Liang Сhеngmin's sudden fainting sсared Luаn Мingrui оut оf his wits. Не pickеd her up and rushed to the hоsрital. Аfter а briеf sреll of dizzinеss, Liаng Сhеngmin оpеned her eуеs in Luan Мingrui's arms, felt uncоmfortablе, and clоsеd thеm аgаin. Whеn thеy arrivеd аt the hоsрitаl, the еmergеnсy doсtоr reсognized Liang Сhengmin and said, "Whаt hарpеned to Dr. Liang?" Неаring that Dr. Liаng hаd fаintеd, thе dоctоrs аnd nurses, аs therе weren't mаny раtiеnts at thе timе, gаthеred around tо check on her. Тhe emergеncy dоctоr wаs eхperienced and could tell at a glance that Liang Chengmin was suffering from exhaustion and low blood sugar. He then scolded Luan Mingrui, "How are you taking care of your wife? Letting her eat poorly, sleep poorly, and even faint. What good are you as a husband? It'd be better to find someone who knows how to care for her!"
Luan Mingrui stood there listening without saying a word. Divorce or no divorce, dignity or no dignity—all he felt was heartache.
When Liang Chengmin's dizziness passed and she opened her eyes, she saw Luan Mingrui sitting beside her. The grievances in her heart surged again, her lips quivered, and tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Luan Mingrui took her hand and whispered, "Don't cry. I apologize to you."
"What are you apologizing for? What did you do wrong? Weren't you determined to get a divorce? Just wait until my dad brings back the documents, and I'll go with you to finalize it!"
"You were the one who brought up divorce," Luan Mingrui reminded her.
"If I say divorce, you agree? Why didn't you listen when I said I wouldn't marry you back then?" Liang Chengmin was utterly aggrieved. "I just want a divorce from you!" She was so furious with Luan Mingrui that this fainting episode had solidified her resolve to divorce him. An apology now? Too late!
After finishing her glucose drip, Liang Chengmin headed home, with Luan Mingrui following behind her.
"Stop following me! I don't know you!"
Luan Mingrui didn't say anything, just kept following. When they reached Liang Chengmin's home, she blocked him at the door. "You're not allowed inside!"
Luan Mingrui glanced at her, raised his voice, and called out, "Mom!" Liang's mother came out from inside, saw the two of them arguing at the door, and said, "If you're going to argue, come inside and do it! Close the door." Grown adults—if these two stubborn people really wanted a divorce, they would have done it long ago. Why go through all these theatrics?
It's like children playing house!
Liang's mother had been through it all, having weathered the storms of this small town and taught for many years. She saw things clearly. After giving them a look, she said, "I'm going to buy some oil," and left.
With only the two of them left in the house, Luan Mingrui reached for her hand. She dodged him, hiding her hands behind her back. "Don't touch me!"
"Can't I touch my own wife?"
"Who's your wife? We're getting divorced!"
"I won't divorce!"
"Too late! I must divorce!" Liang Chengmin's eyes were red. "You go eat your meals, and I'll drink my wine. We'll have nothing to do with each other!" She threw his own harsh words right back at him.
Luan Mingrui couldn't help but laugh at her anger.
He had always been the one to anger others, until he met Liang Chengmin, this tough nut. How tough was she? Luan Mingrui felt he had only ever encountered one like her in his lifetime—someone with an unyielding spirit, who would rather die than bend. She was tougher than him, more ruthless than him.
He didn't know what to do next.
He just looked at Liang Chengmin for a long while before finally saying to her, "I'll come back when you've calmed down. If you still want a divorce then, I'll go along with it." With that, he turned and left.
Who doesn't have their pride? Luan Mingrui thought. The next day, he packed his things and left town.Luan Mingrui was nearly thirty when he married. He didn’t know that sometimes women just needed to be coaxed, that he should lower his pride and comfort her properly. In his heart, he simply felt Liang Chengmin shouldn’t have gone out drinking with a male medical student, partly because Liang Chengmin had once said her family wanted her to marry a doctor, a teacher, or a worker, and partly because Luan Mingcheng had mentioned that Liang Chengmin had once been involved with a doctor. He used to think it impossible that Liang Chengmin could have been with someone else—she seemed so naive about everything. But seeing that doctor supporting her when she was drunk made him wonder if they really had been together. He didn’t know why he cared so much, perhaps because in his relationship with Liang Chengmin, he had always been the one taking the initiative. And she seemed reluctant, as if she had little enthusiasm for their marriage—probably because she had reached the age for marriage, her family was pressuring her, and then she happened to run into someone as persistent as him, so she married him.
His business was actually quite tough. How easy could a seafood trade be? There were times when he had to roll up his sleeves and move goods himself, often ending up bruised and scarred. But in the past, whenever he traveled, he would write letters or send telegrams to Liang Chengmin, thinking of her every day. This time, he did none of that—no letters, no telegrams. The two of them just grew cold toward each other.
