The next day, Zhou Yu was miserable. Her waist and back were covered in red marks from being pressed against hard surfaces, and her buttocks bore handprints. When the hot water hit her, it hurt like hell! Last night they were both too exhausted to bother washing.
She was in the middle of showering when Sun Jingcheng came in, pulled down his underwear, aimed at the toilet, and urinated. After finishing, he started brushing his teeth and washing his face, urging her to hurry up so she could drive him to the company first. His car was restricted today due to license plate number regulations.
“Can’t you use the guest bathroom?” Zhou Yu chided him.
“Too lazy.”
Once they were both ready and in the car, Sun Jingcheng peeled a hard-boiled egg and asked, “Does your body hurt?”
…
“You didn’t forget about last night, did you?”
“If you have something to say, just say it.” Zhou Yu’s face flushed.
“You’re really something—put on your skirt and act like you don’t know me!” Sun Jingcheng said while eating the egg. “When you were enjoying yourself, you were urging me to go faster…”
“Who urged you!”
“You nearly squeezed me to death.”
“Beast!” Zhou Yu cursed at him, her face burning red.
“I am a beast.” Sun Jingcheng peeled another egg, broke it open, ate the yolk, and fed Zhou Yu the white.
“What are you embarrassed about? I’m not embarrassed at all.”
Zhou Yu ignored him.
Sun Jingcheng busied himself replying to messages and said nothing more.
Zhou Yu guessed he had seen her on the balcony last night. After thinking it over, she tried to explain—the school had been especially busy lately, and there were many matters at the clinic and family compound. There was the issue with her sister-in-law, her father’s affairs, and yesterday Grandma had snuck out while Mom was sleeping, finally being brought back by the police station…
Originally she had intended to brush it off in a few words, but as she spoke, she ended up saying a great deal. As a daughter, as a wife, as a daughter-in-law, as a granddaughter, as a teacher… the different responsibilities each role demanded. She had to be dutiful and responsible at work, while in life she was entangled in trivial matters. Every day brought endless, boundless chores. Most of them weren’t even worth mentioning, too insignificant to share with outsiders.
Her tone was calm, without complaint, recounting it all with the equanimity of watching flowers bloom and fade. Initially she wanted him to understand why she had been naked on the balcony secretly smoking, but as they talked, she suddenly didn’t care anymore. So what if she couldn’t sleep and went to the balcony to smoke? The wind felt amazing, so she took off her clothes.
Just like how Sun Jingcheng had thrust into her so forcefully, treating her that way—she would never admit it verbally, but the dark, withered grass in her heart grew wildly. She wanted him to do it, desperately craved him to do it, wanted him to be like a beast, using his undeniable masculine attributes to possess her fiercely, again and again, to conquer her!
In that moment, when they both shed their pretenses and became beasts, she willingly looked up to him. Because he was Sun Jingcheng, her husband, her man!
He could bear her darkness, indulge her darkness, satisfy her darkness, conquer her darkness. In that moment of ultimate pleasure, he became one with her darkness.
This was the man she wanted!
When Sun Jingcheng treated her that way, she didn’t feel the slightest bit offended or humiliated. On the contrary, she received the highest respect and understanding.
She had only realized all this just now while talking with him. Perhaps everything last night was his unconscious behavior, just seeking carnal pleasure, but from the moment he first degraded himself as a beast to please her, he had been demonstrating through action that he had her back, letting her indulge herself without restraint.
Sun Jingcheng hadn’t expected that in the time it took him to peel an egg, she would think so much. The scene of Zhou Yu on the balcony had startled him—he had no other thoughts except that it was too bold and reckless. When he said he was a beast, it wasn’t for any other reason—that was just his honest thought.
As for the positions, he didn’t feel ashamed at all. The Creator gave humans the seven emotions and six desires, and required humans to copulate in this manner to obtain pleasure. No matter how noble a person, it was all the same—nothing to be ashamed of.
He understood clearly that what Zhou Yu was saying wasn’t complaining, nor making excuses for last night—it was simply sharing. Because this was life, compacted solid by endless trivial matters, from the small matters of daily sustenance to the great matters of life and death, one thing after another.
He too, in the past year, having experienced a marriage crisis, midlife crisis, and the pain of bereavement, had gradually come to understand that no matter who you are, one day you’ll find yourself in this life of endless waves, vast as the ocean. No choice, no escape.
He had thought his company would surely collapse—it had already encountered three financial crises, but unexpectedly… it gradually improved.
This was good! In the future he could study medicine with his teacher more at ease. His uncle had originally wanted to find him a prestigious master teacher, but he hadn’t agreed. It wasn’t until ten days ago when Zhou Yu suggested he study with his own father that he reconsidered. Besides, Sun Youping had the qualifications to be an instructor. He seized the opportunity and sent Sun Youping a message that very night.
It wasn’t until just before bed that he received Sun Youping’s message—simple and straightforward, two words: “Okay.”
