Xiang Lan nodded, not daring to bring up the topic again, and only looked in surprise at the six large boxes he pushed into the house one after another, "Did you move a whole house back?"
"This is only part of it. Some of it was given to friends who will continue to live in the United States, and some of the carvings were given to everyone as parting gifts." Fang Zidu checked the tags on the boxes, picked one out, opened it, and said, "This box is for you."
"I have one too?"
"certainly."
Her gloomy mood, which had lasted for so many days, finally improved a little. She unzipped the box and found it full of various boxes. She reached out and pulled the biggest one.
"So heavy—"
Fang Zidu came over to help, moving the box to the coffee table. "You open it."
What is it?
He just smiled and said, "The last time you showed me your little talisman, I was planning to get it to give to you."
"Are these roses from your garden? There's no need to bring them all the way back—" Xiang Lan still had photos of several vibrant roses that he had sent her on her phone.
She lifted the lid, and a handful of pale silver light scattered under the lamplight. Three perfectly shaped stone roses, their surfaces shimmering with fluorescence, clustered in the box, their petals layered upon each other, the edges of the slightly curled petals gleaming with a sliver of light due to the properties of quartz.
"Do you like it?" Fang Zidu asked, noticing her shocked expression. "I found this in the desert in Nevada during my vacation. I'd kept it in my suitcase, and then I thought of you. I felt it was perfect for you. This is the rose I really wanted to show you back then. Do you want to take it out?"
“Of course—” Xiang Lan was very excited. It was the first gift from Fang Zidu. She carefully held it out with both hands. “This is so beautiful.”
"It's yours now."
"Even you are mine now." She hugged the two fist-sized rose quartz plates, looking around for a place to put them. "Where should I put them?"
"Of course, it's the study."
Xiang Lan arranged the stones and stood by the bookshelf for a while. Fang Zidu brought in several boxes and took out twelve wooden carvings, each about the size of a finger, and placed them around the rose quartz.
"What is this?"
"I carved these when I was bored. They are small figurines of the twelve zodiac animals."
She picked it up to look at it. The little pig was small and exquisite, with an endearing, smiling face. It felt different from the usual zodiac animal pictures, refreshing and novel. Even though it was just a casual game he created, it was enough to make others rack their brains.
Is there anything else?
"There were too many, they were too much to carry, so I gave them all away."
Xiang Lan was quite disappointed and said seriously, "Fang Zidu, let me tell you, you have to let me see everything you carve first. Only if I say I don't want it can you give it away."
"You're too domineering."
"You don't want to?"
"I am honored."
Together, the two of them piled all the books from the two boxes onto the bookshelves, put the clothes from the two boxes into the wardrobe, and the other box contained food and supplies that Fang Zi had prepared for Xiang Lan and the child. When she opened this last box, Xiang Lan felt heavy-hearted, because she could clearly sense his expectations for the child.
Fang Zi noticed the change in her mood and silently put the things in the box into the kitchen, asking, "Is the vomiting still severe?"
Xiang Lan nodded, "It's been a long time since I've had a proper meal."
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Her mouth immediately started watering. "The small green plums I ate at my grandpa's house when I was little were so sour, but I really wanted to eat them."
"It's not time to eat yet, is there anything else?"
"My maternal grandmother's noodles with minced meat sauce."
"Then let's go eat there tomorrow, and also visit the two elderly people."
Xiang Lan felt like crying, "They're all gone—"
Fang Zi paused for a moment, then said, "I'll make it. I'll make whatever you want to eat, okay?"
Xiang Lan immediately hugged his waist, buried her head in his chest, and didn't want to let go.
Fangzi carried her back to the bedroom, saying, "Do you want to take a shower? We should go to sleep."
She then realized she hadn't showered or combed her hair for two days. She screamed and rushed to the bathroom, where she saw herself in the mirror—it was horrifying. Who was that woman with disheveled hair, swollen dark circles under her eyes, a sallow complexion, and wrinkled clothes? Good heavens, even with all that, Fangzi could still talk to her, hold her hand, and hug her with a completely normal expression—
Is this true love?
"What's wrong with you?" Fang Zidu pushed open the bathroom door and poked his head in.
"I look so ugly." This time, Xiang Lan was truly heartbroken; she never imagined she would turn out like this.
"It's normal that you just put all your energy into your graduation project."
“This is not normal at all,” she muttered.
“Home is a place where you feel comfortable and relaxed, and you have the right to appear in any way you like,” Fang Zidu said with a smile. “Do you expect me to be impeccably dressed even when I’m at home?”
"Of course not." Xiang Lan pushed him out. "I'm going to take a shower. Get out. Don't come in and see how ugly I look without my permission."
"Okay, call me if you need anything."
Fang Zi pushed the six empty boxes into the study and placed them there, leaving only crumpled papers and discarded drafts scattered on the living room floor. He picked them up one by one, unfolded and folded them, and examined each sheet. The drawings were extremely messy, and the lines were completely irregular. Some papers were crumpled into balls with only two or three lines drawn on them. Clearly, her state of mind was even worse than a tangled mess.
He flipped to one of the more complete pages, a manuscript depicting a man and a woman embracing in a circle, with what appeared to be an unformed infant in the center, devouring its mother's body—
He picked out this one, looked at it for a long time, and then his slender fingers smoothed out the wrinkles on the paper, placing it neatly on the coffee table.
Several more images followed: a group of little demons chasing after prey, a small beast gnawing on a mother's body, or a woman's face contorted in pain. He placed these more representative and complete images separately, while the rest, which showed no emotional expression, were placed on the other side.
"Zidu, could you get me my pajamas?" Xiang Lan's voice came from the bathroom.
"OK."
