Nobody needed to leave halfway through the meal
because of a noise outside.
Mother Yan asked about the road home. Bai Li answered only the simple
parts. She mentioned that the streets had been dangerous, that they had
met a few survivors, and that the motorcycle had held up. She did not
describe every detail of the mall. Lili was listening with wide eyes
anyway.
"Did you really ride very fast?" she asked.
Bai Li nodded. "Sometimes."
Lili looked at Yan Cijin. "Was she fast?"
Yan Cijin gave Bai Li a look. "Too fast."
Bai Li said, "Efficiently fast."
"That is not a phrase."
"It is now."
Mother Yan smiled into her bowl.
Lili asked, "Did you hold on?"
Yan Cijin blinked. "What?"
"On the motorcycle."
"Of course I held on."
Lili nodded as if that was the correct answer. Then she looked at Bai
Li. "Did Cijin hold you?"
Bai Li nearly choked on her tea.
Yan Cijin froze.
Mother Yan coughed into her hand to hide a laugh.
Lili waited for an answer.
