Hearing her name, the name she could finally remember, Mei Hua felt an uncontrollable sense of joy stir in her heart. The one who said her name, a tall man with long white hair, walked up to her. Putting his large hands on her face, he started to weep. Even though she was startled, she didn’t dare move seeing how upset he was.

“You’re awake… you’re awake… I waited so long… so long.. How could you kick me out like that? Do you know how I’ve suffered?” His hoarse emotional words caused her to blink. The face was different, but the voice was the same.

“Mister Light?”

The man nodded with a wobbly smile, “En.”

“Ah…. so this is what you look like on the outside. It’s good you were here, otherwise, how could I have found you? You look so different! See how expressive you are!” She reached out and touched his teary wet face. When she felt the warmth of his skin, which was nothing like his excessively hot skin in her world, her brows furrowed.

“Oh, you feel different… like someone I, ah… I remember… you… my husband… his name was... Jin…” She started blinking furiously as her mind began to clear. “You’re Jin… Jin!”

Her whole face lit up and she jumped into his arms, hugging him enthusiastically. He laughed, lifting her up so that her feet dangled in the air.

“Jin! I told you I’d get rid of the poison, didn’t I?” She leaned back slightly in his returned embrace. “See how quickly I accomplished it! It would have taken twice as long with your method, aren’t you glad? Aren’t you impressed?”

Seeing her self-satisfied expression, he could only nod with a look of exasperation on his face.

“What’s with that look?!” She pinched his cheek and scolded. “Surely you won’t hold the our seperation against me? It wasn’t even that long! And now we can be together forever and ever! If you’re upset all that time, won’t it be a waste? Be happy!”

“En, yes, I am happy.” Seeing her raised eyebrow, he hurriedly responded, “Truly, I am happy. And I won’t hold anything against you. Except maybe myself.”

She burst out in laughter at his comment and kissed his forehead. Feeling pleased, she asked, “Will you sing my praises for doing so well in getting rid of the poison?”

“If that’s what you want, of course.”

There was a expectant pause and then, “Well, go ahead.”

“Eh?”

“Sing for me.”

“EH?! You want me to actually sing? I don’t know how to sing!” His eyes widened and he set her down, albeit gently. He’d always been tone deaf, even as a spirit. He absolutely couldn’t carry a tune to save his life!

“M-Mother, I will sing for you.”

The boys, now young men, had been totally ignored by the couple. Even so, they’d crowded around and listened eagerly to every word their Mother spoke. Her words were like music no matter what she said, a voice they’d not heard for many years. At the mention of singing, Lu Shao couldn’t stay silent anymore and butt into the conversation.

“Oh?” Mei Hua turned to him curiously. “Who are you? Why do you call me Mother?”

The young man was willowy in appearance, with two thin braids on either side of his head, keeping his long hair out of his face. Of the four men there, he was the second shortest, with very pale skin, narrow phoenix eyes, and a handsome but youthful appearance.

The young man’s face crumpled in sorrow. He was instantly heartbroken at the thought that he’d been forgotten.

“MeiMei, don’t tell me you forgot your own son?” The green haired man spoke up hastily, patting Lu Shao on the shoulder as he did and pushing him closer to Mei Hua. “I know Lu Shao has grown up, but how could you be so cold as to forget such a good boy?”

Mei Hua’s eyebrows crinkled together at the green haired man’s comment. As she thought, the petals swirled higher and higher above her, until they reached far over head and vanished out of sight. The piercing blue brightness of her eyes dimmed and for a moment she looked just like her old self.

“Lu Shao… ah, my son… yes.. I have sons…” She cocked her head. “This is Lu Shao?”

She stepped away from Jin towards the young man. Carefully she examined his face again. When she got to his right eye, which was half blue and half gold, her mouth fell open and she covered it in surprise.

“Oh! Lu Shao, my baby… It really is you!” This time she reached out and embraced him wholeheartedly.

