Chapter 21: Marriage Certificate
Lu Cheng looked down at her. "I’m guessing not."
"Why?"
"Because no one’s better than me."
"Tsk."
Even though the man was quite narcissistic, she was surprised to find that she didn’t find him sleazy or repulsive.
’Probably because it was the truth.’
Lu Cheng’s features weren’t exactly what you’d call delicate. In fact, with his darker complexion and sharp, intense eyes, he could look a bit intimidating.
But his physique—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs—was undeniably incredible. He was the type you could just tell had abs.
Noticing Lu Cheng’s gaze fixed on her, as if waiting for an answer, Jiang Moli replied,
"Other than the arranged engagement to Zhang Jia Ming, I’ve never dated anyone else in this lifetime."
"You don’t have romantic feelings for Jia Ming, so if we round up, that makes me your first love."
Lu Cheng was clearly pleased with this conclusion, and the look in his eyes softened considerably.
But how could he know that the "lifetime" Jiang Moli spoke of had only been four short days?
In her past life, Jiang Moli had actually dated before—three times, in fact—but all her relationships had fizzled out.
The first relationship lasted half a month. After two dinners and one movie, he said he had no feelings for her, promptly broke up with her, and got back together with his ex.
The second lasted two months, ending before they even kissed. She was so repulsed by his bad breath that it nearly made her vomit.
She met the third one in a game. They chatted online for three months and things felt pretty good. Just as she was preparing to meet him in person, he unexpectedly invited her on a trip to Thailand, which freaked her out so much that she immediately blocked all of his contact information.
"Let’s go back and ride the bikes."
Lu Cheng looked at her. "You want to ride the bikes?"
Jiang Moli nodded. "You can ride my dad’s. I’ll ride the new one."
In truth, she’d had her eye on that Phoenix brand ladies’ bicycle the moment she stepped into the courtyard.
The off-white and light-coffee color-blocked frame, with a matching off-white woven basket on the handlebars, was perfectly in line with her aesthetic.
She’d initially assumed it was part of Jiang Qing’s betrothal gift and had even contemplated "forcefully acquiring" it. She never expected it was actually for her.
"Alright. But come with me to the car first; I have something for you."
Jiang Moli was speechless. "...You have a car? What kind?"
Lu Cheng pointed to the military jeep up ahead. "It’s not my car, it’s my dad’s. I’m not at that rank yet."
Jiang Moli looked from the jeep back to him. "You have a car and you didn’t say so sooner? Then why would we ride bicycles?!"
Lu Cheng smiled. "I thought you wanted to ride."
"That’s only because I don’t like to squeeze onto crowded buses."
Lu Cheng thoughtfully opened the passenger-side door for Jiang Moli.
As she got closer, she caught the faint scent of alcohol on him. "You’ve been drinking," Jiang Moli noted. "Can you drive?"
"Just two small cups. It’s not a problem."
Seeing that his complexion was normal and his eyes were clear, Jiang Moli figured he wasn’t a reckless person. ’He seems to know his limits.’ With that, she just reminded him, "Then drive slowly," and got into the car.
Once she was settled, Lu Cheng helped her buckle her seatbelt before closing the door and getting in on the other side.
’Tsk, quite the gentleman.’
...
The jeep’s interior was spartan—like a tin box with two chairs up front and a long bench in the back. Compared to the modern cars of her own time, it was practically a bare-bones shell.
But in this era, owning a four-wheeled vehicle was something an ordinary person couldn’t even dream of.
"Your dad has to be a high-ranking officer, right?"
Meeting Jiang Moli’s curious gaze, Lu Cheng chuckled. "That should be ’our dad’."
Jiang Moli was about to retort that they weren’t at that stage yet when Lu Cheng pulled a bundle out of his military satchel and pushed it into her hands.
"What is this?"
Lu Cheng gestured for her to open it.
Jiang Moli opened the cloth bundle. On top was a bank passbook.
The balance in the passbook was 3,806.45.
In this era of scarcity, a savings of over three thousand was a veritable fortune.
Lu Cheng watched Jiang Moli’s expression as he explained,
"My current monthly salary is 109 yuan. I used to send it home for my mom to manage, but from now on, I’ll give it all to you. I won’t meddle in your daily spending, but for the long-term sake of our little family, we should try not to touch the money in the passbook. You can use my salary for your monthly expenses. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion."
Given the cost of living at the time, 109 yuan a month was more than enough for two people.
After all, Jiang Dahai supported a family of five on his salary of 68 yuan.
Beneath the passbook were stacks of ration tickets: grain tickets, sugar tickets, meat tickets, cloth tickets, vegetable tickets, industrial goods tickets, and so on. Each type was sorted, bundled with rubber bands, and stacked neatly.
