After the game ended, Jian Ran exited the matching queue, picked up the phone next to the computer, and glanced at the message notification.
Boss Mother: Tomorrow is Chinese Valentine’s Day, you and him should go get your marriage certificate.
Jian Ranranran:[Old man in the subway looking at his phone.jpg]
Boss Mother: Do you have his WeChat?
Jian Ranranran: Nope.
Boss Mother: [The other party recommended someone to you: (.R)]
He is your fiancé after all, and he’s also a pretty handsome guy. You should try chatting with him a little bit more to cultivate your relationship.
Jiab Ranranran: [Smile.jpg]
Jian Ran, who just turned 19, is an ordinary sophomore. Just a month ago, he was suddenly told that he would be getting married to a member of the the Ren family, the Jian family’s largest business partner, in place of his cousin who had escaped the marriage and had fled abroad.
At first, Jian Ran had refused. Although same-sex marriage had been legalized eight hundred years ago, he identified as a straight male who was straighter than steel and had no interest at all in homosexuality.
Helplessly, the elders of the Jian family took turns giving him cars and houses. Grandpa Jian even vowed that as long as he agreed to the marriage, he would give him 10% of the shares.
Jian Ran spinelessly gave in under various threats and bribes but mainly bribes.
Nonsense, who would be so stupid as to say no to money? Anyway, there are more and more couples like them in the wealthy circle who are in a marriage of convenience, and less and less who marry out of genuine affection. Nine dollars for a marriage certificate in exchange for luxury cars, mansions and shares? – what a good deal!
Jian Ran stared at the WeChat business card his mother had pushed onto him, recalled the feeling of driving a new sports car, and happily sent a friend request to the other party.
Boss Mother: [You need to send a friend request and wait for the other party to approve it.]
After Jian Ran pressed send he ignored it and started another game.
After playing the game for half an hour, when Jian Ran looked at his phone again and saw that he had received a prompt saying :[“The other party has denied your friend request.”]
Jian Ran: ???
Jian Ran silently chanted, “Harmony brings wealth” and typed: It’s me, Jian Ran.
This time, the other party responded quickly: Who?
…your father!
Jian Ran gritted his teeth and typed: Your fiancé, please accept the friend request.
A few seconds later, the other party accepted Jian Ran’s friend request.
Jian Ran didn’t waste any words, he didn’t even say hello, and said directly, :My mother asked me to go and get the marriage certificate with you tomorrow.
.R: what a coincidence, my mother asked me to do the same thing.
Jian Ran: Then see you at the entrance of the Tianhe District Civil Affairs Bureau at 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon?
.R: …
.R: I’m not in Guangzhou.
Jian Ran then remembered that the Ren family seemed to be based in Beijing?
The marriage certificate must be placed at the place of residence of one of the two parties. Although Jian Ran has never been married before, he still has this common sense.
Now they had two choices, either Jian Ran goes to Beijing, or Mr. R comes to Guangzhou.
Jian Ran made his choice without hesitation.
Jian Ranranran: Come to Guangzhou, I will reimburse you for the air ticket.
.R: Can’t come.
Jian Ranranran:?
.R: I broke my leg while dancing.
Jian Ranranran:…
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
You can actually break your leg while dancing? Are you serious?
Yea bo rswqjats obg atf vlrjyifv, Aljc Ejc gfiemajcais jugffv ab ub ab Dflplcu ab ufa atf mfgalolmjaf.
.R: Let’s meet at three o’clock in the afternoon at Dongcheng District Civil Affairs Bureau.
Jian ranranran: ok.
Aljc Ejc delmxis ybbxfv j oiluta ab Dflplcu. Ccskjs, tlr eclnfgrlas kjr jirb lc Dflplcu jcv atfgf kjr ralii j wbcat ifoa yfobgf rmtbbi rajgafv. Lf vfmlvfv, joafg atf wjaafg kjr vbcf, tf’v pera rajs atfgf jcv mgjrt ja tlr mbiifuf gbbwwjaf’r qijmf obg j wbcat ecali rmtbbi rajgar jujlc. Rb qgbyifw.
