Chapter 47: New Year’s Gift

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Fu Rangyi woke up to find that Zhu Zhixi had already left.

A sticky note was stuck to his forehead. It read—[Urgent work, might be very late. You can go directly to my house later, we’ll meet there!]

A bit of warmth remained in the quilt. Fu Rangyi read the note with squinted eyes, then rolled over to the side where Zhu Zhixi had slept, closing his eyes and inhaling the lingering scent. It was so, so faint.

Zhu Zhixi was busy every day. A little annoyed, he got out of bed, washed up, and changed his clothes. But as he passed Zhu Zhixi’s room, he was drawn as if by a spell to knock, enter, and crawl into his tent.

He wanted to mark him.

But he was a Beta.

Damn Alpha instincts.

After burying his head in the rabbit’s nest for a long time, Fu Rangyi went to the study and checked Zhu Zhixi’s New Year’s gift one more time. He saved one and wrapped the other.

In the afternoon, he took the various New Year gifts they had bought together at the supermarket the day before downstairs, loaded them into the car one by one, and drove alone to Zhu Zhixi’s house. The feeling was very strange. Fu Rangyi was inwardly anxious, even a little awkward.

He had never had a real sense of the word “home”; he even feared it. When he was a student, Li Qiao said that home was a place where you could do whatever you wanted. At that time, Fu Rangyi thought to himself that it turned out he really didn’t have a home. He hated round tables, hated holidays, and hated all occasions that required a family reunion.

But now, when he thought of home, his mind would conjure up the image of Zhu Zhixi in his pajamas, sitting cross-legged on the sofa eating chocolate egg rolls. Or the image of him making a mess in the kitchen and smiling sheepishly at him. It was him standing groggily at the entrance waiting to hold hands; it was a super loud “I’m home!” after opening the door.

When exactly had he started to look forward to “coming home”? Fu Rangyi himself couldn’t say.

Now he was even going to Zhu Zhixi’s home to reunite with his family. At a red light, he looked at the flashing green pedestrian signal and suddenly realized that he was so nervous his palms were sweating.

Zhu Zhixi’s home was decorated with a full festive atmosphere. There were red window decorations and ornaments everywhere, full of joy.

“Rangyi is here?” Father Zhu came out to greet him with a loving smile on his face. “Didn’t we agree you shouldn’t bring anything? What did I tell you?”

Fu Rangyi smiled. “Just some New Year’s goods and supplements.”

He paused for a few seconds and said, “Dad, you’re busy with work, please take care of your health.”

It didn’t seem that difficult. Easier than calling his own father “Dad” as a child.

“Okay, you two as well. Do you know how to make dumplings? I’ve had the auntie prepare the wrappers and filling. We can make them together later!”

“Okay.”

Before dinner, Zhu Zhixi and Zhu Zeran arrived late, one after the other. He had thought that celebrating the New Year with just four people would be a bit quiet, but the two brothers started arguing after just a few words, and no one could stop them. It was livelier than the Spring Festival Gala.

Fu Rangyi had been eating quietly and drinking with Father Zhu, but he suddenly found some amusement in the brothers’ bickering.

As they ate, Father Zhu asked about Zhu Zeran’s recent work. “I heard from Xiao Zhu that you’ve been collaborating with real estate recently?”

Hearing this, Zhu Zeran almost rolled his eyes at Zhu Zhixi. “Tattling again.”

Zhu Zhixi scoffed, “Dad, look at him. He just doesn’t want to tell you!” After speaking, he picked up a piece of fish belly meat, carefully removed all the chopped scallions, and then placed it in Fu Rangyi’s bowl.

A slight pleasure arose in Fu Rangyi’s heart, but when he looked up, he saw the family planning committee member, dressed like a young nobleman, push his bowl in front of Zhu Zhixi, only to receive a chopstick-full of shredded scallions.

“What’s the project specifically?” Father Zhu asked.

“An unfinished building!” Zhu Zhixi answered quickly.

“No,” Zhu Zeran immediately explained. “This is just a stepping stone. The real estate companies behind these projects have all collapsed. This is a matter of public livelihood, and the higher-ups hope someone can take over, so I did. It’s equivalent to spending money to help fill the financial hole in exchange for military resources. But this hole is really damn rotten.”

“Who asked you to be so ambitious? Now you know it’s trouble?” Zhu Zhixi said. “This is called dy…”

He blurted it out but stopped abruptly. Lao Zhu and Da Zhu at the table both stopped their chopsticks and looked at him.

Fu Rangyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He also looked at Zhu Zhixi and gave him a look.

It’s okay to lose once, right? Isn’t it just being ordered around for a day?

But Zhu Zhixi’s desire to win exceeded his imagination. “Longevity to save face and suffer.”

