Chapter 59: The Eve of the Business Trip
Hearing Fu Rangyi say that, Zhu Zhixi’s eyes lit up.
“Really?” He tugged on Fu Rangyi’s hand and pulled him off to one side, lowering his voice, though his tone was full of excitement. “You’re way too amazing. No wonder you asked just now whether that bronze mirror had been transferred from the provincial museum. So your team excavated it. I knew it. Otherwise, how would you know?”
He stared at the magnificent mirror and could not help sighing. “I finally have a real sense that you’re actually an archaeology professor.”
Zhu Zhixi was truly good at praising people. There was not the slightest trace of flattery in his expression; he was exceptionally sincere. The corners of Fu Rangyi’s mouth lifted. “You only have a real sense of it now? Then what did you think I was busy doing before?”
“Digging dirt.” Zhu Zhixi immediately broke into a smile, revealing his round, white front teeth.
Fu Rangyi looked helplessly amused. He lifted his hand and ruffled Zhu Zhixi’s hair into a mess.
“Which other ones came from your team? I’ll put them in the center position! This is amazing. You’re the biggest connection I can pull in.”
“Not necessarily.” Fu Rangyi’s tone was casual. “You can beg me to help you pull some more. I have connections above me too. Even grandmasters.”
“Really?” Zhu Zhixi’s eyes went round. “I have that much influence?”
Fu Rangyi thought about it. Strictly speaking, he was the final disciple, the lone seedling watched over and raised by a group of old men. It was only natural to give a little extra care to the small flower blooming beside that lone seedling.
“Why wouldn’t you?” He casually wrapped an arm around Zhu Zhixi’s shoulder and joked with a perfectly serious face. “Those of us who dig dirt are all very easygoing.”
And so, the easygoing dirt-digging professor accompanied the little house-raised flower through another busy afternoon, conscientiously offering professional advice. While Zhu Zhixi was busy on the phone, Fu Rangyi even quietly contacted the provincial museum on his behalf to help apply for the loan of a museum-treasure-level artifact.
The museum director was an old friend of his mentor. As soon as he heard the request, he could not help teasing him in the tone of an elder. “Little Fu, is this you borrowing it, or did that person of yours ask you for help?”
“I’m borrowing it. He doesn’t know yet,” Fu Rangyi said. “Everything before this was the result of his own hard work. It wasn’t easy for him to secure those loans. I checked through the list, and it’s missing an item of this category. This one would fill the gap perfectly. Please don’t say I asked for it. Just say that since the others are being transferred over anyway, this one can come along too.”
The other man laughed. “After all these years, how have you still not shaken off that student-like habit? You do things and still don’t want others to know.”
“It’s not that. He’s very capable in his own right. He’s just not familiar with artifacts, so he doesn’t know how important this item is. Otherwise, he definitely would have asked for it.” Fu Rangyi was extremely serious. “It’s only for an exhibition like this that I can help at all. If it were an art exhibition, I’d be a complete layman. I could only watch him be busy.”
“All right.” The other party agreed readily. “Old Zhou really is something. Not only is he good at mentoring students, he’s also first-rate at matchmaking.”
Fu Rangyi held the phone, head slightly lowered, letting the elder tease him until the call ended.
Afterward, Zhou Ming suggested that everyone have dinner together. Zhu Zhixi, who usually loved lively gatherings, refused without even a second of hesitation and made his choice immediately.
“He’s leaving tomorrow. I want to go home and help him pack, so I won’t join dinner. You guys eat more.”
After saying that, he grabbed Fu Rangyi and ran.
Fu Rangyi glanced at him. “You’re helping me pack?” Helping by making things worse still counted as helping, right?
Zhu Zhixi grinned. “You probably wouldn’t be willing, right?”
Who would have thought that after they got home, Fu Rangyi would take a twenty-six-inch white suitcase from the entryway cabinet, open it, and place it on the living room floor. Then he said to Zhu Zhixi, “Help me pack.”
“Are you serious?” Zhu Zhixi was stunned. “You’re not messing with me, are you?”
“I’m serious.” Fu Rangyi sat down on the sofa, resting his chin on his hand. “You do it. Whatever you pack, I’ll take.”
