Blossom through the Cloud - Extra Chapter 2
Extra Chapter 2
Afterward, Ruan Suxian made another trip to the pottery studio.
With the experience from her previous visit, she was much more proficient this time around.
"It was this exact shape last time," the pottery instructor said, standing behind Ruan Suxian. "Would you like to try a different one?"
"No need," Ruan Suxian replied with a slight arch of her brow. As the potter's wheel spun evenly in her hands, she offered a half-smile and said, "He doesn't deserve it."
The instructor, a young woman in her early twenties, sat down and propped her chin in her hands as she watched Ruan Suxian.
"When did you and your husband get married?"
Ruan Suxian: "Last winter."
"Do you have any kids yet?"
"Not yet."
"I want to get married so badly too. Whenever I go back to the dorms, I'm all by myself." The pottery instructor smiled, the corners of her eyes curving into crescents filled with yearning. "Having a husband sounds wonderful."
Once the clay pot was shaped and the wheel came to a halt, Ruan Suxian lifted the piece off and said nonchalantly, "What's so wonderful about it? Not wonderful at all. Ordering you around about this and that all day long—it's driving me crazy."
The wind chimes at the entrance jingled, ushering in a fleeting gust of cold air.
Ruan Suxian looked up at the newcomer, hurriedly wiped the clay off her hands, and turned back to the pottery instructor. "My husband's here to pick me up, so I have to head out. Could you please help me leave this out to dry?"
The pottery instructor let out a glum murmur of acknowledgment.
Didn't she just say marriage wasn't any good? The moment she saw her husband, she ran off faster than a dog.
Stepping out of the pottery studio, snowflakes drifted down in flurries, and Ruan Suxian stood by the roadside as her breath billowed into wisps of white vapor.
The bustling streets and festively decorated storefronts were filled with the atmosphere of the approaching Lunar New Year.
"It's snowing again."
Instead of rushing to the car, she linked her arm through Fu Mingyu's as they strolled forward, the car trailing slowly behind them.
"Hm?"
Ruan Suxian tilted her head up to face the falling snow.
"I still remember the snow the year before last was on New Year's Eve, when you flew back from Singapore to spend the holiday with me. And last year's snow was on Christmas Day, when we spent the entire afternoon watching movies at home."
She rambled on softly: "We watched Casablanca, don't you remember?"
Fu Mingyu thought for a moment and nodded. "I remember."
Ruan Suxian gave a light huff. "You remember my foot. You were sleeping sounder than a log."
Fu Mingyu slowed his pace, the swirling snow before his eyes blurring his vision.
"You're not even thirty yet, why have you been dwelling on the past so much lately?"
"Who knows." Ruan Suxian lowered her head, burying her chin deep in her scarf.
She wasn't intentionally reminiscing; it just felt as though time flowed steadily yet with remarkable clarity, and when she casually brought things up, she realized how deeply etched those memories were in her mind.
After a moment of silence, Ruan Suxian picked up on a different undertone hidden within Fu Mingyu's remark.
"Sigh," she sighed softly. "You're already thirty-one."
"What?" Fu Mingyu raised an eyelid. "Been watching another survival talent show lately?"
With hundreds of teenage and twenty-something boys standing side by side singing and dancing, Ruan Suxian would regularly sit on the sofa holding a bucket of popcorn, watching unblinkingly while chanting "Oh, look at that younger brother, so handsome, so cute" every few seconds.
Fu Mingyu didn't want to watch, but with the television at home being so large and high-definition, he would occasionally catch a clear glimpse of those youthful faces whenever he walked past—not to mention the fact that Ruan Suxian frequently made him use his phone to cast votes.
Oddly enough, he sometimes found himself stopping to watch for a few moments and even memorized a few names.
"No, that's not what I mean." Ruan Suxian tugged at his sleeve. "Be honest with me, have your parents ever put pressure on you behind the scenes?"
"Pressure about what?"
"You know what."
"Oh, no."
"Really?"
"Really haven't." Thinking of something, Fu Mingyu suddenly chuckled. "That's the perk of having an older brother. Since he hasn't had kids yet, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to overstep and jump the queue, right?"
Ruan Suxian twitched the corner of her mouth. "Is that really how you use your brother? Though looking at it, you managed to get married before him anyway, so I don't see you showing much respect for seniority."
"Well, if anyone's going to get pressured, he can take the heat first."
"Oh." Ruan Suxian instinctively touched her lower abdomen. "What about you? Are you in a hurry?"
"About making a baby?" Fu Mingyu considered the question with great apparent seriousness before replying, "I quite enjoy the process. As for the result—"
"Shut your mouth." Ruan Suxian cut him off, quickening her pace as she walked ahead.
After taking a few steps, however, she turned back to ask, "I'm serious."
Fu Mingyu came to a halt, his demeanor finally turning serious.
"I'm not in a hurry. It's completely up to you."
Ruan Suxian lowered her eyes in thought. "Let's talk about it later then."
"Alright."
Truth be told, she was already twenty-eight, right in the prime age for childbearing, yet she couldn't bring herself to make that definitive decision.
