“Xiaojun’s already on his way. Hurry up and get going—take a cab to the marriage bureau[1]In China, legal marriages are registered with government civil-affairs authorities, which issue official marriage certificates. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and get the certificate with him, quick!”
Xu Chaoying had just stepped out of her room when her mother caught her and shoved the household registration booklet[2]A hukou booklet records a household’s official registration and its members in China. It has traditionally been used in administrative procedures, including marriage registration. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); into her hands. “Don’t keep him waiting and make a bad impression! I’m warning you, Xu Chaoying: once you marry into the Liu family, you’d better serve them properly and give Liu Xiaojun two sons!”
“Xiaojun and his mother said that on top of the bride price[3]Known as caili in Chinese, this is a customary betrothal gift, often money or valuables, given by the groom or his family to the bride or her family. It is distinct from a dowry. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, they’ll give us another hundred thousand for every son you have. So you’d better have two babies in three years. Don’t try any funny business! Stop being so prickly! If the Liu family complains to me, I’ll beat you to a pulp!”
Xu Chaoying hadn’t even eaten breakfast before her own mother kicked her out of the house.
She was only twenty-one, a recent university graduate who had opened a flower shop near campus. She had an older sister named Xu Zhaodi[4]Zhaodi literally means “beckon a younger brother.” Such names have traditionally reflected a family’s hope that a daughter would be followed by a son. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Their mother favored sons over daughters and had been brainwashed by their maternal uncle’s family. Counting on Xu Chaoying’s two older male cousins to support her in her old age, she had forced Xu Zhaodi to marry a few years earlier and used the bride price to fund one cousin’s wedding.
Now she was trying the same trick again. This time, she had set her sights on Xu Chaoying to finance the wedding of the younger of Xu Chaoying’s two older male cousins.
Liu Xiaojun was a divorced wife-beater, and her mother was still forcing her to marry him! All for the several hundred thousand in bride price the Liu family had promised!
Sacrificing her daughter’s happiness for the rest of her life for money—how was that any different from selling a child?!
Fuming, Xu Chaoying hurried downstairs. She hadn’t even had a chance to make a run for it when Zhao Chunhua, worried she’d escape, chased after her, grabbed her, and dragged her all the way out of the residential complex before shoving her into a taxi. Then Zhao Chunhua went around to the front and rapped on the driver’s window. “The marriage bureau! Step on it! If you make my daughter miss the auspicious time[5]Some Chinese families traditionally choose a time believed to bring good fortune for major events such as marriage. This is a cultural belief, not a legal requirement. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); to register, I’ll report you and file a complaint! She’ll pay!”
Threatened, the driver sped off.
A black car was parked outside the marriage bureau. In front of it stood Liu Xiaojun, a greasy, potbellied wife-beater.
Liu Xiaojun looked around, pacing back and forth. His protruding belly strained against his belt, wobbling with every step. From the side, he looked like a pregnant woman about to give birth.
The thought of spending the rest of her life with him made Xu Chaoying’s scalp prickle. She could barely breathe.
“Driver! Don’t cross the road!”
Before the taxi had even come to a full stop, Xu Chaoying tossed down a hundred-yuan note, didn’t bother collecting her change, and leapt out at lightning speed. She hid behind a thick tree on the roadside opposite the marriage bureau.
She was still young. She didn’t want to accept her fate—to marry a divorced, abusive, big-bellied man and be forced to keep producing sons.
Thankfully, there was still a way out. Yesterday, she had gone on a blind date with the eldest grandson of Grandma Bo, whom she’d met at the nursing home. He seemed to like her too.
They had agreed to register their marriage today, at about this time.
If Bo Siyan changed his mind and didn’t show up, she didn’t know whether she’d be able to keep her mother at bay. After all, her mother did whatever her uncle told her—even planning to drug Xu Chaoying and put her in Liu Xiaojun’s bed!
In August, the sun in Rongcheng was scorching. You could crack an egg on the ground, sprinkle it with salt, and serve it right up.
Xu Chaoying was outdoors. Even in the shade of a tree, it was thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees Celsius. She was already sweltering, and as she waited for Bo Siyan, the longer she waited, the more anxious she became.
She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead. Just as her phone rang with another relentless call from Zhao Chunhua, a white BYD Song came into view.
The weight on Xu Chaoying’s heart finally eased a little. She let out a long breath.
The person she’d been waiting for had arrived!
The car stopped, and a tall man got out. He had a high nose, sharp brows, and bright eyes, but there was an intense calm in his dark eyes. He didn’t look like he was there to get married; he looked more like he’d come to negotiate a business deal.
Even though this wasn’t the first time she’d seen him, Xu Chaoying was still struck by his looks and bearing.
Xu Chaoying had graduated only recently, and her flower shop was near the university district. Most of the people she met day to day were young people around her own age. She couldn’t help privately marveling at how imposing the white-collar employees of big companies were these days.
But now wasn’t the time to swoon over a handsome man. First, she had to lure Liu Xiaojun away from the entrance to the marriage bureau.
