Marriage at Thirty - Chapter 56

The class bell rang.

Fu Linling was reviewing her practice problems when she suddenly heard a burst of exclamations.

She looked up and saw the class teacher passing by the window with a girl behind him.

She only managed to catch a glimpse of the back: a high ponytail with a few strands of gold-dyed hair subtly visible.

“Today, a new classmate is joining our class. Lin Ran, please introduce yourself to everyone,” the class teacher said from the podium.

The students looked on with eager anticipation.

“Hello everyone, my name is Lin Ran. I transferred from Jincheng, and I’m very happy to be your classmate in the final year of high school,” Lin Ran smiled, bowed, and spoke confidently.

With this fresh face joining Class Six, the classroom immediately erupted in cheers.

“You’re from Jincheng, so why did you move to this small place?”

“Won’t transferring in our final year affect your studies?”

“Do you know anyone at this school?”

“You’re so pretty! Prettier than the school beauty!”

The crowd barraged her with questions.

“Quiet down, everyone. It’s class time. Lian Fang, clear off the desk next to you,” the class teacher said.

“Will do!” Lian Fang happily moved her books back from the empty desk beside her.

As soon as class ended, more than half of the students swarmed around Lin Ran, asking her all kinds of questions, creating bursts of happy chatter.

Fu Linling curiously looked over twice, but there were too many people, so she couldn’t see the new classmate.

Within a day, students from other classes also learned that a great beauty had transferred to Class Six. They all rushed to the classroom door to catch a glimpse, momentarily crowding the hallway until it was completely impassable.

Lin Ran was not only not shy but also enthusiastically waved and greeted the people outside.

Lian Fang said, “You are so cool!”

Lin Ran: “Sigh, I’m used to it.”

Lin Ran’s social skills were impressive. Within a few days, she had made friends with many people. Everyone invited her to go with them when going to the restroom or buying things.

Almost every break, Fu Linling could hear the sound of Lin Ran laughing and chatting with her friends or see her quickly passing by.

Many people would sneak glances at her.

Fu Linling did too.

However, she was more cautious than others, afraid of being discovered and made fun of.

She only turned to look out the window after Lin Ran had walked ahead. The golden strands of hair were dazzling.

But they also violated school rules.

The class teacher ordered her to dye her hair back.

Lin Ran couldn’t be bothered to re-dye it, so she took scissors and asked Lian Fang to simply cut off the highlighted strands.

“What if I mess it up? Maybe ask someone else to cut it?” Lian Fang said.

Lin Ran asked loudly, “Who here knows how to cut hair? It just needs to be shortened.”

Fu Linling looked down at her hands. She was quite skilled at cutting medicinal herbs for her mother…

“I will!”

“Me, me, me! Leave it to me!”

Several people enthusiastically volunteered and gathered around to help her cut her hair.

To maintain the overall style, she started wearing her hair down again. When she ran, the mass of hair on her back bounced, black and shiny.

Fu Linling had never seen anyone with hair more beautiful than hers.

During every outdoor drill, Lin Ran stood a few spots in front of her. Fu Linling often stared at that head of dark hair, lost in thought.

“Mom, what medicine can I take to make my hair healthy?” Fu Linling asked when she returned home.

Xu Yanyan looked surprised and parted her hair to check. “Are you starting to lose hair already in your final year? You should at least relax your studying a bit.”

“…I’m not losing it. I just want it to look nicer.”

“Oh, you’re having teenage vanity issues. You’re young; eat well, don’t take medicine. Don’t study so hard. Rest when you need to, make more friends, and go out and relax on weekends.”

Other parents worried their children weren’t studying hard enough, but Xu Yanyan worried her child was working so hard she was becoming a hermit. She certainly didn’t want any psychological issues to develop.

“A transfer student just came to our class,” Fu Linling said.

“Transferring in the final year of high school?” Xu Yanyan was rarely told about her classmates. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl.”

“Oh.” No gossip then.

“She’s very pretty. A lot of people like her. I heard the school heartthrob even gave her a love letter.”

“Oh? The heartthrob? Is he handsome? Do you like him?”

“I don’t like him. I’m not talking to you anymore!” Fu Linling angrily returned to her room to do practice tests.

“Alright, don’t be mad. I was just teasing you.” Xu Yanyan carried milk into the room to appease her teenage child, whose temper had grown lately. She also brought a few sesame pills. “I made these sesame pills myself. You can take them and share them with your classmates, like the transfer student you just mentioned.”

Fu Linling stared at the sesame pills for a long time. She tasted one. It was quite healthy and not sweet at all.

Xu Yanyan specially packaged them for her. The next day, Fu Linling brought the sesame pills to school but never found an opportunity to give them to the transfer student.

