Fei Ni pointed to the enamel basins under the bed: "Both of these basins are yours." The two basins were stacked together—the bottom one was the one Fang Muyang had used before, while the white enamel basin on top was bought for him by Fei Ni. Inside the basin were a new enamel mug, toothpaste, towel, and soap. Beside the basin was a pair of black sponge slippers, also new. Fei Ni told Fang Muyang that all these items were purchased with the money he had given her before leaving, and the industrial coupons required for the purchases were ones she had saved up earlier. After buying these, there were no extra coupons left for kitchenware, but fortunately, she didn’t really need those.
Fei Ni told Fang Muyang that if he received industrial coupons in the future, he should return them to her first. She only received two industrial coupons a month.
Fang Muyang said okay.
Fei Ni added that he could return them whenever he wanted, as she wasn’t in a hurry to use them.
Of the two thermoses her second sister had given her, Fei Ni also allocated one to Fang Muyang.
"I made you pajamas—they’re pressed under your pillow."
She had leftover fabric from making the duvet cover and bedsheet, so she used it to make him pajamas. She knew that if he didn’t wear pajamas while living in the same room and wandered around in front of her, she would be the one feeling awkward.
Fang Muyang pulled open the bed canopy, moved the pillow aside, and sure enough, found a set of neatly folded blue-and-white checkered pajamas. The quilt and bedsheet carried the scent of being smoothed by sunlight, likely having been aired out just a day or two ago.
Besides the pajamas, there was also a fleece-lined shirt and a knitted sweater, both bought for him by Fei Ni.
"Did you spend all the money I gave you on me?" he asked. While in the training program, he didn’t receive a salary, only a stipend. His monthly stipend was limited, far less than what Fei Ni earned as a full-time worker with several years of seniority. He knew the money wouldn’t last long. Not only had he contributed nothing to this household, but he had also used up quite a few of Fei Ni’s industrial coupons.
Fei Ni said, "Your money—who else would I spend it on if not you? Besides, it wasn’t all spent." In her heart, she thought, Who told you to have nothing? She had wanted to spend Fang Muyang’s money on decorating their new home, but she couldn’t use his money to buy a rug when he didn’t even have a decent towel. His luggage bag was so flat, probably containing very little. Now that the weather was getting colder, he naturally needed to add clothes. Even if he didn’t mind wearing the same set of clothes indefinitely, he couldn’t wear them through winter. There would be many more expenses in the future. In short, his money was too limited and could only be spent on himself. Fortunately, aside from his stipend, he could earn some income from writing; otherwise, she might have had to lend him her own money.
Judging by Fei Ni’s expression, Fang Muyang knew that very little of the previous money remained.
Fei Ni had married him for the apartment—aside from that, she had gained nothing else. It was hard to say whether she had gained or lost from this arrangement.
Fang Muyang decided that from now on, he would make sure Fei Ni suffered fewer losses.
His fingers rested on the ginger-yellow quilt, admiring the stitching and imagining her sewing it.
Fang Muyang was self-aware. "Since I can’t contribute financially for now, I can only offer some physical labor. If there’s any work to be done at home, just tell me to do it."
Fei Ni said okay, though in reality, there wasn’t much physical labor to do in this home. Since they ate at the canteen, they didn’t even need to buy rice or flour. However, making furniture could be considered physical labor.
Since there was no private bathroom in the room, the two of them had to go to the communal washroom to freshen up.Fang Muyang washed up quickly. He was accustomed to taking a cold shower every day, and since he had already bathed at the public bathhouse earlier, he only rinsed his feet after brushing his teeth and washing his face.
Fei Ni was different from Fang Muyang. The factory bathhouse was open only three days a week, and on days when she couldn’t bathe, she would simply wipe herself down in her room. To avoid Fang Muyang while cleaning herself, she deliberately asked him to thoroughly wash the travel bag he had brought back and its contents.
Just as Fei Ni was about to button her shirt, she heard someone pushing the door from outside. Before wiping herself down, she had bolted the door, thinking that Fang Muyang had several items to wash and would take some time, no matter how fast he worked. She hadn’t expected him to finish so quickly.
“Wait a moment.”
In her haste, she forgot to dry her hands. With wet hands, she hurriedly buttoned her shirt, only realizing afterward that she had left finger marks on her clothes. She wiped her hands dry and quickly fastened the buttons again.
Fang Muyang didn’t ask why Fei Ni had taken so long to open the door; one look at her shirt was enough to understand. Her buttons were misaligned, and her face was slightly flushed.
“How are you so fast? Did you wash everything properly?”
Fang Muyang apologized promptly: “My mistake. I should have come back later.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I understand. If you want me to come back later, you can just tell me directly. Even if I finish washing, I can take a walk downstairs.” Fang Muyang was very considerate. “Next time, if you want me to stay out for a certain amount of time, I won’t return a minute early. In your house, you can ask me to do anything. If I don’t listen, you can kick me out anytime.”
As he spoke, he stared into Fei Ni’s eyes, appearing very sincere. Fei Ni felt somewhat embarrassed under his gaze.
