While PD Xu Cui and the children ate peacefully somewhere in the village, the two adults remained seated beneath the trees, each left alone with their own thoughts. The afternoon light had softened into a deeper gold, filtering through the canopy in shifting, luminous patches.
A gentle breeze stirred the leaves overhead, carrying the faint scent of earth, sun-warmed bark, and distant wildflowers. The quiet rustle of the forest mixed with the occasional distant birdcall, creating a soft, almost dreamlike stillness around them.
Su Wanyan gazed at the greenery surrounding them, carefully taking in every detail of the quiet forest. The way the light filtered through the leaves, the soft sway of the branches, the distant calls of birds—everything felt almost unreal in its beauty. The cool shade beneath the trees wrapped around her like a gentle blanket, so different from the sterile white walls and fluorescent lights she had known for so long.
How beautiful, she thought.
