Extra #1: Liang Chengmin

When Liang Chengmin was twenty-seven and still unmarried, it was considered quite unconventional in 1970s China.

Her mother nagged her every time she saw her: “Are you getting married or not? Give me a straight answer. So many people have tried to introduce you to men, and you won’t even look at them. Sure, we can afford to support you at home, but the neighbors are going to gossip!”

“Let them talk~” Liang Chengmin spoke slowly and calmly. “Their mouths are on their own faces, nothing we can do about it!”

She was born in Jiangsu, lived in Shanghai, and had gone to Anhui for medical internship. After traveling all around, her professional knowledge had improved, but so had the mix in her accent.

Her mother got visibly annoyed every time she looked at her. “You’re not in a rush, but your grandma is!”

“I don’t care who the guy is tomorrow — I’ll marry him!” Liang Chengmin threw down this declaration and ran off.

The next day, after leaving the hospital, she rode her bike to the library and lingered around outside for a while. She was twenty-eight but still had the heart of a child, not particularly concerned with most things. She only cared about the human body and pathology — she aspired to be a female Hua Tuo (a legendary Chinese physician).

The man standing in front of the library looked a bit out of place — white shirt, black pants, straight posture, a slight frown on his face, like someone not easy to get along with. The matchmaker had said he was handsome, and many women were interested in him. But Liang Chengmin couldn’t tell if he was handsome or not; what she cared about was whether someone was healthy. This one looked quite healthy.

She ran over, her two thick braids falling over her chest, hugging a book like a fool. She was a little breathless when she reached the man. “Are you Luan Mingrui? I’m Liang Chengmin.”

Luan Mingrui didn’t have the best temper. He glanced at his watch. “You’re late. By a minute.”

Liang Chengmin couldn’t very well say she’d been sizing him up from nearby, so she just gave an awkward smile.

“I had something at the hospital, so I got out a little late.”

“It’s fine.”

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Mm.”

Luan Mingrui replied casually, and the two started walking down the road. At that time, the streets weren’t crowded, and the air smelled of seawater. Fishing boats returned each morning with hauls of seafood. Liang Chengmin had been sickly as a child, and when she got older, her parents heard that eating shrimp and crab was good for strengthening the body. They found ways to get her some every day, making shrimp paste and picking crab meat for her to eat. Over time, her build grew a bit sturdier than the average southern girl — she looked full of life. Even so, walking next to Luan Mingrui, she still seemed petite. He was tall and upright, wearing glasses. Liang Chengmin snuck a peek — not bad, the prescription didn’t seem too strong.

They talked a bit about themselves, but neither was really interested in this blind date, so they just exchanged a few words and called it a day.

As soon as Liang Chengmin got home, the matchmaker came in and pulled her mother to the window to chat. At first, her mom was excited, but after two sentences, she began to sound deflated. “Oh, so he thinks it’s not a good match? That’s fine, that’s fine, it’s all about fate. You can’t force it if it’s not right. I mean, their family is a little better off than ours… a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.”

Liang Chengmin coughed. “Mom, the window is open. I can hear everything loud and clear. What’s there to be upset about? I didn’t like him either!”

The matchmaker stuck her head through the window. “You didn’t like him?”

“Nope. He wears glasses.”

“You wear glasses too!” the matchmaker pointed out.

“I don’t! I’m under 100 degrees — I can see fine without them. His prescription is high.”

The matchmaker clicked her tongue. “Tsk tsk, young people these days — each pickier than the last. Keep being this picky, and you’ll end up single for life!” Already forgetting who turned their nose up first.

But Liang Chengmin didn’t take it to heart. So what if she didn’t marry? What was so great about marriage? Plenty of doctors and nurses at the hospital were married — and just as many came to work crying!

Most of the time, she was carefree like an overgrown girl. But once she sat down to see patients, she became extremely serious. In her white coat, with her hair up and doctor’s cap on, she looked as stern as could be.

One day during her clinic hours, a man came in claiming he had a fracture.

He entered wailing, refusing to listen to a word she said. Liang Chengmin got angry and barked, “If you keep yelling, I’ll sew your mouth shut!” She was a young doctor, so that was about as scary as she got. That sentence happened to be overheard by Luan Mingrui, who had been notified by his parents to come accompany his younger brother. He immediately formed a poor opinion of this doctor.

Liang Chengmin took the case seriously. The man’s leg was swollen as thick as a tree trunk — but there really was no fracture.

“Stop screaming. Listen to me — you don’t have a fracture.”

“If it’s not a fracture, why does it hurt so much? Get someone more experienced!”

“I am experienced!”

“You look like a hack!”

… Liang Chengmin turned red with anger. “Where’s the family?” She looked up — and saw Luan Mingrui’s stony face.

Liang Chengmin thought the man looked a bit familiar. After a moment, she realized he was the rich young master who had looked down on her family background. But she didn’t bring that up and pretended not to recognize him.

“Are you family?” she asked.

“Yeah, my younger brother.”

“Your brother doesn’t have a fracture. Tell him to stop yelling. I’ll prescribe some medicine and send him for physiotherapy nearby.”

“Can we see another doctor for a second opinion?” Luan Mingrui asked, clearly not trusting her. She was only 28; how much experience could she have?

“Sure. Go out and register again.” Liang Chengmin didn’t give him a friendly look—if he wanted someone else, fine. She didn’t even look up, stubborn as ever.

Luan Mingrui took Luan Mingcheng and re-registered with an older doctor. The older doctor said the same thing Liang Chengmin had said: “No fracture. Give medicine and physiotherapy.”

“Then why is his leg so swollen?”

