How Can a Construction Foreman Be the Public Girlfriend of a Top Celebrity? - Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Marriage Registration and a Bloody Twist
When they arrived at the counter, the clerk glanced up and down at the dirty and disheveled Zheng Ling with thinly veiled contempt.
“Number 371, right? Did you bring your ID?” the clerk asked stiffly.
“Yes.” Zheng Ling handed over her ID. “I brought it.”
The staff member pinched the corner of the card as if it were contaminated and placed it on the verification machine. “Look here.” He tapped the camera above the scanner with a fingernail.
“Don’t need a household registration book?” Zheng Ling asked. It was her first time getting married, so she wasn’t familiar with the process.
“That was ages ago. Now everything’s facial recognition,” the clerk replied impatiently, the sound of his typing getting louder.
He turned and called out, “Number 431? 431 still not here?”
“Nope, probably chickened out,” a coworker in line replied.
Once Zheng Ling’s face verification passed, the large screen in the hall displayed her ID info and a blurred photo of her assigned marriage partner.
The matched man looked bulky and oddly shaped, with “Loyalty to the Nation” tattooed across his neck. His listed profession was car mechanic—he also had a criminal record.
Zheng Ling held her breath and silently prayed that he wouldn’t show up.
“431? Still not here?” the clerk called out again, louder this time.
Shu Xuan also turned at the voice, catching a glimpse of the screen showing Zheng Ling and her assigned match. They looked like people from two completely different worlds. Shu Xuan sighed, not sure what kind of match she would be given.
At 25, not being able to choose your own marriage partner left her with a deep sense of helplessness.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang from outside.
“Holy sh1t! Ahhhh!”
“Someone jumped!”
Bl00d was dripping from the tree outside, the metallic stench quickly spreading through the stuffy air.
The hall erupted into chaos, people screaming and backing away in a panic.
The body had landed in a tree, a broken branch piercing clean through from groin to skull. Intestines and other organs spilled from the body, bl00d splattered across the glass doors. The scene was horrific.
Security quickly moved in to restore order. They were used to it. After confirming the person had no vital signs, the staff grabbed shovels and buckets to handle the corpse like cleaning up a slaughtered chicken—completely numb.
Hearing the commotion, Zheng Ling turned around. From her seat, she had a direct view of the hanging body. The tattoo on the man’s neck matched 431’s profile photo exactly. Shu Xuan stood not far off, frozen in place, her expression uneasy.
Zheng Ling walked over to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Shu Xuan replied, voice steady but hands trembling.
Zheng Ling looked into her eyes, just about to offer comfort when chatter erupted nearby.
“Wait, isn’t that the guy from the screen?” someone said.
“Yeah, yeah,” chimed in a skinny young man in a tight shirt and loafers. “Bet he saw who he was matched with on the screen and just jumped. Hahaha!”
“If I got matched with a construction foreman, I’d jump too. I mean, come on—” another pig-faced man started, but Zheng Ling cut him off.
“Get lost.” Her glare was razor sharp. “Look at yourself. You’re no prize either.”
The men fell silent, not daring to meet her eyes.
The clerk, unfazed, kept typing away like a robot. “Number 371, step up. We’ll assign you a new partner.”
Outside, the corpse was still being cleaned up. No one cared why the man jumped—everyone only cared about their own match.
Shu Xuan felt suffocated. The air still reeked of bl00d. She pulled on her mask.
On the screen, the matching process restarted.
“Can I choose who I marry?” Zheng Ling asked, staring at the scrolling numbers.
The clerk rolled his eyes. “Are you dreaming?”
Zheng Ling fell silent.
Shu Xuan also stared at the screen, curious to see who Zheng Ling would get this time.
Ding—
Match successful.
Number 577.
Zheng Ling’s previously dull eyes lit up. “577? Really?”
The clerk ignored her and shouted, “577, are you here?”
Shu Xuan’s profile appeared on the screen. Under ‘Occupation,’ it said: Actress.
Hearing her number, Shu Xuan walked lightly to the counter. She had actually been matched with Zheng Ling?
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
“Oh my god, it’s Shu Xuan! It’s really her!”
“Quick! Take photos!”
“Damn it, why didn’t I get matched with someone like her?” the skinny young man pouted.
A woman next to him caught on. “Wait a second, isn’t Zheng Ling just a construction foreman?”
“A foreman and a celebrity? Hahaha.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be a nightmare? My idol-chasing friend said no one dares to marry her.”
Zheng Ling wasn’t listening. Her brain was buzzing.
She suddenly remembered—Shu Xuan was that hot actress everyone was talking about! And earlier, she had mistaken her for a teacher. She wanted to bury herself in embarrassment.
A gossip reporter who had photographed Shu Xuan getting off a cement truck earlier sneaked inside, snapping pictures of the censored screen and immediately sending them to their agency.
Shu Xuan sat next to Zheng Ling and removed her mask for face verification. Her flawless features sparkled even under the dim lighting. The oppressive air cleared instantly.
It was Zheng Ling’s first time this close to such a beautiful woman—she was momentarily dazed.
“Miss Shu,” the clerk’s attitude flipped. “Would you like to be reassigned?”
