When Fei Ni woke in the morning, it was as if last night’s drunkenness had never happened, and she was back at her desk helping Old Fang organize his manuscripts.
She discussed moving plans with Fang Muyang. They agreed to vacate the house before his eldest sister-in-law and second sister arrived, so they could be more comfortable. Since they now had some extra money, partly because of what they had borrowed from Mu Jing during Fang Muyang’s hospitalization, they naturally wanted to show their appreciation.
They would give Second Sister gifts, and of course, couldn’t leave out Big Brother and his wife. Fei Ni gave Fang Muyang money in exchange for vouchers to buy gifts from the Friendship Store for the Second Sister, Sister-in-law, and their little nephew. Furthermore, once they moved their furniture out, leaving empty rooms, they should help furnish the place.
Fei Ni asked Fang Muyang, “Have you told Father about us moving?”
“I mentioned it before, but he didn’t agree. I guess it’s mostly because of you—the old man is quite fond of me.”
“You’re joking again. You’re his son—if Father doesn’t want us to move out, it’s because of you.”
Fang Muyang laughed, “Now you don’t understand the old man—for him, the manuscripts are far more important than having me around.”
“Tell Father not to worry. Even if I move out, I’ll still help organize his manuscripts.” Of course, staying would be better for organizing the manuscripts, as she could seek Old Fang’s guidance at any time, but even after moving out, she could compile questions and ask them together—it wouldn’t affect the work.
“He values you not just because you can organize his manuscripts, but because you understand what he’s writing. Finding someone who can communicate with him isn’t easy.”
Because his daughter-in-law and daughter were coming, Old Fang gave Fang Muyang money to buy two beds—one for the study and one for Fang Muyang’s studio.
“My sister-in-law and second sister rarely visit. Shouldn’t we make their stay more comfortable?”
“Living at home has some inconveniences, but we’re family after all. We can’t have them stay at a guesthouse when they visit.”
Fang Muyang smiled as he told Old Fang, “I stayed here because I was worried about you being lonely. Now that my sister and sister-in-law are coming, and my sister might even stay long-term, there’s no need for Fei Ni and me to stay. I’ve found a place outside, and we plan to move out in the next few days. Fei Ni likes your manuscripts, and she’ll continue helping you organize them. If there are questions, I’ll bring her over to ask you.”
Old Fang didn’t want his rebellious son and daughter-in-law to move out. Though his son occasionally went against his wishes, after years apart, his dissatisfaction hadn’t accumulated to the point of wanting him to leave. His daughter-in-law got along well with them, especially since she truly understood him, not only grasping the merits of his writing but also asking appropriate questions that allowed him to express his views.
“Didn’t I say? When your sister comes, I’ll clear out the study for her to stay in. The study isn’t small.”
“I still hope you can keep your study. If you give up your study because of me, I’d feel too guilty.”
“Though I haven’t reached the level of being able to read in busy streets, I can manage reading in the living room. Fei Ni loves learning so much, she can ask me and your mother questions anytime, and when your sister moves in, she can learn from her too. Your sister… it’s such a shame if it weren’t for me…” Mu Jing and Fang Muyang had been completely different as children—in fact, everyone in the Fang family had been different from Fang Muyang. The Fangs had loved reading from childhood, with Fang Muyang being the only exception. Not only did he not take to books, he would cheerfully try to tear them up. Though he improved as he grew older, he remained far from scholarly. Mu Jing was different from her brother—studying had been her hobby rather than just a goal. Though she wasn’t like her brother who studied high school material in elementary school, she had a gift for languages, speaking foreign languages like a native speaker, which had made Old Fang proud for a time. His only dissatisfaction was that his children hadn’t followed in his academic footsteps and showed little interest in his field of study—their mother had always encouraged them to study sciences. Time had proven Mu Teacher right; studying sciences had, to some extent, saved the children’s futures. If Mu Jing had studied humanities, her situation would certainly be worse than it is now.
Mu Jing entered university at sixteen, and after graduation became a teacher. Despite teaching for so many years, due to her background, she was still only a teaching assistant. He couldn’t help but feel regret for her.