Unlike other careers, the moment she decided to get pregnant and have a child, she would have to step away from work right from the early stages.
Following the ten months of pregnancy came a lengthy recovery period, and after that, she would have to go through medical examinations, theoretical exams, simulator training, and retraining all over again just to return to her post.
Throughout the journey, Ruan Suxian kept turning this matter over in her mind, remaining mostly silent.
And Fu Mingyu kept quiet as well.
It wasn't until they got into the car that he suddenly said, "Actually, it's not strictly necessary."
"Hm?" Ruan Suxian didn't catch his drift. "What isn't strictly necessary?"
"I said, having children isn't an absolute must." Fu Mingyu turned to look at her, speaking with sincere earnestness. "If you don't have plans for it."
"No, no, no." Ruan Suxian shook her head vigorously. "Are you out of your mind? I just said let's wait a bit, not that I never want any."
"Oh." Fu Mingyu was amused by her nervous reaction. "Why are you getting so worked up? I was just mentioning it in passing."
"I advise you to banish that thought right now." Ruan Suxian reached out to tap him on the forehead. "Besides, your family has a metaphorical imperial throne to inherit."
"Mm."
Originally, Ruan Suxian had simply been struck by the moment and casually brought up the topic of children.
Yet hearing Fu Mingyu's words actually made her nudge the item a little higher up on her mental to-do list.
Though Fu Mingyu had guessed right about one thing.
She genuinely hadn't planned on having children.
—At least, not once upon a time.
Her reasoning was the same as before: the investment was simply too massive, and the return remained entirely unpredictable.
Back then, she couldn't possibly predict whom she would marry, so she could only make assumptions in advance.
Yet over the past year, whenever her period was a few days late, she would find herself overthinking—simultaneously nervous, apprehensive, and full of anticipation.
Even though she feared the arrival of such an "accident," confirming its absence left her feeling a little let down.
She figured that if having a baby weren't such an immensely complicated ordeal for her, she might well have been an expectant mother by this point.
As they neared the Zheng residence, the two of them naturally dropped the subject.
Today was the Lesser Year's Eve, and she and Fu Mingyu were heading to the Zheng family home for dinner, which naturally meant Yan An and Zheng You'an would be attending as well.
The atmosphere around the dining table felt somewhat subdued, lacking the typical festive cheer of the New Year.
The three men spoke very little, and neither Ruan Suxian nor Dong Xian were the type to make lively conversationalists, leaving Zheng You'an solely responsible for keeping the atmosphere afloat.
Having just returned from Europe, she chattered away nonstop, hopping from Romania to Bulgaria, then from Ireland to the Netherlands, with clear momentum to push onward into Central Europe.
However, just as she mentioned Poland, her gaze swept across the table and caught Fu Mingyu dishing out soup for Ruan Suxian. She reached under the table to pinch Yan An's leg while clearing her throat.
Catching the cue instantly, Yan An picked up his glass of lemon water.
"Thirsty? Have some water."
Zheng You'an: "......"
You might as well just play dead.
It was only after speaking that Yan An realized his words could easily be misinterpreted as "finding his wife too talkative," prompting him to cover his awkwardness with a light cough and add a clarifying patch.
"I spent the whole afternoon shopping with her today, and we came straight over without any rest."
"Ah." Ruan Suxian stepped in to smooth over the awkwardness. "That does sound exhausting. President Yan, you should drink some water too."
Zheng You'an muttered under her breath: "What's he exhausted about? He didn't even help carry a single shopping bag."
Only Yan An caught the whisper. He turned to look at Zheng You'an with half-closed eyes and murmured, "You bought six bags in one go, how was I supposed to carry them all?"
Zheng You'an drank her water in silence.
As if he would have helped carry them if she'd only bought one.
Strangely enough, the moment she stopped talking, the mood at the dinner table plunged into absolute frostiness.
"It's getting late."
Once dinner concluded, Ruan Suxian zipped up her coat and said, "We'll be heading home first."
Standing up at a leisurely pace, Yan An chimed in, "We're heading home too."
"Wait a minute."
Dong Xian turned around to retrieve two boxed items from the cabinet, intended for the two sons-in-law. "Even though you're both young, you're constantly busy with work and don't take very good care of yourselves. A friend of mine sent me this dried Asiatic toad skin harvested from the Dasuhe River in Changbai Mountain. It's fantastic for your health—nourishing the kidneys, replenishing vital essence, enhancing immunity, and usually—"
The moment Ruan Suxian heard the words "nourishing the kidneys," her temples started throbbing. She tuned out everything else Dong Xian said, instead grasping Fu Mingyu's hand tightly while expressing her stance entirely through her eyes.
You are forbidden to take it!!
Don't you dare accept this gift!!
Did you hear me?!
Fu Mingyu, you pull your hand back right now!!
Can't you buy your own stuff if you need it?!
Put it right back where you found it!!
Completely oblivious to Ruan Suxian's intense eye-daggers, Fu Mingyu accepted the gift with a clear conscience and offered a polite, courteous expression of gratitude.
