Seeing Fei Ni’s expression change, Fang Muyang adopted a tone of reluctant compliance: "Alright, I’ll go. Even if I have to crawl, I’ll crawl back."
This made Fei Ni seem unreasonable.
She lowered her voice to negotiate with him: "If you’re really tired, I’ll sleep on the trunks later, and you can take the bed. Just don’t let my parents know." Two large camphorwood trunks pushed together would be just enough to fit her.
Fang Muyang ruffled her hair. "Actually, I’m not that tired. I can manage to bike back to the guesthouse." In truth, he hadn’t actually intended to stay—he was just teasing her. Living together wasn’t any easier for him than it was for her; he hadn’t slept at all last night, and going back to the guesthouse alone would let him catch up on rest.
His considerate words made Fei Ni forgive his hands-on behavior, even though his hands were still damp from washing bowls and being rinsed under the cold tap. Worried that others in the washroom might notice them, she reminded him, "Your hands."
When Fang Muyang offered to return to the guesthouse on his own, the elderly Fei couple thought the two had quarreled and glanced at Fei Ni. She smiled at Fang Muyang and told him to ride slowly. It didn’t seem like there was any conflict.
In front of Fang Muyang, Fei Ma took out a red envelope. "This is from your second sister. She couldn’t come yesterday because it was her mother-in-law’s birthday, but she brought this gift money and two thermoses early this morning. I’ll keep the thermoses for now—you can take them after you move."
Fei Ni opened it and found fifteen yuan inside. She only earned thirty yuan a month. When her second sister got married, Fei Ni had given twelve yuan as a gift. Her sister probably felt that, as the older one, she ought to give more than Fei Ni had.
As Fang Muyang reached the door, Fei Ni stopped him. "Wait for me at the door. I’ll see you downstairs."
Fei Ni went into the inner room, rummaged through the biscuit tin for her remaining grain coupons, folded them neatly, and placed them inside the red envelope along with the money. After a moment’s thought, she pulled out five yuan, planning to give it to him another time. If she let him spend freely, no amount would be enough. She didn’t want him to end up with nothing for food when she had nothing left to give.
They went downstairs one after the other. At the bottom, Fei Ni asked Fang Muyang, "Do you still have grain coupons and money?"
No one knew better than her how much money and grain coupons Fang Muyang had. With his free-spending habits and the lumber he’d bought, it would be strange if anything was left.
"I do."
"Where from?"
"Don’t worry about that." He was too embarrassed to say he’d pawned the overcoat Fei Ni bought him—its purchase had already caused some tension.
Fei Ni handed him the red envelope. "This money is for food—don’t spend it on anything else. And when people help you, you should treat them to a meal." She knew Fang Muyang wouldn’t skimp too much on food, so she didn’t advise him to economize there.
"If you give me your grain coupons, what will you eat?"
"It’s the end of the month. I’ve been eating at home lately."
"Then keep the money and just give me the grain coupons. I still have money. If I run out, I’ll ask you."
Fang Muyang said it so frankly that Fei Ni didn’t doubt he’d come to her if he needed funds.
"Now that you have a job, you should call your sister to let her know you’re alright. She’s been worried about you."Fang Muyang said okay, without telling Fei Ni that he had already written to his sister and mailed some photos he had taken earlier of this city. His sister hadn't properly seen the place where she grew up in many years. It hadn't occurred to him that he would marry before his sister, especially since back during the inter-city exchange, when he visited her, she already had a boyfriend.
A crescent moon hung in the sky. Fei Ni looked up at the sky and said to Fang Muyang, "Be careful on your way back."
It was her way of telling him to leave.
"I'll watch you go in before I leave."
As soon as Fei Ni entered the building, she turned around and found Fang Muyang still there. After just one glance, she turned and went upstairs.
When she returned, Fei Ma was waiting for her in the inner room.
"What's going on with you and Xiao Fang?" Based on Fei Ma's experience, it was rare for newlyweds to willingly sleep apart on the second day of marriage. But the two of them were so affectionate, even walking each other downstairs, and didn't seem to be having any conflicts.
"Nothing's going on."
"Then why didn't you go back to the guesthouse with him?"
"Just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't stay at my own home?"
"It's not that you can't stay," it's just that everything felt off, "Is there something wrong with Xiao Fang?"
"What kind of problem?"
"Well..." Fei Ma, constrained by her dignity as an elder, couldn't bring herself to ask further. She thought she'd observe the situation more tomorrow and said to Fei Ni, "It's getting late. Wash up and go to sleep."
Unexpectedly, only Fei Ni came home for dinner the next day. Fei Ma asked where Fang Muyang was.
Fei Ni said, "He's having dinner with friends and won't be coming over." It was only right to treat someone to a meal after they'd helped out, and Fang Muyang had told her early in the morning that he wouldn't be back that evening.
"Will he be coming over tonight then?"
"No, it's not worth the trouble."
The old couple had just started thinking Fang Muyang was reliable, but now they were having second thoughts. Especially Old Fei - the lumber had already been delivered downstairs, and he wanted to discuss making furniture with his son-in-law, but the son-in-law wasn't coming back.