After making up his mind, Jian Ran pulled out his roommate’s WeChat account.
Jian RanRanRan: Is it okay if I stay at your place for a month?
Shen Zixiao: No problem, the room rate is 1,000 yuan per day.
Jian RanRanRan: Fvck off! Couldn’t I just go stay in a hotel if I wanted to pay a thousand yuan per day?
Shen Zixiao: My home is much better than a hotel. What does [You’re hiding your skin] mean?
Jian RanRanRan: What It means is, you can just forget it and get lost!
Shen Zixiao: You Cantonese people speak really strangely. When are you coming?
Jian Ranran: Tomorrow, I want the largest guest room, thank you. [Bows in thanks]
Shen Zixiao: Should I pick you up at the airport?
Jian RanRanRan: No need, I have something to do, and I’ll go straight to your house when I’m done.
Shen Zixiao: [Washed up and waiting for you.jpg]
Jian Ran called his mother again to report his travel plans.
Mother Jian was not very happy after hearing this.
“You’ve only been home for a short time, and you haven’t even spent any time with your mother yet. Why are you leaving already?”
Jian Ran said casually, “Isn’t it normal to go on a honeymoon with your husband after getting your marriage certificate? Besides, you and dad aren’t home everyday, so I can’t accompany you even if I wanted to.
Mother Jian, “Sigh, a son who is married off is like spilled water. Do you still have some money?”
Jian Ran, “I still have some.”
Mother Jian, “Mom will give you another 500,000 yuan. Be generous when you’re with your husband. Don’t let the Ren family look down on our Jian family.”
Jian Ran: “…Okay.”
The next day, Jian Ran was taken to the airport by the driver. As a college student who was about to get married, he was actually very calm.
It wasn’t just him, but the entire Jian family and the Ren family were also very calm. What the elders of the two families meant was that getting the marriage certificate was a matter between the two young couple, and they wouldn’t get involved too much. However when the couple’s wedding came, they would hold a grand ceremony to let everyone know the unbreakable friendship between the Jian and Ren family.
On such a happy day as when he was going to get his marriage certificate, Jian Ran was dressed casually in a blue T-shirt and khaki work shorts while carrying a backpack and dragging a suitcase in one hand. It was obviously an ordinary outfit, but when he passed by a group of flight attendents, the eyes of several young girls standing next to the male flight attendants were firmly locked on him, as if the handsome and stylish flight attendants did not exist.
Jian Ran knew that the girls were peeking at him, so he stopped and looked back. Suddenly, those girls stopped looking at him and instantly turned on their aloof mode, looking down at their phones as if nothing had happened.
Jian Ran smiled secretly – girls, what lovely creatures.
After getting off the plane, Jian Ran took a taxi directly to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
When he arrived at the destination, he was dumbfounded. He swore that he had never seen such a long line in his life.
Most of the people waiting in line to get their marriage certificates are heterosexual couples, and there are only two or three same-sex couples. There are several flower shops and photo studios around the Civil Affairs Bureau, which can be said to be a one-stop service.
It was a hot summer day, and Jian Ran started sweating as soon as he got out of the car. He didn’t stand stupidly under the sun, but went to the convenience store next to him to buy a cup of iced Coke-a-cola . While waiting to pay, he sent a WeChat message to his fiancé.
Jian RanRanRan: [sent location] Where are you?
.R: Here.
Jian Ran walked out of the convenience store, looked around for a long time, and suddenly realized a problem.
Fuck, he doesn’t even know what that guy surnamed Ren looks like!
Jian RanRanRan: What are you wearing?
.R: White T-shirt and black pants.
Jian Ran looked around again, finally his eyes locked on one person.
Wearing a white T-shirt and black pants, he was sitting alone on the roadside in a wheelchair.
Bingo, this guy seems very in line with the description.
Except, Jian Ran’s expression slowly froze.
…Wait, didn’t they say that that guy surnamed Ren is a handsome guy? However this guy had a hairline so high that he looked like he was from the Qing Dynasty if he put his hair into a ponytail. Who is this person with a belly that looks like it has three layers of fat? