Fei Ni appeared in Fang Muyang’s camera viewfinder. Today, she wasn’t wearing a large mask, and a thick-knitted scarf wrapped around her entire chin, making her face appear even smaller. Fang Muyang’s first impression was that Fei Ni had done well on the exam—if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have turned in her paper before the bell rang, nor would she be so talkative.
Su Jing initiated a conversation with Fei Ni about the novel he was currently reading, which happened to be one Fei Ni had also read in its English version. While discussing the book, Su Jing accidentally mispronounced the name of a minor character, and Fei Ni gently corrected him.
The embarrassment of losing face in front of someone you like is doubly frustrating. Beyond frustration, there was also shame, but Fei Ni didn’t think Su Jing had any reason to feel ashamed. She was several years older than the boy—it was only natural that she knew more than he did.
Yet, Su Jing still blushed uncontrollably, something entirely outside Fei Ni’s experience. Fang Muyang had never blushed in front of her; it was always her who ended up blushing around him.
Fei Ni reassured him, saying that misremembering names was perfectly normal. She quickly moved past the topic and shared her own insights with Su Jing, occasionally quoting directly from the book.
Initially, Su Jing had only found Fei Ni beautiful and approachable. Discussing the novels he’d read with her was partly an attempt to show off—as if to say, "Even though I’m younger than you, I’m just as knowledgeable. Don’t treat me like a child," hoping to earn an equal footing in their conversation.
But not only had Fei Ni read the same books, she had read them in the original English, and her pronunciation was far better than his—not just better than his, but even better than his college-educated sister’s. In front of Fei Ni, he had been completely showing off his incompetence before an expert.
On one hand, he felt ashamed; on the other, he admired Fei Ni even more. Along with the shame and admiration, he found her incredibly kind—her tone and demeanor were so gentle. When Fei Ni pointed out his mistake, she did it tactfully, carefully preserving his self-esteem. If he weren’t so sensitive in front of someone he liked, he might have considered it a trivial matter.
Su Jing, after all, was young, and the admiration in his eyes was impossible to hide. Fei Ni simply saw him as a child, his admiration stemming purely from his lack of life experience. Still, this momentary admiration pleased her. Over the years, while working at the hat factory, all the books she had read were digested alone, with no one to share them with. She had suppressed and suppressed until the desire to discuss them was nearly extinguished. But now, meeting someone she could talk to, that urge to express herself resurfaced. Fang Muyang had been her first listener and, for a long time, her only one.
That listener had given her immense comfort.
She used to share her thoughts only with Fang Muyang. He understood her words, and sometimes she wondered how he could follow her train of thought even without having read the books.
Fang Muyang understood her, but he never admired her. Even when her achievements far surpassed his, he never looked up to her—he’d only put flies in her desk. Later, when Fang Muyang gained some fame and fan letters poured into his home, he had even less reason to admire her. She couldn’t even imagine Fang Muyang looking up to anyone.Although Su Jing couldn't fully understand her words, he was an excellent listener, expressing his admiration for Fei Ni perfectly through his eyes and nods. He had gained more from Fei Ni than he had expected; he never imagined this gentle and beautiful girl would bring him so many surprises.
Su Jing invited Fei Ni to watch an internal movie that evening—a 1940s American film. The tickets were hard to come by.
Hearing the title, Fei Ni hesitated for a moment. She knew the film had once received high praise. But she quickly thanked Su Jing for his kindness, saying she had no time that evening.
It wasn't that Fei Ni didn't want to go, but she had plans to spend the evening with Fang Muyang. She couldn't very well say, "Sorry, could you give me two tickets? My husband wants to come too."
Su Jing was disappointed. "If you change your mind, come directly to the archive. I'll be waiting outside before the show starts."
Fei Ni felt Su Jing was being overly enthusiastic toward her, but since he seemed younger in her eyes, she didn't think much of it. She assumed he, like her, needed someone to discuss his thoughts after reading.
