After spending the whole day on briefing files, my eyes staring at the screen were already dry and aching. I wanted to close my eyes and rest for a bit, but after being exposed for so long to the brightly colored editing screen of the operating system, the moment I shut my eyelids and rubbed them gently, the darkness was full of exaggerated flashes of colorful hues, so I could only blink hard to get through it.
It's almost nine o'clock.
Forget it, let's call it a day here. I'll take the rest home to finish. A three-day consecutive holiday should be enough to get it done, right? I'll come in a bit earlier next Tuesday to print the materials. That should be fine. After saving the files to the USB drive, I stood up, stretched, picked up my backpack, turned off all the office lights, and left, closing the door behind me. Walking down the corridor to the elevator, I glanced at other department offices. Scattered here and there were other workaholics still burning the midnight oil, their desk lamps glowing as they continued their overtime battles.
When I pressed the elevator button, my phone rang.
"Hey, auntie."
"Hey, Xiao Yu. You’re not home yet?"
“I’m going back now. I just finished working overtime!”
The elevator doors opened. Worried about poor phone reception, I walked to the floor's observation window next to the elevator to continue talking.
"Come back for lunch tomorrow?"
"Oh... sure, no problem." I sighed inwardly. I had originally wanted to sleep in naturally tomorrow, but now it looked like I’d have to set an alarm.
"Go home early tonight and sleep early. You have to drive tomorrow; if you sleep enough, you'll have the energy to drive."
“I know.”
"Then drive home carefully."
"Okay, thank you, auntie."
“Then, goodbye Xiao Yu.”
"Auntie, go to bed early too, goodbye!"
Hung up the phone and walked back to the elevator.
"A call from home?" Miss Wang from the HR department smiled at me.
"Yeah. Don’t be late when I go back to my hometown to sweep the graves." I shrugged.
"Where is your hometown?"
“Miao Li.”
"Mm... the woodcarving place?"
"Heh, that’s also in Miao Li County, but my hometown is in a more outlying area, a bit remote, in a small Hakka village."
"Oh. I'm not very familiar with Miao Li!" Miss Wang said warmly, smiling.
“It’s okay, I brought you some local specialties. Maybe someday you’ll be interested in going there for a trip.”
"No need!" Miss Wang waved her hand in surprise. The elevator door slowly opened.
We entered the elevator, I pressed the first floor, and Miss Wang pressed the basement second floor herself.
"You’re driving?"
"Yeah, it's more convenient. If I work overtime too late, I don't have to worry about not having a car to take." Miss Wang paused. "I don't really feel at ease taking a taxi either."
“That’s true.”
"You didn't drive?"
"No. It's too hard to find parking spaces outside, and there are so few parking spots at the company... I never get one anyway. Taking the MRT is more convenient! "
"Then be careful on your way back!" As the elevator descended to the first floor, Ms. Wang said with a smile.
“I know. You too, drive carefully at night.”
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out.
"Zhiyu!" Miss Wang called out to me from behind.
"Mm?" I turned my head back.
"Get along well with your family!" Miss Wang said with a gentle smile, waving at me.
I smiled and waved back to her. I wanted to say something, but the elevator doors closed. Walking out of the building entrance, the night breeze was slightly cool, the spring chill biting. I pulled up the collar of my jacket to block the wind.
Miss Wang is a well-known figure in the company. She's beautiful and highly professionally competent. Although her rapid promotion inevitably attracts envy, she never participates in unnecessary social engagements. Occasionally, during company trips, she always brings her husband and children. While people gossip, they can't really create any rumors.
It was just that last year her husband died of an incurable illness. She had to work to earn money to support the family while also taking care of the child’s life; it was not easy. I heard that both her husband’s family and her natal family had their own plans, but I was not very clear about the various details in between, and since I only had business dealings with Miss Wang from a different department, it was also not proper to ask too much. I only heard that some people in the company had already begun to covet her, and I had also once heard male colleagues discussing Miss Wang’s clothes and figure in the restroom, with their joking words being explicit and vulgar.
I didn't really look down on such things either, I just felt that a woman's image and position in the workplace are indeed hard to maintain, especially someone with Miss Wang's circumstances and experiences. Once her husband died, gossip behind her back spread without restraint, as if those who couldn't match her rank at least had to viciously belittle and mock her with words to feel satisfied. Thinking of this, I felt somewhat sympathetic towards her. Moreover, she was quite kind to me. Thinking it over, I should still properly buy a souvenir gift, to express gratitude for her professional care and the polite concern of social niceties.
By the time I got home, it was almost ten o'clock.
The room's light was still on; the person inside didn't deliberately turn to look at me as I passed.
“I’m back.” I said hello, but got no reply.
Walking to my room, I took off my shirt to change clothes, then sat on the edge of the bed after removing my suit pants to take off my socks.
“My mom called in the evening...” The figure at the doorway to my room stepped back a few paces. “Why aren’t you turning on the light when you change clothes!”
“This is my room.”
"Then why don’t you close the door!"
“Then why didn’t you knock before sticking your head in?”
"I always close the door when I change clothes!"
“Thanks. You can also leave it on!” I groped in the dark to put on my home clothes.
There was a snort outside the door, and footsteps moved away. I changed my clothes and followed out of the room, circling to the kitchen, craving something to eat. Already hearing the sounds of pots and pans, I opened the fridge and took out fresh milk.
"Do you want a late-night snack?" I got a glare in return.
“My mom called in the evening and asked what time we’d be going back tomorrow.”
