The weather in Guan City in October was still unbearably hot, only offering a brief respite of autumn coolness in the mornings and evenings.
Haitong rose early to prepare breakfast for her sister's family of three, tidied up the cluttered toys in the living room, and mopped the floor. Only then did she take with her two steamed buns, tuck her household registration book into her pocket, and quietly leave her sister's home.
"From now on, we'll go Dutch on everything, be it living expenses or mortgage payments, everything will be split equally! Since your sister is living in our house, she should also contribute half. What good does giving two thousand yuan a month do? Is there any difference from her freeloading here?”
These were the words Haitong had overheard her brother-in-law say amidst an argument with her sister the night before.
In order to avoid turning her sister's life into turmoil, Haitong knew she had to move out. But she had to assure her sister that she'd be okay, and the only way to do so was by getting married.
Without a boyfriend to talk of, let alone marrying someone in a short time, Haitong decided to acquiesce to Grandma Zhan's proposal, to marry her troubled grandson, Zhan Yin.
As she descended the stairs and walked towards the road, a public bus just so happened to be stopped on the side. Haitong quickened her pace, seeing the bus was heading towards the civil affairs office she managed to get on just before the driver started off again.
She chose a window seat, continually observing the street view outside as the bus started moving.
Guan City was a bustling metropolis, with skyscrapers lining both sides of the street, displaying a sense of prosperity.
Twenty minutes later, Haitong got off at the front of the civil affairs office.
"Haitong."
As soon as she got off, Haitong heard a familiar voice calling for her. It was Grandma Zhan.
"Grandma Zhan."
Haitong hurried to her, noticing a tall and stern man standing by Grandma Zhan's side. Surely, that must be Zhan Yin, whom she was about to marry.
Up close, Haitong could clearly see Zhan Yin's appearance and couldn't help but be taken aback.
In the words of Grandma Zhan, her eldest grandson, Zhan Yin, was already thirty years old, but was having trouble with his love life, unable to even woo a girlfriend. This worried the old woman greatly. During one of her solo outings where she kept her identity a secret, she accidentally fell on the street. It was Hai Tong who came to her rescue and took her to the hospital, hence they got acquainted.
After getting to know her, the old lady admired Hai Tong's character. Learning that Hai Tong was also twenty-five and did not have a boyfriend, she attempted to play matchmaker for Hai Tong and Zhan Yin.
Hai Tong initially thought Zhan Yin was an ugly looking man, considering he was already thirty and couldn't even get a girlfriend. After all, according to Grandma Zhan, he was a top executive in a large conglomerate with a high income.
Successful men who were still single were either because they were too picky, with high standards, or too ugly, so ugly that even gold diggers couldn't stomach them. Hai Tong thought Zhan Yin belonged to the latter category.
But when they met in person, she realized that he belonged to the former category. Zhan Yin was not only handsome but had a somewhat cold demeanor. Standing next to Grandma Zhan with a gloomy expression on his face, he gave off an aura of stay-away-from-me.
There was a black business car parked not far away, bearing the logo of Dongfeng. It was not a luxury car worth millions, which made Hai Tong think that the distance between her and Zhan Yin wasn't that far.
She was dependent on others, mainly because she didn't want to leave her sister and nephew hence she insisted on living with her sister despite the embarrassment. In fact, her income was not bad. She, along with her old classmates and friends, owned a bookstore near the entrance of Guan City Middle School.
Guan City Middle School is a renowned school that has elementary, middle, and high schools combined, with nearly ten thousand students and teachers. The demand for study materials and all kinds of stationery was vast, though the competition was quite fierce, as the people living next door also owned bookstores.
In her spare time, Hai Tong made some small trinkets to sell online and the sales were quite good.
After deducting all the costs of the store each month, and after splitting the profit with her friend, plus the income from her online store, she had a stable monthly income of over 20,000 yuan.
In Guan City, earning 20,000 yuan per month can put you among the white collar workers.
However, her brother-in-law was unaware of her income and presumed her bookstore was unprofitable, especially due to high competition, leading him to constantly look down upon her. In reality, she was giving her sister 5,000 yuan every month for food and rent.
She had more foresight and asked her sister to save half of it for emergency use and not let her brother-in-law know.
Her sister knew a bit about her income and always reminded her not to splurge, but to save some money to buy a house in a few years in order to have a place to settle down.
"Hai Tong, this is my eldest grandson, Zhan Yin. He’s an unmarried man at 30, a bit cold, but thoughtful and caring, nonetheless. You saved my life, and we’ve known each other for three months now. Trust me, I wouldn’t set you up with any of my grandsons if I didn’t think they were good enough."
Zhan Yin listened to his grandmother’s description of him, glanced at Hai Tong, his gaze was deep and cold, yet he didn't utter a single word.
Perhaps he’s become immune to his grandmother's frequent disparaging.
Hai Tong knew that Grandmother Zhan had three sons, each of whom gave her three grandsons. Thus, she had nine grandsons in total and did not have any granddaughters. Since Hai Tong had once saved her, and they got along well, she regarded Hai Tong as a granddaughter.
"Grandmother Zhan."
Hai Tong's face blushed slightly, but she still calmly extended her right hand to Zhan Yin and introduced herself with a smile, "Mr. Zhan, hello, I’m Hai Tong."
Zhan Yin’s sharp gaze scrutinized Hai Tong from head to toe, and then back again. Only under his grandmother's gentle cough did he reach out and shake hands with Hai Tong. His voice was just as cold and deep, "Zhan Yin."
After shaking hands, Zhan Yin looked at his wristwatch and said to Hai Tong, "I’m quite busy, so let’s get to the point."
Hai Tong nodded in agreement.
Grandmother Zhan hurriedly chimed in, "You two should go in and handle the paperwork. I'll be right here waiting for you."
"Grandma, go to the car. It's hot outside."
While speaking, Zhan Yin helped his grandmother head back to the car.
Observing his behavior, Hai Tong started to believe Grandmother Zhan's words, that Zhan Yin was indeed cold but also considerate and thoughtful.
Even though she and Zhan Yin were strangers, Grandmother Zhan said that Zhan Yin had a house fully paid for under his name. If she married him, she could move out of her sister's house and it would give her sister some peace of mind, not having to fight with her sister's husband over her.
In her perspective, marriage was nothing more than sharing life with someone.
Very quickly, Zhan Yin returned to Hai Tong and told her, "Let's go."
Hai Tong made a sound of agreement and silently followed him into the Civil Affairs Bureau.
At the marriage registry, Zhan Yin reminded Hai Tong, "Miss Hai, if you are unwilling, you can still back out. Don't worry about what my grandmother said, marriage is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly."
He was hoping that Hai Tong would back out.
Because he didn't want to get married at all, let alone to a stranger he met for the first time today.
Hai Tong was as his grandmother described, young, beautiful, and quite bookish, but they were strangers.
His grandmother had been nagging at him for months. His parents were very busy when he was a child, and he was raised by his grandmother. He was the most filial to his grandmother. Under her constant requests, he had to just go along.
Once I agreed, I wouldn't back out.
Hai Tong also took a few days to make her decision, once she made it, she wouldn't back out.