Fang Zi got up, went into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, found the clean pajamas hanging on the hanger, pulled open the small drawer, which was full of various lace underwear, and he took a set at random, feeling a little embarrassed.
The bathroom door opened, and Xiang Lan's wet hand reached out, quickly pulling away his clothes before immediately closing the door. He looked at the door that had almost hit his nose, touched his nose, and missed the Xiang Lan who used to harass him.
Xiang Lan came out with her hair half-dry, immediately shrank into bed, and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. She took a shower and was mostly awake now. She was happy that he could come back early, but at the same time, she was scolding herself in her heart for saying something like "we don't want children" the moment she saw him. She was a little afraid to face him.
Her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't sleep. A little while later, a damp body climbed onto the bed. She felt even more embarrassed and shrank to the side of the bed, afraid to move.
Fang Zi watched as she moved away from him, then leaned closer. "Asleep?"
"Go to sleep soon."
"You're going to fall."
Xiang Lan turned over, facing his direction, and pretended to move a little closer.
He chuckled softly, slipped under the covers, reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. Her body was still so soft, but her shoulder blades were a little too thin, almost prickly.
"You haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Don't think about anything now, just go to sleep."
She nestled in his arms, feeling his large, slightly calloused hands roaming over her back, warm and comforting. If only it could stay like this forever.
The next morning, Xiang Lan woke up in a bed filled with the scent of lemons. The room was dimly lit. She got out of bed barefoot and drew back the floor-length curtains, letting in sunlight. The other side of the bed was empty. She thought she might be dreaming because she was thinking too much about Fang Zidu, but the feeling of his hand on her lower abdomen was so clear, a warm sensation spreading throughout her body.
I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and opened the closet to find clothes, only to be shocked by the sheer volume of men's clothing inside.
She paused for a moment, then the bedroom door was pushed open, and Fang Zidu's face came into view.
"You're up? Come out for breakfast—"
She nodded blankly, grabbed a set of clothes at random, and changed.
The living room had been cleaned. Her carving knives were in leather cases on the coffee table, and the obsidian stone lay quietly beside it. Along the edge were two neatly stacked sketches. She picked them up and flipped through them one by one, her face somewhat embarrassed, as if her darkest secret had been discovered.
"Xiang Lan—"
She took a deep breath, put down her sketch, and went to the restaurant, only to find Fang Zi wearing an apron and carrying two bowls of noodles on the table.
"Try this braised noodles, see if it tastes the same."
Xiang Lan sat down at the dining table. In her bowl was a small amount of bright red minced meat, with thin white noodles at the bottom, and a little more than half a bowl of clear broth. A few green scallions were sprinkled on top, making it visually appealing. However, all she could smell was the greasy odor. She reluctantly picked up a noodle, swallowed it, and then pushed the bowl aside.
"Not eating anymore?"
"Too oily."
"Then have some fruit." Fangzi pushed over a plate of sliced apples and pears.
She took a piece of apple and ate it, then said after a while, "Fang Zidu, why did you touch my painting?"
"It was too messy, so I just picked it up randomly."
"You definitely watched it too," Xiang Lan confirmed.
“Yes,” Fang Zidu said. “What’s wrong?”
"You're not allowed to look at my things without permission—" Xiang Lan said sternly, not wanting to show them to her. For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes again. She threw away the apple and wiped away her tears. "It's all your fault, it's all your fault."
Fang Zi laughed and said to her, "Xiang Lan, I told you before not to make hasty decisions about the future, right?"
Faced with his handsome face, Xiang Lan couldn't utter a single retort, and could only sob.
“You’re only having these thoughts about not wanting children right now because of work difficulties, and I think it’s all my fault. I’ve arranged for us to go to Haicheng for two or three days to visit my grandfather and parents, okay?”
She asked warily, "You want them to put pressure on me?"
"Of course not," Fang Zidu said. "The main purpose is to take you out for a walk and help you relax."
His eyes, which had always been beautiful and sparkling, were now tinged with a hint of gloom, and Xiang Lan's hands felt a little cold. She hated Xiang Yuan for saying those things to her, but she also hated herself for letting those words leave a mark on her heart.
Chapter 38
Fang Zi greeted both sets of parents and began arranging the itinerary. Since Xiang Lan's current health was not suitable for flying, he bought a direct high-speed rail ticket from the city to Haicheng, which would take five or six hours, making it fast and convenient.
Xiang Lan was somewhat apprehensive. Liu Zewen was very worried about her willful and spoiled nature, so he personally prepared several gifts for Fang Zidu and gave him many instructions. Liu Zewen knew that most young people nowadays were impatient with such formalities and felt that nothing mattered; at the same time, because they were spoiled by their families, they weren't very good at taking care of others. Therefore, he spoke very carefully to Fang Zidu, afraid that he might take his anger out on Xiang Lan.
Seeing that Fang Zi was listening attentively and showed no signs of anger or impatience, while Xiang Lan kept urging her on, she felt even more satisfied with him.
"I've been communicating with your father about the wedding arrangements lately, and they're basically finalized. Since you're going back this time, you should check out the clothes, jewelry, and invitations—"
Xiang Lan said, "Mom, can you stop worrying? We said at the time that Zidu and I were only responsible for participating, and we couldn't express any other opinions."
"That's true, but I'm also worried—"
"Mom, I understand," Fang Zidu comforted Liu Zewen. "Xiang Lan and I are getting in the car now. You go home first!"
Liu Zewen looked down at the two who were dressed too young with a worried expression. They were both wearing casual sportswear and each carrying a backpack, except that Xiang Lan's backpack was smaller and Fangzi's backpack was frighteningly large.
This doesn't look like a couple going to visit their elders; they look like a young couple going on a trip.