Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 14

Lin Ran sat on the sofa, propping her chin up with one arm, looking away in frustration.

Lian Fang sat beside her, her small, gossipy eyes darting around, wearing an expression that clearly showed she was enjoying the drama.

Seeing their posture, Fu Linling consciously sat down on a low stool opposite them, ready for the interrogation.

Noticing that Lin Ran remained silent, Lian Fang handed the yearbook to Fu Linling: “This yearbook contains messages written by classmates for Ran Ran. I believe I handed it to you to write in; I’m not mistaken, am I?”

Fu Linling looked down, flipping through the yearbook, and nodded: “Mm.”

“You seemed to agree to write something at the time, so why isn’t your message here?” Lian Fang asked curiously.

Lin Ran secretly glanced at Fu Linling, who was still looking down at the yearbook.

After a moment, Fu Linling looked up. Lin Ran quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere.

“I wrote something, and then… I tore it out,” Fu Linling admitted.

“Why did you tear it out?” Lian Fang asked.

“What I wrote wasn’t good. I was too embarrassed for her to see it,” Fu Linling said, looking at Lin Ran.

Lin Ran slowly turned her head: “What was there to be embarrassed about?”

“…The handwriting was ugly.”

“…” Lin Ran tried to hold back, but finally couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing. “Just because of ugly handwriting? Do you even remember what you wrote?”

Fu Linling shook her head. The incident was a long time ago. She couldn’t clearly recall the content, only that it was something unpresentable. That’s why she tore the page out and secretly took it home in her backpack.

“If you don’t remember, never mind. But I have another question—did you genuinely not dislike me back then?” Lin Ran pressed.

“That’s completely untrue. Why would I dislike you?” Fu Linling said.

Lin Ran looked at her skeptically. She moved from the sofa to the carpet, looking her directly in the face: “Then why did you report me to the teacher, saying I skipped class?”

“I didn’t. It wasn’t me,” Fu Linling immediately stated.

Lin Ran paused: “You know which incident I’m talking about?”

Fu Linling nodded. Even after so many years, she still remembered the day Lin Ran spoke to her first.

She had wanted so badly to hang out with Lin Ran. She wanted to naturally eat, go to the restroom together, and shop on weekends with Lin Ran like the others, but she was always afraid.

That morning, the weather was perfect. The sun was up but not hot, and a few clouds hung in the sky.

“Fu Linling, are you by yourself? Let’s go to the classroom together.” Lin Ran had smiled, pulling her backpack strap, and walked toward the classroom with her.

Fu Linling had been so nervous she didn’t know what to do.

“Just pretend you didn’t see me today, okay?” Before entering the classroom, Lin Ran pulled a bag of potato chips from her bag, thrusting them into Fu Linling’s arms without waiting for a refusal, and quietly instructed her. In the blink of an eye, she was pulled away by Lian Fang to go buy ice cream.

“It really wasn’t you who reported me?” Lin Ran questioned further.

“No.”

During class that day, Fu Linling heard the homeroom teacher scold Lin Ran for skipping. She abruptly looked up toward Lin Ran, but Lin Ran never looked back at her.

If she had just glanced over, she would have seen the look of denial on Fu Linling’s face.

After class, Fu Linling slowly approached the area. It was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to speak to Lin Ran: “I…”

Lin Ran glanced at her, then turned to distribute notebooks to the students around her: “Hurry, hurry! Help me copy some of this. Five hundred times for the vocabulary, oh my goodness!”

“Here, I’ll help you copy some too.”

“I can help as well!”

Students rushed in from all directions and quickly pushed Fu Linling out of the crowd.

“Who was it that reported me then?” Lin Ran muttered.

Lian Fang: “Although I don’t know what you two are talking about, when I hear the keyword ‘report,’ I can only think of our class’s little snitching princess, the disgusting spy, the annoying informant—”

“Wang Zhe!” Lin Ran spat.

“So annoying, always reporting everything to the teacher,” Lian Fang said, sharing her outrage.

