Chapter 48: The Beginning of a Fairy Tale

For this New Year’s gift, Zhu Zhixi racked his brains and started preparing very early. He, who was always full of clever ideas, rejected one idea after another in his mind. Not good enough, none of them were good enough to express his feelings.

Until he saw Fu Rangyi emptying out everything he had in front of him. In that second, he decided he had to give Fu Rangyi back his discarded little box.

So every day after leaving the museum, he would go back to his own home, rummage through all his things from childhood to adulthood, picking and choosing small trinkets worthy of being placed in the box.

The candy wrapper was the packaging from the first piece of candy his mother gave him; the withered flower branch was the first branch he broke off with his own hands when his father held him up as a child; the magnetic dolls were what he grabbed during his first birthday’s zhuazhou ceremony; the canna lily specimen was a result of his handicrafts class; the little rabbit towel was his favorite comfort blanket as a child.

The vinyl record was a gift he bought with the money from his very first part-time job; the shirt was a future coming-of-age gift he bought when he was 17. He thought he would grow a lot taller in a year, so he bought a size up, but at 18, he was far from as strong as he imagined, so he bought another one that fit.

In fact, none of these things had much value, and he had doubted whether they would mean anything to Fu Rangyi, but he quickly dismissed his own doubts.

He believed Fu Rangyi could understand these metaphors.

As he inventoried these “treasures,” a story automatically wove itself in his mind, a dream where he and Fu Rangyi were inseparable from childhood. Every item was “evidence” of their companionship. Perhaps parallel universes really existed.

So Zhu Zhixi wrote this imaginative letter.

He needed a piece of paper with special meaning as a carrier for his writing.

“Dad, do you have any… paper that’s been kept for a very, very long time?” Zhu Zhixi asked his father for help. “Preferably something related to me.”

“Paper?”

The ever-busy father immediately put down his work and went with him to the storage room to explore Zhu Zhixi’s childhood.

“How about this? The test where you got a perfect score for the first time, second semester of first grade…”

“No, no, showing a first-grade test to a university professor, he might get occupational disease…”

“Then this one? The paper airplane you folded as a child. Ah, and this, the drawing you made for mom and dad, but I don’t want you to write on this one. What about this? The letter you sent to your brother and me when you were studying away…”

Faced with this pile of papers, Zhu Zhixi was troubled. His father was troubled too. One couldn’t choose, the other was reluctant to give.

“What are you looking for?” Zhu Zeran appeared in the underground storage room at some point.

After learning of Zhu Zhixi’s request, his first reaction was to laugh. “Writing a love letter?”

“What love letter! Can you stop talking nonsense?”

“Not a love letter and you’re making such a big fuss?” Zhu Zeran squatted down, rummaged through the collection on the floor, picked up a drawing Zhu Zhixi made as a child, clicked his tongue in disgust, and then said, “I was thinking of something good, but since you’re not writing a love letter, it’s not worth taking out.”

Zhu Zhixi: “…Give it to me.”

Zhu Zeran: “Do you admit it’s a love letter?”

Zhu Zhixi was furious, but he held it in. “Whatever you say it is, it is.”

Having gotten his way, Zhu Zeran left. Not long after, he returned, taking out a yellowed piece of paper from his work notebook.

It looked like it had been casually torn from a notebook, very ordinary, but very clean, pressed flat without a single crease, and very well-preserved. Zhu Zhixi took it, read what was on it, and looked puzzled. “What is this?”

Father Zhu took a look and had a realization. “This is from before you were born. Your mother and I were discussing what we needed for the delivery, and she asked me to write it down and bring it. But on the day you were born, everyone was in such a panic, I don’t even know where this paper went.”

“I found it.” Zhu Zeran squatted between the two of them, raised his hand, and said with a smile, “I found it in the car. I even checked everything on this delivery checklist one by one, although none of you knew.”

“You?” Zhu Zhixi couldn’t believe it. He was only six years old at the time.

“Yeah, I was very involved, okay? The little blanket you were wrapped in when you were born, and the little towel, your big brother here checked them all.” Zhu Zeran raised his eyebrows. “How about that, this piece of paper is very meaningful, isn’t it.”

It was.

A light piece of paper, carrying all the love and anticipation of his family on the eve of his birth.

“But, this is also very precious.” He looked up at his father and brother. “This can also be considered something left by mom…”

Lao Zhu glanced at Zhu Zeran, then at him, his eyes gentle. “You and your brother are the most precious things mom left me.”

Zhu Zeran’s face was full of resistance. “That’s enough, Lao Zhu, don’t be so mushy.”