Zhu Zhixi squatted by the suitcase and rocked back and forth. Then he plopped himself inside and laughed. “Why don’t you take me with you?”
Fu Rangyi smiled too, then said seriously, “Then I’ll need to order a bigger suitcase now.”
“I’m really going to pack it, then?” Zhu Zhixi said. “Don’t end up being dissatisfied with this and that later and dump everything out to repack it yourself.”
Seeing that he seemed very interested in this little game, Fu Rangyi gladly agreed. He even took the initiative to pack the professional items he absolutely needed into a separate bag and handed it to him.
“If you pack it, I won’t be dissatisfied. No pressure. If worse comes to worst, I promise I won’t open the suitcase before I arrive in City C.”
“That works.” With permission granted, Zhu Zhixi’s tone gained confidence. “Actually, Little Fu, let me tell you, I might not be great at other kinds of organization, but packing luggage is ridiculously easy for me. Just you wait.”
Fu Rangyi watched him start boasting and nodded. “Mm. I’ll wait.”
Let’s see just how big a surprise you’ll give someone like me, a Virgo with an obsession for storage and organization.
Once he decided to start, Zhu Zhixi picked up the suitcase and ran to the master bedroom, shouting, “Remember to make vinegar-braised shredded potatoes for me!”
The room clanged and clattered, lively as anything. A loud bang came from inside, as if something had been knocked over. Soon, Zhu Zhixi’s guilty but loud explanation followed. “It’s fine! I can handle it. Don’t come over!”
Fu Rangyi smiled.
Before long, Zhu Zhixi came out holding two outfits he had matched himself. Standing in the hallway like a styling assistant, he asked, “Both of these look really good. Which one do you like?”
“I’m going to dig dirt, not walk a runway.” Fu Rangyi was very helpless.
“Ah.” Zhu Zhixi looked at the clothes. “Right.” He quickly turned around and returned to the bedroom, muttering to himself, “Need something dirt-resistant, sun-protective…”
This experience was truly novel. The person who had always been taken care of had suddenly shouldered such an important task, and he was doing it so seriously.
Even later, when Zhu Zhixi barely came out to ask for opinions anymore and simply busied himself between the two rooms, diligently choosing and carrying things around, Fu Rangyi remained leaning sideways against the sofa armrest, looking toward the hallway and listening intently.
Opening doors, closing doors, pulling drawers open and pushing them shut, clothes hangers clacking together, shirts being shaken out, bottles and jars knocking against each other, muttering to himself, counting, zipping and unzipping over and over again… These tiny sounds were like colorful bubbles floating in the air, one by one, bobbing up and down in the living room where dusk rippled. He could see them. Only he could see them. Immersed in them, Fu Rangyi grew quiet in a careful sort of way. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly understood. So this was the shape of happiness. So unfamiliar, so light.
Having someone busy themselves for him, rambling under their breath, padding around the room with quick little steps—so this was how it felt.
Several times, Fu Rangyi could not help walking over, wanting to hug this wind-up little figurine who could not stop bustling around. But the moment he approached, he was refused.
“Don’t come over—”
“All right.” Fu Rangyi had no choice but to surrender. He glanced at the time and went to the kitchen, putting an apron on himself.
At dinner, Zhu Zhixi still had not completed the task. Fu Rangyi called him three times before he finally and reluctantly emerged from the room and sat at the table to eat.
At first, it was just eating. After drinking half a bowl of soup, he suddenly put the bowl down and sighed.
Fu Rangyi thought this was the prelude to another performance and had already prepared himself mentally to play along. But Zhu Zhixi merely propped his cheek on his hand and said softly, “The more I pack, the more I can’t bear to let you go.”
That sentence made Fu Rangyi’s chopsticks stop in midair.
“Really.” Zhu Zhixi looked at him. “I’m always the one who goes out. This is the first time I’ve realized how depressing it is to watch someone else leave.”
“I’ll be back very soon.” Fu Rangyi suddenly turned back into that person who did not know how to express himself. “A week at most.”
The moment he said it, he regretted it.
At this moment, what was the difference between Zhu Zhixi and a little dog? In his time, one week was very, very long. Very, very precious.
