Better Than Summer: A Marriage Before Love Romance - Chapter 13

Qu Xianglan sprang to her feet as soon as she saw the man and woman enter. Slapping her thigh, she snapped loudly, “Shen Tingxia! Can you honestly tell your mother what you used the household register for?!”

Her voice was so loud it triggered the motion-sensor light…

Shen Tingxia grimaced. Grabbing the man beside her, she pulled him towards the door, then looped her arm through her mother’s to guide her inside as well – best not to get a noise complaint from the neighbors.

Once inside the apartment, she pushed a chair further in, closed the door, and poured her mother a glass of water, trying to soothe her. “Don’t be mad, Mom. It’s not that big a deal.”

Qu Xianglan shoved the glass aside without taking it, glaring at Shen Tingxia with burning anger. “Not a big deal?! Shen Tingxia, my own daughter gets married, and I, her mother, find out from the neighbors?! You tell me, is that acceptable?”

Shen Tingxia took a sip of water herself and readily admitted fault: “Unacceptable! Absolutely unforgivable!”
She guided her mother to sit on the sofa, attempting a defense: “But Mom, listen to my explanation.”

Qu Xianglan shook off Shen Tingxia’s hand. “You’d better give me a damn good explanation.”
She then turned to Xi Chengnan, patted the spot beside her on the sofa, and spoke to him gently, “Dr. Xi, please sit down too.”

Witnessing this blatant favoritism, Shen Tingxia’s lips twitched.
Seriously? How is this fair?…

Not daring to voice her complaint, Shen Tingxia launched into an elaborate, fabricated story: “Mom, you know why I always resisted the blind dates you set up? Because my heart belonged to someone else. Dr. Xi here and I dated before. But back then, I was young. I felt he was too busy, never had time for me, so we broke up, full of regret. But this man beside you is just too exceptional. On the day you went to the hospital, we ran into each other again. When I told him I was going on a blind date, he immediately said that if I was thinking about marriage, I should consider him. I only asked him one question: ‘Do you still love me?’ He said yes. He hadn’t been with anyone else since we broke up.”

“I’m 28, he’s 32. In your words, we’re both ‘no spring chickens.’ You’re always pushing me to date. Since we still have feelings for each other, why wait? He’s the perfect choice.”

Qu Xianglan listened, stunned. It… kind of made sense. And on the day Shen Tingxia mentioned going on that blind date, she had seen them exchanging glances. She’d even mentioned it to Shen Luying at the time. So it was true after all.

But she couldn’t just take Shen Tingxia’s word for it. She turned to Xi Chengnan. “Dr. Xi, is that how it was?”

Xi Chengnan hadn’t expected Shen Tingxia’s embellished version, but he maintained his composure and nodded. “Yes, Auntie.”

Qu Xianglan pressed again, her tone suddenly conspiratorial: “Dr. Xi, blink if you’re being held against your will.”

Xi Chengnan hadn’t expected Shen Tingxia’s mother to be so… unexpectedly charming. He chuckled. “No, Auntie. Tingxia is telling the truth. I was the one who proposed marriage. I didn’t want Tingxia to wait any longer. Things were rushed, and I deeply apologize for not having the chance to visit you properly before we impulsively registered our marriage.”

His words were impeccably polite. Qu Xianglan couldn’t find fault. Besides, from the first moment she saw him in the outpatient clinic, she’d sensed he was special. Having him as her attending physician for a few days, and now knowing his connection to Tingxia, made it impossible to dislike him, even though they’d gotten married behind her back like this.

But!

That didn’t mean she wasn’t still furious.

Qu Xianglan’s face darkened again as she turned back to Shen Tingxia. “Then why did you lie and say you needed the household register for a passport application?”

By now, Shen Tingxia was thoroughly exasperated by her mother’s blatant double standards. A hint of defiance crept in. “If I’d just told you I wanted it to get married, would you have given it to me?”

Qu Xianglan, seeing Shen Tingxia’s ‘couldn’t-care-less’ attitude, flew into a rage again. She shot up, glaring daggers. “Shen Tingxia! If I die one day, it’ll definitely be because you drove me to an early grave!”
She flung this out as she stormed towards the door.

Shen Tingxia called after her, “Hey, Mom! Where are you going?!”
“Home! Where else? If I don’t leave now, I’ll let you finish me off?!”

