When Fei Ni woke up in the morning, it was as if last night's drunken episode had never happened. She was back at the desk helping Old Fang organize his manuscripts.
She discussed moving out with Fang Muyang. They agreed to vacate the house before his sister-in-law and second sister arrived, so they could live more comfortably. Since Fang Muyang had used Mu Jing's money during his hospitalization, and now that the two of them had some financial flexibility, it was only natural to show their gratitude. Having bought gifts for the second sister, they couldn't possibly leave out the elder brother and sister-in-law. Fei Ni gave Fang Muyang money to exchange for foreign exchange certificates so he could buy gifts for the second sister, sister-in-law, and their young nephew at the Friendship Store. Additionally, since they were taking the furniture with them, leaving only an empty room, they ought to help furnish it.
Fei Ni asked Fang Muyang, "Have you talked to Dad about us moving out?"
"I mentioned it before, and he didn't agree. I suspect it's mostly because of you—the old man is quite attached to me."
"You're joking again. You're his son. Even if Dad doesn't want us to move out, it's because of you."
Fang Muyang laughed. "You don't understand the old man. To him, his manuscripts are more important than having me around."
"Tell Dad not to worry. Even if I move out, I'll still help him organize his manuscripts." Of course, staying would be more convenient for organizing the manuscripts, as she could consult Old Fang anytime. But even after moving out, she could gather questions and consult him in batches, which wouldn't hinder the work.
"He values you not just because you can organize his manuscripts, but because you understand what he's writing. It's not easy to find someone to communicate with."
Because his daughter-in-law and daughter were coming, Old Fang gave Fang Muyang some money to buy two beds—one for the study and one for Fang Muyang's studio.
"My sister-in-law and second sister are visiting with difficulty. Shouldn't we let them stay comfortably?"
"Staying at home might be a bit inconvenient, but we're family after all. Having them come and not stay at home—we can't possibly put them up in a guesthouse."
Fang Muyang said to Old Fang with a smile, "I came to live with you because I was afraid you'd be lonely. Now that my sister and sister-in-law are coming, and my sister might even stay here long-term, there's no need for Fei Ni and me to live here anymore. I've found a place outside, and we plan to move out in the next few days. Fei Ni really likes your manuscripts; she'll continue to help you organize them. If she has questions, I'll bring her over to consult you."
Old Fang didn't want his rebellious son and daughter-in-law to move out. Although the rebellious son often went against his wishes, after years apart, his dissatisfaction hadn't accumulated to the point of wanting him to leave. Moreover, his daughter-in-law got along very well with them, especially since she understood him deeply—not only grasping the merits of his writing but also asking just the right questions to draw out the views he wanted to express.
"Didn't I say? When your sister comes, I'll clear out the study for her to stay in. The study isn't that small."
"I'd still prefer you to keep your study. If you give up your study just for me, I'd feel too guilty.""While I may not have reached the state of being able to study in a bustling marketplace, I can certainly manage to read in the living room. Since Fei Ni loves learning so much, she can always consult you and your mother whenever she needs to. When your sister moves in later, Fei Ni can also seek guidance from her. It's such a pity about your sister—if it weren't for me..." Mu Jing and Fang Muyang had been complete opposites since childhood. To be precise, everyone in the Fang family was the opposite of Fang Muyang. The Fang family had loved reading since they were young, with Fang Muyang being the only exception. As a child, he not only showed no affection for books but even gleefully tried to tear them apart. As he grew older, he improved somewhat, but he was still far from being studious. Mu Jing and her brother, however, were different. For them, learning had been a hobby since childhood, not just a goal. Although Mu Jing didn't master middle school curriculum in elementary school like her brother, she had a remarkable talent for languages, speaking foreign languages as fluently as her mother tongue. Old Fang had once taken great pride in this for a time. The only thing that dissatisfied Old Fang was that his children had not followed in his footsteps, nor were they particularly interested in his field of expertise. His wife had always encouraged their children to study science. History had proven Teacher Mu right—studying science had, to some extent, safeguarded their children's futures. If Mu Jing had studied humanities, her situation would undoubtedly be even more precarious.
Mu Jing started university at sixteen and began teaching after graduation. Despite teaching for so many years, due to her family background, she remained an assistant lecturer to this day. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"Please don't say that. My sister is still so young. When you talk like that, it sounds as though her life is already set in stone, but it's far from that. Instead of dwelling on regrets, you should put aside your pride and find a way to transfer her back—that's what really matters."
