Yun Li opened the box to find a pair of ice-blue crystal earrings. She examined them briefly, then said puzzledly, “I think I came here to celebrate your birthday.”
She then held up the earrings, solemnly placing them against Fu Shize’s earlobe. “It’s your birthday, so this gift should be for you.” Fu Shize didn’t have pierced ears, so he clearly couldn’t wear them.
Fu Shize sighed, “All my gifts are yours.”
Yun Li mimicked him: “All my gifts are yours too.”
Not much of what a drunk person says can be trusted, but hearing Yun Li’s words, Fu Shize still smiled. He took the earrings from her hand and asked, “Can you sit still?”
Yun Li nodded.
Brushing aside the hair near her ear, he noticed her ear was red and warm. Fu Shize gently pinched her earlobe.
It was his first time putting earrings on a girl, and he was inexperienced. The delicate skin of her earlobe seemed incredibly fragile to him.
Fu Shize moved cautiously, focusing intently for a long while. After some nervous fiddling, he finally managed to secure the earring.
Yun Li remained perfectly still, following his instructions even after he had finished.
“I only ordered a cake for you,” Yun Li’s mind seemed to clear momentarily. “I didn’t bring you a gift.”
She repeated in disbelief: “I didn’t bring you a gift.”
“Didn’t you bring yourself back?” Fu Shize humored her. Yun Li blinked and asked, “Do you like it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
There was a knock at the door, probably the cake delivery. As Fu Shize was about to get up, Yun Li tightly gripped his collar and continued her previous line of questioning: “—Do you like me?”
Her grip prevented him from moving.
Fu Shize chuckled, attempting to pry her fingers off one by one. As he freed one, she stubbornly clasped back with another. After futile efforts, he gave up and leaned against the sofa.
“Yes, I like you.”
Yun Li murmured, “I like you too.”
Fu Shize: “I know.”
Yun Li didn’t let go of Fu Shize until she fell asleep. Only after carrying her to bed did he notice how she had pulled open his collar.
There were a few red marks on his collarbone where she had scratched him.
This room used to belong to his grandparents and hadn’t been occupied for many years.
The house that should have been empty now had her presence.
Fu Shize left a small light on and removed her makeup and jewelry.
As Yun Li turned, disturbing the covers, Fu Shize tucked her in. Her face showed no signs of drinking, her curled eyelashes neatly shielding her upper eyelids. He stroked her eye socket and asked, “Can I have a birthday gift?”
Yun Li furrowed her brow slightly, turning her face towards him.
Her moist lips seemed to call to him. Fu Shize leaned in closer, murmuring, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
…
When Yun Li saw the cake with her own eyes, it was the next morning.
She woke up in a daze, her head throbbing slightly. Recalling the events of the previous night, her memory ended with falling asleep in his arms.
Surely she hadn’t come back to celebrate his birthday only to miss blowing out the candles?
Imagining Fu Shize sitting alone on the sofa, lighting two candles, and glancing at her sleeping form beside him, Yun Li felt a pang of guilt. She shouldn’t have drunk those two glasses of alcohol just because she was in a bad mood.
Opening the refrigerator, she saw the cake wasn’t whole; two slices had been cut.
She sighed in relief.
They must have celebrated his birthday after all. Fu Shize wouldn’t have deliberately staged the cake like this.
“Did you sleep well?” Fu Shize approached, taking milk and eggs from the fridge.
He had been awake for a while, his pajama buttons slightly undone, revealing the red marks on his collarbone.
Yun Li couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Yes, quite well,” she replied politely, then hesitantly asked, “Did I… do that to your collarbone?”
Fu Shize: “Don’t you remember?”
“…”
“Let me ask you something,” Yun Li said with difficulty. “How did it happen?”
Fu Shize placed the warm milk in front of her, casually saying, “Maybe you bit me.”
“…”
Yun Li continued searching her memory, trying to recall how far things had progressed between them. She vaguely remembered her tongue struggling against something after she fell asleep. She had tried to resist with her hands, but then her arms sank into the soft bedding, unable to move.
Still confused, Fu Shize said nonchalantly, “It’s fine.”
This was beyond Yun Li’s comprehension. Fearing further complications, she blurted out, “That’s good then.”
Fu Shize chuckled.
Yun Li thought the matter was settled, but as Fu Shize was frying eggs, he suddenly turned to her and said, “It hurts a bit.”
“…”
Yun Li’s lips were sore from kissing by the time Fu Shize finally released her. Checking her phone during breakfast, she saw a message from Yun Ye from the previous night: [Wish brother-in-law a happy birthday for me.]
Yun Li: [Got it.]
Yun Ye: [It’s been twelve hours, Yun Li. What were you doing last night?]
Yun Li: [On a date ^^]
Yun Ye: [Heh]
Yun Ye: [Friendly reminder: Dad says he’s coming to Nanwu to bring you blankets. Time unknown.]
Yun Li: [Damn]
She took a sip of milk to calm herself, startled by the news. With winter almost over, it seemed more likely he was coming to inspect his future son-in-law.
After breakfast, they drove to a nearby supermarket to shop.
Looking at the cart full of common household items, like toothbrush holders and slippers in pairs, Yun Li wondered, “Didn’t you have these things at home before?”
Fu Shize counted, “Couple slippers, couple mugs, couple pajamas…”
Seeing her blank expression, he lowered his gaze and asked, “Any problem?”
