It was clear that Ye Feng's parents looked down on her and couldn't even be bothered with superficial politeness.
The way Ye Feng's mother looked at Fei Ni made it seem as though she wasn't there to meet the parents, but rather eagerly delivering gifts to curry favor—except the gifts were so meager she couldn't even be bothered to glance at them.
It would take at least a hundred people clamoring to bring gifts to the Ye family to cultivate the kind of haughty, dismissive attitude Ye Feng's mother possessed.
Although Ye Feng's mother worked at a hospital, she wasn't in a clinical role. So her arrogance toward Fei Ni wasn't that of a doctor toward a patient, but rather that of a logistics administrator in charge of resource allocation toward someone trying to ingratiate themselves. She didn't even need to say a word—a single glance was enough to convey her disdain.
Fei Ni didn't feel she was beneath Ye Feng in any way. The only difference between them was a diploma. If she could have taken the college entrance exam, she definitely would have passed. Even without a diploma, she could support herself—the clothes she wore and the food she ate were all earned through her own efforts. But when their respective conditions were weighed on the scale of marriage prospects, his parents clearly found her lacking.
Ye Feng suddenly suggested to Fei Ni, "Didn't you say last time that you could play 'Shajiabang' on the piano too? There happens to be a piano here—could you treat my ears?" After watching the "Shajiabang" symphony performance last time, Fei Ni had mentioned that it could be played on piano.
Fei Ni immediately understood Ye Feng's intention. He wanted her to show off in front of his mother, to prove that the girlfriend he'd chosen wasn't as unrefined as his mother assumed. Even though she was just a high school graduate and an ordinary factory worker, she could play the piano and even sing selections from "Shajiabang" while playing.
Fei Ni had learned to play piano back in school, practicing on the instrument donated by Fang Muyang's grandmother. During lunch breaks when others rested, she would sneak in to practice, occasionally even playing some less politically progressive pieces. Back then, she dreamed that after she started working and had her own place, she would definitely buy a piano for her home. At the time, a piano was an unattainable dream—she only had five cents per day for pocket money, while even the cheapest piano cost hundreds of yuan. Moreover, her home was too small to accommodate one. After she started working and had disposable income, she could buy a used piano from a thrift store for just a few dozen yuan—much cheaper than a new bicycle. She could finally afford one, but still had no place to put it.
So she could only go to the trust store to play piano, sticking strictly to politically progressive pieces. The trust store employees received fixed salaries regardless of whether customers bought anything, and since pianos were large items that couldn't be stolen in broad daylight, they didn't monitor piano browsers too closely. Fei Ni took advantage of this, using piano viewing as pretext for practice. Because she played progressive tunes, others couldn't effectively complain even if they grew impatient. She stopped going last month after being recognized.
Fei Ni didn't want to play "Shajiabang," particularly not to prove she was worthy of Ye Feng through piano playing. Was she supposed to naturally endure cold treatment just because she couldn't play?
Fei Ni smiled. "I don't feel like playing right now."
She caught the flash of disappointment in Ye Feng's eyes, and his disappointment made her somewhat disappointed in him too.
Ye Feng's mother interpreted Fei Ni's "don't feel like playing" as "can't play"—probably she'd taken a few music classes in school and was now boasting about it as some special skill.
"Do you often practice at home?"Fei Ni knew she was deliberately making her feel awkward by asking about the piano despite being fully aware her family didn’t own one, but she still answered candidly, “We don’t have a piano at home.”
Her expression and tone showed not a hint of embarrassment.
Ye Feng’s mother set aside her newspaper, her words growing more voluble: “If you don’t play the piano for a week, your fingers grow stiff. This piano was originally meant to be part of Ye Feng’s sister’s dowry, but she said she’d still want to play it when she visits, so we had to keep it. Ye Feng put in a lot of effort for his sister’s wedding—he took care of all the vouchers for the record player, television set, and radio.”
At first, Fei Ni found the latter part of Mrs. Ye’s remark abrupt, but she quickly grasped the subtext: the Ye family’s dowry was lavish, including not just a piano but also a record player, television set, and radio—unlike other families who relied on the groom’s side to cover such expenses.
When Aunt Chen emerged from the kitchen, Mrs. Ye told her, “Hold off on the sweet and sour fish—that’s Yingying’s specialty. She’ll be here soon to show off her skills.”
Ye Feng asked, “Why is she coming?”
“I’ve always treated Yingying like my own daughter. This is her home too—she can come whenever she wants. I even wish she could live with us permanently.”
Fei Ni finally understood why the Ye family, though unwelcoming toward her, had the housekeeper busy in the kitchen since early morning—it was for another guest. This girl named Yingying was likely their preferred daughter-in-law.
Ye Feng could no longer tolerate his mother’s attitude, but he didn’t want to confront her directly. Instead, he said to Fei Ni, “Let’s go to my room and see if there are any books you’d like to read.”
He knew Fei Ni had been slighted, yet her face showed no trace of grievance—it remained gentle. This gentleness was a form of subtle arrogance, and compared to her composure, his mother’s overt condescension seemed crude. It was this very gentleness that had initially captivated him. He’d been somewhat surprised to learn Fei Ni worked at a hat factory, and visiting her home had only heightened his astonishment. Her home was cramped, even smaller than his bedroom, yet for her sake, he had repeatedly endured its narrow confines.
The telephone rang, and from Mrs. Ye’s tone, it was Yingying calling.
Over the phone, Mrs. Ye mentioned she had saved lychees especially for Yingying to enjoy when she arrived.
