To Get Married - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lu Yudong was still standing there in a daze when Manzhu walked up, took the backpack off her back, and draped it over her arm.

During the day, the backpack only held a few notebooks and a pencil case, but now it was full of textbooks from all her subjects and was many times heavier.

“I can carry it myself…” Lu Yudong reached down to steady the bag, seemingly afraid it might hurt Manzhu’s shoulder.

“You still need to grow taller,” Manzhu said with a smile, taking her hand and leading her onto the overpass. “Don’t let it weigh you down and keep you from growing.”

Lu Yudong could feel the gazes from all around them: admiration, astonishment, envy, or jealousy.

Manzhu was the kind of person who attracted attention everywhere she went, and she, Lu Yudong, was the ugly duckling covered by those stray glances, only daring to bury her small head and hide under the swan’s wing.

But she felt there was nothing wrong with that.

She held Manzhu’s hand tightly, and the anxiety that had been in her heart during the day dissipated bit by bit as their fingers interlaced.

The night breeze was cool. They walked home under the streetlights.

The clock was about to strike ten. Lu Yudong posted her class schedule on the wall by the door, hugged her backpack, and walked to the bed. She took out the textbooks she wouldn’t need tomorrow and placed them neatly on the small bookshelf at the head of the integrated bed-cabinet.

After tidying her books, she sat on the bed and took several deep breaths. Looking down, she noticed that the inner wall right next to the bed-cabinet was now covered with a double-layered velvet cotton cloth. It was secured near the window sill and gently draped down to the bed surface.

Lu Yudong reached out and touched it—it was thick and soft. She could no longer feel the coldness of the wall.

Her lips curved into a smile. She rolled over and jumped off the bed.

Manzhu happened to walk out of the kitchen with a freshly brewed cup of milk, which she set on the low coffee table. “Drink this, and then it’s time for bed.”

Manzhu had only learned that day, while watching TV at home, that a cup of milk before bed greatly improved sleep quality, so she had bought a can of milk powder.

Lu Yudong put on her slippers, quickly jogged over, picked up the milk, and drank it in one gulp.

Then, hugging the still-warm empty cup, she walked up to Manzhu, looked up, and said in a soft, quiet voice, “The school cafeteria needs a meal card. It costs twenty yuan to get the card, and then you have to put money on it for food. My deskmate swiped for me for lunch and dinner today, and I need to pay her back.”

“Okay,” Manzhu replied, taking off the small purse hanging from her waist. She pulled out the last three hundred-yuan bills and handed them to Lu Yudong.

Lu Yudong froze, seeing only a few coins left inside the purse. She was hesitant to take the money or refuse it.

Manzhu stroked Lu Yudong’s head and smiled. “I just ran out. I’ll get more tomorrow. You take these for now. You don’t have to put it all on the meal card. Buy whatever you want. If you run out, come ask me.”

“Ah…” Lu Yudong snapped back to attention and nodded. She carefully tucked the three hundred yuan inside her Chinese textbook and put it back into her backpack.

The next morning, before dawn, Lu Yudong was woken by the phone’s alarm. She opened her eyes to see breakfast already prepared on the coffee table.

It was hot, having been cooked just a few minutes before.

After breakfast, Manzhu walked her to the school gate as she had yesterday, waving goodbye.

After watching Manzhu leave, Lu Yudong doubled back to the small supermarket across from the school. She chose a thermos lunch box that cost thirty-two yuan, then turned into the alley and bought the breakfast she had promised Zhang Ziyun. She hid it in her backpack, nervously sneaking it into the school.

When she reached the classroom, Zhang Ziyun was already waiting at her seat and immediately smiled brightly upon seeing her.

After getting her breakfast, Zhang Ziyun even told her, “I love you!”

Lu Yudong breathed a sigh of relief. “The security guard is watching the gate. Some people got stopped. I was so afraid I couldn’t get in…”

“You look like a good student. No one will check your bag,” Zhang Ziyun said. “I’ll be counting on you from now on. The school breakfast is just too gross.”

