Chapter 40 - Holding Hands

Ren, Luna, and Lexie were currently riding a boat. After eating food and visiting several places, they rode a boat.

In Nightshire City, there was a canal called the Serene Canal.

Serene Canal was a canal that separated each region in Nightshire City.

Some locals used the Serene Canal as their livelihood because locals and travelers liked enjoying the city on the boat, especially at night or when a festival was held.

Ren, Luna, and Lexie were enjoying the beautiful night as they chatted. The trio looked like a happy family at that time because they often laughed happily.

"Whoa! The moon is so beautiful!" Luna, who was sitting between Ren and Lexie, lifted her head to look at the full moon hanging in the night sky.

"Luna, do you know that the meaning of your name is moon?" Ren inquired.

"Does that mean I'm beautiful like a moon?" Luna asked.

"Yes." Ren responded as he smiled. "You look like a little moon goddess."

Luna was thrilled upon hearing it. "Big brother, what about auntie Lexie? Is auntie Lexie also beautiful like the moon?"

Lexie was startled by Luna's question and instantly shifted her gaze to Ren.

"Yes. She is also like Moon Goddess." Ren was not lying when he said this because Lexie was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his two lives.

"Auntie Lexie, big brother said you are beautiful too." Luna was thrilled when he said Lexie was like Moon Goddess, too.

Lexie did not say anything, but she smiled softly.

'Beautiful?'

For some reason, her heart leaped up for joy.

As Ren and Lexie were looking at each other and smiling softly, Luna suddenly sat on Ren's lap.

Ren and Lexie instantly shifted their gaze toward Luna; Ren was delighted, while Lexie was surprised.

But what surprised them most was that she grabbed their hands shortly after that.

'This is…'

Lexie and Ren were stunned when Luna made them hold hands, but they did not say anything and only stared at each other.

"You two belong to each other, so you have to hold hands at a time like this." Luna told them the reason why she made them hold hands.

Ren and Lexie suddenly remembered Luna's words after they returned from Framingburns forest.

"Auntie Lexie, sit closer to big brother." Luna said this because there was space between them.

Lexie did what she was told.

Now, the distance between her and Ren was so close, to the point that their shoulders almost touched.

"Good! Now, let's enjoy the beautiful view together." Luna uttered.

As the trio chatted happily, Ren and Lexie kept holding hands.

Even though everything was because of Luna, they did not stop holding hands as if there was a magnet in their hands.

Several minutes later, they stopped riding the boat. When Lexie and Ren stopped holding hands, Luna noticed it, so she made them hold hands again.

For this reason, Lexie and Ren enjoyed the Lanterns Festival hand in hand, causing some people to steal glances at them.

----

"This snack is delicious." Luna stated.

Ren, Luna, and Lexie were currently sitting in public seating.

They decided to rest when they saw a public seating because they had been walking for more than thirty minutes.

As Luna was enjoying her snack, she caught sight of a portraitist.

Without saying anything to Ren and Lexie, she ran toward the portrait painter while holding her snack.

"Uncle, are you a portraitist?" Luna inquired.

"Yes." The green-haired portraitist responded, "Do you want to use my service, little lady?"

"Un." Luna nodded her head cutely. "I want uncle to make a portrait of me, auntie Lexie, and big brother Ren."

The portrait painter turned in the direction Luna was pointing.

'Who is that young man?'

He was startled when he saw Ren sitting next to Lexie.

Lexie was one of the richest and most powerful people in their city, so not everyone could sit next to her.

This was the reason why he was suddenly curious about Ren's identity because he had never seen Ren before.

It was even his first time seeing Lexie alone with a man after her husband passed away.

Normally, her subordinates were with her when she was with a man as if she wanted to show everyone that she had no special relationship with the man she met.

'Well, forget it. I don't need to know who he is because what I need is only money.'

He returned his attention to Luna.

"Sure." The portraitist responded as he smiled.

Then Luna grabbed his right hand and led him to where Ren and Lexie were.

"Auntie Lexie, big brother Ren, let's take a portrait together." Luna said with an enthusiastic tone.

Ren and Lexie exchanged a glance with each other.

'Take a portrait together?'

Unlike before, they did not agree to her request immediately.

People who took a portrait together were usually families or couples.

Ren and Lexie were not a family and they were not a couple either, so her request stunned them greatly.

Sure, they held hands for around an hour earlier, but it was because of Luna, nothing more than that.

Ren looked at Luna before returning his attention to Lexie.

'What should we do? Should we agree to her request again? Or should we reject it?'

He threw three questions at her through his eyes.

Lexie thought about it for five seconds before finally nodding her head, giving him a sign to agree to Luna's request.

Even though Luna's request was quite absurd and quite crazy, she did not have the heart to say no.

Luna was her only family, so she would do anything to make her happy, including granting all her requests.

"Sure," Ren said as he smiled.

Previously, he did not agree immediately because he needed to consider Lexie's feelings, as they had no special relationship at that moment.

Now that Lexie had given him a sign to agree to Luna's request, he immediately said yes because he wanted to make Luna happy.

"Good!" after nodding her head happily, Luna sat between Ren and Lexie.

The portraitist wasted no time and prepared to draw Lexie and the others.

His brush moved swiftly as he used his skill to help him draw them. In less than five minutes, their portrait was finished.

"Here is your portrait." The portraitist showed the result to them.

"Amazing!" Luna stated.

Even though she was only ten, she could tell the difference between good and bad portraits because she had seen many paintings before.

Ren and Lexie nodded their heads as they looked at the portrait.

Their portrait was so beautiful and looked alive.

It was as if the portraitist did not draw them but used a smartphone to take their picture.

Actually, this was normal.

The portraitist was an awakener, and he used a skill to help him draw them, so the result was completely different than ordinary portraitists.

As Ren and Lexie were amazed by the portrait, they suddenly thought of something.

They looked like a happy family, especially with Luna sitting between them.

Of course, they would not say it because they knew it would make the atmosphere awkward.

Lexie returned her attention to the portraitist and asked, "How much is it?"

"There are three figures in the portrait, so it's three silver coins." Even though the portraitist knew that Lexie was rich, he did not take advantage of the situation to increase the price because he was an honest person.

And from his point of view, lying to his customers was a bad move because it would affect his business in the future.

He was not the only portrait painter in Nightshire City, so he should not take advantage of his customers, or else no one would use his service anymore.

Lexie retrieved four silver coins from her space ring and gave them to the portrait painter. "Here. That one silver coin is your bonus."

"Thank you, lady Lexie." The portraitist left with a happy face.

Luna took at the portrait and spoke, "I will hang our portrait in my room later."

Lexie and Ren only smiled softly.

'She seems so happy.'