Su Jing gave a disdainful look at Fang Muyang, who stood noticeably taller than him. “With your skill level, you shouldn’t be teaching anyone. Get lost.” After speaking so rudely to Fang Muyang, he turned to Fei Ni with embarrassment, his face almost turning red. Using an awkward attempt at a flirtatious tone, he said, “I’m Su Jing. Which… which school do you attend?”

Su Jing would graduate from high school next year, and this was his first time actively approaching a girl. He was known for fighting, and his father’s high position gave him considerable influence among the boys. Combined with his good looks, many of his companions believed he was experienced with girls, a rumor he was happy to maintain as it made him feel more masculine.

He had come ice skating with several classmates when they first spotted Fei Ni, then noticed the man helping her skate. They unanimously decided the girl was being deceived and needed rescuing. However, when it came to choosing who would do the rescuing, everyone backed away. Fei Ni didn’t carry herself like a high school student—she was either in university or already working. Though she looked gentle, her mature age reminded them of their fierce older sisters at home.

They feared she might dismiss them as children, which would be embarrassing. So they unanimously nominated Su Jing, supposedly the most experienced with girls, to approach her. Pushed into the situation and genuinely curious, Su Jing skated over. Fei Ni’s long scarf was bundled under her chin, revealing her elegant face.

Having an overbearing sister himself, Su Jing felt an immediate connection to such a gentle countenance. This feeling mixed with nervous excitement as he guessed she must be either in university or working. Still, he mimicked how his friends approached other girls, asking which school she attended. Being his first time, he even stumbled over his words.

When Fei Ni was in middle school, she would have been frightened by such boys. Back then, she always wore a large face mask to hide from troublemakers like these. But now, being married and employed, with Fang Muyang beside her, encountering such advances from much younger boys only struck her as childish.

She smiled and said, “I’ve been working for quite some time. You haven’t even finished high school yet, have you?”

Su Jing’s pride was wounded when she didn’t treat him as an adult.

“That doesn’t matter. I’ve been skating since elementary school, and I can teach much better than this guy beside you.” Su Jing ignored the fact that he hadn’t finished high school and persisted in asking for Fei Ni’s name. “You still haven’t told me your name.”

Fang Muyang looked the boy up and down—he couldn’t be more than seventeen or eighteen, and his ice skates were expensive. Though Fang Muyang was only in his early twenties himself, he viewed the person before him as just a kid. The fact that this youngster was showing off in front of him and offering to teach his wife amused him more than it angered him.

He thought to himself, “When my brother was dominating the ice rink, you were still in diapers, and here you are acting like a big shot.”

However, with Fei Ni present, Fang Muyang maintained his civility and smiled at the boy, “My skills might be poor, but they’re still slightly better than yours.”

Su Jing sneered, “Better than me? Don’t brag. Let’s compete.” He gave Fang Muyang another contemptuous look, his eyes fixing on Fang Muyang’s rented skates—such equipment was beneath his notice. Boys his age only had two possible feelings toward older males, especially those just a few years senior: either admiration or contempt, with no middle ground. Now he felt only contempt for Fang Muyang, wondering how someone so tall and seemingly confident could embarrass himself by skating while holding hands with a girl.

Competing with a high school student would be embarrassing whether he won or lost. But having been challenged, Fang Muyang couldn’t back down. He smiled and asked, “What would you like to compete in? I’ll play along.”

Fei Ni smiled at Fang Muyang, “Competing with a child won’t bring you any glory.” She then turned to the boy and said, “Young man, why don’t you go skate somewhere else? We need to continue practicing.”

The obvious intimacy between the two irritated Su Jing, and he snapped at Fei Ni, “I’m not a child! I’m almost an adult, and I’m much taller than you. You’re underestimating me if you think he can beat me with his skills.”

Although Fei Ni had attended a co-ed middle school, she didn’t understand the psychology of boys this age. Her attempt at mediation had only provoked Su Jing’s competitive spirit, making him determined to prove himself in front of her.

He said to Fang Muyang, “Since you probably can’t do anything else, let’s have a speed skating race. We’ll see who’s faster. If you lose, you’ll have to announce to everyone at the rink that you’re my defeated opponent. How about that?”

Fang Muyang’s lips curled into a smile. “Fine. And if you lose?”

“If I lose?” Su Jing was confident he wouldn’t. “If I lose, you can name your terms. Your skates are too shabby—you can go first.”  He turned to Fei Ni again, “You can be our referee. Referee, what’s your name?”

