“I thought you’d move out after getting married.”

“We have enough space at home for us to live there. In this situation, how would others view me if I competed for housing allocation? Besides, living with my parents means we can look after each other. Managing a small household isn’t easy—living with my parents, with the housekeeper’s help, would make things much easier for you.”

Fei Ni realized she had misunderstood Ye Feng—their interests weren’t aligned at all.

Living at home after marriage would benefit him with no drawbacks. Any allocated housing would certainly be inferior to his current home. Living with his parents meant everything from buying rice, flour, and vegetables to cooking, laundry, and changing gas cylinders would be taken care of. Outside of work, he’d only need to enjoy the service. Since he enjoyed these benefits of living at home, naturally he needed to find a daughter-in-law who satisfied his parents.

As for her, she would have to live under someone else’s roof while being disliked, thick-skinned enough to endure their obvious disdain, without even the right to talk back. After all, she’d be living in their house.

Seeing Fei Ni’s silence, Ye Feng consoled her, “Living at home is just temporary. We’ll eventually have our place. Once I get promoted, we’ll be allocated better housing.”

“How many years do you plan to ‘transition’?”

Ye Feng had only meant to comfort her without any concrete plans. Hearing her question, he avoided a direct answer and said, “By then, you might not even want to separate from my mother.”

“I respect your relationship with your parents, but I will never live with them.” How could she demand respect while living in someone else’s house, enjoying their benefits?

Ye Feng hadn’t expected Fei Ni to be so resolute. Knowing he couldn’t convince her today, he changed the subject: “Don’t worry too much about your brother returning to the city for work. I have friends in the Labor Bureau who might be able to help.”

“Thank you.” His timing for this offer couldn’t have been more telling—Ye Feng’s choice was crystal clear, even if unspoken. Fei Ni’s thanks carried no enthusiasm; she knew that accepting his favor would require compromise elsewhere.

“No need to be so formal, we’ll be family soon.”

Fei Ni forced a smile. “Ye Feng, let’s end this here.”

Her words caught Ye Feng off guard. After regaining his composure, he interpreted her words as mere pique.

“We’ll discuss this later. Eat first.” Ye Feng ladled some egg drop soup for her. “Come to my house sometime and try Auntie Chen’s soup. I promise there won’t be any more unpleasantness.”

These restaurants employed cooks chosen not for their culinary skills but for their political consciousness. Their goal was to fill stomachs rather than please palates. The food’s presentation, aroma, and taste were far inferior to his family’s cook’s. If not for wanting to spend more time with Fei Ni, he wouldn’t come here at all.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“I already ate at the Radio Factory this afternoon.” The factory director had specially arranged a meal for him.

Fei Ni pulled out money and food coupons for today’s dinner from her olive-green shoulder bag. This restaurant required prepayment, which Ye Feng had already handled.

She placed the money and coupons beside Ye Feng. “Since you’re not eating, I should pay.” Then she fell silent, focusing on her meal. She chewed with her mouth closed, not making a sound.

Ye Feng pushed the money back. “By all accounts, I should pay.”

After swallowing her food, Fei Ni managed two words: “Thank you.”

She thought Ye Feng did care for her and would treat her well as long as it didn’t affect his interests. She probably wouldn’t find better elsewhere.

This realization disappointed her.

Even more disappointing was the fact that her housing situation depended on her future husband—her current rank meant she had no chance at housing allocation. Even if Ye Feng did move out for her sake, they’d live in housing allocated by his work unit. Whether she’d ever live in better housing depended on if and how far Ye Feng got promoted. Even when five family members lived in a space barely over ten square meters, she had never lost hope, believing she’d eventually have her own house through her efforts. She had been optimistic about the future then.

Fei Ni had no appetite for the dishes, just mechanically chewing the white rice in her bowl.

Ye Feng stayed, watching her, occasionally adding food to her plate.

“There might be some misunderstanding between you and my mother. If you spend more time with her, you’ll see she’s not what you think.”

Fei Ni maintained her smile. “I don’t misunderstand her at all. If I were her, I’d also want my future housemate to meet my preferences. If that person fell short of my expectations, my grace probably wouldn’t be much better than hers. She’s not wrong—I am. Being with you was a mistake. That mistake should end today.”

“Fei Ni, don’t rush to conclusions. Try getting along with her for a while before deciding.”

“And if we can’t get along, what then?”

“There’s no point in assuming things that haven’t happened.”

“This isn’t an assumption—it’s inevitable, likely to happen daily. Trust me, if we marry and I move in with your family, you’ll eventually blame me for being inconsiderate, for not showing proper respect to elders…”

“Fei Ni, you’re too pessimistic. You’re an understanding girl; I’m sure none of this will happen.”

Fei Ni smiled bitterly—he’d already labeled her as ‘understanding.’ In future conflicts, she’d be blamed for not being understanding enough.

