The Scorching Sun - 90
Yan Chengli stopped at the doorway. Facing the security door, its once-bright surface faded and discolored by years of wear, he didn't go in right away. Instead, he stopped his wife, who had come up behind him, and motioned for her to wait.
Mother Yan watched in bafflement as he reached up to straighten his shirt collar, then fussed with the hair he'd painstakingly fixed with pomade. A frown crept across her face, and she shuddered. "Quit preening. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Yan Chengli's expression turned cold. He pressed his lips together and said, "Once we're inside, whatever you do, don't say things like that."
"Then have the guts to keep acting like this once we're inside. You've been acting weird all day." Mother Yan gave him the courtesy of lowering her voice. "Do you really think all this is necessary? Anyone who didn't know better would think you're the one meeting the parents. You weren't this nervous when you met my father."
Yan Chengli took several jabs in a row and couldn't come up with a single retort. All he could do was protest anxiously, "Don't be ridiculous! What are you even talking about?"
Mother Yan clicked her tongue, elbowed him out of the way, and pressed the doorbell herself.
Nothing happened.
The door was probably so old that the bell had run out of power years ago.
Mother Yan raised her hand and knocked instead. Afraid they wouldn't hear her, she knocked harder and called out, "Xiao Ye! We're here!"
This time, a response came almost immediately from inside. "Coming, coming! Just a moment!"
Soon, came the sound of footsteps approaching from farther inside.
Yan Chengli immediately straightened his back, cleared his throat, and summoned the imposing air he habitually wore when inspecting one of his companies.
He really was a little nervous.
More precisely, although he'd known Ye Yuncheng for some time, he'd never actually spoken to him face-to-face.
Their best opportunity had been the parent-teacher meeting in senior year, but work had kept him from attending, and he'd happened to miss Ye Yuncheng entirely.
Afterward, he'd gotten a certain understanding of Ye Yuncheng's life by going through the messages in the parents' group chat.
Then came the gaming alliance the three of them had formed during the pandemic. There was no denying that games were remarkably good at shrinking the distance between people in modern life, especially when the person on the other end happened to have a good temper.
By now, he'd even learned through his wife's social connections about Ye Yuncheng's daily routine, interests, and hobbies. All of it had left Yan Chengli with an attitude toward Ye Yuncheng so complicated, even he couldn't quite sort it out.
He was still turning it over in his mind when the door opened from the inside. Before he could get a proper look at the person standing there, he instinctively put on the smile he'd practiced countless times. But the flicker of alarm that crossed Ye Yuncheng's face made it clear just how unnatural he looked.
Yan Chengli hurriedly wiped the expression away.
Ye Yuncheng greeted them warmly. "Come in, both of you. It's hot today."
The air conditioner was running inside, sending a cool, comfortable current through the room. Fang Zhuo had insisted they install it the summer before last.
A City was simply too hot. During the height of summer, relying on a fan alone to cool down could easily lead to heatstroke. When the air conditioner was installed, the landlord had even volunteered to cover half the cost, so it hadn't cost them much.
Ye Yuncheng straightened the indoor slippers by the door and gestured for them to make themselves comfortable.
There were considerably more things in the room now, yet the aesthetic sense hadn't improved along with the furnishings. To save money, most of the furniture Ye Yuncheng had added came in wildly different styles.
Yan Chengli turned his head and looked around. He genuinely couldn't think of anything complimentary to say. Anything too flattering would be dishonest, anything too polite would be hypocritical. After hesitating for quite a while, he finally remembered that universal adjective. His eyes lit up. "The decorating style is very lively!"
Satisfied with himself, he nodded and went over to sit on the sofa.
"We didn't really decorate much. There are too many things, and they're a bit of a hassle to clean around, I hope you don't mind." Ye Yuncheng brought over a plate of freshly cut fruit and set it on the glass coffee table.
Mother Yan reached out to take it from him. "Xiao Ye, come sit down. Don't keep fussing over us. What are you being so polite for? We'll help ourselves if we get thirsty. We're going straight to the university in a little while, don't get your clothes dirty."
Today was the day Fang Zhuo and Yan Lie were receiving their graduation certificates. Ye Yuncheng had dressed a little more formally than usual.