The other couple remained entirely unbothered, accepting the items with neutral expressions before getting into their car and leaving.
Inside their car, Fu Mingyu took a phone call that lasted all the way until they arrived home.
As he stepped out of the vehicle, one hand held the gift from Dong Xian while the other reached backward.
After waiting for a long moment, Ruan Suxian never placed her hand in his.
"What's wrong?"
Fu Mingyu looked back and saw Ruan Suxian staring fixedly at the item in his hand.
"Taking tonics when you're still young and spry." She adjusted her scarf and marched straight toward the front door with her head down.
Fu Mingyu looked at Ruan Suxian's retreating back, then glanced down at the item in his hand.
He genuinely couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
Was snow toad skin not a good thing?
Once inside, Fu Mingyu casually placed the item on the table and walked toward Ruan Suxian while unbuttoning his coat.
"I set it on the table."
"Oh." Ruan Suxian walked past him holding a water glass without sparing the item a single extra glance, muttering under her breath, "Eat someone's food and your mouth gets soft; take someone's gift and your hands get short. You're taking and eating everything—you're just soft and short all over."
Fu Mingyu: "......"
He caught Ruan Suxian by the wrist and yanked her back. "What did you just say?"
"I said you—" Ruan Suxian looked up, caught sight of the look in Fu Mingyu's eyes, and guiltily shrank her neck. "I didn't mean it that way..."
"Then what way did you mean it?"
He put heavy emphasis on the word what.
"Hey, hubby, it's getting late, almost ten o'clock. Let's wash up and get some rest."
She tried to slip away, but her wrist remained firmly imprisoned.
Using his free hand, Fu Mingyu began unbuttoning his shirt cuffs while a knowing curve played at the corners of his mouth.
"Alright, let's wash up together as husband and wife and discuss this topic in detail."
"......"
At that moment, Ruan Suxian wished she could give herself two slaps for failing to control her mouth—why did she always speak without thinking?
That night, snow weighed down the tree branches, falling in soft, silent flurries against a backdrop of absolute stillness.
Inside the bathroom, water trickled steadily, flowing down Ruan Suxian's calves onto the floor.
Her toes curled tightly as she gripped the handle of the glass shower door, her knuckles turning white.
"Say something," Fu Mingyu murmured, pinning her chin as their necks brushed close. "Who were you calling soft, baby?"
"......"
Pulled into his embrace, she was spun around to face the bathroom mirror. Bracing one hand against the glass, she nervously scratched a long, trembling palm print into the condensation.
Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she lacked the courage to look at her own reflection.
"Mmh... I can't... that's enough..."
"Enough what? Didn't you say it was short?"
"......"
Why did this man hold such a grudge over a slip of the tongue?!
She had only spoken without thinking!
Though the box of snow toad tonic left Ruan Suxian with lingering psychological trauma, she didn't take out her grievances on the item itself and made sure to put it to good use.
Dong Xian had been right about one thing: Fu Mingyu was exceptionally busy and rarely managed to take proper care of himself.
Furthermore, his stomach was somewhat sensitive, which was why Ruan Suxian usually barred him from drinking alcohol.
Yet business banquets couldn't always be brushed off with a simple excuse of a bad stomach.
On nights when he returned late with an upset stomach, he required medication before he could finally find sleep.
That particular evening, Ruan Suxian was undergoing her periodic re-examination and ran into Ren Xu during the flight simulator phase.
She was put through the wringer until every bone in her body felt loose.
By the time she returned home, showered, and climbed into bed, it was already pushing eleven.
"Aren't you back yet?"
When she called Fu Mingyu, her voice was practically dripping with exhaustion.
"Not done yet, go ahead and sleep."
"Mm."
After hanging up, Ruan Suxian had intended to wait up for him, especially since a portion of snow toad porridge was still warming in the kitchen.
However, as she lay there in bed, sleepiness rolled over her in tidal waves.
By the time Fu Mingyu returned, it was one in the morning.
Noticing the lights still on in the master bedroom, he headed straight upstairs, gently pushed the door open, and discovered that Ruan Suxian had already fallen asleep.
She was a light sleeper; sometimes even his tossing and turning at night would wake her.
Mindful of this, Fu Mingyu switched off the light, pulled the door closed, and stepped back out.
After showering and taking some medicine, he headed to the guest bedroom to sleep.
When he drifted back to consciousness, his mind remained slightly hazy, yet he distinctly felt someone in his arms.
Opening his eyes, he lowered his gaze to study Ruan Suxian's sleeping face.
Sometime later, she finally showed signs of waking up.
She opened her eyes, glanced at the weather outside the window, and closed them again to continue sleeping.
"When did you come over?"
Drowsily, Ruan Suxian groped around Fu Mingyu's chest to find a more comfortable spot, offering no answer.
"I asked you a question."
Sticking her hand out from beneath the covers, she gave Fu Mingyu's mouth a sharp thwack.
"No idea." With her eyes still shut, the corners of her mouth curved upward. "Must be sleepwalking."