"Mm, I also got a call from Auntie when I was working overtime. She told us to go back for lunch."
"Then don't end up unable to get up again and being late." A bowl of fried rice and a plate of cabbage mixed with bacon were slapped onto the dining table.
"Do you want to drink fresh milk?" I asked, holding the fresh milk.
"After you're done eating, take your bowls and chopsticks to wash." Only a graceful back slipped into the room.
Awkward.
People who don’t know would think she owed him a lot of money or had offended him; the way she spoke was always lacking in manners and discretion, and her responses were a complete mess. No one knew what she was being so arrogant about. Fortunately, I had long been used to it. Anyway, she was just like this awkward person—she wasn’t really angry about anything, she just wasn’t able to communicate and interact properly with people.
Li Xiangru is my niece, to be clearer, my cousin's daughter.
Li Xiangru's mother is my cousin. According to my cousin, when she was pregnant with Xiangru, she was obsessed with romance novels. There was a particularly touching heroine in one of them named Xiangru, and the name Xiangru itself sounds pleasant and elegant, so Li Xiangru's name was decided that way. However, perhaps many people also like the name Xiangru. From my perspective at this age, the name has actually become so common and overused to the point of being too widespread.
I've already forgotten what Li Xiangru's original surname should have been. Anyway, after my cousin got divorced, she moved back to her parents' home with her daughter and had her daughter take her mother's surname. In any case, the first time I saw her when I was young, I called her Li Xiangru. However, she never called me uncle; whenever she addressed me, she never used my name or a title, always just casually glossing over it. If she absolutely had to call me, it was only 'hey'.
I used to think I had somehow angered Li Xiangru, otherwise why would she always wear that expression as if I owed her money? Later, I realized she was just naturally awkward like that; ignoring her attitude actually allowed me to get along with her a bit. Anyway, I'm not much older than Li Xiangru; forcing her to address me by seniority might be awkward for both of us, so it's better to act vague and treat each other as peers.
Although Li Xiangru's attitude wasn't very good, and her mother, my cousin, seemed to live a somewhat casual life, Li Xiangru was, after all, a rare girl in our family who could study well. When she graduated from elementary school, her homeroom teacher kept begging my cousin to send her to a good school in the city, saying Li Xiangru had a talent for studying and must not be wasted.
My cousin (female) was noncommittal at the time. She hadn't studied well when she was young, and Li Xiangru was the result of her youthful indiscretions, so she didn't seem to take it too seriously. In any case, as long as Li Xiangru grew up healthy and sound, it wasn't too much of a letdown. As for Li Xiangru's future development, my cousin didn't seem to spend much effort caring about it either.
It was my aunt, my cousin's mother, who was concerned and made efforts, running around and asking for help. In the end, it was my father who registered Li Xiangru's household registration under our family so she could attend junior high school in Beiyi City. Beiyi is two counties away from Miaoli, so my father also took on the responsibility of caring for Li Xiangru's daily life.
Although my parents were responsible for Li Xiangru's food, clothing, housing, and transportation, any problems with her studies were pushed to me to help handle. In short, Li Xiangru was the second person in the Li family after me with hope of attending a national university. Although our family isn't some wealthy or prestigious clan, both sides of the parents shared the expectation of hoping their children would succeed. So, even though I was mostly away from home due to military service when Li Xiangru lived at my house during middle school, I was still kept at home during holidays to serve as her tutor.
When Li Xiangru got into the top girls' high school in Beiyi last summer, her aunt in the hometown of Miaoli hosted several tables to celebrate with the neighbors. I was also invited to join the celebration then. My aunt and cousin kept pouring me several bottles of whiskey, and I was drunk until the next day before waking up.
Sometimes, looking back, it seems like the happy memories related to my family ended right there.
At the end of last summer, my parents drove out and died in a car accident. The incident happened so suddenly that there were many things I didn't know how to handle for a while. I had only just entered society and worked for one year, and my life experience was basically a blank.
The closest in the family is my aunt's family. Aunt came from Miaoli to Beiyi and stayed at our house to help handle the funeral arrangements. I am the only child at home, and Aunt also helped me sort out all the property inheritance matters one by one.
Aunt lived in Beiyi for quite a while, and only moved back to Miao Li after making sure my life was stable. I asked Aunt about whether Li Xiangru would stay or leave, and Aunt said that Li Xiangru was already able to take care of herself and live independently. If I minded, then Li Xiangru could move out and rent a place. I shook my head and said I didn’t mind; as long as Li Xiangru didn’t mind either, then continuing to live at home wasn’t a problem, and besides, having one more person living there would make it livelier.
After returning to work from bereavement leave, I used busy work to escape from the routines of daily life, often working overtime until the middle of the night before going home. I don't know if the academic workload at Beiyi Girls' High School is heavy, but every time I returned home, Li Xiangru's room light was still on, and she would be sitting quietly at her desk studying.
She handles dinner herself every day, whether ordering takeout or cooking. If there's leftover food she can't finish, she puts it in the refrigerator, and when I come home late and hungry, I heat it up myself. Occasionally, if I get off work early, we might plan to go out for a meal together or buy more groceries for her to cook. I thought I was very independent after studying away from home for four years in college, and that living alone wouldn't be a problem, but I've discovered that having someone else living at home—the sounds of lights switching on and off, the toilet flushing after use, the shower running in the bathroom, the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen—all these noises I never paid attention to before, or even found annoying and disruptive, now make me feel that they are proof of someone being alive.