She finally waited until the afternoon physical education class. After running, the class dispersed, and Lin Ran and Lian Fang returned to the classroom.

Fu Linling did her practice problems while preparing herself mentally. The room was the least crowded now—the timing was just right.

She reached into her backpack for the sesame pills. Just as she was about to take them out, she heard Lian Fang say, “Try this. It’s so delicious.”

Lin Ran: “No, thanks. It tastes like nothing. It’s not sweet at all. I don’t like it.”

…Fu Linling’s outstretched hand immediately pulled back.

Not only did the students like the transfer student, but the teachers also liked her. They especially loved calling on her to answer questions and asking her to run errands to the office.

Before the National Day holiday, Fu Linling was sitting in the office helping the class teacher grade papers. Lin Ran rushed in and said, “Teacher Mao, did you look for me?”

Teacher Mao, their Chinese teacher, handed her a laptop and a USB drive. “Yes. Later during evening self-study, help everyone watch a movie. I have something on tonight and can’t make it.”

“Why didn’t you just ask the class rep?”

“The class rep is helping me grade papers.”

Lin Ran looked at the two or three students in the office and said, “That’s unfair! Are you saying I’m uneducated?”

The teachers and students all laughed. Teacher Mao: “Then you can grade papers, and I’ll have him show the movie.”

“This Lin is ready to go through fire and water for Teacher Mao!” Lin Ran grabbed the laptop and ran off.

“That child is such fun,” Teacher Mao told the class teacher.

The class teacher smiled helplessly. “Fun is one thing, but she’s also a real headache. Last night, she gathered a few girls in her dorm for a symposium to discuss the end of the universe, and the student council caught them red-handed.”

“That’s good, isn’t it? They’re discussing the universe.”

“The point is the end. Their ‘end’ was whether the Second or Third Cafeteria had better food, whether the lady with the yellow hair or the chubby chef was more generous with the servings.”

The other teachers burst out laughing.

Fu Linling secretly curled her lips.

Lin Ran’s arrival added a lot of vitality to Class Six. This was especially obvious when she left school to attend a training camp.

The classroom wasn’t as lively after class. Lian Fang and her friends still gathered, but they mostly discussed the days when Lin Ran was around, or they speculated about how her training was going, and whether she had already found new friends outside.

As the college entrance examination approached, Fu Linling’s nerves grew increasingly taut. She tried to make one minute stretch into two, even staring at her vocabulary book while going to the restroom or eating.

Eventually, she pushed herself to the point of collapse.

It was the class teacher who informed Xu Yanyan. Fu Linling herself refused to ask for leave, so Xu Yanyan rushed to the school to take her home.

“The college entrance exam is important, but your health is more important!” Xu Yanyan emphatically urged her to drink the medicine. “You are to honestly rest at home for the next few days. Your prescription strength is getting higher, so you need a new pair of glasses. I’ll talk to the teacher about moving you to the front seat.”

“No need. Nearsightedness naturally gets worse. I don’t want to sit in the front. I’m more comfortable in the back row.”

Xu Yanyan couldn’t change her mind and could only focus on taking care of her health.

When Fu Linling returned to school, no one paid much attention. Passing classmates merely glanced at her without saying much. Everyone was used to the awkward silence.

It was break time. As she walked from the field toward the teaching building, she suddenly heard someone call her name.

“Fu Linling, Fu Linling!”

Fu Linling turned around in surprise and saw Lin Ran had returned.

Lin Ran waved at her, smiled, and walked closer. “Long time no see. I heard you were sick and took leave?”

“Mmm…”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Your grades are definitely secure. Here, this is for you.” Lin Ran handed her a bottle of honeysuckle dew.

Fu Linling took it blankly. “…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Health is the foundation of revolution. Take some time to run. I see you go back to the classroom every P.E. class.”

Fu Linling looked at her sincere, long-unseen smile and nodded. “…Okay.”

Xu Yanyan noticed that Fu Linling’s condition had improved recently. After dinner in the evenings, she would even go out for a run with Fu Shanqing before coming back to do homework. Her state was visibly better.

“You’ve been very self-motivated lately,” Xu Yanyan praised.

“I want to lose weight.”

“??” Xu Yanyan was shocked. “Why now, of all times? Why lose weight now? Do it after the exam. You absolutely must not over-exercise or diet!”

“I know.”

For now, running and cutting down on sugar was enough. Fortunately, she didn’t have a sweet tooth anyway.

After the class exercises ended, everyone dispersed. Fu Linling remained on the field to continue running.

Lin Ran and Lian Fang lay on the lawn, sunbathing and talking about their dreams.

