Her gift
Xu Tangmian wants to return to Huaifeng Town.
This was a decision she made after her trip to Beiping.
Although the two of them had spent almost the entire two days in the guesthouse except for the trip back to the Kong family cemetery, Xu Tangmian still managed to get out of bed with difficulty before returning to Huaifeng to take care of something.
Yu Chunsheng has changed.
These past few days, they appeared to be no different from before, but Xu Tangmian could sense that Yu Chunsheng was always intentionally or unintentionally avoiding her.
He still wouldn't refuse her requests, but he no longer expected her to respond as he used to. Even in their sex life, he was a little reserved.
In the past, he could be quite demanding, even annoying, and he would be very fierce even when she was not in a good mood.
But lately, he's been like a human-shaped toy; unless she says anything, he won't touch her even if he's about to explode, making it seem like she's very thirsty.
During the process, he was extremely gentle, going so slowly that she couldn't help but take it herself several times. Afterwards, he would ask her if she was comfortable.
She could only force herself to say it felt good, and it really did feel good, a different feeling from before. But Xu Tangmian was too embarrassed to say directly that she preferred him to be a little rougher, because ultimately she still minded that she had said in her letter that doing this with him was disgusting.
Xu Tangmian was puzzled. How could he still see it so clearly when it was almost a circle?
Having made up her mind, she took the two pocket watches to a pawn shop.
These days, pawnshops are hard to find, but it would be a shame to just throw these two pocket watches away, so she might as well make the most of them. One she brought from the modern world, and the other she stole from her grandfather's—no, Xu Zhilian's—house.
Xu Tangmian refused to acknowledge that the cold-hearted middle-aged man in the rainy night was her grandfather. From now on, she was just Xu Tangmian, no longer Xu Tongtong.
She carefully pried the two identical photos out of the pocket watch, kissed each one on the lips, and happily stuffed them into her pocket.
Her life was no longer centered on going to Beiping, nor did she expect to find her relatives. She would choose her own relatives.
She has a wonderful husband, and they will have a lovely child; these things make up her family. Only now do I realize why she had to go so far; home is wherever she is.
Yu Chunsheng often plays the harmonica in the yard when he has nothing to do. In fact, he still retains some of the qualities of Kong Lin deep down.
Thinking of the scene of him playing the accordion at the graduation ceremony, Xu Tangmian felt a warmth in her heart. It was as if, through the performance, she had finally caught a glimpse of Kong Lin's charm.
Having just landed in Beijing, she passed by a music store and went in to inquire about the price of accordions. Thinking that Yu Chunsheng was fluent in Russian and had probably been to the Soviet Union, Xu Tangmian was determined to buy the Soviet-imported Parrot brand accordion, priced at 450 yuan.
She only had 200 yuan on her. If Yu Chunsheng hadn't brought any money, they would have been homeless on the streets of Beiping.
Trusting Yu Chunsheng, Xu Tangmian wasn't worried about funding; her only concern was where to find the remaining 250 yuan.
She took the pocket watch on her way back to the Xu family. At the time, she just thought that since the pocket watch was given to her grandfather by Kong Lin, it was reasonable for her to take it back and return it to him.
But when she heard the pawnshop staff say that the watch was a Longines, and that it would be worth 100 yuan if she pawned it alive, and 120 yuan if she pawned it dead, Xu Tangmian felt that the trip had been worthwhile.
There are more job opportunities in big cities. You can get 120 yuan for getting beaten up.
They pawned both pocket watches to raise 240 yuan, but they were still 10 yuan short. Xu Tangmian bargained with the shop owner for a long time and even agreed to let them play the piano for half a day for free before she was finally able to take the accordion away.
The accordion played by adults weighed about 20 kilograms, and Xu Tangmian felt both tired and happy carrying the instrument bag on her back. She just wanted to walk faster and see Yu Chunsheng's expression when he opened the gift.
