The tomatoes tasted wonderful, far better than the tomato sauce from the glass jar.
Fang Muyang was generous with the tomatoes—every one he brought home went into the pot.
Fei Ni was used to seeing the meager portions of beef in the cafeteria cooks’ ladles, so the abundance of beef here felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Fang Muyang picked up a piece of beef and placed it in Fei Ni’s bowl. "From now on, don’t rush to the cafeteria after work just for potato stew with beef."
Fei Ni didn’t respond to his remark. Could beef canned food be eaten all the time? Although the cafeteria’s potato stew with beef was mostly broth, it was still a little better than vinegar-braised cabbage.
The meal was satisfying. With plenty of beef and tomatoes, there was no need for polite restraint.
After washing up, Fei Ni closed the door, drew the curtain, and curled up on the bed to listen to the radio. With Fang Muyang’s winter clothes finished, she could finally relax against the pillow and read for a while.
Fang Muyang was drawing nearby. After a while, he came over to listen to the radio with her. He produced a lip balm from somewhere and placed it on the book. "For you."
Fei Ni picked up the lip balm and gave it a quick glance. "Where did you buy this?"
Before Fang Muyang could answer, she already knew—the packaging was entirely in English. Where else could it be from?
"How much did you spend today?"
"My manuscript fee came in. I’ve already put your share under your pillow."
Fei Ni momentarily forgot about questioning his spending. Instead, she asked, "When will the book be available in bookstores?"
"It’ll be on sale in a couple of days. Be a little thrifty this time—don’t buy over twenty copies of a sequential pictures book like last time."
Fei Ni laughed. "You’re the one splurging so recklessly. What right do you have to criticize me?"
Fang Muyang had no choice but to concede, "You’re right, I have no right."
Noticing Fang Muyang’s lips were a bit dry, Fei Ni squeezed out some lip balm and moved closer to apply it for him. Fang Muyang quickly turned his face away. "You should use it yourself." With that, he jumped off the bed, walked to the low cabinet, picked up the thermos, poured himself a cup of water, and drank it in a few gulps.
Only then did Fei Ni carefully read the packaging. It was a tinted lip balm—no wonder Fang Muyang had avoided her. Having been teased by him so often, Fei Ni now felt like teasing him back. The more he resisted, the more determined she was to apply it.
When Fang Muyang lay back on the bed, Fei Ni approached him again with the lip balm. "Your lips are a bit dry. Let me put some on for you."
"Have you ever seen a man use this?"
"Gender equality—haven’t you heard? Don’t make exceptions." Fei Ni leaned half her body over him, her face drawing closer until she could count the throbs of his Adam’s apple. Smiling, she studied the shape of his lips. They were well-shaped, and she couldn’t help but wonder how they would look coated with tinted lip balm. Driven by curiosity, her fingers neared his mouth, but before the lip balm could touch his lips, Fang Muyang snatched it away. Grinning, he said, "No need to trouble yourself. I’ll do it."
He pinched Fei Ni’s chin and began applying the lip balm to her lips. It didn’t feel like he was applying lip balm—more like he was painting. Following some unconventional method, he first sketched an outline on her lips, then meticulously filled it in.The application of the lipstick was a lengthy process. Once finished, Fang Muyang tightened the cap and picked up a mirror from the low cabinet, holding it up for Fei Ni to see her reflection. "Are you satisfied?"
Fei Ni turned her head away, refusing to look. "Didn't you say you were going to apply it yourself?"
"You'll soon see I wasn't lying."
The lipstick was a lemon-like shade, making her lips noticeably brighter than before.
Fang Muyang pinched Fei Ni's chin, treating her lips as if they were the lipstick itself, applying it bit by bit. He leaned his whole body against her, pushing her toward the bed until she was pulled onto it. When he had applied the lipstick earlier, he had first sketched an outline; now, as he transferred the color from her lips to his own, he did the same. Fei Ni felt her lips tingling from his touch—and it wasn't just her lips. His fingers were tracing outlines across her body as well. The ticklish sensation made her burst into laughter. Hearing her own laughter, she grabbed the bedsheet and clenched her teeth, trying to stifle the sound, but eventually, her laughter slipped into Fang Muyang's mouth.