Zhu Zhixi seemed to think of something sad as well. But because of their agreement, he parted his lips and did not say it. Very quickly, he forced up a smile and nodded. “I know.”
But he was clearly still a little unwilling. He said fiercely, “I’m going to secretly write an email to your university president. As a faculty family member, I’m extremely dissatisfied with this temporary work assignment.”
Fu Rangyi laughed.
Around ten at night, Zhu Zhixi’s luggage-packing game finally came to an end. He came to the study, knocked on the door, and then said in an extremely soft voice, “You can come back to sleep now.”
Then he quietly extended an invitation. “Do you want to sleep in my room?”
Of course Fu Rangyi would not refuse.
Every time he entered Zhu Zhixi’s room, he would think of a time in elementary school when the school had organized a visit to an art museum. There had been a kaleidoscope room inside, with every wall covered in colorful projections. The floor used lines and blocks of color to create an optical illusion, making it look “uneven,” even giving a disorienting sense of slanting, as if one had accidentally stepped into a fairy-tale world. He went into that room three times. The last time was right before the museum closed.
In Zhu Zhixi’s room, he had the same feeling. Only here, it was more generous. Admission was free, and it was open to him long-term. At least, for now.
After showering, they lay on the bed. Fu Rangyi held Zhu Zhixi’s back and tested him very directly. “What did you pack for me?”
“I’m not telling you.” Zhu Zhixi smiled.
Fu Rangyi was not good at asking people for things. His way of asking was to stay quiet for a few seconds, then ask again. “What did you pack? I want to know.”
No one else would fall for this. Of course, he would not ask anyone else a second time either. But Zhu Zhixi liked it.
He turned around in the dim light, raising an eyebrow. “You really want to know?”
Fu Rangyi was not wearing his glasses and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Mm.”
Zhu Zhixi moved a little closer. His whole body gave off the scent of pomelo blossoms, mixed with the body wash he liked to use. It was from the same brand as his favorite perfume, a pleasant scent of grass blended with fruit.
“Then say: Teacher Little Zhu, please tell me.”
Every time Zhu Zhixi made such a request, Fu Rangyi could not bring himself to say it, but in the end, he always did.
Only this time was a little different. Fu Rangyi deliberately said, “Teacher Little Xi, please tell me.”
Zhu Zhixi immediately sensed the mockery in it. “Why are you like this? Is this the attitude of someone asking for a favor?”
“What’s wrong?” Fu Rangyi pretended to be innocent. “Teacher Little Xi, is something wrong?”
As he spoke, he moved closer as well, almost pressing against Zhu Zhixi. Fu Rangyi lowered his head and casually brushed the tip of his nose against his, saying in a breathy voice, “Teacher Little Xi, I’m begging you.”
He had not expected Zhu Zhixi to actually cry out. Fu Rangyi froze in surprise.
“I can’t stand you.” Zhu Zhixi kicked the air under the quilt a few times, then cupped Fu Rangyi’s face and kissed him once. He threw off the covers, got out of bed, and thumped out of the room—he always made loud footsteps in slippers. After a while, he thumped back in, burrowed under the covers, and wrapped himself up tightly.
“Since Student Little Fu wants to know so badly, then I shall be merciful and randomly select one item from the luggage.” Zhu Zhixi pressed both hands tightly together, one on top and one underneath, and held them between the two of them. “Say, ta-da-da-da.”
Fu Rangyi copied his “ta-da-da-da,” but it was the utterly flat, emotionless robot version.
Then Zhu Zhixi opened his clasped hands like a tiny clam shell. Lying in his palm was an ice-blue beaded bracelet.
Fu Rangyi was a little surprised, but Zhu Zhixi had already slipped the bracelet onto his wrist first.
“It’s actually not too small?” Fu Rangyi was even more surprised. “Wasn’t it just right when you wore it?”
Zhu Zhixi lifted his brows smugly and picked one bead out from the bracelet. “Look.”
It was a bead that had not originally existed: a pearl. But Fu Rangyi had to examine it for quite a while before he could confirm that it was indeed a pearl. Because it was not round at all. It was an irregular pearl, shaped a little like a crooked, lopsided heart.