The young man sobbed and hugged her back. The last time he’d felt her embrace had been when he was six years old. So many years had passed since then, that some part of him had given up ever feeling her touch again.

“Don’t cry Little Lu, don’t cry. I’m here, I’m here.” She soothed her youngest son, a perplexed expression on her face. When her gaze fell on the other two men, she spoke hesitantly, “Yan Li, Shi Ji?”

It could not be helped that she wasn’t sure. Her twins boys’ body took after Jin, so they were very tall and when they were younger, a tad too slender for her comfort. But she had always thought, somewhat apologetically, that they took after her in the face. Which is to say, they were more ordinary than strikingly handsome in appearance. Of course that had been when she’d last seen them.

Shi Ji at least looked more like himself, or at least a mature adult version. His narrow face had filled out, making him look a little more like his Father and the hair he’d once kept cut short, had grown well past his shoulders. His height was similar to Jin’s, and therefore he naturally towered over everyone. But his eyes were like her’s, friendly and open, and his body was more slender than Jin’s, making him less intimidating.

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Yan Li however… what could she even say? Though there was a passing resemblance, the older twin had changed to a point that it was hard to call them ‘twins’. He was the same height as Shi Ji, but double the width, and he was the embodiment of muscle. His skin was darkly tanned, and his hair was sun-bleached two shades lighter than his siblings. Not only that, it was clear he put little thought into his appearance, for his hair was cut raggedly and put in a sloppy high ponytail. If not for his eyes, which were exactly the same as Shi Ji’s, she’d not have known it was Yan Li at all.

Both her sons grinned and immediately wrapped their arms around her. Yan Li was the last and lifted the whole group up, guffawing in good humor. When he dropped them to the ground, they wobbled and fell into a heap on top of each other. All of them bursting into laughter at once, Mei’s eyes glowing blue brightly once again.

Jin frowned. “What are you three doing? Mei just woke up, don’t rough house with her.”

“Sorry~!” Came a three chorus reply that didn’t sound the slightest bit apologetic. Even so, they untangled themselves and helped their Mother back up.

Once she was standing, she looked at the four of them confusedly. “I really don’t understand. Jin, why is your hair white and where did your tan go? Why is Lu Shao big now? Yan Li… what on earth happened to you… You don’t even look related to Shi Ji anymore… Actually, why are my sons all grown up suddenly? Ah, Shan Hui isn’t here either—wait, who are you?”

At the last question, she pointed to the man whom she genuinely did not recognize. If she’d known anyone with green hair or a baby face like that in the past, she definitely would have remembered it by now. Seeing how much Yan Li had changed, for a moment, she wondered if Shan Hui was this strange looking fellow.

The man in question cleared his throat and gave a flourishing bow, cupping his hands in front of him.

“After putting up with Brother-in-Law all this time and raising these precocious Nephews for you, this Big Bro only gets forgotten by his Little Sis in the end! Ah! Who knew MeiMei could be this cold? So sad, so sad!”

“What the— YE?”

He straightened up and winked.

“The very same.”

She rushed over, touching his face in disbelief. He was a full head taller than her so she was forced to look up.

“You— you’re so big now!”

He grinned and gave her a big hug. As he embraced her warmly, his face cramped slightly from repressed tears. Though he’d waited until last, he was just as eager to touch her and confirm she was well as everyone else.

When Ye kept embracing Mei for a bit longer than might be deemed appropriate, Jin grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him away. He gave Ye a scathing glare.

“That’s enough from you.”

Still dangling from Jin’s grip, Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and then smirked nastily.

“Are you planning to bottle that vinegar and sell it?”

Jin scowled and looked ready to fight Ye right then and there, when Mei Hua stepped forward and “chopped” them both on the head with the side of her hands.

“You two—” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “What are you even doing? Ye, stop needling Jin for no good reason. And Jin, stop reacting as if anything was going to happen. Who do you think I’m married to, huh? Ye or you?”

