Chapter 59 "I've already warmed the bed for you, come on..."
Wang Jinxu not only did not support, but even strongly opposed, this marriage.
She was the last person in the family to know about the arranged marriage. She usually lived a secluded life in Jiangcheng, and no one would bother her with something that was still uncertain. It wasn't until a few days ago, when she was having dinner with Fang Zhiheng and Ying Zhen, that she learned from them that Fang Xingu was going to marry Jing Yitong.
Wang Jinxu immediately lost her temper. She didn't know what Fang Zhiheng and Ying Zhen were thinking, but the thing she regretted most in her life was asking her son to marry Ying's daughter. It wasn't that she disliked Ying Zhen, but through this incident, Wang Jinxu realized how tragic a marriage without love could be.
Admittedly, Fang Zhiheng and Ying Zhen are now deeply in love, but in the early stages of their marriage, they rarely smiled. Their marriage was filled with perfunctory formalities and lacked any affection. After Ying Zhen gave birth to Fang Xin Gu, she hurriedly went abroad to pursue her career, and Fang Zhiheng only occasionally returned home to see his child. The two were neither like husband and wife nor like parents, which only made Fang Xin Gu suffer.
Even later, Fang Zhiheng and Ying Zhen developed feelings for each other, but for a long time they were too ashamed to admit it. They were in their thirties and stumbled for several years before finally opening up to each other and turning their relationship into a real marriage.
However, not every marriage that comes together through a political alliance can have a happy ending like theirs.
These two people, knowing full well how terrible their previous marriages were, still pushed their child into a fire pit. Was it just because they knew that Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong had a good relationship?
Fang Xingu grew up with Wang Jinxu. Wang Jinxu knew him very well and knew that the child was not good at expressing himself and had completely inherited his parents' stubborn personality, perhaps even more so.
Over the years, Wang Jinxu's mindset has changed. She thinks that if Fang Xingu doesn't understand love or doesn't want to get married and have children like his father did when he was young, then it's fine for him to live his life alone. It's better than being dragged into an arranged marriage for no reason.
As it turned out, things turned out the way Wang Jinxu least wanted to see, so she had to come to Beijing to check on Fang Xingu's condition.
.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Wang Jinxu finally arrived.
When Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong opened the door and saw her, they both called out, "Grandma."
Wang Jinxu glared at them and said coldly, "You two heartless bastards, you don't even know how to go home and visit your families."
Jing Yitong didn't dare to say anything, and Fang Xingu rubbed his nose embarrassedly. He hadn't been home for a long time, but he had been busy with the album lately and hadn't had time to go home.
Fang Xingu looked at the middle-aged woman behind Wang Jinxu and nodded, saying, "Teacher Chu, thank you for bringing my grandmother here."
This teacher, Ms. Chu, was Wang Jinxu's former student. The two had a very good relationship, and Ms. Chu was always the one who hosted Wang Jinxu when she came to Beijing.
Upon hearing this, Teacher Chu smiled and said, "You're too kind. It's inconvenient for you and Xiao Tong to pick up Teacher Wang from the airport, so I can do it."
Teacher Chu didn't linger. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the two, she quickly left.
Fang Xin welcomed Wang Jinxu inside, saying, "Grandma, please sit down for a while."
Wang Jinxu didn't move. Instead, she stood still, squinting at her grandson who was now almost a head taller than her. After a while, she said, "You've gained weight."
"Huh?" It wasn't a question, but a statement. Fang Xingu was stunned by her sudden question and subconsciously said, "Oh, yes, a little. I weighed myself a few days ago and I did gain five or six pounds."
Wang Jinxu reached out and pinched his cheek. It felt nice to the touch, and his complexion looked good too.
Wang Jinxu still remembered that a few months ago, Xin Gu returned to Jiangcheng from Shanghai. At that time, he had just recovered from a serious illness and had a head full of white hair. He looked thin and haggard. Even though he pretended to be fine, you could still see that he was in a state of dejection.
On the contrary, Fang Xin looks quite energetic now, and the flesh on his cheeks has returned; he looks to be in good condition.
Fang Xingu felt uneasy under her gaze and asked uncertainly, "Am I too fat to be photogenic?"