Fei Ni said politely, “Although it’s my house, you also have the right to use it. Saying that makes it seem…” as if she were exploiting him.
But Fang Muyang disagreed: “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even have a bed to sleep on. I can’t guarantee much else, but in this little house, you call all the shots. You don’t need to feel embarrassed with me. If you want me to leave, you don’t even need to give me a reason.”
Though he said this, he made no move to step away. Instead, he smiled and pointed to the buttons on his own shirt. His eyes lingered on the misaligned buttons of Fei Ni’s shirt—the buttons on her blouse were much smaller than his fingernails. Fang Muyang noticed that the mole on Fei Ni’s collarbone had turned redder from the moisture.
For a moment, Fei Ni didn’t understand. Fang Muyang smiled and said to her, “Your buttons are done up wrong. But it doesn’t matter—you’re going to sleep anyway.”
Fei Ni looked down at her shirt and saw that the buttons were indeed misaligned. She reached to undo the first button but suddenly remembered Fang Muyang was still there and turned her back to him.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. What should have been a simple task became increasingly flustering, and by the time she finished buttoning her shirt correctly, her face was flushed red.
“Do you need help?”
“It’s done.” As if she were that clumsy.
Seeing that she had fixed her buttons, Fang Muyang went to open the door.
It was their neighbor, Wang Xiaoman, asking to borrow some iodine.
“You must be Fei Ni’s husband,” Wang Xiaoman introduced herself with a smile. “I’m your neighbor. Fei Ni’s brother works in our propaganda department.”
Fang Muyang immediately understood—this was the person to whom he had given the television ticket he had managed to obtain. He smiled politely.Wang Xiaoman only needed a few glances up and down to spot the hole in Fang Muyang's trousers, immediately concluding that his factory and position couldn't be high-ranking. Yet these clothes didn't give off any shabby air on him, remaining as straightforward as the man himself.
Fang Muyang had never minded being scrutinized, but after a few looks, Wang Xiaoman found it inappropriate to stare directly—after all, he was a young man and not unpleasant to look at. Though Wang Xiaoman usually disliked Fei Ni, she honestly acknowledged Fei Ni's merits, believing Fei Ni had married beneath her with this man. A woman's face should correspond to a man's career, and this man's face wasn't particularly appealing either—few leaders would consider it a steady, reliable, honest face. His only advantage was perhaps his height.
Fei Ni found iodine and handed it to Wang Xiaoman, who took it while sweeping her eyes between Fei Ni's face and blouse, smiling as she said, "Am I interrupting you? Had I known, I'd have borrowed from someone else. You two carry on, I'll be going."
After Wang Xiaoman left, Fei Ni went to pick up the basin of water, but Fang Muyang stopped her. "Let me pour it out."
"I'll do it myself."
"If you go out, people might misunderstand again."
"Misunderstand what?"
"Didn't your neighbor just misunderstand? I don't mind, but I'm afraid you'd be embarrassed."
"What did she misunderst..." Only then did Fei Ni grasp the implication in Wang Xiaoman's words.
Fang Muyang reassured her, "We're married, so her thinking that way doesn't affect us at all. It'd be troublesome if she knew we sleep in separate beds."
"Let her think whatever she wants. Besides, how would outsiders know except us?"
"You're so clever—outsiders really can't tell."
Fei Ni suspected he was being sarcastic but ultimately ignored him.
When Wang Xiaoman saw Fang Muyang going to the water room to pour out the water, she closed the door and complained to her husband, "Fei Ni's husband just returned and he's already serving his wife by pouring her bathwater. You—I'd be lucky if you didn't make me pour your foot-washing water. You should learn from him."
"Only useless men act like that. If he didn't, who would marry him? Don't compare me to that kind of man in the future."
"You're capable? If you're so capable, why are we still neighbors with them?"
"Look at the size of our place versus theirs. Weren't you just saying their place was shabby a couple days ago? Now you're envious? If you'd married someone like him, you'd only regret it now."
Fei Ni had no idea Fang Muyang's return had sparked a minor quarrel next door. His breathing kept her awake, so she put on headphones to listen to the radio and didn't fall asleep until midnight.
When she woke up, she peeked her head out from the mosquito net to see Fang Muyang already dressed and sitting on her camphor wood chest, sketching something with a pen.
Fang Muyang noticed her too. "It's still early, sleep a bit more."
"Don't you think that's rather unconvincing?"
Fei Ni closed the net again. By the time she dressed and came down, Fang Muyang was already cooking noodles on an alcohol stove.
After Fei Ni finished washing up, Fang Muyang asked, "Where are our bowls?"
"We don't have any bowls for now. Don't you have a lunch box?"
The noodles ended up served in two aluminum lunch boxes, each with half a boiled egg.
Fei Ni sat on the camphor wood chest, using the sewing machine as a table, eating the plain noodles Fang Muyang had cooked.
Fang Muyang asked Fei Ni, "What do you think of how I boiled the egg?""Very good."
OpenNovel