With Yanyin finally back to a semblance of her normal self, the rest of the exhausted gang shuffled inside the newly renovated hut to help her cook dinner.
It was a chaotic process. Even from outside, I could hear the loud bickering between Jian and Liangyu, aggressively debating over the proper ratio of spices, chopping techniques, and exact boiling times.
The domestic sounds were comforting, but I couldn't bring myself to go inside just yet. I stayed in the backyard with Longwei.
He was sitting quietly on the edge of the smooth wooden corridor that Jian had fabricated, silently overlooking the newly bloomed garden. The chaotic energy of the rock-throwing had vanished, replaced by a still quiet.
I walked over and simply laid flat on my back on the cool and slightly damp grass, right in front of where he sat. I folded my hands behind my head and just stared up at the vast canopy of stars.
