Lu Liu’s comb was used to comb both people and dogs, so Li Feng bought him a new one.
The combs at home were all bare and plain—they had picked the cheapest ones.
The combs in the shop had some decorative patterns. Most were round, with carved designs on the backs.
Li Feng chose one carved with interlinked branches and gave it to Lu Liu.
“Xiao Liu, have you heard a line of poetry?” he said. “‘In heaven, we wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be branches growing entwined.’ It’s like the mandarin ducks you embroidered.”
Lu Liu’s face flushed red. He held the comb to his chest.
He liked the saying, and he liked the comb.
He praised him, “Da Feng, you’re so learned.”
Then he asked, “Did brother-in-law teach you that?”
Li Feng’s face reddened at the compliment.
How was he supposed to explain this? He had picked it up at the docks.
That place was always chaotic, with lovestruck dramas playing out every day. After hearing them so often, he had memorized some lines without even trying.
He couldn’t tell the truth, so he nodded. “Yes, Xie Yan taught me.”
Lu Liu was still blushing. After Li Feng paid for the comb, the two husbands went out together. Lu Liu asked, “Why would brother-in-law teach you things like that?”
At this point, Li Feng answered smoothly, “He needs to coax your brother. Knowing how to say things like that is normal.”
Lu Liu had no more doubts.
He sat in the cart. It was a pity Li Feng hadn’t tied his hair into a ponytail—otherwise, Lu Liu could have combed it for him.
He couldn’t loosen his hair on the road, so he kept touching the comb in his hands, looking at the interlinked branches carved on it.
The pattern was pretty. Simpler than mandarin ducks. He would embroider another undergarment with interlinked branches. Heh heh. Next time Da Feng came home, he would wear it for him and completely captivate him.
His thoughts were far too easy to read. Especially with that grin, plus a couple of sneaky glances—it was all painfully obvious.
Li Feng glanced sideways at him and smiled. “Xiao Liu, when we get home later, I’ll comb your hair.”
Lu Liu asked, “Do you know how?”
Li Feng did. “I used to comb my own hair.”
Lu Liu agreed, and said he would comb Li Feng’s hair too.
After they got home, they were busy for a while—soothing the child and eating dinner. Li Feng was watching the time. Before it got dark, he even went to the river to wash diapers.
That night, the two husbands climbed onto the kang and combed each other’s hair. Li Feng’s hands were rough, and his combing snagged strands easily. He was very gentle, tying Lu Liu’s hair loosely. When Lu Liu shook his head, the hair ribbon fell right off.
Lu Liu laughed for a long while and said Li Feng was reluctant to tighten it.
Just one comb kept the two of them entertained for a long time. In the end, Lu Liu placed the comb together with his small copper mirror. As he set it down, he saw the rouge and lip balm.
Lu Liu’s gaze paused. With his back to Li Feng, he quietly dabbed a little lip balm onto his lips.
In the dim night, his red mouth stood out clearly.
Li Feng’s gaze darkened. He blew out the candle and, in the darkness, groped his way to taste the lip balm. After finishing the lip balm, he moved on to tasting his little husband.
…………………………..
On the nineteenth day of the third month, Li Feng and the others arrived at the prefectural city.
They first went to the docks to unload their goods. Li Feng stayed there for two days—resting, tidying up, selling some merchandise—then led Er Huang to the prefectural academy to find Xie Yan.
He had timed it carefully and arrived just as Xie Yan was getting out of class.
Xie Yan came out happily, but when he didn’t see his husband and only spotted Li Feng, his expression immediately fell.
Li Feng: “……”
If it had been anyone else, he would have picked a fight on the spot.
They had moved, and Li Feng didn’t know the new address. They had agreed that for the next few visits, he would come to the prefectural academy first to find Xie Yan. They could change houses, but the academy wouldn’t move, so finding Xie Yan here was convenient.
Xie Yan led him home and said, “We moved. The house is pretty big, and there’s a guest room kept for you. You can stay the night. Where’s your luggage? You didn’t bring it?”
Li Feng said the luggage was left at the dock. “I came to take a look first. If you hadn’t moved, it would’ve been hard to place all that stuff.”
Xie Yan glanced again at Er Huang. Er Huang had run the whole way with the convoy, and instead of being tired, he looked even more spirited. He stood beside Li Feng with a very imposing posture.
Xie Yan couldn’t help thinking of Wei Meng. That chubby little thing really wasn’t imposing at all.
Li Feng deliberately stirred trouble. “Have you heard a poem about winged birds and interlinked branches?”
Xie Yan had heard it and could recite it.
He asked, “What about it? You want to learn it?”
Li Feng didn’t need to. “I know it. I recited it to my husband.”
Xie Yan shot him a sideways look.
Li Feng said smugly, “He liked it a lot. He even praised me for being learned.”
Xie Yan: ……?
“What do you mean, learned? I’m asking you—what’s the full poem? What does it mean? Who wrote it? Tell me.”
Li Feng rolled his eyes. “Why should I tell you? And you—since you’re so learned, how many poems have you recited to your husband?”
Xie Yan had recited plenty!
When he first taught Lu Yang how to read, he used poems. He even wrote them down for him.
Lu Yang carried them with him at all times. After memorizing the poems, he would recognize characters by matching them to the lines. Now they were stored in a small pouch, treasured dearly.
Xie Yan said, “You’re nothing special. I know far more than you.”
Li Feng asked, “Have you recited the winged birds poem too?”
Xie Yan thought about it briefly and fell silent. It seemed he hadn’t.
He said, “I’ll recite it to him ten times as soon as I see him!”
Seeing his reaction, Li Feng felt reassured.
When Lu Liu eventually came to the prefectural city and met Lu Yang, even if they talked about this topic, there wouldn’t be any slip-ups.
Xie Yan, unaware of the dangers of human hearts, went straight home to find Lu Yang. As soon as he saw him, every sentence he spoke was followed by a line of poetry. If Lu Yang looked confused or hadn’t responded yet, Xie Yan would seize the gap to recite another line.
Lu Yang touched his forehead, then looked at Li Feng, who was holding the big yellow dog, and turned back to ask Xie Yan, “What’s wrong with you?”
Xie Yan asked, “Am I learned?”
Lu Yang said, “Recite fewer sappy love poems and you’ll be learned. I like hearing things I don’t understand.”
Xie Yan was speechless, then burst out laughing.
His husband really was different—he had good taste.
That’s right. What did knowing a couple of sappy love poems amount to? Someone like him, who went on and on about ancient philosophy, that was what being learned really meant.
Even if the two families were close, Li Feng was still a guest.
You couldn’t have a guest over and just leave him sitting there.
After saying a word to Xie Yan, Lu Yang invited Li Feng to sit in the main hall.
Earlier that day, Lu Yang had taken Shun Ge’er out shopping, mainly to browse bookshops. At the moment, Shun Ge’er was helping cook in the kitchen.
Lu Yang said, “Your younger brother is really hardworking. I scold him every day, but I can’t stop him.”
Li Feng knew exactly what his own brother was like.
Shun Ge’er was still a bit uneasy, feeling like he was living under someone else’s roof, so he wanted to show diligence.
If he were at home, he would play a bit and wouldn’t run himself like a spinning top.
Li Feng said, “It’s fine. Once he gets tired, he’ll learn his lesson.”
At this age, children were full of endless energy. The work was usually light, so he wouldn’t be exhausted—and that was why he couldn’t sit still.
The kitchen was right by the front gate, just past the bamboo screen wall.
Li Feng passed by the kitchen without looking inside. When Lu Yang called for people, Shun Ge’er followed behind them into the room.
It was the first time the child had been away from home for so long, and in a different place at that. He hadn’t seen Li Feng for about a month and missed him terribly. When he called out “Big Brother,” his eyes reddened, and Li Feng laughed at him for quite a while.
“It’s only been this long. When you see Mother, won’t you be bawling your eyes out?”
Shun Ge’er said he hated him.
Li Feng said, “When I used to go into the mountains, you saw me even less often, and you didn’t cry then.”
Shun Ge’er thought about it and felt it made sense. He wiped his eyes, and in a moment, forced the tears back.
He saw that Er Huang had come too, so he squatted down to pat Er Huang’s head and stroke his back. Then he asked Li Feng, “Why did you come empty-handed? Didn’t you bring your luggage?”
Li Feng explained it all again.
The luggage was all at the dock shop. He had come today to recognize the place first, and next time he would bring it over to store temporarily.
He would stay for dinner and spend the night here.
Lu Yang told Xie Yan to keep Li Feng company and also had Shun Ge’er stay. He himself went to the kitchen to help his mother prepare dinner.
