Lin Feng recounted the whole story from beginning to end.
Kandis listened without saying a word, just drinking her tea cup after cup.
"And so we found out that 10 years had passed."
"Well that's just awful luck." Kandis' gaze fell on Rosa Linda. The two women stared at each other intently. "And who is this?"
"This is Emily's mom, we..."
"We're friends!" Rosa Linda interrupted.
"Yes, the two of us are friends." Lin Feng quickly chimed in.
"Oh, I see." Kandis narrowed her eyes meaningfully and chuckled twice. In less than half an hour since coming into the house she had sensed something amiss.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Lin Feng's ex-girlfriend, and also Yuna's magic tutor."
"Likewise, Lin Feng told me your story before." Rosa Linda nodded and firmly shook hands.
As Lin Feng watched this scene, he felt somehow things weren't quite right.
He didn't know why, but he sensed a subtle confrontation in the handshake between the two women.
"By the way, where is Yu Li? How come I don't see her?"
"She should be upstairs. She just ran up to tell me Lin Feng was back, it gave me a fright... Yu Li! Your Lin Feng brother wants you to come down!" After calling for a while without any response, Kandis went upstairs herself to bring Yu Li down.
Lin Feng glanced at Yuna. She was hugging the red-scaled dragon Chilong by the fireside, eyes narrowed basking in the warmth.
After a while, Kandis brought Yu Li downstairs.
She sat shyly in one corner of the sofa, head lowered looking at her own feet.
Yu Li now also had short silver hair. Her build was slightly smaller than Yuna's. At first glance one might have mistaken her for a mini version of Yuna, the two looked identical.
It was pretty much what he had envisioned.
No!
Wait!
Clearly they were sisters, so why was one bigger and one smaller?
He had thought she was a hidden gem, but turns out she was a rising star.
He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his thigh. If he guessed correctly, it must be Rosa Linda pinching him...
He quickly reined in his gaze.
"Yu Li! Still recognize me?" Lin Feng leaned on his hand and raised his brows at her.
Yu Li glanced up at him and nodded quickly.
In a very soft voice she said, "Lin Feng... brother."
This estranged feeling made Lin Feng somewhat uncomfortable.
Clearly she had been so warm towards him when she was little. But now it seemed she was a bit reluctant.
Well, it had been 10 years after all. It was normal for her to feel estranged.
"This child doesn't talk much and is introverted, but very well behaved." Kandis hugged Yu Li affectionately, lightly squeezing her cheeks with both hands.
Lin Feng saw Yu Li take a glance at Yuna.
What a pair these sisters were, meeting without even talking, both so taciturn.
"Yuna! Stop hugging that smelly dragon and come sit on the sofa."
"Okay."
She gave Chilong a shove and hopped happily over, sitting next to Lin Feng.
"Yu Li, this is..."
Before Lin Feng could finish, Yu Li called out "Sister".
Yuna also responded with a "Sister", but there was no further conversation after that.
It had to be said, the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Lin Feng had assumed that when the sisters met, they would at least hug each other and cry for a bit.
But these two were like rocks.
"Yu Li! Do you still remember me?" Emily suddenly popped up enthusiastically throwing herself at Yu Li.
It was like a socially anxious person meeting a social bull.
"I remember... Sister Emily is still so pretty." Yu Li was clearly not very keen on her, always dodging about furtively.
"Hmm, such a sweet mouth. We haven't seen each other for 10 years, have you learned any especially awesome stuff? Show me a trick or two when you've got time."
Lin Feng immediately perked up.
He was also curious what Yu Li had learned from Kandis during these 10 years of travel.
"I've learned lots and lots of awesome stuff. If you want to see, I can demonstrate for you tomorrow."
The two chattered loudly, drowning out all other voices in the living room.
After fooling around for a while, the two were able to talk normally.
It had to be said, this silly rabbit Emily did come in handy sometimes.
"What a pity your growth has been so unsatisfactory." Glancing at Yu Li's rabbit, Emily sighed self-importantly with an annoying smugness.
Wasn't that just rubbing salt in the wound?!
Lin Feng helplessly shook his head.
"But either way, you and Yuna are family. She has grown so well, so you must have potential too. It's perfect that I'm back now. I'll whip up a special formula to nourish you properly! Eat more, get regular massages, and you can become outstanding like me too!"
Yu Li instinctively lowered her head to glance down, sighing softly.
"Oh well, don't worry, I keep my word. I'll share Lin Feng brother with you too." Emily patted her ample bosom and grinned foolishly.
Yu Li's face turned red from the sudden statement. She quickly waved her hands declining, "I was just a silly child back then, don't take those words seriously..."
!!!
Although Lin Feng didn't have any expectations...
But Yu Li's words had thoroughly crushed his heart.
He still remembered Emily's parting words at that time, although Yu Li's reaction then was completely different from now.
Not only did she react with delighted surprise asking if it was true or false, but also said she would grow up to be an outstanding woman who could stay by brother's side.
And now...
Waaah!
She instead says those were just childish ramblings, don't take them seriously.
"Huh? Your tastes have changed? What a pity."
Just as Emily was getting more and more excited, Rosa Linda nudged her with an elbow.
Kandis had a smile on her face. She added, "Lin Feng is a bad man. Don't fall into his trap."
"I object to that description!" Lin Feng surrendered with arms raised.
Later that night after the beast-eared ladies had bathed and slept...
Kandis found Lin Feng and Yuna alone.
"Don't let Yu Li's quietness now fool you. When we traveled together, she worried about you guys a lot."
"At first not knowing what had happened to you all, during that period whenever she wrote letters without any reply, she would always ask if you had sold her away..."
"Three years after we set off traveling, when we first returned and found the house dilapidated, I asked the soldier on duty and he said you all had not appeared for a very long time already. That was when we realized something had happened to you."
As Lin Feng hugged Yuna, gently stroking her wolf ears, he asked "Did you look for us?"
"Of course, we looked many times and even offered a reward. But ultimately we never got any clues and gave up."
"We traveled the world for eight years. The world is small and we've been everywhere we wanted to go. So we moved back here to settle down."
Kandis yawned then abruptly sat up straighter. "Yuna."
"Yes?"
"Sleep with Yu Li tonight. You two sisters chat for a bit, I guarantee things will be better by tomorrow."
Yuna fidgeted, nibbling on her nails. She turned and hugged Lin Feng tightly. "Master, save me!"
"She's your sister not some stranger. Go on nicely, or I'll pull your tail."