Chapter 114: Small Town · Homecoming
No matter how rapidly the outside world developed, the scenery in the small town was always the same, year after year.
On both sides of the not-so-wide street were mottled small shops, squeezed together like grids of different widths.
In the second before the green light came on, the two-wheeled electric scooter had already taken off, even faster than the pure black Cullinan.
Fang Yi turned the steering wheel, skillfully dodging a crowd of people who were jumping the gun, occupying the road, and peeking out. There was not a trace of surprise on her face. She was completely used to this.
The young lady in the passenger seat was holding the seatbelt tightly with one hand and couldn’t help but exclaim. No wonder Fang Yi’s driving skills were so good. It turned out that she had practiced under these circumstances.
This was Fang Yi’s half-hometown, a certain unknown small town in the south.
She had not been back for a long time, as if she had been away for half her life. Only the old street was still standing in the same place.
But there was no sentimentality. For Fang Yi, most of the time she had been in school, and had soon used it as a springboard to continue to go out. In any case, the environment of the school could not be too different. They were all iron beds and wooden tables.
After she had gotten rich, Fang Yi had proposed many times to bring Yu Jiufeng and her mother to Z City, but the elders were always as stubborn as an ox, the kind that could plow three acres of land in one go, and would not agree no matter what.
They were like saplings transplanted here. Although they had a different accent, their work and friends were all here. After years of getting along and adapting, they had already taken root and sprouted. It was very difficult to accept new things for a while.
Later, Fang Yi had no choice but to buy a new apartment in the city center of this small town. She had not expected that Yu Jiufeng would turn around and rent out the house, and would continue to live in that self-built small two-story building, and had hidden it for several years.
Later, she had found out that it was because the two elders had secretly stuffed a large gold bracelet into Lin Shuxing’s hand, so heavy that the little girl’s arm could not be lifted. It could even be seen under her coat. Fang Yi had weighed it and had only then become alert. Where did you get so much money?
Their family’s accounts should be completely transparent. How could such a huge sum of money suddenly appear? Fang Yi knew nothing about the ins and outs of the accounts.
Old people are easily deceived, especially her mother, Fang Yuan, who had injured her head when she was young and was a little mentally unclear. She would see any sweet-talking salesperson who came to her door as her own daughter, and could not be stopped. She would buy health products and store them at home. Fortunately, she did not eat them, but just piled them up. At least, she had not eaten anything bad.
Yu Jiufeng, who had been shrewd all her life, did not buy health products, but she doted on Fang Yuan. Anyway, she had money now, and had a bit of a retaliatory consumption mentality of a poor person who had suddenly become rich. When her child was unhappy, she would crazily buy delicious food. When her child was happy, she would still crazily buy delicious food. Shark’s fin, bird’s nest, and abalone would be served in rotation. She didn’t know how many meals a day she had, and she had almost fed herself and her child to the point of getting gout.
Fang Yi could only manage the two old children like a parent, regularly giving them living expenses, opening a family payment, and strictly controlling their consumption range.
Yu Jiufeng had still been stubborn. “I won the lottery. Can you control me buying things for my good little daughter-in-law!”
But seeing Fang Yi’s cold face, Fang Yuan had lowered her head, and had very obediently sold out her old mother, and had confessed to the matter of renting out the house. But in the end, she had said pitifully, “A person moves and dies, a tree moves and lives. I’m really reluctant…”
Fang Yi: == Isn’t that the other way around!
She really couldn’t persuade them, so she could only let them continue. The mission of this old house was thus extended for another ten years.
This time, she had come back to her hometown to help Yu Jiufeng with some materials. Fang Yi had not originally intended to bring Lin Shuxing. After all, the environment here was indeed not very good. But when Lin Shuxing had heard that it was her “old house,” she had instantly become interested and had insisted on coming with her. She was also unwilling to stay in the best four-star hotel in the town and was determined to go down to the countryside to experience the local conditions.
The first time Fang Yi had gone to Lin Shuxing’s “old house,” she had not expected it to be a Chinese-style castle-like manor. She could only say that Chinese culture is truly broad and profound, and that the same word could contain such a huge difference.
Fang Yi had never mentioned her past and her hometown. She was so distant that she was a little mysterious, as if she were a monkey that had jumped out of a stone.
She didn’t say, and Lin Shuxing was even more curious. Everything she saw here was new, as if she could see Fang Yi’s growth trajectory through the mottled streets, and walk the path she had once walked.
When Z City was already full of self-driving cars, the small town had still uniquely retained the foot-pedaled tricycle, which were sparsely surrounded by the pedestrian street, waiting for a fish to be caught… ah no, a destined customer.
A luxurious convertible, with a red cloth cover, environmentally friendly and purely manual, with a hundred-li consumption of three steamed buns.
