To Get Married - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Once Manzhu confirmed she didn’t mind making their relationship public, Yudong immediately sent the news of her successful confession to the 415 dorm chat with the most excited tone possible.

Her roommates showered her with warm blessings, but the chat quickly devolved into “indescribable” territory. It was Yudong who had gotten out of the single life, yet her roommates were the ones getting worked up, discussing positions and “variations” with wild enthusiasm. Curiosity led Yudong to read a few more lines until her face turned beet red, at which point she hurriedly closed the app.

When Manzhu asked what was wrong, Yudong didn’t dare say a word. She stammered for a while before simply shaking her head with a guilty, flushed face.

Soon, the two changed clothes, threw on their coats, and prepared to head out. Before leaving, Manzhu called Gou Hongjie to tell him exactly what Yudong wanted to eat. The walk from home to Not An Old Friend was about twenty minutes; by ordering ahead, the food would be ready just as they arrived, allowing them to eat after a brief rest. This was typical of Manzhu—she couldn’t bear to let Yudong wait a single minute on an empty stomach.

Perhaps because they were in high spirits, the biting winter wind didn’t feel cold at all. Yudong carried her small cake in one hand and hooked her other arm through Manzhu’s, humming a little tune as they stepped through the doors of the bar.

“Our birthday girl is here!” Xiao Zhi, seeing Yudong’s radiant mood, hurried over to take the cake and place it on the bar counter. “Your meal is almost ready. Have a seat, I’ll bring it over in a bit.”

“Thanks, Sister Xiao Zhi!” Yudong said, pulling Manzhu to a nearby table. She looked around for a while, but seeing that there were very few people on the first floor at this hour, she pouted.

“What’s wrong?” Manzhu asked.

Yudong shook her head. “There’s no one here. Who are we going to tell the good news to?”

Manzhu thought for a moment and stood up. “I’ll go call everyone down.”

Yudong caught Manzhu’s finger, smiling and shaking her head. “No need! It’s not that big of a deal. It would be weird to summon everyone just for an announcement…”

“Then…”

“How about…” Yudong pondered, trying to snap her fingers (which made no sound). “We just tell people one by one as we see them!”

Manzhu stifled a laugh and nodded.

So, they sat at a table near the bar, eating and waiting. Whenever someone passed by, their eyes would lock onto the person simultaneously. Then, under the passerby’s bewildered gaze, they would embrace each other and declare: “We’re together!”

Both Manzhu and Yudong naively expected this news to shock everyone. However, no matter who they told, the reaction was incredibly calm. Everyone’s eyes seemed to say: “Oh? Really? You only just got together?”

This lack of reaction didn’t bother Manzhu, but Yudong felt a complete lack of accomplishment. She had grown up here; for years, she and Manzhu had maintained the appearance of sisters. Now that they were finally together, shouldn’t people be a little more surprised?

Frustrated, Yudong stopped Mu Chenshan as he walked by.

“Uncle, Manzhu and I are together! Aren’t you guys even a little surprised?”

Mu Chenshan thought for a moment, then gave Yudong a performance of exaggerated “translation-style” shock.

“Oh, my God! A youth like you has actually ended up with the most beautiful Miss Manzhu in our bar! This is truly shocking! I’ll bet my life that if the milk tea shop owner across the street found out, he’d slap his own face—which is currently frozen as red as a monkey’s butt—with his own milk tea!”

Manzhu: “Can you speak like a normal person?”

“The normal version is: I’m not surprised at all,” Mu Chenshan said. “Isn’t you two being together the natural order of things?”

“Is it really that ‘natural’?” Yudong fell into a daze.

Mu Chenshan said, “Look at it this way. If Zhaomu and I got together one day, would you be surprised?”

Manzhu said, “Quite surprised. I’d suspect Zhaomu had been possessed.”

Yudong had wanted to say “not surprised,” but hearing Manzhu’s take, she shut her mouth and nodded in agreement against her conscience.