Sometimes when touching the still-warm showerhead or stepping on the damp bathroom floor, my eyes would get a little misty.
So sometimes after work, I would walk into Li Xiangru's room, pat her head, and say I'm back. When she's in a good mood, she would hum in response; when she's in a bad mood, she would nag that I didn't knock on the door before entering. No matter what, I've become accustomed to Li Xiangru's quirks. It seems her quirks are a way of maintaining distance, yet also a kind of domineering concern, a willful existence.
Li Xiangru's way of waking me up was quite domineering. I opened my bleary eyes and saw her face looking very willful.
Propping myself up to feign a response to her, I watched her turn and leave, then lay back down to continue lazing in bed.
"Whoa!" Something icy-cold covered my face, and I woke up at once.
"Stop lying in bed. If we drive back, we'll be late." Li Xiangru's voice was also icy.
“That’s too ruthless.” I pulled the ice towel off my face. “I’m saying, you put so much thought into something like an ice towel, why don’t you go make breakfast, or bring me a basin of face-washing water and serve me, the young master?”
"I've made breakfast. Brush your teeth and wash your face—young master, it's not like you're missing hands or feet, so you don't need someone to serve you anymore, right?"
Li Xiangru leaned against the doorway of my room, already changed into her clothes. A thin sweater jacket covered a pink casual short-sleeved shirt, and her jeans looked a bit tight. I wondered if today's young people just really liked such tight pants or if she had developed too well? When I go back, I'll tell her mother to allocate more clothing allowance for the kid, instead of always spending it on herself, making her look like a flirtatious bride-to-be.
After simply packing a few clothes and grabbing the laptop, I drove back to Miaoli hometown with Li Xiangru. Old English songs played in the car, and Li Xiangru didn't voice any objections. I took it as her chance to practice English listening comprehension and didn't switch to pop music.
As the highway approached Miaoli, it began to be tinged with fog; by the time we exited the interchange, it was already considered thick fog. With fog lights on, we slowly navigated the country roads. Andy Williams was singing 'Killing Me Softly.' Li Xiangru tilted her head listening and suddenly said, 'Is this the song from the movie About a Boy starring Hugh Grant?'
"Yeah!" I laughed. "You’re pretty impressive!"
"The English class teacher played a movie. It was an old film, right?"
"..." Not that old, though. Back then I was still going to the cinema to watch the theatrical releases.
Then we arrived at the hometown.
The old home is a very traditional building, a typical three-sided courtyard surrounding a square. The only variation is that the outer wall, because in the past, farm work required storing many farming tools or fertilizers, etc., was expanded into a simple storage room. When we were kids, we all called it a 'siheyuan' (quadrangle courtyard), and then the adults would always correct us, saying it's a 'sanheyuan' (three-sided courtyard). We didn't understand; it's clearly enclosed, and the storage room could be used to hide and sleep, so how is it a three-sided courtyard? So we still called it a quadrangle courtyard randomly. Unexpectedly, after calling it that for a long time, it was the adults who were influenced by us and often misspoke.
Times have changed, and now our family no longer farms. The once-crowded courtyard house, formerly packed with farming tools, now looks a bit desolate instead. Surrounding the courtyard are tall Bauhinia trees, in full season. The hoof-shaped leaves are lush and green, clusters of pink petals bloom profusely, their competitive beauty almost drowning out the green leaves. When I was little, I always thought they were peach blossoms, pointing and shouting, which made my cousins laugh at me for a long time.
Two cherry trees were planted in the courtyard square under the eaves of the main hall. Around the Lunar New Year is the flowering season, with delicate, colorful cherry blossom petals covering the trees and ground. However, that time has now passed; the two cherry trees only have green leaves densely covering their branches.
Large water vats were placed in the corners between the side wings and the courtyard walls to quietly collect rainwater. When I was little, duckweed used to float on the surface; now, my aunt or cousin casually grows simple aquatic plants, and the simple green ripples on the water have always felt very soothing to me.
"You’re back?" Aunt came out from inside the main hall and waved at us. "The dishes are all cooked, we’ve just been waiting for you!"
"There’s a bit of traffic jam on the highway!"
"Li Zhiyu overslept again!"
I shot a sidelong glare at Li Xiangru with a forced smile piled on my face; she walked straight into the main hall, not caring at all. My aunt smiled, her expression not one of blame. We left our luggage on the sofa in the living room first, then went to the adjacent dining room to prepare for dinner. My cousin's wife was serving rice, and we filed in and sat down.
“Zhigang is at work, huh?” The dining table was actually a little deserted, with only Aunt, my cousin-in-law, me, and Li Xiangru.
"Yeah, Zhigang and Zhihui are both watching the store, and they're used to eating lunch inside the store." Auntie handed over the rice bowl while signaling for me not to stand up to take the bowl.
"Little uncle, try this sausage. I made it myself, with a little wine added for seasoning." My cousin-in-law greeted me warmly. "You didn’t come back for dinner for the New Year this year, so Mom specially told me to leave one link frozen and wait for you to come back and eat it."
'Oh, thank you, thank you.' I blushed and placed several slices of sausage into my bowl to eat.
We ate lunch while chatting, and after finishing, Auntie went to the living room to watch TV. I asked Li Xiangru to help wash the dishes, and my cousin-in-law drove us out of the kitchen and told us to go to the guest room to rest. Li Xiangru and I both lived on the west side of the siheyuan. My room was the one my cousin Li Zhihui had once lived in. After she divorced and moved back, she lived on the east side, and my cousin Li Zhigang also lived on the east side. Before Li Xiangru came to Beiyi City to study, she already had her own room on the west side, so the two of us silently claimed our own rooms and went inside to rest.
