Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 10

When Lin Ran woke up in the morning, her phone had run out of battery sometime during the night. After charging it, she went to wash up, changed into a white shirt paired with a long gray skirt, used a curling iron on her hair, arranged it to fall over her shoulders, and then spritzed on some perfume before leaving with her bag.

Inside her bag was a household register (Hukou).

She parked the car outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, picked up her phone, and was just about to call Fu Linling when she spotted a familiar figure standing under a tree. She was dressed similarly in a white shirt and dress pants—a very formal look, yet one that suited her perfectly due to her tall stature; she looked good in anything.

“How long have you been here?” Lin Ran walked up and asked.

“Just got here,” Fu Linling replied.

The sun was already up, and it was getting a little warm outside. Fu Linling and Lin Ran quickly walked into the hall.

Since it was a holiday, many people were there to register their marriages, and the line was quite long. The two stood in the middle of the queue, drawing some attention.

Although marriage between people of the same sex is now legal, it is still a minority, so seeing two women approaching couldn’t help but pique people’s curiosity.

Fu Linling pretended not to notice, but Lin Ran, who was naturally outgoing, gave a friendly smile to those who were looking. She quickly received a wave of reciprocal smiles and compliments.

“You two are so well-matched.”

“Thank you! You are too.”

“We wish you happiness.”

“We will be; thank you.”

“How did you two meet?”

“We were classmates.”

Fu Linling remained silent, watching Lin Ran effortlessly chat with the people in front and behind them. She felt both admiration and a touch of pride, straightening her back, wanting everyone to see—

The most beautiful girl here today was about to marry her.

When their turn came, they were directed into a small room where the staff member asked, “Have you two really considered getting divorced?”

Both: “???”

Fu Linling said, “We are here to get married.”

“Then you’ve come to the wrong place. This is the Divorce Registration Office. Marriage registration is on the other side.”

The two scurried to the other side, looking a little embarrassed.

The marriage line was much shorter. Lin Ran covered her mouth and whispered, “No wonder so many people were congratulating us over there.”

“Indeed,” Fu Linling agreed, nodding.

Here, all the couples were engrossed in the joy of their new marriages, too busy to look at anyone else.

It was quickly their turn. After receiving the information form, the two leaned in together to fill it out.

Lin Ran finished quickly. Twirling her pen, she looked at Fu Linling’s form and couldn’t help but laugh: “You’re a top student, but how is your handwriting so… childlike?”

She used a tactful word, but Fu Linling was self-aware; her handwriting was indeed immature, like that of a primary school student.

“That’s why I chose science,” Fu Linling said calmly.

Lin Ran chuckled: “You could practice it.”

“I don’t have the talent, nor the time. It’s better to spend that time memorizing more formulas,” Fu Linling sighed. She then looked at Lin Ran’s form; her handwriting was beautiful. A young person who could write so well was a huge plus.

“How long did you practice?”

“Since I was little. My mother said that even if my grades weren’t great, my handwriting couldn’t be bad too; I couldn’t be unskilled at everything,” Lin Ran explained with a laugh.

“Auntie has a great point of view.”

Lin Ran lifted the corner of her eye, teasing, “You’d better start getting used to calling her that. You’ll have to change your title soon.”

Fu Linling thought for a moment, then retorted, “What about you? Do I need to change what I call you?”

“If you want to call me Auntie, I don’t mind,” Lin Ran deflected with a light touch.

“…”

Fu Linling struggled to suppress a laugh, and Lin Ran laughed even louder.

During the photo session, Fu Linling lowered her head to adjust her collar, then heard the photographer say, “Move closer.”

The two simultaneously leaned toward the center and bumped heads, finding it painful but funny.

After straightening themselves up, they both smiled at the camera.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now I have a state-certified certificate, too,” Lin Ran said, sitting in the car, flipping through the fresh marriage license.

“Congratulations,” Fu Linling echoed.

“Congratulations to you, too.”

“Cheers to our mutual joy.”

Lin Ran laughed heartily. She always felt that Fu Linling was often cold and aloof, yet occasionally showed a touch of sweetness that was uniquely adorable.

It was just after ten o’clock. The two planned to go back, change, and head to the hotel, where Zhang Wu was already receiving relatives.

“When are your parents arriving?” Lin Ran asked.

Right after she spoke, Fu Linling’s phone rang. A minute later, she hung up.

“They’ve arrived at the airport. I told them to go straight to the hotel, but Mom insists I go pick her up now. You head to the hotel first; I’ll join you after I pick them up,” Fu Linling said.

“Let’s go together.” Lin Ran started the car, opened the navigation, and entered the airport as the destination.

Half an hour later, they parked. Fu Linling called her mother to get the exact location and then went to find them.

Fu Linling ran a little fast, and Lin Ran followed close behind. Outside the arrival gate, she saw Fu Linling run up to a middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman was also quite tall. She opened her arms to Fu Linling, and then—she held Fu Linling’s head and shook it.

“Who taught you to get married without saying a word? You’re becoming more and more undisciplined! Last time I asked, you were single, and now you’re getting married just like that?! And to a woman, too! Why have I never heard you mention her before? Be honest, did you do something scandalous?” Fu-mama scolded, pressing down on Fu Linling’s head in exasperated anger.

“Calm down,” Fu-daddy pulled his wife back. He turned to his daughter: “Yuan Yuan, this is too sudden. You really were impulsive.”

Lin Ran saw Fu Linling rubbing her head—it seemed her mother was serious—and quickly stepped forward to support Fu Linling: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Fu Linling said.

“You are…” Fu-mama looked at her, confused.

“Hello, Auntie and Uncle. I am the one marrying Fu Linling. My name is Lin Ran,” Lin Ran introduced herself.

“Lin Ran?” Fu-mama repeated the name, pondering something, and then asked again, “Lin Ran? Which characters?”

“Lin from ‘forest’ (Shu Lin), and Ran from ‘rising’ (Ran Ran Sheng Qi).”

“Good name, good name,” Fu-daddy chuckled, subtly pulling his wife’s sleeve to signal her not to embarrass anyone.

Fu-mama looked at the resolute expression on Fu Linling’s face, then at Lin Ran. After a long pause, she finally said, “Lin Ran, ah… such a beautiful child. Let’s go, Old Fu. Time to attend the wedding banquet.”

Fu-daddy pushed the luggage cart forward and explained to them, “This happened so suddenly that we didn’t bring any relatives with us. We can invite them to dinner another day when you two go back to the hometown.”

Lin Ran understood completely. The marriage was a bit sudden even for them, so suddenly asking parents to bring relatives to a wedding banquet would certainly sound trivial.

“Yuan Yuan, why are you standing there? Lead the way,” Fu-mama looked at Fu Linling, then reached out and took Lin Ran’s hand. “Ran Ran, let’s go.”

Lin Ran followed her in a daze. She had expected a lengthy struggle, but the turnaround was happening too fast.

“Auntie, are you still angry?”

“I’m not angry at you, don’t worry. I’m just angry at this good-for-nothing daughter of mine for not bringing you home sooner,” Fu-mama said.

Lin Ran smiled: “The decision was sudden, and I didn’t have time to meet you all. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s nothing, nothing. We understand, but…” Fu-mama glanced at Fu Linling and then asked in a low voice, “Are you marrying her willingly? She didn’t force you, did she?”

“Of course not,” Lin Ran said, finding it funny. She looked at Fu Linling, who also seemed amused and glanced back at them.

“I am marrying her willingly,” Lin Ran affirmed.