Love Story in the 1970s

Fang Muyang had transformed the three small rooms into a self-contained courtyard house.

A cobblestone path led straight to the main hall as soon as one entered—a feature that hadn’t been there during Fei Ni’s last visit.

"Where did you get all these pebbles?"

"They’re easy to find."

But when did he find them? Fei Ni wondered.

Watching Fang Muyang take off his shoes and walk barefoot on the cobblestones, Fei Ni couldn’t help asking, "Doesn’t it hurt your feet?"

"Try it and you’ll see."

Fei Ni imitated him, removing her shoes and stepping onto the path in just her socks. Each step was so prickly it made her want to laugh. Unable to bear it, she was about to put her shoes back on when Fang Muyang scooped her up. "I’ll carry you inside."

"No need, it’s only a few steps."

"And it’s only a few steps for me too."

He set her down only after they entered the house. The main hall was spacious, divided by a partition screen. The inner section served as the bedroom, while the outer part functioned as a living room. The frame of the screen was made of cypress wood, covered with white silk gauze embroidered with various flowers.

Fang Muyang pointed out where the piano would go, where the dining table would be placed, and where the low cabinet would stand. Though the room was still empty, he had already mapped everything out in his mind.

"And where did you get this partition screen?"

"The landlord’s family thought it was in the way, but I figured you’d like it, so I bought it directly. You do like it, don’t you?" Fei Ni traced the embroidery on the silk. She did like it, but she suspected Fang Muyang had spent all his money on it. It suddenly occurred to her that he cooked noodles every night after working overtime—probably because he’d used up his dining-out budget.

Her fingers brushed against the wall, which was still slightly damp, likely freshly painted in the last couple of days.

"Did you do all this by yourself? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have come to help."

"You’ve been staying up late sorting out the old man’s manuscripts. If I’d asked you to help here too, when would you ever sleep?"

"But this is our home. I can’t just contribute nothing."

"Your job is to pay the rent. Aren’t you earning our rent by organizing the manuscripts? Besides, I had help from the start."

Fei Ni laughed. "Isn’t the money I earn essentially yours?" After all, the money originally came from Old Fang, given to Fang Muyang, who then found a pretext to pass it to her.

"You’re mistaken. If you hadn’t helped the old man with his manuscripts, that money would have gone to someone else—it definitely wouldn’t have ended up in my hands. Of course, if you’re willing to share it with me, I’d be more than happy."

The west room had been converted into a bathroom. Fang Muyang showed Fei Ni the bathtub he had built. "I made this for you. Do you like it? Once we move in, you won’t have to go to the public bathhouse anymore." The small kitchen outside had been turned into a boiler room. Since neither of them cooked much, a single alcohol stove would suffice. With the small boiler, Fei Ni could take hot showers every day.

"This isn’t our house. Did the landlord agree to these renovations?"

"I discussed it with them beforehand."

"But if they take it back, won’t all our efforts be wasted?"

"I signed a three-year lease with them. You can live here without worry."

Only the studio remained untouched.

"Didn’t you want to add a skylight to the studio?" Fei Ni had read that painters usually preferred studios with skylights.

"I’ll do that later."

"Are you out of money?"

"Why would you think that?""If you had money, why would you go without dinner every day until ten o'clock just to go home and cook noodles? You never spend money on what's important." If he hadn't bought that partition or boiler, he would have had enough to renovate the studio.

"Does this home meet your expectations?"

Fei Ni smiled without answering. In truth, it exceeded her expectations. Over the years, she had only focused on owning a home, rarely imagining what it would actually be like once she had it.

"Tell me, how much more do you need to renovate the studio? This time, if I give you the money, you can't use it for anything else."

"I'll definitely listen to you this time."

Fei Ni was still walking around in just her socks on the concrete floor, while Fang Muyang was also barefoot, occasionally stepping on her feet. It didn't hurt, but it tickled.

"Stop messing around!"

Fang Muyang ignored her and continued to step on her feet from time to time. Annoyed, Fei Ni stepped on him in return.

Fang Muyang let Fei Ni step on him, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt him, making it seem more like flirting. As if realizing this, Fei Ni ignored him and stepped outside, only to be immediately embraced by Fang Muyang from behind.

"Take another look. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, I can fix it. I told the old man we wouldn't be back for dinner tonight."

"I'm very satisfied." Fei Ni stood on Fang Muyang's feet, looking up at him as she spoke. "Let me treat you to dinner tonight."

They went back to the same Russian restaurant, and without asking Fei Ni, Fang Muyang ordered the exact same dishes they had had on their first visit.