Then the father and son gathered all the necessary documents and went to the relevant departments to complete the procedures. Traditional Chinese medicine apprenticeship is very lengthy—first requiring several years of regular study and clinical observation with the teacher, then taking various examinations, and finally obtaining a medical practice license. The best path after getting the license is to open a clinic like his father. Trying to practice at a major hospital… basically no chance, and he didn’t aspire to that anyway. Healing and saving people is the same anywhere. Fortunately, the apprenticeship schedule was flexible. If he could adjust things in advance, it wouldn’t significantly impact his career.
On the seventh day after his eldest brother’s passing, the clinic reopened. Sun Youping fumbled at the consultation desk and pulled out an old medical book to give him, saying it would help. It was from that point on that the father-son relationship truly eased. At the same time, Sun Jingcheng felt overwhelming guilt, recognizing for the first time his own immaturity and childishness.
Afterward he told Zhou Yu about it. Zhou Yu said that fathers, after all, have lived several decades longer than us, so naturally their hearts are broader than ours.
Sun Jingcheng discovered that since his brother’s death, perhaps influenced by Zhou Yu, he had begun to become more attentive, learning to observe and listen more, to put himself in others’ shoes. Like when Sun Yuyi came back during the short holiday—he and Zhou Yu invited the siblings to visit the new district, and Zhou Yu cooked Western food for them; like how he would send his mother a bouquet of flowers on Mother’s Day. Sun’s mother complained verbally about wasting money, but her face showed great joy; and like now—he had deliberately bought an ashtray and placed it prominently on the coffee table. He had also cleaned the cigarette butts from the large flowerpot… twenty-four of them, then changed the soil and fertilized the plant.
He knew why his plant was looking more and more wilted!
Yes, all of the above—was what he considered and understood as thoughtfulness.
He also felt he was becoming softer, learning like his wife to care for others naturally, smoothly, without making a show of it.
It was already seven o’clock and his wife still hadn’t returned home. He was starving. He messaged her: “Where are you?”
Zhou Yu replied: “Working overtime.”
He asked: “What time will you be back?”
Zhou Yu replied: “Don’t bother me.”
He had his answer—she wouldn’t be back before ten. Then he grabbed his keys and went downstairs, riding his electric scooter along the small path back to the clinic. Upstairs, Sun Jingfei was there too, mooching food again. The two children sat on the sofa watching cartoons, while his sister-in-law came out of the bathroom with freshly washed clothes draped over her arm.
Sun Jingcheng made a round in the kitchen and asked where Mom was. His sister-in-law finished hanging the clothes and came back to heat up food for him. “Mom went downstairs to chat with neighbors.”
Sun Jingcheng sat down at the dining table and looked at Sun Jingfei. “Mooching food at Mom’s again?”
“Can’t stand it?” Sun Jingfei shot back at him.
Sun Jingcheng turned his head away without a word.
His sister-in-law brought out a bowl of rice for him. Sun Jingfei looked at him. “At your house, does Zhou Yu also bring food to the table for you?”
“Can’t you stand it?” Sun Jingcheng returned her question.
“Really something!” Sun Jingfei was impressed, calling to his sister-in-law that from now on, everyone should heat their own food—his face didn’t deserve special treatment.
His sister-in-law didn’t mind, saying without thinking, “Your eldest brother was the same at home, I always served him…” She stopped mid-sentence and went to the bathroom to wash Yuyan’s socks.
Sun Yuyan, watching cartoons on the sofa, heard this and asked her, “Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?”
Sun Jiarui, annoyed that he was interrupting her TV watching, said to him, “Your mommy and grandpa and grandma are all here, aren’t they? My parents never come to see me, and I’m so happy about it!”
…
Sun’s mother returned and saw these two freeloaders coming to eat for free. She said to Sun Jingfei, “You’re so lazy it’ll kill you—two bowls of noodles in the pot is a meal.”
“Why do you only say this to me?” Sun Jingfei felt indignant.
“I can’t criticize your brother. Zhou Yu works so hard, it’s normal if she doesn’t cook.”
…
“School has been crazy busy lately. She probably won’t be home before ten tonight.” Sun Jingcheng said.
“Tonight, take a jar of caviar back for Zhou Yu. Your second brother specially brought it.” Sun’s mother said as she opened the refrigerator. Seeing only one jar left of the three, she searched back and forth: “Hey, where did they go?”
“Mom, what are you looking for?” his sister-in-law asked.
“Looking for the caviar. How are there only one jar left out of three?”
“When I got off work, I saw two empty jars in the big trash bin by the building entrance,” his sister-in-law said. “Exactly like the one in your hand.”
Before she could ask, Sun Jiarui confessed without being prompted: “We didn’t steal any! We’re kids—we couldn’t even open it!” She turned to ask Yuyan, “Right, little brother?”
…
Sun Jingfei glanced over, picked up her bowl, went to the kitchen to wash it, came back and quietly tucked the small jar into her pocket, and left.
After Sun Jingcheng finished eating and brought his bowl to the kitchen, he asked, “Mom, where are the rubber gloves?”
“What for?”
“To wash dishes.”
Sun’s mother came over, snatched the bowl from his hands, and washed it with a few quick swipes. Such nonsense, wearing gloves to wash one bowl!
