“Don’t you think it feels like we skipped some important step?”
The man quickly caught her meaning and smiled, pressing his lips together. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make up for it before the engagement.”
After all, he had already planned it out quite a bit. Arrangements on all fronts were proceeding smoothly. He hoped to give her a novel surprise by then.
“Are you so sure I’ll definitely agree?” Mei Ran deliberately countered. Unfortunately, the slowly rippling, dawning smile in the depths of her clear, clean eyes had already given her away—it clearly said “I do” in every ripple.
“Not sure.” He went along with her, his tone half-teasing, half-sincere. As he spoke, he couldn’t help laughing himself. “I dreamed last night that you refused me.”
“Mr. Fu, haven’t you heard that dreams are the opposite?”
His hand slid slowly from encircling her slender arm down into her palm, clasping her fingers. The palms of their hands began to share the same temperature.
He was telling her he understood.
“Can you give me a rough hint of your plans beforehand,” Mei Ran shook his hand, “so I can do some psychological preparation.”
“No.” The man chuckled softly, lowering his forehead to press against hers. “Unless you bribe me somehow.”
This kind of talk wasn’t new to Mei Ran, but she knew all too well that “bribing” him after they had been most intimate was absolutely not as simple as before. Those memories full of ambiguous imagery were too vivid. Just recalling a single frame made her think of...
“You better keep it a secret.” She emphasized repeatedly. “Don’t tell me a single word.”
The gentle smile in his elegant eyes was palpable. “What a shame. I was actually just going to ask you for one thing.”
“What?”
The man slightly lifted his chin to indicate a direction. Mei Ran looked over, her gaze landing on the mountain of gifts piled on the table. She asked somewhat incredulously, “The thing you want is in there?”
So it was that simple? She had been thinking something else?
“What did you think it was?” Fu Shijin found it amusing and tapped her forehead, pulling her over.
Mei Ran started opening the gifts.
Perhaps the French were inherently romantic in their bones, as the gifts were wrapped exquisitely and meticulously. Even the two little ribbons of the bows were symmetrical left and right, equal in length. Each time she unwrapped one, she felt as if she was destroying a pleasing work of art.
“This?” She picked up a certain airline’s Lifetime Platinum Membership Card and shook it before his eyes.
Fu Shijin slowly shook his head.
Mei Ran shrugged and continued unwrapping. Soon, she found a car key fob. “Hmm?”
“No.”
She unwrapped a dozen more gifts in a row, but still hadn’t found what he wanted. Looking at the piled abundance, Mei Ran couldn’t help feeling a bit discouraged, her enthusiasm waning compared to the start.
She glanced at the man sitting beside her. He had his long legs crossed, an indescribable laziness in his demeanor. He was flipping through a magazine by his hand, only occasionally looking up to respond to her.
Mei Ran absentmindedly peeled a small black box out of the wrapping paper. She didn’t control her strength well when opening the lid and watched wide-eyed as a pair of rings fell from her hand—one onto the table, the other rolling to the man’s feet.
She froze for a full three seconds. Just as she was about to bend down to pick it up, a large hand beat her to it.
The palm felt warm and cool. Mei Ran looked at the simple, unadorned platinum band on it, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Warmth suddenly rushed over. The man’s low, pleasant voice seemed like morning light piercing through the clouds. “Ran Ran.”
The curling endearment sounded utterly doting. Mei Ran simply couldn’t withstand him deliberately lowering his voice like this to call her name. Instantly, half her body went limp.
Seeing her like this, he lifted the corners of his lips slightly and called her again, slowly presenting his left hand to her.
As if under some spell, Mei Ran carefully picked up the ring with two fingers and slowly slid it onto his ring finger. It was a perfect fit—not an iota too loose or tight.
She looked at his hand repeatedly. His fair skin and clearly-defined joints were extremely pleasing to the eye. The ring encircling his finger was like a crescent moon suddenly appearing in the night sky, softly emitting a gentle luster.
“Ran Ran.”
“Hmm?”
“I do.”
Mei Ran looked confused. She stared into his eyes for quite a while. Only when undeniable, utterly contented mirth spilled forth from his gaze did she react.
“Fu! Shi! Jin!”
“Good,” he enveloped her pink fist, which she had swung over—angry yet soft—and pressed it against his chest, right over the beating heart. Lowering his head, he kissed her cheek and softly coaxed, “Call me husband.”
Classic—getting an advantage and then acting all innocent.
Mei Ran turned her head away, not letting him see how she couldn’t control the corners of her lips from curving upwards anyway. The man’s breath chased over, lingering near her ear. “It’s fine. I have plenty of ways to make you say it.”
The two were so close, almost cheek to cheek, their breaths mingling.
Sunlight and wind drifted in from the balcony, the light patterns on the floor slowly swaying as if dancing a silent, graceful dance.