“You misunderstand me. I’ve never been understanding. Your mother realized this before you did.” Fei Ni lowered her head to drink her soup, struggling to control her emotions. When she looked up, she was smiling again. “If I were as comfortable living at home as you are, I wouldn’t want to move out either. You should find a girl your parents like—that would make your life easier. Neither of us will have a good outcome if we stay together.”

“Fei Ni, why won’t you at least try? If it doesn’t work, we can consider other solutions.”

“Stop considering. I know your mind won’t change—you just want me to change. Your mother doesn’t like me, and I don’t like her. I knew the moment I met her that this would never change.”

Because of Ye Feng’s looks, family background, and job, many girls and their parents sought his attention. Fei Ni’s repeated rejections irritated him. He had thought she was an understanding girl, but now she showed no consideration for his difficulties.

Controlling his annoyance, he tried to reason with her: “You might face the same problems with someone else. The answer to problems isn’t to run away, but to solve them.”

Fei Ni immediately understood his subtext. Girls like her, with ordinary family backgrounds and jobs, often faced cold treatment from their in-laws.

In his unguarded moment, his true thoughts emerged—he too believed she was marrying above her station.

“Then I’ll have to try with other families to find out.”

Returning home, Old Fei asked his daughter, “Why didn’t you invite Ye Feng in?” He assumed, as usual, that Ye Feng had walked her home.

Fei Ni said nothing, going straight to her room. She didn’t turn on the light; only the glow from beyond the curtain filtered in. She fell onto the bed, burying her face in the sheets. Previously, she would never have touched the bed before washing up.

The curtain couldn’t block any sound; from inside, she heard her parents discussing her. They believed her marriage to Ye Feng was inevitable and were already considering her dowry.

“The Ye family is so well-off, we can’t let our child lose face. I’ve made a list, take a look.”

Curtains, tablecloths, quilts, bed sheets, pillowcases, thermos flasks, ice boxes, white enamel basins… While the groom’s family would handle the major items, these small items added up to quite an expense. More importantly, some required ration tickets they didn’t have.

“Maybe we should forget the ice box—we don’t have the tickets.”

“I saw Old Zhang’s family included one in their daughter’s dowry. A daughter only marries once, don’t be so stingy. Don’t you have a classmate working at the thermos factory? See if they can help us buy these things.”

Fei Ni covered her face with both hands but soon composed herself. She pulled the light cord, found her mirror in the bedside drawer, checked her appearance, fixed her hair, and went out.

In the outer room, she announced to her parents: “Things are completely over between Ye Feng and me, but I will marry this year.”

“What happened? Weren’t things fine yesterday? Did he mistreat you?”

“No. I just feel he’s not right for me.”

“Then who do you think is right for you?”

Old Fei wanted to ask more but received a pinch from his wife.

“Ni, we can’t reject someone entirely just because of a few flaws. Ye Feng is quite a catch, and he seems to treat you well…”

“Once I’ve made up my mind, it won’t change.”

After Fei Ni left with the white enamel basin, Old Fei whispered to his wife, “What’s going on? Why is she suddenly dissatisfied with Ye Feng? Could Xiao Fang be causing trouble?”

“Did she find out who sent the radio? Did you tell her?”

“No!”

Fei Ni stood outside, waiting for the man taking a cold shower to leave the washroom, while Ye Feng’s words echoed in her ears: “The housing I’d be allocated now wouldn’t be much better than your current place—we might even have to use public bathhouses. I don’t think you’d want to continue living like that.”

Even his invitation to live with his parents was meant to improve her living conditions.

Her refusal made her seem ungrateful.

She was indeed ungrateful—she had told Ye Feng not to worry, she would have her own house.

Her factory was about to allocate housing, news that had prompted many casual couples to rush their marriage applications. Some even started giving gifts to expedite their marriage certificates. Given her rank, she normally wouldn’t qualify for housing allocation.

But she remembered what the Sent-down Youth Office had told her—if she married Fang Muyang, she’d be eligible for factory housing.

Even if she later divorced Fang Muyang, the factory-allocated housing would remain hers.

Marriage to Fang Muyang wasn’t without benefits—she could allocate half a room to him, so he wouldn’t have to live in the hospital anymore.

The room was stifling. At three in the morning, Fei Ni woke again, probably from the heat. She got up, slipped on her shoes, and quietly went to the washroom. Pulling the light cord, she turned on the tap, closed her eyes, and let cold water run over her face, dripping through her fingers into the sink. Looking up through the narrow window, she saw stars.

At dawn, Fei Ni cycled to the hospital, but Fang Muyang wasn’t in his room again. She hastily left a note asking him to meet her at the park entrance at six in the evening—she would treat him to an outdoor movie.

Fei Ni waited until six-thirty, but Fang Muyang didn’t show up. The park entry plus the movie ticket cost twenty fens. After paying, she entered the park where three movies were playing simultaneously, all foreign classics that had already been shown in theaters. Fei Ni found a spot and spread out a newspaper to sit on. It was a Soviet film; the protagonist was playing guitar, mixed with the sounds of cicadas and rustling leaves outside the film. Fei Ni looked up at the sky—the stars were bright.