Chapter 58
The old furniture was carried out and loaded onto the truck. Aunt Wei watched from the doorway until the truck had driven far away before returning.
Her steps were much slower than when she was younger, but she still looked quite steady. Long Yu wanted to help her, but the old lady shook her head and refused, saying with a smile, “I haven’t reached the point where I can’t walk anymore.”
Long Yu withdrew his hand, but Fang Jing Yao did not. He had always been a bit of a rascal, and he continued to support the old lady with a grin, saying obsequiously, “That won’t do. We have to maintain this kind of grandeur, Auntie. Let me help you walk. Do you feel like you’re empress dowager Cixi? That’s how it’s always portrayed on TV.”
Aunt Wei was both amused and exasperated: “Go on your way.”
Fang Jing Yao didn’t let go. The old lady instinctively grabbed his arm when she entered the room, and she still had some difficulty lifting her leg. Only after she entered the house did Fang Jing Yao let go.
The only large item in the room was also removed, leaving the old house completely empty.
Aunt Wei stood there and looked around, then sighed and said, “This house was allocated by your uncle’s work unit back then. More than 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time really flies.”
Long Yu comforted her, saying, “Come and see me again when you’re feeling better.”
Aunt Wei shook her head and smiled, “Never mind.”
Fang Jing Yao said, “Auntie, this place will be demolished and turned into a new residential area. If you want to come, I’ll accompany you for a walk. I heard that a large stream park is going to be built across the street. If you come and walk around more often, it will be good for your health.”
Aunt Wei nodded in agreement with what he said. Seeing that there were still some old pieces of furniture left in the house, she instructed Long Yu and Fang Jing Yao to take them and deliver them to the family living diagonally across the street.
“They are a couple who came to the city to work. They are struggling to make ends meet. They start selling breakfast at four in the morning and don’t close until six in the evening. I think they seem like an honest family. You two can take them there. You need some stools or something to set up a stall. If you can use them, keep them. Every little bit helps.”
Long Yu agreed and went inside with Fang Jing Yao to move the remaining small wooden stools to the other side.
Since the other person wasn’t home, Fang Jing Yao placed the stool by the door. Long Yu had left a note, which Fang Jing Yao glanced at. He thought it was too formal, so he drew a cute little figure on it, making it look much cuter.
Fang Jing Yao said, “You can’t deliver things like this. The writing is so formulaic. What if the recipient feels embarrassed?”
Long Yu said, “I didn’t think as thoroughly as you, maybe I sent less.” He looked at Fang Jing Yao and smiled, “Did you also send something to that Miss Xu just now? Did you also send a drawing?”
Fang Jing Yao said, “You mean Xu Lianlian? I’ve never actually given her anything; she’s usually the one who gives us gifts.”
Long Yu gave a meaningful “oh” and looked at him without saying anything.
Fang Jing Yao said, “It’s true. When she was little, she brought us a lot of food, including all the boys in the class. She took great care of us. She liked one of them, but he didn’t like her back. She foolishly gave the whole class cookies for a long time, but she didn’t dare to say anything even when graduation was approaching.”
Long Yu raised an eyebrow: “You remember this quite clearly?”
Fang Jing Yao said, “I only remember you because we played together a lot when we were kids. We lost touch in middle school, and even less so in college…”
After moving his things, Long Yu went to the small kitchen next door to wash his hands. The faucet there was not working properly, so Fang Jing Yao helped him fix it and said, “Long Yu, I don’t believe that back in your school days, not a single girl had a crush on you. There must have been at least one or two, right?” After he finished speaking, he looked at Long Yu with a hint of sourness that he himself did not realize, “You never told me about these things.”
“I’m too busy to remember those things,” Long Yu said to Fang Jing Yao, half-jokingly and half-seriously. “Usually it’s the girls who remember me, like this Miss Xu today. She remembers our childhood stories better than you do.”
Fang Jing Yao said, “That’s because she played with boys a lot since she was little. Xu Lianlian likes handsome boys, and she can’t forget any good-looking one. Don’t let her well-behaved appearance fool you; she went through a rebellious phase and dated several boyfriends, each one worse than the last. Back in junior high, Chen Xi and I even helped her deal with one of her boyfriends from outside the school, otherwise she would have been swindled out of money. She’s only good at remembering things; that’s about it. She got first place in the whole school in an exam, and after graduation, she took the civil service exam. Everything went smoothly for her, except for her bad luck in love.” Fang Jing Yao chuckled, stroking his chin, and said, “Maybe her name has some kind of auspicious effect. I hope she’ll have good luck and meet someone good.”
Long Yu looked up at him: “You don’t have any feelings for her?”