Fei Ni told Su Jing, "I already have plans with my husband tonight."
"Your husband? You're so young to be married!" Su Jing couldn't hide his surprise. In his eyes, Fei Ni did seem more mature than him, but she still looked only in her twenties.
Fei Ni laughed. "I'm well past the marriageable age." She was about to turn twenty-three.
Learning that Fei Ni was married, Su Jing couldn't conceal his disappointment. Being young, he always thought marriage was a distant matter, so it felt distant for Fei Ni too.
Fei Ni pointed at Fang Muyang, who was taking photos not far away, and introduced him to Su Jing: "That's my husband."
She turned her face away, thinking to herself that if he kept taking photos like this, they'd have to buy more film again.
Su Jing recognized Fang Muyang at once—he was the one who had accompanied Fei Ni at the skating rink and later helped him. They were still together, and actually married.
Su Jing had to admit that the two of them looked very well-matched together.
He could only blame his youth. If he were two years older, things might have turned out differently.
Su Jing forced a smile. "I hope we'll meet again as classmates."
Fei Ni bid farewell to Su Jing and hopped onto Fang Muyang's bicycle. "Sorry to keep you waiting." If Fang Muyang hadn't been waiting outside, Fei Ni would have checked the film again; she was afraid he had waited too long.
"What were you talking about? You seemed so happy."
Fei Ni said, "A book."
"Have I read it?"
"No, you haven't." In truth, he had read it, but he pretended not to know any of the words, coaxing Fei Ni into reading it to him.
"Then you must tell me all about it when we get back." Fang Muyang laughed. "When we get home, I'll make you a brooch with two words engraved on it: 'Married.' That way, if anyone tries to chat you up, they'll see it and politely back off."
"You're never serious." Fei Ni thought Fang Muyang was overthinking it. "He's so much younger than us; that wasn't his intention at all. He just wanted to discuss the books he's read." Besides, this made Fei Ni feel more accomplished than when people approached her just for her looks.
Fang Muyang said with a smile, "When I was his age, I had a lot more on my mind."Fei Ni also laughed, "Most people don't have your thick skin." She recalled Su Jing's blushing face again, wondering if Fang Muyang would blush at his age, and if so, at whom. She probably wouldn't get to see Fang Muyang blush in this lifetime.
Though she really wanted to see it.
The English exam further boosted Fei Ni's confidence. She was almost certain she would attend university, with only the admission letter pending. Yet within this certainty, there was a tinge of regret. "Some people get into university at eighteen, while we're so much older and still have to be their classmates."
Fang Muyang thought to himself that Fei Ni had already taken it for granted he would go to university. However, the admission letters wouldn't arrive until next year, and Fang Muyang found it hard to worry about something so far off.
Old Fang had said earlier that Fei Ni should come over for a meal after her exams. Coincidentally, they came across a candied hawthorn seller, and Fang Muyang bought four sticks—even one for Aunt Yang—but didn't get one for himself. Fei Ni took a bite and handed her stick to Fang Muyang, letting him have some too. By the time they reached the Fang family's doorstep, they had finished one stick between them.
Old Fang asked Fei Ni a few questions about her exams and felt relieved for her. He knew his son's level made it very difficult for him to get into university, and to spare his rebellious son's dignity, he didn't ask him a single word about it. Before the exams, he and his wife had wanted to find the rebellious son a few tutors, but he outright refused.
Old Fang had criticized Fang Muyang at the time, saying if he wasn't going to take the exam seriously, he shouldn't take it at all. Since he was taking it, he should study hard and aim to pass on the first try. With the same exam paper, how could he not feel embarrassed if he scored dozens of points lower than his wife? Fang Muyang immediately corrected his mistake: how could it only be dozens? Conservatively estimating, Fei Ni would score over a hundred points higher than him. Old Fang, seeing his rebellious son show no shame, sighed inwardly at how he could have such a son. If he himself were so much worse than his wife, he would die of shame.