“Huh?” Zhu Zeran was completely confused. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Father Zhu didn’t understand either. “Longevity noodles? You want to eat that? I’ll have the auntie cook some for you.”

Seeing Zhu Zhixi’s embarrassed expression, Fu Rangyi smiled and came to his rescue. “Isn’t it the New Year? I told him it’s best not to say some unlucky words during the New Year. It’s not auspicious. After discussing it, we decided to change it to ‘longevity.'”

Zhu Zeran thought for a moment and had a sudden realization. “Ah, so you were trying to say I’d die to save face and suffer!”

Zhu Zhixi nodded repeatedly. “Right.”

“That’s quite interesting,” Father Zhu laughed.

As a result, throughout the meal, Zhu Zeran kept saying the word “die” on purpose, deliberately trying to bait Zhu Zhixi. Several times he almost fell for it, only to twist his words back at the last second. He was so angry he barely ate any dumplings and pulled Fu Rangyi upstairs.

“I’m angry to longevity, that to-longevity Zhu Zeran, hate him to longevity! How can there be such an annoying person?”

Fu Rangyi was amused by his triple-longevity combo. “You’re so auspicious when you curse.”

“You’re so unpleasant when you praise.”

Zhu Zhixi pulled him into his bedroom, pushed the door open, dragged Fu Rangyi in, and quickly shut the door.

The sky outside had already darkened. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was an inky blue as tranquil as the deep sea. Zhu Zhixi only turned on a warm orange sunset lamp, filling the room with light. It was much larger than the guest room at his place, and the decor was still colorful, much like a house in a snow globe from childhood.

He pressed Fu Rangyi against the door, his hands restlessly slipping inside his coat, asking in a soft, clingy voice, “Are you full?”

That was a strange thing to say. He hadn’t expected this to be Zhu Zhixi’s first question, so he smiled.

“Do you think I’m not full?” Fu Rangyi lowered his head, the tip of his nose touching Zhu Zhixi’s bangs, tickling him.

Zhu Zhixi looked up, his hands seeming to have nowhere to go. He didn’t hug him, just rested them on the edge of his belt. “I was afraid you weren’t used to eating at my house. you barely picked up any food.”

I was waiting for you to serve me.

“Didn’t you serve me a lot?”

“Not much. I feed the rabbit more than that,” Zhu Zhixi said. “If you’re hungry, just tell me. I’ll tell the auntie to cook more of what you like to eat.”

“Mm.”

“Don’t be nervous.” His hand finally moved from the belt, reaching around to Fu Rangyi’s back and patting it. “This is your home.”

Fu Rangyi nodded, staring at him in silence.

He could smell all sorts of strange pheromones on Zhu Zhixi again. It was really unpleasant. He didn’t like this feeling, but there was nothing Zhu Zhixi could do. He was a Beta, he couldn’t be marked, and he was destined to be stained with all kinds of pheromones.

He could only silently release his own, overpowering the others, like a puppy quietly marking its territory.

“We haven’t done our daily mission yet today.”

Zhu Zhixi’s hand suddenly slid down, as if to take his, but his phone suddenly vibrated.

Fu Rangyi sensitively noticed that it wasn’t a call notification, but an alarm.

Why set an alarm at this time?

Zhu Zhixi quickly turned it off and muttered to himself, “I was outside today, the countdown was jumping so fast, I…”

Knock, knock, knock—a knock on the door.

“Zhu Zhixi? Dad wants you to come over for a moment.” It was Zhu Zeran’s voice.

He thought Zhu Zhixi would fly into a rage at being interrupted, cursing “longevity” a few times, but he was uncharacteristically calm. He just took a deep breath, composed himself, and shouted “Got it, be right there” to the door, then prepared to go out.

But Fu Rangyi grabbed the doorknob first.

He tilted his face, pressed a very light kiss on Zhu Zhixi’s cheek, and then turned the handle, opening the door for him.

Zhu Zeran was still standing outside, his gaze shifting between their faces, holding back a laugh.

“Zhu Zhixi, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?”

“Shut up.” Without another word, Zhu Zhixi stomped down the hallway.

Fu Rangyi watched his back, saw him rub his face with the back of his hand, then clench his fist, like a child.

“Let’s go, brother-in-law. We have a mission too,” Zhu Zeran raised an eyebrow at him.

“A mission?”

“Yeah, come with me.” Zhu Zeran gestured down the hallway with his chin.

So Fu Rangyi followed him downstairs to the back garden. The southwest corner was fenced off into a small lawn. Zhu Zeran walked over, pulled open the wooden fence gate, and stepped inside.

The area was really small. With two Alphas over 1.8 meters tall standing in it, it was even a bit awkwardly crowded. A cold wind blew, scattering the awkward atmosphere. Fu Rangyi even had a thought that in the next second, Zhu Zeran would recommend a brand of condoms to him.

