The little cup with the unglazed rim rested in Su Yuan’s hand, still carrying Lu Sili’s body heat, pleasantly warm.
“Thank you.”
Even though he was the one giving the gift, Lu Sili was somehow more embarrassed than Su Yuan. He gave a vague hum and said he was going to wash up.
Su Yuan reminded him, “Be careful. Don’t slip.”
“Okay.”
Watching Lu Sili return to his room, Su Yuan cradled the delicate cup in both hands, slipped on his slippers, and went to sit by the dining table.
He studied the cup carefully. At Grandma’s house, she had explained that it was not a valuable Northern Song piece fired in Jingdezhen, but a folk-kiln work from the Ming dynasty. It did not have much collector’s value, but the bluish-white porcelain looked like jade, the cup had been preserved beautifully, and she had liked it enough to acquire it.
Thinking about Lu Sili stealing something from his own family made Su Yuan laugh. His fingers lightly stroked the smooth wall of the cup.
When did he steal it?
The display cabinet was right in the living room. Su Yuan clearly remembered that Lu Sili had not gone back over there later.
Su Yuan cleared the central spot on his display shelf. The matching Hokkaido piece Lu Sili had given him had been there originally. He shifted it over and placed this bluish-white cup with the unglazed rim in the center instead.
He sat at the dining table admiring it for a long while. The delight and secret satisfaction in his heart were impossible to hide, and he was still smiling when he went back to his room to shower.
Because Su Yuan had not taken marriage leave after getting married, the senior doctors in his department had deliberately arranged a stretch of consecutive days off for him during Spring Festival so he could go home and spend time with his wife.
After resting at home for two days, New Year’s Eve arrived in the blink of an eye.
Since starting his health regimen, Lu Sili had to swallow a handful of pills every day. He did not know whether it was the reduced suppressants or one of the medications, but he slept deeply every night.
If he did not deliberately set an alarm, he could sleep until nine.
When Lu Sili got up, he saw a message from Li Ya saying that while eating dinner at home the night before, his parents had mentioned Situ He’s father.
Lu Sili called him back.
“What did they say?”
Li Ya had been woken from a hangover. His voice was muffled. “My mom said Situ He’s dad knows I’m friends with you and was asking around about your family background.”
“What did your parents say?”
“They didn’t know what was going on, so they just said they didn’t know.”
“Good.” Lu Sili rubbed his eyes. “Sorry for bothering Uncle and Auntie.”
“What’s there to apologize for? But it looks like word has gotten around.”
“It’s fine. Anyone with basic sense knows Situ He was in the wrong, right? Haven’t they heard of the Alpha-Omega Protection Act?”
Li Ya hesitated briefly on the other end before saying, “There are also plenty of people saying you staged the whole thing because you’re after Situ He’s family background and want to marry up.”
Lu Sili laughed. “Whatever.”
Li Ya sighed. “You… Anyway, are your parents coming back for New Year this year?”
“As far as I know, my mom isn’t.”
“Let’s all get together over the holiday. Old Xu and the others heard you married Su Yuan, and they all want to meet the two of you,” Li Ya said.
Old Xu was a high-school classmate who had been close with them back then. During their student days, the group often went everywhere together, and most of the people Lu Sili and Li Ya hung out with came from fairly wealthy families. In Licheng circles, they should have crossed paths often enough, but Lu Sili had deliberately avoided them. He had been back in China for more than two years and still had not met any of them.
His friends understood, but they still missed him. Now that they had heard he was married and presumably in a better place emotionally, they wanted to invite him out again.
Unfortunately, it was only a contract marriage.
Lu Sili thought for a moment. “We’ll see. Su Yuan might not want to go.”
Most of that old friend group were Alphas, with a small number of Omegas and not a single Beta. Su Yuan had barely had any presence at school, and an occasion with such large differences in secondary sex and wealth might make him uncomfortable.
Li Ya responded, “Fine. I’ll tell you once we set a time. If you don’t come, that’s okay too.”
“Thanks.”
“But I still have to visit your place separately. Your husband promised to make duck for me last time.”
Lu Sili: “…”
“I mean cook duck for me.”
Elio’s Notes: In Chinese, zuò yā (做鸭) can mean either cooking duck or, in slang, working as a male sex worker. Li Ya deliberately makes his invitation sound suggestive before clarifying that he means the dish.
After trading a few more lines of banter, they ended the call and Lu Sili left his bedroom.
There were red lucky-child magnets on the refrigerator in the living room. The heat-resistant mat on the dining table had been replaced by a red woven Chinese-knot design, and the flowers on the coffee table had become red pussy willow branches.