Clearly, this was Lu Cheng’s entire life savings.
Jiang Moli shot him a teasing glance. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll take all your money and run away?"
"And where would you run?"
’True enough.’
This wasn’t like her own time, where you could travel the whole country with a single ticket. In this era, you needed a letter of introduction to travel. Otherwise, you couldn’t even buy a ticket or stay in a hotel. If you were stopped for questioning by the police, you’d be sent right back.
"I’ve already applied for family housing, but it won’t be approved right away. For now, you can stay with my parents. Once the house is assigned, you can move in."
"And don’t worry, you won’t have to do any housework. My aunt is there; she’s been living with my family for years, helping take care of my parents."
’To put it bluntly, this "aunt" was just a housekeeper.’
Because of the ongoing crackdown on "capitalist practices," they wouldn’t dare call her a housekeeper publicly, instead passing her off as a relative who was just staying with them.
"Comrade Jiang Moli."
Jiang Moli turned to look at him.
"The ’Three Turns and a Sound,’ the 500-yuan betrothal gift, handing over my salary after we’re married, letting you spend it as you please, no housework for you to do, and not living with my in-laws... I’ve taken care of it all. As for children, if you don’t want to have them now, then we won’t. Do you have any other demands?"
Jiang Moli had only said all that offhandedly back then, just to make things difficult for her would-be fiancé.
She never expected that this man would not only remember every word but actually make it all happen.
"None for now. If I think of any, I’ll let you know."
"Does that mean you’re satisfied with me? That you’re willing to marry me?"
Looking at his earnest expression, Jiang Moli teased, "Isn’t it a little late for a proposal?"
’Our parents have already met, we’ve had the engagement dinner, and I’ve even accepted the red envelope. Do I even have the option to refuse?’
"You didn’t refuse, so that means you agree."
As he spoke, Lu Cheng handed her two booklets.
One was the household registration book with its stiff, kraft-paper cover; the other was a marriage certificate with a red plastic cover.
Her eyelid twitched when she saw the marriage certificate.
When she flipped it open and saw the names inside, her heart sank into her stomach.
"Comrade Lu Cheng, care to explain? When exactly did we get married? Why am I the last to know?!"
"The day before yesterday, Xiao Peng came to me. He said the Educated Youth Office was making trouble for you and Uncle Jiang. He gave me your household registration book and told me to go ahead and register our marriage first. I thought you knew."
’Jiang Peng, you are so dead!’
Jiang Moli gritted her teeth. She looked at the issue date on the marriage certificate again. It was today.
"Does my dad know we registered our marriage?"
"I haven’t had a chance to tell him. This morning has been chaos."
"More like you didn’t dare!"
Lu Cheng guiltily rubbed his nose.
Although being married without her knowledge was infuriating, Jiang Moli wasn’t actually that angry.
The man was an excellent catch by all accounts, so it wasn’t like she was getting the short end of the stick. Still, she felt a sense of unease.
Jiang Dahai and Jiang Peng were in a rush to marry her off to save her from being sent to the countryside, but why was Lu Cheng in such a hurry to marry her?
She eyed Lu Cheng suspiciously. "Is there... something wrong with you physically?"
Lu Cheng had never dated anyone before her, so it wasn’t a case of him being divorced with a child, leaving her to be a stepmother.
As a military officer, his character was surely impeccable. The only remaining doubt was his health.
"I’ve taken a few injuries, big and small, from my years stationed on the border, but they’ve all fully healed. Otherwise, I would have been transferred to a civilian post by now."
"That’s not what I’m asking. What I mean is... your, uh, male functions are normal, right?"
The moment she asked, Jiang Moli’s own face flushed red.
Lu Cheng wasn’t faring much better. His ears were burning bright red, though his expression remained relatively composed.
"Do I look like I’m not normal?"
"Who can say? It’s not something you can tell just by looking. Or maybe you were normal, but then an injury affected things... it’s not impossible. Look at you—you’re handsome, you have a great body, you come from good revolutionary stock, and you’re highly capable. You could have your pick of countless outstanding young women. So why me, of all people? It’s hard not to be suspicious."
"So that’s what you think of me? You think I’m handsome, have a great body, come from good revolutionary stock, and am highly capable?"
’Even though she’d said the words herself, hearing him repeat them back was somehow mortifying.’
"That’s not the point..."
Lu Cheng cut her off. "It is the point, Comrade Jiang Moli. Your opinion of me is very important. And it seems you’re quite satisfied."
Jiang Moli closed the marriage certificate. "Then what about you? What’s your opinion of me?"