Ran Er ran over and gave his sweetest response, "Thanks, Brother Liu."

And then he helped unload the stock from the ox-cart.

Liu Duo poured them two bowls of water, "Here, have some."

Ye Liu and Ye Mo didn't hesitate as they drank it all.

"Little Duo, is there sugar in it? It's so sweet, I want another round," Ye Liu teased her.

Ye Mo finished his and passed the bowl to Liu Duo, "Darling, one more please."

Dumbfounded, Liu Ran said to Ye Liu, "Brother Liu, it wasn't sweet when I drank it."

"Ran Er, you wouldn't understand..."

Ye Liu hadn't finished speaking when Liu Duo interrupted him, after taking back Ye Mo's bowl, "Ran Er, go wash some tomatoes. I'll make some for you to eat."

Liu Duo knew what he was up to when he started talking in that flirtatious tone. She didn't want Liu Ran to be influenced by the family prankster!

Liu Ran obediently went to get some tomatoes.

Once he left, Liu Duo rolled her eyes at Ye Liu, "Liuzi, pick up after yourself in front of Ran Er! Don't teach him nonsense!"

"Little Duo, what you mean is that I can behave in whatever I want to when Ran Er is not around?" Ye Liu approached her with a sinister smile.

Ye Mo watched him tease Liu Duo, and added cooly, "Bring me my water, wife! I'm still thirsty! Do you want your husband to die of thirst?"

Her lips twitched. These two were always good for nothing.

She rolled her eyes at both of them, "Yes, sirs. I'll get the water now!"

And she went to fetch them another bowl each.

They drank it all again before continuing to unload the cart.

Liu Duo went to the kitchen, where she cut the freshly washed tomatoes into several pieces, sprinkled a bit of the newly bought sugar on top, and served them to Liu Ran.

Liu Ran tasted a piece when he saw the red and white combination, "Sis, this is really sweet. It's not sour at all."

"Eat more if you like," she smiled.

She led him out of the kitchen, and then she instructed the two brothers to thoroughly clean the jars they had just brought home. The containers meant exclusively for sauce-making had not arrived yet, so they would use ordinary jars in the meantime.

Ye Liu asked between giggles, "Little Duo, how do we consume tomato sauce?"

They had never tried the so-called 'tomato sauce' before. They found it fascinating.

"We can have it with noodles, chips, buns, fry it with vegetables, make soup... lots of ways!" she answered with a smile. The more she talked, the more food she wanted to try.

Ye Mo asked cooly, "My dear wife, how do you know how to make this?"

They hadn't eaten it before, so they didn't know how. How did she know?

Liu Duo ate a slice of tomato and said proudly, "Because I'm smart!"

She wouldn't have known how to make tomato sauce if she hadn't travelled through space and time, but she couldn't tell them that. It was too bizarre.

Ye Liu and Ye Mo adored her look of confidence.

Liu Ran suddenly spoke, "Sis, I think you've changed a lot now compared to before."

The Liu Duo from long ago wasn't the same. She hadn't been confident, cocky, or clever.

Of course Liu Duo knew she was different than the girl in the past, because that wasn't her.

With her hand on her chin, she asked, "So do you like me better now or before, Ran Er?"

It was a stupid question, but she wanted to know the answer. Who did he like more: the gentle yet weak Liu Duo who began as his sister, or the Liu Duo she had become?