But when they returned to the guesthouse, Yu Chunsheng was not in the room, and he did not come back even after waiting for a long time.
The initial excitement had long since faded with the setting sun. Xu Tangmian suppressed her impatience and quietly waited by the window for Yu Chunsheng to return.
With a "click," the door opened.
Xu Tangmian woke up with a start, finding herself asleep standing up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, opened her arms to greet him, and said affectionately, "Why are you only coming back now…?"
Yu Chunsheng lifted her by her legs and scooped her up in his arms, then they both fell onto the bed.
He pinned Xu Tangmian down and took out something from his pocket.
Xu Tangmian thought he was going to take care of some things from his past life and it wouldn't be convenient for her to come along, but she didn't expect him to bring something back. She reached out to grab his hand expectantly: "What is it?"
As Yu Chunsheng opened his palm, a chain as bright and shiny as his eyes swayed in front of her.
"A silver necklace?" Xu Tangmian took the necklace, stood up, and then lay back in his arms. "I don't wear jewelry. Besides, if you spend this money, will we still have money to go back?"
“I don’t need that money.” Yu Chunsheng hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “I sold the Parker pen that I dug up yesterday and got 120 yuan.”
He stuffed the remaining money into Xu Tangmian's hand holding the silver chain, and said with a light smile, "After buying this chain, the remaining money will be more than enough for travel expenses."
Unexpectedly, he was quite thoughtful, but Xu Tangmian was still thinking about that fountain pen, which was Kong Lin's fountain pen.
She felt a pang of sympathy: "That pen must be quite famous to still sell for over a hundred after all this time, right? It's something you used to own... Can you really get it back now with money?"
"It's alright." Yu Chunsheng didn't take it seriously. "It's just an old thing anyway. We won't mention anything related to the Confucius Cemetery anymore. There is no Confucius Cemetery in this world anymore, only me, a living person, your husband Yu Chunsheng."
He then took the chain from her palm and, while embracing her, rummaged through her pockets: "This isn't a necklace. What about that pocket watch you always carried with you? Didn't you get it from your grandfather... from him?"
Xu Tangmian suddenly turned around, looking at him and then at the chain with a surprised expression, "This is a watch chain?!"
“Yes.” Seeing her surprised expression, Yu Chunsheng was very pleased and kissed her on the lips again: “Just consider that watch a gift from me. Now you have a new chain, so let’s not think about those unhappy things anymore.”
Xu Tangmian got out of bed with a dejected look on her face, picked up her violin case from the bedside and opened it.
"An accordion!" Yu Chunsheng exclaimed in surprise, "You...you bought it?"
“Hmm…” Xu Tangmian said sullenly, “I thought you would like it, so I bought this on purpose. It’s from Moscow.”
"Of course I like it." Yu Chunsheng was captivated by the accordion, but then he thought, "This is very expensive. Where did you get the money?"
"The money came from home." Xu Tangmian didn't want to bring up the topic and said urgently, "Why don't you test your voice?"
"You only have two or three hundred yuan at home. You need money for travel expenses, food, drink, and other necessities to get here. Tell me honestly, where did this money come from?"
Xu Tangmian then took out two photos from her pocket and said in a low voice, "You'll be unhappy if I tell you. This is money I earned as a thief."
Looking at his two identical photos, Yu Chunsheng was somewhat puzzled.
Xu Tangmian explained, "When I went to the Xu family that day, I saw this pocket watch and casually put it in my pocket to return it to you. Although I didn't know the truth at the time, my subconscious thought was to take it back. As for the one I brought from the modern era, I want to sell it. I don't want to have anything to do with the Xu family anymore."
She pointed to the accordion, "One pocket watch is only enough to buy a domestic one. I wanted you to have the best, so I sold both of them."
"You sold your pocket watch just to buy this," Yu Chunsheng said, his head bowed, his emotions unreadable.
