Liang Chengmin nodded and then shook her head. She felt dizzy, the liquor-filled chocolate was long gone, leaving only a sweet alcoholic taste in her mouth.

Luan Mingrui’s nose brushed against hers. He wasn’t one for sweet talk, always being straightforward: “I’m asking you, Liang Chengmin, are you willing or not?”

“If you’re willing, tomorrow I’ll send my parents to your home. I’m not a teacher, doctor, or worker, but I promise you won’t go hungry with me. I’ll let you eat your favorite shrimp and crab every day.” Luan Mingrui began to coax her.

Liang Chengmin finally reacted, pushing against him, but couldn’t move him. They remained locked in this standoff in the darkness—she pressed against the wall, he pressed against her, nose tip to nose tip, breath meeting breath.

“Who needs you to provide for me! I…” She began to speak, and Luan Mingrui both heard and didn’t hear her. Kissing someone for the first time, he discovered it felt wonderful. As Liang Chengmin spoke, her sweet fragrance made Luan Mingrui lose focus, and he decided to block her lips. He found a rhythm, kissing her firmly, and Liang Chengmin’s mind exploded again.

“What were you saying?” Luan Mingrui asked against her lips.

“I’m a doctor, I can support myself…” Luan Mingrui bit her lip, not letting her complete a single sentence. Back and forth several times, both becoming breathless, Liang Chengmin finally finished her sentence. Her point was that she didn’t need his support—she was a doctor after all. Even if she couldn’t eat shrimp and crab every day, when she got paid, she could treat herself once in a while.

“I understand. So you’re not willing, right?” Luan Mingrui glared at her. “If you’re not willing, what are you doing here? Making out with a man in an alley late at night—are you the one being indecent?” He turned the tables, deliberately provoking her.

“I’m the one being indecent?” Liang Chengmin was infuriated. She reached out to pinch his waist, not holding back her strength. Luan Mingrui groaned in pain, grabbing her wrist while still taunting her: “Where are you touching, Liang Chengmin? Why not go a bit lower?”

Liang Chengmin never imagined Luan Mingrui was this kind of person. The young nurses at the hospital said he was a proud young gentleman who never smiled at people, from a wealthy family with well-educated children. Did the nurses describe the same person standing before her? How could he be so shameless!

Seeing she was upset, Luan Mingrui knew when to stop. He finally released her, stepping back: “Fine, don’t marry me. How about dating me?”

“No.”

“If no, why are you blushing?”

“My face is on my body, what business is it of yours?”

Liang Chengmin pushed him and ran away. After entering her home, she rushed to her tiny room, opening the window just a crack to see Luan Mingrui still standing there like a big fool.

Liang Chengmin never knew having someone on her mind felt like this.

Eyes closed or open, all she saw was Luan Mingrui’s face and him holding her while breathing heavily. The next morning when she opened her eyes, they were red like a little rabbit’s. After breakfast, she went out and saw Luan Mingrui standing at her doorstep.

Her face reddened again: “Why are you here?”

“To take you to work.”

“I don’t need you to take me.”

“I’m taking you anyway.”

Luan Mingrui mounted his bicycle and pointed to the back: “Get on.”

“I have my bicycle.”

“Your legs are too short. You look ridiculous riding a full-sized bike.”

“…”

Liang’s mother heard the commotion and came out, seeing the two in a standoff. She recognized Luan Mingrui—the young man was quite well-known in their small town.

“What are you two doing?” she asked.

“Hello, Auntie. I came to take her to work,” Luan Mingrui said straightforwardly.

“Aren’t you getting married?” Liang’s mother asked.

“That’s just a rumor. If I marry anyone, it’ll be Liang Chengmin. In a few days, my parents will come. Please don’t worry, Auntie.”

“Who’s marrying you?” Liang Chengmin panicked, swatting him. To Liang’s mother, it looked like the two were flirting. She simply said: “You’ll be late, hurry up.” Liang’s mother had a good impression of Luan Mingrui—what a proper young man, a good match for her daughter!

Liang Chengmin got on her own bicycle and rode away with uneven pedaling. Luan Mingrui followed behind, watching as the wind puffed up her clothes, the uneven stone path making her bicycle bounce up and down.

Looking at Liang Chengmin this way, Luan Mingrui thought the girl was truly wonderful.

Except for her bad temper, everything about her was good.

He followed her to the hospital. As she got off her bicycle, he remained seated on his, one foot on the ground, one hand on the handlebars, using his free hand to grab her wrist: “Liang Chengmin, I was serious last night.”

“What did you say? Last night you were just being indecent!” Liang Chengmin scolded him quietly. “Keep it up and I’ll report you!”

“Fine. I’ll come pick you up for dinner tonight.”

“I’m not going!”

Though Liang Chengmin said she wouldn’t go, she thought about it all day. She found Luan Mingrui quite annoying—she had always been focused on medicine, and this was the first time a man had distracted her.

When it was time to get off work, she wheeled her bicycle out of the hospital, and sure enough, Luan Mingrui was waiting. He grabbed the handlebars of her bicycle, causing it to drift slightly before settling under his leg. He pointed to the back seat: “Get on.”

“No.”

“If not, are you walking to dinner?”

“That’s my bike!”

“Do you know how ridiculous you look riding this bike?” Luan Mingrui imitated her wobbling on the saddle, making passersby laugh.

“Luan Mingrui!” Liang Chengmin was upset. “Are you sick in the head?!”

“Yes, I am. After we’re married, you can treat me slowly.”