Fei Ni didn't want her parents to think poorly of Fang Muyang, so she briefly mentioned the television ticket situation.
However, Old Fei still had his doubts. Treating someone to dinner didn't conflict with coming to see Fei Ni here. He'd been young too, and he'd never seen a normal man, freshly married, who didn't want to live with his wife - unless there was something wrong in that department.
Old Fei let out half a long sigh, then forcibly swallowed the other half. Their daughter already had enough troubles - he wouldn't add to her burdens.
After dinner, when Fei Ni went to clear the bowls, Old Fei said he would wash them and told Fei Ni to talk with her mother. Fei Ni refused, saying she'd talk after washing the bowls. Just as she finished clearing the table, there was a knock at the door.
When she opened it, she saw Fang Muyang. She thought he wasn't coming.
Fang Muyang greeted the old couple and naturally took the bowls from Fei Ni's hands, going with her to the washroom to clean them.
"Didn't you say you weren't coming today?"
"I brought you the television ticket."
"Aren't we seeing each other tomorrow morning anyway?" It wasn't like she was going to give the television ticket to someone tonight.
"But I wanted to give it to you today."
His words were so foolish that Fei Ni didn't know how to respond. She grabbed the washing basin, "Take a rest, I'll wash them."
Fang Muyang took it back, "I worked up a sweat coming here. Let me wash the dishes to cool off."
Fei Ni noticed that Fang Muyang's shirt was somewhat transparent, probably from being soaked with sweat.It was indeed hot today, with no wind at all, but if he hadn't been in such a hurry to come here, he probably wouldn't have gotten so heated. Fei Ni cursed him silently in her heart for being foolish—who washes dishes to cool down?
She hurried back to her room, fetched her washbasin, filled it with cold water. Since there were no extra towels at home, she had no choice but to dip her own towel into the basin, wring it out, and hand it to Fang Muyang to wipe his sweat.
"I'm in the middle of washing dishes and can't free my hands. Why don't you wipe it for me?"
"Stop washing for now."
"Just two more, and I'll be done."
Fei Ni had no alternative. She took the towel and wiped behind his ears and his neck, deliberately avoiding touching his face with her fingers.
Fang Muyang accepted her service without a hint of guilt. "Could you wipe my nose too?"
Fei Ni wiped it for him again, her fingers accidentally brushing against his lips before she quickly pulled them back. She didn't know whether it was his lips that were hot or her fingers, but Fei Ni felt plenty warm herself.
The moment was so brief that Fei Ni couldn't tell if Fang Muyang had noticed.
Fei Ni tossed the towel back into the basin, wrung it out, and refilled the basin with fresh water. "Wipe yourself." By then, Fang Muyang had finished washing the bowls. She snatched the dish basin from beside his hand and carried it toward her family's cupboard.
Fei Ma watched as her daughter entered the washroom all cozy with Fang Muyang but returned avoiding him entirely. She was about to ask Fei Ni what was going on when she heard Fei Ni say she was going downstairs to see Fang Muyang off to the guesthouse.
Just as she was about to question her daughter, Fei Ni was already out the door.
The day was scorching hot, without a hint of breeze.
Fei Ni, as usual, told Fang Muyang to be careful on his way.
"Don't you have anything else to say to me?"
"No."
Fang Muyang placed his hand on Fei Ni's hair. "Really, nothing?"
"Your hand."
Fang Muyang withdrew it again, smiling at her. "Why are you upset again today?" Just yesterday, this gesture had been tacitly permitted by her.
"I'm not. Thank you for getting me the Television Ticket." Fei Ni's first thought wasn't about Fang Muyang's physical advances but that her hair needed washing. She hoped he hadn't noticed.
Fang Muyang concluded that Fei Ni wouldn't say anything more and repeated yesterday's words: "Go back. I'll watch you go inside."
This time, Fei Ni didn't look back.
When she returned, Fei Ma called her into the inner room. Unlike last time's hesitation, she asked plainly this time: "Did you and Xiao Fang do as I said on the first night?"
Fei Ni didn't grasp it at first, but when she realized, she reluctantly nodded.
"Does Xiao Fang have... problems in that area?"
Fei Ni, like yesterday, still didn't understand her mother's meaning. "What problems?"
Even though only the two of them were in the room, Fei Ma felt too embarrassed and leaned close to Fei Ni's ear to whisper.
Fei Ma's words were like a flame, heating up Fei Ni's ears.
She started speaking very softly: "He doesn't have any problems."
Fei Ma didn't believe it and pressed further: "If there's no problem, then how come...?"
"He just doesn't have any problems. Mom, I'm tired and need to rest. You should go back to sleep too."
Fei Ma was almost half-pushed out of the room by her daughter.
The night was unusually hot. Even with the window open, no breeze came in. Fei Ni tossed and turned until she finally fell into a fitful sleep after one in the morning. She was jolted awake—when she first felt the bed shaking, she thought she was dreaming. But within a second, she realized it was real.
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