Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 48

It was already dark when they returned to Jincheng. Old Liu drove over to pick them up, and after finishing dinner, they finally made their way back to their own home.

It took some time to put away the luggage, as Xu Yanyan had packed them quite a lot of things. After everything was sorted, Fu Linling went to wash up first.

Before long, Lin Ran also finished her shower and walked into the bedroom with the page from the classmate album. “Do you remember this?”

“What?” Fu Linling took it and, after a closer look, finally recalled what she had written on the classmate album page. Feeling like her inner world had been exposed, she looked at Lin Ran with some embarrassment. “How did this end up with you?”

“Mom gave it to me,” Lin Ran climbed onto the bed, lifted the blanket, took the paper back, and carefully admired it again. “Why did you tear it up and not give it to me?”

“You were already gone. Seeing it might not have made any difference,” Fu Linling whispered.

They didn’t have much of a relationship to begin with; they were just classmates who occasionally greeted each other when they ran into one another. Once Lin Ran left, she might not have remembered Fu Linling, a classmate with zero presence.

Lin Ran carefully folded the paper, placed it on the bedside table, and rolled over. She took the book from Fu Linling’s hand and asked, “Do you still remember the class monitor?”

“Why bring him up suddenly?”

“He was the class monitor, so he should have been the person who interacted with you the most in class. Do you remember what kind of person he was?”

Fu Linling shook her head. “I’ve forgotten what he even looked like.”

Lin Ran’s eyes flashed slightly. She moved closer to her and said, “I’ve always been a little curious why you always remember things I don’t. I used to think you just had a good memory, but you don’t even remember the class monitor, yet you remember me, a distant classmate… Fu Linling, seriously, were you secretly crushing on me back then?”

Fu Linling’s eyelids twitched fiercely, and she nervously averted her gaze.

Lin Ran tilted her head, directly into the center of Fu Linling’s vision, giving her no escape. Her eyes curved slightly. “You were secretly crushing on me? Why are you afraid to admit it? Is crushing on me that shameful?”

Fu Linling slowly looked at her, staring into her eyes, and said, “I don’t know if you could call it a crush back then.”

In fact, she simply wanted to be friends with Lin Ran.

At that time, her feelings for Lin Ran were more admiration, envy, and even a bit of worship, which is why she subconsciously paid attention to her and cared about her, but she had no possessiveness.

She just felt that if she could become friends with Lin Ran, it would be the happiest thing in the world.

She hadn’t even thought about liking Lin Ran, let alone love.

“Then why did you marry me?” Lin Ran pressed. “If you only wanted to be friends, then we should just be friends. Why did you want to get married?”

Fu Linling’s finger traced her cheek and she slowly said, “Just because I didn’t think about it before doesn’t mean I don’t want it now. The night we reconnected was the second time I experienced insomnia.”

“Second time? What was the first time?”

“The day you suddenly transferred back to your original school. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to you.”

“And you say you weren’t crushing on me,” Lin Ran laughed and kissed her.

Fu Linling gently responded to her, but under Lin Ran’s intentional guidance, she gradually became disoriented. Lin Ran kept calling her name in her ear, as if casting bait into the sea of her heart, drawing out the deepest desires from the seabed to bob and weave, seeking a single anchor point.

She groped, searched, and explored in that sea, until the anchor point actively moved toward her.

Lin Ran wrapped one arm around her neck, sweat-soaked, and tilted her head up, giving her warmth, making her realize that everything happening now was real.

She wasn’t lost in the sea alone. They were two people, but they came together. They had entered each other’s bodies and were the closest people to each other. They were now, and they would be in the future, too.

The next day, both of them woke up late.

The alarm rang twice before Fu Linling finally got out of bed. Before leaving for work, she returned to the room and kissed the sleeping Lin Ran.

Lin Ran had originally planned to wake up with her for breakfast and establish the habit of going to bed and waking up early, but they had gotten carried away too late last night.

She hadn’t expected Fu Linling to have such good stamina, nor did she expect her technique to be so advanced. Lin Ran was utterly captivated and felt reborn.

In comparison, her own clumsy technique was like an elementary school student fumbling with an abacus.

Drowsily, she felt someone stroking her hair.

She groggily opened her eyes and saw Fu Linling sitting on the edge of the bed, gently stroking her head with tender eyes.

“Morning,” she mumbled.

“It’s not morning, it’s time for lunch,” Fu Linling said.

Lin Ran sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stretched out her arms. “I don’t want to move. Carry me out.”

Fu Linling turned her back, and Lin Ran smiled sweetly as she sprawled onto her back.

As they left the room, Fu Linling deliberately lowered her body to prevent Lin Ran from hitting her head.

Lin Ran chuckled twice and said, “First, go water the flowers!”

Fu Linling carried her to the balcony. Lin Ran picked up the watering can and watered the green plants, then said, “And the fish!”

So, they turned to the fish tank. She picked up the fish food, dropped a few pellets in, and then said, “Okay, let’s go eat.”

Fu Linling set her down on the chair and went back to the room to get her slippers.

Lin Ran put on her slippers to brush her teeth. When she came out, the takeout boxes were already open. As she ate, she reminisced about the events of the previous night and gave a thumbs-up. “Doctor Fu, you’re the best!”