"I do want to bring your sister back, but we need to discuss which unit she should be transferred to." Old Fang was deeply moved. Although his wayward son worked as a waiter in a restaurant, he had never asked for a job transfer himself. Yet now, he was genuinely concerned about his sister.
Old Fang said, "I know you care about your sister and want her to live more comfortably, but..."
"Let me be direct with you—I want a studio with a skylight. I have to rent a place outside."
"I knew it!" It was entirely for his own sake, with no consideration for how much his daughter-in-law wanted to learn from them. The moment he had a little money, he spent it recklessly. But this way, Old Fang had no grounds to stop his wayward son, as his own house truly couldn't accommodate a skylight.
"Does your wife agree to you moving out?"
"She's willing to move out with me so I can have a better studio."
"Don't you think you're being selfish? Why can't you consider Fei Ni's feelings? She might want to stay here and learn from your mother and me. What could she possibly learn from you?" What could Fei Ni learn from someone who hadn't even finished junior high school?
Fang Muyang brought up an old topic again: "From the information you've gathered, do you think the college entrance examination will be reinstated next year?"
Old Fang still claimed he had no knowledge of it.
"Fei Ni's level is surely sufficient for university, right? You know as well as I do that the average university student wouldn't be capable of organizing your manuscripts." Fang Muyang didn't continue further. To say more would imply that Fei Ni was helping the old man with his manuscripts for ulterior motives. Although, initially, aside from assisting the old man, he had indeed had other considerations.Old Fang had no way to deal with his rebellious son and could only agree to let him move out. When he was young, he too hadn’t wanted to see his own father day in and day out, even though their home was spacious enough to limit their interactions to just one weekly dinner. Back then, he had also wanted to find another place to live.
Fang Muyang brought up the matter of moving again with his mother. Teacher Mu had also been young once and could easily understand a young person’s desire to become independent.
Without saying a word, she agreed.
Old Fang and Teacher Mu exchanged their thoughts. Teacher Mu advised him, "We can’t complain about the noise and send him off to the countryside for education when we were younger, and now that we’re lonely, expect him to stay by our side. Even if we wanted to, the child wouldn’t comply with our wishes."
Old Fang explained that he didn’t want the rebellious son to stay out of loneliness.
"But he’s been used to freedom since he was young," he said. It was only when Fang Muyang took the initiative to come live with them that Teacher Mu found it strange.
Old Fang felt that his daughter-in-law was unwilling to move out, even though she accompanied Fang Muyang after work to tidy up the new place.
Fang Muyang told Fei Ni to just watch while he did the work.
"What do you take me for?"
"What do you think I take you for?"
"Whatever it is, I’m going to help." Fei Ni didn’t want to be a spectator. She made a hat out of newspaper, put on an apron, and started cleaning. Fei Ni worked efficiently, proving through her actions that she was no less capable than Fang Muyang.
After thoroughly scrubbing the floors of all three rooms, Fei Ni was about to continue working when Fang Muyang took off her hat and said, "Come eat."
Fang Muyang opened a can of yellow peaches and fed Fei Ni one piece after another with a fork, not giving her a moment to pause. After she had eaten three pieces, he held the can to her lips and said, "Drink some of the juice."
"Why aren’t you eating?"
"It’s too sweet. You have it." Fang Muyang drank water and ate biscuits beside her. Fei Ni loved buying this type of biscuit because it was cheap—much cheaper than sachima or puff pastry. One yuan could buy quite a few. About six years ago, Fang Muyang had received a package filled with these same biscuits. The package had been sent from his birthplace to the rural area where he was working. His parents and siblings were all living elsewhere, and he couldn’t think of anyone who would send him anonymous biscuits. The biscuits were only sent that one time and never again, as if they had been mailed to the wrong person.
Fei Ni fed a piece of canned peach to Fang Muyang and insisted he drink some juice too, since the biscuits were too dry.
There was only so much juice in the can, and after taking turns drinking from it, there was still some left. They even shared a biscuit, taking bites in turns.
Fang Muyang treated Fei Ni’s lips as if they were a dessert. He didn’t seem very hungry, taking a few bites before talking to her about how they would arrange their future home.
They ate for a while longer until Fei Ni said, "It’s getting late. Let’s finish up and head back quickly."