Jin pressed his lips together and glanced at Ye, who grinned cheekily back at him. Annoyed, Jin ‘gently’ tossed him away. The Fairy stumbled but still managed to regain his balance and land on his two feet.

“Now then,” Mei Hua stepped towards Jin and put a hand on either side of his face, just as he’d done to her earlier. “Getting upset at Ye’s antics; you seem to have regressed in confidence of my love for you. Let me remind you that you’ve nothing to fear.”

She pulled his face down to her level and kissed him soundly. His whole body stiffened in surprise before he gave in, relaxing and wrapping his arms around her. The constant ache in his chest loosened at the touch of her soft lips against his.

Thinking she only meant to go for a light, teasing kiss, he started to pull away. But he was pleasantly surprised when she snaked her arm around his shoulder and pulled him back in. The second kiss was more aggressive and also… very odd.

It felt as though a bit of her spirit had reached out and touched his through that ardent kiss. It was a cool caress and along with it came the feeling of being drawn into her, like a bee to a flower. In his whole life he’d never felt anything even remotely similar. A shiver of ecstasy ran down his spine and for a moment he completely forgot where he was and slipped his tongue into her mouth.

The three sons had gone beet red at their parent’s behavior. Shi Ji didn’t know where to look so he turned around while Yan Li covered his and Lu Shao’s eyes. Lu Shao, who was well into adulthood, let his eyes be covered, since he didn’t want to see his parents making out.

Ye’s whole face puckered, feeling as though Mei Hua had really gotten back at him for teasing Jin. If making Jin jealous resulted in this kind of public display of affection, he’d never ever do it again as long as he lived. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and cried out miserably:

“You two, remember that you’re outside! There are people present, people who don’t want to see this! Like me! Ugh! MeiMei, please stop! I’m sure Jin is confident now! And even if he’s not, stop anyway!”

Hearing this, Mei Hua released Jin and took a step back.

Tilting her head, she gave a small smile and asked her husband sweetly, “Was there any reason to be jealous?”

“….nuh uh…” Jin responded stupidly, face red and feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his spirit. Inexplicably, the world seemed like a fantastic place filled with wonder and amazement. He hadn’t felt this good since… well, he couldn’t think of a time.

“Gross~!” Shuya called out with a snicker. “Get a room next time!”

She was standing next to Ye, who jumped back in alarm and pulled out a short knife from somewhere inside his sleeve. He hadn’t sensed anyone there, and even now that he could see her, he sensed nothing at all. It was like she was air.

Mei Hua’s sons were just as startled but immediately formed a loose circle around the stranger, confusion and wariness on their faces. Jin hadn’t noticed her either, and paired with his euphoria, was the last to respond. He clumsily grabbed his wife and pushed her behind him. He tried to look threatening despite a flushed face and his lips still trying to rise at the corners.

“Who are you?” Jin demanded, attempting to sound authoritative instead of happy.

Despite being surrounded, the woman was not bothered at all. Her dark blue hair was in a loose bun and her pale blue eyes looked amused. She had a light green dress that contrasted her tanned skin, making her bare shoulders, deep cleavage, and long legs stand out.

She cheekily waved and winked at the men who were tensely standing near her, none were the slightest bit won over by her charming figure or behavior. Shuya gave a sullen expression at their cold response.

“Little Sister, your boys sure do love you. They’re ready to slice this beautiful Older Sis into tiny pieces without any remorse, ah! How about introducing me to them before I’m skewered?”

Mei Hua stepped out from behind Jin, giving them all an apologetic head bob.

“Everyone, this is Shuya. A friend and teacher of mine.” When none of “her boys” lowered their guards, she pursed her lips, “Shuya, look at at how you scared them! I thought you said you were going to behave yourself!”

Shuya held her cheeks and pouted cutely. “Who needs to behave themselves? I wasn’t the one making out in public! No one was even paying attention to me and I’d been standing there for a long time!”