“Don’t say that—my sister is so young. When you talk like that, it’s as if her life is already set in stone. It’s nowhere near that point. You should put aside your pride and find a way to transfer her back here—that’s what matters.”
“I do want to transfer your sister back, but we need to discuss with her which unit she’d prefer.” Old Fang was touched—though his rebellious son worked as a waiter in a restaurant, he had never asked for help changing jobs, yet now he was concerned for his sister.
Old Fang said, “I know you’re considerate of your sister and want her to have more space, but…”
“I’ll be direct with you—I want a studio with a skylight, so I must rent a place outside.”
“I knew it!” It was entirely for himself, without any consideration for how much his daughter-in-law wanted to learn from them. As soon as he had some money, he became extravagant. But this way, Old Fang couldn’t stop his rebellious son, because his house indeed couldn’t accommodate a skylight.
“Does your wife agree to moving out?”
“She’s willing to move out with me so I can have a better studio.”
“Don’t you think you’re being selfish? Why can’t you consider Fei Ni’s needs? She might want to stay here and learn from your mother and me. What can she learn with you?” What could Fei Ni learn from someone who hadn’t even finished middle school?
Fang Muyang brought up an old topic again: “From what you’ve heard, do you think university entrance exams will resume next year?”
Old Fang still said he didn’t know.
“Fei Ni’s level is good enough for university, isn’t it? You know that ordinary university students couldn’t organize your manuscripts.” Fang Muyang didn’t continue, as saying more would suggest Fei Ni had ulterior motives for organizing the old man’s manuscripts, though initially, he had indeed had other considerations besides helping the old man.
Old Fang had no choice but to agree to let his son move out. In his youth, he too had disliked seeing his father day in and day out, even though their house had been large enough that they only needed to meet once a week at regular family dinners. He had also wanted to find his place and move out.
Fang Muyang repeated the moving plans to his mother. Teacher Mu had been young once and could understand young people’s desire for independence.
She agreed without saying anything.
Old Fang and Teacher Mu exchanged opinions. Teacher Mu advised him that they couldn’t send their child to the countryside for education whenever they found him noisy when he was young, and then expect to keep him close when they felt lonely. Even if they wanted to, the child wouldn’t comply with their wishes.
Old Fang explained that it wasn’t loneliness that made him want his rebellious son to stay.
“But he’s always been used to freedom.” Teacher Mu had found it strange when he voluntarily asked to stay with them.
Old Fang felt his daughter-in-law didn’t want to move out, even though she went with Fang Muyang after work to clean up the house.
Fang Muyang wanted Fei Ni to just watch while he did the work.
“What do you take me for?”
“What do you think I take you for?”
“Whatever it is, I’m going to help.” Fei Ni refused to be a spectator, making a hat from the newspaper, putting on an apron, and cleaning. Fei Ni worked efficiently, proving through action that she was no less capable than Fang Muyang.
After Fei Ni had thoroughly cleaned the floors of all three rooms and wanted to continue working, Fang Muyang took off her hat, saying, “Come eat.”
Fang Muyang opened a can of yellow peaches and fed them to Fei Ni with a fork, one piece after another, giving her no time to pause. After she ate three pieces, he put the can to her lips, saying, “Drink some juice.”
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Too sweet. You eat.” Fang Muyang drank water and ate biscuits nearby. Fei Ni liked buying these biscuits because they were cheap, even cheaper than sachima pastries—one yuan could buy quite a lot. About six years ago, Fang Muyang had received a package full of these biscuits. The package had been sent from his birthplace to where he had been sent to work in the countryside. With his parents and siblings all living elsewhere, he couldn’t imagine who would anonymously mail him biscuits. The biscuits had only been sent once, never again—perhaps they had been mailed to him by mistake.
Fei Ni fed some peaches to Fang Muyang, insisting he drink some juice because the biscuits were too dry.
There wasn’t much juice in the can, but they took turns drinking it and still couldn’t finish it. They even shared a biscuit, taking turns taking bites.
Fang Muyang treated Fei Ni’s mouth like a dessert. He didn’t seem very hungry now, taking a few bites before talking with her, discussing their future home’s arrangement.
After they had eaten for quite a while, Fei Ni finally said, “It’s getting late, let’s finish up and head back.”
