Seeing Fei Ni unwilling to part with the painting, Fang Muyang said to Xu Hui, "Then I'll trouble you to keep it for us. If needed, I can get a frame for it." He was certain that since Xu Hui had brought the painting, she wouldn't easily take it away, but leaving it with them came with conditions. He waited for Xu Hui to propose new terms.
"I'm not that unreasonable. Although the painting is mine, considering how much you like it, I'm willing to leave it with you for a while. But I have one condition..." Afraid they wouldn't ask and she'd have no way to save face, Xu Hui spoke directly to Fei Ni: "I'd like to paint your portrait in the studio next door. If you agree, you can keep this painting for me temporarily."
Xu Hui thought that Fang Muyang must have painted Fei Ni many times before they were together, and surely even more after marriage. She wanted to paint Fei Ni in a way that surpassed all of Fang Muyang's previous portraits.
She had brought wine specifically for painting Fei Ni today. Fei Ni's beauty was too proper—any more would be rigid. But the first time Xu Hui saw Fei Ni, she noticed the playful lightness behind that propriety. This lightness probably only appeared when Fang Muyang was around. She still remembered Fei Ni standing on tiptoe, waving to greet Fang Muyang. To capture that, she needed a little wine.
Xu Hui liked finding charm in dignified people and honesty in slick people. She disliked painting ordinary states but loved capturing those fleeting moments of unexpected expression. Even without Fang Muyang, she would have wanted to paint Fei Ni.
Fei Ni really wanted her childhood portrait back. To get it, she was willing to model for Xu Hui for a day, though not today—she had work tomorrow and would have to wait until Sunday.
With her matter settled, Xu Hui showed no intention of leaving. She asked Fang Muyang, "Can I see your other paintings?"
She looked through them one by one. Originally thinking she'd pick one to exchange with Fang Muyang, she found herself wanting more than one and couldn't decide.
She asked Fang Muyang what he did for work. Learning he was unemployed and staying home, her envy grew deeper. Having such a studio and being able to paint anytime—what a heavenly life. And Fei Ni didn't even pressure him to find a proper job.
Only with a wife like that could one paint currently unpopular works, just to satisfy the urge to create.
Xu Hui wasn't surprised that Fang Muyang used oil painting techniques to imitate literati paintings, nor that he painted his wife on discarded towels. What astonished her was how, in Fang Muyang's paintings, even an old farmer in the outskirts watching over wheat fields while drinking water and eating cornbread carried an air of complete contentment. The gaze surveying the fields was no different from a feudal lord inspecting his domain. She had painted farmers laboring too, and she had depicted joy, but while painting, she always knew it was false.
Yet the joy in Fang Muyang's paintings felt real, because he painted the moments between labor.
Xu Hui had been an Educated Youth for two years—the most difficult period of her life. Before going to the countryside, she had many pastoral fantasies about rural life. But actually being there was pure misery; she wanted to leave every single moment. Farming was just too hard. Fortunately, the production team later let her paint propaganda posters to earn work points, freeing her from the drudgery. Occasionally, when she painted farmers' supposed love for labor in those posters, she felt she was betraying the villagers, glossing over their hardships to meet quotas. For her, labor held no joy at all.If not for Fang Muyang's painting, Xu Hui would have forgotten that she too had moments of joy during labor. The happiest times were the breaks after finishing work—the more exhausting the labor, the more delightful the rest felt. Even sitting with her head bowed, drinking water and watching the clouds, she felt they were more beautiful than usual, simply because such breaks were so rare. Though daily labor was arduous, the year-end settlement of work points and distribution of earnings also brought joy, as the hardships finally bore fruit—she could finally earn money on her own.
Only someone like Fang Muyang, who had experienced it himself, could accurately capture this kind of joy.
Xu Hui thought, Fang Muyang was truly one to indulge in pleasure. Enjoying life when one has money and leisure isn't difficult, but consciously savoring rare moments of leisure after grueling labor is what's truly remarkable. She had always imagined that once she left the countryside and the propaganda team, she would paint whatever she wanted. Yet Fang Muyang could paint his desired subjects without distancing himself from these circumstances—he could enjoy himself anytime, anywhere.
Xu Hui said to Fang Muyang, "Would you be willing to trade this painting with me?"
Among all his paintings, this one was the most suitable for the art exhibition. The others were good, but they didn't align with current aesthetic trends. If Fang Muyang intended to submit this painting to the exhibition, he surely wouldn't give it to her.
Fang Muyang hesitated for a few seconds, then agreed.
Xu Hui left happily, feeling she had gained a great deal. After seeing Xu Hui off, Fang Muyang and Fei Ni admired the paintings he had drawn as a child together.
Fei Ni studied the portrait of herself in the painting and asked Fang Muyang, "How did you paint this? I don't recall you watching me much." She really liked this painting—it couldn't have been done without considerable observation of her. But if Fang Muyang had been observing her all along, how could she have been completely unaware?
"Not just back then, but even a few days ago when you were organizing Dad's manuscripts, I was watching you from behind, and you didn't notice, did you?"
