On the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Fei Ni and Fang Muyang bought mooncakes, canned goods, fruit, and milk powder to visit Fei Ni's parents, celebrating the festival with them in advance. Two bags of milk powder were for her sister-in-law, who, unlike others prone to frequent vomiting during pregnancy, had instead a greatly increased appetite. Fei Ting had specially purchased free-range eggs from the countryside to supplement her nutrition, and when buying them, he had also set aside a portion for Fei Ni and her husband.
During the meal, the sister-in-law said, "The tea eggs Xiao Fang made last time were excellent. What method did you use? Teach me too."
Fei Ni thought to herself, even if taught, most people wouldn't be able to replicate it—who would be willing to use such high-quality tea leaves to brew tea eggs?
For two consecutive days, Fang Muyang had been tidying up the studio, while Fei Ni sorted Old Fang's manuscript in the bedroom. After finishing one page, Fang Muyang still hadn't returned. She went to the studio to check on him and said, "Hurry up and rest. You can continue tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I want to finish here today. But if you can't sleep without me, I'll go and accompany you first. Once you're asleep, I'll come back."
Fei Ni initially wanted to say it wasn't necessary—her eyelids were only staying open through sheer willpower, so she hardly needed his company to fall asleep. But she felt sorry for him still working so late, so she said, "Alright, you go wash up first."
Fang Muyang hadn't expected Fei Ni to agree and had no choice but to say okay.
Fei Ni slipped under the covers, forcing her eyes to stay open as she waited for Fang Muyang to join her. As soon as he lay down beside her, she relaxed and fell asleep within minutes. Fang Muyang kissed her eyelids and then returned to the studio.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Fang Muyang went to pick up Fei Ni at her factory right after work. Before she could even get on the back of his bicycle, someone greeted her—it was Old Hu, the pastry chef from the cafeteria.
Naturally, Fei Ni knew Old Hu. Anyone in the factory who had ever eaten at the cafeteria would generally recognize him. As for Old Hu knowing Fei Ni, it was largely due to her appearance. There were many rumors about Fei Ni in the factory. Although Old Hu knew her, their interactions were limited to the cafeteria, and his understanding of her was pieced together from various rumors. These rumors, spanning different periods and versions, were exceptionally chaotic: Fei Ni's husband was surnamed Ye, worked at the Radio Industry Bureau, could obtain television tickets, drew sequential pictures in his spare time, and had already published several volumes; Fei Ni's mother-in-law was a university teacher, lived in a large house, and had access to a car.
Coincidentally, Old Hu was thinking of buying a television set but was struggling to get a television ticket. Seeing Fei Ni's husband, he thought to himself that regardless of whether the man would help or not, asking couldn't hurt.
Old Hu inwardly sighed at Fei Ni's good fortune—marrying such a husband, tall and handsome, with a good family background and an enviable job as a section chief at the Radio Industry Bureau. This meant he could buy televisions, radios, and record players without needing tickets. And on top of that, he drew sequential pictures in his spare time—truly multi-talented.
Since he needed to ask for a favor, Old Hu took the initiative to greet Fang Muyang: "You must be Section Chief Ye, right? So young and accomplished—to be a section chief at the Industrial Bureau at such a young age..."
Fang Muyang smiled and said, "I think you might have mistaken me for someone else?"
Old Hu was familiar with this kind of evasion—undoubtedly, too many people had asked him for television tickets, and he was afraid of being approached for help, hence the denial.
"Aren't you Fei Ni's husband? I know usually a lot of people come to you for help..."Old Hu was famously scatterbrained in the factory. Fei Ni knew he must have mixed things up and quickly corrected him on Fang Muyang’s behalf: "My husband’s surname is Fang, and he works at a restaurant."
With that, Fei Ni hopped onto the back of Fang Muyang’s bicycle, leaving Old Hu standing there awkwardly.
Fang Muyang didn’t bring up the matter again, and Fei Ni assumed it had blown over. In her memory, although Fang Muyang had met Ye Feng twice, he didn’t know his surname or anything about his work. Being mistaken for her former flame wasn’t exactly pleasant, but fortunately, Fang Muyang was unaware.
Mu Jing and her sister-in-law were set to leave right after spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at home. On their last night, there was naturally more to talk about. While admiring the moon, they ate mooncakes Fang Muyang had brought back from the restaurant—freshly baked by the chef, far tastier than the usual store-bought ones. Old Fang had received many holiday gifts, more than he could eat himself, so he had no choice but to let his wayward son help finish them.
That night, Fei Ni and Fang Muyang left the Fang family home very late. As soon as they stepped out of the building, they looked up and saw the moon.
Fei Ni had drunk a little at dinner, and with the breeze, she felt a slight tipsiness. Sitting on the back of the bicycle, she gazed at the moon in the sky, idly swinging her feet. She said to Fang Muyang, "For Second Sister’s wedding, what do you think we should give her as a gift?" Although they had already given Mu Jing a present, Fei Ni felt a wedding called for something extra.
"How about a painting?"
"What should we paint?"
"I haven’t decided yet."
"But will you have enough time to paint it now?" Fang Muyang had already gone two nights with very little sleep, and Fei Ni hoped he could rest sooner. "Maybe we should give her something else."
"If you help me, there’ll be enough time."
"How can I help?"
"Have a drink with me."
The studio was fully renovated now. Fei Ni stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, outside of which stood a peach tree, though its blooming season had long passed. Fang Muyang poured her just a sip of wine.
Fei Ni held his hand and poured herself a little more. "It’s fine to drink a bit more at home."
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