Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 52

They went back to the hotel for dinner, then took a walk along the beach.

“The moon is so beautiful tonight,” Lin Ran said, pointing to the bright moon over the sea.

“We have a saying where I come from that if a child points at the moon, the moon will cut their ears.”

“Superstitious, superstitious,” Lin Ran said, covering her ears.

Fu Linling laughed.

The seawater lapped and splashed playfully around their feet. Lin Ran turned to look at her, the bright moonlight illuminating her face.

On such a peaceful night, her heart was racing so fast.

“Fu Linling.”

Fu Linling loved hearing her call her full name. It held more tenderness and softness than usual, no longer the neutral tone for calling a classmate, but dragging out the last syllable, sounding a little cute and a little tantalizing.

“Hmm?” Fu Linling turned, saw Lin Ran beckon to her, and leaned down, placing her ear close to Lin Ran’s mouth.

The next moment, her earlobe was enclosed in Lin Ran’s mouth.

Lin Ran licked it, then gently ground it with her teeth.

“It’s not easy to cut here either,” Lin Ran said.

“Perhaps it’s the wrong location,” Fu Linling chuckled.

Lin Ran gave a meaningful smile, pulled her hand, and started running. “Let’s go, back to the hotel!”

“Wait… didn’t we forget something?” Fu Linling felt like something had been forgotten.

“What did we forget? Is it more urgent than going back to our room?” Lin Ran asked, looking back.

“No.” Fu Linling gazed at the smile on her face, holding her hand, and quickly ran back.

On the other side of the beach, Liang Qingbo lay ravenously hungry on the sand, staring up at the bright moon. “Damn it, are they still not answering their phones?”

Feng Ming’s eyes were blank. “Seems so.”

“Did they forget us?”

“Seems so.”

“Are we a couple of big suckers?”

“Seems so.”

“Dammit.”

“Seems so.”

“…” Liang Qingbo flipped over and sat up, looking at her with alarm. “Wake up. Are you starving yourself senseless?”

“Seems so.”

The next day, two groups—one energized and one listless—met in the restaurant.

“Morning!” Lin Ran greeted them with a big smile, which was met by two resentful pairs of eyes.

“?” Lin Ran asked again. “How was your day yesterday?”

Oh boy, the resentment deepened.

Fu Linling finally remembered—they had completely forgotten about them last night!

With a hint of guilt, Fu Linling asked, “What do you two want to do today?”

She was going to offer to treat them.

“I want to go shopping for bags at the duty-free store,” Liang Qingbo said.

Fu Linling mentally retracted her offer.

Luckily, she hadn’t had a chance to speak.

“I want to go too, but let’s go tomorrow. These two have to go back to work tonight, so let’s all have fun together today,” Lin Ran said.

“That works.” Liang Qingbo thought about it, then added, “Let’s go surfing today.”

“I can’t swim,” Feng Ming reiterated.

“You don’t have to. Beginners learn in the shallow water. It’s doubtful you’ll even be able to stand up. What do you say, want to try it?”

“Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

“What about you two? Are you coming?” Liang Qingbo asked the two across from her.

“We won’t be joining you,” Lin Ran waved her hand. “You two have fun.”

Normally, these activities were Lin Ran’s favorites. Liang Qingbo sized up what Lin Ran was wearing today—a sun protection shirt and a long skirt, completely covered up.

Lin Ran caught Liang Qingbo’s knowing smile, raised an eyebrow, and winked.

The two communicated with their eyes. Feng Ming: “What’s wrong with your eyes? Do you have an infection?”

The two of them: “…”

Liang Qingbo took the clueless Feng Ming out to have fun.

After finishing her meal, Lin Ran winked at Fu Linling. “Where do you want to play?”

“What about you?”

“I just want to play with you in the room.” Lin Ran blinked, looking completely innocent, not at all like she was talking about something terribly lustful.

The only one to blame was Doctor Fu for being so powerful.

Lin Ran had lived a life of chastity for thirty years, finally opening up to a new world, only to encounter a super achiever. Her starting point was incredibly high, yet there was still room for improvement, making her increasingly addicted and unable to extricate herself.

Even though it was winter, she was like a cat in spring; seeing Doctor Fu made her instantly aroused, and her mind was filled with forbidden thoughts.

After behaving shamelessly until midnight, Lin Ran lay breathing heavily on Fu Linling’s body, her clothes disheveled. “When we get back, I’m sending a commendation banner to your clinic.”

“What?” Fu Linling asked confusedly.

“—Miraculous Healing,” Lin Ran sighed. “As expected of a dentist, your hand skills are truly remarkable.”

“Then let’s go back to the room,” Fu Linling said. “We haven’t had a honeymoon yet anyway.”

“This is our honeymoon now!” Lin Ran said excitedly.

“Ran-Ran messaged that we should eat lunch ourselves and not worry about them,” Liang Qingbo said, reading Lin Ran’s message while changing clothes after surfing.

“Mmm.”

“Thank goodness you came. Otherwise, I would have been miserable as a third wheel.” Liang Qingbo imagined the scene and thought drowning in the ocean would have been preferable.

Feng Ming curved her lips slightly.

Liang Qingbo glanced at her and asked, “Seeing them so affectionate right in front of you, are you sad?”

Feng Ming thought seriously for a moment and shook her head. “Since they don’t like me, why let it consume me? They are both my friends, and I want them to be happy. That makes my letting go more convincing.”

