By the ti little rays of gold started to poke through the clouds, a little aquatic world had been successfully established on the ground of the space camp. Altogether, five ponds had been created and they varied in shape and size.
One had turtles, frogs and aquatic herbs. One had only gold fish. Another had lotus flowers and the last one which was finished as the morning rays of the sun beca clearer had lotus blooms, pink, purple and white, floating as if they had always been there.
The three dium streams that the robot butlers had dug were also finished. There clear waters were empty but the sound of water flowing was very calming.
[Congratulations host on the creation of your little aquatic world. Do you want the rewards to be delivered now or later?]
"Now." She responded.
The rides would add more enjoynt to Lian’s birthday celebrations.
i i and Junjie toasted with cups of coffee, siting besides the stream and watching the sunrise in silence.
"Do you know that Lin Feng died?" Junjie suddenly turned to her with a question.
It took a mont for i i to recall who Lin Feng was and when she did, she gasped. In an era where human life had been extended and the dical field was thriving, hearing the news of the death of a twenty nine year old man was quite surprising.
Lin Feng had been one of their classmates, one of the bullies that i i had dealt with. She had beco his personal nightmare until he repented and changed his ways.
"What happened to him?" She asked, very curious.
"Brain aneurysm. Apparently he was standing in the kitchen one second and on the floor the next. By the ti he was rushed out to the car, it was too late. His wife and children witnessed it all. The funeral tomorrow. Do you plan to attend it?"
She nodded.
"Great, we can go together." Junjie downed the last of the coffee in the cup and stood up.
"NO." i i stood up as well. "Being seen looking friendly in public right now is not good for or you. It will just make our old schoolmates gossip."
"But everyone knows we are friends." He said.
"Friends don’t have to go everywhere and do everything together. We are not kids anymore Junjie." She picked up her shovels and other digging tools, dumping them on a sky float. "I will attend with my other friends. We both know that everyone will dying to get you to notice them and shaking your hands or asking you to give a speech. I would rather watch from the sidelines."
She climbed into the sky float and invited him to do the sa. After dropping him off inside the camp, she drove ho. No stalkers followed her this ti.
****
Returning ho as the prodigal daughter, in tow with her own daughter, felt like one of the most difficult things that Jun ilin had ever had to do. She had run away from ho at twenty two years old, leaving as if she would never have regrets.
Now at twenty nine years old, broke by her family’s standards and in the company of her six year old daughter, she stood before the wrought golden gates of her ancestral ho with a box of a rainbow cheesecake, two loaves of pumpkin spice bread and a small, old, scratched suitcase.
She took a deep breath and moved closer to the caras for identification. As she was about to move the baked goods to one hand and press the doorbell, the gates swung open.
"Follow Mingzhu." i i said to her daughter.
They walked all the way to the front door, not so fast but not too slow. i i could feel the eyes of the busy servants and guards poking at them curiously. When she felt Mingzhu grabbing on to her coat, she knew that her daughter was nervous as well.
The butler was waiting for them when they reached the house. His was the first familiar face she was seeing and it brought back mories of all the mischief she had engaged in that he had always claid would turn his hair white soday.
It had turned white, and i i was sure that she had contributed to his aging. He was still dressed impeccably without a single wrinkle in his suit and he was upright despite being one hundred three years old.
"Young miss," he said, eyeing her small suitcase. "Is this all of your luggage?"
i i folded her lips, holding back the tears in her eyes. "Yes, this is all." She croaked. "But, I have co ho."
"Welco back young miss." He answered and he took the suitcase. He offered Mingzhu a hand but she was too scared to take it. holding on tightly to i i.
The butler turned and led them into the house.
Inside, i i’s old nanny mama Su gasped and fainted into a platter of donuts. The chef who was behind her, dropped a tea pot that was holding hot milk. Jun Lei that had co to the mansion as early as six in the morning scread and his phone dropped into a fish tank as he had been feeding Jun Yi’s fish while recording.
Great great grandpa Jun turned around. He was about to climb the stairs and return to the second floor. He had on a bathrobe printed with cows in shower caps, taking a bath. As soon as he locked eyes with i i a smile blood on his face.
Jun Muyang was coming out of the living room with a newspaper in his hand and bunny slippers on his feet when he saw her. Imdiately, he stepped forward and took the cake box and bread from her, handing it to a servant.
"Pa...." i i whispered. "I....I..." she croaked, stamring.
There were many things that could have followed that I. "I am sorry, I am stupid, I am back, I love you, I want to co ho."
So many options and yet she failed to find the words, so, silence filled the air.
Then, Jun Muyang’s voice that had a croak which was worse than that of a frog filled the emptiness. "You brought pumpkin spice bread. Is it fresh?"
i i nodded. "From the oven."
"Does it have cinnamon?" He questioned.
i i’s bottom lip quivered. "Just the way you like it dad. Spicy enough to win back your love."
An undignified sob wrenched from Jun Muyang’s chest and he threw his arms wide. Wailing like a toddler that was in the midst of throwing a tantrum in a mall, i i threw herself into his arms. They embraced in the lounge below the stairs, sobbing dramatically as the rest of the residents, human and animal ca out to see what the newest drama in the house was.
anwhile, the butler set out to chase after one of the dogs that was running off with one loaf of the pumpkin spice bread which he had just installed caution tape around.
The young miss’s pumpkin spice bread was not ant for human or animal consumption.
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