As Feng Qishi spoke, Mu Anxiao's heart tightened. "No, I was just kidding," she replied, not daring to look up.
Feng Qishi remembered clearly what had happened in his previous life. Back then, Mu Anxiao was also stubborn and never willing to admit her mistakes. He had no way to deal with her then, so he used a cold attitude towards her, making her realize she had hurt him.
Who would have thought that back then Mu Anxiao completely missed his intentions?
The word "reflection" clearly had nothing to do with her. She continued to defy him, which left him helpless at the time.
In the end, he gradually stopped caring about those things.
However, Mu Anxiao's behavior now made Feng Qishi feel surprised. Looking at her like this, he felt both gratified and heartbroken.
"....."
Hearing Feng Qishi's silence, Mu Anxiao wondered if she had said something wrong again.
She then slowly raised her face to look at Feng Qishi, giggled sheepishly, and said, "You're angry."
"I was quite angry, but thinking about it, what you said is indeed not wrong," Feng Qishi glanced at his portrait and smiled, "It really does look like a memorial photo."
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected Feng Qishi to admit her words. The moment he said this, she lowered her head again, unsure of what to say next.
Seeing Mu Anxiao lower her head, Feng Qishi smiled. "You've really changed." With that, he turned to Lin Yan and the two beggars who had stood up and said, "Continue cleaning here."
"The dust just now..."
Beggar Number One started to speak, but Feng Qishi interrupted, "It's just ordinary dust, you just do your cleaning."
"Alright," Beggar Number One nodded.
Mu Anxiao asked, "You're not angry anymore?"
Hearing this, Feng Qishi walked to his portrait without a word, took it down, and said, "This won't be hung up."
The moment Feng Qishi said this, Mu Anxiao didn't know what to say.
Feng Qishi glanced at Mu Anxiao, rolled up the portrait, and handed it to her. "Here, take it."
Mu Anxiao obediently took the portrait and asked, "What for?"
"Hang it up when I die someday," Feng Qishi said, and walked out of the dilapidated temple.
For some reason, the moment Feng Qishi mentioned death, Mu Anxiao felt a strange sensation in her heart. Clutching the portrait tightly, her nose stung, and the scene of Shen Yan's departure ten years ago flashed through her mind.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's stunned expression, Lin Yan asked, "Why did you say that?"
Mu Anxiao snapped back to reality, lowered her head, and asked, "I like it. What's it to you?"
"Give it to me," Lin Yan extended his hand.
Mu Anxiao didn't know what Lin Yan wanted to do, so she defensively took half a step back. "Give you what?"
"The portrait," Lin Yan said.
"The portrait," Mu Anxiao repeated, looking at Lin Yan's impolite expression. "Why should I give it to you?"
"You don't know how to cherish it, but I do."
In just two days, Lin Yan had made it a habit to worship Feng Qishi, even defining Feng Qishi as the god in his heart. Therefore, he felt that the portrait would be more useful in his possession.
"...." Mu Anxiao saw through Lin Yan's intentions and remained silent.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's silence, Lin Yan frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm not giving it to you."
"Why aren't you giving it to me?"
"Why should I give it to you?"
"You..."
"What about you? Feng Qishi is my person, and this portrait should be kept by me," Mu Anxiao said.
The moment Mu Anxiao said this, Lin Yan was rendered speechless.
"....."
Seeing Lin Yan's silence, Mu Anxiao snorted, walked around him, and headed out of the dilapidated temple.
Lin Yan glared sideways at Mu Anxiao and stomped his foot in anger.
Half an hour later... they had cleaned up the entire dilapidated temple.
Then, to welcome a new life, they also cleared the spiderwebs on the walls. Although the ground was cement, it looked much cleaner than before.
As for the dry grass, Feng Qishi gave it to families who needed it, earning some silver in the process. Then, he took Mu Anxiao to the steamed bun shop.
Mu Anxiao was still holding the portrait.
Feng Qishi hadn't asked her about it all the way, and seeing her still holding it, he became curious.
"Why are you holding this?" he asked, pointing at the portrait in Mu Anxiao's arms.
Mu Anxiao glanced at the boss packing the steamed buns and said loudly, "I like it."
Feng Qishi couldn't help but smile at Mu Anxiao's assertive tone. "Fine, if you like it, you like it." As he spoke, he took the kraft paper bag containing the steamed buns.
The steamed bun boss, seeing how protective Mu Anxiao was, chuckled. "Young man, is your portrait very valuable?"
In Mu Anxiao's eyes, the portrait was indeed valuable, as it was painted by the best artist here. But if she told the steamed bun boss, it would seem like she was showing off. Therefore, she put on an airs and said, "It's not that valuable."
"Then why are you holding it like this?" the steamed bun boss laughed.
Mu Anxiao said, "Boss, if you want it," she glanced at Feng Qishi, who was staring at her, and continued, "If you give me fifty taels of silver, how about I sell it to you?"
"It's that valuable?" the steamed bun boss asked.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "No, it was just an ordinary portrait, but you say it's valuable, which proves it's truly valuable in your eyes. So, tell me, will you buy it for fifty taels?"
The steamed bun boss was embarrassed by Mu Anxiao's words. "I... I just saw you holding it so tightly, so... I said that, just kidding, just kidding."
"I tend to take jokes seriously," Mu Anxiao said, smiling at the steamed bun boss.
The steamed bun boss, looking embarrassed, cast a pleading look at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi glanced at the steamed bun boss, cleared his throat, and said, "Alright, stop joking with people. Let's go." He casually took Mu Anxiao's wrist.
Mu Anxiao frowned. Before she could speak, Feng Qishi pulled her away.
The moment Mu Anxiao left, the steamed bun boss breathed a sigh of relief. "That little beggar is quite a talker. She almost tricked me out of fifty taels. That was close, so close."
On the other side, Mu Anxiao walked beside Feng Qishi and asked, "Why did you pull me away?"
"Why are you holding my portrait like that?" Feng Qishi glanced at Mu Anxiao and asked.
Why like this? Mu Anxiao didn't know why she didn't want to put the painting down.
At this moment, she just wanted to hold the portrait, with no other thoughts or explanations.
"......"