[Actually, my younger brother was also very good to me. He knew our parents weren’t good; he always chased after me calling me ‘Brother’ and looked after me in secret,] Wen Mo signed. [He would even secretly break off pieces of pancakes or steamed buns and hide them in his pockets, then tuck them into my hands when I came back.]
[You knew all that, but you still didn’t like him.]
[You didn’t like anyone in my family. You just felt that I was the most pitiful.]
“Because it was the truth!”
Shen Yi sat up in annoyance, instinctively cursing, “No one in your family was a good person; they all bullied you! Even your brother wasn’t a good person!”
Wen Mo was startled and hurriedly pulled him back down to sit.
Shen Yi sat down obediently, though unwillingly. Wen Mo watched his pouting expression and let out a laugh.
[Later, you secretly provided for me for many years,] Wen Mo signed. [In a flash, I was sixteen and my brother was fourteen.]
[My mother began to nag.]
[She said it was time to find a wife for my brother, just to get to know someone first.]
[Her idea was to find a girl for them to meet and nurture feelings for. When the time came, they would naturally talk about marriage.]
[She went to the village matchmaker about this, asking her to help make a connection.]
[The word got out that a son of the old Wen family wanted to find a wife to get to know first, to live together for a few years, and then get married when the time was right.]
[No one in the village saw me as a human being; everyone knew my family didn’t care about me at all, so they assumed she was talking about my brother.]
[But when it reached your ears, you actually thought my mother wanted to find a wife for me.]
As he signed, Wen Mo’s face turned red with laughter, and his shoulders shook. [That day at noon, you came over in a frantic rush.]
It was midsummer back then. The sun was massive and harsh. Jiang Yi, who came to knock on his door, was covered in sweat.
At noon, Lin Hong was at home. She went to open the door and was startled. She asked him why he had come.
Jiang Yi stammered and said he was looking for Wen Mo.
Hearing that name, Lin Hong’s expression soured. She rolled her eyes, went back into the house, and shouted for Wen Mo to come out.
“Someone’s at the door looking for you!” she said impatiently, her look full of utter disdain. “I don’t know what people are thinking why he comes to find you every day. What on earth does he see in you?”
Hearing this, Wen Mo knew exactly who it was. He was a bit puzzled as to why Jiang Yi would show up at his door at this hour. He knew someone from the Wen family would be home; it was very strange.
Wen Mo muttered in his heart as he stepped out. As soon as he reached the door, he saw Jiang Yi, drenched in sweat, his face pale and gasping for breath.
Wen Mo was startled.
[What’s wrong?] he signed.
Jiang Yi’s expression suddenly tensed. He pursed his lips, his face overtaken by panic, and his deathly pale face suddenly flushed a deep red.
“Are you…” he stammered for a moment, then asked, “Are you free tonight?”
Wen Mo nodded.
“Then tonight, I’ll come and tell you.”
After Jiang Yi finished speaking, he turned and ran away. Wen Mo tried to stop him, running out the door for a few steps, but failed to catch him. He stood on the village road looking bewildered, watching Jiang Yi’s fleeing figure vanish into a tiny dot on the road in the distance.
The cicadas were buzzing in the trees all around.
In the evening, Jiang Yi came to knock on the door again.
Wen Mo went out to answer, and Jiang Yi led him away. The moonlight was bright that night; he could see the ground even without streetlights, but Jiang Yi brought a flashlight anyway. He used the flashlight to illuminate the ground, leading Wen Mo step by step toward the river.
Jiang Yi didn’t say a word the whole way, and Wen Mo followed behind him, also remaining silent.
When they reached the riverbank, Jiang Yi stopped. Wen Mo stopped with him.
The river breeze fluttered, and the sound of the water was steady. They stood by the river, with a patch of reeds taller than a person behind them. Under the night sky, the reeds swayed gently in the wind.
Jiang Yi stood there without moving, his back turned to Wen Mo the entire time. The light from his flashlight shone on the ground, creating a round circle of light.
In the night air, he took a breath.
“Is it that… you didn’t see anything in me?”
His voice was trembling.
Wen Mo froze. [?]
Jiang Yi suddenly whipped around, the flashlight’s beam shining on the ground between them. The surrounding darkness brightened a little. Wen Mo saw that Jiang Yi’s eyes were blood-red and his face was full of grievance; he had already shed many tears.
“Did you not see anything in me?” Jiang Yi asked him through his tears. “You didn’t see anything in me, so you’re just letting your mother find a wife for you, is that it!?”
Wen Mo was stunned.
Jiang Yi pursed his lips tightly, but his mouth still wouldn’t stop trembling.
His tears fell incessantly. He raised a hand to wipe them away twice, then buried his hand in his arm and began to sob. Only then did Wen Mo regain his senses. He hurriedly stepped forward, pulling a clean handkerchief from his pocket, wanting to wipe away the tears.