“No need,” Shu Xuan replied coolly, her voice like spring water.
Wait, didn’t the clerk just say reassignments weren’t allowed? The crowd buzzed again. Celebrities really were different. The rules never seemed to apply to them.
Strangely though, Shu Xuan had the privilege but wasn’t using it. What kind of star marries a construction worker?
“No trouble at all,” the clerk tried again, sucking up. “I can reassign you easily.”
Zheng Ling felt uneasy. “Maybe you should,” she said. “I’m just some roughneck from a construction site. We’re not even from the same world. This is for life, after all.”
Shu Xuan tilted her head slightly, her gaze soft and warm. “Let’s follow the rules.”
The clerk dropped the smile and started typing noisily.
“Sign here. Then head to the second floor to get your marriage certificate,” he said, handing them two forms.
…
By the time they finished, the spot where number 431 had jumped had already been cleaned up.
Standing at the exit, the constant stream of couples continued lining up to get married. No one smiled. No one paid attention to the two women who had just tied the knot.
“You could’ve changed your match,” Zheng Ling said.
Shu Xuan had already put her mask back on. “I follow the law.”
And with that, she walked off. There was none of the joy of newlyweds between them.
“Where are you going? I can give you a ride,” Zheng Ling offered, slipping the marriage certificate into her pocket.
Shu Xuan stood at the curb trying to hail a taxi, but no cars stopped.
“What? Already too good for my cement truck?” Zheng Ling joked.
Without replying, Shu Xuan pulled out her phone to call a ride. “I have things to do. I’ll contact you later.”
“Add me on WeChat?” Zheng Ling tilted her head. Shu Xuan always had an elusive air about her—it was hard to figure her out.
“Mm.”
They added each other. Shu Xuan’s ride arrived. Without looking back, she got in and left.
Zheng Ling started up her noisy cement truck. No need to go to the worksite today. She drove straight home.
Halfway, her mom called.
“You got married?” Her mother, in the middle of a spa, had just gotten the government notification.
“Yep.” Zheng Ling casually turned the wheel. Her parents lived in Jiangcheng. She was in Nancheng alone.
Her mom wasn’t surprised. “I had someone lined up for you! But you’re always too busy. Now you don’t even get to choose.”
“What’s the other person like? Man or woman?”
“A very pretty woman,” Zheng Ling replied, trying to hold back a smile. “Don’t worry about me.”
Her mom peeled off a face mask and started nagging. “Don’t worry? How can I not prepare the dowry for you?”
“I’m telling you, even if it’s a woman, you better be the one on top! Our family only raises strong women!”
“Mom! That’s disgusting! I’m still a girl!” Zheng Ling was so horrified she almost rear-ended someone.
“Girl? You’re 25! Grow up! I already ordered five boxes of toys for you. Use them up within a year and give me a grandchild.”
Zheng Ling was speechless. “Mom, if you keep this up, I’m reincarnating.”
“Oh right, you need to wait a year after registering before getting the fertility injection for same-s3x couples,” her mom added. “Bring her home soon. We’ll throw a wedding.”
Zheng Ling hung up and parked the cement truck in her villa garage.
Just as she stepped out, she got a message from her friend A-Liao.
[Shu Xuan? Since when did you start chasing celebs?]
[She was the top liberal arts student in our year from Jiangcheng! You didn’t know?]
Now Zheng Ling remembered—her parents used to constantly compare her to Shu Xuan. Everyone in town knew her. When she got into Tsinghua University, the school hung banners for months. But they had never actually crossed paths.
Zheng Ling opened WeChat and checked Shu Xuan’s profile.
“Tsk, no Moments?” She closed the app. Shu Xuan said she’d contact her later, but nothing yet?
After showering and eating, it was already 8 p.m.
She rode her motorcycle to a paper offering shop, bought incense and paper, and headed back to the marriage hall.
Normally, marriage halls are full of pink fluff and happiness. This one felt more like a funeral home. Maybe it was Nancheng’s landscaping, but those eerie green spotlights under the trees gave her chills.
Zheng Ling shivered and walked to the spot where number 431 had jumped. She laid out a metal basin, lit the paper offerings and incense.
“Sigh. I never met you, but I hope you rest in peace.”
“I guess we were kind of fated…”
She talked for a while. Then came a rustling noise not far off.
As the last of the ash floated away, she suddenly looked up.
In the eerie green light stood a figure—part human, part ghost. It wore a white dress, hair hanging loose, and its face was completely black, without features.
“Ahhhhh! A ghost!” Zheng Ling screamed, grabbing the burnt paper to throw at the “ghost.”
Yellow paper flew everywhere. The scene was horrifying.
“Zheng Ling, it’s me.” The ghost’s voice floated softly.
Hearing her name, Zheng Ling’s eyes rolled back and she fainted on the spot.
Shu Xuan was stunned. She rushed over and slapped Zheng Ling twice.
Zheng Ling coughed and opened her eyes. Shu Xuan had taken off her black mask.
Seeing her, Zheng Ling smiled like a goof. “Hehe~ it’s my wife?”
Shu Xuan looked at her with a deadpan face: “…”