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"Wife—" Li Li shouted in an exaggerated tone.
"Who is your wife!" Liu Wenyi shot him a disgusted glance.
"Isn't this just acting? Don't take it so seriously." Li Cheng walked over, trying to put his arm around Liu Wenyi's shoulders. Liu Wenyi remembered that his hand had touched Li Li and hurriedly dodged, "Don't touch me, you haven't washed your hands."
Li Cheng glanced at his palm and helplessly said, "Alright, alright, I won't touch you. Seriously, don't throw a tantrum. I'll tidy up this place and renovate it for you again. Living here won't be a problem at all. This way you save on rent, and we can see each other often. It's a win-win situation, didn't we agree on that?"
"If I live here, where will he live?" Liu Wenyi pointed at Li Li.
"Isn't that obvious? He'll live here too." Li Cheng's patience was wearing thin.
"He can't be just a few years younger than you, right?" Liu Wenyi squinted at Li Li, who was quite tall and grinned foolishly at her.
"What? Are you afraid he'll... hmm?" Li Cheng glanced at Liu Wenyi's chest, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Don't worry, he has the intelligence of a child. Psychologically speaking, what does a few-year-old child know about arousal?"
"You know psychology now?" Liu Wenyi retorted, raising her chin towards Li Li. "Is he congenital or acquired?"
"Acquired. He had a high fever when he was seven or eight that damaged his brain, and he's been like this ever since."
"He doesn't have episodes often, does he?" Liu Wenyi stared at Li Li, who was kneeling by the bed with her upper body leaning forward, her bright eyes fixed on her like an innocent child.
"Episodes? He's sick right now. Are you talking about going crazy and biting people? That won't happen; he was very well-behaved as a child and hasn't thrown a tantrum in all these years. He's silly but doesn't cause trouble—just keeps smiling foolishly." Li Cheng shot a glance at Li Li.
"That's fine then; make sure to set some rules with him—I'll sleep on the bed and he'll sleep on the floor, and he can't touch me."
"Of course! My woman can't be touched by a fool!" Li Cheng wrapped his arm around Liu Wenyi's shoulders and pointed at Li Li with his chin. "Remember, you're not allowed to touch her!"
Li Li chuckled foolishly, "No touching, no touching, big beautiful donkey."
"Hey, you've got quite the sweet tongue," Liu Wenyi said proudly.
...
"Married?!" At the dining table, Li Weimin stared with his murky old eyes, chopsticks frozen in mid-air as his astonished gaze flickered between Li Cheng and Liu Wenyi. "Did I miss something? Young lady, are you going to marry that fool?"
"Dad—" Li Cheng elongated the sound of his name to draw Li Weimin's attention and slowly said, "It's not a formal marriage; it's just to help take care of him. You two are getting older, and if Ali acts up, you won't be able to handle it. And Wenyi has always had a good impression of Ali since childhood," he added while glancing sideways at Liu Wenyi. She quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, I had a crush on Ali back in school." Li Cheng responded with an "mm," then continued, "Coincidentally, Wenyi's parents passed away early; she has been renting in the Night Market area where rents are expensive. So she decided to move here to take care of Ali while also having a place to stay—don't you think that's reasonable?"
"Then..." Wang Surong timidly glanced at Li Weimin's expression and whispered, "What about the marriage certificate—"
"We can skip the marriage certificate," Li Cheng said. "With Ali's condition—she's still young; helping out for two years is already good enough. Do you want to tie her down for life?"
"N-no," Wang Surong quickly waved her hands.
Li Cheng looked at Li Weimin and asked, "Dad, what do you think?"
Li Weimin's murky eyes scrutinized Liu Wenyi, who had beautiful almond-shaped eyes and red lips. "I think she's quite good. Let's have her stay. Should we hold a banquet? Invite a few tables of people?"
"Forget the banquet; it's not necessary. Just our family can have a simple meal, and this matter will be settled. From now on, she will be your daughter-in-law!"
