Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 39

Pitter-patter…

Outside, heavy rain was falling. Dark clouds pressed down, the sky was gloomier than usual, and it barely looked like morning.

Fu Linling collected the laundry from the balcony before starting breakfast. She heard footsteps outside.

A moment later, Lin Ran appeared at the kitchen entrance.

“Did the rain wake you up?” Fu Linling turned to ask.

“No, I set an alarm.” Lin Ran walked in, yawning and sleepy-eyed. “I wanted to have breakfast with you.”

Fu Linling turned back, delighted: “What do you want to eat?”

“Something hot, since it’s raining.”

“How about noodles?”

“Perfect.”

Fu Linling cooked the noodles in the kitchen. When she brought the bowls out, she saw Lin Ran sitting at the dining table peeling a pomelo. All the fresh pomelo segments were being placed into a disposable food container.

“Why aren’t you eating it?” Fu Linling asked.

“It’s for you to eat on the plane,” Lin Ran said. She suddenly ran back to the room and returned with several steam eye masks. “These are comfortable for sleeping. I usually use them. I’ll put them in your bag.”

“Okay. Come eat your noodles.”

The rain showed no signs of letting up. Lin Ran looked at the weather outside and worried: “Did you bring a coat? I heard the city you’re traveling to has had a temperature drop.”

“I did,” Fu Linling smiled. Usually, when she traveled for work, she just packed her bags and left. No one had ever asked her such detailed questions, not even her parents, who trusted her to handle things.

“Make sure you use your meal card to eat at the cafeteria for lunch. You must eat lunch and dinner on time, and try to have some breakfast too. Don’t stay up too late at night. Call me if anything happens,” Fu Linling said.

“Okay. I want to request one thing.”

“What is it?”

“I want to buy a dishwasher. Since you won’t be cooking at home for the next few days, the kitchen will be empty so we can install it,” Lin Ran said.

“That’s fine. I’ll buy it.”

“No need. I already added it to my cart. Washing dishes is supposed to be my chore anyway. Plus, we already agreed that I would cover the household expenses,” Lin Ran said reasonably.

“Alright, fine.”

After breakfast, Fu Linling lingered until the very last moment before leaving. Lin Ran drove her to the airport.

At the airport, they said their goodbyes. Fu Linling picked up her luggage and gave her one last look: “Be careful driving in the rain.”

Lin Ran looked up at the sky: “Why do I feel like your flight is going to be delayed?”

“I haven’t received any notification yet.” Fu Linling opened her phone and froze. She looked at Lin Ran sheepishly: “The airline just sent a text message ten minutes ago. The flight is delayed.”

Lin Ran burst out laughing: “So, what now? Do you need to start work today?”

“Nothing major is happening today. The work officially starts tomorrow,” Fu Linling said.

“That’s good.”

Lin Ran sat with her in the departure lounge. She hadn’t brought her iPad, and after sitting for a while, she leaned against Fu Linling’s shoulder and dozed off. When she woke up, she found Fu Linling staring intently in one direction.

She followed her gaze and saw three or four girls standing together, chatting. They were all wearing the same school uniform, talking about small things and giggling uncontrollably.

“What are you looking at?” Lin Ran asked.

“They are so young. I’m envious,” Fu Linling said.

“Are you already at the age where you reminisce about youth?” Lin Ran chuckled.

Fu Linling managed a smile, her eyes still lingering on the girls: “I used to be very envious of moments like this.”

Lin Ran sat up, looking at her quizzically: “Envious of what?”

“The way they are… talking and laughing with friends.”

During every class break, the corridors were always filled with groups of students. Lin Ran was the most noticeable, always lingering in the hallway, chatting and playing games with her friends.

Whenever class ended, Fu Linling would silently open the window. Sometimes, when taking a break from the endless stream of practice problems, she would secretly glance at them, wanting to know what they were talking about and what new things were happening that she didn’t know about…

Lin Ran reached out, took her hand, and played with her fingers: “I used to think you just didn’t like making friends and didn’t care about anyone. Every time I tried to talk to you, I never got a response, and it made me scared to get close to you again.”

Fu Linling was slightly moved. After a long moment, she whispered: “It’s not that I didn’t want to respond to you. I was just timid. Actually, every time you spoke to me, I was so happy I didn’t know what to do.”

Lin Ran looked up, somewhat incredulous: “Really?”

Fu Linling nodded.

“Oh, if you had told me then, I would definitely have tried to spend more time with you. Maybe we would have been good friends a long time ago and could have experienced puppy love,” Lin Ran said with a smile.

Fu Linling smiled too: “There wouldn’t have been puppy love. I was so fat and ugly back then. You wouldn’t have liked me. You’re a look-watcher. All your friends were beautiful.”

“You never know. Besides, you were just a little chubby, not ugly at all.” Lin Ran’s shoulders shook with laughter: “Regardless of the puppy love, we definitely could have been good friends.”

“Yes…”

Looking back now, she felt that those feelings of inferiority and sensitivity were completely unnecessary, but at that age, teasing and mockery felt like the end of the world.

Her self-esteem was shattered by the ridicule of others, so she chose to build a high, proud barrier, isolating everyone to protect her fragile heart.