Lu Yudong lowered her head, not wanting to agree but afraid to refuse.

Before she could resolve her dilemma, Zhang Ziyun shoved a hundred yuan into her hand. “For outside breakfasts, as long as it’s easy to hide, just bring me whatever. Subtract the cost from this money, and let me know when you’re done.”

“Ah… okay.” Lu Yudong pursed her lips, pulled out the notebook from yesterday, and flipped to the last page where she kept track of her debts.

Below the line “Owe Little Uncle Mu 545 yuan,” she drew an accounting table and entered Zhang Ziyun’s hundred yuan.

Zhang Ziyun said, “Oh, right. Include the twenty for the meal card from yesterday too.”

“Okay,” Lu Yudong said, crossing out the 100 and writing 120 next to it.

That afternoon, she went with Zhang Ziyun to get her meal card, putting all her remaining money onto the card.

At lunch, she ate half of her food and saved the other half.

The uneaten half was poured entirely into the thermos lunch box.

Zhang Ziyun watched, surprised. “What are you doing?”

Lu Yudong quietly replied, “I can’t finish it. Don’t let it go to waste. I’ll keep eating it this afternoon.”

This way, she could save the cost of one meal a day.

Zhang Ziyun looked utterly confused. “You don’t have to go that far…”

Lu Yudong just curved her eyebrows and smiled.

Perhaps she didn’t have to go that far, but she couldn’t forget what Little Uncle Mu had said: “Your Elder Sister Manzhu isn’t having it easy. She… she’s spent a lot of money on you recently and is a bit tight on cash.”

For the first two weeks of school, Manzhu continued to pick up and drop off Lu Yudong.

In the very beginning, they would go to sleep together after getting home and washing up. However, later, Manzhu would drop Lu Yudong off every evening, brew her a cup of hot milk, and then leave alone again.

After this continued for a week, Lu Yudong couldn’t help but ask for the reason.

Manzhu said it was her new job. It started at five in the afternoon and ended at two in the morning, with no holidays, but the income was decent.

As for picking her up, Manzhu was sneaking out during a break.

Lu Yudong felt both warmth and a pang of sadness in her heart.

She felt bad that Manzhu was picking her up and dropping her off every day, but she was also happy that someone was willing to accompany her in this way despite her busy schedule.

But Manzhu was working so late every day, waking up early for her, and then traveling back and forth between three locations for her in the evening… it was simply too exhausting.

She would be twelve soon. She wasn’t a child who would get lost. She couldn’t let Manzhu worry and struggle like this anymore.

When the young girl voiced her thoughts, Manzhu was a little surprised but went along with her wishes.

It wasn’t tiring for Manzhu to pick up and drop off Lu Yudong every day; in fact, she rather enjoyed it. However, she knew Lu Yudong was a sensible and sensitive child. If she didn’t compromise on this, the child would feel guilty.

“But if we do this, I’ll have very little time to spend with you. Is that okay?” Manzhu was somewhat reluctant to see the child feel lonely because of this.

Facing Manzhu’s hesitation, Lu Yudong thought for a moment and said seriously, “Our school doesn’t have evening self-study every Saturday, Manzhu Elder Sister… Could you perhaps start work a little later on Saturdays and have dinner with me?”

“Of course,” Manzhu replied without hesitation.

Lu Yudong was delighted. “Then it’s a deal!”

Manzhu smiled, held Lu Yudong’s small hand, linked their pinky fingers, and then stroked her head, asking, “Is there anything you want to eat this Saturday? I’ll make it for you.”

After all, she had figured out most of the human world’s new inventions over the years. Cooking wasn’t too difficult.

Lu Yudong thought about it, looked up, and said obediently, “I like everything Elder Sister Manzhu makes!”

Manzhu said, “Then, after you get out of school, we’ll go grocery shopping together. Whatever you pick, I’ll make.”

