To Get Married - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On weekdays, Lu Yudong was virtually invisible.

All her classmates saw her as just the new transfer student—thin, small, quiet, and shy.

In contrast, her deskmate, Zhang Ziyun, was the kind of generous, lively, and pretty girl who stood out, even though her academic performance wasn’t exceptional.

It’s easy to become an unnoticed shadow when you’re always beside someone radiating light.

Lu Yudong was like that shadow, quiet and ordinary, never the center of attention.

However, a moment ago, many eyes were focused on her.

Once the parent-teacher conference began, bored students gathered in groups, all discussing Lu Yudong’s beautiful “parent.”

Classmates who had never spoken to Lu Yudong before now came rushing over, curiously asking who the gorgeous woman was—who certainly didn’t look like a mother—what her name was, and if she was a celebrity who had acted in TV dramas…

Lu Yudong didn’t want to tell so many people that she and Manzhu weren’t related. Beyond saying, “She’s my Elder Sister,” she refused to answer anything further.

Seeing this, Zhang Ziyun pulled her away from the crowd and ran to the school store, treating her to a banana-flavored pearl milk tea.

On a small, deserted bench behind the girls’ dormitory building, the two girls sat quietly, each holding a cup of milk tea, neither speaking.

Zhang Ziyun could tell that Lu Yudong didn’t want to talk about her parents. She truly considered this “Elder Sister” her sole support.

She was curious what kind of parents would cause a good-natured girl like Lu Yudong to choose to rely on an outsider and refuse to mention them at all. But she didn’t dare ask, fearing her curiosity might hurt her already silent deskmate.

After a long silence, Lu Yudong broke it: “I was in a car accident this summer. The scars hidden under my clothes haven’t faded yet.”

Her tone was calm, but her tightly clenched fists showed her inner turmoil.

“I don’t have Mom and Dad anymore. All those relatives I saw during holidays, they all abandoned me. They stood right outside my hospital room and said, loud enough for me to hear, that if no one was willing to adopt me, I would have to be sent to a foster home…”

Zhang Ziyun opened her mouth, wanting to offer comfort, but found that any words were too pale and inadequate.

Lu Yudong looked back toward the teaching building intentionally or unintentionally. Although her view was blocked by the dormitory, a deep, undeniable reliance shone in her eyes.

“She’s my parents’ friend… I had never met her before I woke up in the hospital. She had the least reason of anyone who came to see me to take me in, but in the end, she was the only one who didn’t dislike me…”

“To earn more money, she changed jobs and comes home very, very late every day… She rarely buys things for herself, but for anything I need, no matter how expensive, she doesn’t hesitate.”

“She’s especially gentle. She never gets angry at me.” Lu Yudong squeezed the milk tea cup in her hand, the corner of her mouth curling up slightly, her eyes full of yearning. “She’s the best and gentlest person I’ve ever met.”

Everyone says life is unpredictable, and it’s impossible not to believe it.

Because some “famous last words” really do fall apart the moment they’re uttered.

At three o’clock that afternoon, Lu Yudong was telling Zhang Ziyun that Manzhu was gentle and never got angry at her.

Now, at six o’clock that evening, the dinner had been served, but the atmosphere at the coffee table between the two was utterly frozen.

Zhang Ziyun had “sold her out,” though the specific details were unclear.

Lu Yudong only knew that when Manzhu came out of the classroom, she was carrying the thermos lunch box Lu Yudong had secretly hidden in Zhang Ziyun’s desk, and her face was a mask of displeasure.

Lu Yudong had never seen Manzhu look so serious—so serious that just one questioning look from her made Lu Yudong unsure how to respond.

Manzhu placed the lunch box on the small desk at the foot of the bed. Lu Yudong’s eyes kept darting to it before quickly returning to her dinner bowl. Her guilty, sheepish demeanor was not far off from being caught cheating on an exam.

Today, Manzhu had done everything as usual for a Saturday: taken Lu Yudong to the supermarket, bought fresh meat and vegetables, and cooked a simple, home-style meal.

But Lu Yudong could tell Manzhu was angry, very angry. She hadn’t said much to her since they left the school.

She lowered her head, finished the last grain of rice in her bowl, and was about to put it down when Manzhu spoke.

“Have some more.”

Lu Yudong looked up timidly at Manzhu, her fingers unconsciously picking at the rim of the empty bowl.

Manzhu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, took the empty bowl from Lu Yudong’s hand, went into the kitchen, added a little less than half a bowl of rice, returned to the coffee table, and placed it in Lu Yudong’s hands.

