Chapter 3

“Manman,” Lu Che’s voice sounded a little tired. “Yinyin and I aren’t what you think.”

“Go on.”

Lu Che paused, as if surprised by how cooperative I was.

“Today is your birthday, and it’s also our one-year anniversary. I ordered flowers and cake a long time ago, planning to come home right after work.

But when Yinyin was getting out of the elevator, her high heel got stuck in the gap and she twisted her ankle. She’s my sister-I couldn’t just leave her there.”

I said nothing, so Lu Che continued, “I wanted to tell you first, but Yinyin said she was worried you’d overthink it, so I decided to keep it from you.

I’m sorry, Manman. It’s all my fault.”

He sounded genuinely apologetic over the phone. I thought for a moment, then asked, “Did you see the picture I sent you?”

He sounded puzzled. “What picture?”

I raised my eyebrows slowly. “Did you see the message in the group chat?”

He replied, “Yinyin couldn’t walk, so I had to carry her upstairs. She was holding my phone for me, and I just got it back.”

As if remembering something, Lu Che quickly added, “Yinyin’s already home. I’m heading back now.

I’ll be quick, Manman. Wait for me.”

After hanging up, I got up from the sofa and touched the plates on the dining table.

The food and soup were already a bit cold.

When Lu Che comes back, should I scold him first, or just flip the table?

I’ve had a bad temper since I was a kid-honestly, I’m not very likable.

The fact that Lu Che and I ended up together was pure luck, like the matchmaker spoon-feeding us, a heavenly gift, a dreamlike start.

Last summer, I was interning and waiting to be made permanent.

To make a good impression on my boss, I had to leave an hour early every day, then catch up on sleep in the subway whenever I could.

That day, as usual, I got on the train and headed straight for the corner, yawning as I listened to music.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the carriage suddenly got noisy. I took off my headphones and listened-it seemed to be about giving up a seat.

I’m not one to meddle, but ten minutes passed and the old lady was still blaring at full blast, her voice stabbing through the crowd and into my ears.

Disturbing my sleep as if asking for my life.

I got up, pushed through the onlookers, and walked right into the eye of the storm.

It took me less than two minutes to figure out what had happened.

It was a seat-snatching incident: a young guy bought a ticket, sat down, and was immediately yanked up by the scruff of his neck.

The seat-hogging aunt not only felt no guilt, she even turned the tables, blaming young people for lacking manners and not knowing how to yield.

The young guy was indignant and argued back, only to be scolded mercilessly.

I glanced at the young man, his face flushed and jaw clenched, then at the aunt with her explosive hairdo and two big bags of eggs, not even out of breath. I stepped forward and gave the young man’s shoulder a hard shove:

“How can you be so clueless?”

The young man turned around abruptly, his handsome face first showing confusion, then a mix of anger and helplessness:

“It was this auntie…”

I caught the smug look on the aunt’s face and loudly interrupted him, “This auntie is in a hurry to reincarnate-don’t you know to let her go first?”

The joy drained from the aunt’s face, and the young man stared at me in shock.

I vaguely heard someone behind me whispering, “Holy crap.”

I turned to the aunt, “Auntie, really, it’s just spring-how did you crawl out of the ground already? July is still far off, remember to cover yourself with more dirt when you get home, and don’t hop around for no reason.”

The aunt’s eyes widened, her finger trembling as she cursed me out.

Every word was nasty, and she kept repeating “no manners.”

I dug at my ear, “Auntie, you’re right. My family is busy with work, so they really don’t have time to teach me manners. Not like you, who just needs to raise your chopsticks for a family reunion.”

There were gasps all around, and the young man stared at me, dumbfounded.

“You-you dare curse me?” The aunt was so angry she stomped her feet, suddenly jumping up from her seat and raising her hand as if to hit me.

The young man reacted quickly, immediately turning to shield me.

His move caught me off guard, but I quickly patted his shoulder to calm him down.

I pulled out my phone and waved it at the aunt’s face, “Go ahead and hit me, auntie. I’ll start downloading Dongchedi (Dongchedi, a car-related app) right now.”

“Wait,” I looked her up and down, eyes shining, “Auntie, you have such a distinguished air, you must be a local. I should at least extort a house from you.”

I pushed the young man aside, walked up to the aunt, and said sincerely, “Auntie, please, go ahead.”

The aunt clutched her chest, “You…” but couldn’t get out a complete sentence.

Later, the young man from the subway-Lu Che-found me, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

He said my verbal battle with the aunt was like a stone golem using its ultimate, smashing right into his heart.

Lu Che chased me for more than half a year. After a long evaluation, considering his good looks, wealth, gentlemanly manners, sincerity, and his unabashed affection for me, I finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

On the day we got together, Lu Che was overjoyed. He picked me up and spun me around in place, shouting loudly as he spun:

“Manman! You are my only goddess!”

It was the first time in my life I truly felt embarrassed.