Better Than Summer: A Marriage Before Love Romance - Chapter 24

Where To? Divorce? The Civil Affairs Bureau…

The temperature in Puxi dropped slightly in mid-to-late April, with rain forecast for several consecutive days.

During lunch, Shen Tingxia received a call from her mother: “Your aunt broke her arm. Go see her after work.”
Shen Tingxia frowned. “How did she fall?”
Qu Xianglan briefly explained: she was knocked down by an electric scooter while watching her grandson. She fell, fracturing her arm and scraping her legs. Now admitted to the Orthopedics Department at Zhongshan Hospital, she hadn’t yet reduced the swelling, so surgery wouldn’t be scheduled until next week.
“Alright, I’ll go after work. Who’s taking care of her now?”
Shen Tingxia’s aunt, Qu Xiangru, had divorced her first husband when their daughter was fifteen. Aunt’s daughter, Liu Siqi, was five years older than Tingxia, divorced, and lived with her son. The three of them formed a household of three generations. Though not wealthy, they were happy.
Liu Siqi worked as a director in a private firm and was usually very busy. Aunt looked after her grandson at home. Now that Aunt was injured, her daughter was busy, and her grandson had just started kindergarten, there was practically no one to care for her.
“I’m at the hospital during the day. After picking Nao Nao up from school in the afternoon, I bring him to our house. During that time, there’s not much happening with your aunt. Your sister will come after she gets off work.”
“Can’t you hire a caregiver?”
“Why hire a caregiver? I’m free anyway, I can take care of your aunt.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll go after work.”
Qu Xianglan told Shen Tingxia the specific floor and ward number before hanging up.
Shen Tingxia looked at the two younger colleagues sitting opposite her staring blankly. “Why are you looking at me? Eat up. Finish and get back to work. We’ll leave early today.”
Zhuang Wenshu and Zhao Xuning exchanged a knowing glance, smiled, glanced at Shen Tingxia again, then lowered their heads to eat.

By evening, a light drizzle was falling from the sky. By the time they finished the day’s tasks, it was already 6:30 PM. Shen Tingxia drove straight to the hospital, carrying snacks, drinks, and dinner. She headed directly for the orthopedics ward.
Entering the ward, Shen Tingxia saw her aunt. Carrying the things, she walked over. “Aunt.”
Qu Xiangru, with only one arm mobile, still looked warmly at her. “Tingxia, you’re here!”
Qu Xianglan took the things from Shen Tingxia. “Tangtang just left to have dinner with friends.”
Shen Tingxia set out the dinner she brought. “I only brought food for Aunt. Mom, you can go home to eat later.”
Qu Xianglan had planned to go home for dinner anyway, so she didn’t object. But she brought up the surgery.
“Tingxia, could you ask Cheng Nan to find an expert or chief surgeon to do the operation for your aunt?”
“The doctors here are all excellent. Surely Aunt’s assigned doctor can do it. Why change?” Shen Tingxia was puzzled.
Qu Xianglan glanced at the other patients in the ward, leaned closer to Shen Tingxia, and whispered, “Back in the day, we had no connections at the hospital, so we had to take whichever doctor was assigned. But it’s different now! We have connections. Why not ask for an expert? It’s just a word from him!”
Shen Tingxia widened her eyes at her mother. That’s how you use connections?
Bringing this up made Qu Xianglan realize there was something she hadn’t told her sister. She suddenly sat back down on the hospital bed and launched into a tirade: “Sister, do you know how infuriating this daughter of mine is?”
“What about Tingxia?”
“A few days ago, she asked me for the household register, saying she needed it for a passport. Guess what? She used it to get a marriage license! Such a huge thing, and she didn’t discuss it with the family at all! She just did it! The key is, we haven’t even met the other person! Isn’t that infuriating?”
Qu Xiangru didn’t react as strongly. She looked at Shen Tingxia, smiling warmly. “Tingxia’s a girl with her own mind. She’s not impulsive. Since she got married, she must have thought it through carefully. Even if she discussed it with you, could you have stopped her? Siqi didn’t discuss her divorce with me either, did she?”
Shen Tingxia listened quietly while they talked.
She hadn’t expected her aunt to be so understanding.
But her mother was still trying to get her aunt on her side with her own arguments. Shen Tingxia didn’t want to hear more. She interrupted her mother: “You two chat.”
“Hey, hey, where are you going?” Qu Xianglan called after her.
“I’m going to find you those connections!”
With that, Shen Tingxia left the ward.

