When Ste opened the door, she was surprised to see Skyler standing outside, holding several gift bags.


    "Star," Skyler said with a kind smile. "Are you back from celebrating with your friends?"


    Ste nodded slightly and invited him in. "Come in, Father."


    Once inside, Skyler nced at the collection of gift bags already on her table. He smiled. "Today is your birthday. I was going to throw you a party, but Keen mentioned you wanted to celebrate with friends, so I didn''t arrange anything."


    He handed the bags he was holding to Ste. "These are from me, your brothers, and Aurora."


    Ste epted the gifts politely. "Thank you."


    Skyler was about to say more when his eyes fell on the ornate wooden box Joshua had given her. His gaze lingered on it for a moment. "Star, is this box a gift from one of your friends?"


    "Yes," Ste replied.


    "May I see it?" he asked.


    Ste handed the box to him. Skyler examined it carefully before smiling. "A few years ago, I attended an auction where the final item was a piece of thousand- year-old golden sandalwood, just like this. The starting bid was a hundred million dors. I was quite interested in acquiring it myself, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head with a wistful expression. "Before I could even make a bid, someone made an astronomical offer right off the bat, so I had no choice but to give up."


    He looked back at the box in his hands. "To think such a valuable piece of wood was used to make a simple container. The person who gave you this gift must have put a lot of thought into it."


    Skyler assumed the box itself was the gift, oblivious to the fact that it was merely packaging. Suddenly, the jade pendant hidden beneath Ste''s cor felt ufortably warm against her skin.


    After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Skyler left.


    ...


    The next day, Summer''s paintings finally reached Leonard''s hands. There were three in total: one of a starry sky, one of a sunset, and one of a field of blooming flowers.


    After all these years, Summer''s style remained unchanged.


    They say a painting reflects the artist, and Summer''s work was still brimming with emotion. Leonard was convinced that Summer had to be a warm-hearted person who grew up in a loving, happy family theplete opposite of his own cold, calcting environment.


    After admiring the starry sky, he picked up the sunset painting. It wasn''t just a simple depiction of a sunset; it featured trees, a sprawlingwn, and people sitting leisurely on benches The vibrant green c of the grass and trees contrasted


    beautifully with the golden-red hues of the sky, creating an incredibly serene scene. Just looking at it made him feel a sense of peace and rxation, and the strange


    restlessness that had been guing his heart began to subside.


    But the longer, he looked, the more familiar the scene felt, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Then again most sunsetndscapes looked simr, and he rarely took the time to appreciate them. For the life of him, Leonard couldn''t recall where he might have seen such a view.


    He moved on to the third painting, which depicted a flower garden in full bloom.


    And once again, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu washed over him.