Fang Jing Yao smiled, his eyes crinkling: “What could I possibly be thinking? I’m more worried she might be interested in you, hehe, my husband is so handsome!”
Long Yu pushed him into the corner and said, “Say it again.”
Fang Jing Yao was startled and immediately started pushing him, saying, “Hey, your hands are all wet, you’ve gotten water all over my clothes.”
Long Yu ignored him and whispered the request again in his ear. Fang Jing Yao couldn’t avoid it. He hadn’t been bothered by the joke earlier, but now that he was being serious again, he felt a little embarrassed and whispered, “No.”
Long Yu kissed him and said, “Just say it once. I want to hear it. Say it again.”
Fang Jing Yao rubbed his thigh against him, a hint of a smile in his eyes, and said, “I’m afraid you can’t handle it.”
Long Yu lowered his head to kiss him, already unable to resist any longer. He sucked on his lips and said, “If you’re not going to talk, then you can go ahead and leave me alone for a while.”
Fang Jing Yao asked, “What’s wrong?”
Long Yu nudged him forward and squinted at him.
Fang Jing Yao was a little surprised and wanted to reach out to confirm again: “What’s going on? I didn’t touch you just now, what are you thinking…”
Long Yu’s forehead veins were starting to bulge. He moved away to prevent the man from getting any closer. This guy was completely oblivious to his own provocations. He was more like a walking fire source than a fire extinguisher: “You go out first, it’ll be fine in a bit.”
Seeing his dark expression, Fang Jing Yao couldn’t help but want to laugh. He nodded and said, “Alright, you stay here and calm down for a while. I’ll go out first.”
Dr. Long stayed in the small kitchen to reflect on why he had chosen such a troublemaker, earnestly “repenting in seclusion.”
Fang Jing Yao strolled off to find Aunt Wei.
The old-style houses in the compound had many rooms. When Fang Jing Yao walked back, Xu Lianlian was showing something to Aunt Wei. She held it very carefully in her palm and looked at Aunt Wei with a bit of expectation, asking softly, “…Really? I thought this was from the Qing Dynasty, but it’s from the Republic of China, so it’s an antique, right?”
Fang Jing Yao leaned over for a look. Xu Lianlian had a snuff bottle about two fingers wide in her hand. It was quite exquisite, but it was too small. The double-layered glass made it difficult to see what was painted inside. It vaguely looked like a small animal.
“I suppose so. It depicts the Flower Goddess and the Chinese Zodiac. It’s quite nice, very finely crafted, and well-preserved.” Aunt Wei examined it with a magnifying glass, nodded, and asked, “Where did this come from?”
Xu Lianlian looked a little uneasy and forced herself to say, “I…I found this at a street stall myself. Aunt Wei, how much could I sell it for?”
Aunt Wei thought for a moment and said, “Three or four thousand, if you collect a whole set, it might cost fifty or sixty thousand. Selling a single piece won’t be too expensive.”
Xu Lianlian said “Oh,” put the things away, and looked somewhat disappointed.
Fang Jing Yao was a little curious, so he asked her for a look and examined it for a while, then said, “It looks like there’s a rabbit in there…”
Aunt Wei handed him a magnifying glass and pointed out to him, “Isn’t it a rabbit? This little rabbit is all over here, on its belly.”
Fang Jing Yao saw it clearly this time: “Oh, I thought it was a tail, it’s so exquisite!”
Aunt Wei nodded and said, “Double rabbits are not common. Otherwise, they would only cost a thousand or so yuan each. They should be worth more if you collect them for a while.” She glanced at Xu Lianlian and said, “Didn’t your dad used to like collecting these little things? You can show them to him. He’s more accurate than me.”
Xu Lianlian responded verbally, but seemed somewhat distracted. She wasn’t really interested in collecting, but she did seem a bit short of money. After a while, she couldn’t help but ask again, “Aunt Wei, I remember last year, didn’t someone sell a snuff bottle and get over 100,000 yuan?”
“That one is made of amber, and this one is made of glass. The materials are different, so they can’t be compared.” Aunt Wei shook her head and said, “If you could get your hands on a cloisonné enamel snuff bottle from the early Qing Dynasty, that would be a different price. Those are all in the hands of collectors. It’s already a stroke of luck that you found one like this at a street stall.”
Xu Lianlian nodded, but it was unclear how much she actually took in.
Fang Jing Yao, still examining the pair of little rabbits inside with a magnifying glass, found them increasingly exquisite. Despite their small size, the fine hairs were drawn with remarkable detail. Although they had minor flaws, they possessed a warmth and charm that surpassed machine-made ones. He turned them over and over, and Aunt Wei glanced at them too, immediately noticing the finger holding the snuff bottle—or rather, the ring on his finger.
Aunt Wei glanced at it again and said with a smile, “The ring you’re wearing is quite nice too.”
