No one had lived here for most of the year, and it was very quiet here. Feng Yiping had just started to clean up when he heard the door open. Standing in the doorway, he looked in and saw Huang Jingping, carrying a 10-kilogram bag of rice in one hand and a plastic basket full of groceries in the other, struggling to enter.
'Let me do it,' he said, and Huang Jingping, who was standing with her back to the room and locking the door, was startled and dropped the keys. She shrank back in fear.
She was about to scream when she realised whose voice it was, and turned around, looking at him in shock and joy. "Why did you come back?'
'I missed you, so I came back." Feng Yiping picked up the two lumps she had dropped on the floor, but he couldn't walk anymore, so Huang Jingping embraced him from behind.
He turned around, and Huang Jingping looked up, already in tears. Feng Yiping compassionately wiped the tears from her face with his hand, 'I'm sorry!'
Huang Jingping didn't say anything, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him hard, very hard. Feng Yiping could still taste the tears that had flowed onto her lips, salty and astringent.
It was as if she wanted to make up for all the days that had passed, pushing Feng Yiping towards the sofa, and finally throwing herself on top of him on the sofa. This was a very serious matter of principle, so Feng Yiping immediately rolled over and came on top.
After a long time, their lips parted. Huang Jingping lay there with her eyes closed, her mouth wide open gasping for breath, and from time to time she stuck out her tongue and licked it. This should be a summons, so Feng Yiping unceremoniously covered her again.
'Umm,' Huang Jingping pulled him away with her hands behind his back, and it eventually turned into a hug.
A few more minutes passed before the two of them finally lay face-to-face on the sofa.
'Why did you go grocery shopping at this time? Have you eaten lunch?'
'I couldn't sleep well during my nap, so I thought I'd go shopping early.'
'This isn't like you. That time you didn't sleep during the afternoon and looked like a little pig?'
'I can't sleep well at night either!' Huang Jingping said softly.
It's all my fault, Feng Yiping felt guilty, 'I'm here, you sleep well,' he said, carrying Huang Jingping to the bed and helping her cover up with the thin quilt. As he was about to leave, Huang Jingping put her arms around his waist from behind, 'Don't go, I can't live without you!'
All the confusion, distress, helplessness and longing of these days finally boiled down to these words.
'I can't live without you either!' Feng Yiping said fondly, holding her face in his hands, 'I will never leave you for the rest of my life!'
'Then two lifetimes for me!'
'Three lifetimes for me!'
'Then all my lifetimes!' The two sat on the bed and stood by the side of the bed, saying these words that sounded incredibly mushy to outsiders, with a serious expression on their faces, both of them beaming with happiness.
'Wait a minute,' said Huang Jingping, taking the pyjamas on the bed and running into the bathroom. In a little while, she came back wearing the pyjamas, climbed into the quilt and held out her arms to Feng Yiping, 'Sleep holding me!'
Huang Jingping kept opening her eyes for a moment, as if she was afraid that Feng Yiping would run away. Feng Yiping kept looking at her with his eyes open, saying, 'I won't go, I'll always be by your side.' In this way, after a while, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Feng Yiping had not slept soundly these past few nights. Now, holding Huang Jingping's soft, fragrant body, he felt exceptionally fulfilled. Looking at the face so close to his, he felt like he could never get enough of it. Then, without knowing when, he too fell asleep.
At around 6 o'clock, the two woke up one after the other. Huang Jingping kissed him on the cheek and said, 'I'm so hungry, I'll go cook!'
Just like the days before, they made three dishes and a soup with ease. What was different from before was that Huang Jingping also had an enormous appetite today and ate two bowls of rice, which was unprecedented.
The landline had been disconnected and there was no internet access. Fortunately, they had paid for a full year of cable TV, which had not yet been disconnected. As usual, Huang Jingping rested her head on Feng Yiping's lap. She was not really watching TV, but rather looking at him. From time to time, she disregarded her image and patted her stomach, saying, 'I'm so full today!'
The afternoon nap was of high quality, and both were full of energy in the evening. It wasn't until the news broadcast was replayed that Huang Jingping went to take a shower. Feng Yiping dried her hair for her and she pretended not to care as she lowered her head and said, 'You go take a shower, you don't need to take a cold shower.'
Is spring coming again? Feng Yiping pulled her uncertainly, 'But all that stuff is still in the capital, and there isn't even any red paper here.'
'None of that matters, what matters is you!' Huang Jingping finished, her face red as if it was going to bleed, and she ran into the bedroom.
She lay on the bed nervously, and then heard the security door open. How could he go out again? She was a little overwhelmed for a moment, wondering if she should get up and take a look, and then she heard the door open again. Then Feng Yiping ran in, kicked and thumped, opened the bedroom door, and said to the dark room, 'Wait a minute, I'm going out to buy something,'
Huang Jingping didn't know what to say in response, so she just let out an 'oh,' and then the door closed, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps going downstairs. She laughed.