Wang Jinxu shook her head: "No, it's just right as it is now."
Jing Yitong returned after making the tea and said with a smile, "Isn't it better like this now? I've been taking good care of you with good food and drink for over a month, of course you have to gain some weight, otherwise all my efforts would be in vain."
Fang Xingu muttered, "The way you're talking makes it sound like I'm some kind of cat or dog."
Jing Yitong nodded in agreement: "Forget about the puppy, we already have Jing Quan Quan. You'll have to play the kitten then."
Fang Xingu smiled silently and punched him lightly.
Wang Jinxu looked at Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong strangely, feeling that the relationship between the two brothers seemed to have changed yet remained the same, but she couldn't figure it out for the time being.
Jing Yitong seemed oblivious to the strange look in Wang Jinxu's eyes. He asked with concern, "Grandma, how's the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal going?"
"It's alright, we just finished the third rehearsal, and tomorrow is the fourth," she said, then asked the two of them, "Neither of you received an invitation to the Spring Festival Gala?"
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this. Even though Wang Jinxu doesn't follow entertainment news much, she knows that these two kids are popular, talented, and have connections, so the gala would definitely invite them.
Fang Xingu shrugged: "I declined. I've already discussed with the company that the album will be released in June, and the time is a bit tight. I really don't have time to go."
Jing Yitong: "When they invited me before, I was afraid it would conflict with my work with a film crew, so I declined."
The two of them declined the event that so many people would flock to, but Wang Jinxu didn't say anything. She had been to many galas and didn't think that being able to attend one more time was any special.
Wang Jinxu casually strolled around the house. This was her first time visiting Jing Yitong's home in Beijing. The house was certainly not as big as the Jing family's old house in Jiangcheng, but it was much cozier. Everywhere here were traces of the two of them living together.
It's not that the house is particularly messy; Fang Xin Gu and Jing Yi Tong are both quite clean. However, their traces are still unavoidable in the house, from the two people's coats hanging on the floor-standing coat rack, to the fluffy cushions slumped on the sofa, the sheet music and scripts on the coffee table, and the photo of the two of them in the frame.
Wang Jinxu picked up the photo frame and looked at it for a few moments. Inside was a dried rose and a group photo. The photo must have been taken a few years ago by Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong, because Quan Quan in the photo was still a little girl, chubby and round, like a little glutinous rice ball, being held in Fang Xingu's arms, but her eyes were looking longingly at the snacks in Jing Yitong's hand next to her.
In this photo, neither the two people nor the dog are looking at the camera, yet the scene is surprisingly warm and beautiful.
Fang Xingu followed beside her and introduced: "This flower was from Su Bo's wedding bouquet. My brother caught her bouquet, but it was difficult to carry the whole bouquet, so he picked one flower and brought it back. Then I dried it."
Jing Yitong added, "Later we wanted to try putting dried flowers in a frame like we do online, but it looked empty and not very nice, so we put a photo in instead."
Wang Jinxu hummed in agreement: "That's good."
Fang Xingu breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he was a little afraid of Wang Jinxu, after all, Wang Jinxu was always serious and rarely smiled, and he had been controlled by her a lot when he was a child.
The two accompanied Wang Jinxu on a tour of the house. As it was almost dinnertime, Jing Yitong went to the kitchen to cook, while Fang Xingu sat leisurely in the living room with Wang Jinxu.
Even Wang Jinxu couldn't stand it anymore: "You live at Xiaotong's house and still have him cook for you every day?"
Fang Xingu defended himself: "I didn't make him cook every day. Sometimes when he was busy, I would stay home and... uh, order takeout and wait for him to come back or something."
Fang Xingu's voice grew weaker and weaker as he spoke. He had been secretly working hard to learn how to cook, and he was determined to make sure Jing Yitong could eat his cooking on New Year's Day!
Wang Jinxu: ...
Wang Jinxu sighed. She came with some dissatisfaction towards Jing Yitong, but after less than half an hour, she found that the situation was completely different from what she had imagined. At least Fang Xingu seemed to be in a good mood, much better than when he returned to Jiangcheng last year, when he looked like he was about to die. That dissatisfaction had long since dissipated.
