Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 13

Because Fu-mama had to attend to her clinic business, she only stayed for one day. Fu-daddy, feeling awkward being left alone and not wanting to be a third wheel to the newlyweds, joined her. So, after having breakfast bright and early, the couple went to say goodbye to Lin Ran’s family.

“Come back and visit with Yuan Yuan whenever you have time,” Fu-mama said, holding Lin Ran’s hand.

“I will,” Lin Ran said with a smile, then couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Yuan Yuan is her nickname, right?”

“That’s right. She was a big, chubby girl when she was born.”

Fu Linling awkwardly adjusted her glasses.

“Really? Little Fu looks so thin now,” Zhang Wu observed, looking at Fu Linling in surprise.

“That’s now. She was very heavy when she was in school, so heavy that she was self-conscious and didn’t even dare to make friends,” Fu-mama recounted.

Hearing this, Lin Ran glanced at Fu Linling standing beside her. She recalled that she and Fu Linling hadn’t been friends then; they were classmates for a year with hardly any interaction.

But honestly, she never ignored her because she was overweight. It was because their auras didn’t mesh. She always felt that the top student wouldn’t associate with a “bad student” like her.

She remembered once, she skipped class and ran into Fu Linling at the school gate. She even took the initiative to chat and be friendly, asking her not to tell the teacher.

At the time, Fu Linling hadn’t said anything, so Lin Ran didn’t know if she had agreed or not.

As a result, when the homeroom teacher came in for class that afternoon, she criticized Lin Ran for skipping and punished her by making her copy vocabulary five hundred times. Five hundred!

“Little Fu, how did you lose the weight? Teach me your secrets?” Zhang Wu asked in amazement.

Before Fu Linling could answer, Fu-mama sighed profoundly: “Who knows how much effort she put in…”

Lin Ran recalled asking the same question recently. At the time, Fu Linling had airily replied that she “exercised.”

However, weight loss is always difficult, and since she had been heavy from birth, she must have truly endured some hardship.

Thinking of this, Lin Ran patted Fu Linling’s arm, then covered her mouth and whispered in her ear: “You are impressive. You can accomplish great things.”

“What?” Fu Linling bent down slightly in confusion, gesturing for her to speak more clearly.

“You have such great perseverance. Anything you set your mind to, you will surely succeed,” Lin Ran praised her.

Fu Linling turned her head and looked at her deeply: “Mm.”

Lin Ran accompanied Fu Linling to the airport to see her parents off. Before leaving, Fu-mama suddenly mentioned, “Ran Ran, when you have time, move in with Yuan Yuan.”

Fu Linling had explained to her mother why they weren’t living together yet last night, but her mother was clearly still uneasy.

“Yes, okay,” Lin Ran nodded. “I’ll start preparing to move over in the next couple of days.”

After dropping them off, Fu Linling took a phone call. After hanging up, she told Lin Ran, somewhat helplessly, “It’s the director’s birthday today; I have to go over there.”

“Then go quickly. I can pack my things myself. It’s actually better to take inventory alone; I’ll know exactly what I have,” Lin Ran said.

Fu Linling drove Lin Ran home first, then turned toward the director’s house.

Lin Ran packed for a while at home but realized she had far too many things. Taking a break, she lay on the sofa in the shape of a dried fish (meaning: being lazy/unmotivated). Her phone suddenly rang.

It was Lian Fang, calling to ask her to hang out.

“Can’t go. I don’t have time,” Lin Ran replied.

“But your mom’s been discharged, hasn’t she? Why are you still busy?” Lian Fang had visited the hospital once before.

“I’m packing my things. I’m moving.”

“Moving where?” Lian Fang was puzzled.

“Oh, right,” Lin Ran said. Since Zhang Wu’s hospitalization, she hadn’t had a moment’s peace—between caretaking and the wedding banquet. Because the guest list essentially recycled Zhang Wu’s guests, neither of them had time to invite their own friends, so she’d forgotten to tell Lian Fang.

“Fang, I got married.”

“W-h-a-t d-i-d y-o-u s-a-y?!”

Half an hour later, Lian Fang barged into her house alone, her voice aimed straight at the ceiling: “Lin Ran! What kind of marriage did you get into?!”

“Have a can of soda to calm your nerves,” Lin Ran said, handing her a coke—the more Lian Fang drank, the less she’d have to move.

“Tell me quickly, why the sudden flash marriage? Who did you flash-marry?” Lian Fang popped the tab and took several large gulps.

“Fu Linling.”

Lian Fang let out a burp, and the soda nearly overflowed from her mouth: “Are you serious?”

Lin Ran went to the bedroom and brought out the marriage certificate for her to see.

“Holy cow!” Lian Fang widened her eyes, scrutinizing every word on the certificate, then staring at the red-background photo. She inhaled sharply. “You two are bold. How did you suddenly get married?”

