"Mm. Have Bukuan tidy up. I'll cook tonight. Where's Mengmeng?"
"Mengmeng? Didn't she go looking for you?"
Bu Leng emptied the fish from the basket into the pond he'd dug, then turned and looked at me in surprise.
"She didn't come back with you?"
"That girl..."
I frowned. That little rascal—who knew where she'd run off to this time?
"Never mind. If she hasn't come back, she hasn't come back. It's not like she can get lost. You take care of things here. I'm going inside to rest for a bit."
As we spoke, Bu Leng came out of the room, still wearing a veil. His eyes lit up when he saw me, and he greeted me.
"Big Sister."
"Mm."
I nodded and went inside. I took off my bamboo hat, and as I hung it on the wall, my long pink hair slid down over my collar.
Two months had turned my hair such a conspicuous color, so every time I went out, I had to tidy it up and tuck it inside my bamboo hat before I could leave.
I washed my hands, then turned around, lifted my eyelids, and took out my two contact lenses. I put them in their case, blinked, and looked at the mirror... into a pair of pale blue eyes that shimmered with a faint glow.
"Big Sister..."
Just as I was staring at those pale blue eyes in a daze, Bukuan came out of the room and greeted me.
"Mm..."
I turned to look at him, and a flicker of amazement crossed his eyes.
Every time these kids saw me, they had the same reaction. I was starting to get used to it.
"Bukuan, your nose is sharp. Go look for Mengmeng. Who knows where that girl's run off to... Bring her