Afraid of upsetting him, and feeling that her petty theft was not honorable at all, Xu Tangmian quickly leaned over and hugged him from behind, kissing him repeatedly: "Don't be angry, and don't blame me for taking the initiative to sell this thing that rightfully belongs to you. You know I don't usually do this kind of thing."
"I am indeed angry." Yu Chunsheng said, putting the accordion back on the ground. Suddenly, he pressed Xu Tangmian down and, without even taking off her clothes, directly penetrated her without any foreplay.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck and said in a low voice, "You bought me such nice things, but I only bought you a watch chain that you don't need. How can I not be angry?"
Xu Tangmian couldn't hear a word he said. This wasn't the first time the two had done this; they were already familiar with each other's bodies, and even without preparation, they quickly got into the mood.
After a dry, stinging pain, a long-lost stimulation enveloped her. In her hazy state, Xu Tangmian flailed her arms to reach for the radio on the bedside table.
Yu Chunsheng, however, found her distracted and grabbed her arm, pinning it above his head.
Xu Tangmian murmured, trying to keep her voice down, "Open it, I... I can't help it."
Yu Chunsheng then stopped, got up, and turned on the radio. A sports commentary came through the broadcast. The two embraced tightly, their breathing heavy.
Afterwards, the two lay down naturally, completely naked.
Yu Chunsheng picked up the watch chain from the ground, blew on it, and tried to put it on her. The cool touch made Xu Tangmian gasp softly, and she quickly raised her hand to stop him.
"Keep it for now, and get me a gold one later," she said.
"Why wait until later?" Yu Chunsheng said with a smile, "You forgot we have gold bars, which were a congratulatory gift from Mom and Dad."
Xu Tangmian shook her head gently and smiled: "Didn't we say before that we were going to take over a printing factory? Since it's a congratulatory gift, let's use it as start-up capital. This is our common business."
She picked up the watch chain next to her collarbone and said playfully, "As for the gold necklace, that's the betrothal gift you gave me. I'll buy it back for you when you've made some money."
“Okay, I promise you.” Yu Chunsheng’s deep and powerful voice came from above.
Xu Tangmian suddenly felt at ease. The truth was no longer relevant.
She looked up at him and asked, "Speaking of parents, I'm sure you don't really want to hear about mine. I'd like to hear about your parents, what kind of people they are?"
Yu Chunsheng suddenly laughed, pinched her cheek, and joked, "I'd like to hear about your parents too. How old are they? If we run into them when we go back to Beiping, should we give them some candy?"
"Get lost!" Xu Tangmian was so angry she wanted to hit him.
I just said we wouldn't talk about the past anymore, and that from now on they would just be Xu Tangmian and Yu Chunsheng, and he did this again!
Seeing that she was really angry, Yu Chunsheng tried to coax her again: "What's wrong? Does talking about these things make you feel sick?"
"Tsk!" Xu Tangmian simply reached into the blanket and pinched it hard.
"Ah!" Yu Chunsheng exclaimed, his tone changing completely. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you break it, you'll only be able to find another man to have a child with."
——
The two quickly returned to Huaifeng Town. From afar, they saw Song Weidong and his family, along with Li Yutao, waiting for them at the exit.
Yu Chunsheng led Xu Tangmian by the hand to Li Youlan and his wife, his lips moving for a while, unsure how to greet them.
He is younger than Song Weidong now, and it would seem inappropriate to outsiders for him to call her by her name directly, but he can't bring himself to call her "Auntie" like Xu Tangmian.
Upon seeing him, Li Youlan's eyes welled up with tears.
The station was bustling with people. Li Youlan knew what he was worried about, so she quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Let's go back first! We'll talk about it when we get back."
The car was a red Santana that they had hired. Li Youlan sat in the passenger seat, and her husband drove. Knowing they had something to say, Song Weidong offered to find another car for Li Yutao, but Xu Tangmian insisted on riding in the same car with them.
Her thought was the same as theirs: "Let them reminisce."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