Fu Linling was confused for a few seconds before belatedly realizing she was talking about last night’s events. She maintained a composed look and picked up a peanut with her chopsticks.

“Doctor Fu, have you watched the kind of movies?” Lin Ran asked again.

The peanut dropped onto the table.

Fu Linling picked up another one, her face flushed red, and shook her head.

Lin Ran, who had seen countless movies, was still no match for a 24-karat pure novice like Fu Linling. While comforting herself that it was normal to lose in hands-on ability since she couldn’t beat her in studying, she sincerely asked, “Is it because you’re a doctor, so you understand the human body exceptionally well? Otherwise, how can you pinpoint my sensitive spots every single time?”

Fu Linling managed to swallow the peanut with difficulty. Meeting Lin Ran’s inquiring gaze, she analyzed, “Probably. I noticed your sensitive spot on your back during the massage last time, and you also taught me the most important step last time. I was just applying what I learned.”

Lin Ran gave her another thumbs-up, then looked a little smug. “I can’t imagine what kind of life I’m going to have now that you’re this amazing… Hehehe…”

Fu Linling was both shy and couldn’t help but laugh at her words.

In the afternoon, Lin Ran rested for a while, then went to see Liang Qingbo.

“These are local specialties my mother-in-law prepared. Here, take some,” Lin Ran walked into the studio and saw Liang Qingbo sitting on the sofa playing with her phone.

“Thanks. Put them here,” Liang Qingbo pointed to the coffee table, then looked down at her phone again.

“Who are you chatting with so enthusiastically?” Lin Ran set down the specialties, sat down next to her, and casually took a bottle of soda from the cooler nearby.

“A customer. She’ll be here soon. She’s asking me for directions.”

Just as she spoke, the wind chime at the front door rang, and a female customer walked in.

Liang Qingbo went to greet the customer first. Lin Ran sat on the sofa and drew. The other two tattoo artists would occasionally come out and say hello to her.

Everyone in the shop knew she was a business partner and that she was married to a woman.

The receptionist was a freshly graduated girl. When she had nothing to do, she ran over to chat with Lin Ran, mostly gossiping about her work and marriage.

“Everything is going well,” Lin Ran said.

“Sister Qingzi said your wife is tall, thin, and beautiful. Is there a chance I could meet the actual person?” the receptionist asked expectantly.

“She’s very busy,” Lin Ran glanced at her. “Why? Are you very interested in my wife?”

“Yes… oh, no, no, not that kind of interested. I’m just curious.”

“It’s best not to have some curiosities, especially in front of her wife,” Lin Ran said with a smile, but the receptionist inexplicably felt a pressure and didn’t dare disturb her drawing anymore, quietly returning to her post.

“What a strong sour smell,” Liang Qingbo walked out, laughing as she took a bottle of Coke from the cooler.

“You finished so quickly?”

“Not yet. That beautiful customer found it too painful, so she needs a break,” Liang Qingbo took a few sips of her soda, spun the bottle, and went back into the workroom.

Lin Ran checked the time. Fu Linling would be off work in just over an hour, so she decided to stay here a little longer and then go directly to pick up Fu Linling.

Half an hour later, the customer came out. After Liang Qingbo gave her instructions on post-care, she saw the customer out the door, then sat down again.

“I forgot to ask. Did you meet up with my classmate? How did the chat go?”

Liang Qingbo pouted. “She stood me up. Didn’t she tell you?”

“No? Why did she suddenly stand you up?” Lin Ran asked.

“I was already at the restaurant, but then she said she had an emergency and couldn’t make it. She didn’t say what the specific emergency was, but she did apologize.”

Lin Ran frowned slightly. “I should have known better than to try and connect you with that classmate. It caused you a wasted trip.”

“It wasn’t a wasted trip. I’ve wanted to eat at that restaurant for a long time. Plus, I ran into Feng Ming, and she split the bill with me. It was good, very good,” Liang Qingbo said.

“So, the two of you ended up eating the meal?”

“Mmm.”

“Didn’t you say she couldn’t string together three nice words?”

“What else could I do? That restaurant is quite expensive. It’s good to have someone to split the bill with, and… she wasn’t as annoying this time as she was before.”

“You hated her before?”

“Didn’t like the sight of her.”

Lin Ran looked at her in surprise. “Why?”

Liang Qingbo glanced at her, smiled helplessly, and asked, “How are you and Doctor Fu doing lately?”

“Big progress!”

“Oh?” Liang Qingbo looked at her meaningfully.

The two exchanged a look of mutual understanding. Liang Qingbo curled her lips. “Alright, I can see you’re beaming with happiness.”

Lin Ran happily curled up into a ball on the sofa. “Hehehe, how do I tell you how happy I am right now!”

“You’ve already told me with your actions.”

Lin Ran then told her about the classmate album page. Liang Qingbo guessed that Fu Linling had probably had feelings for Lin Ran for a very long time. While she was completely relieved for Lin Ran, she quietly lit a candle for another unfortunate person.

One more person in the world had been severely wounded.

“I have to go. I’m going to pick her up from work,” Lin Ran said, checking the time and quickly gathering her things.

“Look how eager you are. Is it a date tonight?”

“Yes! I’m taking her on a date!”