Luan Mingrui felt miserable but didn’t know how to express it, afraid Liang Chengmin would mock him if he did. These past two weeks had felt like hell, as if he could barely go on living.
He had no idea how Liang Chengmin had spent these two weeks while he was away. He imagined she must have been quite comfortable.
By the time he returned, the trees in the small town were sprouting new buds.
How beautiful the spring of that year was. He wanted to find Liang Chengmin first, so he went to her hospital, only to discover she was off duty that day. He went to her house, pacing back and forth outside the door, unable to bring himself to go in.
So he went back to his parents’ home for a meal.
His parents asked him, “Shall we invite Minmin over for dinner tonight? While you were away, Minmin often came to take care of us.”
“Take care of you how?”
“Oh, in many ways. You can ask her yourself.”
After dinner, Luan Mingrui went home. Leaving his luggage by the door, he pushed it open and saw someone in the courtyard hanging out a quilt to air, standing on tiptoe and stretching her arms to straighten it, with two thick braids—who else could it be but Liang Chengmin?
Liang Chengmin turned around at the sound of the courtyard gate opening and looked at him. Why had he lost so much weight? Had he not been eating properly?
He walked in and closed the gate.
He asked her, “Not working today?”
“No.”
“Then listen to what I have to say.”
“Go ahead.” Liang Chengmin had missed him terribly. She hadn’t known before what it was like to love someone like this—this whole ordeal had torn her apart. She had insisted on divorce, yet when he left without a word, she missed him. Sometimes, wanting to know how he was doing, she would visit her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law would show her his letters.
They had simply married too soon after meeting.
Neither of them knew the other very well, nor did they understand their true place in each other’s hearts. They both felt the other had married them out of compromise. Neither of them knew—who was the one compromising? If they were truly settling, why would they have waited until this age to marry?
“I missed you a lot these past two weeks I was away.”
“If you missed me, why didn’t you write or send a telegram?” Liang Chengmin asked him. “Is that how you show you miss someone?” Even a single word would have let her know he was okay, where he was, and given her something to hold onto when she missed him!
“Wasn’t it you who said you wanted a divorce?”"Yes, I still want a divorce right now!" Liang Chengmin had always been stubborn since childhood, with a heart burning with passion, yet her words never admitted defeat. Working at the hospital, she was clearly anxious for her patients, but her words always came out as lecturing them.
"Then let's go right now."
"Go where? What time is it! They're closed!" Liang Chengmin glared at him. Why couldn't he understand where he went wrong? She turned and went inside, bringing out a letter for him. "Read this now."
Luan Mingrui opened the letter and saw Liang Chengmin's handwriting. She had written a self-criticism on his behalf, the gist being: I should not have slandered Liang Chengmin; Liang Chengmin has the freedom to dine with members of the opposite sex (not alone); I should trust Liang Chengmin.
That parentheses was rather amusing.
He handed the letter back to her. "I won't read it."
"You haven't seen the second page yet."
"I won't look at it. I don't want to see it." Luan Mingrui truly would rather die than bend. "If you won't divorce me only after I read this letter, then let's just go straight to get the paperwork done. I won't read it."
Liang Chengmin finally understood what kind of person Luan Mingrui was. The rumors about him from before were all true. He was just this rigid and cold. Even though on the second page, she had written her own self-criticism—that she shouldn't have gotten drunk with a member of the opposite sex and let him take her back to her dorm alone, that she shouldn't have so easily mentioned divorce. And that she missed him very much.
"Then I'll read it." Liang Chengmin flipped to the second page. "After I finish reading, we'll go first thing tomorrow morning to get the paperwork done."
She began reading her page. As soon as she started, Luan Mingrui stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Liang Chengmin kicked and bit him. She was almost overwhelmed with grievance. Others called her the strong iron lady, but she had been driven to tears by Luan Mingrui several times already!
"I must divorce you. You've lost your chance. I don't want to live with someone as stubborn as you. I don't want to spend my whole life compromising just to be with you!" Liang Chengmin struggled in his arms, but Luan Mingrui held her tightly, refusing to let go. He kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Stop saying that, Liang Chengmin." Luan Mingrui held her firmly. "It hurts me to see you like this."
They were both the kind of people who would rather break than bend, but in marriage, many things didn't need to be spelled out so clearly, nor did anyone have to bow their head. His eyes reddening and her tears falling were both expressions of that unspoken "I'm sorry." No one understood everything from the start.
Luan Mingrui was filled with regret. He wiped her tears away. "Liang Chengmin, from now on, you can do anything you like. I won't control you. I'll only discipline myself."
"I don't want you to not care about me. I want you to trust me."
"I trust you."
"You're lying! If you trusted me, you wouldn't have acted like this!" Liang Chengmin sobbed, her cries shaking. Luan Mingrui cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her.
"Don't you dare kiss me." Even as she said this, Liang Chengmin clutched his shirt, her eyes closing slightly.