Fei Ni's mouth was blocked, but her initial laughs were piercing enough for Wang Xiaoman and her husband, Section Chief Xu, to hear.
Section Chief Xu sighed, "Fei Ni is usually such a quiet person. How could she laugh so recklessly? Truly, one takes on the color of one's company."
Wang Xiaoman retorted, "How do you know they aren't cut from the same cloth? Would they have married if they weren't? The way you talk, it's as if no one is good enough for Fei Ni. In my opinion, this Xiao Fang is more than a match for her." She brought up the sofa and bed Fang Muyang had made, saying to Section Chief Xu, "Xiao Fang is quite capable. Fei Ni isn't losing out by marrying him—he can make furniture and knows how to care for others. He even washes the bedsheets and covers himself. Let me tell you, from now on, you can wash your own clothes. I won't do it for you."
"Why must you always compare like that? How vulgar! What does he do now? A waiter! And at a foreign affairs hotel, no less—just like a servant in the old society. How dare you compare him to me?"
"Say what you want. From now on, you wash your own clothes. I won't bother with them."
Section Chief Xu grew angrier the more he thought about it. Ever since the new neighbors moved in next door, Wang Xiaoman had been threatening to go on strike—one day refusing to cook, the next refusing to do laundry.
Suddenly, the room went dark—another power outage.
Wang Xiaoman remembered borrowing a candle from Fei Ni during the last blackout and hadn't returned it yet. Lighting the candle, she slipped on her slippers and went out to knock on Fei Ni's door.
Fei Ni had been rolled around on the bed in Fang Muyang's embrace. Her eyes had been closed the entire time, and if not for the knocking, she wouldn't have noticed the ceiling light had gone out.
Another power outage.
The knocking was rhythmic, clearly from next door. Last time, Wang Xiaoman had borrowed their candle; this time, she was returning it in case they needed it urgently.
Fang Muyang called out to the door, "Keep it. No need to return it."
"How can we do that? We're not the type to take advantage."
Fang Muyang cursed under his breath, nibbling Fei Ni's ear as he whispered, "Ignore her." He continued holding and kissing her.
Fei Ni struggled free from Fang Muyang's arms and sat up, feeling around the bed for the flashlight. She called out to the door, "Just a moment."
Her fingers instinctively checked her collar—the buttons were still securely fastened—then smoothed her disheveled hair. Confirming she was presentable, she went to open the door.
When she opened it, Wang Xiaoman handed her a red candle.
The one she had lent Wang Xiaoman last time was white.Wang Xiaoman's flashlight beam fell on Fei Ni's face, which was tinged with a faint blush. Wang Xiaoman noticed that the color on Fei Ni's lips was different from usual—she must have applied something. Soon, she observed similar marks on Fei Ni's cheeks, chin, and above the first button of her blouse. Shifting her gaze from details to the whole picture, the marks, Fei Ni's flushed face, and the laughter she had just heard from the room all clicked into place.
No wonder they took so long to open the door—they were in the middle of...
As someone who had been through it herself, Wang Xiaoman immediately grasped what had just happened.
Over a month ago, Wang Xiaoman had been kept awake for the first time by the creaking of the bed from next door. After that, it happened about once a week, each time lasting most of the night. Just when she thought it was over, the noises would start up again. She wondered how they could keep it up for so long. When she asked her husband, Section Chief Xu, he bluntly replied, "He must be taking pills. Otherwise, why was there no movement for the first few months? To keep going all night like that, who knows how many pills he's taken. I was much better than him in my youth. Even with pills, he can only manage once a week." Wang Xiaoman found her husband unreasonable—how could once a week not be enough? If they did it several times, how would anyone else sleep? Though dissatisfied, she didn't say much, considering they were a newlywed couple, and thankfully, the disturbances had stopped for over ten days now.
Wang Xiaoman asked Fei Ni where she had bought the lipstick on her lips, saying she really liked the color and wanted to buy one too.
"I didn't buy it myself. I can ask for you."
