Shao Xue had been doing well as a freelance translator, earning enough to cover her needs, but Yu Dong Ge’s constant nagging about finding a “proper job” wore her down.
“Do you have health insurance and a pension? What if you don’t get enough gigs? Sleeping until ten every day—no wonder the bank won’t give you a credit limit.”
Shao Xue felt like crying. She was living in her own home, but it felt like she was freeloading.
“Just listen to her for now,” Zheng Su Nian said, scrolling through his phone. “Once we’re married, you can do whatever you want. You can sleep until noon in my house, and no one will nag you.”
Shao Xue immediately sensed a trap. “Who said I’m marrying you?”
“If you don’t marry me, who will you marry?” Zheng Su Nian replied seriously. “You were my first kiss and first time. Don’t act like it didn’t mean anything.”
Shao Xue felt like she could now answer the question, “What’s it like having a boyfriend who acts like Qin Xianglian?”
With Yu Dong Ge’s constant pressure, Shao Xue finally picked a good day to submit her resume to a language training school. After living a carefree lifestyle, adjusting to a nine-to-five routine was tough. Once she passed the probation period, the company’s first move was to assign her a three-month teaching stint in Hangzhou as an Italian teacher. They said it was because she had potential and that she would be promoted after gaining some experience.
Yu Dong Ge was not pleased. After finally having her daughter home, she didn’t like the idea of her leaving again for three months. She muttered that Shao Xue should find another job. Even Shao Hua couldn’t take it anymore, banging the table to scold his wife: “What’s your problem? She was doing fine freelancing, but you pushed her into a job, and now you want her to quit after she’s worked so hard to pass training?”
Shao Xue hurried to serve Shao Hua some rice. “Oh, Dad, don’t be mad. Mom’s just worried about me. She didn’t mean it. Look at this rice I steamed—each grain is perfect. You shouldn’t be eating that sticky rice all the time. The water amount for this is just right.”
Zheng Su Nian, sitting to the side, quietly spat out a grain of sand, too scared to say anything.
The day she was leaving, Zheng Su Nian drove Shao Xue to the train station. It had been years since he’d been there. Seeing the mix of Western and Chinese architecture along the street gave him a pang of nostalgia.
“They don’t sell platform tickets anymore,” he said gloomily at the entrance. “I can only walk you this far.”
“I’ll be fine on my own,” she said, waving nonchalantly and taking her suitcase from him. “I’ll call you once I get to the hotel.”
“Send me a message when you’re on the train,” Zheng Su Nian suddenly became very chatty. “And another when you arrive. If you take a taxi, send me the license plate number. Don’t take unregistered taxis. I’ll video call you tonight.”
Shao Xue laughed. “I’m not a kid. I’ve traveled on my own before, you know.”
Only then did he close his mouth, nodding in silence.
The West Station was bustling, with crowds moving in every direction. No one noticed the couple saying their goodbyes. Suddenly, Zheng Su Nian reached out and pulled Shao Xue into his arms.
“I’ll be back soon,” Shao Xue whispered softly in his embrace.
Zheng Su Nian nodded, his chin resting on her soft hair. The warmth of her body made him feel like his blood was flowing back into his heart and lungs.
He watched as she passed through security, standing behind the glass, adjusting her backpack and suitcase. Unable to hold back, he shouted, “Shao Xue!”
In all the noise, and despite the glass and the crowd, somehow, she heard him. She turned around, looked at him, and smiled as she waved.
He waved back at her.
Then, still holding her luggage, she took a couple of steps backward, slowly turning around as she walked away.
That moment would be forever etched in his memory. Ten years, twenty years, thirty years.
It was in that instant that he could confidently say to himself: He wanted to marry this girl and spend the rest of his life with her.
The last time he had such a thought was on the train to Dali. Back then, they were young and reckless, too unsure of the future to make promises, and too uncertain of their feelings.
But now, he knew.
He loved her. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, he would love and cherish her, until death.
Not long after settling in Hangzhou, Shao Xue got in touch with Kang Mo Shui.
Kang Mo Shui’s phone number had been transferred from one notebook to another, then from one phone to the next, yet Shao Xue had never dialed it. Over time, the image of this woman had faded, becoming merely a symbol of Shao Xue’s lost childhood.
When the call connected, Shao Xue’s heart raced unexpectedly.
“Hello? Who’s this?”
A familiar voice came through the receiver—soft and gentle, as if untouched by the passage of time.
“Aunt Kang, it’s Shao Xue. I’m in Hangzhou now.”
Kang Mo Shui lived not far from West Lake. Shao Xue arranged to visit one evening when she had no classes. When she arrived, it was a middle-aged man who opened the door.
“You must be Shao Xue? I’m Mo Shui’s husband.”
Shao Xue extended her hand for a polite handshake, feeling the strength in his grip. Sometimes the face does reflect the heart, she thought. The man had a weathered complexion, large eyes, and an expression of kindness and reliability.
Just then, Aunt Kang appeared from the bedroom, her face lighting up when she saw Shao Xue.
“Let me take a good look at you. You’ve grown so much! I thought you’d be coming later. No classes tonight?”
“Not today,” Shao Xue smiled, moving forward to take Kang Mo Shui’s hand, playfully adding, “Aunt Kang, I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
Kang Mo Shui’s husband, a high school teacher, seeing them sitting together chatting on the couch, quietly went into the kitchen to make dinner. Shao Xue offered to help, but Kang Mo Shui pulled her back.
“You’re a guest. How could I let you help?” she said kindly. “He’s a good cook. You’ll see.”
Shao Xue glanced toward the kitchen where the man was slightly hunched over. “Where did you two meet?”
“Through a mutual acquaintance,” Kang Mo Shui whispered, “We talked for a while. He treated me well, so we got married.”
“And kids?”
“We don’t want children.”
“You don’t?”
“No,” Kang Mo Shui said, perfectly at ease. “I didn’t want any, and he didn’t push for it. We’re content living quietly like this.”
Shao Xue nodded, impressed by the man’s easygoing nature.
Kang Mo Shui had extensive experience in her field and was even invited to be a guest lecturer at some schools. She joked, “I didn’t study much, but here I am, a professor. When I see students, I think of you and Su Nian. It’s wonderful to be young.”
“Aunt Kang, I’m twenty-six already.”
“Really? You’re no child then. I still think of you as that little girl from years ago.”
Seeing Shao Xue laugh, she leaned in and asked, “So, when are you getting married?”
Shao Xue scratched her head.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to say,” Kang Mo Shui added, sensing her awkwardness. “I got married when I was almost forty, and here I am asking you…”
“Soon,” Shao Xue suddenly said, looking up with a shy but determined expression. “When I go back, I’ll get married.”
“To whom?”
“To Zheng Su Nian.”
Kang Mo Shui leaned back, laughing so hard she almost doubled over. “It’s really him, huh!”
Her laughter was so contagious, her face so radiant, that it reminded Shao Xue of an old photo she’d once seen of her. Shao Xue couldn’t help but laugh along. The two women giggled together, so much so that they made the man cooking in the kitchen peek out to see what was going on.
As she was leaving, Kang Mo Shui said, “Loving someone doesn’t seem all that difficult.”
What’s so hard about it? You meet, you fall in love, you stay together, you come to know each other.
That’s the essence of love.
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