Sure enough, Zhu Zeran spoke, but the content was not what he had imagined.

“Our Lao Zhu family has a tradition. Every New Year’s Eve, we have to plant a tree.”

As he spoke, he lifted a large bucket from a corner of the fence, which contained tools like shovels and spades.

“Plant a tree?” Fu Rangyi felt it was a bit strange. “At night?”

Zhu Zeran was quiet for a second. “Yeah, it has to be at night.”

Fu Rangyi looked around at the trees in the back garden. “You plant one every year?”

Zhu Zeran put his hands in his pockets and nodded. “That’s right.”

“But the trees in this yard don’t look like they were planted in different years,” Fu Rangyi began to pick apart his story.

But Zhu Zeran’s composure was clearly better than he had imagined. “The ones that grew too tall or too short, and the crooked ones, we pulled them up and threw them away. People move to live, trees move for longevity, right?”

Truly brothers, learning and applying on the spot.

“And we have gardeners. After they tidy up, of course it looks neater. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare take their salary.”

As he spoke, he picked up a shovel, shoved it directly into Fu Rangyi’s hands, and then said to himself, “Hold this. You dig the hole first, I’ll go get the tree.”

“Dig anywhere?” Fu Rangyi asked.

“Anywhere!” Zhu Zeran didn’t turn back, just raised a hand and strode forward as if he were really going to get a tree.

What a bizarre family custom.

After standing in place for a moment, Fu Rangyi finally began to act. He didn’t start digging immediately but carried the shovel and stepped around the small lawn. The middle seemed softer.

Squatting down, Fu Rangyi touched the turf, then reached out, wanting to pull it up.

But the next second, he heard his brother-in-law shout from a distance, “Hurry up and dig! Get it done quickly!”

Does he have surveillance cameras or a telescope installed? Fu Rangyi frowned and looked back, scanning the area.

Here it is. The soil is a bit looser, it’ll be easier. He never thought he’d have to dig for work, and now he had to dig again on his vacation. One shovelful down, the turf and soil turned over. A faint earthy smell mixed with the fresh scent of plants suddenly filled the cold air. It wasn’t unpleasant.

One shovelful, two. Suddenly, the metal head of the shovel hit something, making a sound.

Is it a rock? Fu Rangyi narrowed his eyes, half-squatting, and reached out to feel around. This was clearly moist, fresh soil. The turf had also been newly laid.

Identifying soil samples was a basic skill in archaeological drilling. They would determine soil layers through texture and structure to identify signs of underground remains.

Probing deeper, Fu Rangyi froze. He touched a hard corner.

What is this?

He stood up, swung the shovel again, once, twice, squatted down, and cleared away the soil and turf. He dug through layers of dirt like a small dog, as if he had returned to his childhood, under the big tree at the orphanage, in the flower beds, digging small holes alone with a small spade, drilling into the ground bit by bit, searching for shiny trash, storing his loneliness underground.

And now, he had actually dug up a silver box with many relief patterns on it, extremely beautiful.

The box had no lock. Fu Rangyi opened it with ease. And in that instant, the entire garden lit up with golden lights, like twinkling stars, rippling out in waves of fireflies.

The star-shaped lights on the fence flickered, surrounding Fu Rangyi. He was half-squatting in front of the box, looking up at his surroundings, looking so helpless.

There were lights inside the box too. At this moment, it glowed with a brilliant golden light, illuminating everything. The box was actually full of sand, and on top, a small shovel tied with a bow was stuck in at an angle.

It was an archaeologist’s hand trowel. Fu Rangyi’s name was engraved on it.

With this trowel, he dug in the golden sand and found many treasures. There were shiny candy wrappers, beautiful flower branches, a pair of old magnetic dolls, a vinyl record…

A flower specimen, a small towel with a rabbit pattern, a folded shirt, an exquisite calligraphy brush…

And a photograph.

In the photo, a young Zhu Zhixi stood under a pomelo tree in full bloom, smiling brilliantly. And next to him, a gray, hazy figure had been carefully cut out and pasted—a little snowman who liked to wear white and didn’t like to smile.

His vision suddenly blurred. It turned out his lenses were fogged up.

He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses clean, and dug some more, finding a yellowed piece of paper. Many lines of words were scrawled on it.

Reading it, he realized it was a checklist of things needed for childbirth. From maternity pads to the clothes and hat needed for leaving the hospital…

Fu Rangyi was a little confused. He flipped the paper over and froze on the spot. It was his familiar handwriting, the one he had signed contracts with, the one he had signed on the marriage registration form.

Hello.

I am Zhu Zhixi from universe 825523. Congratulations, at the end of your thirtieth year, you have finally, finally dug up this small time-traveling treasure chest. This snowy winter, we have finally connected our signals. Isn’t this good news at the start of the New Year?