Fang Muyang had bought new glass panes to replace the old ones on the windows. After installing the new glass, he was removing the old pieces when he accidentally cut his hand.
Fei Ni noticed and anxiously went to check his finger.
Fang Muyang smiled and said to her, "It’s nothing, just a small cut. Don’t worry about it."
"You call this a small cut?"
"Would you call it a big one then?"
Fang Muyang rinsed the cut with water, and Fei Ni took out a handkerchief to bandage it. "Let’s go back. I’ll take you home. You probably shouldn’t ride a bike with that hand.""It's not that serious. Besides, could you even carry me?" Fang Muyang tried to free his other hand to untie the handkerchief. "It's fine now, see for yourself."
Fei Ni held his hand. "Don't push yourself."
"Really, it's nothing."
Fei Ni covered Fang Muyang's mouth to stop him from speaking further.
Her action had been impulsive in the heat of the moment, but once she started, she couldn't bring herself to stop.
They stumbled from outside the room through the partition door, embracing and crowding against each other, as if intimate words had to be spoken in the bedroom.
Looking outside through the silk gauze was unclear, and from the outside, nothing could be seen within—only the flowers embroidered on the silk appeared more vivid. The partition separated the inside from the outside but did not block the sounds.
"Stop! That tickles!"
Fang Muyang reached out to tickle her. Fei Ni, trapped in his embrace with nowhere to hide, could only plead with him to stop. Fang Muyang complied, his fingers softening.
Silence fell within the partition, leaving only the sound of their breathing. Fang Muyang had recently replaced the light bulb in the bedroom, and now it shone brightly, casting a clear, radiant glow. The space behind the partition was still empty—no wardrobe, no desk, and certainly no bed.
Fei Ni wasn't sure how they had ended up like this, but she knew it wouldn't do here. Not only was there no bed, there wasn't even a chair, and most importantly, they didn't have that. She blamed herself a little; if she hadn't initiated the kiss, they wouldn't be in this situation.
"Did you plan this all along?" Yet Fei Ni discovered that Fang Muyang had actually prepared that, and this premeditation dampened her desire, making her feel deceived.
"I just bought it on my way home today. We ran out of the last one, remember?" Fang Muyang continued kissing her, but this time it wasn't insistent—it allowed for refusal. "I won't force you."
Fei Ni didn't respond to his words. The paint on the bedroom walls hadn't fully dried yet, so she didn't dare lean completely against them, maintaining a slight distance.
Fei Ni's hands left faint, indistinct fingerprints on the still-damp wall.
"Hold me tighter."
Fei Ni had no choice but to hold him closer, but even in that moment, she didn't forget to prevent Fang Muyang from leaving marks on her. She didn't want any more gossip spreading at the factory.
Fei Ni fastened her buttons inside the partition door while Fang Muyang fetched water for her to wash her hands. Her hands had gotten smeared with putty when she accidentally leaned against the wall earlier, and later, the marks transferred onto Fang Muyang's shirt.
Fang Muyang's shirt bore Fei Ni's handprints, though they were faint and would only be mistaken for some white dust if one didn't look closely.
Fei Ni lowered her head, letting Fang Muyang wash her hands. Her gaze drifted to the handprints on the wall—several places showed her palm prints, though they weren't very clear.
Her head bowed, face flushed, she still had sweat on her cheeks despite the cooler weather these days.
As they were about to leave, she pointed at the faint marks on the wall and said, "Let's apply another layer of putty here."
"Why cover it? I like it." Fang Muyang reached out and pressed his hand over the same spot, covering Fei Ni's original prints, but upon closer inspection, one could see they were two different palm prints.
When they had arrived, the sky wasn't yet dark; when they left, the moon was bright in the deep blue night.Fei Ni's hair remained neatly in place, though beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Having just shared an intimate moment with Fang Muyang, the autumn breeze flushed her cheeks even redder. Despite their recent closeness, once seated on Fang Muyang's bicycle, she deliberately maintained distance between them.
Upon reaching the building entrance, Fei Ni didn’t go upstairs immediately but took a moment to tidy her hair once more.
As they entered the building, they walked far apart, with Fei Ni moving briskly as if trying to leave Fang Muyang behind. At the door, she stepped inside first, exchanged a brief greeting with her father-in-law, and then retreated into the bedroom.
"Why are you back so late?"
"We were tidying up the house."
A perfectly normal couple acting as if they were sneaking around.
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