When they had passed by, the young lady had said, “Fang Yi, I want to ride that!”
“No.” The woman had replied crisply and ruthlessly.
“Why? I’ve never ridden one before.”
Fang Yi had shaken her head firmly. “I had a car accident when I rode that before.”
The young lady had been slightly stunned and had immediately shown a heartbroken expression. Then she had heard her say, “I jumped off. The car overturned, and I was the one who helped it up.”
Her light and airy tone, paired with her expressionless face, had a strange kind of cold humor. At the end, it was unknown if it was for comfort or what purpose, but she had let out a “hehe” laugh.
Lin Shuxing: “…”
Only at a time like this would Lin Shuxing truly feel that this person was really five years older than her. She had just crossed the millennium, and rounding up, the difference was a century.
Oh, she had picked up an antique from the last century!
The young lady had suddenly felt that the black and white antique lady in front of her and the receding gray and dusty street scene were a very good match, as if she were wandering aimlessly through a shop window, but Fang Yi was outside, and the world was in the shop window.
Back then, through the glass of the claw machine shop, had she also been observing with such a distant gaze? And then one day, their eyes had met, the main door had been pushed open, and the wind chimes at the entrance had tinkled.
Fang Yi’s house was not in a remote location. After all, this small town was only so big.
Behind an old street were residential houses, all two-story small buildings. There was no special parking lot, and you could park anywhere, all depending on your ability.
A Cullinan, this kind of SUV, was as big as a ship in this small place. It had to find a pier to stop.
The young lady had looked around for a long time but had not found a place to park. Just as she was hesitating and had opened the navigation to search for a nearby parking lot, the woman had already, with a quick eye and a quick hand, had inserted herself into the last empty space, and had steadily “stuck” to the wall. The small car that had just been about to enter behind had immediately honked its horn in a huff.
The woman had calmly flicked her hair, with the cool and detached air of a master. She had turned her head and had found that Lin Shuxing was looking at her, and had given a faint smile with great style.
Lin Shuxing had stared at her for a moment, and from her slightly raised eyebrows, she had seen a little bit of smugness, and had known that this person was waiting to be praised.
Fang Yi was like an encrypted book. The more you understood her, the more you could read a rich story from her micro-expressions. In these years, it had become more and more obvious. The layer of ice that had been frozen on the outside had melted, and the inside was quite soft to bite.
The young lady had been overjoyed, but had still deliberately pretended not to see, and had just coolly pointed to the wall outside and had asked, “How do I get out?”
The car body was too big, and it was so narrow inside that it was impossible to open the car door.
Fang Yi: “Ah, I forgot. I’m sorry. I should have let you get out first.”
The next second, she had already held out her hand. “I’ll carry you out.”
Fang Yi had supported the young lady’s waist, her force as gentle as if she were holding a cloud. But the space was limited, after all. She had not had time to get out, so the young lady had sat on her lap, her head against the roof of the car, and her cascading hair had brushed past Fang Yi’s cheek, so itchy that her ears had burned slightly.
The young lady had blinked and had asked with a feigned innocence, “Did you do it on purpose?”
Fang Yi: “No…”
She had moved her legs to the side so that the young lady’s feet could touch the ground. However, her body had slid down a little, and the distance had become even closer, just enough to straddle her.
Now, even if it wasn’t intentional, it looked intentional.
In the cramped space, Fang Yi’s face was blocked by a shadow, but her ears were still visibly red.
Her cool, woody scent and the smell of leather mixed together, creating a moving, mature woman’s scent, which quietly heated up. The young lady had hooked her neck and had called out faintly, “Fang Yi…”
The woman had raised her face slightly, her hands still on Lin Shuxing’s waist, and the distance between their two lips had slowly compressed.
“Little Bear—!”
The young lady’s lingering end of her words had not yet fallen, when a hurried female voice had knocked on the window.
When she had looked up, it was Fang Yuan.
Fortunately, there was a one-way privacy film on the car window, so Fang Yi, who had always appeared chaste and desireless, had not been socially dead on the spot. She had just raised her hand and had been about to touch her nose in embarrassment, when the young lady had already raised her hand first, had gently touched it for her, and had laughed silently.
“Why does your mom call you Little Bear?”
This “Little Bear” was particularly pleasant to the ear, and it had come out of a flower bud, and had crowded her chest, and had triggered a wave of itchiness.
Little Bear himself had refused to answer, his ears bright red. He had silently lowered the seat and had let the young lady slide down first.
Fang Yuan had said that her daughter had not been back to her hometown for a long time, and she was afraid that she would not be able to find her way, so she had specially come to the roadside to pick her up. When she had looked, she had seen that she was indeed trapped in the car.
