On the office wall hung propaganda posters encouraging late marriage, yet Fang Muyang felt no shame for complying with the call. His eyes were fixed on the marriage certificate being issued, which bore Fei Ni’s date of birth.
The marriage certificate unfolded like an award certificate, with the names Fei Ni and Fang Muyang written before the words "voluntary marriage."
They were indeed marrying voluntarily, without the slightest coercion.
Fei Ni closed the marriage certificate, took out a large prepared envelope from her bag, carefully placed the certificate inside, and then put the envelope back in her bag. She reminded Fang Muyang, "Don’t you dare lose this."
"How could I possibly lose it?"
"Maybe I should keep it for you."
Fang Muyang smiled. "Don’t worry, I definitely won’t lose it."
Fei Ni handed Fang Muyang an envelope and asked him to store his marriage certificate in it as well.
"So, we’re officially married now."
Seeing how happy Fang Muyang was, Fei Ni nodded. "Soon, we’ll have our own place."
She hopped onto the back of his bicycle and asked him to take her to the Office of Educated Youth.
At the Office of Educated Youth, Fei Ni helped her brother process the hardship withdrawal notice. The notice was sent by registered mail, and to avoid any mishaps, Fei Ni also sent her brother a telegram.
The past week had been unusually sweltering. After finishing everything, Fei Ni bought two old-fashioned ice pops, handing one to Fang Muyang. Ice cream was too expensive—they would have plenty of expenses in the future.
Munching on their ice pops, the two strolled through a department store, selecting gifts for Fei Ni’s parents. Fei Ni picked out a piece of fabric for each of her parents, but before she could pay, Fang Muyang took out his money.
Fei Ni said, "These are for my parents. I’ll pay."
"Aren’t they supposed to be from me? It wouldn’t be good to lie."
"It’s fine."
"I don’t like lying."
Fang Muyang spoke seriously, and Fei Ni didn’t want to argue with him at the counter, so she let him pay.
After leaving the department store, Fei Ni told Fang Muyang, "Sometimes, white lies are necessary. Didn’t you say we should save money before? Your money is limited—the more you spend, the less you have."
"Aren’t we both saving to furnish our new home? Whether you save or I save, it’s the same."
Fang Muyang’s words sounded reasonable at first, but Fei Ni sensed something off. They weren’t truly husband and wife, and they couldn’t be so casual about money.
"It’s not the same. If you buy a chair later, I can sit on it, but it still belongs to you. Similarly, if I buy something, you can use it, but the ownership is mine."
Fang Muyang laughed and retorted, "No, what’s yours remains yours, but what’s mine is ours."
His words made Fei Ni seem petty in comparison.
Fei Ni insisted on giving him the money, so Fang Muyang suggested, "In that case, for the sake of fairness, Fei Ni, why don’t you give me a gift too?"
Fei Ni was momentarily taken aback—was he asking for a gift? Most people, even if they wanted a gift, wouldn’t be so straightforward and would only hint at it. If they spent all their money, they might end up sleeping on the floor later. But on a day like this, she couldn’t refuse him. After all, her brother’s return to the city and her eligibility for housing were because she was marrying him.
"What do you want?"
Fang Muyang cycled with Fei Ni to a secondhand store and picked out a violin.Fei Ni hadn't expected Fang Muyang to choose such an expensive gift. Because she was dating Ye Feng, his parents, considering she would have many expenses during their dates, firmly refused to accept her meal money, leaving her with a little extra cash. But this amount wasn't nearly enough to buy a violin, even a secondhand one. Two pieces of fabric combined would only cover half the cost of a violin.
She decided to reject Fang Muyang's request. Before she could voice her refusal, she heard Fang Muyang ask the shop assistant, "Can I try the violin in the back?" Fang Muyang said he wanted to play "Shajiabang." The shop assistant wasn't busy at the moment and, since there was free live music to enjoy, took him to the back.
Fei Ni's lips twitched slightly. What misunderstanding did he have about her to think she could afford such a violin?
In the room filled with old furniture, Fang Muyang ignored everything around him and played the violin on his own. It was "Shajiabang" again. She didn't dislike the piece, but anything could become tiresome if heard too often.
Fei Ni noticed Fang Muyang had switched tunes midway. The melody immediately became soothing. She stood by the window, deliberately avoiding looking at Fang Muyang and focusing instead on the sun hanging among the trees. The leaves were perfectly still. At that moment, she no longer resented Fang Muyang for being inconsiderate but rather herself for not having extra money. In terms of size, a violin was much better than a piano—at least she wouldn't have to worry about where to put it after buying it.
By the time the piece ended, Fei Ni had prepared her excuse to reject Fang Muyang.
The shop assistant asked Fang Muyang what piece he had played later.
Fang Muyang said it was an Albanian homesick song.
Fei Ni knew he was talking nonsense. As she was thinking about how to persuade Fang Muyang, she heard him say the violin's tone was too ordinary and he didn't want it anymore.
Fei Ni's heart settled with relief.
Fang Muyang had already accomplished his goal of playing the piece he wanted for Fei Ni to hear and had no further attachment to the violin. He picked out a record and asked Fei Ni to buy it for him.
Fei Ni readily paid for it.
"You didn't dislike the piece I played, did you?"
"It was very good." If she had the money—if her savings hadn't been completely spent on taking care of him—she would have given him a violin.
"Are you sure you haven't remembered anything from the past?" Because Fang Muyang had lost his memory, Fei Ni had specifically looked up related books in bookstores and libraries. She had read that some people, after losing their memory, might not recall specific events but still retain life skills from before. She wasn't sure if Fang Muyang was one of them.
"I always feel there's something else between us that you haven't told me. Did I like you a lot back then?"
Fei Ni said expressionlessly, "No. We were just ordinary classmates."
"You're lying, aren't you? Someone as lovely as you—how could I not have liked you back then?"
Fei Ni didn't want to continue the discussion with him and urged him to pedal faster.
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