Fei Ni's face flushed even more. Only then did she remember she had been wearing lipstick—Fang Muyang had kissed her lips, and the lipstick had smeared onto her face. She wondered if it was noticeable.
Wang Xiaoman smiled at Fei Ni and returned to her room.
After closing the door, Fei Ni walked to the bed with her flashlight to fetch a mirror. Before she could reach it, Fang Muyang took her hand.
She pulled her hand free and snatched the mirror. In the dim room, her reflection was blurry, but she could still see the marks on her face and neck. She was sure Wang Xiaoman had noticed.
She tried to wipe the marks off her face with her fingers while Fang Muyang watched her, smiling.
She shone the flashlight on his face. His lips looked no different from when he had just returned from work. The lipstick he had smeared from her lips had ended up entirely on her face—he hadn't retained a trace of it.
For a moment, she found his lips somewhat detestable.
Fei Ni said to Fang Muyang, "It's getting late. You should rest soon too."
"Resting now seems a bit early."
"Then keep drawing for a while." Fei Ni walked to the low cabinet, took out a match, and lit the red candle.
Fang Muyang approached, rested his head on her shoulder, and kissed her cheek.
"I'm tired."
"Then I'll sleep with you."
"No need. Didn't we agree to only share the bed on Saturdays?" Earlier, she had been so dazed by his kisses that she nearly forgot their arrangement. Thankfully, the knocking had reminded her.
Fang Muyang kissed her reddened earlobe. "We didn't last Saturday. I don't want to owe you—why not make up for it today?"
"No, I have work tomorrow."
"Just for a little while.""You always fool me with 'in a moment.' Last time..." Just thinking about it made her too embarrassed to speak.
"What about last time?"
"You know."
"Since you're not willing today, I'll just have to make it up to you on Saturday." Fang Muyang pinched her cheek, "Then you should go to sleep now."
His fingers brushed against the lipstick mark left on her face.
Fei Ni's cheeks flushed even redder as she reached out to swat Fang Muyang's hand away.
She slipped into the bedding Fang Muyang had prepared for her, his flowers resting by the pillow. Lifting the mosquito net, she saw Fang Muyang painting by candlelight.
His back view gave her such peace that she fell asleep within moments.
On Saturday after work, Fei Ni returned carrying a stack of sequential pictures.
Today the bookstore was selling Fang Muyang's second sequential pictures book. She had bought twenty copies at once, storing them in her camphor wood chest to give as gifts tomorrow. Usually frugal, she was uncharacteristically generous in this matter. Keeping only one copy out, she leaned back in her chair flipping through it. Since starting work at the foreign affairs hotel, Fang Muyang had been returning home later than her daily.
Having already read it before, she only skimmed through it this time before leaning over the desk to write her impressions. She hoped this book wouldn't just bring Fang Muyang royalties, but also new opportunities.
She didn't think Fang Muyang was suited to being a service worker, even if he was becoming increasingly proficient at making beds.
Hearing the door, Fei Ni put away her manuscript paper, tucking it between the book's pages.
Fang Muyang entered carrying a pot of narcissus flowers.
Fei Ni smiled: "If you hadn't brought it back, I wouldn't even know where to buy one."
They always needed narcissus flowers for the New Year.
Fang Muyang placed the narcissus on the windowsill, then pulled a lunch box from his bag and set it on the table. Inside were stir-fried shrimp - he'd asked the kitchen chef to prepare it for him.
Looking at the shrimp, Fei Ni said: "You've only just started working? Bringing food home every day - that's not proper, is it?"
Fang Muyang laughed: "I paid for this, you can eat without worry." Fang Muyang considered himself strictly law-abiding, dutifully turning in all tips from guests according to regulations. His supervisor was baffled - how had he received more tips in just a few days than others collected in a full month? This led to a lengthy discussion, questioning what he discussed with guests, only relaxing after confirming Fang Muyang hadn't leaked any secrets to suspicious individuals.
"If you keep bringing food home every day, your monthly salary won't even cover what you eat."
"I promise you, I definitely won't bring any tomorrow."
Fei Ni was about to say good when she remembered tomorrow was Sunday. Naturally he couldn't bring food home from work.
OpenNovel