It was late. Shen Tingxia sighed and stood up too. “I’ll take you back.”
Qu Xianglan whipped around instantly. “No need! Your father’s downstairs! None of you give me a moment’s peace!”

Hearing her dad was downstairs, Shen Tingxia didn’t follow. Typical parents, sharing the same bed and the same sneak attack tactics. Had to ambush me.

Still, her mother was genuinely angry. She just couldn’t bring herself to criticize Xi Chengnan, so all the fury was directed at Shen Tingxia.
Fine. She’d take it.

At the door, Qu Xianglan paused. “Shen Tingxia! Once Dr. Xi has some free time, bring him home for dinner. What kind of mess is this?!”
“Alright! Don’t be mad anymore! It’s not worth hurting yourself over!”

Shen Tingxia delivered this line with more melody than sincerity.
The door slammed shut with a loud “BANG!”, cutting off anything else she might have said.

The apartment plunged into sudden silence. Shen Tingxia finally let out a breath, collapsing onto the sofa. Slumping back, she muttered, “Karma sure works fast…”

Xi Chengnan, hearing this, looked at her and laughed.

Shen Tingxia turned her head to look at him too. Meeting his eyes, remembering her mother’s wildly different treatment of them, she pouted. “So true what they say: a mother-in-law dotes on her son-in-law.” Reality be damned.
“So, Dr. Xi,” she drawled, “when will you have time to come home with me and meet your adoring mother-in-law?”

Xi Chengnan was unfazed. He’d work around her schedule. “Sooner or later? What do you prefer?”
“I’m easy.”

In that case, sooner was better. Combining it with Shen Tingxia’s weekend, Xi Chengnan suggested, “How about Sunday evening?”
Sunday was an early shift; barring emergencies, he should be free in the evening.

Shen Tingxia thought for a moment. Her weekend was clear. “Alright. Don’t worry about buying gifts. I know what my parents like.”
Knowing their preferences was key.

Xi Chengnan didn’t argue. “Fine.”

A moment later, Shen Tingxia sat up straight, adopting a serious tone. “Now that both your family and mine know, there’s no need for us to tiptoe around anymore.”

Xi Chengnan sensed trouble brewing. He narrowed his eyes. “What are you planning?”
“We need to discuss our living arrangements. You saw for yourself – my mom can just show up here. To avoid blowing our cover, it’s best if we live together. What do you think?”

Xi Chengnan shrugged. “No objections.”
“Your place or mine?”

Despite phrasing it as a question, Shen Tingxia immediately launched into her analysis: “Your place is closer to the hospital and my office. I can sleep in longer, and traffic’s lighter. Plus, you cook. Your kitchen is well-equipped; mine’s tiny, I never cook, and I barely have any utensils. Your place is bigger than mine. If we lived here, you’d be cramped, and I’d constantly worry about my mom showing up unexpectedly and ruining our rhythm. So, all things considered, your place makes more sense.”

Xi Chengnan remained indifferent. Since she’d laid it out so clearly, he simply agreed. “Hmm. My place then.”
“Dare I ask… do you have a mortgage?”
“No.”

Xi Chengnan’s parents had contributed a portion to his apartment; he’d covered the rest himself.
Of course, the money hadn’t come solely from his salary. A few years ago, he wasn’t making much. He’d earned it through stock speculation and investments. Combined with returns from other financial products, buying an apartment outright hadn’t been a problem, especially since prices were lower back then.
He still dabbled in stocks, funds, investments – mostly profitably.
Luo Jichen often called him an overachiever; this was probably how he did it. Any spare time not spent on his specialty was spent absorbing miscellaneous knowledge, broadening his skills and perspective.
If he hadn’t become a doctor, he could have thrived elsewhere, likely earning significantly more. But he’d chosen his calling.

Hearing he was mortgage-free, Shen Tingxia let out an impressed, slightly envious “Tsk tsk.” She confessed, “I have a mortgage. Seven thousand a month. But don’t worry,” she added quickly, “I won’t ask you to help. My salary covers it easily.”
Her parents had paid the down payment on her place; she handled the repayments.

With the living situation settled, the rest was easier.
Shen Tingxia outlined her plan to Xi Chengnan.
She intended to move her things over soon, then rent out her apartment. She offered to split the rental income with him.