Before going upstairs, she called Xi Cheng Nan, but heard a cold female voice telling her his phone was switched off. Knowing him this long, calling him so many times, he rarely switched off his phone.
Putting her phone away, Shen Tingxia pressed the elevator button for an upward journey.
Arriving at the 17th-floor nurse’s station, she asked the duty nurse: “Excuse me, is Dr. Xi in?”
The nurse clearly recognized her and answered warmly: “Dr. Xi is still in surgery. You can wait for him in his office.”
“Thank you.”
Shen Tingxia walked familiarly to the office. It was empty. She sat down at Xi Cheng Nan’s desk and saw a can of cola. Unlike last time, it now had a sticky note on it saying: Poisonous. Do not drink.
She wasn’t sure if it was the same can she’d left there before.
Shen Tingxia ignored it. She peeled off the note, stuck it on the edge of Xi Cheng Nan’s computer monitor, pulled the tab, and took a few sips.
The dark bubbles burst in her mouth, making her palate feel refreshed. Iced would have been even better.
Looking at the words on the note, Shen Tingxia smiled. Was he warning others not to touch his cola, or reminding himself not to drink soda? Besides, who would be fooled by such a childish trick at their age?

Surgery ended. Xi Cheng Nan came out of the changing room holding his dead phone. As he neared the nurse’s station, he ran into the department director. He greeted him: “Dr. Zhao.”
Zhao Zhenhong responded, “Hey,” then seemed to remember something. He grabbed Xi Cheng Nan’s arm, pushed his glasses up, and said: “Cheng Nan, has your mother been introducing you to girls again? Your teacher’s wife has a colleague with a daughter around your age. She seems quite good, all things considered. If you’re interested, come over for dinner sometime. I’ll introduce you.”
Xi Cheng Nan declined politely: “No need, teacher. I’m married.”
He had never intended to hide his marital status; he just didn’t feel the need to announce it to everyone like a lunatic. But now, he felt it necessary.
As expected, Xi Cheng Nan saw the shock on his teacher’s face. “When did that happen?! You rascal! You handled such a big event so quietly! Old Xi didn’t even tell me!”
Xi Cheng Nan said casually, “They’re probably too busy.”
He couldn’t very well tell his teacher that his own parents also didn’t know he was married yet.
“Alright! Settling the big life issue means I don’t have to worry anymore. Bring your wife to the house sometime. Let her try your teacher’s wife’s cooking.”
“Okay, I’ll bring her to visit you and teacher’s wife another day.”
Xi Cheng Nan’s words were barely out when the nurse who had been eavesdropping at the station called out: “Dr. Xi, someone was looking for you earlier. They’re waiting in your office.”
Hearing this, Xi Cheng Nan said to his teacher, “Teacher, I’ll go now.”
“Don’t always treat the hospital like home. Understand your family more, spend more time with your wife. Alright, go on.”
Xi Cheng Nan nodded to his teacher and turned to leave for his office.
Meanwhile, the nurse who had heard all the gossip instantly shared the explosive news “Dr. Xi is MARRIED!” in their group chat.
Almost instantly, the group chat exploded.

