When Jiang Yuan received Qilian’s call, he was in the middle of a spat with his wife. He was so irritated that his voice carried a sharp edge the moment he picked up.
He had been away for about ten days and had truly missed home.
Before returning, he had planned to take two days off to spend time with his wife and child, perhaps taking them out somewhere. When he saw them every day, he didn't think much of it, but after being apart for a few days, he found himself missing them quite a bit.
He had returned home full of joy, only to be met with a cold shoulder. He didn't know what had upset his wife, He Mei, but she refused to give him a pleasant look. She was dismissive when she spoke and wouldn't let him near her at night. Gradually, his heart began to cool.
They had been married for nearly ten years. He believed he had done right by the family; he had no vices, earned enough to support the three of them, and didn't mess around with other women.
He was fully committed to living a good life, but this woman was simply too narrow-minded. She was always getting angry, pulling a long face for reasons he couldn't fathom, and turning her back on him. No matter how much he asked, she would just keep her head down, lips pursed in silence, refusing to be swayed by either kindness or firmness. Even the warmest heart would eventually turn to ice. He truly didn't understand why a perfectly good life had to be lived this way.
Back when they were introduced through a matchmaker, he had been instantly taken by He Mei’s looks. She had a small nose and small eyes, like tiny osmanthus grains set into a palm-sized face. When she smiled, she had two deep dimples; she was so sweet it was almost cloying.
He admitted he couldn't really call what he felt for her "love," but then again, a rough man like him didn't really know what love was supposed to be.
That dark braid from his youth and the fluttering of his heart had long since blurred into the mists of time.
He felt that the fact he had married her and gave her all the money he earned explained everything. Anything else was just fluff.
He hadn't seen that other person in nearly ten years. Even if her name occasionally crossed his mind, it meant nothing.
He didn't understand why women had to obsess over such things. Every time it was mentioned, He Mei’s face would flush and her eyes would well up with tears, looking at him as if he had committed some heinous crime. He was truly exhausted from explaining himself.
Occasionally, he felt very envious of Qilian. How nice it must be to stay unmarried.
But then, his home was always kept spotless, he didn't have to worry about the child at all, and his parents were well cared for. When the couple was in harmony, he felt that being married was better after all.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice gruff.
"What's wrong? Did you swallow gunpowder?" Qilian asked.
"Your sister-in-law is being annoying, day in and day out. Just get to the point."
"Come out for dinner tonight. My treat. Bring your wife and Qiqi."
"Bring them my ass. As if I care."
Qilian advised him, "That’s enough. Why is a grown man throwing a tantrum at his own woman? Just show her some affection and she’ll come around."
"What the hell do you know, you eternal bachelor?"
Jiang Yuan hung up the phone with a string of curses.
His wife and son had been in the kid's room for half the afternoon. He walked over and stood at the doorway, looking in.
His wife, He Mei, wasn't tall and was thin—weighing less than ninety pounds. Other women gained weight after having children, but his wife only seemed to get thinner. Looking at her like this, she seemed tiny; from the back, she looked like a high school student.
His son, Qiqi, was already in second grade. Having inherited the Jiang family genes, he was taller than the sixth graders at his school and already looked like a young lad.
He was currently stuffing books into a small backpack, oblivious to the undercurrents between his parents. Seeing Jiang Yuan, he said happily, "Dad, we're going to Mathematical Olympiad class. Mom said she's taking me out to eat after class today. What are you going to do?"
Jiang Yuan glanced at his wife’s back and said to his son, "Qiqi, Uncle Qilian is treating us to dinner tonight. Why don't you two come with me?"
Qiqi had a great relationship with Qilian and wanted to go, but he was closer to his mother and only listened to her. He peeked at his mother’s back.
He Mei kept her back to them, tidying the books scattered on Qiqi’s desk. She tapped the books against the desk to align them, over and over again. Without turning around, she said, "Qiqi, hurry up, we’re going to be late for class. After class, Mommy will take you to McDonald's."
Qiqi looked at his father, not daring to speak.
Jiang Yuan said to him, "Just focus on your class."
Feeling the futility of it all, he turned back to the bedroom to lie down and scroll through his phone. A moment later, he heard the sound of the door closing.
For a moment, he felt very lonely, but then he felt a sense of freedom.
***
When Qilian walked out the door with his arm around Yu Mo, the sun had just dipped below the horizon. A vast expanse of sunset clouds painted the entire skyline a fiery red.
Yu Mo was wearing a pair of sunglasses, her legs feeling weak as she walked. Her current state was barely different from how she looked during her recent hangover. She now understood why Qilian had been so angry when he saw her like that.
She had been dug out of bed by Qilian, clutching the sheets and refusing to get up.
"I don't want to go. Those are your friends, go by yourself."
Her voice was pitched high and airy. A woman who had just crossed that threshold with a man underwent a complete psychological shift; the ends of her sentences seemed to float up to the sky.
Qilian, unusually unmoved, pulled open her wardrobe to pick out clothes.
"Be good. Go meet them today and officially get to know everyone. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to."
