Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 40

The dishwasher was installed. Lin Ran video-called Fu Linling to show her the result, pointing out a few minor changes in the kitchen.

After going over everything, Fu Linling nodded and asked if she had tried it out.

“Yes, the things I just washed are still inside. I’ll open it to show you.” Lin Ran opened the dishwasher, took out a bowl, and showed her how clean it was.

“Why is there only one bowl? What did you eat tonight?” Fu Linling asked curiously.

“…Instant noodles.”

Lin Ran saw Fu Linling’s face immediately droop. She chuckled and stepped out of the kitchen: “I’ve been going to the cafeteria for lunch these past few days, and I ordered a big meal for dinner. I only made instant noodles today because I wanted to test the dishwasher. I don’t usually eat them.”

Fu Linling remained silent, turning her head away to present a cool, aloof profile.

Lin Ran laughed: “Don’t be angry. I have something important to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Mwah.”

Fu Linling turned back to face the camera: “What did you say? I didn’t hear you. Say it again.”

Lin Ran laughed and lay down on the sofa. Seeing that Fu Linling’s background was a hotel room again, she asked: “Are you tired these past few days?”

“No,” Fu Linling said.

“Why don’t you go out and have some fun? Tomorrow is the weekend, right? You could go out and explore. There are several nice scenic spots there. You could treat it like a vacation.”

“I don’t want to. It’s too crowded.”

“What about your colleague? Is he not going out either?”

“He’s going out tomorrow to have fun.”

“You’re not going with him?”

“He’s in his forties. We don’t have much to talk about outside of work. Going out together would be awkward,” Fu Linling said.

Lin Ran nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly sat up: “You don’t have to work overtime for the two days of the weekend?”

“Correct.”

“Then I’m coming over to visit you!”

Fu Linling raised her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised: “Really?”

“Of course! I’ve never traveled there before. It’ll be nice to clear my head!” Lin Ran said, immediately opening an app to book a ticket. She finished in minutes, took a screenshot, and sent it to her: “Send me your hotel address, and I’ll come straight there to pick you up.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

Fu Linling was overjoyed. After hanging up, she excitedly paced her room a few times, then went downstairs for a run before coming back up with a bag of daily necessities.

“Well, Xiao Fu, where have you been? You look so happy.”

She bumped into her colleague in the hallway. Fu Linling smiled: “My wife is coming to visit tomorrow.”

“You’re newly married, and you’ve been apart for a few days. No wonder you’re so happy,” the colleague laughed heartily.

Fu Linling nodded, a smile on her face.

The next day, she waited at the arrival gate for a while. A crowd of people exited, signaling the flight had arrived.

After watching for a moment, she spotted Lin Ran’s figure.

At the same time, Lin Ran also saw her. She stretched out her hand and practically sprinted over, leaping into her arms: “Dr. Fu!”

Fu Linling hugged her, leaned down to inhale her scent, and her smile was irresistible: “That must have been tiring.”

“Tiring? I slept the whole way.” Lin Ran, full of energy, followed her out of the airport, asking: “Where are we going?”

“Let’s go back to the hotel to drop off your luggage.”

“No need to drop it off. All my stuff is in this bag. I can just carry it. Let’s not go on a detour. Can we go straight to sightseeing?”

Fu Linling looked at her backpack, lifted it—it wasn’t heavy—and agreed: “Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Yes. I researched it last night. Let’s go to the Buddhist temple first to pay our respects. There are a few other scenic spots nearby.”

“Okay.”

The temple had become very popular in recent years. Many young people came to pray for wealth, completely ignoring that it was famous as a marriage temple.

Now, the people burning incense muttered: “Your humble believer wishes to never gain weight in her life. I don’t ask for a shred of true love, only for wealth and glory.”

Whenever Lin Ran traveled, she loved visiting temples—both to experience the solemn religious culture and to make a few wishes. After all… she was already there.

Holding the incense, she made wishes for her career and Zhang Wu’s health. But this time, she secretly added a wish she had never made before: that she and Dr. Fu could be together for a long time, preferably indefinitely.

After placing the incense, she walked out and saw Dr. Fu standing under a tree for shade, hands behind her back, gazing at the plaque above the entrance with a serious expression. With the sun shining behind her, she looked warm and inviting.

“Are you really not going to pay your respects?” Lin Ran ran up to her and asked.

Fu Linling shook her head: “I don’t believe in this.”

“Me neither. It’s mainly for psychological comfort,” Lin Ran laughed.

The two walked down the steps. Fu Linling asked: “Did you make a wish for good health?”

“Of course!”

“Would you rather travel all this way to ask the Bodhisattva for blessings than take some practical action to make yourself healthier?”

Lin Ran laughed heartily: “Why bother myself with things I can delegate to the Bodhisattva?”

Fu Linling smiled helplessly. They reached a resting spot below, where an old tree was covered with red ribbons and tags.

This was like the snack street attractions in every city. They knew it was a tourist trap, yet people still crowded around. Any place that allowed tags to be hung for wishes was bound to be covered in them.

Lin Ran was willing to believe that the Bodhisattva might grant a wish one day, but she wouldn’t trust this baseless marketing. The person selling the tags nearby was happily counting money.

She had just taken a step forward when the vendor looked up and suddenly called out: “Beautiful lady, tell your friend to buy one too! They’re very effective!”

Lin Ran paused, realizing he was looking at Fu Linling. She pointed at her and asked: “Are you talking to her?”

“Yes,” the vendor said with a smile.

“What do you mean, ‘too’? Did she already buy one?” Lin Ran asked again.