Jiang Yi pushed him away and let out a frantic cry: “Don’t come over! Tell me first!”
“Did you not see anything in me! Speak! Tell me!”
He was so aggrieved his face was red, his eyes were even wetter, and he glared at Wen Mo with an defiant stare.
“If you really don’t like me, just say it! Tell me! You think I’m annoying yet you didn’t tell me!? You didn’t see anything in me yet you didn’t tell me, and you’re just letting your mother find a wife for you? You wanted to dump me this way!? Do you find this interesting, Wen Mo? Are you trying to kill me with anger!? You—”
Jiang Yi cried and ranted without stopping, heart-wrenchingly sad and screaming at the top of his lungs.
Wen Mo raised his hands: [My mother is finding a wife for my brother…]
Jiang Yi’s voice cut off.
His tear-filled eyes slowly widened, and his crying was interrupted by a hiccup.
After a long while, he spoke like a foolish dog, his voice still laced with crying: “Huh?”
Wen Mo really couldn’t hold it back anymore and burst out laughing.
Jiang Yi looked like such a fool that Wen Mo couldn’t stop laughing. He stumbled a few steps, leaning against a nearby large tree, laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.
“Don’t laugh!” Jiang Yi’s face turned even redder, and he stomped his feet in a panic. “Don’t laugh anymore! No laughing!”
“What’s so funny? I was being serious! It’s all your mother’s fault for not being clear about which son she was talking about!”
“…Stop laughing, Wen Mo!”
Wen Mo still couldn’t lift his head from the laughter.
Jiang Yi could no longer save face. The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt; his face felt like it was going to explode. He threw the flashlight down, crouched on the ground, and began to scream while clutching his head in a breakdown.
“I didn’t say anything!” he shouted. “I didn’t say a thing, you forget it all! You forget every single bit of it; you haven’t seen me tonight!!”
Wen Mo laughed until he coughed. He lifted his head; Jiang Yi was still clutching his head and crying.
Wen Mo looked at him, and gradually, he stopped laughing.
The night wind blew by the river. He watched Jiang Yi, and a spot in his heart suddenly turned scalding hot. Wen Mo couldn’t explain his emotions in a few words; he just looked at Jiang Yi and suddenly thought that there would never be another night like this, and there would never be another person like Jiang Yi.
No one else would ever be this anxious about him.
The reeds swayed. He stood up and walked toward Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi heard the footsteps and shouted again: “Fine! I get it! Just laugh then! Laugh as much as you want, laugh at me for the rest of your life! Just laugh until I’m dead, I—”
Wen Mo took Jiang Yi’s face in his hands.
Jiang Yi’s voice cut off. Before he could react, he was forced to lift his head by the pressure. His entire face was flushed with blood, and there were still tear stains on his face; his round eyes stared at Wen Mo blankly.
Wen Mo kissed him.
The river breeze blew, and the reeds swayed. The moon was hazy in the sky, and its reflection shimmered on the river.
Jiang Yi’s eyes suddenly widened.
After a moment, Wen Mo released him.
He didn’t have much courage in the end; it was only a meeting of lips.
Wen Mo’s ink-black hair was disheveled by the river wind, and his face was also flushed with blood. He looked at Jiang Yi timidly, his eyelashes fluttering. He lowered his gaze, not daring to look at him, his mouth tightly pursed.
Through the messy strands of hair, Jiang Yi could only see the tips of his ears, which were bright red. Wen Mo let go of his face; his black hair shifted in the wind, and his thin, small frame huddled together as if he wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in.
Jiang Yi was frozen on the spot.
After a long time, Wen Mo heard him let out a sharp intake of breath.
Wen Mo felt a pain in both shoulders as Jiang Yi suddenly gripped them hard. He was startled and looked up.
Jiang Yi’s face was even redder, his pupils were trembling, and he stared fixedly at Wen Mo, the hands on his shoulders shaking incessantly.
Jiang Yi hardened his heart, closed his eyes, and kissed him back.
He held him forcefully and deeply, kissing him.
Wen Mo was caught off guard. He instinctively wanted to break free but was held firmly by the back of his head and his waist, locked in Jiang Yi’s embrace. He had nowhere to run and could only let the air thin out bit by bit.
After a long time, Jiang Yi released him.
Having been deprived of air for so long, Wen Mo took a deep breath, lowering his head and gasping.
Jiang Yi let out a soft laugh in his ear and held him even tighter. Wen Mo let out a muffled sound, forced to lean against his shoulder.
Jiang Yi patted his back, swaying him back and forth happily a few times, then kissed his ear and gave the ear cartilage a little bite.
The bite made Wen Mo shudder in his arms.
“You’re mine.”
He breathed warmly into Wen Mo’s ear, his voice carrying the airy sound of a smile.
“I am your wife now.”