“I restrung it with elastic cord, but it definitely still wasn’t long enough, so I added this,” Zhu Zhixi told him. “This is from a pearl oyster I tried opening when I went diving in Australia. It’s not round, but it’s really shiny, and the shape is pretty cute. I’ve kept it all this time. I only drilled a hole through it yesterday, and I almost hurt my hand while doing it.”
Fu Rangyi’s temple twitched. He instinctively pulled Zhu Zhixi’s hand over to check.
“It’s fine, the skin didn’t break.” Zhu Zhixi hooked the bracelet with his finger. “Is it tight?”
“Just right,” Fu Rangyi said. “Thank you. And thank you to your little pearl too.”
The rings were not a pair, but the bracelets should count as a pair. Although, thinking about it carefully, there were at least ninety-nine other people wearing the same bracelet as them. But as long as he could not see them, then there were only the two of them.
“You’re welcome.” Zhu Zhixi used the hand wearing the bracelet to hold Fu Rangyi’s hand, swinging it back and forth under the quilt. “You’re not allowed to be curious anymore. It’s time to sleep.”
“Mm.” Fu Rangyi paused, then said, “Since I’m about to leave, we should do something for your countdown, shouldn’t we? Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
This was truly an excellent excuse. And so, for the sake of the daily task, the two of them remained sticky and entangled from ten-thirty until one-thirty in the morning. Although they had to follow the doctor’s orders, almost everything outside the doctor’s restrictions was done.
Zhu Zhixi was sweaty all over, like a slippery little fish, held in Fu Rangyi’s arms. Their backs and chests pressed tightly together. Fu Rangyi buried his face against the back of Zhu Zhixi’s neck, kissed the recently bitten wound, then softly kissed the skin behind his ear.
“How long is the countdown now?” he asked in a low voice.
Zhu Zhixi lifted his hand and opened his palm. A few seconds later, he reported a string of numbers. “Thirty-two days, twenty-one hours, twelve minutes, and fourteen seconds.”
In his heart, he pulled out the number from that morning and compared it. Somehow, it felt strange. They did more or less the same things every day, yet the countdown sometimes moved faster and sometimes slower.
But Fu Rangyi knew that asking more about it would only make Zhu Zhixi unhappy. Both of them tacitly avoided talking about time, even though this had clearly been the original reason they had come together.
“Mm,” Fu Rangyi said. “Remember to report it to me every day.”
“I know. I’ll report to you every day. I’ll send you what I did and what I ate every day. Don’t start thinking I’m annoying later.”
“I won’t.”
Zhu Zhixi’s tone became a little more serious, his voice still carrying a trace of post-intimacy weariness. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of myself and wait properly for you to come home.”
“I’ll bring you something tasty back.” Fu Rangyi kissed his smooth shoulder. “Sleep, Teacher Little Xi.”
“Ai.” Zhu Zhixi laughed again. “I really can’t stand you.”
“You said that just now too.”
“Said what?”
“Can’t stand it.” Fu Rangyi was perfectly serious, but almost got elbowed.
“I won’t tease you anymore. It’s late. Sleep.”
“Mm.” Zhu Zhixi yawned, his whole body relaxing. “Your flight is at one tomorrow afternoon, right? I’ll set an alarm for ten-thirty.”
Fu Rangyi did not answer. He quietly held him, waiting until Zhu Zhixi’s breathing became steady and even before reaching out toward the bedside table to take his own phone and set his own alarm.
Five hours later, at six o’clock, his alarm began to vibrate. Fu Rangyi woke immediately and turned it off. He lowered his head to glance at the person in his arms. Zhu Zhixi shifted slightly but was still sleeping soundly.
Fu Rangyi looked at him for a while, slowly coming back to himself. Then he got out of bed very lightly, turned the pillow upright, placed it beside Zhu Zhixi, tucked in the quilt, and quietly returned to the master bedroom bathroom. After washing up, he went to the kitchen and put labels on the food he had prepared in advance, arranging everything according to how long it could be stored. He wrote sticky notes and stuck them to the refrigerator door.
[Eat on time. If you can’t finish it, throw it away. Fu Rangyi is very generous.]
The last six words were added after he had already pasted it on.