There was an important meeting in the evening that Fu Shijin couldn’t miss. Afraid she would be bored alone, he wished he could stick her to his side into the meeting room. But the agenda was complex, and the content was truly dry and tedious. All he could do was instruct Jessica beforehand to prepare tea and snacks, and completely open the home theater, private study, and even the highly confidential Antique Collection Room to her—she could choose to watch movies, read books, or look at antiques.
“The meeting should end around 9 p.m.”
Mei Ran was reading a half-volume medical book. This book had been banned due to medical secrets considered “heterodox” by contemporaries and had suffered near-destructive damage. It was now out of print worldwide.
She hadn’t expected to find half of it in his study. Though it was only a thin twenty-something pages, she read it with great interest, thus responding a bit distractedly. “Hmm, waiting for you to come back.”
Her chin was suddenly gently pinched. Mei Ran raised her eyes. The man was looking at her deeply. “Alright.”
“Cough, cough,” she choked on her own saliva. “Actually, my words should be taken literally. Anyway, it’s not what you think…”
“What am I thinking?”
Mei Ran: “...”
“Hurry to your meeting, you’ll be late!”
He indeed released her. “Call me if anything.”
He was so easygoing this time? Could it be... the calm before the storm? Mei Ran’s starry eyes showed mild annoyance. “Focus on your meeting.”
Not long after Fu Shijin left, Fu Lanxin returned home. She first went to her room to soak in a bath, washing off the chill, dried her hair, put on a coat, and went to find Mei Ran.
“Ran Ran.”
“Mom.” Since their engagement was already on the agenda, Mei Ran naturally changed her form of address accordingly. “How come you’re here?”
“Nothing but that someone called me half an hour ago.” Fu Lanxin sat beside her, glanced at the old book on Mei Ran’s knees, and felt a bit dizzy seeing the dense small print. “Why not brighten the lights? Reading like this strains your eyes.”
Mei Ran had actually finished reading, as the content wasn’t much. She smiled. “Habit.”
In the past, when she couldn’t sleep at night, she’d get up to read. In the dead of night, too bright light was glaring, so she’d only turn on a small bedside lamp.
“That habit needs to be changed.”
This sentence inexplicably plucked at a soft, broken string deep in Mei Ran’s heart. She involuntarily leaned over and called out softly, “Mom.”
*My mother once told me the same.*
*“Stayed up reading again last night? Think Think, this habit is no good. You need to change it.”*
*“Think Think, you don’t need to work this hard. Mama just hopes you’re happy.”*
Countless nights after her mother passed away, she tossed and turned, still getting up to flip through books, falling asleep naturally once exhausted. It was just that no one ever said such things to her again.
Fu Lanxin wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Ran Ran, if you’re willing, you can think of me as your mother.”
Just like biological mother and daughter.
She, too, had once had a daughter. But not long after her husband’s death, that little treasure of just over six months had followed him away. It was the biggest regret of her life.
Fortunately, it was being compensated for now in a different way.
“Ran Ran, I heard from Shijin that you hold your liquor quite well. Want to have a couple of drinks together?”
It was, of course, a delight.
The two crossed one long corridor after another and finally arrived before a door.
Fu Lanxin entered the code. The large door slowly opened. A rush of cold air immediately greeted them. Mei Ran tightened her coat and walked in. After descending a dozen or so steps, she glanced around briefly. It turned out this was an Underground Wine Cellar.
The air was saturated with the sweet fragrance of wine, enough to make one feel slightly intoxicated just smelling it. Mei Ran steadied herself against a nearby shelf and looked up at the various wines displayed. Most were name brands one could recognize, but on the top shelf were several bottles sealed in elegant long-necked bottles. A single label was attached to each bottle. Apart from the dates, she couldn’t recognize any of the words.
“Ran Ran, what kind do you like to drink?”
Mei Ran thought for a moment and asked softly, “Do you have any baijiu here?”
Fu Lanxin stared at her fixedly and suddenly laughed heartily. “Excellent!”
Mei Ran was utterly confused. Before she could react, she was being pulled out. Fu Lanxin spoke while walking, glancing back. “Ran Ran, why didn’t Shijin bring you home sooner?!”
Having been in France for many years, she had tasted the finest red wines but always felt something was missing. Only after many samplings did she realize the taste of wine was just… not quite right.
Binnan was a famous wine region, where almost every household knew how to brew wine—and the strongest liquor at that. Binnan women, steeped in wine culture from childhood, which of them didn’t carry a hint of wine fragrance?
Fu Lanxin took her to her Private Wine Cellar. At this moment, she didn’t resemble a young lady from a prominent family but rather a child eagerly showing off treasures. “This is aged Shaoxing wine, this is Xifeng old wine…”
Mei Ran’s gaze practically riveted on them.