He'd gone to a large shopping mall and bought a well-fitting shirt, had his trousers specially pressed, and even stopped by the barbershop to tidy up his hair. He looked every bit the refined, gentle, unassuming man he was.
Ye Yuncheng couldn't sit still for long and went to make tea in the kitchen. Mother Yan exchanged a few polite protests with him, but there was no stopping him.
Once he'd walked away, Mother Yan turned and stole two glances toward the kitchen. Seeing that he was heating water, she raised her hand and punched Yan Chengli squarely in the thigh.
The blow wasn't hard, but Yan Chengli had been so lost in thought and nearly jumped off the sofa when the sudden attack startled him. He glared at her and hissed, "What are you doing?"
"I should be asking you that! You've barely said a word since we came in. Did you lose your voice? What's with that face? Who are you displeased with? It's such a good day. Is smiling really going to kill you?"
"I wasn't!" Yan Chengli shot an anxious glance toward the kitchen and protested, "I smiled when I came through the door!"
"If you're nervous, Xiao Ye is going to feel the same!" Mother Yan scolded him relentlessly. "You come into someone's home as a guest and put on an attitude like that. What do you think Xiao Ye is going to make of it? What if he thinks you look down on Fang Zhuo? If you don't respect him, there's no guarantee Xiao Ye will think much of your son either!"
"He doesn't think much of my son?" Yan Chengli was positively outraged. "He's practically stolen my son already! If I ever kick the bucket, I'm worried that brat Yan Lie will rush to change his surname before my body is even cold!"
Mother Yan was so exasperated that she laughed. She reached over and pinched him again, intending to tell him that this was exactly the sort of thing he ought to reflect on himself. But when she heard Ye Yuncheng's footsteps approaching, she swallowed the words whole, straightened her posture, and turned toward him with a welcoming smile.
Mother Yan patted the empty space beside her. "Xiao Ye, come sit down. If we get thirsty, we'll take care of ourselves."
Ye Yuncheng set the cups on the table. Unable to withstand Mother Yan's solicitousness, he went along with it and sat beside her.
The secondhand sofa was a little cramped. With all three of them sitting shoulder to shoulder, their arms were practically touching.
Finding himself in unfamiliar social territory, Ye Yuncheng used the remote control as an excuse to shift over to Yan Chengli's side, then turned on the television.
Yan Chengli turned his head toward him, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring himself to. The complicated expression on his face left Ye Yuncheng puzzled.
Just when Ye Yuncheng was about to speak first, Yan Chengli looked away again. In the end, he merely picked up the ceramic cup from the table and drank from it in silence.
Mother Yan rolled her eyes inwardly and stepped in to smooth things over. "Don't mind him. He's just like this, shy around people. He was especially nervous before we left. He even went to the wrong car."
Ye Yuncheng gave a polite smile. "Why was he nervous?"
Yan Chengli was a major businessman. Ye Yuncheng could believe he'd be nervous staring at a bright green stock chart. But what was there to be nervous about when coming to see him?
Mother Yan paused, then asked cautiously, "They haven't told you yet?"
Ye Yuncheng looked puzzled. "Who?"
"Nothing, nothing." Mother Yan quickly picked up her own teacup and changed the subject. "Let me try Xiao Ye's tea. Oh, wow, it smells wonderful."
Ye Yuncheng smiled shyly. "I don't really know much about tea, I don't drink it often. A supplier I work with gave this to me. I just brewed it the way he taught me. If you like it, I've got two more packets here."
Mother Yan laughed heartily. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Look, our Old Yan likes it too!"
Yan Chengli stared at the pale-brown tea. He blew gently across the surface and decided it was nothing special.
As the steam carried the tea's fragrance upward, he caught a faint trace of bitterness.
The water was too hot. He hadn't noticed when he took his first sip, only realizing it after he'd scalded a blister onto his tongue, just as he had that time with the coffee.
By the time he thought to set the cup down, the inside of his mouth was already burning. It took a full week to heal.
That day, Yan Lie had come home with gifts, which was an unusual occurrence. Just as Yan Chengli was feeling pleased, his son suddenly said, "Dad, Mom, I think I want to get married."
He'd brought home two bouquets.
One was a mixture of carnations and sunflowers.
The other was baby's breath wrapped around champagne roses.
He'd given one to each of his parents.
His mother had been lowering her head to breathe in the roses' fragrance when his words made the smile on her face freeze. She and Yan Chengli both stared at Yan Lie in stunned disbelief.
