Crabs are considered cold-natured, so on Fang Muyang’s suggestion, Fei Ni drank two extra cups of warm yellow wine.
Fang Muyang hadn’t expected Fei Ni to have such a low tolerance for alcohol. After just two cups, she no longer seemed like herself—her face flushed, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. This was a side of Fei Ni he had never seen before. He wiped his hands and pinched her cheek. At first, Fei Ni didn’t pull away, only smiling at him.
Fang Muyang brought the crab meat he had peeled to her and urged her to eat a little more.
After eating the crab, Fei Ni reached for the wine bottle to pour herself another drink.
Fang Muyang found her utterly adorable but worried she might pour too much and end up drunk. He took her cup, poured half a cup, took a sip himself, and then brought the remaining half to her lips.
Fei Ni pressed her lips against the cup and complained, "There’s still wine in the bottle. Why did you have to drink mine?"
As she spoke, she tilted her head back and took a big gulp. After finishing, she showed him the empty bottom of the cup and smiled. "I want another cup. This time, don’t steal any of mine."
"If you drink any more, you’ll get drunk. Don’t drink anymore." Even though Fang Muyang enjoyed her playful, tipsy charm, he didn’t want her to actually get drunk—the discomfort of a hangover was no joke.
Drunk people, of course, never admit they’re drunk. Fei Ni pressed her finger to her chin, shook her head, and said, "I won’t get drunk."
She reached for the wine bottle beside Fang Muyang, intending to pour herself another drink.
"No more drinking." Fang Muyang took the bottle away. When Fei Ni asked for more wine, he only dipped his chopsticks into his own cup and moistened her lips with the wine. Fang Muyang watched as her lips grew increasingly red. Her eyes smiled at him, but her expression was one of dissatisfaction, as if to say, "I can still drink more." Unable to resist, he pinched her cheek again. Fei Ni frowned and said, "Stop that, you’re hurting me."
"Then let me rub it for you." Fang Muyang gently rubbed her cheek, but in doing so, he accidentally made it hurt again. Still, he asked, "Does that feel better?"
"You hurt me again."
Yet he didn’t let go. "How about you make me hurt a little too?"
Fei Ni was a bit annoyed. She broke off a crab leg and used its small claw to poke his face.
Fang Muyang generously let her do it.
Fei Ni found it pointless. "I’m not going to stoop to your level."
She ignored the crab meat Fang Muyang had peeled for her and instead broke off another crab leg, biting into it as if she were biting him.
Fang Muyang asked, "Can you even bite through that?"
Fei Ni opened her mouth, revealing her neat, white teeth, as if to prove to him that she certainly could.
After finishing the meat from the crab leg, Fei Ni said she still wanted a little more wine.
Fang Muyang dipped his chopsticks into the wine again and brought it to her lips.
Fei Ni took a tiny sip and said, as if it weren’t enough, "Xiao Fang, can’t you be a little more generous?"
But Fang Muyang couldn’t be more generous. He only dipped a drop of wine and brought it to her mouth. Fei Ni leaned forward and licked it off the tip of the chopsticks before the drop could fall.
She called him stingy.
"I have money. The wine is gone—go buy more. Let me have a little more."
Fang Muyang smiled and asked, "How much money do you have?"
Fei Ni smiled and shook her head. "I’m not telling you."
"Then how am I supposed to know you have enough money for me to buy another bottle?"Fei Ni looked up and criticized him, "You're always stingy where you should be generous and generous where you should be stingy. Why don't you buy yourself more clothes when you have money? If you dressed better, I wouldn't be so embarrassed."
Fang Muyang hadn't expected Fei Ni to say this. He smiled and asked, "How did I embarrass you?" In his impression, Fei Ni wasn't someone who relied on clothing or furniture to maintain appearances. Although she valued practicality, her standards of practicality differed from ordinary people's. Others might think having a sofa in the room gave them face, but Fei Ni only found sofas less practical than chairs, and they took up space where she could put her piano.
"You dress like this, and people will think I'm only after your tall, sturdy build." The more Fei Ni talked, the angrier she became. "What's so great about being tall and sturdy? It just uses more fabric for clothes. Can't I appreciate your talent instead? Is talent only talent when everyone recognizes it? You even make excellent chairs. Sometimes I really want to show them the things you've made." Fei Ni listed a string of Fang Muyang's virtues—he could repair watches, play the violin, paint... He was truly a wonderful person.
Fang Muyang had never known he was so highly regarded in Fei Ni's heart. He reached out to tap her nose. "Since you think I'm perfect in every way, why don't you tell others about my good qualities?"
Fei Ni laughed. "Would you tell outsiders how much savings you have at home?" She shook her head, answering her own question, and added, "I'd like to drink a little more wine. Please pour me some."
She emphasized the word "please."
Fang Muyang hadn't expected to marry a lightweight who got drunk at the slightest touch of alcohol. At this moment, he felt like pressing this drunkard's head against his chest and ruffling her hair.
