She splashed her face with cold water to calm her nerves, then opened the bathroom door. She still had to live with Fang Muyang, and avoiding him wasn’t a solution. She wasn’t some shy, newlywed bride—acting bashful for no reason would only give him more opportunities to tease her. It was better to behave naturally.
Fang Muyang gave her a once-over, as if wondering why she had come out without washing up.
Fei Ni ignored him and opened the bag she had brought with her.
Before coming to the guesthouse, her mother had thoughtfully prepared a bag for her, containing a change of clothes and sleepwear. The so-called sleepwear was actually a dress—loose-fitting, sleeveless, and shapeless, made from leftover fabric when she had sewn curtains for her sister. It was cool to wear, though. Perhaps her mother had been in too much of a hurry, as she had packed wooden slippers instead of the new sponge-soled ones Fei Ni usually wore.
Under Fang Muyang’s gaze, Fei Ni picked up her nightdress and cotton breastband. After taking a step, she turned back to grab a shirt before re-entering the bathroom and locking the door. With Fang Muyang outside, she felt no more relaxed taking a hot shower alone than she would in a public bath. The water was scalding hot. She quickly lathered soap and shampoo, then let the water rinse away the suds—the entire process took less than five minutes. Hurriedly, she dried herself with a towel and began dressing. Because she hadn’t dried herself thoroughly, her clothes clung to her skin, forcing her to unfasten the breastband—a left-fastening cotton piece with five buttons, highly absorbent and now stuck to her body. At home, she wouldn’t wear it under her nightdress, but the dress was so loose that going without seemed improper. She dried herself more carefully with the towel, put her clothes back on, and towel-dried her hair until it was about eighty percent dry. Bending over, she gathered the long strands she had washed off and tossed them into the trash.
Once everything was done, she still wasn’t ready to face him, so she squeezed out some toothpaste and brushed her teeth while steadying her emotions.
Her shower had taken five minutes, but she spent ten minutes brushing her teeth. Only when she had composed her expression did she roll up her changed clothes and open the bathroom door. Her loose dress made her appear even thinner. She had thrown a shirt over her upper body, and her calves were exposed below the hem—still flushed from the hot water, their pallor tinged with pink. Her slippers made a clacking sound against the floor, and she felt a twinge of embarrassment, though she tried to suppress it.
Fang Muyang turned to face her, smiling.
To appear unbothered, Fei Ni smiled back—a little stiffly, so much so that she forgot the expression she had prepared earlier.
She shuffled to the bed in her slippers and, as naturally as possible, stuffed the rolled-up clothes into her bag.
“I can wash the clothes you changed out of for you.”
“No need, thank you.”
“Don’t be so polite. You’ve washed plenty of my clothes before.”
Fei Ni insisted on refusing, and Fang Muyang didn’t press further. He opened the room door, leaving her with his retreating back.
Fei Ni wondered what he was going out for at this hour. The electric fan rustled the pages of a book on the table. She stood by the desk and flipped to the cover, immediately spotting the words Clock Repair Manual.
Her fingers rested on the book, but when she heard the door open, she withdrew her hand and placed it on the back of the chair.
Fang Muyang came in and handed Fei Ni a hairdryer. “Dry your hair a bit more. It’s not good to sleep with wet hair.”Not only did Fang Muyang borrow a hairdryer from the front desk, but he also obtained a mosquito coil and a matchbox containing only one match. The flame touched the mosquito coil, and the room took on a different scent.
Seeing that Fei Ni still hadn’t dried her hair, he snatched the hairdryer from her hand, plugged it in, and aimed it at her hair. Fei Ni grabbed it back, saying, "I’ll do it myself."
Fang Muyang adjusted the direction of the fan, lifted the lid of the thermos, poured water into a cup, and placed it in front of the fan. "The water is hot; you can drink it later. Stay away from the fan so you don’t catch a chill."
Fei Ni’s fingers combed through her hair as she lowered her head and thanked him.
Fang Muyang pointed toward the bathroom. "Are you still going in?"
"No, you go ahead."
After drying her hair, Fei Ni sat in front of the cabinet, flipping through a clock repair manual. On the title page, her brother had written a wish for her to become a useful person and had specifically sent her this book. But even if she learned the skill, no clock factory would hire her. Fei Ni’s thoughts drifted back to the furniture. Even if Fang Muyang could build it, it would be a lot of work. Since he was attending the sequential pictures training class, he should focus on drawing. With this in mind, she began thinking about who might need wood for furniture-making so she could transfer the materials.
As she pondered, Fang Muyang emerged from the bathroom. He had taken a cold shower. One advantage of the place where he had worked in the countryside was the abundance of water—he could bathe year-round. From spring to winter, his bathing routine consisted of three steps: pour a basin of water over himself, lather soap from head to toe, and rinse with another basin of cold water. Years of this habit had made him quick; in just ten minutes, he had finished bathing, brushed his teeth, and even washed the clothes he had changed out of.