At this moment, Lin Ran cupped her face and kissed her: “But I never have any romantic feelings for my good friends. If we had been great friends back then, I might not have fallen for you now. Actually, meeting again now, the timing is perfect. It truly is the right time, right place, and right people, just like you said.”

Hearing this, Fu Linling slowly nodded, smiling as she caressed Lin Ran’s cheek: “You’re right.”

A burst of giggling suddenly came from nearby.

The two looked over and saw the same young girls watching them, covering their mouths and laughing. When they were discovered, they quickly turned away, but couldn’t help sneaking glances back, playfully hitting their companions, and then running off quickly.

The two women also laughed.

“That’s exactly what you and your group looked like when the homeroom teacher was dating, and you saw him and his girlfriend together in the hallway,” Fu Linling recalled.

“We did! We loved teacher gossip back then, especially since they were both teachers. By the way, what happened to them?”

“They got married.”

“That’s nice.”

“And then they got divorced.”

“What?!”

“Seeing each other every day—arguing about work at school, and arguing about petty things at home. Neither was willing to give in or back down, so they split up,” Fu Linling explained.

Lin Ran sighed, thinking of the saying, “All good things must come to an end.” A sudden sadness washed over her: “Marriage isn’t the end of the story, is it? Dr. Fu, do you think we will also fall apart?”

“No. You don’t overthink things, and you have a good temper. It would be hard for me to fight with you. Plus, you’re good at making amends and offering a way out,” Fu Linling said.

Lin Ran had expected her to say some grand, sweet promises. Instead, she was analytically breaking down their dynamic, which Lin Ran found amusing: “Why are you only mentioning my strengths? What about you? What will you do if we argue?”

“I don’t want to fight with you. I don’t want to fight with you for my whole life. If we really do argue, just let me calm down alone for a few days. I don’t mean to give you the cold shoulder. It’s just that when I’m angry, I prefer to be alone, and I’ll sort things out on my own,” Fu Linling said.

Lin Ran laughed: “Okay. We’ve just done a verbal rehearsal for a fight. That’ll make it easier to handle when it actually happens. I’m the opposite of you. When I’m angry, I throw tantrums and need to be coaxed. As long as you cheer me up, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Fu Linling smiled softly.

The rain had stopped at some point. Fu Linling received a notification that the plane would depart in an hour. She urged Lin Ran to go home soon: “Take the umbrella back.”

“No need. You should keep it, in case it rains where you’re going. It’s only a few steps for me. I won’t get wet.”

“What if it starts raining again later?”

“Then let it rain. A little rain won’t kill me.” Lin Ran laughed and ran outside.

Fu Linling gazed blankly at her retreating figure, a smile lingering on her lips: “Still loves getting caught in the rain.”

It was spring of her senior year, and it rained often.

Fu Linling walked out of the classroom building and saw Lin Ran standing under the eaves, seemingly without an umbrella. She was staring blankly at the rain outside, her profile exquisite and beautiful, her eyelashes long.

No wonder so many boys liked Lin Ran.

Even as a girl, she couldn’t help but stare at Lin Ran. Her features seemed endlessly captivating. How could someone be so beautiful?

Fu Linling had never paid attention to anyone for so long.

She tightened her grip on her umbrella and mentally rehearsed how to start a conversation before taking two steps forward.

Just as she was about to reach Lin Ran, Lin Ran suddenly took off her backpack, held it over her head, and ran into the rain.

Someone in the rain noticed Lin Ran’s figure and shouted: “Lin Ran, don’t run! I have an umbrella here. Let’s walk together!”

“No thanks! You don’t understand, spring rain is as precious as oil!” Lin Ran laughed and ran out of sight in the rain.

The next day, when the teacher asked Lin Ran why she hadn’t submitted her homework, Lin Ran said the homework was soaked and couldn’t be written, and showed the damp workbook to the teacher.

The teacher had no choice but to let her return to her seat. As she turned, she stuck out her tongue at everyone, and they all laughed knowingly.

Fu Linling also lowered her head and smiled.

“Xiao Fu, what are you smiling about?” A colleague asked her on the plane.

“Hm?” Fu Linling turned back and smiled: “Nothing. I just thought of something funny.”

“What could be so funny?”

“Well… something amusing my wife did.”

The colleague laughed: “You’ve really changed since you got married.”

Fu Linling smiled shyly.

“Well, you keep thinking. I need to get some sleep,” the colleague said.

“Okay.” Fu Linling stopped staring out the window, took out the steam eye mask Lin Ran had prepared, and settled down to sleep peacefully.

Upon landing, she called Lin Ran.

“Ran Ran, I miss you.”

Lin Ran was having dinner with Liang Qingbo at the time. Dr. Fu usually called for practical reasons, so for convenience, Lin Ran immediately put the call on speakerphone. She hadn’t expected a direct, sweet confession to burst out, which made her hand twitch and Liang Qingbo wince.

“I miss you too,” Lin Ran said, lowering her voice. “Hehe…”

Seeing her beaming, toothy smile, Liang Qingbo threw down her chopsticks: “I can’t eat anymore. I truly can’t eat any of this.”