“Thanks, brother. Thanks, Dad.” Zhu Zhixi hugged one and then the other, taking the opportunity to give them new tasks.

“On New Year’s Eve, everyone has to cooperate with my plan. Dad, you’ll help me with the lighting. I’ve drawn up the plans. We’ll discuss it later, and you can help me see where else it can be improved. You’ll also have to keep an eye on the process. You’re the general director.”

Lao Zhu smiled. “You’re giving me so much power.”

“Yeah.” Zhu Zhixi then looked at his unreliable brother. “Da Zhu, you’re also very important. On the day, you’ll be responsible for guiding Professor Fu.”

Zhu Zeran frowned. “You’re using me as an NPC?”

“What NPC, you’re an actor. I’ve even prepared your lines.” Zhu Zhixi sweet-talked him. “This task is very demanding on one’s ability to react on the spot. Fu Rangyi is very sharp. I only trust someone as smart, witty, and mentally strong as you.”

“I can do that too,” Father Zhu said.

“No, Dad, it would be too scary if you personally called him downstairs.”

“Fine then.” As soon as someone else vied for the job, Zhu Zeran agreed.

But during the rehearsal, Zhu Zeran started complaining about how tiring and troublesome it was. “Why is it so complicated? Can’t I just bring him over? I have to time it perfectly, make it so complex. Are you proposing?”

It was already cold in the garden at night. Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi’s face fell. “Are you going to do it or not?”

“Now that you say it like that, I really don’t want to.”

“Then I’ll tell Dad about the time you did sister-in-law until he fainted.”

After making the threat, Zhu Zhixi ran, and sure enough, he was pulled back by Zhu Zeran.

“I’m warning you, don’t spread rumors. I didn’t make him faint. His fainting had no direct relationship with what I did!” Zhu Zeran emphasized.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you didn’t deny two things: one, he’s my sister-in-law, and two, you two did it.”

“…You’re really something. You’re the cursed golden hoop our mom left for me. The moment you open your mouth, my head hurts.”

Zhu Zeran compromised, obediently cooperating with him to complete the rehearsal and even helping to pour sand into the box. For a moment, it was as if they had returned to their childhood, playing very childish and meaningless games.

“Let me see the love letter you wrote,” Zhu Zeran reached out.

“No.” Zhu Zhixi meticulously smoothed the sand, then installed the sensor light. “It’s not a love letter. I’m not confessing to him.”

“Don’t give me that. You think I don’t know you?” Zhu Zeran sat down on the lawn, propping himself up with his hands. “Your eyes are practically glued to that kid.”

Zhu Zhixi repeatedly opened and closed the box, testing the effect. The light flickered on and off. He sighed and said honestly, “I do like him. To be honest, at first, I did think, why not just take this opportunity to confess? But after thinking about it for a long time, I still felt it wasn’t a good idea.”

“What’s not good about it?” Zhu Zeran never understood his thought process. “Are you afraid he doesn’t like you? Afraid he won’t agree?”

Zhu Zhixi shook his head. “No, I think he will agree. You don’t know, he’s the type of person who gives you whatever you ask for.”

He should… have feelings for me too.

I am special. He could even cut open old scars and take out a bleeding heart for me, just because I said I wanted to see. Zhu Zhixi knew all this.

“Then I understand even less.”

“Of course you don’t understand. You’re someone who gets whatever you want.” After saying this, Zhu Zhixi lowered his eyes. “He’s not. Anyway, I just want this gift to be purer.”

He said, looking at his brother, “I want to tell him that I wrote this letter not out of a sexual desire for possession. I don’t want him to decide to be with me because of a momentary emotion after reading it. That’s not the purpose of me doing all this at all.”

He just wanted to give him a simple surprise, to sew up his wound, to give him a firm choice.

This was what Fu Rangyi deserved in the first place.

After copying the letter, burying it, and laying the turf, Zhu Zhixi wondered if Fu Rangyi would cry after reading it.

The last time he saw him cry was during his susceptible period.

To be honest, he was a little bit expectant. But when he, hiding behind a tree with binoculars, really saw Fu Rangyi take off his glasses to wipe his tears, his heart ached, and he almost forgot the plan, wanting to run over and hug him, to wipe his tears for him.

But Lao Zhu was a very responsible general director. “Wait a little longer. Rangyi definitely hasn’t finished reading yet.”

“Okay.”

After surviving a few anxious and heart-wrenching minutes, Zhu Zhixi took the sapling from his brother’s hands and quietly approached the fence.

