Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 50

Waking up this morning, Lin Ran noticed the weather had suddenly turned cold.

She added a jacket while eating breakfast.

Fu Linling looked at her bare legs. “Aren’t you going to put on pants?”

Lin Ran was too lazy to get dressed again and found it troublesome. “It’s not too cold with a jacket. I’ll put on pants if I absolutely have to.”

Before leaving for work, Fu Linling went back to the room and brought out a pair of jeans. “Put these on. The temperature changes quickly.”

Before Lin Ran could say anything, Fu Linling pulled the waistband and held the jeans in front of her. After sticking both legs in, Lin Ran stood up, wearing the pants over her pajamas. She couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not fashionable at all.”

“Don’t worry about fashion in your own home. I’m leaving for work now.”

“Bye-bye.” Lin Ran tilted her head up and kissed her on the cheek. After walking her to the door, Lin Ran turned and went to her study to work.

She had been adjusting her routine recently, and it was showing results. She could now force herself to get up and eat breakfast with Fu Linling. Mornings and afternoons were her work hours. It was just still a little difficult to go to bed early at night, and occasionally, when she couldn’t sleep, she would secretly play on her phone for a bit.

Overall, her routine was close to normal now.

The happiest person was undoubtedly Zhang Wu, who had long been annoyed by her schedule and was finally seeing her slowly fix it.

In the morning, after finishing her work, she went to pick up Zhang Wu for a hospital follow-up check.

While waiting outside, a woman walked past her, then turned back a few steps later to stare at her.

Lin Ran noticed the gaze and looked back, realizing the woman looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall who it was right away.

The woman slowly backed up to her and asked, “Are you Lin Ran?”

“Yes.” Lin Ran looked at her, still unable to recall her name.

“Do you remember me?” the woman asked excitedly.

“Erm… I have an impression, but I can’t remember the name,” Lin Ran said awkwardly.

“I’m Wang Zhe!”

“Oh! It’s you!” Lin Ran suddenly understood. She remembered the name quite well, but the face didn’t quite match up.

Wang Zhe looked much more mature. She had been a petite beauty in class, fair-skinned and slender, with several boys pursuing her. She had even dated the class monitor. However, now her complexion was sallow. Although she had applied foundation, it couldn’t hide her acne scars and dark circles, and her hair looked somewhat dry and yellow. She looked weathered and world-weary.

“Why are you here? Are you working in Jincheng?” Lin Ran asked.

“No. My mother-in-law got sick. We went to several hospitals with no success, so I brought her to a big hospital in Jincheng to see if they can help,” Wang Zhe said helplessly.

“That’s good. Jincheng has many hospitals; they’ll definitely be able to cure her. Don’t worry too much.”

“I hope so. What about you? Why are you at the hospital?”

“I’m accompanying my mom for a check-up. She had surgery half a year ago.”

“Sigh, before we know it, we’re thirty. Our parents are getting old, and the issues of aging, sickness, and death start to come up,” Wang Zhe lamented.

“They do.” Lin Ran looked around. “Are you here alone?”

“Yes, my husband has to stay home to work and look after the kids and my father-in-law. He couldn’t leave,” Wang Zhe smiled at her. “I really didn’t expect to run into you here in a place as big as Jincheng.”

“I know.” Lin Ran was also surprised. Thinking that Wang Zhe was alone bringing her mother-in-law for treatment in a strange city, she asked for the location of her mother-in-law’s ward.

After taking Zhang Wu home and having lunch there, Lin Ran bought a fruit basket and went to the inpatient building to visit Wang Zhe’s mother-in-law.

“You’re kind enough just to come. You didn’t have to bring anything,” Wang Zhe said, looking overwhelmed.

Lin Ran smiled, put the fruit basket on the table, and greeted her mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law gave her a weak smile and quickly fell asleep.

Wang Zhe led her out to the corridor. The two sat on a bench, and after a short while, Wang Zhe lowered her head and wiped away tears. “I didn’t expect you’d still be willing to come…”

“Don’t cry. People will think I bullied you,” Lin Ran said.

Wang Zhe laughed again, wiped her tears, and looked up, mumbling, “I was always against you back then. I’m sorry about that.”

“Hah, that’s all in the past. You teased me, and I teased you. We were both very immature,” Lin Ran said good-naturedly.

Truth be told, Wang Zhe never got the upper hand with Lin Ran. All their squabbles were just the nature of youth. Once they grew older, those things were long forgotten.

“Didn’t you even write me a classmate album entry to make up? I read it.”

“Ah… that’s too embarrassing,” Wang Zhe said, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Lin Ran burst into laughter.

“Hey, Lin Ran, why are you here?” Wang Ke asked, passing by and suddenly noticing her.

“I came to see an old classmate. Her mother-in-law is hospitalized,” Lin Ran said, pointing to Wang Zhe. “She’s here alone to look after the patient. Can you keep an eye on her?”

“No problem. Your friend is my friend,” Wang Ke said.

“That’s great. Come over for dinner another day.”

“Oh, no, I won’t go be a third wheel. Doctor Fu would surely slaughter me.”

Lin Ran smiled. “Why would she?”

“Why wouldn’t she? Haven’t you noticed that every time we’re chatting happily, Doctor Fu secretly stares at us? The desire to take a person out is impossible to hide.” Wang Ke shivered, laughed with Lin Ran for a bit, then turned back to the nurse station.

