A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

"Fu Yan, right?" Zhao Xue picked up a piece of pancake. "I heard from Guan Chao that you came alone?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend's busy, she can't come."

What does your girlfriend do?

"I work at a TV station."

Zhao Xue's eyes lit up: "From a TV station? That's impressive."

"It's alright, just busy, often working overtime."

Zhang Lei chimed in from the side, "Fu Yan, I remember you have a younger sister, right? Isn't she also studying in Yanjing?"

"Yes, my sister's name is Fu Xiao, and she studies in Yanjing."

Which school?

Yenching Normal School.

Zhao Xue suddenly stopped eating, looked up at him, and asked, "Yanjing Normal University? Your sister's name is Fu Xiao?"

Fu Yan was taken aback: "You know him?"

"Fu Xiao—English major?" Zhao Xue put down her chopsticks, a smile already on her face. "She's my junior! I also majored in English at Yenching Normal University, two years ahead of her!"

Fu Yan looked at Zhao Xue, unsure of what to say.

"Really?" Zhang Lei was also surprised. "Isn't this too much of a coincidence?"

Guan Chao laughed from the side: "What's so coincidental? Beijing is such a small place. People in the education sector just come and go in the same few circles. It's not surprising that you bumped into each other."

"No, you don't understand." Zhang Lei waved his hand. "Today's situation is different—I haven't seen Fu Yan for seven or eight years, and we bumped into each other in Fangshan today; your wife is also my college classmate's sister—that's called fate, not circle."

Zhao Xue thought for a moment and nodded: "I know Fu Xiao. She was a freshman when we were in school, and we even led their activities. She's petite and thin, with very big eyes, and a very soft voice—is that her?"

"It's her." Fu Yan laughed. "But she's not thin anymore. I don't know what she ate to grow up like that. She's probably fatter than me now."

Everyone at the table laughed.

Guan Chao raised his glass: "Come on, let's drink to this缘分 (fate/destiny)!"

The five men clinked glasses and gulped down their beer. Fu Yan put down his glass, looked at Guan Chao and Zhao Xue across from him, and suddenly realized how small the world was. He casually went for a run in the mountains and bumped into an old classmate he hadn't seen for seven or eight years; and the wife of the team manager's colleague happened to be his own sister—if this were in a novel, even the editor would say it was too coincidental and illogical.

But it just happens to be true.

After the meal, Guan Chao arranged for everyone to have free time. Some went hiking, some played cards in the yard, and some took pictures by the stream. Fu Yan and Zhang Lei found a bench in the yard, sat down, and chatted for a long time in the sun. They talked about everything from college to now, from classmates to work, and from work to life.

Zhang Lei said he got married because his family pressured him. Wang Mengmeng is his high school classmate's cousin. They knew each other for three years before getting married. They don't have children yet and want to enjoy themselves for another two years while they are still young.

Fu Yan said he had just returned to China and was still adjusting to life in Beijing. He had met his girlfriend while he was abroad, but he only managed to win her over after he returned to China, which he considered fate.

"You met her abroad?" Zhang Lei chuckled. "You're lucky, kid. You went abroad to get some experience, and when you came back, even your girlfriend was already arranged for you."

"What do you mean by 'pre-arranged'? I only managed to catch up with the CCTV host because I put in some effort. Besides, I was also quite lucky."

"A TV host?" Zhang Lei clicked his tongue. "You're really something. Look at you, Stanford, a Land Rover, a courtyard house in Houhai, and a girlfriend who's a CCTV host—Fu Yan, have you been reborn? You're a complete winner in life!"

Fu Yan's cigarette trembled slightly.

"What?"

"I was just kidding," Zhang Lei chuckled. "It's a joke on the internet that if someone has all the good things in life, they must have been reborn."

Fu Yanqian chuckled and stubbed out his cigarette.

The sunlight shone on his face, warm and comforting. He looked up at the distant mountains, their bluish-gray outlines appearing very far away in the afternoon light.

Rebirth.

He actually came to the right conclusion, but nobody believed him.