I wasn't actually that tired, so I took my laptop and continued with the unfinished work from last night. I don't know how long I worked when my cousin's wife stood at the bedroom door and knocked.
"Zhiyu, have some fruit!" Cousin-in-law smiled as she brought a plate of fruit in. Actually, Cousin-in-law and I are the same age, and she was even a few months older than me, so privately we directly called each other by name, which felt less awkward and strange. "Are you working?"
“Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy lately, especially with this holiday weekend. A lot of things have to be turned in when I go back to work on Tuesday.”
“Then I won’t disturb you while you work.”
"No, I’m just eating some fruit and taking a break." I closed the computer. "How’s your husband been lately? Has he still been causing trouble?"
"Haha, not bad!" Every time my cousin’s wife heard me not call my cousin by name and instead say "your husband," she would be amused.
My cousin is only two years older than me. When we were kids, we were the best playmates, partners in crime for all sorts of good and bad deeds. However, I moved to Beiyi City in fourth grade. My cousin didn't like studying; he switched between several private high schools, where fighting and skipping class were commonplace. Later, he couldn't continue and joined the military, where he also had his share of troubles. After discharge, he went wilder; hanging out in hostess bars and gambling were one thing, but later he got involved with drugs. While my cousin was in rehab, my uncle passed away. My aunt silently shouldered the family's burdens, gradually paying off the gambling debts my cousin had racked up from his wild ways. She stopped the already half-halted farm work and transformed a small storefront in Miaoli City that sold fertilizer and rented out farm tools into a grocery store, managing it together with my cousin (female).
After my cousin got out of rehab, he toned down a lot. He let my aunt rest at home and, together with my cousin (female), kept that small grocery store running. In the mornings, they'd wholesale some fruits, vegetables, and meat to sell, and in the afternoons, they'd just mind the store selling miscellaneous goods. My cousin's wife was a hostess he hooked up with while fooling around in nightclubs. My uncle and aunt really didn't like her, but given my cousin's character, no one dared to arrange a matchmaking for him. Plus, he got her pregnant, so they had no choice but to reluctantly let them get married.
Whether it was because she wasn’t used to the living environment or because there was stress from poor interaction between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, my cousin-in-law miscarried not long after the wedding was held. Since then, until now, there has been no news from her belly, and through all the many things that happened at home, the atmosphere between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has only grown more depressed.
When I first learned what my cousin-in-law did before marriage, I couldn't help but look at her through colored glasses. But my cousin-in-law is outwardly gentle yet inwardly strong; even as a housewife she gritted her teeth and insisted on doing everything flawlessly. And when interacting with her, she was always relaxed, humorous, and eloquent, so I quickly stopped dwelling on it.
Once I gave my ex-girlfriend's nail polish that she left at my place to my sister-in-law, and she smiled so widely her mouth couldn't close.
"I'm doing housework every day; if I put on nail polish it'll get scratched off!"
“It’s okay. Just think of it as putting on makeup for your nails—apply it and remove it. No need to be so stingy with the effort. If you’re heartbroken over it, at most after you finish this bottle I’ll buy you other styles!”
That time we opened up and talked a lot, probably because we were the same age, so our topics and values were actually very close, and we started feeling very close. My cousin's wife is named Lin Wenhui. Because the last character of her name sounds the same as my cousin's, my aunt is used to calling my cousin Xiao Hui, and calling my cousin's wife by her full name, Wenhui. I initially called her sister-in-law, but later, because we became familiar, I also directly called her Wenhui.
Perhaps infertility was a factor. Although my cousin had stopped gambling and drugs, he still liked to fool around; he just switched from more luxurious hotels to small shops in the alley at the end of the street. My cousin asked if I wanted him to take me out to gain some experience, and I laughed it off, saying let’s talk about it next time. But the next time, I heard the police raid a brothel for illegal immigrants and, as a side effect, drag out my cousin, who was covering his face. Thinking about it, that was really close.
During that period, the atmosphere at home was low, but my cousin held back for only a short while before reverting to his old ways. Perhaps it was because Wen Hui's belly wasn't cooperating, and the whole family seemed to tacitly turn a blind eye. That year, during the Lunar New Year, we stayed at the old home for a few days. As usual, my cousin only showed up for meals, disappearing like a dragon the rest of the time. Every meal during the New Year was a grand feast. On the second day of the New Year, Wen Hui didn't return to her parents' home. After lunch, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Feeling bored and restless, I walked to the kitchen and saw Wen Hui silently washing pots, bowls, ladles, and basins all by herself.
I opened the fridge, took out an apple, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Wenhui by the sink, chatting idly while peeling it. After peeling, I cored and sliced it, put the pieces on a small plate, and handed it to Wenhui.
“I didn’t sprinkle salt water on it. Apples turn black very quickly; eat them while they’re still pretty.”
Wenhui paused for a moment, 'Huh? It's okay, no need...' She lowered her head and continued washing the dishes.
"Oh, but your face is all yellow, and your eye bags are swollen too. It’s ugly."
"Hey!" Wen Hui glared at me.
"Look, this imported Fuji apple is obviously a good thing. If you eat it, you can not only replenish vitamins, but your face will also become fair, tender, and glowing, like a TV news anchor!"
Wenhui grinned, took the apple, and began eating it in small bites.