While waiting for the food, Fang Muyang kept staring at Fei Ni. At first, she met his gaze, but eventually, she grew embarrassed and lowered her head, whispering, "Stop looking."

"Do you remember the first time we came here?"

Of course, Fei Ni remembered. Back then, she had intended it to be their farewell meal, thinking that after this dinner, they would go their separate ways for good. If Fang Muyang hadn't sought her out again, their connection would have ended completely.

The second time she came here, Fei Ni was with Ye Feng, while Fang Muyang sat at another table with someone else.

Fang Muyang didn't bring up the second time they had eaten here, nor did he mention how he had felt seeing Fei Ni then. He had never been jealous of anyone in his life, but at that moment, he had felt a brief pang of envy toward the person sitting across from Fei Ni. Fei Ni hadn't canceled her date with someone else because of him. While eating with that person, she hadn't hesitated to order, unafraid of the cost. That had stung him.

He couldn't find any fault with Fei Ni. After all, he couldn't expect her to have taken care of him for so long without any compensation, losing her savings in the process, and still develop feelings for him. Even now, he didn't know the exact reason Fei Ni had broken up with Ye Feng, but he knew that whatever the reason, it had nothing to do with him.

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the second time they had seen each other here. That time, they hadn't even spoken, communicating only through the waitstaff.Fei Ni didn't bring it up because she genuinely didn't know what to say. When she came here with Ye Feng, she still considered him the most suitable marriage candidate. Although his mother didn't welcome her, she thought Ye Feng might be willing to move out. When she learned he wasn't willing to leave his family home, she decided to end things completely with him. She had no lingering attachment to this relationship, knowing Ye Feng would quickly find someone who met his criteria for marriage. And indeed, he soon did, even specially writing an invitation letter to update her about his marital status.

When she saw this letter, her greatest frustration was that Ye Feng's wife had attended university, while she hadn't.

She didn't know what it meant to love someone. She only knew she didn't dislike Ye Feng, even somewhat liked him, but far from love - and Ye Feng felt the same about her. This level of feeling, under favorable circumstances and social compatibility, could easily lead to marriage, perhaps even making people mistake it for some rare affection. But in reality, this kind of emotion was quite random - neither profound nor lasting.

However, entering marriage for some profound emotion seemed too extravagant for her, even more extravagant than placing a piano in a small room or installing a bathroom in a tiny house. She generally didn't make purchases beyond her financial means.

Fang Muyang ordered a bottle of wine, pouring only a small amount for Fei Ni. "You get drunk too easily, drink less."

"I want to drink as much as you. Pour me more."

Fang Muyang found it hard to refuse Fei Ni, especially when she looked at him like that, but he still didn't dare pour too much, just a little more.

Fei Ni clinked glasses with him, smiling as she said to Fang Muyang: "I feel very lucky to be able to marry you."

At this moment, she even felt somewhat grateful to Ling Yi. If Ling Yi had been the one taking care of Fang Muyang back then, Fang Muyang would have nothing to do with her now. Although she had cursed Ling Yi in her heart more than once for being ungrateful and never visiting him, if Ling Yi had come frequently, she would probably be the one married to Fang Muyang. In her understanding, Fang Muyang was a good husband, and this quality had little to do with whom he married. Whoever he married, he would be a good husband.

Fang Muyang said: "I also feel very lucky."

Fei Ni drained her glass in one gulp, looked at Fang Muyang with a smile, and reached for the bottle to pour herself more wine.

Fang Muyang held Fei Ni's hand. "Don't drink anymore."

"I insist on drinking."

"Then let's go home to drink."

After drinking, Fei Ni suddenly became different from before. She no longer avoided Fang Muyang's gaze, instead looking at him constantly, her eyes shimmering with laughter that held a hint of seduction, though she remained completely unaware of it.

Fang Muyang quickly paid the bill with the money Fei Ni had given him, then left the restaurant arm in arm with her.

Fei Ni sat on the bicycle's rear seat, unlike usual, this time she held onto Fang Muyang tightly, as if afraid he might run away.

Her face pressed closely against Fang Muyang's back, eyes closed, completely ignoring the moon.

"Fang Muyang, we've been married for over a year now."

"Exactly 421 days."

Fei Ni paused, calculating in her head and finding Fang Muyang was correct.

"I didn't know you were so good at math."

Fang Muyang remained silent, not indicating whether he was denying or accepting Fei Ni's praise.Previously, no matter how intimate Fei Ni and Fang Muyang were in the bedroom, she always maintained a certain distance once they stepped outside. But today was different—they embraced as they entered the building, and only at their doorstep did Fang Muyang remove his hand from Fei Ni’s shoulder. He let her go in first. "The old man is sitting in the living room," he said. Living with parents came with such inconveniences. He knew that once Fei Ni was fully sober, she would regret not presenting herself as a dignified and proper daughter-in-law in front of the old man. He had to consider this for her.