He continued pushing the cart forward. Yun Li smiled belatedly and caught up, linking her arm tightly with his.
“Let’s buy some instant food,” Yun Li said, walking to the frozen section. “We could get more dumplings, they’re quick to cook.”
Fu Shize rarely ate frozen foods and asked curiously, “Don’t people usually make them themselves?”
“But you’re the one cooking now,” Yun Li said honestly. “I want to lighten your load.”
They had just moved in together, and this arrangement seemed to have become a foregone conclusion.
Realizing she might sound presumptuous, Yun Li added, “If you get tired of cooking, I can make frozen dumplings for you.”
“…”
Fu Shize calmly said, “‘Xianyun Didaliang’s latest update: Video ‘Make porridge for your boyfriend – How to make crab and shrimp hotpot porridge'”
“Chinese yam and pork rib porridge, beef and egg porridge, dried scallop and shrimp porridge, black bean and brown rice porridge…” Fu Shize recited several names from that series from memory, then turned to ask her, “I seem to be your boyfriend?”
Yun Li forced a smile: “You are…”
Fu Shize smiled expressionlessly: “I don’t remember eating any of those.”
“…”
Yun Li obediently walked to the grain section, tossing a few bags of brown rice and oats into the cart, then went to the dried goods section to add some dried seafood.
After finishing at the supermarket, Fu Shize changed clothes and left for work.
With classes at South University of Technology not yet started, Yun Li spoke with Fang Yuning and returned to the company early.
She had been interning at EAW for three full months now, mostly doing miscellaneous tasks.
As an intern, her work wasn’t fixed, and she had helped in various departments, gaining a rough understanding of the company’s operations.
Planning to resign in April, Yun Li proactively applied to Fang Yuning to handle the spring recruitment work before leaving.
This was a task that the previous Yun Li would never have volunteered for, let alone be able to handle well. Perhaps due to her recent urgent desire to change her personality, Yun Li wanted to give it a try.
Apart from commuting together, Yun Li and Fu Shize’s daily life was quite ordinary.
Occasionally, she would think about Yun Yongchang’s impending visit to Nanwu.
Without receiving any definite news, Yun Li tried to convince herself that nothing was happening.
“Teacher Xian,” He Jiameng, who had just returned from her New Year’s vacation, came to greet Yun Li. “Colleagues say you’ve changed a lot recently?”
“Ah?” Yun Li looked up from her documents. “What’s changed?”
“You talk more and smile more,” He Jiameng said with a grin. “Who would’ve thought that dating that cold person would make Teacher Xian smile more? Have you been infected?”
Yun Li smiled, “Maybe I have been infected.”
They didn’t chat for long before it was time to leave work. Yun Li packed up her things and went to the entrance to wait for Fu Shize.
Today was Valentine’s Day, and Yun Li and Fu Shize had agreed to film a drone video together. The theme was about the development history of classic drones, with Fu Shize helping to draft and narrate the script.
After taking out her collection of drones, Yun Li borrowed the space in front of his bookshelf to record their appearances.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted a black leather album on the shelf. She took it out and flipped through it.
It contained Fu Shize’s old photos.
Starting from his infancy, many photos featured a boy with him, probably the childhood friend he had mentioned before.
The two boys had similar smiles with prominent double eyelid creases. One photo showed the friend carrying both their schoolbags, holding Fu Shize’s hand as they walked to the entrance of Jiangnan Yuan.
Fu Shize looked no more than four or five years old.
As Yun Li crouched there flipping through the album, Fu Shize entered and asked, “The drones…”
His voice trailed off abruptly.
“I accidentally came across this photo album earlier. I saw many photos of you as a child,” Yun Li stood up, intending to hand the album to him.
Fu Shize glanced at it, closed the album, and asked, “Are we filming the video now?”
He placed the album on the bedside table.
Yun Li’s heart skipped a beat uneasily, and it took her a moment to respond, “Oh, okay.”
Yun Li followed him outside, and after setting up the camera, she recorded some outdoor drone scenes. While operating the camera, Yun Li glanced up at him silently.
His expression was calm, his pupils reflecting the blue-tinted sky.
The man in the black coat overlapped with the boy wearing the Unique team uniform.
Then they separated distinctly.
Before they got together, Fu Shize was like a rose in the wilderness, solitary and unique. She was the same, watching him from afar.
The scenes in the camera were captured several times. His movements were minimal, with only the drone traversing the sky.
Yun Li remembered that night during the camping trip – the reflective lake surface, the solitary silhouette. She was close enough to discern his body temperature, yet an inevitable sense of distance remained.
“Li Li.”
Yun Li snapped back to reality. Fu Shize was looking at her, the drone already back in his hand.
“We’re done filming. Shall we go eat?” Yun Li said awkwardly. Fu Shize made a sound of agreement and helped her pack up the camera.
In mid-February, the temperature was still below freezing at -3°C. Fu Shize helped Yun Li put on her scarf and held her hand in his pocket.
His palm was a bit cool at first but soon warmed up. Outside, the cold wind was biting. Yun Li’s exposed skin felt numb from the cold, with only the warmth from their joined hands providing comfort.
Her mood, which had been low all day, finally improved a little.
Fu Shize had made a reservation at a Western restaurant in advance, located in the shopping mall near Jiangnan Yuan.