"But that eye bag thing... eating apples won’t help anymore; you need more rest." While Wenhui was eating an apple, I continued her cleaning work.
Wenhui ate very slowly; I had already cleaned the kitchen counter, and she still hadn't finished.
"Anyway... anyway, your husband probably won’t be back this afternoon either, so why don’t you go take a nap?
『
Wenhui held the last slice of apple in her mouth, looking at me, a hint of moisture flickering in her eyes. 'Okay.' Then she put the apple back on the plate. 'I can't eat anymore. I'll have it later.'
I watched her walk out of the kitchen and suddenly couldn't imagine how this little wife, whose world was now just the courtyard house and the kitchen, used to sway and shine so brightly, dominating the scene among the red men and green women in hotels?
Looking down at the lone slice of apple in the plate, lonely and isolated, I didn’t want to put it back in the fridge to take up space. I pinched it up, wanting to eat it, but I couldn’t resist bringing the spot Wenhui had just held in her mouth up to my nose to sniff. The apple fragrance mixed with saliva, making the taste sticky and thick. My heart thudded, and I opened my mouth and ate it.
In Japanese manga, this is called an indirect kiss. I walked back to my room while letting my thoughts run wild.
I pushed open the door and entered the room, only to find Wenhui wrapped in a quilt sleeping on my bed, her breathing already a light snore. I was a bit startled, then glanced at a note pressed on the table that read: Wake me at 4:30, I need to prepare dinner, Hui². The ² was written small in the upper right of the character Hui, like an exponent symbol, a shortcut we used when passing notes in class to avoid writing duplicate characters.
I sat by the bed looking at Wenhui's sleeping face: slender eyebrows, long and thick eyelashes, the crease of her double eyelids still distinct even with her eyes closed, a small and delicate nose, slightly parted lips breathing, a bit chapped from winter but still rosy and natural.
Even without makeup, she was still beautiful. I wonder, when cousin saw Wen Hui in heavy makeup at the hotel for the first time back then, was she even more charming than she is now? Or is it that now, after seeing her every day and her face bare of makeup, cousin no longer finds her attractive at all?
I watched for a while, gathered my courage, bent down close to Wen Hui's hair, and gently sniffed; it smelled of cooking oil fumes. She's a housewife now, I thought. While I was lost in thought, Wen Hui turned around, and our lips lightly and quickly brushed past each other.
I was so startled that I immediately sat up straight, but Wenhui continued to emit soft snores.
Although he had even had sex with his ex-girlfriend, after all, he hadn't been in a new relationship since the breakup. Not to mention the warm and slippery tenderness inside a vagina, he hadn't even held hands, let alone kissed?
That night I dreamed of having sex with Wen Hui and had a wet dream. Although I had brought spare underwear, having a wet dream while staying out is honestly both troublesome and embarrassing. Fortunately, once the mattress and quilt dried, no traces were visible, and as long as no one got close enough to smell, it probably wouldn't be discovered.
Later, I would sometimes use Wenhui as a fantasy object for masturbation; taboo made the fantasy exciting, and I actually got stronger pleasure than when masturbating to AV.
After that, whenever I returned to my hometown and privately met Wenhui for a chat, I would pretend to casually call her Huihui, like the signature on that note. At first, Wenhui's eyebrows would raise slightly, revealing emotional fluctuation. Later, she got used to it and became very natural. Every time I called her Huihui, she would curve her eyes and smile sweetly, as if it were our little secret.
"And you, have you still been busy lately?" I said, pointing at Wenhui's eye bags.
"Hey, as for housewives, it's just like this! No major career, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, making food all day, serving everyone's food and drink, and before you know it, the day is gone like that." Wen Hui shrugged. "As for you..."
Are you okay? ‘Wen Hui narrowed her eyes and smiled faintly.
"Mm, I’m used to it now." I lowered my head a little shyly.
"You didn’t come back for New Year, I was so worried."
"The company happened to have a business trip..." I paused. "At that time, I really did want to escape, especially when I came back for meals. I was afraid I’d burst into tears. Seeing that you all lived together, I was also afraid I’d feel jealous."
"Fool, we're all family, so what jealousy could there be?" Wen Hui reached over and patted my head, just like I often did to Li Xiangru.
We chatted for a bit. Wenhui's voice was soft, and she kept finding topics to comfort and encourage me. Later, she yawned, so I urged her to take a nap. She playfully slept on my bed and asked me to wake her at four-thirty to prepare dinner.
I turned the computer back on and continued working. I hadn't typed more than a few lines before I heard Wen Hui's snoring. The weather was starting to get a bit warm. Wen Hui was wearing a short-sleeved thin shirt; due to work, the sleeves had been pulled up to her upper arms. A thin cotton quilt was folded on the bed, but Wen Hui, preferring the cool, only had a thin blanket covering her, which barely covered her short shorts.
Wenhui's fair and plump legs were curled and crossed, her thighs full and fleshy, while the muscles of her calves lightly traced beautiful curves. I stared obsessively at her body, my heartbeat quickening. After saving the file, I closed the laptop screen and simply stopped working.
Wenhui's snoring suddenly stopped; she let out a soft moan, then turned over onto her back, frowning slightly and impatiently pushing the thin blanket away before her expression eased slightly and she resumed light snoring. One foot was propped up at an angle, the other curled and resting; the space between her legs was open, facing my gaze. One hand clutched a corner of the pushed-away blanket, while the other unconsciously pulled at her clothes, lightly scratched her belly a few times, then went limp beside her. Her snow-white belly rose and fell slightly, her navel like a mysterious little hole moving up and down with each breath.