Mother Yan recovered a little faster. She smiled and said, "It is a little early, but if you've made up your mind, all right." Then she carried the flowers off to look for a vase.
Yan Chengli remained dazed for a long time without answering. The only things that escaped him were a few meaningless sounds. "Ah... oh... really?"
He could only nod to show that he'd understood.
Yan Lie thanked him happily, and went to take his things back to sort through them.
Once he'd finished his coffee, the pain in his mouth finally brought Yan Chengli back to his senses.
A few words occurred to him later, and he went to find Yan Lie. Sitting down beside him, he asked, "You're still so young. Why do you want to get married so early? Aren't you young people all supposed to be afraid of marriage and having children?"
Yan Lie looked at him in surprise.
Afraid his son would mistake that for disapproval, Yan Chengli quickly explained, "I don't mean anything by it. I just hope you'll think carefully about something as important as marriage. After all, this decision will affect your entire life with Fang Zhuo, and that's a very long time... Wait. You didn't do something reckless, did you? Did you forget to take precautions, and now you're rushing to get married?"
"No! It's not what you're thinking." Yan Lie's voice rose slightly. "I just want her to become my family. That's why I want to marry her."
Yan Chengli murmured, "Okay."
He looked Yan Lie up and down, still unable to shake the feeling that the boy in front of him was only a teenager. Hearing him suddenly talk about marriage was what finally made him finally realise, almost dazedly, just how much Yan Lie had grown.
He was taller and broader than his father now, stronger in build too. He could sit down with Yan Chengli and calmly discuss the serious questions of life as an equal.
It felt as though time had struck Yan Chengli squarely in the face, leaving him almost helpless before the reality of it.
Mother Yan emerged from the little storage room carrying a pink vase and chimed in, "I think it's great. If you hadn't proposed to me so quickly back then, I might not have married you either."
Yan Chengli glanced at her. "That's different."
He pulled out a cigarette, holding it between his fingers without lighting it, turning it over twice before suddenly asking, "So if you two are getting married now, when are you planning to have children?"
Yan Lie said, "Not anytime soon."
He took out his phone and glanced at it, then added uneasily, "Dad, don't bring up having children in front of Fang Zhuo. She's still young, and she's only just about to start graduate school. Talking about that will scare her."
Yan Chengli hurriedly agreed. "All right. You're both young. There's no rush."
Yan Lie asked patiently, "Any other questions?"
Yan Chengli shook his head.
That evening, when Yan Chengli went over the conversation again, he realized that Yan Lie hadn't actually been asking for his opinion. He'd simply been stating, in a calm voice, what he was going to do.
He was going to marry her. He hoped his parents would support him.
But Yan Chengli had no grounds to say no, because it was Yan Lie's own life.
And Yan Chengli had no intention of testing the already fragile father-son bond between the two of them.
Lying in bed, Yan Chengli turned the matter over and over in his mind. His thoughts tangled together until he rolled over, consciousness drifting somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
Unexpectedly, the person beside him rolled over too. In the darkness, a hand reached out and landed on his shoulder. In a voice that sounded eerily like a ghost haunting him, she drawled, "Old Yan, I've been lying here thinking about this matter for ages. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Let me tell you."
"Look at Fang Zhuo. She's highly educated, sensible, independent, smart, pretty, good at taking care of people, and wonderfully straightforward. We already know her inside and out. Sure, her family background isn't exactly ideal, but if you look at it another way, that's actually an advantage. No family conflicts, right? We won't have to worry about in-law drama, and her family circumstances can't cause us any trouble."
Mother Yan's patting startled Yan Chengli awake. His breath caught for a second as he slowly considered what she was saying.
Fang Zhuo really was an exceptional person. The fact that she'd made her way from an impoverished mountain village all the way to A University was proof enough of both her talent and her determination.
And she wasn't stubborn, insecure, ingratiating, or vain. Poverty hadn't left many ugly marks on her. If anything, it had been like a furnace, tempering her into someone resilient and composed.
Someone like her could keep climbing forward, step by step, no matter what environment she found herself in.
So what if she wasn't good at socializing or didn't know how to flatter people? Sincerity and straightforwardness had always been virtues.