Sure enough, Old Fang was in the living room reading a book. Fang Muyang and Fei Ni greeted their father and then returned to their room one after the other.

Once in the bedroom, Fang Muyang didn’t even bother to draw the curtain before kissing Fei Ni and pushing her toward the bed.

Fei Ni cooperated with his kisses while asking for more alcohol.

"Let’s have a little more, okay?"

Fang Muyang didn’t understand why Fei Ni had such a low tolerance for alcohol but such a strong craving for it.

He fetched two glasses and poured wine into each, with Fei Ni’s portion noticeably smaller.

Fei Ni swirled the wine in her glass. "How about we drink a cross-cup toast? I heard it’s something couples do at weddings. We’ve been married for so many days—shouldn’t we do it at least once?"

She brought her glass to Fang Muyang’s lips, but he poured a generous amount from his own glass into hers.

"Cheater!"

"You’re the one who suffers when you drink too much."

Fei Ni slowly finished the wine from Fang Muyang’s glass but felt unsatisfied. "Pour me a little more."

Fang Muyang took a sip of wine and transferred a small amount into Fei Ni’s mouth. She clung to him, seeking more from his lips as if convinced she could get more that way.

Seeming to realize she had bitten his lip too hard, Fei Ni’s next kiss was soothing. "Does it still hurt?"

Drunken words are sober thoughts.

Fang Muyang asked Fei Ni, "Why did you come to the hospital to take care of me back then?"

"I read a news article about a female worker who was recognized as an advanced model and got into university because she insisted on nursing a young male coworker from the same factory..." She wanted so badly to go to university that she was willing to try any possible method, no matter how slim the chances. To get into university, she decided to take care of him. She chose him over others because he was the only one she knew who had been injured while saving someone and had no family by his side.

This answer didn’t surprise Fang Muyang, nor did it disappoint him.

"Were you very disappointed that you didn’t get into university?"

"Give me a little more to drink..."

Fang Muyang knew she had been deeply disappointed.

"Did you regret taking care of me back then?"

Fei Ni shook her head. "If I hadn’t done it, I would have regretted it. Even if there was only a one-in-ten chance, I had to try."

She had always known the odds of getting into university weren’t great, but she couldn’t bear not trying. She was utterly unwilling to let it go. No matter the outcome, she had to give it a shot. Even if the result wasn’t what she hoped for, she could accept it.

"Don’t you think it’s pretty good being married to me now?"

Fei Ni burst out laughing and glanced at the wine bottle. "Let’s have a little more. We haven’t hosted a wedding banquet for anyone since we got married. Let’s consider this our celebration today."

Fang Muyang unilaterally drank their wedding toast, leaving Fei Ni no choice but to steal sips from his lips.

Fei Ni was unusually proactive today, but she fell asleep shortly after. Her drunkenness was different from others—she simply slept. She stopped talking and grew quiet once again.Fang Muyang helped her onto the bed and removed her shoes and socks.

In her sleep, Fei Ni heard Fang Muyang say, "Fei Ni, I liked you ever since the days when you wore two little braids, carried a floral backpack, and swatted flies with a fly swatter."

Of course, Fei Ni didn't believe it. If he had liked her back then, he wouldn't have stood her up, nor would he have asked her to weave a bracelet for Ling Yi. But she didn't say anything. Since Fang Muyang had forgotten about his past feelings for someone else, why should she remind him?

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or nourished me with nutrient solutions between 2021-10-13 00:04:23 and 2021-10-13 21:33:10~

Special thanks to: Winter Rose for the shallow water bomb;

Thanks for the landmines: East Doesn't Understand, Amily (2 each); Sabrinaplus, Tong, An (1 each);

Thanks for the nutrient solutions: Salty Fish Cultivating Immortality (50 bottles); Tvvgwi, Zhou Zhou is Zhou Zhou Ya, Gui Mo, Gui Hong, Era Girl, Ni Ni's Mother, Su Xi Xi, Peach Bubble Juice (10 bottles each); Choose a City to Grow Old In, Meet One Person White (9 bottles); East Doesn't Understand (7 bottles); Sweet Pineapple (6 bottles); 28713944, Lalyta Wu, Cyq (5 bottles each); Lighter, Arhat Meat (3 bottles each); Real, Duan San (2 bottles each); Yi Yi's Mom, Dou Dou Long, Two Cats One Dog, Cloudless Sky, Flowing Water Homes, Lily, ___Wild Youth (1 bottle each);

Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!