Lin Ran then explained the circumstances that led to the marriage.

“So, you decided to get married to ease your mom’s worries?” Lian Fang asked.

“Half and half,” Lin Ran said, sitting on the carpet folding clothes. “Yes, my mom is definitely half the reason for the marriage.”

“What’s the other half?”

“I’m thirty. Even if I were just dating, I’d have to be aiming for marriage. But with my job, I barely meet anyone outside, and I’m not as fond of socializing as I used to be.”

Lin Ran put the marriage certificate back in her bag and continued, “Besides, Fu Linling is a good person, has a good personality, and is a former classmate, so I know her background. That cuts out a lot of trouble. Most importantly, she’s gorgeous, hehe.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re such a lookist,” Lian Fang said, sitting on the sofa and playfully shoving her shoulder.

Lin Ran flopped onto the sofa with the momentum and laughed: “It’s a flaw I was born with; I can’t change it.”

Lian Fang slid down and lay on the rug with her, pondering: “Listening to you, her criteria certainly make her very suitable for marriage.”

“Exactly! Her family is great, too. Her mom is a TCM doctor, and her dad works for the forestry bureau. They’re both wonderful and treat me well.”

“Then there’s really nothing wrong with it,” Lian Fang sat up again, picked up a doll nearby, squeezed it, and turned to ask, “But since you flash-married so quickly, do you have any emotional foundation?”

“Feelings can be cultivated slowly, you know,” Lin Ran said.

“Fine. Anyway, marriages that start with an emotional foundation don’t always end well, either,” Lian Fang reasoned.

“Exactly,” Lin Ran smiled, taking the doll out of her arms. “Go on. Since you’re here, go help me tidy up the stuff in the study.”

The bookshelves contained many comics and art books. Lian Fang filled a few boxes. She noticed a dust-covered box stacked in the corner. After wiping it clean with a tissue, she pulled out the contents.

It was a stack of sketchbooks and drawing pads—all Lin Ran’s practice work from high school—and a few textbooks. At the very bottom, she pulled out a notebook with a gaudy cover. She flipped it open and immediately ran excitedly to the bedroom to find Lin Ran: “Look what treasure I found!”

“What is it?”

“A graduation yearbook! It’s the yearbook I prepared for you!”

Back when they graduated, writing in yearbooks was popular. Lin Ran had returned to her old school early to prepare for the Gaokao (college entrance exam) and hadn’t been able to participate. Lian Fang had bought a yearbook, had the students in Class Six write messages for Lin Ran, and then mailed it to her.

“I was so touched back then,” Lin Ran laughed. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked through the old entries with Lian Fang.

The handwriting was all very childish. The messages were generally phrases like “Good luck with the Gaokao,” “Wishing you a bright future,” and “It was nice knowing you,” but they were sincere.

The two reminisced about their school days as they looked through it.

“Even Wang Zhe left you a message,” Lian Fang pointed to a page.

Lin Ran looked at the long message, which was basically an attempt to “let bygones be bygones,” and couldn’t help but smile: “We were so young back then; likes and dislikes were so clearly defined.”

“See how popular you were? This is the how many people that confessed to you,” Lian Fang said.

Quite a few people had secret crushes on Lin Ran. Some were too shy to confess in person, so they poured their feelings into the yearbook, trying to seize one last opportunity. Even if they failed, they wouldn’t see her again, so there was no fear of awkwardness.

Lin Ran closed the yearbook, then felt something was wrong. She went back to the beginning and flipped through it again: “That’s weird. Why isn’t Fu Linling’s entry here? You didn’t give it to her to write?”

“I did! I gave it to everyone in the class!” Lian Fang insisted. “I remember I specifically sought her out. Even though we didn’t interact much, I thought since we were classmates, I should ask her to write something. She took it too.”

“Then why isn’t it here?”

“I don’t know! After I collected it from her, I was busy rushing to mail it to you. I wanted to make sure you got it before the Gaokao, so I didn’t have time to check what she wrote… Oh my gosh, did she not write anything for you at all?”

Lin Ran’s mood soured.

Even Wang Zhe, who she didn’t get along with, had written something. Why didn’t Fu Linling write anything? Had she somehow offended her? Did they have no basic classmate bond whatsoever?

When Fu Linling returned from her engagement and came over to help pack, she saw Lin Ran open the door with an unhappy look, something rare for her.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Fu Linling asked.

“Why didn’t you write in my yearbook? Did you really dislike me back then?” Lin Ran asked, her voice laced with grievance.

Fu Linling froze for a moment: “Yearbook?”

“This one,” Lian Fang emerged from behind, holding up the yearbook and waving at her. “Ran Ran, let her come inside before you start the interrogation. Let the court be opened!”