“Is that nurse your friend?” Wang Zhe whispered.

“Yes. If you don’t understand anything, you can go ask her,” Lin Ran said.

Wang Zhe said with relief, “That’s wonderful. There are too many procedures in a big hospital. It took me a long time just to get from registration to scheduling the surgery. It’s making me dizzy.”

“I know.”

It was always reassuring to have a familiar face in the hospital. Wang Zhe said, “I don’t know how to thank you. Let me treat you to dinner tonight.”

“Don’t be so formal. I have plans tonight, and besides, you can’t leave.”

Wang Zhe drooped her head in frustration. After a moment, she said, “My husband can only come over on the weekend.”

“Is your husband the class monitor from our class?” Lin Ran asked curiously.

“No. That jerk class monitor was crushing on you. Didn’t you know?”

Lin Ran was astonished. “What the heck?”

“He fell for you not long after you transferred. He even saved you once, remember?”

“Of course, I remember. I got a leg cramp while swimming and almost drowned; he pulled me out. But wasn’t that just being helpful? He never confessed to me, though?”

“That’s because I warned him. If he confessed to you, I’d report him to the teacher,” Wang Zhe laughed.

“…So that’s why you used to dislike me?” Lin Ran asked.

“It wasn’t just that. To be honest, I like to be the center of attention. When you arrived, you stole all my thunder. I was jealous of you.”

It was only now that time had passed that she could speak those words candidly.

Lin Ran dismissed it with a smile and asked, “Is your current husband from Wucheng?”

“No, he’s from out of town. We were university classmates and got married after graduation. What about you? Are you married?”

“I’m married too.”

“When?”

“This year, during May Day.”

“That’s nice.”

Her phone suddenly rang. Wang Zhe watched as she answered. The caller ID read “Doctor Fu.”

“What’s up?” Lin Ran’s voice softened considerably, and a smile appeared on her face.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” Fu Linling asked.

“It’s cold. How about pork stomach and chicken soup?”

“Good idea. The wind is blowing outside. Remember to bundle up when you leave.”

“I know, I’m at the hospital right now.”

“What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?”

Hearing the anxious tone, Lin Ran chuckled. “I brought my mom for a check-up and ran into an old classmate. We’re catching up.”

“That’s good. I have a surgery to perform now. I’ll contact you after work.”

“Mmm.” Lin Ran blew her a kiss into the phone.

Fu Linling let out a soft laugh before reluctantly hanging up.

Lin Ran put her phone away and heard Wang Zhe say, “You and your husband must be very affectionate.”

“No, no.” Lin Ran shook her index finger and corrected her. “It’s my wife.”

Wang Zhe slowly widened her eyes. “Wife?”

“Yes, my partner is also a woman.”

Wang Zhe swallowed hard, then suddenly burst out laughing. “If I had known that, why did I waste all that time being jealous of you and the boys!”

After chatting for a while, Lin Ran went to find Wang Ke and the others. Everyone at the nurse station knew she was Doctor Fu’s wife, so they exchanged greetings, and soon it was time for them to clock out.

Lin Ran planned to go downstairs to wait for Fu Linling. As she passed the ward, she said goodbye to Wang Zhe.

“I don’t know if we’ll see each other again, but I still want to sincerely apologize for my immaturity back then,” Wang Zhe said, standing at the doorway.

“Let’s just forget about our stuff. I was never easy on you either. But… there is someone you should definitely apologize to.”

“Who?”

“Let me call a person over.”

Wang Zhe watched, confused, as Lin Ran made a phone call, stating her current address.

Soon, a figure appeared in the corridor and headed straight for them.

Lin Ran waved her hand. Fu Linling walked directly up to her. “Still catching up?”

“We’re done. It’s your turn,” Lin Ran said.

Fu Linling looked at her questioningly, following her gaze to Wang Zhe. The two looked at each other, neither recalling who the other was.

Lin Ran had no choice but to introduce them. “This is Wang Zhe. Wang Zhe, this is Fu Linling.”

“Fu Linling?” Wang Zhe muttered the name, then looked at the beauty in front of her, unable to make the connection. “Are you talking about the Fu Linling from our class?!”

“Yes, that’s her. The tallest, plumpest, and highest-achieving girl in our class,” Lin Ran introduced proudly.

“How is that possible?” Wang Zhe stumbled back, staring at Fu Linling in shock, and gasped. “Is that really you? Your… transformation is too immense!”

“Hello,” Fu Linling greeted her politely.

“Did you have plastic surgery?” Wang Zhe whispered.

Lin Ran was laughing so hard she couldn’t stand straight.

Fu Linling: “…No.”

It took Wang Zhe a long time to recover. She inadvertently caught sight of their hands, clasped together at some point. In a flash, she remembered Lin Ran’s phone call from Doctor Fu—

“Your wife named Fu—she wouldn’t be her, would she?!” Wang Zhe asked Lin Ran, terrified.

“Yes, she is,” Fu Linling answered very readily this time.

Lin Ran nodded with a smile. “We got married on May Day.”

Wang Zhe rubbed her temples. After a long moment, she realized with a flash of insight, “No wonder you said you had someone you liked in high school! It was Fu Linling.”

Fu Linling looked at Lin Ran and asked meaningfully, “Didn’t you say you didn’t have anyone you liked in high school? Who was that person?”

Lin Ran: “????”

Lin Ran: “I swear, Wang Zhe, don’t get me in trouble!”