Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 21

On the weekend, Lin Ran asked Fu Linling if she would like to have a meal together, as Zhang Wu had invited them.

Fu Linling naturally agreed. Before they left, she took a bottle of red wine from home and then went to the supermarket to buy some fruits and milk.

“You’ve made this look like a return visit to the parents,” Lin Ran said, laughing as she looked at the fully loaded trunk.

“It’s the proper thing to do,” Fu Linling replied.

Lin Ran glanced at her, realized she was being serious, and found it all the more amusing.

Zhang Wu had been staying at Old Liu’s house for the past few days. Old Liu cooked well and was meticulous, making it easier to look after Zhang Wu after her discharge from the hospital. Besides, the two of them were going to register their marriage eventually; it had just been delayed until next month.

Upon arriving at Old Liu’s house, Fu Linling noticed there were other guests.

A young girl was sitting on the sofa playing with her phone. She looked up and greeted them actively: “Sister Ran.”

“Cen Cen is back,” Lin Ran introduced her to Fu Linling. “This is Uncle Liu’s daughter, she’s called Liu Cen. Cen Cen, this is my… my wife, Fu Linling.”

Fu Linling subconsciously looked at Lin Ran, who quickly winked at her—slyly and proudly, as if she had just announced something extraordinary.

Fu Linling smiled knowingly.

“I can’t distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. Sister Ling and Sister Lin are easy to mix up, so I’ll just call you Sister Fu,” Liu Cen said.

“Sounds good,” Fu Linling didn’t mind the title and agreed.

“You two take a seat first, dinner will be ready soon,” Zhang Wu poked her head out of the kitchen. “Little Fu, make yourself at home.”

“Okay.”

Lin Ran took the fruits she brought into the kitchen, but after washing just a few, Zhang Wu chased her out, complaining that she was clumsy and in the way.

“Cen Cen, have some grapes,” Lin Ran offered the fruit platter to Cen Cen.

“Thanks, just put them here, don’t trouble yourself,” Liu Cen pointed to the coffee table.

After putting it down, Lin Ran sat between the two of them.

Liu Cen was currently in university. She had only met Lin Ran a few times in total. She wasn’t against Old Liu remarrying, but she wasn’t overly enthusiastic either—her attitude was lukewarm.

“You’re in your third year now, right?” Lin Ran asked.

“Mhm,” Liu Cen nodded, playing on her phone.

“Did you take your exams? How did you do?” As soon as Lin Ran asked, she felt she had truly reached the annoying age. When she was little, she hated nothing more than people asking about exams and grades.

Sure enough, one eventually becomes the person they hate the most!

“I haven’t taken them yet. I came back today to take care of some errands,” Liu Cen said.

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm for chatting, Lin Ran gave up and turned to look at Fu Linling.

Fu Linling was quietly eating grapes, looking perfectly content.

“Is it sweet?”

“It’s sour,” Fu Linling said.

“You’re not afraid of sourness?”

“I’m not even afraid of bitterness,” Fu Linling looked at her.

Lin Ran suspected she was making a veiled reference to her complaining about the bitterness of her medicine. She narrowed her eyes, picked up a grape, and ate it. As soon as the pulp was chewed up, her expression crumpled.

“Why is this so sour!”

Fu Linling laughed, picking up a napkin to wipe the juice from the corner of her mouth: “You, you can only handle things that are sweet.”

“And spicy things.”

“Judging by your sugar-eating ability…” Fu Linling pinched her chin. “Open your mouth, let me see your teeth.”

“No peeking,” Lin Ran pursed her lips tightly, refusing to open them.

“Just a quick look.”

“No,” Lin Ran got up and ran away. Once safe, she turned back and saw that Liu Cen had lifted her head at some point. She was no longer immersed in her phone but was staring at them.

“I heard you two eloped?” Liu Cen asked.

“Mhm,” Lin Ran nodded.

Liu Cen was quiet for a moment, then suddenly brought up a very fashionable term: “Are you playing out the trope of marriage first, love later?”

Lin Ran was startled and instinctively looked at Fu Linling. The other woman looked back, their eyes met, and they quickly looked away.

“Where do you get these words from?”

“I read them in a novel.”

“You should read better stuff.”

“I’m reading the good stuff, actually,” Liu Cen pouted and returned to her phone.

“Kids, dinner is ready!” Zhang Wu called out, moving back and forth with Old Liu to bring out the dishes.

“Today is a small family gathering. I propose we have a drink,” Old Liu said at the dinner table.

“Doctor Fu is driving later, she can’t drink,” Lin Ran said.

“Then let’s switch to cola.”

“She doesn’t drink cola either.”

“Little Fu, what can you drink?” Old Liu asked.

Lin Ran suddenly stood up and pulled a thermos cup out of Fu Linling’s bag: “This.”

Everyone: “…”

Liu Cen suddenly burst out laughing.

Everyone raised their colas, and Fu Linling raised her thermos cup. They all clinked glasses.

“Sister Fu, are you a doctor?” Liu Cen asked.

“Yes, Little Fu is a dentist and works at the Third Hospital,” Zhang Wu said.