Then came Zhu Zhixi’s medicine and supplements. He divided a week’s worth into boxes and placed them in the most conspicuous spot on the dining table.
Finally, Fu Rangyi carried a small plate of brownies and a large box of pheromone-scented candles he had made back into the bedroom. He placed them on the bedside table, the plate pressing down the note.
[I’ve already left. I know you’ll be unhappy when you wake up and see this, so I prepared chocolate cake. The flight is actually at eight-thirty. It was too early, so you didn’t need to see me off. It’s the weekend; sleep a little more. Lunch is on the dining table. Just heat it up and you can eat. The candles are ones I went back and made later. You can light them.]
Originally, he had written, [You can light them when you miss me,] but later crossed out the first few words. Then he thought the blacked-out part looked ugly, so he simply rewrote the whole note.
After finishing all this, he changed clothes, lifted the suitcase Zhu Zhixi had packed full, and found it unexpectedly heavy. He pushed the suitcase to the door. After thinking for a moment, Fu Rangyi turned back again.
Standing by the bed, Fu Rangyi bent down, brushed the loose hair away from Zhu Zhixi’s forehead, and kissed his brow. Then he kissed the palm of his left hand.
Walk slowly. Don’t frighten the puppy and the rabbit.
His gaze quietly traced Zhu Zhixi’s sleeping face for a while. Then Fu Rangyi bent down again and kissed his lower belly.
Grow well. Don’t hurt.
He said it silently in his heart.
The flight was short. When the plane landed in City C, Zhu Zhixi had not yet woken up, because Fu Rangyi, after getting off the plane, still had not received his furious phone call.
Time was tight. He took a taxi to the hotel arranged by the university, dropped off his luggage, and was supposed to go straight to the archaeological site for a meeting. But Fu Rangyi was far too curious, so he still spent a few precious minutes opening the suitcase.
When he discovered that the suitcase lock seemed to be jammed, he immediately felt something was wrong. Fortunately, it was not stuck too badly. With a little force, it opened. But the things inside were packed so full they looked ready to explode. Fu Rangyi had the illusion that he had opened a treasure chest only to be smacked in the face by a spring-loaded toy inside.
“What is all this…”
Fu Rangyi took one item out and narrowed his eyes at it. “A mosquito repellent bracelet?”
Were there mosquitoes in this season?
Besides that, there were all kinds of travel gadgets he had never seen before. Of course, there were also strange snacks from all over the world. Zhu Zhixi had even written long eating instructions for them. He had never written this much for Fu Rangyi before. Apart from the fake marriage questionnaire and the parallel-universe letter.
But the most eye-catching thing, placed right in the very center, was a fluffy rabbit plushie. It had been squashed a little flat. Fu Rangyi took it out, shook it, and patted it before it recovered somewhat.
It was a very cute rabbit plushie, with upright ears, a short pom-pom-like tail, and a note stuck to its belly. On it were only three words—Zhu Zhixi.
Fu Rangyi held it toward the light, then against the light, and finally brought it to his nose to smell it. Then his eyes widened.
It actually smelled like Zhu Zhixi.
How had he marinated it? Was it washed with body wash? Or sprayed with perfume? How could it smell so similar? Fu Rangyi suddenly fell in love with this plushie.
He took an authentication photo of the Zhu Zhixi rabbit plushie and sent it over.
[Niannian Out Digging Dirt: Is this a voodoo doll?]
[Niannian Out Digging Dirt: It’s still missing your birth date and time. Send them over and I’ll write them on for you.]
Author’s Note:
After doing his bad deed, Teacher Little Fu placed the rabbit plushie in the very center of the hotel bed and even covered it with a small towel—the strawberry towel Little Zhu had given him before. Little Zhu packed that too this time.
Then he put on his backpack, took the custom little hand shovel Little Zhu had given him, left the room, and closed the door.
Three seconds later, the room door beeped open again. Fu Rangyi strode back in, kissed the little rabbit, then left again, closed the door, and went to work.
The little rabbit slept soundly. The one at home was the same. (When he wakes up and sees the WeChat messages, he’ll definitely bombard him with messages—which is exactly what someone wants.)
——I suddenly realized this doll could probably inspire some sympathy-doll play, haha——