Mu Chenshan closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. “Let me change the analogy. If Xiao Zhi and Er Gou-zi got together, would you be surprised?”

Manzhu thought. “No, not really.”

Mu Chenshan nodded. “There you go.”

Yudong suddenly recalled what her roommates had said. It turned out she and Manzhu were the only ones “lost in the fog,” unable to see themselves or each other clearly. Everyone else knew their relationship was far from ordinary and that being together was just a matter of time. Only the two of them had been afraid to face the feelings that were already laid out on the table.

If she had known sooner, she wouldn’t have spent so much time trembling in anxiety.

“Anyway, congratulations,” Mu Chenshan said, patting Yudong’s shoulder meaningfully. “Keep it up, youngster.”

Yudong seemed to understand something instantly. Her face flushed, and she reflexively avoided Manzhu’s gaze. She quickly recovered and whispered, “You too, Uncle.”

“I don’t have the energy,” Mu Chenshan sighed, waving his hand as he walked away.

Yudong grew curious. She looked at Manzhu and whispered, “Why haven’t Uncle and Little Master ever gotten together?”

“Your Master thinks he’s unreliable.”

“Huh? Is he?”

“In every aspect,” Manzhu said, patting Yudong’s head. “Especially because he talks too much.”

There’s a saying: A perfectly good handsome man, ruined by having a mouth. It fit Mu Chenshan perfectly. Though that wasn’t the real reason, those unspoken past events weren’t something Yudong needed to know.

Over the years, Yudong had received many gifts for her birthday, mostly from the demons at the bar. This year was no exception. Those who had physical gifts gave them; those who didn’t sent red envelopes.

That afternoon, as dusk fell, the three roommates took a taxi to the bar. They brought three gifts and a massive cake to celebrate Yudong’s “double blessing” nineteenth birthday.

Since the bar’s air conditioning was high and the cake might melt, Yudong remembered to put Manzhu’s cake in the back kitchen’s fridge halfway through her meal. However, when she opened the fridge, she found another cake already inside. Gou Hongjie explained it was a surprise from everyone at the bar, but Yudong had stumbled right onto it, ruining the surprise.

Now, with the roommates’ contribution, there were three birthday cakes, each one bigger than the last. Three cakes meant more than just three sets of ingredients—they were three expressions of love. Yudong couldn’t bear to let any of them go to waste, so that night, all three were placed on the table.

The candles representing her age were stuck into all of them, lit simultaneously, and finally blown out by Yudong in one single breath. After blowing them out, she cut a piece from each and, on a whim, ran toward the stage with a small plate.

Manzhu was still singing for the guests. Yudong waited patiently until the song ended, then waved her small plastic fork.

“Sister, take a break! Have some cake!” In front of the customers, she didn’t dare break the “sister” label yet, her heart still cautious for some reason.

“Bring it up to me,” Manzhu laughed.

Yudong nodded and jogged up, sharing the three different flavors of cake with Manzhu. The music in the bar stopped. The customers watched as the two people on stage shared the cake, taking bite for bite using the same short, stubby plastic fork in an exceptionally “sticky” manner.

New customers were confused; old customers were unfazed.

The roommates followed with their own plates, and seeing the scene, they immediately started hooting.

“Kiss her, Yudong!”

“Kiss her! Don’t be shy! Kiss her!”

Since she had decided not to hide anymore, Yudong felt open in her heart. Yet, for some reason, despite being fine a second ago, the cheering made her feel quite shy. In front of so many people, she looked at Manzhu timidly. Manzhu looked back with a smile, her eyes showing no intention of looking away.

It was a silent permission. Permission for Yudong to announce their relationship without reservation before every friend, new or old.

In that instant, Yudong’s heart raced. After a brief moment of nerves, she mustered her courage and pressed a kiss onto Manzhu’s cheek. Then, amidst a flurry of gasps and scattered applause, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Manzhu’s, who was already leaning in to meet her.