Liu Fen still couldn’t think of where she wanted to go.
“Tourism” wasn’t a necessity for people in 1985, even for those with money to spare.
Many popular tourist spots of later years hadn’t been developed yet, and travel destinations were limited to famous mountains and lakes… Mountain climbing was immediately vetoed by Tang Hongen, who believed in conserving energy.
What was that energy being saved for?
If that question were asked, Liu Fen would probably turn as red as a cooked shrimp again.
On the first day after getting their marriage certificate, Tang Hongen took Liu Fen around the commercial district.
Liu Fen had lived in the commercial district for over a year and felt quite familiar with it.
But her so-called life had been limited to traveling between the clothing store and Grandmother Yu’s house, with occasional trips to the market and the oil press area. Only by following Tang Hongen did she discover how large the commercial district was, with many places she’d never visited.
“The commercial district has changed quite a bit.”
Tang Hongen had worked in South Henan years ago and wasn’t unfamiliar with this place, though that was over a decade ago.
Revisiting old places with his newlywed wife by his side gave him different feelings.
Worried that Liu Fen wouldn’t feel at ease, he deliberately didn’t drive. The two of them just wandered through the streets, trying local snacks and such, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
This proved remarkably effective in developing their relationship. Though holding Liu Fen’s hand felt stiff at first, gradually Tang Hongen noticed her relaxing.
This was great progress!
Their first kiss didn’t happen at night but in the afternoon. After wandering around and heading back, when Liu Fen was getting into the car, a strand of her hair got caught in the window. Tang Hongen bent down to help her untangle it.
Liu Fen was already flustered by the awkward situation and tried to help, but her hair was trapped in the window glass, and the more anxious she became, the harder it was to free it.
“I’ll roll down the wind… mmph…”
As Tang Hongen was speaking, she suddenly looked up in panic, and their faces met.
At first, Tang Hongen didn’t even realize what soft thing he had touched.
It wasn’t like modern TV dramas where accidents between men and women result in perfect lip locks that stay connected as if glued together… If they had collided that forcefully, they would likely have split their lips or even knocked out teeth!
Tang Hongen and Liu Fen’s “first kiss,” strictly speaking, wasn’t a kiss – just a momentary touch of lips.
It happened so quickly that both parties took a moment to realize what had occurred.
It was very soft.
There was a faint floral scent.
Though lips could get chapped in the winter wind, Ah Fen had applied some lip protection that was pleasantly fragrant.
At this point, Liu Fen’s hair was still tangled, and she sat in the passenger seat.
Tang Hongen stood bent over by the car door.
He savored the taste for a moment, then seriously asked Liu Fen:
“Ah Fen, may I kiss you again?”
Liu Fen’s eyes widened. Although this was a small alley, people might still pass by. Had he gone crazy to say such things?
“No-“
Before she could finish saying the word, Tang Hongen cradled the back of her head and kissed her again.
Her unspoken murmur was completely sealed away.
He kissed her carefully as if confirming her taste.
Rather than the passion of mature adults, it was more like a newly-wed, not-quite-familiar husband greeting his new wife.
They had originally been strangers from different worlds.
One was a promising mayor.
One was a divorced rural woman.
These two people who seemed impossible to come together were brought together by a heavy rain, an encounter at a dock store, a sudden illness… and a simple bowl of rice porridge.
Falling in love often happens in an instant, unrelated to money or power.
At that moment, Tang Hongen, divorced for over ten years, needed that bowl of porridge with its taste of home, soothing both his weakened post-illness stomach and the anxiety of being newly appointed with everything in disarray.
And Liu Fen?
From countryside to city, she had been pulled forward by her daughter.
She too had felt lost!
Then there was this man who recognized her, appreciated her, and even liked her.
Liu Fen was completely powerless to resist such a man’s pursuit.
If it seemed like an elaborate courtship, wasn’t it also two people wounded by failed marriages being drawn to each other, finding mutual comfort?
Within the coincidence lay inevitability – they were suited for each other!
Liu Fen knew when the kiss began.
But when did it end?
When she came back to her senses, Tang Hongen had already driven to the guesthouse.
“Hello, comrade. Here’s my work ID, and this is our marriage certificate… We need one room.”
A husband and wife sharing a room was perfectly natural; no one would gossip about it.
Liu Fen still felt an inexplicable shyness rise.
She worried the front desk would scrutinize her, and laugh at her impropriety – the date on the marriage certificate was today, and here they were hurriedly getting a room. Even a fool would know what was about to happen!
But Liu Fen was overthinking.
Tang Hongen had chosen the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.
Once he showed his work ID, how would the guesthouse staff dare to gossip?
Though service workers could be discourteous these days, that depended on who they were dealing with. Before leaders, they were all well-trained.
Though Tang Hongen wasn’t the mayor of this city, he was indeed a high-ranking cadre. Whether he came to the city for official or personal reasons, he was qualified to stay at the Party Committee Guesthouse. The astute staff, seeing a leader with his wife, made sure to arrange a quiet room.
Tang Hongen walked in front, with Liu Fen following behind.
Tang Hongen simply took her hand, “From now on, we’ll walk side by side. If the hallway’s too narrow, you should walk in front!”
A walking order could show status.
If Tang Hongen wanted others to respect Liu Fen, he needed to respect her first.
For instance, now, hearing these words, the guide had already decided to treat this leader’s wife with even more care and respect.
Once alone in the room, Liu Fen became nervous.
Tang Hongen turned on the television, “I’ll shower first. Would you like to shower?”
Of course, she would.
When it was Liu Fen’s turn to shower, she had to give herself a pep talk – wasn’t intimacy between men and women just that one thing? What was there to be nervous about?
Despite telling herself this, she still dawdled in the bathroom for a long time. The hot steam had nearly set her whole body aflame when Tang Hongen, worried she might faint in the bathroom, called out:
“Ah Fen?”
“…I’m coming out now.”
Tang Hongen smiled when he saw her emerge.
Were there newlyweds like this? Coming out after a shower fully and properly dressed – except for the dampness in her hair, you couldn’t tell she’d just bathed.
But wasn’t it a husband’s right and pleasure to personally remove those properly worn clothes, one by one?
Tang Hongen reached out and pulled Liu Fen close.
“Ah Fen, are you nervous?”
Tang Hongen sat on the bed’s edge while Liu Fen stood, her petite frame only allowing her to look down at him this way.
Even so, she didn’t feel any advantage, her gaze unable to focus, though her mouth remained stubborn:
“I-I’m not nervous!”
Not nervous?
Then why were her teeth chattering?
Tang Hongen chuckled softly and reached for his “not nervous” wife.
One button, two buttons…
An outer coat, a sweater…
Unhurriedly, until only her undergarments remained. Her teeth trembled, and her skin quivered; though petite, she was quite well-endowed.
“Ah Fen, you don’t know how beautiful you are.”
Liu Fen only managed to say “Turn off the lights” before everything that followed was beyond her control.
Her body arched, all its bowstrings drawn taut as if they might snap at any moment.
When her eyes cleared, a thought suddenly occurred to her:
Who said intimacy between men and women was just that one thing?
No, it was completely different, vastly different…