"Would you like something to eat, Older Brother Eternal Life?" Ji Shuang looked at Su Mo and asked, "Shuang'er can make lots of things to eat herself now."
Su Mo turned to look at Ji Shuang. The last light of sunset spilled over her face, illuminating her smile.
Su Mo nodded. "Sure, let's try Shuang'er's cooking, then. As long as it's not the kind that gives me food poisoning again."
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Ji Shuang's face, and she turned and went back into the little wooden hut.
Su Mo looked toward the setting sun and chuckled softly.
It seemed this was lovely, too...
After a long while, Ji Shuang brought a plate of vegetables out of the hut, though the portion was large.
In the lingering glow of sunset, the two sat beneath the Red Mulberry Tree and slowly savored the food.
Su Mo tried a bite. It was very ordinary.
But Ji Shuang seemed accustomed to it already. She had none of a young lady of a great household's pickiness, and she was very content with everything she now had.
This was the feeling of truly being alive, entirely different from her days in the Ji Clan.
In the Ji Clan, she had never needed to worry about anything. She had only to hold out her arms to be dressed and open her mouth to be fed, living as a pampered canary.
Now, however, she had to do everything herself, yet it felt so very real. It was as though a canary that had never seen the outside world had suddenly, one day, glimpsed the scenery beyond. Though no one protected her anymore, she was free.
"What is this place called?" Su Mo asked.
Ji Shuang shook her head and looked around. "There's no one here.