Fang Jing Yao had come to recognize relatives, and as soon as he entered, he called her “Auntie.” Now, he was no longer shy and said with a smile, “Auntie, you even know about rings?”
Aunt Wei leaned over and put his finger under the magnifying glass, nodding and saying, “I don’t know anything about your brands, but yours is quite detailed and well made. It looks like a heart… Yes, it’s a heart.”
Fang Jing Yao was taken aback: “What heart? Isn’t it an apple?”
Aunt Wei chuckled, straightened his finger, and said, “Take a look for yourself.”
Fang Jing Yao looked down and examined it with a magnifying glass. It was indeed a heart, but it was so small and delicate that it was almost invisible at first glance. After staring at it carefully for a while, he realized how meticulous and serious the maker must have been, and he could see the painstaking effort he had put into it.
The heart was located on the left side of the ring, with a ring of undulating lines resembling an electrocardiogram extending from its edge, like a heart that never stops beating.
Fang Jing Yao stood there grinning, rubbing his fingers on the ring as if he had found some great treasure, his eyes crinkling as he just kept smiling foolishly.
Aunt Wei couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, but she quickly coughed and straightened her expression, then nudged him with her toe: “How pathetic! You’re so happy over a ring.”
“That’s it!” Fang Jing Yao exclaimed happily, still examining his fingers. “Auntie, don’t you know who gave this to you? Hehehe~”
Aunt Wei smiled but didn’t say anything. Xu Lianlian, who was next to her, heard this and glanced down at the ring on Fang Jing Yao’s hand. She stared at Fang Jing Yao with wide eyes, then couldn’t help but glance outside and whispered, “You and Long Yu…”
Fang Jing Yao’s childhood friends knew about his coming out, and they didn’t hide it from her, nodding openly in agreement.
Xu Lianlian usually enjoys chatting with friends, but she was probably taken aback by the price of the snuff bottle. She forced a smile and congratulated him, “Congratulations, Jing Yao, you’ve found someone and settled things. That’s great.”
Fang Jing Yao was in high spirits over this happy occasion and generously offered his blessings: “Don’t worry, you’ll meet her sooner or later.”
Xu Lianlian sighed and forced a smile, “I hope so. I’ll go now, you two chat with Aunt Wei.”
Xu Lianlian hadn’t been gone long when Long Yu arrived. The old house had been cleaned thoroughly, and they took Aunt Wei there for a meal—the same restaurant Fang Jing Yao had chosen. Older people don’t have good appetites and don’t eat much in the evenings, so some nourishing soup was just right.
Fang Jing Yao usually seems carefree, but he is very sensible in his actions. His smiling appearance is endearing, and his meticulous and considerate care for his elders makes people like him from the bottom of their hearts.
During the meal, Long Yu and Fang Jing Yao offered Aunt Wei a cup of tea, which she drank. She then gave each of them a red envelope as a heartfelt blessing.
“You two live a good life together, and you’re not allowed to quarrel or hold grudges. I’ve watched both of you grow up. It’s luck and a blessing that you’ve come together after all these years. Longyu, Jing Yao is playful and mischievous, so don’t restrain him. After all these years, you should learn to adapt to others.” She looked at her nephew, who had grown up after several years of raising him, and saw him nod. Then she said to Jing Yao, “Jing Yao, Longyu is a bit quiet at times, but he’s serious about what he does. Once he’s made up his mind, he won’t turn back. If he does anything wrong, just tell him and make him correct it.”
Fang Jing Yao quickly nodded in agreement, a rare hint of nervousness in his voice: “Yes, I understand, Auntie!”
Aunt Wei patted his hand and said with a smile, “This child has never liked to tell anyone his worries since he was little. Now that he has someone to accompany him, I am relieved. Since he brought you to meet us family members, it means he wants to spend his life with you… You two must take good care of yourselves, okay?”
Fang Jing Yao nodded vigorously, his eyes reddening slightly as he clutched the red envelope Aunt Wei handed him. He smiled sheepishly, feeling that he and Long Yu were truly lucky that both families had accepted them without any obstacles, which moved and touched him deeply.
Long Yu didn’t accept the red envelope. He got up, went over and hugged the old lady, saying, “Thank you, this is very important to me.”
Aunt Wei smiled and said, “You’re a silly child too.”
When Long Yu was with Aunt Wei, he was unusually relaxed, almost like a child. Although he wasn’t being affectionate, you could tell he was at ease. Aunt Wei patted his shoulder, handed him a red envelope, and said with a smile, “Take this, go back and live a good life.”
Long Yu held her very gently and carefully, and after holding her for a little longer, he let go of the old lady, took the red envelope, and said earnestly, “We will.”
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