“Torn ligaments. Fracture or no fracture, it’s different for young people. Don’t start overthinking.”

Suddenly, Luan Mingrui felt he had misjudged that young woman. After thinking for a while and forgetting her name, he went to ask at the outpatient clinic. When he returned, Liang Chengmin had already finished work and changed into a floral blouse, heading out the hospital door.

Seeing Luan Mingrui, her heart twisted, but she didn’t look at him.

Luan Mingrui wasn’t sure if she remembered him, so he decided to act as if she didn’t. He stopped her bike. “Doctor.”

“You still remember I’m a doctor? Why didn’t you believe I was when I treated your brother? You changed doctors — did the leg break then?”

Liang Chengmin’s mouth rattled off like a machine gun: “Also, how old is your brother? Shouting in a hospital—aren’t you embarrassed?”

Luan Mingrui had wanted to apologize but saw she wasn’t going to let it go. He stepped aside and said something deliberately infuriating: “Changing doctors just to feel better. Afraid you’ll misdiagnose.”

Arrogant and annoying.

Liang Chengmin felt a lump in her chest, gave him a glare, and walked away.

At home, still fuming, she told her mother, “From now on, if anyone introduces a guy, anyone wearing glasses is out.”

“Why not?”

“Looks sneaky!”

The next morning at work, she saw Luan Mingrui bringing Luan Mingcheng for physiotherapy in the hospital corridor. She looked straight ahead without glancing. Luan Mingcheng recognized her and greeted, “Hello, doctor!” Not the same crying mess from yesterday.

Liang Chengmin stopped and looked at him. “Who are you?” Then she turned and walked away.

“That doctor is scary,” Luan Mingcheng whispered.

Luan Mingrui told him, “Next time you get hurt, just endure it. Making a fuss in a hospital—isn’t that embarrassing?”

Luan Mingcheng was scolded by his older brother and stayed quiet. He had been afraid of Luan Mingrui since childhood, always feeling his brother never showed a smile. Luan Mingrui was glad he had turned down the matchmaker that day — with Liang Chengmin’s temper, forget about living together; after a few encounters, they’d be fighting.

While Luan Mingcheng changed his dressing inside, Luan Mingrui sat outside on a wooden bench, hearing Liang Chengmin’s voice from the next consulting room, scolding loudly and softly:

“You only came after it got like this? What were you thinking?”

“Are you ignoring what I said? Are you supposed to watch your diet? Look at your wound!”

A little later, her tone softened: “Stop crying. Your husband needs care now, and you’re pregnant. You need to control your emotions, got it?”

She could change her expression so quickly at such a young age.

Luan Mingrui was twenty-nine. Many girls liked him, but he liked none of them. Over time, he became the family’s troublemaker. The Luan family had been merchants for generations, with ups and downs, having been persecuted and having donated actively. The family’s fortunes declined but under Luan Mingrui’s father, things slowly improved again after political rehabilitation that year. The family had experienced poverty and wealth, but the old habits remained: even when eating simple stir-fried greens, the plates had to be clean and pretty. In earlier years, the two sons and two daughters wore patched clothes but always cleaned impeccably — an unusual dignity for a small town, which neighbors called pretentious.

Luan Mingrui was exactly like that.

Not only was he pretentious, but he also had a bad temper. He wore a stern face daily, scaring away many girls. Yet he was smart, successful within the system, and had a stable iron rice bowl job. The young man was handsome, well-educated, from a good family, and rich — combined with his picky nature, he was the red dot on many small-town girls’ hearts.

Liang Chengmin didn’t know any of this.

She had loved the small town since childhood, later left to study medicine for a few years, and didn’t know about this rising figure in her hometown. To her, Luan Mingrui was just a stuck-up idiot who looked down on her family. She even disliked that he wore glasses! Besides, her family wasn’t that bad — both her parents were teachers, so they were at least a respected local family.

But Liang Chengmin didn’t hold grudges; once something was over, it was over.

One night about half a month later, her mother sent her out to buy soy sauce. The supply and marketing cooperative had two long lines. She guessed the time and decided to patiently wait in line. By coincidence, Luan Mingrui was also there, standing in the line beside her. Someone called his name, and when he turned, he saw Liang Chengmin. They had been set up on a blind date before, but she stood still, looking a bit disdainful.

When it was their turn, Liang Chengmin rummaged through her pockets but didn’t have a coupon. A clean hand reached out next to her: “Use mine.” She looked up and saw Luan Mingrui.

Afraid of getting scolded by her mother for being foolish, she nodded: “Okay, thanks. I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

After buying soy sauce, she started to leave.

Luan Mingrui followed her and asked, “How will you pay me back?”

“Huh?”

“Do you know where I live? Do you know how to find me? You don’t know anything. How will you pay me back?”

Liang Chengmin was flustered. “Are you crazy? Who’s short of your coupon? You don’t have to humiliate me like this! I said I’ll pay you back tomorrow, and I will. I don’t know where you live. I’ll ask the matchmaker. How could I not plan to pay you back?”

“Do you remember we were set up on a blind date?”

“...”

“Then why are you acting like you don’t know me? I thought your eyesight was bad.”

He told the matchmaker he thought the girl was good but didn’t fit his temper. The matchmaker told his parents, “It’s okay. The girl didn’t like Mingrui either — she thought he was a four-eyes.”

That day he finally vented his anger.

Seeing Liang Chengmin’s face flush red with anger, he added: “Tomorrow night at 8, I’ll be here. You pay me back then. If you don’t, I’ll come to your house and get it.”

Then he turned and walked away.

Under the moonlight like flowing water, the sly smile at the corner of his mouth was clear to any onlooker.