During the meal, Old Fang engaged in some self-criticism, mainly about how he had held Fang Muyang back, how clever and studious Fang Muyang had been as a child, and how if not for him, Fang Muyang would surely have finished high school properly. With a formal high school education, getting into university probably wouldn't be a problem. These remarks were mainly to pave the way for when Fang Muyang inevitably failed the university entrance exam.
Fei Ni was quite skeptical of her father-in-law's words. She believed Fang Muyang was clever, but his claim that Fang Muyang was so studious completely contradicted the facts.
Fang Muyang reminded his father, "Fei Ni and I were elementary school classmates."
Old Fang immediately fell silent, resenting his son for not reminding him earlier. This lie would likely damage his image in his daughter-in-law's eyes.
Fei Ni was also willing to cover for her husband: "Muyang really is very clever; it's just that his review time was a bit tight this time."
Both of them came up with reasons for why Fang Muyang might not get into university.
Fei Ni didn't let the college entrance exams disrupt her daily plans and took some manuscripts from Old Fang to organize.
Old Fang sighed inwardly, wondering what virtue his rebellious son possessed to have married such a wife. To prevent his son from losing too much dignity in front of his wife, he decided to hire several more tutors for him, hoping he could pass the next college entrance exam. This time, he held no hope at all.
Before they left, Old Fang gave Fei Ni two movie tickets that Fang Muyang had asked him to save last week.
Fei Ni looked at the movie title on the tickets—it was the same one Su Jing had invited her to see.Fei Ni brought Old Fang's manuscript back to their small courtyard. Fang Muyang teased her, "You really don't let yourself rest for a moment. You just finished your exams and already found something to do."
Fei Ni had originally wanted Fang Muyang to relax for a few days, but for the sake of his future, if he really hadn't done well on the exams, this period was the best time for tutoring. Once she started school, she wouldn't be able to stay in the courtyard regularly, only returning once a week. By then, it would be impossible to tutor him. Thinking of this, she felt she should still go over the answers with Fang Muyang to gauge his level. If he had solved most of them, that would be good, but if he hadn't, she could use the time before school started to help him fill in the gaps.
Fei Ni had already anticipated Fang Muyang's reluctance. Before getting down to business, she smiled and said to him, "You've taken such good care of me these past days. Today, it's my turn to serve you."
She pressed down on his shoulders, making him sit in the chair. "I'll make you some tea."
After brewing the tea, Fei Ni sat beside him and peeled an orange for Fang Muyang. She removed the white pith and put it in her own mouth, then fed the orange segments to Fang Muyang, just as he had done for her before.
She asked him, "Is it sweet?"
Of course, it was sweet.
She fed him several more segments in a row.
Fang Muyang held her hand and put the orange into his own mouth.
Fei Ni, who had been the active one, suddenly became passive.
They ate oranges for a while, both forgetting that Xu Hui was supposed to visit.
They forgot, but Xu Hui did not.
At the appointed time, Xu Hui knocked on their door several times. Fei Ni got up from Fang Muyang, who had been acting as her human chair, and hurried to the mirror to tidy her hair. She placed her hands on her face, waiting for the warmth to fade.
As soon as Xu Hui entered, she noticed the cobblestone path and the wooden door blocking the moon gate. She particularly liked that door.
Once the warmth had faded from her face, Fei Ni came out to greet her guest.
"Your house is lovely."
For this visit, Xu Hui brought a bottle of wine and two paintings—one was her most satisfactory work, and the other was the painting Fang Muyang had exchanged with her back then. She thought Fang Muyang and Fei Ni would also like to see that painting.
Fang Muyang's studio momentarily made her forget her purpose for visiting. She couldn't help but notice the studio's floor-to-ceiling window. Peering through it, she discovered her ideal studio—with a skylight and a floor-to-ceiling window. When the peach blossoms bloomed, looking out from the window, one could see the trees full of flowers—a truly magnificent sight. Fang Muyang really knew how to enjoy life.
