After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

I broke off three small pieces, intending to sweeten my mouth later.

Lin Qianqian quickly rummaged through her basket and pulled out a few large leaves that she had prepared beforehand—they were from a common broad-leaved plant in the mountains, with large, thick leaves that looked like green palm-leaf fans. She deftly wrapped the honeycomb inside, layer after layer, until it was tightly packed, before placing it deep inside the basket and covering it with another layer of leaves.

"Eating as you walk, it'll sweeten your mouth," she said, already unable to resist breaking off a small piece and stuffing it into her mouth.

sweet.

It's not the straightforward sweetness of white sugar; it's a sweetness with floral notes, a gentle sweetness that unfolds layer by layer.

The honeycomb was a bit chewy, like chewing wax, but the honey inside seeped out and flowed down my throat, warming my entire chest.

Ding Xiaohu couldn't wait any longer, so he popped a piece into his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up: "Sister Qianqian, this wild honey is so delicious!"

"Yeah! It's so sweet." Lin Yulong also stuffed a piece into his mouth, his cheeks bulging, and his words were muffled. "I wish there were more."

As Lin Yulong spoke, his eyes glanced again toward the dead tree.

The smoke had dissipated, and only a small half of the beehive remained hanging on the tree trunk, gleaming with an amber light in the dim light, as if tempting him to go over and break off another piece.

Ding Xiaohu also looked over.

Lin Qianqian noticed the two people's gazes, stuffed the last bit of honeycomb in her hand into her mouth, patted the crumbs off her hands, and spoke with a slightly more serious tone than before:

"That's quite a lot already. This stuff is sweet, so we can't eat too much. When the old bees come back and find the honey gone, they'll sting you both."

Ding Xiaohu licked the honey residue off his fingers and nodded, seemingly understanding.

Lin Yulong withdrew his outstretched hand, swallowed hard, and said nothing more.

"Let's go." Lin Qianqian put the basket back on her back, straightened up, and looked at the light filtering down from above—the angle of the sunlight had changed, which meant that a while had passed. "Let's walk a little further in and see if we can find anything else."

The three people lined up again, with Lin Qianqian in front, Lin Yulong in the middle, and Ding Xiaohu at the back.

After walking a few steps, Ding Xiaohu suddenly spoke up: "Sister Qianqian."

"Um."

"Do you think those wild bees might actually bring help?"

Lin Qianqian thought for a moment: "I don't know. But we run fast, they can't catch up."

Ding Xiaohu chuckled and his steps became much lighter.

The honey in the basket sat quietly, wrapped in leaves, its sweetness completely sealed in, not a trace leaking out. But Ding Xiaohu always felt there was still a faint sweetness in the air—perhaps it was his imagination, perhaps it was the honey he hadn't wiped clean from his hands, or perhaps it came from his own heart.

he does not know.

He just felt that today was a good day.

As we continued deeper into the forest, it grew increasingly dense.

The tree canopy overhead almost turned the sky into a sieve, and the sunlight was cut into countless tiny spots of light, falling sparsely on the decaying leaves. It looked bright, but the feeling underfoot was completely different—moisture steamed up from the ground, like stepping on a rag that could never be wrung out, and even the air felt sticky.

Lin Yulong pulled his trousers up a bit, but they were still half-soaked by the dew. He walked along, glancing down at his feet, and suddenly muttered to himself:

"Sis, why is it so damp in here? There's sunshine everywhere!"

When he said "sunshine," he glanced up—there was indeed light, filtering through the leaves in streaks like thin ropes hanging from the sky. But that light was only lively in the sky; once it reached the ground, it was swallowed up by the dampness and couldn't warm anything.

Lin Qianqian didn't answer immediately. She pushed aside a tree branch that was blocking her way, and only let go after Lin Yulong and Ding Xiaohu had passed. The branch bounced back and swayed behind her.

"Because of the lack of light and the dense, thick forest cover, it's damp," she said in a very casual tone, as if she were saying that one plus one equals two.