For a good while, Wenhui maintained this posture.
Then I quietly moved to the bedside. Wen Hui was sleeping with her head turned to the side. Perhaps because the clothes were too well fitted, Wen Hui’s actually not very large breasts were wrapped up full and round, like two bowls upside down on her chest. Yet there were two slightly protruding points on her chest; at first I thought they were wrinkles in the fabric, but her entire bust filled out the clothes, smooth and without any creases. So... Wen Hui wasn’t wearing a bra? I suddenly felt hot too, my imagination racing, and my penis began to harden.
Looking down, the hot pants also fit snugly and tightly around Wenhui's buttocks and private area. With her legs spread apart, her entire lower abdomen and mons pubis appeared fleshy and rounded. The edges of the hot pants flared open, revealing white silk panties with intricately embroidered lace trim. The leg that was bent and raised created a beautiful concave curve from the root of her thigh to her pubic bone.
Wenhui was still fast asleep.
I bent down and lay in front of Wenhui's mons pubis. Was this too bold? Thinking this, I had already gently moved my nose around the outer area of her mons, breathing in deeply. It was the scent of Wenhui's body. The restless light sweat carried a faint, murky saltiness and a fleeting sourness; the gradually accumulating faint smell of urine mixed turbulently with the sour sweat, intertwining into an inexplicably sweet and cloying body odor. Whether it was my breath or the fluids from Wenhui's vagina, that body odor gradually became moist and greasy, the scent turning into tangible, touchable particles continuously filling my nostrils until my breathing became rapid and somewhat difficult.
I propped myself up and sat on the edge of the bed, finally feeling like I could breathe properly again. Turning to look at Wen Hui's body, I wondered if it was my imagination, but there seemed to be a faint shadow in the center of her mons pubis—was it the crease from her hot pants, or was she already so wet it had soaked through? I couldn't let myself think about it any further; my penis was hard and aching slightly, so I quickly left the room.
Crossing the square surrounded by the siheyuan (courtyard house), I walked to the bathroom-toilet in the eastern corner, turned on the faucet at the sink, and vigorously washed my face. After splashing my face with cold water several times, the desires in my mind were barely suppressed. Although my penis was still hard and swollen, it wasn't as painfully tense as before. I stared blankly into the mirror for a while before snapping back to reality.
Walking out of the bathroom, the afternoon sun suddenly felt a bit strong, with sparkling sunlight flooding the square. Although it wasn't as oppressively hot as summer yet, the air had already begun to carry a restless atmosphere. So I thought of taking the eastern inner corridor past the lobby to return to my room, that tempting room. Why did Wen Hui, who has her own perfectly good room, come to crowd into mine? I couldn't help but complain about Wen Hui in my heart.
Approaching my aunt's room next to the east corner of the hall, I heard my aunt's voice. I thought she was on the phone, so I didn't pay much attention and passed by. Just as I was about to enter the hall, I suddenly heard my aunt let out a loud sigh. I was startled and turned around, ready to knock on the door, but then I heard a long, drawn-out moan from inside the room. The sound didn't seem to be one of fear, but rather lazily dragged out at the end.
No way? I couldn’t help but start fantasizing again.
But standing outside the door and listening intently, I unexpectedly began to hear continuous moaning. My first thought was: did Auntie have an affair? Thinking about the age gap between Auntie and Uncle, and that when Uncle died Auntie was only exactly forty, and now she was only in her early forties, there were plenty of mature women in their forties in the company; with a little makeup, dressing up, and some maintenance, they actually didn’t look old at all. Some, without mentioning their age, you’d think were attractive urban white-collar women.
Since usually Auntie always chatted and interacted with Uncle and my parents, Auntie always spoke steadily and dignifiedly. Though rarely stern, her unhurried tone naturally exuded the maturity of the family's highest-ranking elder, her expression also calm and rarely showing agitation. Now thinking back, I really overlooked that Auntie is still in her prime years. And isn't this age what people call the 'wolf and tiger years'? But Auntie is usually so resolute and upright, and she handled my parents' funeral tirelessly, so it's really hard to associate Auntie with secret affairs.
While speculating with surprise and doubt in my heart, I continue listening. If it really is an affair, that man is way too repressed—I can't even hear a muffled groan! Listening more carefully, the moans have their own rhythmic rise and fall, sometimes suppressed, sometimes unrestrained, not like the intense, abrupt passion of two people having sex, but rather the intoxication of one alone.
So... masturbation?
At first, I thought this way: in my mind’s eye, a naked aunt kept stroking and probing that hidden private part with her hand, yet I could never imagine how her face could be so seductive and wanton while moaning. Suddenly Wen Hui’s expression fit perfectly into that imagination, and then Wen Hui, in the same reclined posture as before, began masturbating. Her hand moved faster and faster, beads of thin sweat dotted her whole body, her skin faintly flushed pink, and that damp, heavy, slutty smell was like mesmeric burning musk.
But in my ears it was clearly Aunt’s moaning. It turned out that once a dignified and steady voice is cast aside and transformed into something sweet and lingering, it can actually be so gentle and charming. At last the moans turned into a series of urgent mm-hm sounds, then catlike cries that were sticky and long, melting everything away, and finally there were sobbing breaths mixed with cries, sometimes brief and sharp, sometimes choked back, until all sound gradually faded and stopped.