“Yes, this beautiful lady just bought one and threw it really high!” The vendor pointed to a high point on the tree.

Lin Ran slowly turned to Fu Linling: “Didn’t you say you don’t believe in these things?”

Fu Linling cleared her throat. After a moment, she said: “…I thought it looked fun.”

“What did you write then?” Lin Ran asked curiously.

Fu Linling refused to say.

“This tree is a Marriage Tree. It’s very effective! Beautiful lady, you should get one too,” the vendor seized the opportunity to promote his wares.

Lin Ran politely declined, took Fu Linling’s hand, and pulled her down the mountain, pressing her: “You didn’t ask for a marriage, did you?”

“No.”

Lin Ran was even more curious, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get Fu Linling to talk, so she gave up.

After lunch, the two visited a few nearby attractions, eventually arriving at the entrance of a university. Lin Ran exclaimed happily: “Oh, wow, we ended up here! I almost applied to this school back then. Should we go have a look around?”

“Sure.”

The campus was large, but Lin Ran didn’t seem tired at all, finding everything new and exciting.

“Ah, that’s the Art Department!” Lin Ran pointed to the teaching building ahead, then ran on.

Fu Linling watched her figure. Her backpack bounced on her shoulders, and her hair flowed like waves as she ran. When she turned back, the sunlight wiped the traces of age from her face, and her smile was as captivating as ever.

“Dr. Fu, are you too tired?” Lin Ran asked with a smile.

Fu Linling stared at her in a daze.

—“Fu Linling, are you too tired?” Lin Ran had turned around and asked her the same question on the track field.

For a period, she suddenly wanted to lose weight. She ran on the track whenever she had free time, but she didn’t dare to run in broad daylight; her large figure would attract attention. She could only go after evening study hall. There was a twenty-minute window during the second session.

For several days in a row, she saw Lin Ran and a few friends sitting on the grass, talking about what the city of Jincheng was like.

Every lap she ran, she could hear a little more, slowly piecing together a city map.

That city had a very large airport, making it easy to fly anywhere. It had lots of delicious food, where you could find whatever cuisine you liked. It had many handsome men and beautiful women, all well-dressed. It had many industries, where you could find a good job and a bright future.

“Then I’ll go work in Jincheng too someday! I’ll come visit you!” Lian Fang exclaimed.

“Great! If any of you come to Jincheng, let me know. I’ll be your tour guide and treat you to a meal!” Lin Ran said generously.

It was almost time for class, and everyone was heading back to the classroom. Fu Linling walked forward, gasping for breath with her head down, when a bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Fu Linling, are you too tired?” Lin Ran stood in front of her and asked: “Are you feeling okay?”

Fu Linling looked up at her, covered in sweat, then self-consciously looked down and shook her head.

“That’s good. I haven’t drunk from this bottle, and I bought an extra one. Here,” Lin Ran pressed the water into her hand. “You can do it!”

“Lin Ran, hurry up!” Her friends called from ahead.

“Coming!”

Fu Linling stared at the water in her hand, dazed.

“Can’t even walk now?” Lin Ran walked back to her side.

“No.” Fu Linling put the water in her bag and looked at the path ahead: “Lin Ran, I can still run.”

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Linling started running. Lin Ran chased after her. When they reached the teaching building, Lin Ran leaned against the wall, panting: “You have long legs. That’s not fair.”

Fu Linling just looked at her and smiled.

The two walked up the stairs, looking around the campus.

Fu Linling asked: “Why didn’t you attend university in Jincheng?”

“My mom said I could apply far away. It was good to see the outside world early. Also, I didn’t want to see my dad at that time, so I simply went to Jiancheng,” Lin Ran said.

Fu Linling slowly nodded.

“What about you? Which university in Jincheng did you go to?”

“Jinda University.”

“Oh, silly question. You were obviously going to attend the best school in Jincheng,” Lin Ran’s lips curved. She asked: “Do you like Jincheng?”

“I do.”

“Is Jincheng really big?”

“It’s not too big, not too small.”

Big enough to make her hard to find, yet small enough that she still ran into her.

After a long day of walking, the fatigue set in when they returned to the hotel. Lin Ran quickly lay down after showering. She was scrolling through her phone when she suddenly remembered something—tomorrow was the opening day of Liang Qingbo’s studio.

Being far away, she couldn’t attend in person, so she decided to call some friends to help make the event livelier.

She called Qin Shanshan and Wang Ke, who had visited the studio. Qin Shanshan immediately agreed, but Wang Ke had to work and couldn’t go.

Next, she called Feng Ming, who had also met Qingzi once.

“Feng Ming, Qingzi’s store is opening tomorrow. Do you have time to go and help liven up the atmosphere?” Lin Ran asked.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. Do you have other plans?”

“No. Send me the address. I’ll go.”

“Great, thank you! I’ll treat you to a meal when I get back!”

After ending the call, she went back to playing on her phone.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. The hotel room was a single unit, and the bathroom, enclosed by a glass door, was right next to the bed.

She could see a blurred figure inside the bathroom. Such a good figure! It was distracting her from her phone. She felt her self-control slipping!

“Dr. Fu,” she knocked on the adjacent glass door.

To hear her voice clearly, Fu Linling turned off the water and asked: “What is it?”

“What was that wish you asked for on the tag at the temple this afternoon?” Lin Ran asked, looking at her shadowy body.

Fu Linling didn’t answer.

“If you don’t tell me, I’m coming in right now.”

There’s such a good thing to be had?

Fu Linling decided to keep her mouth shut.