Xi Chengnan said it wasn’t necessary; she should keep it to help with her mortgage payments.
Shen Tingxia didn’t pretend to refuse – fake politeness was too hypocritical for her. Xi Chengnan wasn’t petty, so she proposed a compromise: she’d cover whatever household items his place needed.
Xi Chengnan didn’t argue this time either. “Fine.”

Shen Tingxia made one more request: “I need a parking space. Doesn’t have to be bought; rented is fine. Is that a problem for Dr. Xi?”
Xi Chengnan was accommodating: “I’ll handle it.”

This was the first time Shen Tingxia felt Xi Chengnan was decisively straightforward.
She’d encountered men who, when faced with a request, would hem and haw, offer convoluted excuses, reluctantly agree, and then criticize endlessly – radiating weak masculinity. Thankfully, Xi Chengnan wasn’t like that.

Shen Tingxia thought for another moment. “Last request. Once we live together, I hope we can maintain the status quo. Simply put, two homes become two rooms. We do it together, but we don’t sleep together. I think it’s perfect. Our schedules are different; this way, we don’t disturb each other. Sound okay?”

The living room fell abruptly silent. Xi Chengnan didn’t answer immediately.
He simply stared at Shen Tingxia, his gaze intense and unreadable.

Shen Tingxia started to feel self-conscious under his scrutiny. She touched her face, breaking the silence. “Something on my face?”

Xi Chengnan suddenly quirked a corner of his mouth, letting out a low, derisive chuckle from deep in his chest. “Shen Tingxia, is this how you take advantage of someone?”
She wanted to freeload off his apartment and his body, while he got precisely zero benefits in return.

“I did offer to split the rent with you earlier,” Shen Tingxia retorted, fully understanding his implication but choosing to play dumb. “You said no. Changed your mind?” She adopted a magnanimous tone. “No problem. I’ll give you a chance to reconsider.”

Xi Chengnan scoffed dismissively. “Unnecessary. We’ll do it your way.”
“Anything else to add?”
“Nope. That’s it.” Shen Tingxia tapped her phone screen: 23:24. She held it up for Xi Chengnan to see. “Dr. Xi, it’s late. Time for you to head home and rest.”

Xi Chengnan had no habit of staying overnight at her place. He left without complaint.
At least it’s Friday, no work tomorrow. My car’s still parked near his building…

Shen Tingxia dawdled for another half hour before finally dragging herself to shower and get ready for bed.

After blow-drying her hair and applying a face mask, Shen Tingxia lay down. Something suddenly occurred to her. She grabbed her phone and typed a message into the pinned group chat titled “Share the Blessings, Flee the Trouble” – a trio with her two closest friends.

【Sisters, gotta come clean about something】

Fang Jing was a full-time mom. At past midnight, she was probably asleep.
Ye Xuan was a night owl. Definitely awake.

Sure enough, within two minutes, Ye Xuan replied:
【What’s up?】

Shen Tingxia tagged Fang Jing:
[@IWantPeace Jing, you asleep?】

IWantPeace (Fang Jing):
【Nope, waiting for you to finish your sentence… but you stopped typing…】
【What’s going on?】

St (Shen Tingxia):
【I accidentally… got a certificate】

FireChild (Ye Xuan):
【What kind of certificate?】

IWantPeace:
【What kind of certificate?】
【Since when do you talk in riddles?】

Shen Tingxia snorted and typed back three utterly mundane characters:
【Marriage certificate】

IWantPeace:
【Jaw-dropping.gif】

FireChild:
【Quietly pulling off the big moves! That’s our Xia Jie for you!】

IWantPeace:
【Which poor guy was unlucky enough to run into a little demon like you?】

FireChild:
【Who’s the guy? Do we know him?】

Shen Tingxia didn’t hide it:
【Yeah, you know him. Dr. Xi Chengnan】

The other two were the only people in the world who knew about her history with Xi Chengnan. They bombarded her with questions. Shen Tingxia gave them the gist of why they’d gotten married.

As the conversation flowed, Fang Jing asked a question that gave even Shen Tingxia pause:

IWantPeace:
【Speaking of which… how did you two even become… friends with benefits in the first place?】