Even the doormat by the entryway had turned red.
Lu Sili started smiling for no apparent reason. His home looked like the Spring Festival display section of a hypermarket. All it needed now was Gong Xi Fa Cai playing in the background.
“Su Yuan?” Lu Sili called, but no one answered. He had probably gone out.
A little hungry, Lu Sili went into the kitchen looking for food. He found steaming xiaolongbao and corn in the steamer on the stove, with a cup of milk already poured beside the electric ceramic burner.
Sticky-Note Man was online again: Medium heat for four minutes. Remember to turn it off afterward. (I went to deliver New Year goods to my aunt.)
Lu Sili suddenly realized that Su Yuan had arranged New Year gifts for Grandma and for their own home, yet Lu Sili himself had never thought to prepare anything for Su Yuan’s aunt’s family.
By the time it occurred to him, it was already too late. Lu Sili felt a little guilty and could only plan to visit once Su Yuan’s aunt’s family returned from their hometown, then bring them proper New Year gifts.
While he was thinking, the milk finished heating. Lu Sili followed the sticky note’s instructions and switched off the ceramic burner.
As he ate breakfast, Lu Sili browsed his shopping app for suitable New Year gifts.
He did not have much gift-giving experience. After searching terms like “gifts for high-school students,” “gifts for elders,” and “gifts for women over forty” without finding anything satisfactory, he finally gave up on searching blindly.
What had Su Yuan given people?
For Grandma, he had chosen a good set of flower-arranging tools. Her old ones had been used for years and had grown dull, something Grandma herself had complained about.
For his mother, Su Yuan had chosen a simple black cashmere sweater with a round neckline. Thinking about it, that really was the kind of thing his mother would like.
Even Uncle Zou had received a pair of shoes with excellent slip resistance.
Those three gifts were sitting on the coffee table right now.
Lu Sili analyzed the pattern. Gift-giving was actually just like work: start from the recipient’s needs.
Do not ask what products exist. Ask what the other person needs or likes.
Lu Sili thought about what he knew of Su Yuan’s family structure. They had talked about it a little before. His aunt and uncle ran a small supermarket, and his younger sister was in her first year of high school.
If they ran a supermarket, they had to move stock and sit guarding the shop every day, which probably left them sore and tired. Lu Sili remembered that the company lounge had a massage chair. He had used it twice himself and thought it felt pretty good.
As for a high-school student, electronics were a safe bet. He chose the newest top-spec tablet.
“Not that hard.” Lu Sili unconsciously crossed one leg over the other, feeling very pleased with everything sitting in his shopping cart.
Because he did not know Su Yuan’s aunt’s address, he could not place the orders yet.
Lu Sili set down his phone and finished the milk left in his glass.
When he stood up, he noticed an extra cup on the display cabinet beside him, the one he had stolen while slightly tipsy the night before when everyone else had gone into the kitchen.
Now sober, Lu Sili stared at the cup whose proper name he still could not remember and laughed at himself.
How old was he, stealing things from an elder’s house?
All because Su Yuan had said he liked it.
Only belatedly did Lu Sili realize that all these strange little things he had been doing lately, including buying New Year gifts, were things he had learned from Su Yuan.
How could someone who was treated with such care stay cold forever?
Lu Sili could not quite describe how he felt about this change. Part of him thought life would become much more troublesome in the future, while another part looked forward to it, looked forward to receiving more love and giving more of it.
After cleaning up the dishes he had used, Lu Sili called Fiona and asked when she would arrive and whether he should pick her up from the airport.
To his surprise, Fiona said, “I just landed. I’ll take a taxi back myself.”
“Did you have fun?”
Fiona laughed. “Better than working.”
The two had known each other for years. Fiona had been one of Grandma’s last students. Back then, family circumstances had nearly forced her to drop out, and Grandma had spent a long time persuading her otherwise, then helped pay her tuition. Little by little, despite the age difference, they became close friends.
Fiona was three years older than Lu Sili, more like an older sister. After graduating, she worked in publicity and promotion at a domestic film company. Once Lu Sili returned to China, she joined F&A as his assistant and became effectively second-in-command in the Distribution Division.
It had also been Fiona who suggested that Lu Sili go abroad to study after differentiating into an Omega.
Su Yuan came home a little after one in the afternoon.
They had agreed to spend two days at Grandma’s house for New Year, so the two packed a few changes of clothes, gathered the gifts they had prepared, and drove over.
It had not snowed again these past two days, but temperatures remained low and snow still covered many places. Behind Grandma’s villa was the mountain park, where plenty of snow remained and the scenery was beautiful.