When Xi Cheng Nan reached his office door, he saw a long-haired woman sitting at his desk, legs crossed, back pressed against the chair, casually drinking a can of diet coke.
He never expected it to be Shen Tingxia.
Xi Cheng Nan walked over. Only when he got closer did he see the sticky note Luo Jichen had deliberately placed on the cola can now stuck to the side of his computer monitor.
He casually peeled it off and threw it in the trash. “Not afraid it’s poisonous?”
Shen Tingxia looked up at him, a smile in her eyes, and asked lazily, “If it is poisonous, does it count as murder?”
Xi Chengnan smiled faintly. “No. Suicide. Remember to replace my can.” (The cola was meant for him; her drinking it was just wrong).
“What, planning a lovers’ suicide pact with me?” (殉情 – xùnqíng – refers to lovers committing suicide together, often romanticized).
Xi Cheng Nan couldn’t help but lightly tap her forehead. “What on earth goes on in that head of yours!”
Shen Tingxia dodged, rubbing her forehead, trying not to laugh but still unable to resist: “Thinking of you!”
Xi Cheng Nan snorted derisively; he really couldn’t see any evidence of that.
He leaned down close to her ear, a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, and whispered three words that instantly made Shen Tingxia blush from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, rendering her speechless. (The implication is he said something very intimate/sexual like “Thinking of you too” or “Thinking of that”, contrasting her teasing).
Looking at her flushed face, Xi Cheng Nan stopped teasing her and asked seriously: “What are you doing here?”
Shen Tingxia hadn’t yet recovered from Xi Cheng Nan’s three words. It was the first time she’d heard him speak so bluntly and explicitly about such matters, especially in such a public setting. She had assumed someone as proper as Xi Cheng Nan wouldn’t talk like that. Shows you can’t judge by appearances.
But the more she thought about it, the more her heart itched.
Only when Xi Cheng Nan snapped his fingers in front of her and said, “What are you thinking about?” did she snap out of it.
Shen Tingxia couldn’t tell the truth. She also remembered him rejecting her advances a few days ago, though the “revenge” strategy she’d devised hadn’t been used yet, and she hadn’t felt like implementing it recently.
She set aside the messy thoughts in her head and got to the point: “My aunt broke her arm. She’s in orthopedics downstairs. My mom’s idea is to use your connections to find a chief surgeon or expert to do her operation. While I privately would like a more experienced doctor, if it puts you in a difficult position, you can refuse. It’s fine.”
“Who’s the attending doctor?” Xi Cheng Nan asked.
Shen Tingxia thought for a moment; she seemed to have seen the doctor’s name on the bedside card. “Tai something Jun.”
“Dr. Tai is the head of Orthopedic Surgery.”
Hearing this, Shen Tingxia felt a wave of relief wash over her. Not having to call in a favor felt wonderful.
Seeing her relax, Xi Cheng Nan asked again: “You came up just to ask me this?”
“I called you, but your phone was off. My mom and aunt were criticizing me for getting married without telling her. Coming up was also a way to escape the lecture.” Shen Tingxia’s voice softened, the smile vanishing completely from her face.
Xi Cheng Nan pulled his phone out of his white coat pocket and placed it on the desk. “Died and shut off.”
Shen Tingxia just said, “Oh,” seemingly indifferent. Then, with an apologetic tone, she said: “Probably soon, all my relatives will know we’re married. If this causes you trouble or inconvenience, I’m very sorry. That wasn’t my intention. If you don’t want to continue like this, we can dissolve the marriage. After that, if you want to keep seeing me, we can go back to how we were before. If you don’t want to, that’s also fine. I’ll just find another partner.” (The last sentence was spoken very softly).
Her tone implied she realized she’d underestimated the complexity of marriage – it was never just about two people. The chain reaction was becoming uncontrollable, and she didn’t know what might happen next.
Crucially, Xi Cheng Nan was innocent. He shouldn’t have to bear this. Shen Tingxia disliked being troubled by others, disliked troubling others, and especially disliked being the source of trouble for others.
Xi Cheng Nan frowned silently as he listened. He felt Shen Tingxia was very different today. This downcast version of her was unfamiliar. Her sudden seriousness left him feeling somewhat at a loss, as if the Shen Tingxia he knew shouldn’t be like this. But did he truly understand the real Shen Tingxia?
Though their marriage had begun absurdly, Xi Cheng Nan reflected that he had never actually contemplated its end.
Was it just because he hadn’t had time to think about it, or was it something else? He didn’t know.
“Giving up already?”
Shen Tingxia raised her lowered head, frowning slightly. “It’s not about giving up, Xi Cheng Nan. If I cause you a lot of unnecessary trouble, I’ll feel very guilty. You shouldn’t have to bear this.”
Unwilling to let her dwell on it, Xi Cheng Nan moved. “Let’s go.”
Shen Tingxia didn’t move. “Where? Divorce? The Civil Affairs Bureau closed hours ago.”
Her off-the-cuff remark made Xi Cheng Nan laugh. “Shen Tingxia, when you encounter a problem, you solve the problem. What good is running away?”
Shen Tingxia pouted and said nothing. (Escape may be shameful, but it’s useful – 逃避可耻但有用 – Tao Bi Ke Chi Dan You Yong – is the title of a famous Japanese drama, implying her thought process).
“And besides,” Xi Cheng Nan continued, “did I ever say it was trouble?”
Shen Tingxia looked up into his eyes. “If it were me, I’d find it a huge pain.”
It was after hours. The duty doctor wasn’t there. The large office held only the two of them. Xi Cheng Nan looked down, meeting her large, watery eyes. That pitiful look made him unable to resist reaching out and ruffling her hair. Her soft, smooth hair felt light against his palm.
He gave a soft “Hmm,” took off his white coat, and finished his earlier sentence: “I don’t feel troubled. Come on, let’s go downstairs to see your aunt.”