Do you feel this is all very strange? Let me tell you, I am your bravest, most passionate, and most troublesome friend. You hate how I appear out of nowhere, messing up your plans, yet you always tolerate my mischief.

The most serious time was when I snuck into your top-tier conference and, before your presentation, pulled you into the venue’s atrium garden. “Want some candy, professor?” I asked you. It was the stickiest candy in the world, but the wrapper was shiny and beautiful, so you fell for it. My lips got stuck, I wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Your teeth got stuck, you wanted to scold me but couldn’t speak. The garden was full of pomelo blossoms that day, and the air seemed to be soaked in honey, sweet and sticky. I wanted to hug you under the tree, but you were in a hurry and rushed back to the conference hall. I plucked a small branch, stuck it in my shirt lapel, and ran to listen, fragrantly listening to your entire presentation.

Your doctoral dorm was on the first floor, which was a godsend for me. I was probably the most frequent undergraduate to haunt that highly educated area. Instead of entering through the main door, I liked to sneak to the back wall of your room, pick up a branch, and tap on the window like a magician. You were helpless, weren’t you, because you had to sleep at ten. But within three minutes at most, your window would light up, a square, golden-yellow moon, close to the ground, reachable by hand. When you pushed the window open, your hand would reach out from the moon.

Actually, I was lying when I said I couldn’t climb in. I just wanted you to fish me in, like fishing for a lively little fish. I wreaked havoc in your single room, occupied your private space, set up a tent, decorated a Christmas tree, piled clothes into a small mountain, but every time I followed the rule of speaking softly, so whenever we talked, we were pressed together, like the matching magnetic dolls at my house.

You don’t like anything besides studying, but I insisted on taking you to skip class, go to music festivals, to record stores, to buy cheap, damaged records that would loop endlessly on the last song. We rode bikes to the lake, I jumped into the lake pretending to have a cramp, which scared you into jumping in too. Then we became two water ghosts, at night, passing the bench by the lake, coughing next to the secretly kissing couple, scaring them and then running away.

I dragged you to my house, saying I would give you my brother’s new, unworn clothes to change into, and I changed into an identical set. It was actually my own coming-of-age gift, one for my 18-year-old self, and the other for my 22-year-old self, but I didn’t mention it, only saying, “Matching brother outfits are really funny, right?” In the mirror, I laughed theatrically, while you couldn’t laugh, just silently tugged at the hem of your shirt.

Of course, I was also naughty when I was in elementary school. I pretended to sprain my ankle, forcing you to carry me to the lake. I said I wanted to see the ice crack on the lake in spring, and I wanted to find the best-blooming canna lilies in the school flower beds, pluck the flowers, and let you suck the nectar I had half-sucked. You never liked to smile since you were little, always wearing a fluffy white sweater. I copied you and wore a sweater too.

You always remembered my gym class schedule, came to find me, took off my sweater, and stuffed a small towel into my undershirt because I always caught colds. Crackle, crackle, when you took it off, my head was full of sparks. You would get zapped by me, and at that moment, you would actually laugh, touch my floating hair, and ask, “Are you a jellyfish? So prickly.”

I heard my birth was very difficult. It seems I was a rascal even as a baby, torturing my mom and making my family anxious. Were you worried? Probably not, you were a baby too at that time. My family used my fetal hair to make a calligraphy brush, but even as a brush, I wasn’t well-behaved. The bristles all flared out in the second year, turning it into a small brush. How about I lend it to you to brush dirt? The treasures you excavate from the dust, I will help you brush them clean.

Let’s turn back time further, before I was born. Back then, I was a soul, like a jellyfish, swimming between universes. Believe me, this is no fairy tale. I accidentally discovered you in another time and space, trapped in a special utopia, with many children, standing in front of a pale green wall. A lonely little snowman. You had just turned four. It was a very cold winter.

Click, the moment the flash lit up, I floated down like snow and rested on your shoulder. You couldn’t see me; I was transparent. I hugged you, made you a promise, which you surely didn’t hear either. But it’s okay, I guessed as much. I left these mementos and this letter here. This time, no one will throw away your box; I will keep it for you. You said you would dig in the dirt for a lifetime, so you will find me sooner or later. I also borrowed a magical device from fate. It has a countdown, pretty cool, right?

Nian Nian, the second the countdown stops, you will have found me.

Happy New Year.

-Your mischievous bunny Xixi ^ ^
Written in universe 825523 on a beautiful snowy night with glutinous rice balls to eat]

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Author’s Note:

 This letter is an 825523 parallel universe that Xiao Zhu created based on the childhood “treasures” he buried in the box. In this universe, they grew up together and were never separated (in other words, it’s an ‘if’ timeline written by Xiao Zhu himself).