“Dish soap is bad for your hands.”
“Your hands are precious, but we’ve been washing our whole lives and our hands haven’t rotted off.”
Sun Jingcheng didn’t argue with her. He opened the refrigerator and searched for a while. “Mom, where’s the caviar?”
“Mom, Mom, Mom—listen to how affectionately you call me.” Sun’s mother was annoyed at them calling her constantly.
The caviar was never found. Sun Jingcheng had a pretty good idea what happened. He went downstairs to the clinic, where Sun Youping, taking advantage of a lull, had gone to the entrance to practice the eighth set of broadcast exercises. He practiced them morning and evening without fail. On the small folding stool beside him was the Bluetooth speaker his eldest brother had bought him.
Sun Jingcheng watched for a while, then joined him, exercising side by side. Might as well aid digestion.
After finishing, with nothing else to do, he messaged his second brother asking if there was more caviar. The second brother replied that the restaurant had a few more jars. Sun Jingcheng rode his electric scooter to the restaurant and asked the kitchen for two jars. Inside they were bustling with activity—there were five tables of longevity banquets in the private rooms, very high-end affairs, as evidenced by the carp with crispy noodles, braised fish maw, and clear abalone soup he saw…
In the end, he successfully got them to pack up some clear abalone soup. Zhou Yu loved drinking it.
On the road, his electric scooter ran out of battery… He pushed the vehicle to a nearby hospital, took out the battery intending to hail a cab home, when he received a call from Zhou Yu asking where he was.
When Zhou Yu picked him up, she was at a roadside stall selecting bayberries, saying she wanted to make bayberry soup. On the way back, Sun Jingcheng drove while Zhou Yu sat in the passenger seat, blowing on the hot soup and taking small sips of the abalone broth.
Sun Jingcheng thought the takeout container wasn’t good enough, so he had taken the insulated cup that Jiaxing used at the restaurant.
“Starving?” Sun Jingcheng laughed at her.
“I only had some milk and crackers tonight.”
“Next time you don’t want to eat at the cafeteria, I’ll bring you food.”
Zhou Yu just kept blowing and sipping her soup, not responding.
Even though she was starving, she still ate gracefully, taking small bites, chewing slowly, swallowing gradually. If she hadn’t unscrewed the cup as soon as she got in the car, he wouldn’t have known she was hungry.
Watching her, he couldn’t help but smile. Zhou Yu asked what he was smiling about. He didn’t say. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have imagined she had such an exposed, uninhibited side.
Thinking about those images, he was about to get aroused. To restrain himself, he chatted with her, taking a sip of soup himself, slowly suppressing it.
When they got home, Zhou Yu soaked the bayberries in salt water, planning to get up early the next morning to cook them for him. Sun Jingcheng found a bottle of champagne from before the New Year and put it in a bucket of ice to chill. Zhou Yu saw the conspicuous ashtray on the coffee table and secretly rolled her eyes, then went to the bedroom to wash up. Sun Jingcheng thought she was moved by his thoughtfulness and felt incredibly pleased with himself.
After Zhou Yu washed up and got into bed ready to sleep, Sun Jingcheng brought her a glass of champagne and scooped a small spoonful of caviar for her. Zhou Yu wasn’t used to eating it—she found it too fishy—but seeing his enthusiasm to share with her, she ate a spoonful with the champagne.
“I see people eat it from the tiger’s mouth,” Zhou Yu said.
Sun Jingcheng scooped a spoonful onto the tiger’s mouth of her hand to feed her. Zhou Yu shook her head—if she ate more she’d throw up. Then she took a sip of champagne and gestured to him. Sun Jingcheng also shook his head.
Sun Jingcheng didn’t smoke and generally didn’t drink alcohol either. He didn’t smoke because it was bad for the lungs, and he didn’t drink because he wasn’t used to it.
Zhou Yu could have a couple of drinks—red, white, or foreign wines were all fine. She liked that slightly tipsy state. But she rarely drank when out, only felt comfortable drinking a bit at home.
The bedroom was lit with sleep-inducing aromatherapy. Zhou Yu leaned against the headboard taking small sips of wine while Sun Jingcheng sat cross-legged beside her eating caviar. When they got to talking about the ashtray on the coffee table, Sun Jingcheng’s meaning was that he didn’t oppose her smoking—she could smoke when she wanted from now on, but in moderation, since they were essentially in the pregnancy preparation period.
Zhou Yu’s smoking addiction wasn’t that strong anyway. As for sneaking cigarettes, she gave the example of herself and Sun Jingfei. Her smoking might be shocking news in the relatives’ circle, while Sun Jingfei’s would barely raise eyebrows.
A good reputation is a burden—people have high expectations of you, so their tolerance is correspondingly lower.
The two chatted for a while, then Sun Jingcheng went to wash up. When he returned, Zhou Yu had already closed her eyes. He lay on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She sniffed with her nose and wrapped one arm around his waist.
Sun Jingcheng patted her back, softly humming a lullaby.
Zhou Yu fell peacefully into her dreams. In the dream, Sun Jingcheng flew high into the sky and plucked a beautiful star for her.