6 – I Like Him
The next morning, Chi Wanwan woke up early, got herself ready, grabbed her bag, and walked out the door. She walked to the subway station.
Both her parents were professors at Capital University and had not yet retired. They lived in the staff housing assigned by the university.
After riding more than a dozen stops on the subway, she got off at University Town Station.
When she reached a spot not far from home, Chi Wanwan bought some fresh fruit at the supermarket, along with some baijiu that her dad loved to drink.
The University Town area was home to more than a dozen universities.
Capital University’s staff housing consisted of over a dozen residential buildings, and the assigned apartments were all either two-bedroom or three-bedroom units.
Although they had no property rights, residents could live there for life.
Chi Wanwan entered the residential building where her parents lived, climbed the stairs to the third floor, took out her key, and opened the front door.
Pushing the door open, she immediately spotted Chi Tinghua sitting on the sofa, holding a copy of the Beijing Morning Post.
Hearing the door open, Chi Tinghua looked up toward the entrance.
“Dad.”
Chi Wanwan stepped into the entryway and found her slippers to change into.
“Mm, you’re back.” Chi Tinghua put away the newspaper and set it casually on the coffee table. “Has work been busy lately?”
“It’s alright. Not too busy.”
Chi Wanwan smiled sheepishly and placed the fruit and liquor on the table nearby.
Truthfully, she hadn’t gotten any work for a whole week now, but she didn’t dare tell her dad that directly.
Her parents were both intellectuals—highly respected senior professors at Capital University.
Back when Chi Wanwan went to the drama academy to study acting, her dad had been the first to object.
But in the end, he couldn’t sway her, so he let her go.
If her dad found out she couldn’t get any work now, he would definitely be very displeased—and might even tell her to leave the entertainment industry.
“Dad, is Mom out?” Chi Wanwan didn’t sit down, standing to the side as she asked.
“Your mom’s on the balcony hanging up laundry.”
“I’ll go help Mom.”
Gu Jinlan was on the balcony hanging up clothes. Chi Wanwan walked over and picked up a hanger to help.
“Mom, I have something I want to tell you and Dad in a bit.”
“Oh? What is it?” Gu Jinlan asked curiously.
Chi Wanwan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
There wasn’t much laundry, and with Chi Wanwan’s help, it was soon all hung up.
The family of three sat on the sofa. Gu Jinlan nudged Chi Tinghua with her elbow and said quietly, “Old man, Wanwan has something to tell us.”
Chi Wanwan took the marriage certificate out of her bag and placed it neatly on the coffee table.
“Dad, Mom. I’ve married Shen Yu.” Chi Wanwan looked at her parents and said with a completely serious expression.
The two were stunned for a moment. Gu Jinlan was the first to speak: “Wanwan, didn’t you say the blind date didn’t work out? How did you suddenly get married?”
“Ridiculous!!”
Chi Tinghua slapped the arm of the sofa. “Marriage is a major life matter—how can you be so flippant about it? Who gets married without telling their family first?!”
“Dad, I was wrong. I was too impulsive about this.” Chi Wanwan admitted her fault in a small voice.
Gu Jinlan opened the marriage certificate and took a look. Her daughter and Shen Yu did look quite good together.
“Wanwan, do you have feelings for Shen Yu?” Gu Jinlan asked.
Chi Wanwan nodded. “Yes, I like Shen Yu.”
That… was naturally just to placate her parents.
If she didn’t say that, her parents would be even more worried about her whirlwind marriage.
“Dad, Mom. Actually, Shen Yu is pretty great. Look—he’s handsome and refined, he has a car and a house in Beijing, and he bought them outright with no mortgage, so there’s no pressure.”
“That’s true.” Gu Jinlan nodded in agreement. “If I were twenty years younger…”
Chi Tinghua shot his wife a glare and said in a low voice, “There are plenty of people with better qualifications than him.”
Her mother had already softened, so Chi Wanwan quickly pressed on. “Dad, this was a blind date the family arranged for me in the first place. Sure, Shen Yu and I got married a bit fast, but there’s nothing wrong with it, is there?”
Chi Tinghua, a man of science, was left speechless by his daughter’s retort.
Chi Wanwan was right. If the family hadn’t arranged it, she never would have gone on a blind date with Shen Yu.
Chi Tinghua stiffened his neck and furrowed his brow. “Then where is Shen Yu?”
“Exactly, Wanwan. Why didn’t you bring Shen Yu home with you?”
Chi Wanwan hurried to explain. “He had work to attend to and went abroad. Once he’s back, I’ll bring him to meet you both.”
“Married one day, off on a business trip the next. What a busy man.” Chi Tinghua grew even more dissatisfied with Shen Yu.
“Work is work, there’s no helping it…” Chi Wanwan muttered under her breath, clearly lacking confidence.
Seeing her daughter’s discomfort, Gu Jinlan spoke up to ease the tension. “I think Shen Yu is perfectly fine. Young people should be ambitious—how else will they support a wife and children?”
Their daughter had already gotten the marriage certificate with Shen Yu, so Chi Tinghua had no choice but to accept reality.
Once the certificate was signed, even an immediate divorce would make it a second marriage.
“So when are you planning to hold the wedding?” Chi Tinghua asked, looking at Chi Wanwan.
Chi Wanwan didn’t dare meet her father’s eyes. She lowered her head and said softly, “I’m an actress in the entertainment industry. Holding a wedding might affect my work. So I’m not planning to make a big deal of it.”
A flash marriage, and no wedding at all.
The Chi couple were rendered speechless. What kind of situation was this…
“Dad, Mom. It really is my own choice not to have a wedding.” Chi Wanwan reiterated.
She and Shen Yu were only a marriage in name. Whether they held a wedding or not, Chi Wanwan didn’t care.
Many young people nowadays didn’t want weddings either, opting for destination weddings instead.
But the older generation didn’t see it that way.
In their eyes, only after the wedding could two people be considered truly married.
Only after the wedding, after receiving the blessings of family and friends, could a marriage be considered complete.
Chi Tinghua and Gu Jinlan exchanged a glance, and finally Chi Tinghua spoke. “Even if you don’t want a big ceremony, at the very least the two families should have a meal together.”
They taught at a university, facing young people every day, so they understood some of the newer ideas.
Whether they approved of them was another matter.
“No problem. Once Shen Yu is back, I’ll discuss it with him.”
Her parents had both relented, and Chi Wanwan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After chatting a while longer, it was nearly mealtime. Chi Wanwan went into the kitchen with her mother to prepare lunch.
Chi Wanwan washed the vegetables at the sink while Gu Jinlan chopped—mother and daughter working in perfect harmony.
“Wanwan, actually, not having a wedding isn’t so bad. It’ll be less hassle when you divorce.”
Chi Wanwan: “…”
Her mother was truly enlightened.
Not even a few days into the marriage, and she was already thinking about her divorce?
“I’m not joking. A few days ago I saw data from the Academy of Social Sciences—the divorce rate among young people is rising year by year. If you can make it work, that’s for the best. If you really can’t, divorce is the best option.”
“Mm, Mom’s right.” Chi Wanwan nodded gently.
Whether she could make things work with Shen Yu, Chi Wanwan had no idea either.
Perhaps, once he eventually met someone he truly liked, this marriage would come to an end.