He had wanted to give him a surprise, but the doggy doctor was too alert. The moment he pulled open the fence gate, he turned around.

In the twinkling golden light, the two looked at each other for a few seconds. Zhu Zhixi suddenly became nervous. He felt that the hard, tense shell around Fu Rangyi seemed to have melted and fallen away, leaving the person inside extremely soft, his eyes filled with flowing ripples of water.

In the silence, Fu Rangyi spoke first, his voice softer than the night. “So there really was a tree to plant.”

Zhu Zhixi nodded, moved closer, squatted down, and then felt it wasn’t close enough, so he scooted closer to him. He put the tree down, turned his face to stare at Fu Rangyi, almost touching his face.

“Did you cry?” he asked in a small voice.

Fu Rangyi didn’t speak, just smiled.

Zhu Zhixi reached out and touched his face, his fingertips brushing the corner of his eye. It was wet.

“Thank you,” Fu Rangyi covered his hand with his own. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

Zhu Zhixi lowered his eyes and muttered, “Don’t say that so soon. In the future, maybe…”

Before he could finish, Fu Rangyi suddenly asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Zhu Zhixi was stunned, almost falling onto the dirt. “My… my dad and my brother are watching.”

“That’s why they’re watching,” Fu Rangyi’s voice was very soft, coaxing him. “At a time like this, it would be weirder not to have some intimate gestures, right?”

That seemed to make sense. Zhu Zhixi’s heart began to beat a little faster. He took a deep breath, wanting to lift his face, but the kiss had already fallen.

Fu Rangyi kissed his forehead.

Then he hugged Zhu Zhixi, lightly, as if afraid to use too much force. It was a strange hug. Perhaps because the wind was too strong, Zhu Zhixi’s eyes also started to feel a bit sore and dry.

He buried his face in Fu Rangyi’s shoulder and took a deep breath.

If only I could smell his pheromones right now. Even just a little would be good. The floral scent is stronger when he’s emotional, so what about when he’s sad? Would it be a field of flourishing wormwood?

“Zhu Zhixi.”

“Hm?”

The meticulous archaeology professor suddenly asked a whimsical question. “Which universe are we in right now?”

A tear that had been held back finally fell. Zhu Zhixi hugged him tightly and said in a low voice, “I don’t know. You name it. You’re the native.”

Fu Rangyi chuckled lightly. “Then… let’s call it universe 1214.”

Zhu Zhixi looked up and smiled at him. “Okay.”

And so, Fu Rangyi and Zhu Zhixi of universe 1214 moved the treasure chest out together and planted a small tree in the empty space on the lawn. To be precise, it was a cypress tree.

“Why plant a cypress?” Fu Rangyi asked, knowing the answer.

Zhu Zhixi deliberately played against expectations. “Because cypresses are cool. Did you know? The tree in Van Gogh’s Starry Night that’s almost reaching the sky is a cypress. So full of life.”

“Is that so?” Fu Rangyi smiled and said softly, “I used to dislike cypresses, but a while ago, when I was reading some literature, I learned about the special meaning of cypresses, and I thought it was pretty good.”

“What meaning?” Zhu Zhixi asked.

Fu Rangyi didn’t answer immediately. He used to think that this kind of tree was always planted next to cemeteries. Sometimes when he smelled his own pheromones, he would think, was this the closest smell to death?

Later he learned that cypress also represents “eternal life.”

It was the first time he realized he was so superstitious.

“Just as you said, it’s an evergreen, with strong vitality,” Fu Rangyi deflected. “I’ll find that article and send it to you.”

After leaving the garden, Zhu Zhixi led him by the hand, around the house to a glass room on the side. It was filled with flowers and plants, like a beautiful greenhouse. Walking through layers of Phalaenopsis orchids to the very center, Fu Rangyi realized that both Father Zhu and Zhu Zeran were inside.

In addition, there was a very large color photograph in a golden frame, amidst the clusters of flowers. The face in the photo was smiling brightly and radiantly, and it indeed looked very much like Zhu Zhixi.

Father Zhu turned to look at him, his smile benevolent. “Rangyi, come and meet Mom.”

Zhu Zeran also handed him a lit incense stick, then turned back and said with a smile, “Mom, this is the kid who stole Zhu Zhixi away.”

“Mom, don’t listen to his nonsense,” Zhu Zhixi immediately retorted.

When he stood up, Lao Zhu even hugged him, like a father, patting his shoulder.

“Come home with Xixi more often in the future.”

