Fei Ni knew he was putting on an act, but she let him continue.
Thus, everyone learned that Fang Muyang was the one who washed Fei Ni’s clothes.
Sister Liu gave Fei Ni a thorough once-over from head to toe, thinking to herself how capable Xiao Fang truly was—not only could he paint, make furniture, but he also washed clothes so cleanly and polished shoes so spotlessly. The sneakers Fei Ni bought last year were still as white as new. And Fei Ni’s father-in-law showed not the slightest surprise, indicating that Fang Muyang often did the laundry, and the family had grown accustomed to it.
In Sister Liu’s mind, Fang Muyang was nearly a perfect man, except for his aversion to blood. But compared to his virtues, this flaw was trivial and didn’t affect daily life.
Sister Liu realized she had completely misunderstood, and since her purpose for visiting had been achieved, she glanced at her companion as if to say, "Let’s go."
Before Fei Ni’s colleague had even taken her leave, a new guest arrived at the house. The visitor was young and carried a basket of pomegranates, saying that Director Zhou had sent him to deliver them. Auntie Yang offered the guest tea, but he declined, explaining that Director Zhou had instructed him to drop off the gift and leave immediately.
After leaving Fei Ni’s home and descending the stairs, Feng Lin spotted a vaguely familiar figure getting into a black car. She asked, "Was that the person who just delivered pomegranates to Fei Ni’s house?"
"Seems like it."
Feng Lin thought to herself, probably the driver of some director.
Even as she left, Feng Lin couldn’t understand what Fang Muyang saw in Fei Ni. With his family background, abilities, and looks, he could easily have found someone better than Fei Ni. Even if he had married her, it was a step down, and there was no need for him to serve her to the point of washing her clothes. In her view, aside from Fei Ni’s passable face, she had little else to recommend her. Feng Lin thought that Fei Ni must have poured all her energy into selecting the right man to marry. She knew there were women who treated men as their lifelong career, taking their husband’s achievements as their own. That would explain why Fei Ni worked so hard to promote her husband’s sequential pictures—not just sharing in the glory, but clearly claiming the honor as her own. She really wanted to remind Fei Ni that the sequential pictures bore only her husband’s name and had nothing to do with her. Regardless of gender, everyone should have their own career; marriage wasn’t a one-time solution to all problems.
However, Feng Lin kept these thoughts to herself, as she and Fei Ni weren’t on such familiar terms.
Feng Lin said to Sister Liu, "Sister Liu, weren’t you exaggerating a bit earlier? Not being late, not leaving early, working overtime to complete tasks, and actively participating in group activities are things every employee should do. How did it become such a rare and outstanding quality in your words, as if few in our factory could manage it? If you want to praise Fei Ni, go ahead, but there’s no need to belittle the rest of our factory’s staff." Feng Lin was particularly displeased that Sister Liu had brought up Fei Ni replacing her as conductor and winning the factory’s first prize as some kind of honor.
"When did I belittle our factory’s staff? It’s true that not being late or leaving early is something every employee should do, but some people just can’t manage it. I remember a Worker-Peasant-Soldier University Student who came to our workshop for training—she wasn’t late more than a couple of times, but she often found excuses to leave early. What was her name? I can’t recall it at the moment..."
Sister Liu’s memory wasn’t that bad—the person she was referring to was standing right beside her.Hongxiang, who had come with them, tried to ease the tension by changing the subject: "What level do you think Fei Ni's father-in-law is to live in such a big house?"
"Fei Ni said her father-in-law doesn't have a job. It's probably her mother-in-law's assigned housing."
Feng Lin inwardly laughed at Sister Liu's naivety—Fei Ni said something and she just believed it. Earlier, the driver specifically drove to deliver pomegranates to Fei Ni's father-in-law; how could he be an unemployed old man?
Hongxiang said, "You'd think Fei Ni would boast about living in such a nice place, but she's kept quiet about it."Sister Liu agreed: "Yes, unlike some people who wish the whole factory knew what their parents do.""
The speaker had intentions, and the listener caught the meaning—Feng Lin immediately detected the subtext, realizing the remark was aimed at her.
She retorted at once: "If Fei Ni didn't want people to know, you'd never find out."She didn't think Fei Ni was a humble person; humble folks wouldn't buy dozens of copies of their husband's newly published sequential pictures to give away, fearing that others didn't know what he had accomplished."
After the guests left, Fei Ni entered the bathroom. Closing the door, she laughed, "They're gone, no need to keep up the act."
"How is this an act? Isn't it normal for me to wash your clothes? If it makes you happy, I'll wash them for you every day."
Fei Ni chuckled: "I wouldn't dare trouble you. If my clothes went through your hands, they'd probably be ruined after a few wears."
"Then teach me. Once I learn, I'll wash them for you every day." As he spoke, Fang Muyang pressed Fei Ni's hands into the water, his soapy palms enveloping hers, demanding she teach him hand-in-hand.
Fei Ni found this student too clumsy and abandoned the lesson in less than three minutes, returning to the bedroom from the bathroom. She combed her hair in front of the mirror, trying to brush off the faint traces of foam.
The next day, to thank Sister Liu for the pig's head meat, Fei Ni brought her some pastries.
This home visit completely dispelled the previous suspicions but gave rise to new rumors.
In the rumors, Fei Ni lived in a very large house and played the piano every day. The house was assigned by her mother-in-law's unit, and Fei Ni's mother-in-law held a high position and was very busy, not even home on Sundays. Also in the rumors, Fei Ni's husband—that Xiao Fang who had published several sequential pictures—feared the nanny wouldn't wash Fei Ni's clothes cleanly, so he took the initiative to use his hands, which usually painted and built furniture, to wash her clothes. Thus, everyone learned that Fei Ni had a tall, capable husband who could make furniture, paint, and do laundry—and who attended to her every day.
When people saw Fei Ni's clothes and shoes afterward, their first focus wasn't on how well they fit or how nice they looked, but on how clean they were. Fei Ni's husband was truly capable, washing her clothes so spotlessly.
On Tuesday after work, Fei Ni, wearing the white sneakers that were said to have been cleaned for her by Fang Muyang, hopped onto the back seat of Fang Muyang's bicycle.
Since Fei Ni had moved to her in-laws' place, she had been taking the bus to and from work. This was the first time in many days that Fang Muyang had ridden his bicycle to pick her up.
Fei Ni looked at the shops and houses along the way and asked in surprise, "This isn't the way home, is it? Where are you going?"
"You really forgot?"
"How could I forget? This clearly isn't..." But she vaguely remembered taking this road once before. It came back to her—they had walked a similar path when they last went to see the rental house."Remember now? Our future home is right nearby." Fang Muyang thought the manuscript's appeal was truly remarkable—Fei Ni had nearly forgotten about her own house. He had originally intended to give Fei Ni a pleasant surprise, but it seemed the surprise wasn't as impactful as he had imagined.
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