Luan Mingrui had always been resolute in his actions—what he set his mind to must be accomplished, and the girl he chose must become his wife. Even if he seemed out of character now, like a shameless rogue, he didn’t care. He was willing. First, spread the news, claim the person—yes, that’s how underhanded he was.

His words were quite shocking. The people passing by after work stopped to look at them: Dr. Liang is getting married? No one had heard that Dr. Liang had a boyfriend, so how could she suddenly be getting married?

Liang Chengmin grew angry with him: “You’re talking nonsense! In broad daylight, under the open sky, you…”

“I’m what? Are you coming or not? If not, shall I tell everyone about the liquor-filled chocolate incident?”

As soon as Luan Mingrui finished speaking, Liang Chengmin jumped onto the back seat, clutching his clothes: “Let’s go!”

She was afraid that Luan Mingrui’s big mouth would say everything.

She didn’t know how she had attracted such a troublemaker, and the scariest part was that she kept thinking about this shameless rogue.

Luan Mingrui suddenly applied the brakes. Liang Chengmin lost her balance, her face bumping into his back, instinctively hugging his waist. Then she heard Luan Mingrui say: “Hold tight!”

He took her weaving through the small town. Luan Mingrui’s scent was clean and pleasant, making Liang Chengmin’s heart flutter.

In front of the state-run restaurant, Luan Mingrui crouched down to lock the bicycle. Liang Chengmin saw his clean fingers and neatly trimmed hair, and suddenly thought: how bad could marrying him be? At the very least, she had been thinking about him all night.

When Luan Mingrui stood up, Liang Chengmin said to him: “Luan Mingrui, I can’t accept this meal for nothing.”

“You can treat me if you want. Did you just get paid?” It didn’t matter who paid, as long as they ate together.

“What I mean is, I agree to date you, and I’m not afraid to marry you.” Her face was completely red, shy yet determined like a seventeen-year-old girl.

Luan Mingrui looked at her and suddenly smiled. At work, she was so mature, alternating between seriousness and sadness, her mind full of her patients. Off work, she turned into a little girl who hadn’t grown up, particularly pure and clean.

He pinched her face with his fingers. People passing by looked at them, but they weren’t afraid. What was there to fear?

Luan Mingrui moved very quickly. That same day, he went home and announced he was getting married. He was determined but never reckless. When he said he wanted to get married, he truly meant it, so when he asked his parents to prepare gifts for Liang Chengmin’s family, they immediately agreed without hesitation.

They knew that Dr. Liang was one of the best girls in town—good character, good job, reliable parents. They had never imagined that after that matchmaking where both sides rejected each other, Luan Mingrui had quietly and quickly won the girl over.

Luan Mingcheng clicked his tongue from the side: “Now I understand why you didn’t want me to say she had a bad temper!”

“She thought you were four-eyes! She doesn’t mind anymore?”

“With both your tempers, won’t you fight every day living together?”

“None of your damn business.” Luan Mingrui glared at him.

On the day Luan Mingrui and Liang Chengmin got married, the small town was extremely lively. No one thought these two were just getting married because they had reached the right age. Why? Just look at them standing there, lighting up the entire town. What a perfect match!

They were meant to be married.

Who else could they possibly end up with?

Luan Mingrui secretly hooked her finger, his fingertip trailing across her palm. Liang Chengmin’s face reddened in front of everyone, but she dared not move. She let Luan Mingrui hold her hand, sharing in their secret sweetness.

Liang Chengmin had secretly asked herself if she loved Luan Mingrui—if not, why marry? The night before the wedding, she thought through their entire history and felt she had fallen into a net deliberately cast by Luan Mingrui. He was truly a bad person. But she didn’t mind. This was the first time in her life she had constantly thought about a man, and the feeling was wonderful.

Weddings in small towns were festive, with banquet tables lining the streets. Each of the newlyweds wore a red flower on their chest. Liang Chengmin had her hair in small braids, and when she smiled, it was as if the sky had cleared—she was incredibly beautiful.

Luan Mingrui couldn’t get enough of looking at Liang Chengmin.

In front of neighbors, relatives, and friends, he forgot to hide his feelings, not caring if it might hurt other girls’ hearts. He simply enjoyed looking at her.

During the toast, Luan Mingrui deliberately drank less, eventually asking Luan Mingcheng to drink on his behalf. Luan Mingcheng didn’t understand: “You won’t let me drink for you at your wedding?”

“You know nothing!”

Luan Mingrui was thinking about the night ahead—how could he enjoy the night if he drank too much?

When Liang Chengmin’s hospital colleagues wanted to drink with her, Luan Mingrui pushed Liang Chengmin forward: “Our family will send one person to drink with you all. Liang Chengmin can’t handle alcohol well, and drinking too much will affect her work.”

“She doesn’t have to work tomorrow,” a colleague teased.

Everyone burst into laughter, understanding what the young couple was avoiding. Most had been through this day themselves, so they didn’t make things difficult. The alcohol was replaced with water, the glasses clinked just as loudly—as long as everyone was happy, that was what mattered most.

In the evening, there was the traditional bedroom teasing, but it was kept brief and symbolic before everyone dispersed.

Suddenly, only the two of them remained in the room.

Liang Chengmin sat at the head of the bed, Luan Mingrui at the foot, both breathing carefully.

Outside, the window rattled, and someone whispered: “Why is there no sound?”

Luan Mingrui hated being eavesdropped on. He pushed open the window to see several young boys running away.

He closed the window and sat back at the head of the bed.

After a while, he asked Liang Chengmin: “You’re very knowledgeable about the human body, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you study me?”