“Alright, you let go that quickly. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Come on, Sis will take you out to flirt with some girls!”

After dinner that evening, the two martial sisters were ready to fly back.

Lin Ran and Liang Qingbo stayed a few more days, bringing back many souvenirs upon their return.

Gifts for others were mailed directly, but everything brought home was for Fu Linling.

These ranged from small daily skincare products to large items like clothes, shoes, and bags.

Fu Linling discovered that the coat was the same style as Lin Ran’s—the one Qin Shanshan was shocked by the price of.

“Over twenty thousand?” Fu Linling looked at the price tag, a matching look of shock on her face.

“It looks like twenty thousand, but it’ll last for years. The more you wear it, the better the value,” Lin Ran said.

Fu Linling then looked at the bag—over ten thousand.

The shoes—over three thousand.

Fu Linling felt a bit of a pang. “Can these be returned?”

“No returns.” Lin Ran helped her put on the coat and said happily, “It looks so good. If you return it, I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Don’t worry, the duty-free store had discounts and point deductions, so it didn’t actually cost that much.”

“I’m at work most of the time. I don’t need things this nice,” Fu Linling said.

“I was shopping, and I just felt like these things suited you. Don’t you like them?” Lin Ran looked at her with a wronged expression.

“It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s that I feel bad for you,” Fu Linling stepped forward and pinched the back of Lin Ran’s neck. “It’s not easy for you to earn money. Your shoulders and neck will start having problems at such a young age.”

“…” You really know how to show affection.

Lin Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Are you underestimating me? I have plenty in my secret stash. I’m happy to buy things for you.”

“I’ll accept them this time, but don’t waste money on me next time. Clothes that are warm enough and shoes that are comfortable are enough for me,” Fu Linling said.

“Fine,” Lin Ran agreed.

Fu Linling wasn’t a person who liked to buy luxury goods anyway. She wore a white coat to work every day and went straight home afterward, so she really didn’t need expensive attire.

“Next time, I won’t buy you name brands. I’ll buy you stuff with less fabric, the kind that can’t be seen in public,” Lin Ran chuckled suggestively.

The weather grew colder and colder. Lin Ran kept the air conditioning on at home and rarely went out, so it didn’t affect her much.

But Doctor Fu caught a cold.

Many flu patients came to the hospital every day. On top of that, the scooter ride to and from work was a bit windy. While working, she started feeling dizzy and finally asked for time off to see the Internal Medicine department.

“You have a high fever, Doctor Fu. Should I call your spouse to come over?” The nurse who was putting in her IV recognized her and asked while inserting the needle.

“No need. Let’s finish the IV first and see,” Fu Linling said, closing her eyes to rest.

Feng Ming came over to check on her after work. Seeing that Fu Linling still looked unwell, she suggested, “Should I call Lin Ran to come and pick you up?”

“She should be busy right now. I’ll finish the IV first. Maybe things will improve,” Fu Linling said weakly. “You should go home too. Don’t worry about me.”

Feng Ming thought about it, then pulled out her phone.

“Didn’t I say not to call…”

“I’m not calling. I’m just sending a WeChat message.”

Fu Linling smiled helplessly.

Lin Ran rushed over, scanning the doorway. When she saw Feng Ming beckon to her, she immediately ran over and looked down at the weak Doctor Fu with worry. “Is it serious?”

Feng Ming said, “She had a fever of thirty-nine degrees Celsius. We’ll take her temperature again after the IV. Her medicine is in her bag. I’ll head back now.”

“Okay, thank you.” Lin Ran sat down beside her. Seeing that Fu Linling’s lips were dry and her face was too pale, she stood up, poured a glass of warm water, and helped her drink it.

After the IV finished, her temperature was still thirty-eight point six degrees Celsius. Lin Ran took her home, tucked her into bed, and covered her with the quilt. “You rest for a bit. I’ll make dinner.”

“Can you cook?”

“What’s difficult about it? Is ordering takeout that hard?”

Fu Linling couldn’t help but laugh again, then half her face was covered by the quilt.

“Stay covered up. Try to sweat it out,” Lin Ran tucked the quilt around her.

She ordered some light congee and planned to heat it up for Fu Linling the moment she woke up.

Fu Linling slept for a few hours. When she opened her eyes, she felt her head was less heavy. She turned on the desk lamp and drowsily heard sounds coming from the living room.

“Could you be more detailed? What should she eat? Of course, I know she has to take her medicine, Mom! Can you talk about other things? Like precautions… Oh, oh, I’m making a note of all that. Anything else?”

Listening to Lin Ran’s voice, Fu Linling’s mouth curved into a smile, and she drifted back to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was already morning outside.

She was being completely embraced by Lin Ran. She tried to turn over, and Lin Ran opened her eyes.

“Mmm…” Lin Ran stretched, sleepily pressing her forehead against Fu Linling’s. “How do you feel?”

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, I wasn’t sleeping soundly anyway. You don’t feel as hot. Let’s take your temperature first.” Lin Ran picked up the thermometer from the bedside table and tucked it under her armpit, then helped herself to some perks.

“You’re so warm, like a fresh steamed bun,” Lin Ran couldn’t help but sigh.

A few minutes later, Fu Linling said, “It’s ready.”

“What, am I bothering you by touching you?” Lin Ran dutifully retracted her hand.

“…I meant the thermometer is ready.”