This single sentence made Lu Yudong look forward to Saturday after school starting from the moment she went to sleep on Friday.

When the dismissal bell rang, Lu Yudong was the first to stand up. She hummed a little tune, packed her bag, and skipped out of the classroom like a young deer, completely ignoring Zhang Ziyun’s surprised look.

She bounced and ran out of the school. The moment she saw Manzhu, she rushed over and hugged her, completely uncaring of the surrounding stares.

Manzhu could feel that Lu Yudong was in an exceptionally good mood today.

The girl’s steps were very light all the way. She seemed ready to skip several times—at the supermarket while buying groceries, and on the way up to the apartment.

However, Lu Yudong didn’t buy too much, and the ingredients were common and cheap vegetables. She didn’t pick any meat at all.

Manzhu finally couldn’t stand it and weighed out some chicken breast on the side.

Back at home, Lu Yudong immediately put down her backpack, turned, and took all the groceries from Manzhu into the kitchen.

Just as Manzhu was about to enter the kitchen, she saw Lu Yudong standing in the narrow doorway, blocking the way.

She looked up, her pure eyes wide, and tilted her head to ask, “Can I help with anything?”

Manzhu couldn’t help but laugh. She bent down to meet Lu Yudong’s eyes and asked, “What do you know how to do?”

“I can learn!” Lu Yudong’s expression was utterly serious.

Manzhu straightened up, leaned against the kitchen doorframe, and thought for a moment. “Then why don’t you peel the potatoes and the celery lettuce?”

“Okay!” Lu Yudong stopped blocking the door and ran into the kitchen, pulling out all the potatoes and celery lettuce.

“We can’t eat that much, just one of each,” Manzhu reminded her.

“Okay!” Lu Yudong replied, putting the extras back into the bag and into the fridge.

She picked up the fruit knife sitting on the counter. If she remembered correctly, this kind of knife was used for peeling.

“You have to wash them first,” Manzhu reminded her again.

“Okay!” Lu Yudong turned and ran to the sink, clumsily washing the potatoes and celery lettuce.

After cleaning the surface, Lu Yudong pulled up a small stool and sat next to the trash can, beginning to peel the potato.

Manzhu was preparing the other dishes nearby, occasionally glancing at Lu Yudong, worried that the child, who barely knew how to hold the knife correctly, might cut herself.

Fortunately, though Lu Yudong was slow at peeling, she was very careful, peeling them cleanly without getting hurt.

Finally, she placed the peeled celery lettuce and potato on the cutting board, grabbed the small knife, and looked up at Manzhu. “Can I try?”

Manzhu pointed to the larger chef’s knife on the side and said, “Go ahead and try. Both of these need to be diced.”

Lu Yudong grasped the knife, imitating what she had seen on TV. Under Manzhu’s watchful gaze, she chopped for a long time, finally finishing the dicing, arranging the pieces on a plate, and standing obediently to the side.

The vegetables she had cut for the first time were eventually stir-fried with chicken in the “Spicy Stir-Fry of Three Diced Ingredients” dish. When the fragrant dish was plated, Lu Yudong couldn’t help but gasp, “Wow.”

She had contributed to this dish, and although her movements were quite slow and wasted a lot of time, her sense of accomplishment was immense.

When all the dishes were cooked, the two of them served the rice they had started earlier and sat together on the floor in front of the low coffee table.

Although the seating wasn’t the most comfortable, the atmosphere was incredibly warm, with them passing food back and forth to each other.

After dinner, Lu Yudong insisted on doing the dishes. Though she was a little clumsy, she managed to wash them cleanly.

After Manzhu left for work, Lu Yudong lay by the small desk, holding her pen and staring blankly for a long time before finally writing a page in her diary.

…

Today, Manzhu cooked for me with her own hands. This is the first time in over two months.

The vegetables were the ones Mom loved to buy, and the cooking style and taste were completely different from Dad’s, but I loved them all.

I’m starting to look forward to every Saturday from now on.