After a while, they saw Fu Linling walking toward the classroom, so they quickly followed. They were messing around and accidentally knocked a lollipop out of Lin Ran’s pocket.

Fu Linling bent down, picked it up, and handed it to her. “Your candy.”

“No need! I have plenty. I’m giving this one to you,” Lin Ran said with a smile, then chased after Lian Fang.

Fu Linling looked down at the candy, slowly tucked it into her pocket, and took it home, placing it on her desk.

Every day, she would look at it when she got back. She wanted to eat it but didn’t dare, knowing it would be gone once she did.

But when she got home on Friday night, the candy was gone.

“Mom, where is the candy I put here?”

“Oh, I saw that thing was melting, so I threw it away for you.”

“Why did you throw it away?!”

“It was melting!”

“You could have just put it in the refrigerator for me!”

Fu Shanqing heard their raised voices and walked over. “Why are you two arguing?”

Xu Yanyan pulled him downstairs and whispered, “She must be going crazy from studying. Watch the shop for a bit. I’ll go out and buy her a few bags of candy.”

But Fu Linling was still unhappy looking at the bags of candy.

“I don’t even like candy. Why did you buy all this?”

“Then why were you yelling at me over one piece of candy just now?”

Fu Linling stared at the candy, thought for a moment, and put it all in her backpack.

Since it had already been bought, she might as well give it all to Lin Ran.

During the break, she took the two bags of candy and walked toward Lin Ran, only to find her slumped over her desk, tossing and turning, moaning softly, looking quite uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Lian Fang asked.

“My tooth hurts! Aaaaaa!” Lin Ran slammed the desk and sat up, holding her face. “This is so annoying! It hurts so much, aaaaa!”

“A toothache is not a sickness, but it hurts like hell when it acts up. You should eat fewer sweets.”

Fu Linling stopped walking and hid the candy behind her back.

“Can you hold on?” Lian Fang asked.

“It started hurting a few days ago, but I don’t think I can hold on this time.” Lin Ran sucked in air through her teeth, clutching her cheek.

The teacher granted her leave to see a doctor.

In the afternoon, as soon as Lin Ran entered the classroom, Fu Linling paid attention to her.

She looked much better.

After class, several people gathered around to ask about her condition. Lin Ran recounted the visit to the hospital, describing the process as quite scary, saying the tools almost killed her.

“The doctor was not gentle at all! I told him I was scared, but he just went straight to the tools without giving me time to mentally prepare. He made me lose face, screaming in front of so many people.”

Her friends all laughed.

“I had to queue for a long time. I was in so much pain while waiting. Seriously, you guys should become dentists in the future! There are so many patients! The dental clinics in this city are so poorly equipped and need a lot of improvement. The dental clinics in Jincheng are excellent. This line of work has great prospects!”

As the college entrance exam approached, what careers to pursue was a hot topic for everyone.

“I don’t want to be a dentist. I want to go into clinical medicine and treat illnesses to save lives,” one person said.

“Dentistry saves people too! Don’t underestimate dentists!” Lin Ran clenched her fist and turned to Lian Fang. “Lian Fang, you should become a dentist. Then I’ll come to you for all my exclusive dental work!”

Lian Fang laughed. “But I’m afraid of blood.”

Lin Ran turned to the others. “Whoever becomes a dentist in the future, remember to contact me! I’ll come to you for all my dental appointments!”

Everyone joked and teased her.

Fu Linling looked thoughtful. On her way home that evening, she deliberately observed a nearby dental clinic for a while. The environment was indeed not great, the equipment was a bit old, and the doctor was clearly inexperienced.

“Well, it’s rare that she’s not studying tonight.” Xu Yanyan delivered milk to Fu Linling and returned to the room to whisper to Fu Shanqing.

“Then what is she doing?”

“Using the internet.”

“The internet?” Fu Shanqing asked. “This late at night… is it a healthy website?”

“What are you thinking, you old coot? I saw medical-related webpages. She’s probably looking up hospitals to apply to.”

“Does she want to become a doctor too?”

“She’s had the potential since she was little. Finally, someone will inherit my practice,” Xu Yanyan was overjoyed.

The next day, Xu Yanyan made breakfast and asked Fu Linling with a smile, “Are you planning to study traditional Chinese medicine?”

“No.”

“?” Xu Yanyan was puzzled. “Then what were you looking up all night? What are you planning to apply for?”

“Stomatology.”

Xu Yanyan paused, then asked in disbelief, “You’ve never mentioned that before, and I’ve never seen you interested in that field. Why the sudden decision to study it?”

“This profession seems to really need me.”

“…Could you please not say something so arrogant in such a dull tone? It makes me want to hit you.”

Fu Linling rephrased it. “I want to be a dentist.”