After leaving the company, I went to Zhuomei Shopping Center and bought a lot of children’s toys and clothes at a baby products counter. Then I called Fangyuan to tell him that I was going to visit him tonight. At that time, Fangyuan was still working overtime at the company. I used this waiting period to walk around the mall again. Judging from appearances, Zhuomei still stood above Poly Department Store as Suzhou’s undisputed top shopping center.
Half an hour later, Fangyuan finally walked out from the staff entrance carrying his briefcase. I walked towards him, and he smiled as he saw the shopping bag in my hand, asking, “Why did you buy so many toys? Are they for you to play with?”
“Of course not! … They’re for your unborn child.”
Fangyuan put his arm around my shoulder and continued smiling, “It’s only been two months, isn’t it a bit too early for you to buy these toys?”
“Toys are something you can never have too much of. If you like, I can take care of all the toys for your child in the future!”
Fangyuan replied half-jokingly, half-seriously, “With you doing things like this now, when you and Mi Zong have children, if I, as their uncle, don’t take care of the milk powder and diapers, it would be really unreasonable…”
Thinking about the day when Mi Cai might carry our child, I couldn’t help but feel delighted. I patted Fangyuan’s shoulder and laughed heartily, “Doesn’t this show that I’m really good at preparing in advance? Milk powder and diapers are way more expensive than toys!”
Fangyuan smiled helplessly, then changed the topic and said to me, “Let’s order some dishes at a restaurant today. Yan Yan is pregnant and I don’t want her to cook and inhale cooking fumes.”
“You can just make the decision yourself. Anyway, I just want to hang out with you and Yan Yan. What we eat is not a big deal.”
Fangyuan nodded, took out his phone, called a restaurant, ordered the food, and then we left Zhuomei together and drove to his place.
…
About 20 minutes later, Fangyuan and I arrived at his home. After ringing the doorbell, Yan Yan, wearing casual clothes, opened the door for us. I immediately reached out to touch her belly, asking eagerly as I did so, “How is it? Can you feel it moving yet?”
Yan Yan slapped my hand away and gave me a glare, saying, “Why don’t you ask if it can talk yet?”
“I’m being serious here, asking you a question. Can you please stop joking around!” I said, trying again to touch her belly, but she swiped at my hand with her nails, scaring me into pulling it back.
Fangyuan placed his briefcase on the coffee table, took a sip of tea, and said to Yan Yan, “Zhaoyang is turning over a new leaf. He’s probably secretly hoping to have a child with Mi Zong too. You need to understand his feelings as a future father!”
“It’s impossible for a fetus under two months to be moving around in the womb already! …Zhaoyang really has some issues with his understanding of basic common sense! …Take your hands off me, you’re so annoying!” Yan Yan exclaimed, swatting away my hand as I tried to touch her belly.
…
We chatted and laughed with Fangyuan and Yan Yan for nearly an hour when the restaurant finally delivered our food. Then Fangyuan and I started drinking beer while Yan Yan had some fruit milk. Sitting in the living room near the rooftop, I suddenly noticed that we had a panoramic view of the city below, glittering under the night sky. I felt myself getting more relaxed and carefree, and I kept drinking beer as if it were warm water.
Yan Yan asked me, “Zhaoyang, when are you and Mi Zong getting married? …If things move quickly, maybe I could even exchange some pregnancy experiences with her!”
“Of course, that will have to wait until she comes back from the U.S. However, the possibility of exchanging pregnancy experiences is definitely achievable!”
Fangyuan joined in, “I can testify to this. In this aspect, Zhaoyang has always been outstanding!”
As the topic opened up, Yan Yan started gossiping again, lowering her voice to ask me, “Zhaoyang, tell me secretly, have you and Mi had that kind of experience?”
I picked up my beer and took a sip, asking, “What kind?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Have you or haven’t you?”
I hesitated a bit and replied, “Big sister, you and I are of different genders. You’re asking me such a question directly, which makes it really awkward for me to answer!”
Yan Yan gave me a glare and said, “You’ve been pretending since the day I met you.”
I burst into laughter, and Fangyuan followed up by asking, “Let me ask you then, have you and Mi Zong had any improper experiences?”
“You said it yourself, it’s improper. Considering how upright and conservative I am, how could something like that happen to me… Actually, you two, as a couple, have been as gossipy as ever since leaving university. What happened between Mi Cai and me in bed has nothing to do with you two, right?”
Yan Yan’s face no longer showed a joking expression. She sincerely said to me, “Fangyuan and I are just worried about you. We’ve seen how you’ve been through these years. If you and Mi Zong can really have a happy ending, as your friends, we will finally feel at ease… In short, no matter how much we say, we just want you, Zhaoyang, to be happy and live a good life!”
I felt warmth in my heart. I raised my glass again and drank all the beer in one go, then wiped the remaining foam from the corner of my mouth and said, “Don’t worry. The day of our marriage won’t be far away. Mi Cai and I have already reached an agreement on this.”
Yan Yan nodded, chatted with me for a while longer, and then ended dinner before Fangyuan and I did, since we were still drinking alcohol, naturally prolonging our mealtime.
After Yan Yan left, Fangyuan and I each poured another full glass and drank it all again. Looking out the window at the city under the night sky, I lit a cigarette and said to Fangyuan, “Do you know what life is? …For me, right now having a drink with my brother and sharing some heartfelt words—that is life… Actually, I don’t have many thoughts or desires for this world. Living simply, having a brother to drink with, and having a family to rely on—that, in my eyes, is happiness!”
Fangyuan also took a cigarette from the pack, lit it, took a deep puff, and said to me, “All of what you just said has already been realized in my life!”
“Then do you think that’s happiness?”
Fangyuan’s expression was somewhat complex. After a long pause, he flicked the ash from his cigarette and replied somewhat blankly, “But this so-called simple life also has its prerequisites. After all, this is a world supported by material things. Sometimes we are all living helplessly… ” He paused, looked at Yan Yan sitting on the sofa watching TV, smiled, and added, “However, I know how to be content. For me, the current state of life is already a great blessing!”
I patted his shoulder sincerely and said, “Really, this is exactly what my brother wants to hear… People should be content and find joy in that. What you have in this city is already enough to make many people your age envious!”
Fangyuan raised his glass and clinked it with mine, then joked with me, “According to my current standard of living, I’ve barely escaped poverty and reached a modest level of prosperity. Compared to you, my promising brother, I’m really far behind… I heard that your company, Lukuo, invests millions in any project these days!”
I felt momentarily dazed. Actually, in this city, up to now I still don’t own a house of my own. Those signs of upward progress are only apparent to others’ eyes. I really need to stay sober-minded to feel my own joys and sorrows! Then to reflect, how exactly did I come to possess all of this right now!
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