Not to mention when she used to swat flies—her eyes were only on the flies, with no room for him.
"Why did you paint me?" She had an inkling, but she wanted to hear Fang Muyang say it himself.
"Because you were interesting—I couldn't help watching you." Actually, Fei Ni had watched him first. He initially thought she was a spy sent by the teacher to keep an eye on him after class, checking if he was causing trouble. Only later did he realize Fei Ni was observing how he caught flies so she could learn from him, since he always caught so many. But he didn't swat flies himself—he set bait in a jar and waited for them to fly in. If Fei Ni hadn't kept staring at him, he wouldn't have discovered that this seemingly clever girl was actually adorably clumsy, putting in great effort every day to catch flies but often failing to catch even one.
"You must have painted a lot of people back then.""You are the most beautiful person I've ever painted." It was only when Fei Ni appeared on his canvas that Fang Muyang realized she was a pretty young girl. At that time, Fang Muyang only saw two types of people in his eyes—regardless of gender or appearance—those he wanted to paint and those he didn't. Those who sparked his curiosity not only made him want to look longer but also compelled him to put them on paper. If he had no sketchbook, he would draw in the margins of his textbooks. Even without paper or pen, he could still paint in his mind. For those who didn't intrigue him, no matter how beautiful they were, he would at most glance once more but never paint them. This wasn't just because art supplies were limited, but because he lacked the passion. For someone as impatient as him, spending hours on one task required immense enthusiasm—otherwise, it simply couldn't be done.
"You're just flattering me."
"Why don't you believe me again?" Fang Muyang patiently smoothed Fei Ni's hair with his fingers. "Even if you don't trust me, you should have confidence in yourself. Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful than you?"
"More nonsense." Fei Ni reached out to poke Fang Muyang's forehead. "Were you out painting while I was at work?" The painting Xu Hui had asked for earlier, judging by when it was created, was clearly done during the period when Fang Muyang had quit his job to study.
Fang Muyang leaned in to kiss Fei Ni's eyes. "You truly have discerning eyes." Before the exam, he had taken care of Fei Ni for several consecutive days. She had expressed feeling quite guilty about it, worrying that if he failed the exam, she might blame herself for his distraction during her illness. It was better to let her think he hadn't studied properly all along. If he performed poorly, it would have nothing to do with her sickness.
"So you painted outside during the day, then sat at the desk to fool me right before I got off work?"
"I wasn't fooling you."
Fang Muyang didn't clarify that he had actually studied at home during the day—it was just that Fei Ni naturally assumed he was at his desk whenever she returned from work.
Fei Ni didn't dwell on the past with Fang Muyang. After all, he had been painting, not doing anything else.
"I don't think your chances of passing this exam are very high." Choosing her words carefully to protect Fang Muyang's pride, Fei Ni suggested, "While I still remember the college entrance exam questions, let me write them down first. Then you can solve them again, and I'll see which areas you need help with for targeted review."
Fei Ni proactively kissed Fang Muyang's cheek. "I need to organize this now, or I'll forget."
After finishing her morning exam, Fei Ni sat back at the table in the afternoon, burying herself in writing.
Feeling heartbroken for her, Fang Muyang brought up her earlier promise: "Do you remember? You said after the exam, you'd do whatever I wanted."
"Can we wait until tonight?" Fei Ni whispered to Fang Muyang. "I'll listen to whatever you say tonight, you decide everything."
Fang Muyang stood behind Fei Ni massaging her shoulders. "I just want you to rest."
Fei Ni's face flushed slightly. She couldn't help but doubt herself—was it because she enjoyed that particular activity that whenever Fang Muyang made a request, her mind immediately went there? Even though sometimes he didn't have those intentions at all.
Fang Muyang's hands applied just the right pressure. The tension Fei Ni had been holding melted away, her body softening until she nearly lost all willpower.
She still needed to harness that energy to rewrite all the exam questions, so she had to shoo Fang Muyang away. "Don't you need to develop photos?"Fang Muyang brewed tea for Fei Ni, then temporarily set up a darkroom to develop photos. Developing photos was secondary; his main purpose was to use this time to recall the exam questions he had answered. He had crammed a lot before the exam, which came in handy during the test. But this memory was short-lived, and if Fei Ni tested him now, he was afraid he would even forget the questions he had managed to answer during the exam. If he couldn’t remember, what awaited him would be long hours of remedial lessons.
Fei Ni rewrote the college entrance exam questions from memory. Fang Muyang had intended to work on them while they were still fresh in his mind, but Fei Ni unexpectedly showed mercy, telling him to rest for two days before doing them, reasoning that he had been too busy lately—not only painting and reviewing, but also taking care of her while she was sick.
Fang Muyang, however, insisted on doing them right away. Even on their way to the movies, Fang Muyang was working on the problems. Fei Ni would recite the questions, and Fang Muyang would immediately give the answers.
Under the deep blue night, Fei Ni sat on the back of the bicycle, her entire face wrapped in a scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Fei Ni’s eyes held a smile. Fang Muyang’s results weren’t as bad as she had feared—truly a good thing.
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