Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

Evening, the family compound of the Ministry of Transport.

Runye walked up the stairs, and before she even reached the second floor, she smelled a odor.

It doesn't taste like ordinary food.

It was a fragrance she had never smelled before. Sweet and creamy, it wafted down from upstairs, seeping into her nose layer by layer.

What is Li Xiangqian doing now?

Runye quickened her pace.

After entering the living room, I went straight to the kitchen.

The kitchen looked like it had been fried.

A bag of flour lay open on the stove, its tip spilling out, its white residue covering half the surface. Next to it was a small piece of white paste wrapped in oil paper, most of it already scraped off. In the enamel basin was a lump of yellowish, hardened dough.

There were seven or eight broken eggshells scattered on the ground.

"Again, wasting food?"

Runye watched, muttering to herself.

Li Xiangqian stood by the stove, turned his head, and chuckled.

"Perfect timing, you've arrived just in time."

Runye frowned as she looked at Li Xiangqian. Li Xiangqian had a large patch of white flour on his cheek, his hands were also covered in white flour, and there was a small blob of white paste stuck to his hair.

"What...what are you doing?"

Li Xiangqian chuckled and turned to take a plate from the stove.

There was an unidentified object on the plate.

It's round, but not very regular. A thin layer of white paste covers its surface, making it uneven and pitted, like an unevenly applied plaster. Several crooked, distorted patterns are drawn on it with honey, making it impossible to discern what they represent.

It doesn't look very appealing. But it smells really good, with a sweet, milky aroma that hits your nose.

Runye stared at the unidentified object, pursing her lips without saying a word.

Li Xiangqian placed the plate on the table, his face cracking with a smile, looking extremely kind.

"How was it? It took me all afternoon."

Runye looked at the plate, then at Li Xiangqian.

"You didn't go to work this afternoon, so you did this?"

"What do you mean by 'just this'?"

Li Xiangqian glared at her.

"You think it's easy? Do you know how much this cream cost me? Eight dollars. Eight dollars. That's almost enough for me to make three pots of chicken soup."

Then he stretched out his hand to show Runye.

"Without a whisk, I used two chopsticks to stir for forty minutes. Look at my arm, I almost ruined it."

He then pointed to the eggshells on the ground.

"I failed twice. The first time, the egg batter didn't rise and collapsed. The second time, the heat was too high, and it burned, turning as black as a lump of coal. It only succeeded on the third try."

As Li Xiangqian spoke, he rubbed his hands on his clothes, leaving white streaks.

"Luckily, I have excellent craftsmanship. How about it? It's all handmade."

Runye watched him complaining and showing off, and thought to herself, "Li Xiangqian has really changed. He's actually willing to spend money and time on himself."

"Why...why didn't you go to the movies with Lili?"

Runye leaned closer to the table and glanced at it before asking.

Li Xiangqian immediately showed a look of disgust.

"What good movies can you find these days? Three and a half hours long, two parts, it's terrifying just thinking about it."

Then suddenly he felt something was wrong and looked at Runye.

How did you know about watching the movie?

Runye's expression stiffened slightly.

"Um... Director Du thought you went to the movies with Lili, so he came to the school to look for me."

"What do you want?"

Li Xiangqian found it all very strange.

"I already gave that ticket to Xiao Zhao. You want to see it? I'll get you one next time."

He paused again as he spoke.

"No, Director Du came to the school looking for you?"

Runye didn't want to linger on this topic and quickly changed the subject.

"Lili went through a lot of trouble to get two tickets, and you didn't even explain to her that you weren't going, but instead gave the tickets to other people."

"This woman has terrifying energy. Who knows what she'll do after the movie?"

Li Xiangqian felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.

Runye looked at his terrified expression and couldn't help but twitch her lips as if she wanted to laugh.

"I sent Xiao Zhao. I owe Xiao Zhao a favor. I'll bring him a boiled egg tomorrow."

After Li Xiangqian finished speaking, he took a candle out of the drawer of the table.

A white candle, half-burnt, never lit.

He inserted the candle right in the middle of the white paste.

"come over."

Runye stood still.

"what?"

"You'll see when you get here."

Runye hesitated for a moment, then walked to the table and casually placed her handbag on the ground beside her feet.

Li Xiangqian ran to the wall and pulled out a rope.

With a snap, the light was turned off.

The room went dark instantly, with only a sliver of sunlight filtering in through the window, blurry and indistinct, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

"What are you going to do?"

Runye was utterly bewildered by Li Xiangqian's inhuman actions.

"Shh!"

Li Xiangqian made a shushing gesture, then took out a box of matches from his pocket.

chapped.

A match was struck and lit.

A small, orange flame flickered twice in the darkness. Half of Li Xiangqian's face was illuminated by the firelight, and a small clump of white flour clung to the bridge of his nose.

He held the match close to the candle.

The candle is lit.

A small, yellow flame stood steadily atop the irregularly shaped disc, flickering in the darkness. The firelight cast the shadows of two people on the wall, one tall and one short, one large and one small.

Happy birthday. Make a wish.

Runye stood still, without moving.

"This... was made for me?"

"Otherwise what?"

Li Xiangqian rubbed the white powder on his nose with the back of his hand.

"This is so sweet and cloying, it's not healthy at all, I don't like this kind of thing. Quick, make a wish."

How did you know it was my birthday today?

"Your birthday isn't a state secret. It's on our marriage certificate."

Runye was silent for a while, and suddenly the scene of Li Xiangqian lying on the bed holding the marriage certificate and grinning foolishly flashed into her mind.

"Where did this trend come from? Why celebrate birthdays like this?"

Runye complained softly.

In places like Yuanxi, who celebrates a birthday if they're not in their seventies or eighties? Farmers only remember the solar terms, the busy farming season, and market days; they never remember birthdays. From birth to death, a person's days pass one after another, none more special than the other.

Runye has never remembered her own birthday since she was a child.

The last person to make this day special was her grandmother. She was eight years old that year, and had just returned from cutting pig feed. Her grandmother cooked her a bowl of noodles with two poached eggs in it. Her grandmother sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) watching her eat. She ate with her bowl in hand, sweating profusely, and her grandmother just smiled beside her.

"Time flies! It's today, on this sweltering day. When your mother gave birth to you, Futang was still working in the fields."

Grandma patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "You were born right here on this kang. Your mother was lying on the kang, crying and screaming. I filled a basket with straw ash and spread it on the kang before going to find a midwife. Runye was sensible even when she was in my belly. As soon as I stepped out of the door, you crawled out by yourself. Haha..."

That was a long, long time ago.

The candlelight cast flickering light on Runye's face.

"Quick, make a wish! The candle is dripping onto the cake!"

Li Xiangqian urged.

Runye stared blankly at Li Xiangqian.

Li Xiangqian felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Why are you looking at me? Look at the candles, make a wish, quick!"

"I...I don't know what to wish for."

"Oh, just wishing me good health and longevity, and all that. Hurry up."

"Oh. I hope so..."

Runye had barely opened her mouth when Li Xiangqian scolded her.

Why say it out loud? You only wish it in your heart. Saying it out loud will make it not come true.