Before long, the quiet rhythm of the afternoon settled over the ancestral grounds.
The old-fashioned residential telephone, which the elders stubbornly refused to replace despite everyone's protests, suddenly rang through the house.
The shrill sound echoed from the living room.
Fui, who had been tidying the cushions and folding freshly dried linens, paused in her work.
"I'll get it," she called out before hurrying toward the phone.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Gou Feng stood beside Elder Memu, helping her prepare the desserts she intended to bake that afternoon.
The kitchen was warm and filled with the comforting scent of flour, butter, and freshly washed ingredients.
Sunlight filtered through the windows, illuminating drifting flour and steam rising from freshly brewed tea.
Memu carefully measured the ingredients before mixing them together in a large bowl.
"The Third Pack Leader doesn't like sweets very much,"
Her weathered hands moved with practiced ease.
Even something as simple as baking looked graceful when she did it.
Gou Feng, who was washing red dates nearby, glanced up.
"He doesn't?"
Memu shook her head.
"Not particularly."
She folded the dough with practiced hands, then pressed it into small molds.
"But if you reduce the amount of sugar and offer it to him, he'll still eat it."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Strange, isn't it?"
Gou Feng couldn't help agreeing.
"...A little."
He had never imagined Hei Bao enjoying desserts.
The image of the cold, intimidating Pack Leader sitting quietly with a plate of sweets in front of him felt strangely out of place.
Although Gou Feng had long since discovered the softer side hidden beneath Hei Bao's stern exterior, he still found it difficult to picture him eating something sweet.
Perhaps it was simply because he had never actually seen it happen before.
Back when he was a child, Hei Bao would buy sweets only for him.
Then he would sit nearby and watch Gou Feng happily eat every last bite.
No matter how many times Gou Feng had offered to share, insisting that they eat together, Hei Bao had always refused.
Not once had he accepted even a single piece.
As if the sweetness had been meant solely for Gou Feng, while Hei Bao found contentment in simply watching him enjoy it.
Memu picked up one of the mooncakes she was shaping.
"These are his favorite."
Gou Feng stared.
"Mooncakes?"
"Mm."
The elder continued shaping the pastries, and put the finished ones neatly into the tray.
"You have to make them smaller, about the size of candy. That child has never liked large sweets, even when he was young."
Gou Feng lowered his gaze to the red dates in front of him and carefully peeled them before placing them into a large white bowl.
"...I see."
After a moment of hesitation, he finally asked,
"Why is the elder telling me all of this?"
Memu didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she carefully brushed egg wash across the mooncakes before placing them neatly onto the baking tray.
Then she glanced at him.
"Because you should remember it. Remember it for the future."
Gou Feng frowned.
"But I don't li—"
Memu cut him off gently.
She didn't even lift her head while continuously putting the mooncakes into the baking tray.
"You watched how I made these earlier. You should remember the recipe as well."
Only then did she glance back at him.
"I don't know whether you still know how to cook or bake. If you don't, then learn. You'll need it someday."
Gou Feng stared at her.
"...Need it?"
Memu simply sigh and asked,
"Do you understand?"
He didn't understand.
Not at all.
Ever since waking up in this place, Elder Memu had spoken to him as though she knew things about his future that even he himself did not know.
Gou Feng turned his attention to Elder Memu, only to blink in surprise at the expression on her face.
There was an unusual seriousness in her eyes, one that made him pause.
He still didn't understand why she insisted on teaching him these things.
Nevertheless, faced with her unwavering gaze, he found himself nodding instinctively.
"...Understood."
Memu gave a satisfied hum and returned to her work.
The kitchen fell quiet once more.
Gou Feng lowered his head once more and continued preparing the dates.
After peeling several of them, curiosity got the better of him.
"What's this for?"
He held up one of the red dates.
Memu was brushing another layer of glaze over the mooncakes.
Without looking up, she answered,
"They're for you."
"For me?"
Memu nodded.
