A wooden cottage stood beside the lake. In front of it was a small, fenced flower bed, and a woman stood before the flowers.
With her back to the group, she bent over to water them.
Her reddish-brown hair was tied into a long ponytail that hung down her back to her waist.
She wore a long red dress. The breeze off the lake gently lifted its hem, revealing long legs clad in black stockings.
She had a lovely figure, with a slender waist and narrow shoulders. She stood tall, and even the way she bent to water the flowers was graceful.
Water trickled from the watering can's spout, falling onto the soil in the flower bed and soaking into it.
Yu Xiaogang stopped dead.
His gaze landed on that reddish-brown-haired figure, and he froze.
His body reacted before his mind could. He took half a step back, his heel landing on a loose stone with a faint crunch.
Flender reached over from beside him and seized his wrist.
His grip was tight.
"Xiaogang, how much longer are you going to keep running away?"
Yu Xiaogang turned to look at Flender.
"Flender. You told us to change clothes. Did you know all along that she was here?"
Flender chuckled.
The sound came through his nose, laden with feigned innocence.
He pushed up his glasses.
"Now, don't go making false accusations."
"How could I have known? This is all just a coincidence. What does it have to do with me?"
He silently added to himself,
Xiaogang, you might curse your big brother now, but you'll thank me later.
Just then, Liu Erlong turned around.
In the light reflected off the lake, her face looked considerably more mature than it had twenty years ago. A few faint lines marked the corners of