Fu Lanxin brought over two jars of wine, unsealed them, and the familiar aroma of wine rushed into their nostrils, enticingly seeping into their very lungs. Mei Ran couldn’t help swallowing her saliva.
“Let’s drink it like this directly.”
Fu Lanxin, brimming with heroic spirit, held her wine jar and clinked it against Mei Ran’s, then threw her head back and took a big gulp.
After her inseparable husband passed away, she had often hidden away alone to drink, wanting to get drunk, yet she only grew more sober.
The more sober she was, the more suffocating and empty she felt.
Kindred spirits were hard to find, indeed.
“Ran Ran, I regret so much not having met you earlier!” Fu Lanxin recalled something, slapped the table, and laughed. “You don’t know how poor your mother’s alcohol tolerance was! One cup and she’d get dizzy. But her health wasn’t good, so I never dared to let her drink much… Mainly, your father was too protective! Every time I went to see her, he was worried I’d whisk his wife off to drink…”
The two had lost count of how many times they clinked jars. Fu Lanxin was still chattering away. “That morning when I woke up, I habitually turned to hug him, but I ended up hugging a cold corpse… It was sudden myocardial infarction. His hand was still outstretched. I think… at that moment, he must have wanted to embrace me one last time… I hate myself so much for sleeping so deeply then!”
Her alcohol tolerance had been tempered and tested a hundred times over—genuinely excellent. No matter how strong she usually was, talking about painful matters couldn’t help but bring tears. But when she turned her head to look, Mei Ran was already lying face-down on the table, flushed from the drink, fast asleep.
Fu Lanxin forced the bitterness in her eyes back, stroked Mei Ran’s hair. “Ran Ran, Mama wishes for you and Shijin to walk hand in hand till your hair turns white.”
Mei Ran gave a muffled “mm.”
“Good child.”
It was strong liquor after all, and Fu Lanxin was somewhat drunk herself. Adding to that, she was helping support someone, so her steps were slow, but they finally made it. Seeing the room with lights on not far away, she sighed in relief.
Fu Shijin heard footsteps and came out, asking in surprise, “What happened?”
He had finished the meeting, learned from Jessica that she was with his mother, and had been waiting on the sofa. He hadn’t expected her to return utterly drunk.
“Mom, how come you let her drink so much?”
Fu Shijin hurriedly took the person over. Under the light, he noticed his mother’s slightly reddened eyes and couldn’t help his voice tightening. “Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing,” Fu Lanxin waved her hand. “Don’t bully her just because she’s drunk.” Then added, “I know you’ve held back for many years, but everything requires moderation…”
“Mom!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore. Rest early.”
“Should I have someone prepare hangover soup for you?”
“No need.”
Fu Shijin watched her figure disappear around the corner before withdrawing his gaze and carrying the person in his arms inside.
After washing off the liquor fumes, Mei Ran lay fresh and clean on the bed. He sat by the bedside, her dark, fragrant long hair spread all over his knees.
Most people thought her alcohol tolerance was good, but actually, the effects came on slowly.
Fu Shijin recalled the night he first ran into her drunk and took her home. She had been like this then too—her body impossibly soft, but the whole person quiet, neither noisy nor making a fuss. Her drinking manners were excellent.
However, the next moment…
“Alright.”
He lowered his head and asked softly, “What?”
Mei Ran frowned and said again, “Alright.”
“Ran Ran?”
No response.
Fu Shijin held her hand. “Ran Ran.”
“Mei Ran.” She suddenly said.
“What’s your name?”
“Think Think.”
This seemed interesting.
Fu Shijin asked, “Who is the best person in the world to you?”
She quickly replied, “Dad.”
“The man you love most?”
Mei Ran: “Dad…”
Although he had already guessed this answer, Fu Shijin’s heart sank slightly. Just as he was about to lightly pinch her cheek as a little punishment, he heard her add two more words.
“And you.”
Sudden, overwhelming joy surged forth. He asked carefully, “And who?”
“You.”
“Who am I?”
“Fu Shijin.”
He proceeded to gently guide, “Who am I to you?”
He waited for quite a while, but there was no response. So long that Fu Shijin thought she had fallen asleep, a soft, gentle voice suddenly drifted into his ear...
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in this world.
Almost inaudibly light, yet Fu Shijin ultimately heard those two words.
“Husband.”
As if standing amidst a field in full bloom, the sunlight perfect, bees and butterflies dancing, the air brimming with sweetness, a spring breeze that made one swoon.
He buried his face beside her neck. “Hmm, it’s me.”
“I love you.” A restrained kiss landed on her cheek.
In the shadow the man couldn’t see, Mei Ran slowly curved the corners of her lips, silently responding in her heart, *Me too.*
He probably didn’t know that Mom had already fed her hangover soup before sending her back, did he?