"How about drinking more tomorrow? You can't have any today."
Fei Ni sneered. "Didn't you say you'd listen to me in everything? I knew it—not a single word was true. You're just teasing me. You won't even pour me a glass of wine." Fei Ni suddenly leaned close to his face and said, "You wouldn't lie to me about not having had girlfriends before, would you?"
Fang Muyang had specifically bought vinegar for the crabs today, and it was indeed well-brewed.
He stared into Fei Ni's eyes and said, "It's true."
Fei Ni met his gaze for a long time, seemingly confirming his words, then said, "It doesn't matter if it's false. I'm not that petty. Let's drink a little more."
Fang Muyang poured water from the thermos into a cup and handed it to Fei Ni.
"You're tricking me again."
"If you want to drink, I'll drink with you tomorrow."
"But I want to drink today. If you were more generous with me, I'd be more generous with you too."
Fang Muyang rubbed Fei Ni's earlobe with his thumb. Her earlobe had turned red from the extra drinks. He smiled and asked, "How do you plan to be generous with me?"
"Whatever piece you want to hear, I'll play it for you."
Her generosity only went so far.
Fei Ni was very alert. Even drunk, she played a currently popular tune for Fang Muyang. The music, like Fei Ni now, was livelier than before. After finishing, Fei Ni turned her head and smiled at Fang Muyang, as if to say, "I've been generous, now it's your turn."
Fang Muyang took a sip of the remaining wine in his glass and passed it to Fei Ni's lips. Fei Ni hadn't expected his "generosity" to be so stingy—he was even competing with her for the wine in her mouth. She couldn't outmatch him, but she stubbornly insisted on trying.After several rounds of this, Fei Ni had completely lost her strength. She collapsed lightly onto the bed, pressing her fingers against the numb and tingling spot on her lips to block Fang Muyang from feeding her any more wine. Gradually, her fingers also picked up the scent of alcohol—whether it was hers or his, she couldn't tell. The itching was unbearable, her breathing grew ragged, and her fingertips felt as if ants were crawling over them. Unable to endure it, she finally said to him, "Drink your own wine yourself. I won't have any more."
"Really no more?"
"Really no more."
"Do you think I'm not generous enough?"
Fei Ni shook her head.
Fang Muyang had no choice. Doing anything to her now would feel like taking advantage of her vulnerability. He disdained such actions because there was no need. Yet, seeing her like this was torment enough for him.
In the end, he merely rubbed her face with his fingers and let her be. Having labored in the countryside for years and never idled since returning to the city, his fingertips were far from smooth. As he rubbed her roughly, Fei Ni let out a pained whimper.
He then pressed his coarse fingertips against her lips. Whether it was the lingering taste of alcohol or something else, Fei Ni actually licked them. Her lips were very red, and his fingers, touching them, picked up a hint of that redness.
Fang Muyang thought that if he hadn't sold his camera and still had it now, he could capture her like this. If she saw the photo, she would surely never touch alcohol again. Of course, the photo couldn't be developed outside—he couldn't let anyone else see her like this.
Fei Ni fell silent, hugging her pillow as she lay there, staring blankly at Fang Muyang with a dazed smile.
Fang Muyang adjusted the pillow, letting Fei Ni rest her entire head on it. Her eyes remained open until he kissed them several times, and only then did they close.
He opened the thermos, poured a cup of water, and waited for it to cool slightly before helping Fei Ni sit up and feeding her the water sip by sip.
Hearing that preserved plums could help sober someone up, Fang Muyang placed one in her mouth. Fei Ni, with her eyes closed, obediently held it there.
Fang Muyang took the ring from his pants pocket and smiled wryly. He had intended to give it to her today. Slipping it onto her finger, he lifted her hand to examine it—it looked as if it had grown there.
He kissed her forehead and prepared to let her sleep like that.
Fang Muyang removed Fei Ni's shoes, fetched water from the washroom, mixed it with hot water, and wiped her hands and face. She was wearing a sweater over her shirt, and sleeping in a sweater would surely be uncomfortable. Though Fang Muyang was usually careless, he tried to be gentle this time. Still, as he pulled off the sweater, his fingers inevitably brushed against her.
Fei Ni had always been ticklish. Half-asleep, she felt someone touching her sensitive spots and couldn't help rolling away to escape, laughing as she dodged. She crumpled the blue-and-white-checked bedsheet with her movements, still giggling.
Between laughs, she pleaded, "Please, stop."
Her laughter was crisp and loud, carrying through the wall to the next room.
Wang Xiaoman, hearing such boisterous noise from next door for the first time, felt a bit embarrassed by the unrestrained laughter and sounds. The previous neighbors had never been this rowdy—was it necessary to laugh so wildly? Fei Ni usually seemed so quiet and reserved, but in private, she was like this. Wang Xiaoman tore off two cotton balls and stuffed them into her husband's ears.Fang Muyang promptly stifled the laughter in his mouth, knowing full well that Fei Ni would regret it tomorrow morning.
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