……

On the way back, Guan Chao led the convoy to the expressway and shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Go home, everyone. See you next time." The ten cars then dispersed.

Fu Yan drove alongside Zhang Lei's car for a while. When they were exiting the ring road, Fu Yan rolled down his window and said, "Come to the bar sometime." Zhang Lei gave him an OK sign, and then the CRV turned into another lane. The silver-gray rear of the car quickly disappeared into the traffic.

It was already past eight o'clock when I got home.

As soon as the courtyard gate was pushed open, the light in the main house was on. Xu Wenshu was sitting at the dining table playing on her phone. There were four dishes on the table, all covered with plates and still steaming.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm waiting for you." Xu Wenshu put down her phone. "Is there traffic?"

"It's alright, the mountain trails are much easier to walk on after that."

Fu Yan washed his hands and sat down. He lifted the lid of the plate and saw: stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cucumber salad, and a pot of millet porridge. It was home-style cooking, but it was hot and comforting, much better than the meal he had at the farmhouse.

Fu Yan didn't say much during the meal. Xu Wenshu glanced at him and asked, "Tired?"

"A little, my back hurts from driving all day."

"Then let's take a bath after we eat."

Fu Yan looked up, her eyes lighting up: "Together?"

Xu Wenshu rolled her eyes at him, but did not refuse.

……

The large bathroom in the courtyard house was specially renovated by Fu Yan. It has underfloor heating, a large bathtub, and a constant temperature shower. The bathtub is a double-seater, made of white porcelain, and it's big enough that two people can soak in it without feeling cramped.

Xu Wenshu first filled the tub with water, tested the temperature, and found it to be just right. Fu Yan reached out and touched it—

"Ouch—are you taking a bath or cooking me? It's so hot!"

"It's not hot, it's just right." Xu Wenshu had already gotten in, leaned against the bathtub wall, and sighed comfortably. "Hurry up and get down."

Fu Yan didn't want to soak anymore, but he couldn't resist the temptation. In the end, he gritted his teeth and stepped in. He regretted it as soon as the water reached his feet. The temperature was "just right" for Xu Wenshu, but for him it felt like being put into a pot. He sat down inch by inch, and with each inch, the expression on his face contorted a little more. When his whole body was submerged, he felt like his skin was already cooked.

"Let go and let me out..." A minute later, Fu Yan couldn't take it anymore and wanted to run away.

"Don't go out!" Xu Wenshu grabbed his arm. "A bath should be this temperature. What you're doing is lukewarm water, not a bath."

"I'm burning up..."

"Just bear with it, you'll get used to it after soaking for two minutes."

Two minutes? Fu Yan felt like more than two hundred years had passed.

He sat stiffly in the bathtub, his whole body flushed, like a shrimp just pulled from a pot of boiling water. The steam made him sweat profusely, and even breathing felt scalding. Xu Wenshu, on the other hand, was quite comfortable, her eyes closed, her hair pulled up on top of her head, water droplets hanging from her neck, and a look of pure enjoyment on her face.

"Is it comfortable?" she asked.

"……good."

Fu Yan endured the pain for almost ten minutes before finally transitioning from "about to die" to "able to live." After his body adapted to the water temperature, he was indeed not in so much pain, and even felt a little comfortable—but he would never admit it.

Xu Wenshu only let him out after soaking for half an hour.

Fu Yan stood in front of the bathroom mirror and glanced at himself—his entire body was pink, like a shrimp that had shed its shell. He reached out and rubbed his arm, rubbing off a layer of skin—not real skin, but softened keratin, but it looked like he was peeling.

"I'm finished." Fu Yan lay on the bed, burying her face in the pillow, and declared weakly.

"Where is it finished?"

"The skin has all been soaked off."

Xu Wenshu took a bottle of body lotion from the dressing table, sat down on the edge of the bed, unscrewed the cap, squeezed a dollop into her palm, rubbed it to warm it up, and then applied it to his back.

It's cool, smooth, and very comfortable.