Fang Muyang had bought new glass to replace the old window panes. After installing the new glass, while removing the old pieces, he accidentally cut his hand.
Fei Ni saw it and anxiously examined his finger.
Fang Muyang smiled and said, “It’s nothing, just a small cut, don’t worry about it.”
“You call this small?”
“Would you call it big?”
Fang Muyang rinsed the wound with water, and Fei Ni took out a handkerchief to bandage it. “Let’s go back. I’ll take you—you shouldn’t ride the bike with your hand like this.”
“It’s not that serious. Besides, could you even manage to carry me?” Fang Muyang tried to unwrap the handkerchief with his other hand. “It’s fine now, look.”
Fei Ni held his hand, “Stop trying to act tough.”
“It is fine.”
Fei Ni silenced Fang Muyang with a kiss, telling him to stop talking.
Though Fei Ni’s action had been impulsive, once she started, she couldn’t stop.
The two moved from outside into the room behind the partition screen, as if intimate words could only be spoken in the bedroom.
Looking out through the silk gauze was unclear, and looking in from outside was even more obscured, though the embroidered flowers seemed more vivid. The screen divided the space but couldn’t block sound.
“Stop! That tickles!”
Fang Muyang reached to tickle her, and Fei Ni, held tight with nowhere to escape, could only beg him to stop. He agreed, his fingers becoming gentler.
Behind the screen, they fell silent again, with only the sound of their breathing. Fang Muyang had just replaced the bedroom light bulb, and it shone brightly, especially clear. The bedroom sectioned off by the screen was still empty—no wardrobe, no desk, and of course, no bed.
Fei Ni didn’t know how things had progressed to this point, but she knew it wasn’t possible here—not only was there no bed, there wasn’t even a chair, and most importantly, they didn’t have protection. She blamed herself somewhat; if she hadn’t initiated the kiss, they wouldn’t be in this situation.
“Did you plan for this?” However, Fei Ni discovered that Fang Muyang had brought protection, and this premeditation diminished her desire. It made her feel she had been manipulated.
“I just bought it on the way home today, since we used up our last one.” Fang Muyang continued kissing her, but not insistently—allowing for refusal. “I won’t force you.”
Fei Ni didn’t answer. The bedroom walls were freshly painted and not completely dry, so she didn’t dare lean fully against them, always maintaining some distance.
Fei Ni’s hands left indistinct prints on the wet wall.
“Hold on tighter.”
Fei Ni had no choice but to hold him tighter, though even in certain moments, she didn’t forget to prevent Fang Muyang from leaving marks on her body. She didn’t want any more stories circulating at the factory.
Inside the partition screen, Fei Ni buttoned up her clothes while Fang Muyang brought water for her to wash her hands. Her hands had gotten plaster on them when she had braced against the wall, and later these marks had transferred to Fang Muyang’s shirt.
Fang Muyang’s shirt bore Fei Ni’s handprints, though they weren’t clear—at a casual glance, they might have been mistaken for white dust.
Fei Ni lowered her head as Fang Muyang washed her hands, her gaze turning to the handprints on the wall—there were several palm prints, though none very distinct.
She kept her head down, face red. Though the weather had turned cool, there was still sweat on her face.
When they were about to leave, she pointed at the unclear marks on the wall and said, “Let’s cover these with another layer of plaster.”
“Why cover them? I like them.” Fang Muyang reached out and pressed his handprint over the original location, covering Fei Ni’s print, though looking carefully, one could see they were two different prints.
When they arrived, it hadn’t been dark yet; when they left, the moon was bright in the deep blue night.
Fei Ni’s hair was still neat, though there was sweat on her brow. Having been so intimate with Fang Muyang, the autumn wind made her face even redder. Despite their recent intimacy, once she sat on Fang Muyang’s bicycle, she began maintaining her distance.
At the building entrance, Fei Ni didn’t go up immediately but adjusted her hair again.
When they entered the building, they kept their distance, with Fei Ni walking quickly as if trying to leave Fang Muyang behind. At their door, she entered first, briefly greeted her father-in-law, and went straight to the bedroom.
“Why are you back so late?”
“We were cleaning the house.”
A normal couple acting so secretively.