He pulled out shorts and short skirts, glanced at them, and put them back. Finally, he pulled out a long, white cotton dress that reached her ankles and had no defined waist. He looked at it and was finally satisfied.
After a thought, he asked her, "What about the things underneath?"
Yu Mo pointed to the top drawer.
He pulled the drawer open and saw a dizzying array of silk and lace. He hooked a tiny piece of fabric with his finger and turned to Yu Mo suspiciously. "What is this?"
His tone sounded like a husband who had caught his wife cheating, his expression full of doubt.
The thing in his hand consisted of only a patch of lace and a thin string.
Yu Mo couldn't help but laugh. "Underwear."
His expression soured. "Underwear? What kind of underwear is this? When do you wear it? What’s the difference between this and wearing nothing?"
"You don't understand. It's for a seamless look, to go with silk or tight pencil skirts. Why do you have such a wicked look on your face?"
Qilian threw the scrap of fabric back and asked, "Every time I saw you in a tight skirt, you were wearing this stuff underneath?"
Yu Mo said yes.
He looked very displeased. "You’d better not let anyone else see! It's fine to wear that stuff at home, but that's it. Aren't there any other pants that can replace it?"
"There are, but I don't like them. I like these because they look good," she said, tilting her head provocatively.
He had better realize sooner rather than later that no one could interfere with her choice of clothing.
He didn't say anything more and picked out a set of pink cotton underwear with white trim.
Yu Mo teased, "So you like this innocent style."
A grown man who could lift a hundred pounds with one hand was now walking over with a set of pink underwear.
Yu Mo’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
Qilian feigned a fierce look. "What are you laughing at? I’d prefer you wore nothing at all. I just saw that those scraps of yours looked uncomfortable, so I picked something that looked a bit better."
Yu Mo raised an eyebrow. "In that case, I won't wear any. The dress is big anyway, so you can't really tell."
Qilian walked over, tossed the underwear onto the bed, and scooped her up to take her to the bathroom.
As he bounced her slightly in his arms, he whispered fiercely into her ear, "If you want me to keep you tethered at home, then keep acting up. Just keep it up."
After a hurried shower, Qilian even helped her get dressed.
Qilian prided himself on being dexterous, but facing her small garments, he felt completely out of his depth. It didn't help that his "ancestor" wasn't cooperating. "You pinched my skin! Looser, looser... not that loose, you can go one hook further in. You have to pull it down a bit..."
He broke into a sweat. Asking his rough, massive hands to deal with such a tiny clasp was truly the death of him.
By the time they finally made it out the door, the sun had already set.
Standing together, the difference in their sizes was immense. Qilian was a full head taller than her. She had a slender build, and while Qilian himself was lean, his shoulders were broad and his arms powerful. By comparison, she looked especially petite and delicate.
Qilian’s large hand rested on the back of Yu Mo’s neck—a possessive gesture that left her with almost no room to move as she was ushered forward.
Qilian looked down and asked, "Can't walk?"
Yu Mo wouldn't admit it, as she had been the one confidently claiming she wasn't tired earlier. "No, it's just... a bit uncomfortable."
She felt a burning sensation.
Qilian’s thumb gently stroked the small patch of skin at the back of her neck, coaxing her. "Stop trying to be brave. Rest up and recover. Next time, I won't let you run wild like that. It won't matter if you cry and beg me."
This was their first time walking together in broad daylight—no longer as neighbors or friends, but in a posture of possession. That feeling made Qilian’s heart feel like it was on a swing, swaying back and forth. Just thinking about it was enough to set him on fire again.
The sidewalks in the Lianhua area were incredibly narrow, cluttered with all sorts of haphazardly parked electric scooters. People had to weave in and out as they walked.
Qilian’s hand never left Yu Mo for a second. He didn't allow her to be more than two centimeters away. When an electric scooter suddenly cut in, he grabbed her waist and pulled her to the side.
People kept greeting him along the way.
"Old Qi, heading out?"
"Little Qi, haven't seen you in a while."
"Qilian, let's grab a drink some other day!"
He smiled like a peacock. This man, usually so cold and detached, actually gave people a bit of a fright. Love truly changes a person.
They passed a small shop with glass doors covered in various snacks and two large freezers sitting out on the sidewalk. The proprietress sat on a small stool with a waist bag, collecting money.
Yu Mo said, "I want a popsicle."
She had no pockets, and her phone was tucked into Qilian’s trouser pocket.
Qilian glanced at her, applied a bit of pressure with the hand on the back of her neck, and she was ushered forward, stumbling slightly. The little shop was quickly left behind.
"Hey! Why are you like this? I'll pay for it myself!"
"It's not that I won't buy it for you. You can have one when we get back. You just... finished, so don't eat anything cold."
For the first thirty years of her life, Yu Mo had grown up wild and free. Rarely did anyone around her tell her she couldn't do this or that. Her parents and Xue Shen were all too busy to bother. She used to think that the thing she could tolerate least was someone controlling her.
Yet at this moment, watching the red light flash at the intersection and the crowds of people hurrying through the narrow streets, she suddenly felt that being "managed" brought a grounded, mundane kind of happiness.
***