Mother Yan carefully considered her wording before continuing. "And then there's Xiao Ye. He's upright, easygoing, sensible in the way he handles things, steady and dependable, and he takes such good care of Lie Lie. In some ways, he's even more like an elder than you or I are. His shop and his account are both doing well now, and his income is already very stable, higher than what most salaried workers make. He doesn't have a degree, but he's read plenty of books. The trouble with his leg hasn't taken away any of his good qualities."
Yan Chengli silently agreed.
If he was being honest, he had a great deal of respect for Ye Yuncheng. More than anything, he envied the man's extraordinary ability to make people feel at ease.
Perhaps only someone genuinely optimistic and broad-minded could possess such warmth, the kind that made everyone around him feel as though they'd stepped into a spring breeze.
Mother Yan continued, "Think about it. Are we short of money? Not really anymore, are we? We're both in business. The only thing our family lacks now is an academic atmosphere. Those two are both top students. If they keep building on that foundation, maybe one day we'll become a highly educated family too?"
Chinese people had been passionate about academic excellence for generations, or perhaps it was more accurate to say the pursuit was deeply ingrained.
Knowledge was the only thing that could guarantee humanity wouldn't be left behind by social progress. As technology advanced at an ever-faster pace, Yan Chengli had become increasingly aware of that truth.
"I think she's wonderful," Yan Chengli said quietly. "I never said I disapproved."
Though he was admittedly somewhat troubled by it a long time ago, eventually, he'd come to realize there was nothing wrong with it.
Mother Yan hadn't been listening to him. She continued musing to herself. "In a society this flashy and superficial, where are you going to find a girl like her? The most important thing is that our Lie Lie likes her. Even if you carried a lantern, you couldn't find a better one!"
She grew increasingly animated, tugging at Yan Chengli. "I think it's absolutely wonderful. Don't you?"
Her enthusiasm infected Yan Chengli too. He suddenly felt that Yan Lie had somehow stumbled upon such a fine cabbage, and if they didn't harvest it quickly, it might just get stolen.
After going over everything together, Mother Yan was thoroughly reassured and began enthusiastically planning for the distant future. She patted Yan Chengli on the shoulder and asked, "Once we're in-laws, what gifts should we bring when we visit them? We absolutely cannot hold your son back. And how much should we give for the bride price? I don't know what their customs are. We can't accidentally offend them."
Those final questions banished the last traces of sleepiness from Yan Chengli. He thought for a long while without finding an answer, then pulled the blanket over his head. "I'm going to sleep. Please, I'm begging you, don't start all this right now. I've got two important meetings tomorrow."
Yan Chengli finished his tea and came back to himself.
The ceramic cup still held the last traces of warmth. When he set it down on the coffee table, Ye Yuncheng noticed. He bent forward to stand, intending to refill it for him.
Yan Chengli beat him to it and caught his hand. "I'll do it, Xiao Ye. Let me pour you a drink."
Ye Yuncheng turned around in surprise, his movement stopping halfway.
Yan Chengli said, "Oh, no. I mean tea. Consider it my toast to you."
Confused, Ye Yuncheng accepted the cup Yan Chengli offered him with both hands. He didn't quite dare to drink it. But under the man's earnest gaze, he slowly took a sip.
Yan Chengli broke into a smile and pointed beside him. "Come on, sit here."
Mother Yan lit up her phone screen, then quickly slipped it back into her bag. She stood and called out, "No need to sit anymore. It's about time. Let's head to the university. You can talk in the car."
Yan Chengli casually put an arm around Ye Yuncheng's shoulders. "Let's get going, then. This way, Xiao Ye."
Ye Yuncheng followed along blankly, letting himself be led as he tried to figure out what had caused Yan Chengli's sudden change.
...Could the tea really be that good?
There were two bouquets of flowers on the back seat of Yan Chengli's car. Once Ye Yuncheng climbed in, their faint fragrance surrounded him.
He wiped his palms against his trousers, realizing belatedly that he hadn't prepared a gift. His eyes wandered along both sides of the road, searching for something he could buy.
Mother Yan called Yan Lie and learned that his school was the first to go in for graduation photos. They'd already finished and were now taking group pictures with their classmates in front of the library.
Fang Zhuo was still waiting in line. When Yan Lie had come out earlier, Fang Zhuo's class had only just begun assembling, they would probably need another hour or more.
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