Fang Muyang was far more uninhibited than Fei Ni. He came out wearing nothing but a black tank top on his upper body, hanging his rinsed clothes on the windowsill. He had only worn the tank top out of consideration for Fei Ni. His arms were sturdy, clearly accustomed to labor—a classic case of lean but not weak. During a time when resources were limited, becoming overweight was a costly endeavor, and Fang Muyang clearly lacked the means for it.
After hanging his clothes, he walked over behind Fei Ni, picked up the hairdryer, and began drying his hair. Fei Ni thought about standing up but realized she was hemmed in by Fang Muyang, who had one hand braced against the cabinet and the other holding the hairdryer. If she tried to stand, she would inevitably bump into him. Fei Ni had no choice but to continue reading his clock repair manual.
Holding the cup with both hands, Fei Ni took a sip of water and discussed with Fang Muyang, "Let’s not make the furniture for now. Wouldn’t it be better for you to focus your time and energy on sequential pictures? If you do well, you could earn more from your illustrations—enough to buy furniture, and maybe even land a permanent job. To be blunt, even if you try and find out that you don’t want to draw sequential pictures or aren’t suited for it, and you can’t find a job after the training class, there will be plenty of time to make furniture later. Why rush now?"
Fei Ni maintained her stance: "As long as the furniture is functional, even old ones will do. If you agree, I’ll help you transfer the wood. The money will still be yours."
"You value my time that much?"
Fei Ni cursed inwardly at his tendency to miss the point but replied impatiently, "If you decide to sell, let me know tomorrow, and I’ll find someone for you."
"Don’t worry, I know my priorities. But I’m definitely making the furniture. I’ve checked at the furniture store—they don’t have the kind you want."Fei Ni was not moved and merely said, "Do as you please." Her eyes remained fixed on the clock repair manual, refusing to look at Fang Muyang.
Fang Muyang asked her, "I want to sleep now. Which bed do you want?"
"Can you keep your mouth farther away from me? I can hear you." Fei Ni cupped her face with her hands, covering her reddened ears. "You can sleep in either one."
"Then I'll take the one by the door. I'll leave the stick by your bed so you can reach it easily."
"No need."
"Don't trust me so much. I don't deserve your trust." Because Fei Ni had said she could hear him, Fang Muyang leaned close to her ear and spoke very softly this time. "I can't sleep with the lights on. You lie down first, then I'll turn them off." The room had two lights—one on the ceiling and a desk lamp on the nightstand between the two beds.
He spoke so softly that Fei Ni's ears tingled.
"You go ahead and turn off the lights to sleep. I'll sit here a while longer."
Fang Muyang didn't press her further. He turned off the ceiling light first, walked to the bed, switched off the desk lamp, pulled the sheet over himself, and lay down.
Only when the room was completely dark did Fei Ni slip on her slippers and feel her way toward the window. The room suddenly brightened again. Fang Muyang had covered his head with the sheet, but his hand held the pull cord of the desk lamp.
"Turn off the light."
After Fei Ni lay down, the room returned to darkness.
Five minutes later, Fei Ni asked Fang Muyang, "Are you asleep?"
"I'm asleep."
Fei Ni scoffed.
Another five minutes passed. Fang Muyang deliberately produced even breathing sounds. This time, Fei Ni thought he was truly asleep and drifted off peacefully.
The room was so quiet that Fang Muyang could discern Fei Ni's breathing pattern. He sat up in bed and turned on the desk lamp.
Sleeping people make good models, especially someone like Fei Ni, who slept neatly—always lying on one side, the sheet pulled just below her chin, only her head exposed. Her eyelashes were very curly, as if a gust of wind could lift them. Fang Muyang felt an urge to blow on them to test this, but he only held his pen about a centimeter away from her lashes and made a slight motion.
Fei Ni woke up very early. Light seeped through the curtains, and she noticed the desk lamp in the room was still on. It was no longer on the nightstand but had been moved to the cabinet. Fang Muyang was sitting on a chair, his back to her.
"What are you doing?"
"Studying."
Fang Muyang quickly covered his wristwatch with a book. "Why are you awake so early? Sleep a bit more."
"I can't sleep." Fei Ni got up, took her change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to swap out the dress she had worn at night.
Fei Ni needed to go to work, and Fang Muyang had to attend a training class. They had breakfast at a small shop next to the guesthouse. Fei Ni paid first; she didn't like meat buns, so she only bought two for Fang Muyang.
After the meal, Fang Muyang offered to ride her to work on his bicycle.
"Don't bother seeing me off. I'll take the bus. You can keep the bicycle. Come directly to our place for dinner tonight."
"We're not far from each other. It won't take much time to drop you off."
After some thought, Fei Ni tactfully brought up the matter of the Television Ticket. She had gone to great lengths to secure a job for her brother and couldn't afford any mishaps.
Fang Muyang looked at her and laughed. "What? Do I have the face of someone who can't get a Television Ticket?"
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