Driving, Lu Sili sighed softly. “It really is beautiful here.”
Su Yuan turned to look out the window. “Yeah. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. Each season has its own charm.”
“Hm? Do you come around here often?” Lu Sili asked.
Su Yuan paused slightly, then nodded. “Mm. The mountain park nearby is great for running. I often run here from the hospital, then run back home.”
“You can really run,” Lu Sili laughed.
“You used to say you biked to and from school, but it never felt like enough, so you’d ride an extra loop around the park to make it up to fifty kilometers before going home.”
Lu Sili frowned slightly. “Did I? Strange. I can’t remember that at all.”
After two turns off the tree-lined road, they reached the villa district where Grandma lived. When Lu Sili and Su Yuan arrived, Grandma and Fiona were in the courtyard looking at the mountain scenery behind the house.
“You’re back?” Grandma smiled happily. Whenever traditional holidays came around, both children returned, and the old house became lively again.
This year there was Su Yuan too, which naturally made her even happier.
The two carried bags and bags of gifts, fruit, and drinks inside.
New Year’s Eve dinner started early. At five, while the sky was still light, the family was already gathered around the large round table ready to eat.
Fireworks and firecrackers were prohibited in the city, but there were plenty on television, which helped create some atmosphere.
Grandma opened a bottle of wine she had been saving.
“Everyone is staying here tonight. Except for Lili, drink as much as you want.” Grandma was happy enough that she added impulsively, “Open whatever bottle you like.”
The restricted Lu Sili asked mischievously, “Even your Maofenjin Moutai?”
Elio’s Notes: Maofenjin (茅粉金) is a limited-edition Moutai commemorative liquor; Grandma is guarding one of her prized bottles.
Grandma erupted in fury and nearly slammed down her chopsticks. “You little brat!”
Everyone burst out laughing at Grandma’s reaction.
Grandma loved drinking and collecting alcohol too, but there were a few treasured bottles she absolutely refused to open.
Lu Sili and Fiona teased Grandma for being a drunkard. Su Yuan smiled and defended her, saying moderate drinking was fine and that being in a good mood was one of the best things for health.
Lu Sili laughed and called Su Yuan a flatterer. Su Yuan told him he did not understand.
The table was warm and cheerful. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, a call came from Lu Sili’s mother, Xia Lizhi.
She was currently working on a project, and under normal circumstances it was extremely difficult to make personal calls while on assignment. Unless someone sent an urgent contact request and she applied for permission afterward, she could not call outside, and the entire conversation would be recorded and monitored.
Grandma exchanged a few greetings with her and told her to take care of herself and not work too hard.
“Lili, you take it. Your mother misses you.” Grandma handed the phone to Lu Sili.
She knew there was distance between her daughter and grandson. There was little an elder could do except say a few good words between them.
“Hello, Mom.” Lu Sili took the call.
It was very quiet on Xia Lizhi’s side. Her voice sounded a little tired, as calm as ever. “Happy New Year, Lili.”
“Happy New Year, Mom.”
“Work going smoothly?”
“Pretty well. You?”
“Me too.” As usual, Xia Lizhi asked after his health. “Feeling better lately?”
“Much better.”
“That’s good.”
The topic ended there.
It was always like this. For a very long time now, their conversations had been reduced to these few things.
“Do you want to talk to Grandma again?” Lu Sili smoothly changed the subject.
“No.” Xia Lizhi answered quickly, then fell silent for several seconds. “Let me talk to Su Yuan.”
Lu Sili was a little surprised. His mother disliked dealing with relationships even more than he did, and last time she had seemed rather cold toward Su Yuan.
Still, he handed the phone over. “My mom wants to talk to you.”
“Okay.” Su Yuan took the phone and sat upright with respectful formality even though she was only on the other end of a call.
“Mm. Happy New Year, Mom. You too. Okay.”
For several seconds after that, he said nothing, then answered, “Yes. Yes, I understand.”
It sounded like more than a greeting.
After the call, Su Yuan handed the phone back to Grandma. They exchanged their final goodbyes and hung up.
Lu Sili had only been allowed half a glass of red wine, which was already gone. He held the empty glass and sniffed it. “What did you two talk about?”
Su Yuan smiled. “She wished me a happy New Year and asked me to pass the greeting on to my aunt’s family too.”
“Oh. All right.”
After the call with his mother, the family settled onto the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala, chatting here and there. The atmosphere was pretty good.
Grandma was getting older and could not stay up late, so eventually only Lu Sili, Su Yuan, and Fiona remained.
The three of them decided to stay up for the New Year and, bored out of their minds, started playing cards.