Enduring my nearly bursting penis, I tiptoed back to the bathroom, locked the door, and took off my pants as fast as I could. Just as I was about to vigorously stroke my cock towards the shower area to ejaculate, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"There are people?" Outside the door was Li Xiangru's cold voice, speaking word by word.
In an instant all thoughts were cut off. “It’s me!” I said through my gasping breaths.
"What are you doing?"
“What am I doing?” I was a bit baffled. “Do I need to report to you even when I’m taking a dump?”
"Hmph!"
"Go use the toilet on the side where we live!"
“The restroom over there usually isn’t used by many people anyway, and it’s dirty, smelly, and dark!”
"Then there’s nothing to be done. If you need to use the toilet, you’ll just have to wait until I finish my bowel movement."
Outside the door, it was quiet for half a moment. "Hmph, I don't want to use the toilet after you!" Then came the sound of footsteps leaving.
After this messy conversation, my penis, which had been about to erupt, was already softening. Although it hadn't fully shrunk, it was hanging its head. I helplessly put my pants back on, left the bathroom, and didn't dare pass by Auntie's room again, so I walked back to the west side via the square.
Stepping into the west inner corridor, Li Xiangru had just come out of the toilet, wiping her hands on the back of her jeans, and seeing me, she snorted again and walked back to her room. The west-side toilet was originally a storage space, previously filled with farming tools and other miscellaneous items. Later, an outer wall was added to create a new storage room, so the large items were moved there, and the original storage space was cleared out to make a small area, partitioned with wooden boards into a toilet. Because it was an addition, the entire toilet was very rudimentary, and the drainage channel was probably dug carelessly, so it often got clogged. After rain, once the weather cleared, the waste stuck in the channel would unceremoniously emit a foul odor.
Because of this, everyone tried to avoid using that toilet unless, during a bathroom fight, someone who couldn't hold it would use it. Although Uncle built it for convenience during the busy farming season so there would be a simple toilet available, and to separate it from the family toilet for occasional hired workers, indeed this toilet was too rudimentary. Above, there was just a casually strung wire with a light bulb, so the women in the family especially disliked coming to this dark and dirty toilet.
I walked back to the room. Wenhui had already sat up, her eyes still a bit drowsy, but she was mostly not going to turn back to sleep. She casually chatted with me for a bit before running off to prepare dinner. I relaxed completely and couldn't help but collapse onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
A jolt woke me up. I hazily opened my eyes, and just as I propped up my body with my hands, a hand immediately reached down and grabbed at my crotch.
"Li Zhiyu! Still sleeping in!"
I widened my eyes and focused. 'Damn... you're the lazy one!' I protected my crotch with both hands, preventing my cousin from succeeding again. 'Li Zhigang, how old are you? Still playing this childish game of touching the lazy one!'
"No way, I’m measuring your size to see if you’ve developed!" Li Zhigang grinned broadly, yellow teeth spaced by red gaps; he really had quit drugs but couldn’t quit cigarettes and betel nut.
“I’m already past puberty, okay!” I rubbed my eyes and wiped away the eye goo.
"What! Then why is your size the same as when I was in elementary school?"
"Because your puberty ended in elementary school!"
"Hahaha! You really can’t take advantage of me, huh!" Li Zhigang said, shaking my shoulders.
"Easy to say, easy to say."
"How about it? Brother is treating you tonight to welcome you, after dinner I'll take you out for a second round..."
“Hey, that’s hard to say. I don’t want to be stopped by the police and still have to cover my face with a paper bag!”
"Oh, where did your mind go? I'm taking you for a massage, okay! Body care, it's care, not the kind of indecent stuff you're thinking of!" Li Zhigang smiled smugly.
“Forget about those bone-setting or sole-massage kinds that hurt like hell, okay?”
"Do you really think I’m such a vulgar person? Those things are out of date, okay!"
“So how miraculous is the new, era-defining massage therapy you mentioned?”
“Prostate massage maintenance! Pretty impressive, right!” Li Zhigang laughed until he completely couldn’t stop.
“Damn... prostate care...” I looked helplessly at Li Zhigang. How could I be cousins with him?
"Why don’t you go and calculate it yourself... uh, no, I mean, let your wife help you take care of yourself. Don’t go out fooling around all day long!
『
Mentioning Wenhui, Li Zhigang lost his enthusiasm for telling jokes. 'Alright, slept long enough, time for dinner!'
Everyone is waiting for you. '
“Then why are you still arguing with me here?” I put on my slippers and followed behind my cousin as we walked out of the room.
Li Zhi just turned his head back with a mischievous smile, looking somewhat like Tony Leung's undercover character in 'Infernal Affairs', no wonder he was so popular in the nightlife scene.
Entering the dining room, we took our seats in order, with an empty spot between Auntie and Li Xiangru.
"Where’s sis?"
"Who, me?" A strong wave of perfume hit from behind. Suddenly a hand clamped around my neck, and then a stabbing pain struck the top of my head. Looking up, I saw my cousin Li Zhihui using her chin to press into the top of my head. I tried to break free a little, but with Li Zhihui's arm still around my neck, she exerted force and made me lean back and crash into her chest, while the back of my head felt like it was resting on a very elastic flesh pillow.
"Alright, stop fooling around. How old are you already?" Aunt said, stopping them. Li Zhi-hui stuck out her tongue, shrugged, and walked casually toward her seat. I looked at Aunt, and her now dignified and steady voice.
Just as Li Zhihui was about to sit down, she suddenly reached out and brushed Li Xiangru's hair.
