Chapter Twenty-One: So Beautiful

Feelings, it seemed, always paled in the face of time. Xu Fei glanced at the clock on the wall. He hadn’t really slept all night, as he needed to check Du Man’s temperature from time to time.

Fortunately, after taking some medicine and rubbing her body with white liquor, her fever subsided. By the latter half of the night, her temperature had more or less returned to normal.

“You haven’t slept at all. Go take a nap for a bit—you still have to work later,” Du Man said, reaching out to gently touch Xu Fei’s hand.

The gesture filled him with warmth.

Perhaps, in time, marriage truly transformed love into a deep familial bond.

Du Man had been his classmate. Back then, she was the beauty of their high school, drawing countless secret admirers. Yet, she had chosen Xu Fei. As far as he knew about his former self, at that time Xu Fei had not yet fallen from grace; he was still an ambitious, upstanding young man. With good looks to match, he was rightly the most handsome boy in school. That was why Zhou Lina could never quite forget him.

“I’ll make you some porridge,” he offered.

“No need,” she replied.

Xu Fei smiled, stood up, and said, “I slept last night, it’s fine. You stay in bed. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”

With that, he left the room, and just then, the sound of a match being struck came from the kitchen.

“Why are you up so early?” Xu Fei was surprised to find Xu Qing in the kitchen, trying to light the stove.

Hearing his voice, Xu Qing turned around, a smudge of soot inexplicably marking the tip of her nose.

Xu Fei laughed and walked over, wiping the black mark from her nose.

“Go wait inside—I’ll call you all when breakfast is ready.”

Xu Qing, however, refused to give up. “I don’t believe lighting a fire is so hard!”

She struck another match, but before she could reach the stove, a gust of wind blew it out.

Frustrated, she stamped her foot.

Xu Fei opened his palm. “Put the match in the middle of my hand.”

She glanced at him, struck another match, and this time, with Xu Fei’s hand shielding it, the flame wasn’t snuffed out by the wind from the stove. The kindling caught.

“Brother, it’s lit!” Xu Qing looked at him in delight.

He nodded and patted her head.

Her expression darkened. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to make breakfast for your sister-in-law.”

She tossed the matches aside. “If you’d just stop upsetting her, that would be better than anything else.”

With that, she turned and left.

Xu Fei shook his head with a smile.

“Breakfast is ready!” he called.

Xu Yun rushed out from the other room, spotting a bowl of plain rice porridge and a boiled egg at each place on the table. He picked up his egg and sniffed it.

“Brother, I haven’t had an egg in ages.”

Xu Fei smiled. “Then you take mine, too.”

Xu Yun shook his head. “You have to work during the day, you need the strength.”

He cracked his own egg on the table, a smile on his face as he carefully peeled it.

Xu Fei went back inside.

“It’s time to eat,” he said.

Du Man nodded, trying to get up herself, but Xu Fei stepped forward to help her sit up on the bed.

“I’m fine,” she protested.

“Enough bravado. You had a fever all night—even if you’re better now, you still need time to recover,” he said gently.

He was right. Du Man felt utterly drained.

With his help, she walked out of the bedroom. Xu Qing, freshly washed, came in from outside.

“Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?”

“Yes,” Du Man replied.

Xu Fei helped her to a chair, then motioned for Xu Qing and Xu Yun to sit as well.

“I have an announcement to make,” he said.

“What now?” Xu Qing asked irritably.

Xu Fei smiled at her. “This is good news for our family—a big deal, actually. I wanted you all to know.”

“Brother, is it something delicious?” Xu Yun asked.

Xu Qing glared at him. “All you think about is food.”

Xu Yun ducked his head, muttering.

Xu Fei turned to him. “Actually, it does have to do with food.”

“Really?” Xu Yun looked up, delighted.

“Remember when Mrs. Wang’s cousin came and asked me to help buy sugar? There’s been progress on that.”

Du Man’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Xu Fei nodded.

“What’s going on?” Xu Qing asked, turning to Du Man.

Du Man explained the benefits Mrs. Wang’s cousin was offering.

“So much?!” Xu Qing was surprised—if this worked out, Xu Fei’s debts would be paid off.

“But…” Her brow furrowed as she looked at Xu Fei. “A thousand pounds—you’ll need money to buy that sugar. Do you have it?”

Xu Fei nodded. “Smart. That’s actually the second thing I wanted to talk about.”

He looked from Du Man to Xu Qing.

“What do you mean by that?” Xu Qing’s face darkened. “Xu Fei, what are you plotting now?”

“You all know—even if I buy sugar through our factory, it’s still thirty cents a pound. That’s three hundred yuan.”

“Three hundred?” Du Man nodded. “That’s not a small amount.”

Xu Fei nodded as well.

“So where do you plan to get it?” Du Man asked.

He smiled at Xu Qing.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Didn’t our parents leave some money?”

“Don’t even think about it!” Xu Qing jumped up from her chair.

“Xu Qing, this is a sure thing. Consider it a loan—once I get the money from the other side, I’ll pay you back with interest.”

Xu Qing snorted. “I used to consider it, but you refused. Now even if you want to borrow it, I won’t lend it to you.”

“You—!”

“Xu Fei, you just gambled away money a few days ago. How can I trust you?”

He was at a loss.

“I was gambling for another reason,” he tried to explain.

She glared at him. “That’s what you always say. Don’t expect me to believe you.”

She threw her chopsticks on the table. “I’m done. I’m going to school.”

With that, she turned and went to get her schoolbag.

Xu Yun, seeing his sister leave, hurriedly swallowed the last of his egg and ran to fetch his bag as well.

His younger brother and sister left for school, bags slung over their shoulders.

Xu Fei could only shake his head helplessly.

“Xu Fei, let’s think of another way. Maybe I—” Du Man began.

He waved her off. “Forget it. Don’t always think about your family. I told you, I don’t want you to suffer for me, or for this family.”

“Then what will you do?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

As the young couple worried over the startup money, a voice called from outside.

“Xu Fei, are you home?”

Xu Fei glanced toward the door.

“Brother Liu?”