Fiona shuffled expertly. “Truth or dare?”
She desperately wanted to gossip about the current state of their relationship.
“No!” Lu Sili and Su Yuan shouted in perfect unison.
Both of them had “won’t tell the truth, too scared to do the dare” written all over their faces, so Fiona had no choice but to give up.
Fiona looked like an elite white-collar professional most of the time, but she was actually a tabletop-game master and nearly unbeatable at drinking games. An hour later, Lu Sili had drunk so much water he kept running to the bathroom, while Su Yuan’s gaze had already gone unfocused even though he kept pretending he was perfectly sober.
At last they made it past midnight. The three went out into the courtyard and watched the New Year fireworks going off in the distant square. Another year had passed.
The fireworks were beautiful. Lu Sili watched them almost entranced. He preferred seeing fireworks from this far away, without the explosive booms or the noisy cheering of crowds.
Just watching quietly like this.
Su Yuan did too.
“Though they’re not looking at the same thing.” Fiona smiled faintly. She stood slightly behind them and could see both men clearly.
Lu Sili might be too close to the situation to notice, but Fiona certainly was not that dense.
Three people already past thirty dragged their exhausted bodies back inside to sleep.
Lu Sili and Su Yuan had packed some clothes when they came. Uncle Zou had carried their things to the room when they arrived, and neither of them had gone up there yet.
Fiona’s room was on the first floor. Lu Sili’s room and his mother’s were on the second.
“Let’s go upstairs.” Standing on the steps, Lu Sili looked down at Su Yuan. He himself had not been drinking much, but he could tell Su Yuan was a little drunk, the kind of drunk where the person insisted he was not drunk at all.
One of Su Yuan’s hands rested on the stair rail. He raised his head slightly to look at Lu Sili.
What a wonderful angle. Looking up at Lu Sili made him feel happy, made life seem full of hope.
When Lu Sili saw Su Yuan staying silent, he walked back down and gently tugged at his wrist. “Feeling sick?”
Su Yuan shook his head lightly. “No.”
The two went upstairs and entered Lu Sili’s room.
The room faced the small garden downstairs and had a little balcony. The wooden floor was old but beautifully maintained. The desk was large, the shelves stuffed with all kinds of books, and several different airplane and warship models sat among them.
It had been a long time since Lu Sili slept here. He looked around to make sure there was nothing embarrassing lying out and told Su Yuan, “Just wash up quickly. Nothing complicated.”
“Okay.”
There was no en suite bathroom. Lu Sili let Su Yuan go first. Su Yuan returned quickly, already wearing the pajamas he had brought from home.
When Su Yuan came in, Lu Sili happened to be sitting at the edge of the bed looking through little objects in the bedside cabinet, so Su Yuan sat down on the small sofa beside the bookcase.
Until this point, the atmosphere had been easy and natural. For some reason, it suddenly turned intimate.
Maybe because the fact that they were about to sleep in the same bed was now right in front of them.
“How about I sleep in the guest room next door?” Su Yuan suggested.
His hair was not completely dry and fell messily over his forehead. For some reason, his eyes looked a little aggrieved, as though Lu Sili had bullied him.
Lu Sili laughed. “The bed isn’t even made. It’s fine. It’s only two nights. If we sleep separately, Grandma and Uncle Zou will definitely notice.”
“All right.” Su Yuan smiled. “Go wash up, then.”
Lu Sili took longer. When he came back, Su Yuan still had not gotten into bed. Instead, he had taken a book from the shelf and was reading.
“Not sleeping?”
Su Yuan looked up. Without his glasses, his face looked harmless.
“Mm. You sleep first. I’ll read for a while.”
Lu Sili secretly smiled, pulled back the covers, and got into bed, using his phone to answer New Year greetings from work contacts.
As he replied, he kept sneaking glances at Su Yuan.
He’s obviously so sleepy he can barely keep his eyes open, yet he’s still pretending to read.
After more than ten minutes, Lu Sili set down his phone and lay on his side. He could not stop laughing under the covers. To let Su Yuan feel safe enough to get into bed, Lu Sili, who never snored, had no choice but to produce a deliberately terrible little fake snore five minutes after lying down.
“Haa-huff…”
Once Su Yuan believed Lu Sili was asleep, he finally switched off the lamp. He gently lifted the blanket and slipped underneath. The bed was not large, and even with both of them staying as far apart as possible, they could still feel each other’s body heat.
Even Su Yuan’s breathing was quiet, as though he were afraid of waking Lu Sili.
Lu Sili had not done something this childish in years, but suddenly he felt a wicked little urge to tease him.
“Good night,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan: “…”