She silenced Zhao Chunhua’s call, scrolled through her messages, found Liu Xiaojun’s number, and fought back her disgust as she typed:
【There’s a bit of traffic. I might be another ten minutes. Mr. Liu, could you buy me a bottle of soda? I’m really nervous since it’s my first marriage, and I usually drink soda when I get nervous. Please~】
After sending the message, Xu Chaoying’s face twisted into a grimace, and she blocked the number at lightning speed.
Just as she’d expected, Liu Xiaojun glanced down at his phone and broke into a leering smile. Rubbing the thinning hair at the back of his head, he headed for a supermarket a dozen or so meters away.
Seizing her chance, she crossed the road and jogged over to Bo Siyan. She smiled and greeted him. “Sorry I’m late.”
Bo Siyan glanced in the direction she’d come from, said nothing, and gave her a polite smile. Then he turned and climbed the steps into the service hall, his voice steady. “Let’s get the certificate first. I still have work to take care of afterward.”
Liu Xiaojun could show up at any moment, so Xu Chaoying was more than happy to get the certificate as quickly as possible.
She quickened her pace and followed Bo Siyan into the hall.
They both had the same goal, so the paperwork went quickly.
While the clerk sorted out the documents, Xu Chaoying kept glancing out the window.
Liu Xiaojun had returned. Holding the soda, he stood with his back to the window, his patchily bald head turning from side to side as he searched for her.
Xu Chaoying’s palms were slick with nervous sweat. She murmured, “Mr. Bo, are you sure you don’t want to think it over?”
“No need.”
Bo Siyan paused. “As we agreed on our blind date yesterday, after we register, we’ll each go home and deal with our families pressuring us to marry. We’ll come back at the same time tomorrow to get divorced.”
Xu Chaoying agreed. “It’s a deal!”
She watched eagerly as the clerk stamped their red marriage certificates[6]Chinese marriage certificates are commonly issued as small red booklets. Red is traditionally associated with happiness and good fortune, especially at weddings. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The weight in her heart finally lifted completely.
Xu Chaoying was very satisfied with Bo Siyan. He had a decent job as a white-collar employee, had paid in full for a two-bedroom apartment, owned a BYD, had no debts weighing him down, and was exactly her type. He was the perfect person to marry—even if the marriage would last only one day.
The clerk handed them their red certificates. Xu Chaoying came back to herself, accepted hers, and thanked the clerk.
A bank card appeared in front of Xu Chaoying. She looked at Bo Siyan in confusion. “What’s this for?”
“It has three hundred thousand in bride-price money.”
Bo Siyan had thought ahead. After the little girl divorced him, it might affect her chances of remarrying.
Three hundred thousand wasn’t much; it was compensation for her.
Xu Chaoying froze for three seconds. By then, Bo Siyan had already strode off toward the main entrance, his long legs eating up the distance.
She followed for a couple of steps, then spotted Liu Xiaojun about to turn around and hurriedly ducked out of his line of sight.
They had registered in such a rush that she hadn’t gotten Bo Siyan’s phone number or WeChat[7]A widely used Chinese messaging and social-media app, also commonly used for everyday payments and services. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Fortunately, they’d be seeing each other again tomorrow. Xu Chaoying carefully put away the bank card. She would return the money to him tomorrow.
Bo Siyan had work to take care of, and she had her little flower shop to run.
They parted in the service hall. Xu Chaoying avoided Liu Xiaojun and left through a side entrance, while Bo Siyan went out the main entrance.
As soon as he left the marriage bureau, he took a photo of the inside page of the marriage certificate and sent it to Grandma Bo.
Grandma Bo replied with a voice message. “Hmph! You brat, you should be over the moon that you managed to marry Yingying! By the way, how did you explain your identity to that girl? Yesterday, you asked me to go along with your story that you were a white-collar employee because you were afraid the Bo family had too much money and would scare her off. You—”
Bo Siyan tucked the marriage certificate inside his jacket. Listening to the old lady’s forceful voice, he brushed past Liu Xiaojun, who was blocking the entrance, and headed toward where he’d parked.
He wasn’t a white-collar employee at all. He was the eldest son of the wealthy Bo family in the capital’s elite circles, the head of Bo Group, and the future richest man in the country.
…
Xu Chaoying returned to the flower shop, hung the little “Open” sign on the door, and hummed to herself as she trimmed the fresh flowers that had arrived that morning.
Looking at the bucket full of red roses, Xu Chaoying felt a little dazed. She was actually married—to a man she’d met only twice, counting today.
Xu Chaoying didn’t really care who she married. What she felt most was a sense of wonder and happiness.
A daughter married off was like water poured out[8]A traditional Chinese saying likens a married daughter to water that cannot be gathered back, reflecting the patriarchal expectation that she becomes part of her husband’s family. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740781_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740781_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. At last, she could escape that suffocating home.
Xu Chaoying’s lips curled up. Then she suddenly heard the wind chime at the door.
“Welcome…”
When Xu Chaoying saw who had come in, her smile froze on her face.
References[+]