Sophia remained silent for a long time, then looked at James and said softly, "Can you take me back to see them?"
James knew she wanted to go back to see her loved ones one last time and to properly handle their remains.
"I went to retrieve your loved ones' remains this afternoon," James said, returning to the car and bringing out the three urns for Sophia.
When Sophia saw the ashes of her loved ones, she immediately covered her face and cried bitterly. James and Ms. Carol slowly withdrew, not wanting to disturb Sophia.
Sophia cried for over an hour. Ms. Carol, feeling worried, approached and gently patted Sophia's back, comforting her, "Sophia, stop crying. We need to look forward."
While Ms. Carol continued to comfort Sophia, James, feeling restless, practiced his martial arts in the yard.
By evening, seeing that Ms. Carol was still comforting Sophia, James headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
James had become quite the foodie, with his mind occupied with meals and meat, apart from his training.
The day before, he had eaten a large pot of mutant dog meat; yesterday, it was braised wild boar meat. Today, James planned to make pig's trotter soup, with new corn from the mysterious space, making his mouth water uncontrollably.
The pig's trotters were enormous, each larger than a normal person's waist. James cut the trotters into pieces and busied himself in the kitchen. As he set up the pot, he suddenly looked up and saw Sophia standing at the kitchen door with red eyes.
"From now on, let me handle cooking," Sophia said softly.
James was surprised and shook his head, saying, "I'd better do it myself."
He thought it was a bad idea to let Sophia, a high-ranking company executive with delicate fingers, cook. He didn't want to risk poisoning the family.
Sophia grew anxious and insisted, "I'm very good at cooking. If you don't believe me, let me try."
"Oh?" James was skeptical. Sophia entered the kitchen and, upon seeing the giant pig's trotter, was stunned and stammered, "Is this an elephant's foot?"
"Uh…" James was taken aback and wasn't sure how to explain.
Sophia then fell silent and began working in the kitchen, while James stood aside with nothing to do.
"Please go outside. The smoke is heavy here," Sophia pushed James out.
After more than an hour, a large pot of pig's trotter corn soup was ready. Sophia also made two side dishes: oil-braised eggplant and stir-fried green peppers with eggs. Everything except the eggs was from the mysterious space. When served, the aroma filled the room.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised and praised Sophia's cooking skills.
After dinner, Sophia took little Su Su to the bedroom. James's family was taken aback, and Ms. Carol immediately got up to bring Sophia and her daughter back, saying, "Let's eat together from now on. We're all ordinary people, no need for such formality."
Sophia lowered her head even further.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. James stood up and saw a familiar figure at the door, exclaiming, "Lily? What is she doing here?"
"James, are you not welcoming your new neighbor?" Lily stood outside, smiling at James with some fruit in hand.
"Welcome, welcome," James quickly opened the door.
"I also have a house here, 101 Building. My family said there are too many mutant beasts outside, so I moved here," Lily said with a smile, then her nose twitched and she added, "It smells so good. James, you're being unfair, having a feast at home."
James was at a loss. In his previous life, he thought Lily was a very gentle and quiet girl. It was only after becoming an evolved one and dealing more with Henry that he realized Lily's true nature—simply put, she was a little devil.
"How did this little troublemaker end up living next door?" James was speechless.
As Lily entered James's house, she immediately saw James's parents, Mr. and Ms. Carol, and cheerfully greeted them, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie."
However, when her gaze fell on Sophia, she was obviously stunned, especially seeing little Su Su. She was dazed for a full ten seconds before coming to her senses and awkwardly said, "Sister-in-law is so beautiful. James, you're not fair; after so many years of marriage, you haven't introduced your wife to your colleagues."
Sophia's face flushed slightly, and she quickly stood up, taking little Su Su to the bedroom.
James realized the misunderstanding and quickly said, "Lily, this isn't my wife. This… this is a relative of mine; there's been an issue at home."
Lily's eyes immediately lit up. Ms. Carol and James's father quickly invited Lily to sit down. As soon as she sat down, Lily's stomach made a "grumbling" sound as she stared at the food on the table and swallowed.
"Alright, you must not have eaten yet. Let's eat together. Mom, go get Sophia. She hasn't had dinner yet," James said with a smile.
Lily was a bit embarrassed and said, "Thank you, Uncle and Auntie."
Lily, being quite polite in front of James's parents, said several thanks before starting to eat.
After dinner, Sophia hurried to clean up the dishes, and Lily followed her into the kitchen, offering to help.
After the meal, Ms. Carol took little Su Su to the bedroom to rest. James stood in the living room, watching the two women busy in the kitchen, feeling somewhat dazed.
While James was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang. Looking at the screen, he saw it was Ravenna calling.
"Great, she finally called," James quickly answered the phone and said, "Hello, is this Ravenna?"
Ravenna's voice sounded weak as she said, "Yes, my phone was off before. I just turned it on and saw your missed calls. Sorry about that."
"It's fine, it's fine. I was wondering if I could meet with you. I have something very important to discuss," James said, deciding to meet Ravenna to clarify matters about her father and to ensure she was prepared.
Ravenna hesitated for a moment and said weakly, "I'm not feeling well and can't go out."
James was taken aback. Noticing Ravenna's weakness, he said, "In that case, I'll come to you. I also have the medicine for your condition, the same as you took last time."
"Alright then, I live in Green Garden District, 103 Building," Ravenna said, and James was immediately stunned.
103 Building in Green Garden District?
Isn't that right next to my place?
James glanced at Lily in the kitchen, then at his phone, realizing that both Lily and Ravenna were now his neighbors.
Knowing that Ravenna lived in 103 Building, James quickly hung up, grabbed two bottles of well water, and headed out.
At the door of 103 Building, James rang the bell. Ravenna quickly came out, surprised to see James and realizing they were neighbors.
Ravenna was still in white sportswear, but her complexion was very poor. James found her somewhat mysterious but decided not to ask too many questions.
Upon entering, James noticed that although Ravenna's house was decorated, it seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, with a lot of dust in some areas.
"I just moved here recently and rarely stay here, so it's a bit dirty. I plan to clean it up tomorrow," Ravenna said apologetically, her voice weak.
"You seem injured?" James asked.
Ravenna was taken aback and smiled, "It's nothing, just a bit of a cold and feeling weak."
James shook his head and thought to himself, "It's clearly an internal injury, and she's calling it a cold, trying to deceive me."
Seeing James's suspicion, Ravenna quickly changed the subject, saying, "Thanks again for the medicine last time. Without it, I'd probably be dead."
"It's nothing," James waved it off and asked, "Do you know where your father is now?"