"Yes." Kong Ming did not hesitate. "I was already wearing this jade pendant when my teacher took me in. No one's come looking for it after all these years, so there's not much point even if I continue to wear it—but this pendant is all I have."

Yaoyao mulled over his words.

Basically, he was saying that his family had left him the jade pendant, and he had waited many years for them to find him, but they had never shown up, so he had stopped hoping for their return. Also, this jade pendant was the only valuable thing he possessed.

Baoyu was still uncertain. "But this is yours.."

"It's yours now." There was no hesitation in Kong Ming's eyes as he replied.

Seeing that Baoyu was still doubtful, Yaoyao said, "Hurry up and keep it. He'll be yours soon anyway, so what's his is yours. Besides, this is his token of gratitude for you, so don't worry about it. Just keep it."

Baoyu eventually reached out and took it. She studied it for a while, then put it away with great care.

The corners of Kong Ming's mouth twitched.

As Yaoyao watched them, a thought occurred to her—did Kong Ming say he wanted to become a monk in Tianzhu Temple on purpose because he was actually already aware of Baoyu's feelings for him?

Otherwise, why would he change his mind so easily? historical

After musing about the idea for a while, Yaoyao suddenly stood up and suggested, "Since Kong Ming's going to resume a secular life, he shouldn't wear monastic robes anymore. Let's go shopping and buy him some casual clothing."

Kong Ming pursed his lips but did not decline.

Baoyu glanced at the monastic robes he was wearing, then suddenly turned to Yaoyao and stammered, "A-actually, I made two robes for Kong Ming."

Yaoyao blinked and stared at her in surprise. "You made clothes for him?"

Embarrassed by her gaze, Baoyu muttered a hasty "I'll go and fetch them" before dashing off.

When Yaoyao turned back to Kong Ming, her cheerful expression was gone. She said warningly, "Baoyu's a wonderful girl. If you feel nothing for her, you should leave as soon as possible, but if you're willing to accept her feelings, you have to offer her your whole heart. If you let her down, I'll make you pay. Understand?"

Kong Ming nodded without commenting on the drastic change in her attitude. "Yes."

Yaoyao was not too satisfied with his answer, but since he had nodded, it meant that he had gotten her message.

Soon, Baoyu returned with the robes she had made herself.

There were two colors, cyan and blue.

When Kong Ming saw the clothes in the girl's arms, he was stunned.

"Go ahead and try them on, Kong Ming. If they don't fit, I'll redo them," Baoyu urged.

Kong Ming got up and took them from her.

He could tell from the stitching that the person who had sewn them was no needlework expert. However, each stitch was strong and secure, which showed how much effort the person had poured into making these clothes.

There had been no one else in the temple except him and his teacher, so he had to make his own clothes in the past.

Ever since he was young, his teacher had personally taught him how to make his own robes.

Actually, his sewing was better than Baoyu's.

However, she was the first person besides his teacher to sew clothes for him.

He ran a finger along the stitches, a feeling of warmth flowing through his heart.

"Thank you, Baoyu." He looked at her sincerely.

Baoyu replied a little awkwardly, "I'm not that good at sewing, so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with these clothes. If you can't get used to them, we can buy some ready-made ones outside."