Su Jing’s friends, anxious to see his progress, had been skating circles nearby. After a signal from him, they skated away, making faces at him from a distance.

Fang Muyang smiled and said, “Having her as the referee wouldn’t be fair to you.” Looking at the spectators in the distance, he added, “Those are your friends, right? I’ll get someone to be the referee.”

Before his words had fully registered, Fang Muyang had already skated away. While Su Jing’s friends were still observing his progress, Fang Muyang’s blade stopped less than ten centimeters from one boy’s skates. The rapid friction between blade and ice sent a spray of ice particles onto the boy’s shoes, startling him—none of them had been prepared for Fang Muyang’s sudden approach.

Fang Muyang smiled and said, “You’re with Su Jing, right? He’d like you all to be referees.”

With his friends and a crowd of curious onlookers as witnesses, Su Jing lost decisively. Having initiated the challenge only to lose so badly, he wished he could disappear into the ground.

Accepting his defeat, he asked the victor what he wanted.

With Fei Ni present, Fang Muyang didn’t want to be too harsh. He put on a serious face and gave Su Jing’s group a mild lecture before telling them to leave. Of course, with Fei Ni there, he phrased it more politely, saying “leave” instead of “get lost.”

Su Jing’s friends, all still in high school, though fond of acting tough, couldn’t help but admire genuine skill when they saw it. Watching Fang Muyang skate so well in ill-fitting rental skates, accompanied by a pretty girl, their previous disdain turned to admiration. Seeing he wasn’t much older than them, they tried to act mature and make conversation, asking which area he was from.

Su Jing felt betrayed by his friends. They had encouraged him to approach, but now they were getting friendly with Fang Muyang. He turned to Fei Ni, “We’re going to the hockey rink to play. Want to watch?” He hoped to impress her with his hockey skills and regain his lost face.

Fei Ni rejected him firmly: “You go ahead and play. We need to practice skating.”

There was that “we” again.

Su Jing asked, “Will you be here skating next week?”

Fei Ni looked at Fang Muyang: “Are we coming next week?”

Seeing their intimacy, Su Jing felt embarrassed and annoyed. His friends, noticing Fang Muyang’s indifference, stopped trying to befriend him and exchanged glances before skating toward the hockey rink together.

They consoled Su Jing, saying there was no shame in losing to someone like that. Probably no one at the rink could skate faster.

Su Jing thought they lacked ambition. “Just wait, I’ll surpass him someday.”

After the group left, Fang Muyang continued teaching Fei Ni to skate. Their earlier race had attracted quite a few spectators, and Fei Ni still felt people watching them, but Fang Muyang paid no attention to the gazes as if they were the only two people at the rink.

As the sun was setting, Fei Ni had made considerable progress. She said to Fang Muyang, “We should head back.”

Passing by the hockey rink, they saw the game had devolved into a brawl. Fang Muyang was familiar with such scenes—in the past when he had excess energy to burn, he too would play hockey and fight at the rink. The permitted physical contact in hockey easily led to conflicts, which often escalated from one-on-one fights to group brawls.

While one group was having a mass fight, one person was taking on two opponents. Fei Ni recognized him as Su Jing, who was still angry about losing face while skating and was eagerly taking out his frustrations on someone who had provoked him, leaving them no chance to fight back. Caught up in the fight, Su Jing didn’t notice someone behind him getting up and raising a hockey stick toward his head.

Fang Muyang, who had been about to leave holding Fei Ni’s hand, saw this scene and cursed under his breath.

“Wait here, I’ll check it out,” he said, releasing Fei Ni’s hand as his skates carved two clear tracks in the ice.

Damn, standards had fallen—using hockey sticks for sneak attacks during fights? In his day, they’d always fought bare-handed.

He shouted to get Su Jing’s attention while skating over to knock down the person with the hockey stick, spraying ice into their face. The group fighting nearby snapped out of their daze and came over to help.

Before Su Jing could say thanks, Fang Muyang had already skated away. The teammates of the fallen player surrounded Fang Muyang to prevent him from leaving, but dealing with such blockades was routine for him, and he easily broke through their circle.

Though only three minutes had passed on Fei Ni’s watch, it felt much longer to her.

Fang Muyang skated back and took her hand, “Did you miss me in that short time?”

Fei Ni denied it: “Of course not.”

She asked Fang Muyang, “Did you used to come to the rink often?”

“Often, but unlike them, I just skated.” He completely glossed over the fact that before going to the countryside, he had frequently brawled at the hockey rink too.