"Liang Chengmin." Luan Mingrui whispered against her lips. "All these days I've been away, I missed you every day. I hope you married me for the same reason I married you—not just to settle."
Hearing this, Liang Chengmin opened her eyes. "If I were the type to settle, I would have married long ago."
"Speak properly."
"Anyway, I didn't settle."
"Then why did you marry me?" Luan Mingrui held her face. "Why? I married you because you were in my heart. No one else would do. If it weren't you, I would have stayed single my whole life. What about you?"
Liang Chengmin pressed her lips to his. "Because I love you. Now you can kiss me."When they were apart, she missed him terribly, her heart aching as if it were being wrung. Returning home, her mother would ask: "Has Mingrui written?" She didn't even know how to answer. Work was manageable, at least there were things to keep her busy. But coming home after work meant being alone.
Back then, Luan Mingrui had firmly refused to live with his parents after marriage. Just before the wedding, he moved into the old house. When Liang Chengmin returned to the old house, it felt empty and desolate. Going back to her parents' home, she found no trace of Luan Mingrui there either, so she returned to their own little home.
He didn't write to her, and she couldn't bring herself to ask his family where he really was. So she could only endure the longing, thinking of him until her heart ached.
That day, both of them were in a rush. A newlywed couple, having fought so fiercely and been apart for so many days, every cell in their bodies yearned for each other. Luan Mingrui carried her into the room, kicked the door shut with his foot, and began tearing at her clothes.
Liang Chengmin was like a puddle of water, letting him scoop her up and set her down however he pleased, completely surrendering to him.
At the peak of their passion, Liang Chengmin even had the illusion that a seed was sprouting inside her.
After that day, the young couple's relationship truly blossomed. Liang Chengmin became like Luan Mingrui's little shadow, following him everywhere after work, going wherever he went. Luan Mingrui loved taking her through streets and alleys, introducing her to acquaintances: "My wife, Liang Chengmin."
A little over ten days later, Liang Chengmin retched as she got out of bed.
Luan Mingrui, who was putting on his shoes, glanced back at her: "What's wrong?"
"If I'm pregnant, what should we name our child?" Liang Chengmin was a doctor herself. She had suspected she was pregnant days ago but hadn't bothered to check.
"?" Luan Mingrui felt a surge of excitement but thought it couldn't be that soon. Still, he considered it seriously: "Luan Nian."
"Why?"
"It sounds nice."
Liang Chengmin was indeed pregnant. She counted the days herself—it must have been the day they reconciled. That day, she had felt it, as if everything was overflowing with life.
Her entire pregnancy was plagued by nausea, which was unusual. Most women's morning sickness subsides or eases after three months, but not hers. Even after three months, she still vomited. Eating anything would make her sick.
Liang Chengmin was worn down by this child, losing her usual appearance.
While others gradually gained weight during pregnancy, she remained thin-armed and slender-legged, with only her belly growing.
Luan Mingrui was heartbroken. He was deeply dissatisfied with this child. Sometimes he couldn't help but point at Liang Chengmin's belly and say: "Just you wait till you come out—see how I'll deal with you!"
"Don't you know how to show some consideration? Your mother is suffering so much carrying you. Can't you stop causing trouble?"
As if on cue, the child moved inside her, as if protesting.
Liang Chengmin said to him: "I have a feeling this child might have quite a temper."
"Why?"
"Sometimes when you scold him, he seems unhappy."
"What does he understand?"
Luan Mingrui, aching for her, asked what she wanted to eat. She said: "Shrimp."
So Luan Mingrui rolled up his sleeves and cooked shrimp for her. Afraid she might grow tired of it, he prepared shrimp in different ways. The Luan family, from top to bottom, was particular—Luan Mingrui was no exception. When he cooked, the color, aroma, and taste all had to be perfect, as if he were crafting a work of art.
To make shrimp, he first deveined them, steamed them until half-cooked, then stir-fried them in oil. The oil-fried shrimp turned a beautiful color. He would also prepare a stir-fried green vegetable and pour a glass of milk.In the south, there are osmanthus flowers, and Luan Mingrui's mother found a way to preserve them. If the family could get their hands on milk, the children could enjoy delicious osmanthus milk.
Luan Mingrui made osmanthus milk for Liang Chengmin, and she absolutely loved it.
The year Liang Chengmin was pregnant, Luan Mingrui stopped going out. He had to take care of her. He would get up first to make breakfast, send her off to work after she ate, then head straight to the freight yard. By ten o'clock, he would hurry back home to prepare lunch—balanced with meat and vegetables, nutritionally sound—pack it in a ceramic lunchbox, bring it to the hospital, eat with her, chat for a bit, and then head back out. He would go to various departments to handle paperwork, check on shipments at the freight yard, and instruct Luan Mingcheng on what to do. Then he would return to the hospital to pick Liang Chengmin up after work.
Not a single day was missed.
The hospital staff, seeing the two of them practically inseparable every day, would tease them: "Tsk tsk, how sweet!"
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