This word “trapped” was used very subtly. Fang Yi was even more embarrassed. Lin Shuxing, on the side, had very intimately linked her arm with the woman’s and had said sweetly, “Yes! If you hadn’t come to pick us up, it would have taken us a long time to get home.”
She had stolen a glance at Fang Yi out of the corner of her eye and had gently hooked her little finger.
“Isn’t that right, Little Bear?”
“Little Bear, open the door.”
“This is Little Bear’s room!”
“Little Bear’s mom, it’s time to eat. Try the corn and pork rib soup I made…”
Lin Shuxing had been calling her this all day, so sweet that it had made the two old family members’ hearts flutter. Fang Yi had not answered, and the elders had even scolded her, “Mute bride, why don’t you answer? Your partner is calling you.”
These three women were like they had tacitly conspired to tease her. The large old house actually had no place for Little Bear to stay. Fang Yi had gone to the courtyard to get water and had even felt that the well was creaking and calling, “Little, Bear,” with a rhythmic cadence. Oh no, I’m so embarrassed I’m having hallucinations.
Fang Yi didn’t know what to reply. Awoo?
Although the frequency of this nickname had not been very high before, Fang Yuan had basically called her whatever she had felt like when she was a child: Little Bear, Little Dog, Little Calico Cat, which did not match her own temperament at all.
Today, it was as if all the pet names from her two lifetimes had been used up.
Yu Jiufeng had even introduced the reason to Lin Shuxing with great ceremony. “Little Bear is good. Healthy, strong, eats everything, not a picky eater. A humble name is easy to raise.”
No wonder Fang Yi had also seemed to particularly like that little bear keychain when she was at the claw machine. It turned out they were of the same clan. The young lady had smiled teasingly, had poked her ear with her finger, and it had even trembled.
At this moment, the two of them were lying on a bed. The door was already locked. Lin Shuxing had half a leg on the woman’s body, and was even more unscrupulous. She had gotten a little closer and had called out coquettishly in her ear with a high-pitched voice:
“Little Bear, why aren’t you fluffy at all?”
“Little Bear, your ears are so soft… oh!”
The woman’s long arm had scooped her up, had shown her a real bear hug, had held the light and airy young lady in her arms, and had hugged her irresistibly, and had rested her chin on her shoulder, and her low and slow voice had vibrated along her shoulder blade:
“You should still call me by my name.”
“Why? Don’t you like it?” The young lady had raised her chin and had asked knowingly.
Fang Yi had said in a low voice, “It’s strange to call me by my nickname. Actually, in my hometown, except for blood relatives, this kind of nickname is only called in… very, very intimate situations.”
Fang Yi had said it with restraint and tact. Lin Shuxing had not understood what she meant and had pushed her in grievance. She had not been able to push her, and had become even angrier. “What do you mean? Aren’t we intimate?”
“Let go, let go! What a stinky bear. Do you think I care about you!”
“No,” the woman had held her even tighter, had freed a hand to gently tuck her messy hair behind her ear. “In an even older hometown, most people were called by their positions and code names. A nickname had a certain special meaning. To call someone like that was equivalent to…”
Equivalent to flirting.
This direct word seemed a little too embarrassing to say. The woman had paused and paused, and had been so slow that she was not herself. Only when Lin Shuxing had also noticed this strange hesitation had she looked up at her in confusion.
“It’s about the same as calling—”
Fang Yi had lowered her voice, with a hint of a mysterious air. Her cool voice was very magnetic, and her warm breath was wrapped around her, so hot that the young lady had shivered all over. “Wife.”
For a moment, Lin Shuxing’s mind had gone blank. It was as if a faint electric current had passed through her body from Fang Yi’s lips and teeth. Just these two words were so tinglingly numb that she had subconsciously crossed her legs.
Meeting the woman’s overly clear eyes, Lin Shuxing had bitten her lip and had squeezed out the last bit of her momentum to refute:
“Didn’t you also call me Star?”
The woman had lowered her eyes in silence, and her long, narrow eyes had quietly looked at her. After a long while, she had let out a meaningful “hmm,” the end of her voice lightly rising.
Hmm… hmm???
“It’s what you think.”
Faced with the young lady’s trembling pupils, Fang Yi had replied slowly, “But I can’t control others. There are many other people who also call you that.”
—Star.
She had bitten this nickname low and slow, deliberately distinguishing it from a normal address, and a surging undercurrent was in it. She had said it very calmly, as if this gurgling stream could dilute the possessiveness hidden between her lips and teeth.
Accompanied by a warm and powerful touch, the intimate pet names that the young lady had called out during the day were all returned. The insidious and cunning little bear had always been vengeful and had even counted.
But she had put on a chaste look that had been the same for years. After the fact, she had gone from being wild and untamable to being fluffy, and had gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and had even said “thank you” in a refined and gentle manner.