"What, do, you, mean!" Li Xiangru shot Li Zhihui a sidelong glare, wanting to get angry but not daring to blow up, and could only grit her teeth and say it word by word.
"Y, o, u, r, a, i, n, why did you cut your hair so short?" Li Zhihui grinned and imitated Li Xiangru's way of speaking.
"How could it be short? It’s fine!" Li Xiangru used her hand to brush the messy hair that reached her shoulders back into its original style.
“Does your school now have a ban on hair length?” Li Zhihui asked curiously.
"No!"
"Then why don’t you grow your hair long like I do? It would look so much better!" Li Zhihui shook her long, big wavy hair.
“It’s all because of Li Zhiyu! He said that keeping your hair too long takes a lot of time to arrange, and that when he was in school, the female students all had short hair. It was easier to manage and left time for studying.” Li Xiangru complained impatiently. In fact, she didn’t say that if she didn’t cut her hair short, I wouldn’t be her tutor anymore.
“My god! Li Zhiyu, are you from ancient times? Hair-ban was something from hundreds of years ago!” Li Zhihui exclaimed in alarm. “What are you trying to do, making my daughter look like a nun?”
"Oh, she’s already very pretty, so there’s no need to spend so much time getting dressed up, right?" I said while shoveling rice and picking up dishes. "By the way, give your daughter some pocket money now and then, okay?"
"Oh, so she doesn't have enough money?"
I thought for a moment. 'I see she wears the same few clothes and pants all the time. Girls in their growth spurt keep growing, so clothes become small quickly!'
"Yes... where is it growing?" Li Zhihui finished asking and burst into laughter together with Li Zhigang.
"Sis… you’re Li Xiangru’s mom! Can’t you be a bit more proper?" Alas, Li Zhi-hui and Li Zhi-gang really were siblings; they were both equally irreverent. On the other hand, Li Xiangru glared at me fiercely, probably annoyed that I had made her into the target of a joke. Wen Hui ate quietly, occasionally twitching the corners of her mouth in an accompanying smile; Auntie, used to her son and daughter being this way, ate with a calm expression.
We ate and chatted cheerfully. During the meal, Li Zhigang brought out a round of beers, and we all drank them heartily. When Li Zhigang brought out the second round, his mother blushed and said she wouldn't drink anymore. After finishing the second round, his mother and Li Xiangru were full and left the table. Li Zhigang opened some foreign liquor, and Wen Hui got up to stir-fry a few more dishes to go with the drinks.
My cousin, my sister, and I drank two whole bottles of whiskey before stopping. The three of us stumbled back to our rooms to rest, leaving Wen Hui alone to clean up the kitchen. I went back to my room and fell asleep immediately, not knowing how long I slept. In a daze, my throat churned, and I got up wanting to vomit.
I staggered across the square, wanting to get to the bathroom to throw up properly, but the bathroom door was tightly shut, with the sound of running water inside—I didn't know who was showering. If it was Li Xiangru, then she had gotten her revenge for my jab this afternoon. There was no time to make it back to the toilet in the storage room, so I vomited against the east wall, spewing out a huge mess of dinner in a splattering rush. After catching my breath, I vomited again; this time, I might have even thrown up lunch.
After vomiting it all out, I felt a little clearer. I wanted to go to the bathroom to rinse my mouth, but the bathroom door was still closed. I had no idea what time it was. I wanted to go around the east side to the hall to check the time, and just after passing Li Zhigang’s room, I heard wild, chaotic voices inside. If Auntie’s masturbation in the afternoon was a solo, then this performance now was of course a brilliant ensemble!
There was absolutely no flirtatious language, only the panting sounds of a man and the moans of a woman. Yet, both parties released their sounds without any restraint, the male and female voices overlapping and intertwining chaotically, accompanied by the crisp, clashing sounds of skin meeting skin. Just listening to the sounds, one could imagine the intense physical combat situation inside the room!
I had thought Li Zhigang and Wenhui's relationship was quite cold, but now it sounds like their sex life is quite compatible. However, with such passionate and unrestrained actions, aren't they afraid of disturbing Li Zhihui in the next room? Or if the aunt gets up to use the bathroom and passes by, even someone with grandchildren would still blush, right? Anyway, I don't know how they compromise in their daily lives, but if I keep standing here listening, I don't know how I'll compromise with my own brother. This courtyard house is really something, always making me eavesdrop through walls and then mentally fill in the blanks. I can manage my mental state this way, but my physical state can't be satisfied! I had no choice but to give up and walk back to my room.
As I walked, I kept rubbing my erect penis against my pants. The more I rubbed, the more it swelled; the more it swelled, the more forcefully I rubbed—it was an uncontrollable contradiction. Although I hadn't reached the point of eruption, the aftereffects of drinking so much alcohol were only now triggered by the erection: I desperately needed to pee! Before my penis could erupt, my bladder was about to burst. I endured, trying to walk to the storage room's toilet as quickly as possible without overstimulating my penis.
The storeroom now only had the manually operated light bulb hanging right above the toilet. Without turning on the light, the whole storeroom was pitch-black and you could barely see anything. No wonder Li Xiangru despised this toilet so much; she must have been afraid of the dark, or even thought of ghosts as a girl’s weak spot.
I groped my way to the toilet based on my faint memory, bumping my knee against something along the way and kicking hard objects several times underfoot, as clumsy and pathetic as the bumbling thieves in comedy movies. I endured the pain without cursing aloud, feeling my way all the way to the toilet, only to find the toilet door closed.
No way? We’ve come this far!
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