Lu Yudong tilted her head and blinked. Her gaze, which had only shown fear, suddenly held a hint of pleading and grievance.

Manzhu gave her more rice. Had her anger lessened a bit?

“Manzhu Elder Sister…” Lu Yudong bit her lower lip and whispered, “I was wrong.”

Manzhu glanced at the lunch box on the desk and frowned. “I told you to tell me immediately if you needed anything. Why did you buy that thing?”

“I am eating properly, really! I ask the cafeteria auntie to give me a little extra every time. I…”

“No, Lu Yudong!” Manzhu cut her off. “Splitting one meal into two, are you full? How many hours can that thing keep food warm? By the time you get out of school in the afternoon, it’s cold! Summer might be okay, but with the cold weather in winter, how can your stomach handle that?”

Lu Yudong instinctively shrank her neck, holding the bowl and chopsticks, her eyes full of helplessness.

Manzhu was about to say more, but she looked up and saw Lu Yudong’s eyes slowly turning red. Tears suddenly welled up in her reddened eye sockets.

Lu Yudong bit her lower lip tightly, trying hard not to cry out loud. However, the surge of emotion overwhelmed her, making her awkwardly wipe her eyes while uncontrollably hiccuping between sobs.

Sniffling, she tried to explain incoherently that she only wanted to save a little money, every little bit helped, to reduce the pressure on her Elder Sister.

She said she was full, and that the food in the lunch box was still warm and edible in the afternoon…

It had been a long time since Manzhu had seen the child cry.

Sensible children don’t cry easily, but when they do, it’s all the more heartbreaking.

In that instant, all words of reprimand died on her lips.

She stood up and knelt down next to Lu Yudong. She reached out her hands, and her cool thumbs wiped away the tear streaks at the corners of the girl’s eyes. Then she took a tissue and gently, affectionately squeezed the little nose that had been running for a while.

Lu Yudong quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, took the tissue, and turned away to blow her nose.

When she turned back, she saw only a gentle gaze in Manzhu’s eyes, tinged with a hint of heartache.

“You can save money on anything else, but not on food,” Manzhu said seriously. “I’m spending so much on other things; do you think I’d be short a few meal expenses for you? I want you to eat well, dress warmly, and grow up healthy… If you really feel like you owe me, you can pay me back later.”

A trace of confusion surfaced in Lu Yudong’s eyes. Her first thought was that Manzhu was going to settle accounts with her, which made her a little disappointed. Her eyes were still red as she timidly asked, “Pay… how do I pay you back…”

Manzhu smiled and gently pinched Lu Yudong’s thin little cheek. She couldn’t possibly let a child repay the debt, so she said casually, “You just need to promise me that when you grow up and your little wings are strong, you won’t fly too far away. No matter what kind of life you live in the future, you must stay with me always and forever, okay?”

“Always and forever… together?” Lu Yudong’s eyes widened, shining with light.

Manzhu heard the hesitation in Lu Yudong’s voice and realized that human children needed a human future. She likely scared her with that statement, so she quickly amended, “At least… no matter what, you have to be in the same city as me, and your home has to be close so you can come and see me from time to time.”

Lu Yudong quickly shook her head when she heard that.

“What, you’re not even willing to visit me occasionally?” Manzhu teased, feigning displeasure.

“No, that’s not it.” Lu Yudong tearfully buried herself in Manzhu’s arms, whispering affectionately, “I don’t want to come back and see you occasionally. I want to live with you, just like we are now. Always and forever.”

Manzhu heard this and realized she had misunderstood. A warmth instantly flooded her heart. She stroked the small head in her embrace and smiled. “What silly things are you saying, child? Aren’t you going to get married someday?”

“No, I won’t,” Lu Yudong shook her head. “Elder Sister is so good to me. When I grow up, I want to take care of Elder Sister for a lifetime.”

“Really?” Manzhu asked.

Lu Yudong lifted her head, nodded emphatically twice, held out her right pinky finger, and said with red eyes, “Let’s pinky promise!”

Manzhu smiled and cooperatively extended her pinky to link with Lu Yudong’s.

Lu Yudong smiled as she retracted her small hand.

This was her promise with Manzhu—the promise that they would be together always and forever, no matter what the future held.

Manzhu returned to her seat and picked up her bowl and chopsticks.

She didn’t truly take the words of a child to heart.

However, she didn’t know that one casual sentence of hers would be treasured and remembered by the child for many years to come.