Lin Ran shook her head, speechless, then looked at Fu Linling: “I’m so sorry, I completely misunderstood you back then. I deserve a thousand deaths! Just kill me now!”

Lian Fang: “Bring out the Tiger Bench—”

“No, my Lady, please don’t! This commoner will never dare again!” Lin Ran grabbed Fu Linling’s shirt and shook her.

Suddenly, a “pop” sound.

Two buttons flew off the shirt. The collar was ripped open, exposing her fair chest, and a bit of “spring scenery” (meaning: cleavage) was revealed.

Lin Ran froze. Fu Linling was stunned.

“Whoa, Fu Linling, you have a pretty nice figure,” Lian Fang commented from behind.

“Shut up,” Lin Ran turned and covered Lian Fang’s eyes. “Don’t look.”

“Why can’t I look?” Lian Fang shrieked, then patted Lin Ran’s hand and whispered, “Go change your clothes in the bedroom.”

Lin Ran turned back, and after confirming Fu Linling was gone, she breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed sideways.

“You saw it clearer than I did. Are you feeling pleased with yourself?” Lian Fang whispered, chuckling, close to her ear.

Lin Ran’s face turned red: “Hee hee hee hee hee hee…”

A moment later, Fu Linling peeked her head out: “Do you… have an extra shirt?”

“Yes, I’ll get one for you,” Lin Ran pulled out an oversized T-shirt from the wardrobe.

“Thank you. Do you have a needle and thread here?”

“No, why?”

“To sew the buttons back on,” Fu Linling said. She put on her glasses and returned to her spot, squatting down to look for the buttons.

“Are you really going to sew it?” Lin Ran asked, fascinated.

“Mm. I can still wear it if I sew them back on.”

Lian Fang slowly gave a thumbs-up: “Lin Ran, you’ll have an easy life marrying her.”

Fu Linling paused and looked up at Lian Fang. Lian Fang asked strangely, “What is it?”

“Nothing. When are you free? I want to treat you to a meal.”

“Really?” Lian Fang asked, delighted.

“Yes. You’re the first friend to know we got married. I must treat you,” Fu Linling said.

“Great! I can eat a lot!”

“That’s fine,” Fu Linling smiled.

Lin Ran found the buttons and handed them to her. The three of them continued packing, boxing up some clothes and work-related items, but it was clearly just the tip of the iceberg—there was still a lot to organize.

The next day, Fu Linling was unexpectedly called away for an expert symposium and had to go out of town for two days. She gave Lin Ran the password to her house so she could move things in whenever she wanted.

It wasn’t necessary to move everything at once, and Lin Ran might have to go back to her old place occasionally. Lin Ran packed the essentials and arranged for a moving company to deliver them.

This was her first time inside Fu Linling’s home. It was a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with a large balcony. Several shelves were filled with green plants, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

The apartment was spotlessly clean, and there was no dust on the bookshelves, showing the owner cleaned regularly.

Another reason the house looked clean and spacious was that it had very few belongings.

Lin Ran’s boxes, once placed in the living room, instantly made the space feel crowded. She wondered how long it would take to finish unpacking.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. She opened it to find a delivery person.

“Excuse me, are you Fu Linling?” the young man asked.

“No, she’s not home. You can give it to me.”

“This requires the recipient’s signature, though. Let me call her to confirm,” the young man said, then called Fu Linling.

After hanging up, the young man handed the pen to Lin Ran: “No problem. You can sign for it, Mrs. Fu.”

Lin Ran was startled. After signing, she handed the pen back: “Did she tell you to call me Mrs. Fu?”

“Yes, she said you two are married and are a legal couple, so you can sign for her.”

Lin Ran placed the package near the shoe cabinet, musing over the title “Mrs. Fu.” She found it amusing, so she called Fu Linling.

“When are you coming home, Mrs. Lin?” Lin Ran deliberately teased.

Hearing the playful tone in her voice, Fu Linling smiled faintly: “My heart is already racing home.”