Compared to Fang Muyang's studio, her own seemed far too shabby. Everything here was ideal. He had an independent courtyard, a studio with a skylight and floor-to-ceiling windows, and a wife.
The greatest benefit of marriage that Xu Hui could imagine was having a reliable model. Besides one's own husband or wife, who would be willing to serve as a life model? The answer was no one. She desperately needed a life model, but if she made such a request to anyone else, it would be hard for them not to think she was a female rogue. Fang Muyang didn't have this problem—he could ask Fei Ni anytime, and even if she refused, there would be no risk.Yet she couldn't marry someone just to have a live model—that would be rather unwise. The more she thought about it, the more she felt Fang Muyang was fortunate to have married the girl he'd liked since childhood, allowing him to paint her anytime in his studio.
Xu Hui's envy made Fang Muyang momentarily uneasy, and he nearly offered to lend her the studio if she needed it. But he knew Xu Hui's nature all too well—once she latched on, the studio wouldn't just be temporarily borrowed. Xu Hui had no personal life outside of painting, which would inevitably mean he and Fei Ni would have no private life either.
Xu Hui not only expressed admiration for Fang Muyang's studio but also praised the bedroom, living room, and bathroom, particularly admiring the moon in the bedroom.
She asked Fang Muyang when and where he had painted that moon, saying she loved the feeling it evoked.
Fei Ni recalled the scene when Fang Muyang painted it and the dizziness she felt then, instinctively smoothing her hair to hide her shyness.
Fang Muyang told Xu Hui it was the moon on the fifteenth of August, seen through the skylight.
"You must have been drinking when you painted this."
Fang Muyang neither admitted nor denied it.
Seeing the painting left Xu Hui somewhat defeated. She didn't think Fang Muyang's technique was much better than hers, but the ingenuity of his composition was something she lacked.
Fei Ni cleared away the cold tea, poured Xu Hui a fresh cup, and brought out fruit and the pastries they had bought earlier.
Xu Hui thought time was truly magical—the little girl in the paintings had now grown up and was hosting her as the lady of the house.
Not only had she never imagined it, but Fang Muyang probably hadn't either.
Fei Ni asked, "May I see your paintings?"
"Of course." She had come precisely to show them her work.
She first showed her paintings to Fei Ni.
Fei Ni found that the paintings truly reflected the artist. In Fang Muyang's work, she always sensed a casual ease, but Xu Hui's paintings radiated ambition—an ambition unafraid of being seen, even fearing it might go unnoticed, yet infused with a touch of innocence.
Fei Ni shared her thoughts with Xu Hui, who pondered and said, "You make a good point."
Fei Ni couldn't help but smile—this person was indeed quite naive.
"So, you agree to be my model?"
Fei Ni couldn't resist asking, "Why does it have to be me?"
"Well... you'll understand when you see this painting."
Xu Hui showed Fei Ni another painting. Across over a decade, Fei Ni recognized the person in the painting as herself.
The figure was both unfamiliar and familiar—back then, she still wore two braids, a white blouse, and a floral skirt, her eyes filled with a mix of pride and hope, believing that with effort, she could achieve anything through her own hands.
Photographs couldn't capture the expression in the painting, and her few photos were too small in comparison. She remembered her childhood, but some years were only vague shells.
The painting stirred her memories.
It certainly wasn't painted by Xu Hui—with such skill, she could think of no one but Fang Muyang.
Yet she couldn't fathom why Fang Muyang would have painted her at that time.
She didn't recall Fang Muyang having any special feelings for her in elementary school.
From the painting, she realized Fang Muyang definitely didn't dislike her—he wouldn't have painted someone he disliked this way. There was even a hint of fondness; without it, he couldn't have captured the details so precisely.Perhaps it's the affection an artist feels for their model, Fei Ni thought.
Fei Ni thanked Xu Hui, who apologetically said, "Fang Muyang exchanged this with me, and I still need to take it away." Although she knew this painting was important to Fei Ni and Fang Muyang, since it had been given to her, she had to keep it for herself—unless...