"I'll make them into a sauce to go with the mooncakes. You never liked food that didn't have the exact flavor or texture you preferred."
Gou Feng froze.
The dates slipped from his fingers back into the bowl.
"...How do you know that?"
He couldn't remember ever mentioning it.
It wasn't even something most people noticed.
He wasn't a picky eater. At least, he had never thought of himself that way.
He simply disliked food that felt unfinished somehow, too bland, too dry, or lacking balance in taste and texture.
It was a small preference. Yet Elder Memu had stated it so naturally. As though she had known it for years.
He had never mentioned those preferences to anyone.
Not even Shen Jiu, Huan Zhan, and the others knew such trivial details.
Sensing the confusion and suspicion hidden beneath his silence, Memu spoke before Gou Feng could ask any further questions.
"Don't overthink it," she said.
"I've lived long enough to notice little things."
Her tone remained calm and matter-of-fact.
"People reveal more about themselves through their habits than they realize."
Gou Feng stared at her for a moment before lowering his gaze once again.
"...I understand."
Whether he truly understood or not, even he wasn't certain.
Still, the elder's tone carried a quiet finality, as though she had no intention of elaborating further.
Although countless questions remained in his heart, Gou Feng chose not to press her for answers.
Seeing that he still seemed troubled by something, Elder Memu gently said,
"Some answers reveal themselves only when the heart is ready to accept them,"
She slid the tray into the oven before dusting the flour from her hands.
"Until then, there's no use forcing understanding."
Her gaze softened as it briefly rested on him.
"You've spent too long carrying burdens you couldn't explain."
The kitchen fell quiet.
The breeze drifting through the open windows carried the scent of white tulips from the garden.
Gou Feng lowered his eyes.
His fingers unconsciously tightened around the peeled dates in his hands.
He wanted answers.
He wanted to understand why unfamiliar memories haunted him, why his heart ached for people he couldn't remember, and why everyone around him seemed to know more about his condition than he did.
But for the first time in months...
The urgency inside him had eased.
The desperate need to understand everything immediately no longer felt suffocating.
Perhaps Elder Memu was right.
Not every answer arrived the moment people demanded them.
Some truths require time.
Memu wiped her hands with a towel before turning back to him.
"Once you've finished peeling those dates, go rest in the living room. You've only just recovered. There will be plenty of work for you later."
Gou Feng glanced up.
"...What kind of work?"
A mysterious smile appeared on the elder's face.
"We'll see when the time comes."
Then she reached over and lightly tapped the center of his forehead.
"For now, focus on peeling those dates properly. You're making the poor things look pitiful."
Gou Feng looked down at the unevenly peeled dates scattered across the tray.
After several seconds of silence, he replied quietly,
"...I think they look fine."
Memu clicked her tongue.
"They do not."
Gou Feng stared at the dates again before lifting his head to look at her.
"...They do," he insisted, a faint teasing laugh escaping him.
This time, Elder Memu smiled without restraint.
The wrinkles around her eyes deepened with warmth.
"Good child," she said.
Gou Feng blinked.
"...Because I peeled the dates well?"
Memu let out a soft chuckle.
"No."
She gently adjusted the tray in front of him.
"Because I finally got to see that sweet smile of yours again. It's been a very long time, but your smile is still the same."
The words caused Gou Feng's smile to freeze.
He blinked and looked up at her, confusion flickering across his face.
Memu noticed it but she simply smiled.
She reached out and lightly patted his cheeks twice, her touch gentle and affectionate.
"Come now. Let me help you peel them. We'll finish the work faster that way."
Gou Feng lowered his gaze to the tray of dates before him.
The elder's earlier words lingered in his mind.
It's been a very long time... but your smile is still the same.
Countless questions rose to the surface once more.
Yet when he looked at the elderly woman beside him, patiently rolling up her sleeves to help him peel dates, and the words she just have said a minute ago, he found him once again unable to ask.
In the end, Gou Feng simply nodded.
"...Okay."