Two days later, in the courtyard, there was a square table, four stools, two meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and four bottles of beer—this was a simple setup for the meal.
Around the table sat four people: Li Weimin, Wang Surong, Li Cheng, and Liu Wenyi. Oh, and in the lower right corner of the table was a small stool where Li Li sat disheveled. He reached with his black hands into a bowl on the stool that contained a clump of noodles. Today was Li Li's wedding, so they added a boiled egg for him.
"I really didn't expect this kid to end up marrying," Li Weimin said while pinching the chopstick handle and pointing the tip of the chopsticks at Li Li's head from a distance. Liu Wenyi saw a piece of minced meat the size of a fingernail detach from Li Weimin's chopsticks and fly into Li Li's messy hair. "This is our ancestors' blessing! If it were in the past, he would have been single for life. Once your mother and I are gone, he would have nowhere to go—just a beggar. But now look, not only has he married, but he also has such a beautiful wife. Look at those young women in town; which one is as pretty as her?" His eyes squinted as they wandered over Liu Wenyi's chest.
"Yes, yes," Li Cheng echoed.
Wang Surong nudged Li Weimin's elbow. "Drink less; there's a child here. Don't say anything inappropriate."
"Who asked you to butt in?" Li Weimin shouted loudly. "I'm talking to my son; just eat your food quietly without all that nonsense!"
Wang Surong pouted and lowered her head, stirring her chopsticks in an empty bowl.
"Yeah, Mom, today is Ali's wedding; it's fine to drink a bit. Just don't worry about it," Li Cheng raised his glass and said, "Dad, come on, let's drink."
The two glasses clinked together and were downed in one go.
"I'll sleep here tonight; I'll go back tomorrow. You should go to bed early with your son," Li Cheng said while holding his phone and swaying toward his original room.
"It's getting late; go rest in your room. I'll clean up here and prepare the bed for the girl before going in," Wang Surong said as she struggled to help Li Weimin up. He leaned against her shoulder and tilted his head back, gazing over the house at Liu Wenyi, who still sat by the table looking lost in thought. She glanced down at Li Li beside her; he was resting his arms on the high stool and snoring loudly, drooling freely from the corner of his mouth onto most of the stool surface. Is this really going to be her "husband" living in the same room with her? She couldn't help but sigh and irritably lifted her face only to meet Li Weimin's snake-like gaze, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin.
Li Li's room had been thoroughly tidied up from top to bottom; it wasn't luxurious but was indeed a proper room now. Trash had been cleared out, curtains hung on the walls, and due to time constraints, they planned to paint and wallpaper later on. The bed was newly bought—a bright red double bed that took up half the room—along with new wardrobes and tables and chairs, a uniquely cozy bedside lamp, and bright energy-saving bulbs. Although not large in size, such a room would cost at least fifteen hundred in rent each month in the city.
Wang Surong washed the dishes clean and set them upside down on the counter to drain before moving the square table back into the main room. After washing her hands and drying them on her apron, she went to help prepare the bed for the newlyweds, filled a thermos with water, and reminded them that "the bathroom is next door; just step outside," adding that "if you need anything, just call them; don’t be shy." Only when Liu Wenyi grew impatient did she finally turn to leave.
Liu Wenyi sat on the edge of the bed staring blankly at Li Li standing by the door with his arms crossed; she still found it hard to believe their situation tonight. After quite some time, she waved at him and said, "Go to sleep; don't just stand there like a door god." She turned around to grab a new blanket and tossed it onto the floor where yesterday’s white tiles had just been laid down—it felt icy against her skin as she lay down on it.
Li Li stood frozen in place with puffed cheeks pointing at the bed. "That's my bed."
"Didn't your brother tell you? From now on I sleep on the bed while you sleep on the floor; dare you try climbing up?" Liu Wenyi said fiercely but weakly; despite Li Li’s mental challenges, he stood over six feet tall—if he really went mad one day, Liu Wenyi would still be afraid of him.
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