Seeing the security patrol, Fang Muyang, acting as a concerned citizen, reported, “Some hooligans are fighting at the hockey rink. You should go teach them a lesson.”

Outside the rink, an elderly vendor was selling candied hawthorn fruit.

The hawthorns were large and red, looking delicious.

Fang Muyang bought a stick for Fei Ni, who asked, “Aren’t you having any?”

“No.” However, when Fei Ni held her candied hawthorn to his mouth, he didn’t refuse at all, taking a bite without hesitation.

When Fei Ni got home, Mother Fei was cooking fish in the kitchen. She gave her mother the dried small intestines with pine nuts and canned beef she had bought at the grocery store, then asked, “Where’s my brother?”

Fei Ni had finished her comic book review but felt her writing style didn’t match current trends, so she wanted her older brother, who worked in the Propaganda Department, to polish it for her.

“Your brother went out with Mei Zi, they won’t be eating at home today.”

For this Sunday’s family dinner, only Fei Xing was absent.

During the meal, Fang Muyang kept picking fish bones out for Fei Ni. She felt embarrassed doing this in front of her family and glared at him, saying she could do it herself, but Fang Muyang completely ignored her protests. Fei Ni gently kicked his foot, trying to get him to stop, but unexpectedly, his knee met hers and didn’t retreat. Instead, he pressed forward, occasionally bumping against her.

In front of her family, Fei Ni couldn’t tell him to stop, so she could only endure it, pretending nothing was happening.

Worried that others might notice her reddening ears, she brushed her hair forward to cover them.

The entire meal was particularly difficult for Fei Ni.

When it was time to leave, Fei Ni took out the comic books she had brought from her bag and distributed them to her mother and sister, leaving one for her brother. Her family was very supportive—Mother Fei, not knowing quite what to praise, simply said, “So many pages! It must have taken a lot of effort. I’ll buy several copies.”

Mother Fei was delighted. Previously, when others asked where her younger son-in-law worked, she would be at a loss for words, but now with the comic book, she finally felt more confident than before.

Fang Muyang glanced at Fei Ni, his expression saying: “Where did you get so many books from?”

Fei Ni, because of what happened under the table, wouldn’t give him even a single glance now.

Downstairs, Fei Ni jumped onto the bicycle, and instead of embracing his waist, she only gripped the bicycle seat.

“Why did you behave that way during dinner?”

“What way did I behave?”

She couldn’t say it out loud. If she were to say it, he hadn’t done anything, but with family present, her face had grown hot and her heart had raced.

Fang Muyang asked her, “Why did you buy so many copies?”

“I bought them because I wanted to. Is it any of your business?”

“You like me so much, I’m getting embarrassed.”

“Stop being shameless.” Fei Ni angrily pinched his waist. As the wind blew past, Fei Ni’s fingers pinched his coat, then felt the thickness of his clothes again, “Aren’t you cold?”

“If you pinch me a few more times, I won’t be cold.”

His skin was so thick, that Fei Ni had no way to deal with him.

As soon as they got home, Fang Muyang pressed Fei Ni against the door, seeking her lips. Fei Ni dodged left and right, stubbornly refusing to let him succeed. Fang Muyang rested his chin in the crook of her neck, his nose brushing the corner of her mouth. Fei Ni couldn’t bear the ticklish sensation and could only let him have his way.

Slowly, Fei Ni began to respond. But when the two of them pushed and squeezed their way to the bed, and Fang Muyang went to bite at her buttons, Fei Ni pulled away very firmly. Her face was red, not from shyness but from indignation, and the “indignation” was the stronger emotion.

This indignation seemed to stem from something that happened long ago. Fang Muyang could only suppress his impulses, kiss her hair, and let her go.

“Why are you unhappy?”

“I’m not. I need to wash up.” Fei Ni’s tone was somewhat dry.

She certainly didn’t want to roll into bed with him. Yesterday and the night before she had been uncomfortable, while Fang Muyang seemed quite satisfied, even making her feel increasingly worse. He was somewhat selfish in these matters, but she couldn’t criticize him for it, and she didn’t know what he could do that wouldn’t seem selfish.

They went together to brush their teeth and wash their faces, sharing one tube of toothpaste and one bar of soap.

Returning from the washroom, Fei Ni hid behind the curtain to clean herself.

Although there was a curtain for cover, Fei Ni’s cleaning was not done with ease. She knew Fang Muyang wouldn’t enter without her permission, but when washing the places he had touched through her clothes, her heart felt unsettled, only wanting to finish quickly.