At the turn of the old and new year, Fu Rangyi received a long-lost box, a letter from another world, and a surreally beautiful glass greenhouse. It was all like a fairy tale. The beginning of the fairy tale was him falling into a rabbit hole and catching a rabbit.

In a daze, he thought, even if this was a dream, it would be fine. He couldn’t even have such a good dream.

After being moved, Fu Rangyi began to feel embarrassed, because compared to Zhu Zhixi’s elaborately planned surprise, his seemed so ordinary.

Even though he had spent a long time, doing his best, it seemed that from the very beginning he was afraid that Zhu Zhixi wouldn’t like it, wouldn’t be satisfied, so he made one after another, thinking, there must be one that he would be satisfied with.

But Zhu Zhixi didn’t ask for it. After returning to the room, he kept muttering, finding suitable pajamas for him, and asking if he wanted to take a bath, saying he had many bath bombs.

“Or… or you can just take a quick shower?”

Even Zhu Zhixi could stutter.

As if possessed, Fu Rangyi finally spoke up. “Actually, I also prepared a gift for you.”

Zhu Zhixi was stunned. His eyes, looking at him, slowly widened. After a few seconds, he pursed his lips and smiled. “Really? I have a gift too?”

“But it’s not as good as yours. It’s very ordinary.”

There would never be a better gift in the world, Fu Rangyi was certain.

“Who says?” Zhu Zhixi leaned over and grabbed his clenched hand. “You’re giving it to me, so I should be the one to judge. Let me see.”

Fu Rangyi had to compromise. He took out a very small item and handed it to him.

Zhu Zhixi looked at it, a little surprised. “A USB drive?”

“I… I saw that you’ve been busy with the museum work, and it seemed very difficult, so I went to see Director Zhou and got all the materials for your current exhibition, as well as the collection of artifacts. I’ve annotated the background, dynasty, and excavation time for each artifact.”

“Besides this, I also, based on literature and other background materials, combined with the summary you wrote yourself, have written the introductions and annotations, and organized the order. You can use it directly. I also, by the way… from an archaeological perspective, helped you correct some of the current minor issues. I saw that you wrote many questions in the annotations, so I answered them one by one. There should be no omissions.”

Fu Rangyi said, explaining, “I’m not interfering with your work, I just think this will make your project move forward more easily.”

Heavens.

Zhu Zhixi stared at the small USB drive, at a loss for words. It was as if Fu Rangyi had quietly opened a real museum for him, and only for him. Answering his questions, clearing his obstacles.

He did all this by himself. How long must it have taken?

“This is the very ordinary gift you were talking about?” Zhu Zhixi hugged him. “I’ve been worrying myself to death over these things every day. You have no idea how important this is to me.”

This is likely the last exhibition I will ever do in my life.

“Actually, this is only the first gift,” Fu Rangyi’s voice was very low. “There are two more…”

“There’s more?” Zhu Zhixi looked up.

As if by magic, Fu Rangyi took out the second gift. He had searched everywhere for this some time ago and finally found a shop to customize it.

The packaging was beautiful, a small square box tied with a silk ribbon bow. Zhu Zhixi had received countless gifts, but opening this one, he still felt a sense of trepidation.

“A scented candle?” Zhu Zhixi looked at him, blinking.

Fu Rangyi nodded. “I had it custom-made.” As he spoke, he took out a silver lighter from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Zhixi. “Want to light it and try it now?”

“Now? But I just received it.” Zhu Zhixi held the snow-white, round candle like a snowball and frowned. “I’m a little reluctant to use it.”

Fu Rangyi took a deep breath, his fingers fidgeting with the lighter, opening and closing it.

Finally, he admitted, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, “This is a candle that simulates the scent of my pheromones.”

Zhu Zhixi stood frozen, his translucent eyes reflecting all of Fu Rangyi’s nervousness, anticipation, and unease.

“Pheromones…”

“Don’t be reluctant. If you like it, I can make more.” Fu Rangyi’s voice grew lower and lower, until the lighter was snatched away, and he was pulled down, forced to sit with Zhu Zhixi on the fluffy carpet.

Click. A flame flickered and danced on the pink wick, reflecting in his palm, and also illuminating the two faces that were extremely close.

The scent hadn’t had time to spread yet, but Zhu Zhixi’s eyes were already red. It turned out that when a person feels happy, they really do shed tears.

He tried to suppress the rising tears with a joke. “Fu Rangyi, you’re glowing.”

Plop.

Fu Rangyi stared at the drop of milky white wax that fell and replied softly.

“I’m melting.”