Fei Ni instinctively asked, "What did he exchange it for?"
"My father gave me art books." Back then, to obtain this painting, Xu Hui had given Fang Muyang most of the art books her father had given her. She had thought she could get new ones, as they were all reprinted editions, but later, even painting what she wanted became difficult, and she never saw those art books again.
Fang Muyang suggested, "Then let's swap back. You've been looking at this painting for so many years anyway."
Xu Hui laughed, "Is this painting only worth those art books to you?" With Fei Ni present, Xu Hui believed Fang Muyang wouldn't dare say yes.
"What else do you want then?"
"I want the moon painting from your bedroom, and I want to paint Fei Ni in your studio. If you agree to both, I'll leave this painting with you."
Xu Hui stated her conditions with confidence, not the least bit embarrassed.
Xu Hui hadn't just looked at this portrait of the young girl—she had copied it multiple times, trying to capture the feeling Fang Muyang had when he painted it. Eventually, she realized she couldn't replicate his mindset because she held no special feelings for the subject. Only by viewing the person in the painting with constant joy could one paint it.
Xu Hui asked Fang Muyang, "Did you already like Fei Ni back then?"
If Xu Hui hadn't mentioned it, Fang Muyang would have nearly forgotten. When he painted Fei Ni back then, it was simply because seeing her made him happy—a joy no different from seeing a flower or a cloud. He viewed Fei Ni through an aesthetic lens. As a man in his twenties now, he could hardly recall the feelings of his teenage self. At the time, he just found her interesting and felt happy seeing her.
Of course, that could be called liking, but it carried no desire for possession—just seeing her was enough. Who would want to possess a cloud? Now, however, he wanted to completely possess her. He could no longer paint with that same feeling, and precisely because he couldn't, he particularly wanted to preserve it as a memento.
Fang Muyang said firmly, "I can't give you the painting from the bedroom, but you can choose any other one to take."
"But I want that moon painting." Xu Hui believed Fei Ni had more say in this household. "Are you willing to exchange with me? If not, that's fine—I'll take good care of it for you."
Now, seeing the moon painting in Fang Muyang's room rekindled her old ambition: to surpass him and collect his artwork. For the moon painting, she was willing to part with this piece she held dear.
The moment Fei Ni saw the moon painting, she recalled the dizziness she felt that day. Naturally, she couldn't let it fall into someone else's hands. As for her childhood portrait, she could only entrust it to Xu Hui's care—after all, Fang Muyang had traded her portrait to Xu Hui for a few art books.
Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solutions between 2021-10-26 20:53:24 and 2021-10-27 23:57:46~Special thanks to the little angel who cast a shallow water bomb: Winter Rose 1;
Special thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: sure 4; Ecological Pig Farming Specialist, Epic Frog, One Pond, 42298142, Rachel, sabrinaplus 1 each;
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Lazy Cat 50 bottles; Heartfelt Joy 42 bottles; Sichuan Fritillary Bulb and Sugar 25 bottles; 22343284, Salty Fish Cultivating Immortality, White Radish 20 bottles each; Puerico, Non-San 19 bottles each; Dun Dun 14 bottles; Plum 13 bottles; Sweet Music, Epic Frog, Wooden Fish, Shrimp Rice, Pinecone, Li Wood, 23461330, Missing Your Updates Every Day, Chili1112, Doll, Hydrochloric Cephalosporin, Morning Tea, Pop Rocks 10 bottles each; One Pond 7 bottles; Snacks, Sheng Xiao 6 bottles each; Huan East Wind, XL, 35235259, Future, Future! 5 bottles each; Zhang Zhang 4 bottles; SY, Heinz, Annmei 3 bottles each; Real, Sheng Yun L&P, HKHaishewei 2 bottles each; Wang Yuejin at the Foot of the Mountain, Two Cats One Dog, Mountains Stop Rivers Flow, Midnight Snack Classmate, Happy Every Day 1 bottle each;
Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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