While her thoughts were in disarray, piano music suddenly filled the room.

The melody was both strange and familiar. Fei Ni remembered hearing it with Fang Muyang on the radio when he had written the score on her hand with a feather. Although the atmosphere was more relaxed now than before, Fei Ni still felt some fear.

Just as she was about to remind Fang Muyang, the tune immediately changed to a current popular song.

Fei Ni’s heart settled slightly, and afterward, most of her attention focused on the music. His playing was irregular, switching between pieces moment by moment, several melodies intertwined, as chaotic as her heart. Fei Ni realized Fang Muyang hadn’t given up on playing the first piece; he had merely separated it from others.

It was among this jumbled piano music that she finished cleaning and changed into her nightgown. The room’s heating wasn’t warm enough, so Fei Ni draped a cotton jacket over her nightwear.

Wearing the cotton jacket, Fei Ni walked to Fang Muyang’s side and squeezed his shoulder. “Why are you only wearing a sweater? I’ll get your coat for you.”

Fang Muyang grasped her hand in return. “Let me look at the score first.”

“Where is there a score?”

Fang Muyang pulled Fei Ni once, and she tumbled onto his lap. Fang Muyang adjusted her position to make her more comfortable on the new chair. Fei Ni didn’t like this new chair, though it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable and seemed quite sturdy.

The light overhead was too bright. Yesterday when she was this close to him, the room had no light at all.

Fei Ni tried to stand up but was trapped by the new chair’s arms, held so tightly she couldn’t move.

Fang Muyang opened Fei Ni’s palm to look at the score that only he could understand. Fei Ni herself could see nothing but the lines on her palm. After looking for a while, his fingers returned to the piano. With Fei Ni between him and the piano, his playing wasn’t as effortless as before. He didn’t look at the keys, relying only on his fingers’ memory to play.

His mouth at her ear, he asked, “Did I make a mistake?”

Fei Ni’s heartbeat was without rhythm; how could she hear if he had made mistakes? She couldn’t even hear clearly what he was playing.

“I’m tired of playing. You play instead.”

Fei Ni felt something in the chair pressing against her, making her very uncomfortable. She struggled to stand up but couldn’t move at all. This struggle only made that uncomfortable sensation more obvious.

Fang Muyang’s chin rested on her shoulder. “I’m cold. Let me warm up for a moment.”

“I’ll get your coat.”

“The coat won’t help.” Fang Muyang breathed against her ear, “Just play any piece for me, and after you finish, I’ll let you go.”

“Really?”

“Really, but you can’t be careless. If you make mistakes, I can’t let you leave.” Fang Muyang’s hands slipped under her arms, freeing her arms to move.

Fei Ni felt for the first time that playing the piano could be such a torturous thing. Fang Muyang treated her like a piano, a piano without black keys, playing freely. He played so skillfully that it only emphasized Fei Ni’s clumsiness.

Fang Muyang, who usually talked quite a bit, had suddenly become silent; his mouth had more important things to do.

Fei Ni wished he would say even one word, but he didn’t say a single thing.

The room held only Fei Ni’s piano playing.

She made another mistake.

The more anxious she became, the more mistakes she made.

To make matters worse, Fang Muyang started tickling her. Fei Ni really couldn’t stand it, twisting to escape, but she was firmly held, with a very limited range of movement. However, she was so ticklish that she had to try to escape even if she couldn’t.

As she squirmed like this, her slippers fell off. She leaned slightly forward, extending her toes to search for her slippers.

Fang Muyang finally spoke, saying softly in her ear: “Stop moving, alright?”

His voice held pleading, anxiety, and a touch of impatience.

What right did he have to be impatient?

But Fei Ni was too embarrassed to even scold him.

It was his fault, but in the end, it always became her fault.

The chair beneath her grew increasingly uncomfortable, but she knew that if she tried to adjust her position, Fang Muyang would probably find something to say about that too.

Fei Ni guessed he was certain that by disturbing her this way, she wouldn’t be able to play a complete piece, but she stubbornly refused to give him satisfaction.

This time when she played, it was almost out of spite, and while it couldn’t be said she made mistakes, it sounded as if she had a grudge against the piano keys.

Her body grew increasingly weak, but the piano sound was completely the opposite.

Fei Ni was about to succeed, but Fang Muyang’s hands changed position, forcing her fingers on the piano keys to shift slightly.

Fei Ni was truly angry now. Her fingers struck the piano keys hard several times, like her mood, completely chaotic, without any order.