“I heard the Third Hospital is really hard to get into.”

“Little Fu is capable, you see,” Zhang Wu said proudly.

Liu Cen was very interested in Fu Linling’s job and academic life, and even after dinner, she continued to ask about her educational journey.

Lin Ran listened nearby. There were some things she didn’t even know. Fu Linling was very low-key; if others didn’t ask, she wouldn’t voluntarily bring it up.

It turned out Fu Linling was a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. straight-through student and had already published many papers in famous journals.

Lin Ran didn’t understand these journals, but Liu Cen told her that one of them was incredibly prestigious—recognized both domestically and internationally. To be able to publish a paper there meant you were seriously impressive.

“Sister Fu, are you a chief physician or an associate chief physician now?” Liu Cen asked again.

“Associate chief physician.”

“Sister, you’re only thirty, right? When did you get promoted?”

“The year before last.”

Seeing Liu Cen’s shocked expression, Lin Ran pressed: “What’s up, what’s up?”

“Becoming an associate chief physician at twenty-eight is amazing! The average person finishes their Ph.D. at twenty-seven or twenty-eight and still needs to work as a chief physician for a few years before they can even be considered for an associate chief position… Sister Ran, think about the value of her associate chief position. She might even be promoted to chief physician in a few years,” Liu Cen said, speaking earnestly.

Lin Ran didn’t quite get it but was impressed anyway, giving a thumbs-up: “She was always great at studying since she was a kid! All her teachers loved her!”

Fu Linling felt a bit awkward listening to their sudden outpouring of compliments, especially coming from Lin Ran’s mouth, which felt somewhat surreal.

“Sister Ran, your taste in partners is pretty good. To elope and still end up with someone this amazing—where did you find her?” Liu Cen asked.

Lin Ran suddenly swelled with pride and said smugly: “We used to be classmates, and then a matchmaker introduced us for a blind date.”

“No way, that’s so marvelous! Tell me the details!”

“All right.”

Liu Cen and Lin Ran were at most nodding acquaintances, but they quickly became familiar today, not even noticing when the person who was the center of their conversation quietly left.

Fu Linling was accompanying Zhang Wu and Uncle Liu, shelling beans. She couldn’t help but smile, watching the two people chirping away.

After dinner in the evening, Liu Cen even added Fu Linling on WeChat before they left.

On the way back, Lin Ran laughed: “Liu Cen really likes you. She said you’re her idol.”

“She’s exaggerating,” Fu Linling said.

“I’ve known her this long and never became her idol. I got to enjoy the feeling of being respected and admired today, thanks to you,” Lin Ran stretched. “It’s a great feeling. You captured her the moment you met her. I guess there are quite a few people who admire you?”

“No, there aren’t,” Fu Linling shook her head.

Lin Ran turned her head for a look. Seeing her serious expression, it wasn’t a denial out of mere humility; it was as if she genuinely believed that no one would admire her.

Lin Ran remembered how Fu Linling, despite always being first place, always walked with her head down.

Every time a teacher praised her in front of the whole class, she wished she could bury her head in the ground.

Whenever she was chosen as an outstanding student to give a speech at the podium, she would always refuse for various reasons.

In those moments that should have been enjoyed as glorious triumphs, Fu Linling always retreated, never tasting a shred of happiness from them.

After arriving home, Lin Ran went into the study, rustling around, doing something unknown.

Fu Linling went to the kitchen to decoct her medicine, then sat in the living room reading a book.

After a while, Lin Ran came out with a notebook and handed it to her.

“What is this?” Fu Linling took it curiously and flipped through a few pages. The pages were yellowed; it was a sketchpad containing figure drawings.

The first few were of people she didn’t recognize. A few later on looked familiar—probably old classmates—but she couldn’t put names to the faces.

When she reached a certain page, Fu Linling suddenly froze.

The drawing was of a very heavy girl, with layers of flesh outlined by the lines. She was sitting at a desk where the pile of books was stacked high, almost submerging her.

So I really was that fat back then…

The thought of herself being seen in that image through Lin Ran’s eyes made Fu Linling feel mortified, yet a thread of secret joy surged up uncontrollably, blooming into a smile on her face: “When did you draw this?”

“During practice. I drew a few classmates, but you were the easiest to draw,” Lin Ran sat beside her, looking at the girl in the sketch.

“Why?”

“Only you were always in that same posture. Every time I looked back, I saw you buried in your studies, looking like you hadn’t moved at all. Do you know how amazed I was when I was drawing this? You were the most hardworking academic genius I had ever seen.”

Lin Ran continued, “It’s easy to be an optimist—you just need to be thoughtless. But to be a firm loner, and to always be in first place, that’s not something just anyone can do.”

The emotional chord in Fu Linling’s heart was struck. Her expression was touched. She turned to look at Lin Ran, speechless for a long time.

“Even though we weren’t close back then, in my heart, I always felt that Fu Linling was the most incredible person in Class Six. You deserve the flowers and applause, and you deserve to be admired. You can also confidently cheer for yourself. Because you, Fu Linling, are just that amazing!”