Fei Ni had been there for some time but hadn’t seen any lychees. She recalled her first time tasting lychees—it was Fang Muyang who had given them to her, saying no one in his family liked them and they’d go bad if left uneaten. Many classmates had received lychees from Fang Muyang, and she was one of them.
“No, I should be going now,” Fei Ni said. Since they clearly didn’t want her there, she saw no reason to stay.
“But we agreed you’d have dinner here. After the meal, I’ll go wherever you’d like.”
“I’ll eat at home.”
As Ye Feng tried to persuade her, his mother interjected, “If she has other plans, don’t force her.”
Mrs. Ye finally allowed a slight smile to surface and pointed to the pastries and tea Fei Ni had brought. “You should take these back for your parents.”
Fei Ni didn’t refuse. She picked up the pastry box and tea canister, but as she turned to leave, she suddenly added, “I didn’t drink the tea in the cup. You can just pour it out—no need to sterilize it specially.”
Earlier, when the housekeeper served tea, both Ye Feng and his mother had been given porcelain cups, while Fei Ni had been deliberately given a glass one.Fei Ni walked away without a trace of reluctance, and Ye Feng hurried after her. He grabbed her arm, his tone half-pleading, half-imploring, and said, "Come back. Just do it for my sake."
His parents hadn’t given her the slightest consideration, but Fei Ni didn’t want to point that out. She still smiled and said, "I’d rather eat at home. If I used your family’s bowls and chopsticks, your mother would have to disinfect them specially. That’s too much trouble."
"The cup was just handed to you casually by Auntie Chen. It’s not what you think."
"It’s nothing. There’s nothing wrong with being particular about hygiene. After all, she doesn’t know what contagious diseases I might have. She just didn’t need to make it so obvious, as if she were afraid I wouldn’t notice."
Ye Feng knew perfectly well that his mother had done it on purpose, but he insisted it was a misunderstanding. He didn’t want Fei Ni and his mother to be on bad terms, especially since they would have to live together after they got married. If he insisted on moving out to start a small family after marriage, his work unit would assign him a room. But if he competed for limited housing when his family had plenty of space, it would harm his reputation. Besides, the conditions at home were far better than outside.
Fei Ni didn’t want to argue with him any further, her voice betraying unconcealed weariness. "Right, your mother didn’t mean it. You should go back and eat."
"Didn’t we agree to eat together? Let’s go for Western food. My treat."
Without even saying goodbye to his family, Ye Feng followed Fei Ni downstairs.
Seeing that Ye Feng was really coming with her, Fei Ni’s tone softened slightly. "Go back. I don’t feel like eating out today."
"Wherever you’re going, I’ll go with you."
"Ye Feng, I think we both need to reconsider things."
"I have nothing to reconsider. My mother’s attitude doesn’t represent mine. I’m the one who’ll marry you, not my parents. If you reject me because of them, isn’t that unfair to me?"
Ye Feng had the kind of face suited to being a husband—handsome in a reliable way. As a section chief at the Radio Industry Bureau, in an era when television sets, record players, and radios were all rationed, many people sought his help. Yet there wasn’t a hint of arrogance in his demeanor. Fei Ni felt he was different from his parents and decided to give him another chance.
In the end, Fei Ni did eat with Ye Feng, at the same restaurant where she and Fang Muyang had gone for the first time.
It took Fei Ni several seconds to confirm that the young man two tables away was Fang Muyang.
She knew exactly what he looked like; what puzzled her was why he had come here again. Sitting across from him was a man in a blue casual suit, the white in his hair indicating he was at least fifty years old.
Fang Muyang also noticed Fei Ni. Their eyes met for a few seconds before Fei Ni looked away first.
The man opposite him asked, "See someone you know?"
The man’s surname was Fu. He was the head of a publishing house and an old classmate of Fang Muyang’s mother. Under the publishing house was a Worker-Peasant-Soldier Art Training Class, which produced most of the influential sequential pictures on the market.
"A friend."
Fang Muyang called a waiter and ordered an extra Creamy Baked Fish, a Stewed Beef Casserole, and two plates of ice cream for Fei Ni’s table.
He told the waiter, "Put these on my bill."
President Fu asked him, "Shouldn’t you go over and say hello?"
"She might not want to talk to me right now."President Fu couldn't help but feel an additional measure of respect for this young man from the Fang family. Over the past decade, everything had changed—only Fang Muyang, despite years of education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, still carried himself like a frivolous playboy. If he had a few coins today, he'd never save them for tomorrow. Even when others didn't want to deal with him, he would deliberately add dishes to their meals just to provoke them.
He very much wanted to talk to Fang Muyang about his mother. Back in the day, he and Fang's mother had been university classmates. She had once treated him to a Western restaurant, where the food was far more authentic than what was served here. There were too many sensitive aspects to those old memories, many unsuitable for public discussion, so he had to pick and choose his words carefully.
Years of ups and downs had cultivated in President Fu the habit of never letting a third party overhear his private conversations. His voice reached Fang Muyang's ears precisely, yet no one else could make out what he was saying.
"Your parents originally worried there were too many intellectuals in the family, so they wanted you to become a factory worker after middle school. If you could enter a factory now, it would fulfill their wishes."
Everything President Fu said was true, but what he left unstated was that Fang Muyang's current status in the training program was that of an Educated Youth, meaning he could be sent back to the countryside at any time. Had he first become a factory worker and then transferred to the training program to draw sequential pictures, the situation would be entirely different.
"The training program can't provide you with dormitory housing. You should see if the Office of Educated Youth can help you petition the housing authority to allocate one of your family's original rooms to you."
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