She turned her head and bit his chin hard, biting with force, not showing any mercy at all.

Fang Muyang didn’t blame her at all. While kissing her, he moved his hands from their warm place to the piano keys, “Doesn’t this sound like your heartbeat?”

This time Fei Ni was genuinely annoyed. She stubbornly refused to give him satisfaction. Even if she couldn’t play a complete piece, she would still play.

She decided this time to make him uncomfortable too. Both of them being uncomfortable was better than just one person being uncomfortable. If she surrendered this time, who knew what methods he would use to torment her in the future? The past two nights had been enough for her to bear.

His chin still rested on her shoulder, his nose brushing against her nose. Fei Ni’s fingers remained on the piano keys, still insisting on playing the piece. Whether it was good or correct didn’t matter at all; playing was what mattered. Occasionally she would turn her head to touch Fang Muyang’s lips, just touching, as she knew he was uncomfortable too.

“The people downstairs must be sleeping by now. Keep playing and they’ll come knocking at the door.”

“Let them come then.”

Fang Muyang stopped trying to persuade her. He turned Fei Ni’s face and sealed her lips. Fei Ni’s eyes could no longer see the piano keys; she could only look at him.

The piano keys rang out reluctantly a few times before falling silent completely.

They could hear each other’s breathing and heartbeats. Fei Ni had never felt Fang Muyang’s arms so strong before. He changed her sitting position again, allowing them to face each other. The previous two days they had both been very principled about not leaving marks on each other’s mouths and necks, but Fei Ni was annoyed at being teased this time and momentarily forgot, and Fang Muyang, stimulated by her, forgot as well.

Fei Ni’s cotton jacket was still properly draped, but the back collar of her nightgown had slipped down bit by bit, the sleeves covering her entire hands with length to spare. Looking down, she saw Fang Muyang’s hair, so black; under such strong light, Fei Ni realized for the first time how white her usually sunless skin was. She, being too accustomed to it, had never noticed. The previous two nights, the table lamp’s light had been too warm, tinting her skin tone slightly warmer, but today, seeing it suddenly, the black-and-white contrast was too stark. She simply stopped looking. He was using the shampoo she had bought him; this person was skilled at repaying kindness with torment. She gritted her teeth and counted Fang Muyang’s hair, trying hard not to make a sound.

She turned her head to look outside. There was no moon tonight, only countless stars. The curtains weren’t drawn, but fortunately, there was only this one building in the area; whatever happened inside, the outside wouldn’t know.

Fang Muyang again guided Fei Ni’s hand toward that non-standard place. Fei Ni wouldn’t let him have his way anymore.

She wanted to make him suffer a bit too.

Her stinginess today made him unexpectedly generous toward her.

“Stop teasing!”

She had bought him a coat to protect his fingers, not for his fingers to bully her.

He asked if she liked it.

Of course, she didn’t like it, but she couldn’t say a single word. If any sound escaped through her teeth, he would suspect she was lying.

Fei Ni had no mood left to look at the stars; she couldn’t help but close her eyes. She thought she was already familiar with his fingers, but unexpectedly there were still unfamiliar places.

Fang Muyang suddenly asked if she wanted to go look at the stars.

Fei Ni didn’t speak, and Fang Muyang took this silence as agreement.

Fei Ni’s cotton jacket had been merely draped on, the buttons loose. Fang Muyang said, “To look at stars by the window, one’s clothes should be properly arranged. At this hour, someone might look up into the windows. I know what kind of person you are, always getting embarrassed easily.”

No one outside could look in, nor could they see anything. But at this moment, he had suddenly transformed into an extremely proper and conservative person.

How the nightgown looked didn’t matter; he only concerned himself with buttoning Fei Ni’s cotton jacket and wanted to button it up to the very top button, but he kept buttoning it wrong.

This way of buttoning was more of a torment to Fei Ni. She would rather he be like yesterday, but today he seemed not to be in any hurry at all.

“I don’t want to look at stars at all. You go look by yourself.”

Fang Muyang asked in return: “Then what do you want to do? I’ll do it with you.”

Fei Ni clenched her teeth and didn’t speak. This person in front of her, from his words to his facial expressions, was all extremely proper.

But his fingers betrayed him. If his fingertips could be a bit more well-behaved, she would have believed she had married a proper person.

The proper person spoke again: “If you’re too tired and don’t want to go to the window to look at the stars, I can carry you to bed to look. You can see them clearly from there too.”