She was a little puzzled. Could it be that the relationship between the two children had become so good that even something as big as a marriage alliance wouldn't affect them?
But she clearly remembered that a few years ago, the relationship between the two of them had indeed gradually faded. At that time, she sighed for a long time, thinking that even as they grew up, they could not avoid drifting apart.
But now they act like nothing happened and have returned to their old ways.
As Wang Jinxu was pondering this, Fang Xingu suddenly asked her, "By the way, Grandma, are you going to stay here recently? I'll go tidy up the guest room."
Wang Jinxu hadn't originally planned to stay here. At first, she even considered taking Fang Xingu with her so he could find another place to live. But now, Wang Jinxu was a little confused. She felt she needed more time to reassess whether Fang Xingu should marry Jing Yitong, so she changed her mind, nodded in agreement, and decided to stay here for one night first.
Fang Xingu: "Okay, I'll go tidy up the guest room."
Fang Xingu changed the sheets and blankets. This house only has two bedrooms. He has been living in this guest bedroom recently. Since Wang Jinxu is going to stay here, he will have to squeeze into the master bedroom with Jing Yitong for the next few nights.
When Fang Xingu finished tidying up the room and came out, he saw Wang Jinxu looking at his sheet music. Fang Xingu sat down next to her and said, "This is a new song from my album."
Wang Jinxu recognized it at a glance: "Is it your song 'Silence Has a Voice'?"
Fang Xingu was somewhat surprised: "Grandma, you actually follow fashion trends?"
Wang Jinxu glanced at him and said, "Whether I pay attention to trends or not is another matter, but you're my grandson, so of course I care." Besides, this song is really popular right now. Anyone with a mobile phone and internet access probably knows this song.
Fang Xingu chuckled: "But actually, I always struggle to find the right emotion when I sing this song. I feel like I can never quite match the first time."
Wang Jinxu bluntly said, "That's because your singing skills aren't good enough."
Fang Xingu thought Wang Jinxu hadn't heard him clearly: "I meant that my emotions weren't as good as the first time."
Wang Jinxu said calmly, "If your technique is good enough, even if you can't find the exact emotion again, you can still reproduce the emotion you want just by singing it out."
Fang Xingu was speechless: "...Didn't you tell me back then that emotion is more important than technique when singing?"
Wang Jinxu looked at him with disdain: "But if you can't find the right emotion right now, then you can only use this clumsy method, right?"
Fang Xingu scratched his head, still pondering the practicality of this heretical cultivation method, when Wang Jinxu interjected, "But who says a song can only evoke one emotion? What if another emotion is also suitable? People naturally evoke different emotions from a song when they listen to it at different times."
Fang Xin Gu fell into deep thought. Fortunately, Jing Yi Tong called out to him from the kitchen, "Xin Gu, come and help me roll up my sleeves."
"Oh, okay."
Fang Xingu put aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind, stood up and went into the kitchen. He helped Jing Yitong roll up both sleeves, and then washed some fruit at Jing Yitong's instruction. Seeing that Jing Yitong was still marinating meat, he fed him a piece of jackfruit: "Thank you for your hard work, Chef Jing. Here's a reward for you."
Jing Yitong chewed on jackfruit and chuckled indistinctly, "Teacher Fang is so thoughtful."
In the living room, Wang Jinxu frowned involuntarily as she watched the two's intimate actions.
Soon after, a meal was served. The three of them ate dinner and chatted for a while. Wang Jinxu was getting old, and soon she had to rest.
Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong, not wanting to disturb her, did not stay in the living room and went back to the master bedroom together.
This was the first time Fang Xin had ever taken a shower in the master bedroom's bathroom since he moved into Jing Yitong's house. He was a little nervous while drying his hair after the shower, as he hadn't slept in the same bed with Jing Yitong since high school.
Fang Xin let out a breath, opened the bathroom door, and saw Jing Yitong sitting on the bed reading a book. The blanket was draped under his waist, and the warm yellow light from the bedside lamp shone on him, making him look as if he were radiating soft light.
Hearing Fang Xingu walk out of the bathroom, Jing Yitong looked up and patted the side of her: "I've warmed the bed for you, come and sleep."
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