Meng Chuan and Ruthless stood by the river. When the little girl came to the bank, she spotted them and greeted them with a smile.
"Hello, big brother and big sister!"
Then she asked curiously, "Are you passing through our village? Or are you here looking for someone?"
"I know everyone in our village. If you're looking for someone, just tell me and I'll take you to them."
That said, she thought it more likely that they were merely passing through.
Both their looks and bearing were far too striking for her to imagine anyone in the village knowing them.
"We're just passing through." Meng Chuan gazed at the little girl's face. Memories from more than a hundred thousand years ago surged up, and a face from the past appeared in his mind, matching hers.
"What's your name?" Meng Chuan asked softly.
"I'm Wanwan, Su Wanwan!" the little girl said with a smile. She was lively, not at all reserved—nothing like the person Meng Chuan remembered.
"Wanwan. Su Wanwan." Meng Chuan repeated it, then smiled. "That's a lovely name."
"Everyone says so!" Su Wanwan lifted her chin.
Meng Chuan chatted with Su Wanwan a little longer. She was clearly happy and showed no shyness around a stranger.
"We have some things to do, so we'll leave you to it," Meng Chuan told Su Wanwan, pointing at the clothes in her wooden basin.
"Goodbye, big brother and big sister!" Su Wanwan waved and watched Meng Chuan and Ruthless leave. Then she crouched by the river and began washing clothes, humming a tune as she worked.
She looked utterly carefree.
After leaving the Small Mountain Village, Meng Chuan remained deep in thought.
"A similar flower?" Ruthless suddenly asked.
Meng Chuan nodded. "It seems so."
This Su Wanwan looked exactly like Meng Chuan's