Feng Yiping drove for several minutes before finding an open pharmacy. Ignoring the strange looks from the fat auntie inside, he bought a box of crime tools first, and then, relying on his memory, found the nearest wedding shop. Through the window, he spoke nicely to the family for several minutes and promised to pay extra before getting the couple, who had already gone to bed, got up. He bought a pair of dragon and phoenix candles as thick as a baby's arm, a large stack of various paper-cuts and appliqués. On the way back, he also stopped at three small shops that were still open and bought two packs of red candles. It was very difficult to buy all this at this time of day.
When he got home again, Huang Jingping was waiting for him in the living room in her pajamas with a jacket on. 'Where have you been? Why did it take you so long?'
Seeing Feng Yiping panting and covered in sweat, she couldn't help laughing. 'I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere!'
Feng Yiping handed her the two bags. 'This is all I could find,'
Huang Jingping opened them up and saw that they contained the very things she had wanted to buy in the capital but hadn't been able to. She was touched beyond words.
Feng Yiping took a long, careful shower and then opened the bedroom door. He was immediately greeted by a sea of red. Red candles were lit on the windowsill, on the cabinet, and on the floor. The pair of dragon and phoenix wedding candles were placed on the bedside table. The word '喜' (happiness) was written in red on the wall, on the cabinet door, and on the bedside table, giving the room a very bridal look.
Huang Jingping was wearing a red dress, which she had probably searched for for a long time. She sat timidly by the bed, but looked at him bravely, and the next moment, tenderness and affection were about to overflow from her eyes.
Feng Yiping's throat felt a little dry. Under her gaze, he sat down gently next to her, took her hand, and the two of them once again experienced the feeling of electric shock. He gave her hand a gentle tug, and Huang Jingping leaned over, no longer keeping her head down, looking up at her. Against the backdrop of the red candlelight, the intensity and heat in her eyes could melt steel.
Feng Yiping gently stroked this very familiar face, 'Did you put on makeup?'
'Do you like it?' Huang Jingping hugged her tightly.
'I like it very much!' Feng Yiping cut to the chase and kissed her again, and they slowly collapsed onto the bed.
As Feng Yiping gently removed her clothes, Huang Jingping was too shy to open her eyes. Then Feng Yiping's kisses lightly fell on her, from head to toe, without missing a single spot. When the kisses of her lover fell on places that had never been touched by the opposite sex before, Huang Jingping trembled again and again, her body flushed with passion, redder than the red candlelight.
Feng Yiping finally returned to her lips. Huang Jingping opened her eyes, full of anticipation. Feng Yiping immediately understood what she meant.
The red candles swayed around them, and the two figures overlapped. With a soft cry, she finally became his woman, and he finally became her man.
...
In the morning, Huang Jingping woke up first. Her face was still red, as if she still had a lingering feeling. She seemed to remember something, gently lifted the quilt, glanced inside, then immediately covered it up, then lifted it up again to take a look, then covered it again. After three times, a voice rang in her ear, 'Have you had enough?'
She was startled again, quickly turned her back and lay down, pretending to snore. Then Feng Yiping leaned over from behind her and skillfully took up the commanding position. 'No, the exam is the day after tomorrow!'
'Yes, you can rest tomorrow!'
...
This kind of introductory exam is not difficult. Coming out of the provincial exam hall, Huang Jingping confidently told Feng Yiping, 'There is definitely no problem.'
'My girlfriend, of course, can handle an exam like this with ease,' Feng Yiping said, putting his arm around her in front of all the other examinees, and walking towards Zheng Jiayi's Beetle.
In the Western restaurant outside the Polytechnic University, Zheng Jiayi looked at the two people across the street, who were overflowing with joy from the inside out, and her face was also full of smiles, 'I told Yiping why you didn't pay any attention to any of the female students at school in the beginning, and it turns out that you already had such a pretty girlfriend.'
'No way, Jiayi, I often hear Yiping talk about you. You are the school flower of No. 1 Middle School, you are the beautiful one. The other girls don't dare to get close to you, and when they do, it's like the stars getting close to the moon, and you overshadow them all!' Huang Jingping is in a good mood, and she has a lot to say.
It's quite rare to see two beautiful girls praising each other like this, so Feng Yiping just sits back and enjoys the show.
After they had finished praising each other, the two girls exchanged tips on skincare in a whisper, and then Feng Yiping said, 'Jiayi, thank you for the car. You are welcome to come to the capital to play, and let us show you around.'
'We are old classmates, so there's no need to be polite!'
'Okay, old friend, you can take us to the airport later,' Feng Yiping was really not polite, and he followed up on the opportunity.
Huang Jingping's laugh trigger was particularly low these past two days, and she burst out laughing at Feng Yiping's words. Fortunately, she didn't say anything. You can completely rest assured, and with someone like Yiping who is capable and thick-skinned, your life will definitely be good!'
'Haha, I really didn't know that he was so thick-skinned,' Huang Jingping laughed.
Zheng Jiayi not only saw them off to the airport, but also all the way to the ticket gate. 'Old classmate, don't let your Uncle Chen or any other uncles hang around my little businesses,' Feng Yiping still remembered her joking the other day.
'That's really not certain. Have a safe trip!' Zheng Jiayi smiled, looked at Feng Yiping and his wife walking intimately into the departure lounge, and laughed a little self-deprecatingly when they were no longer in sight.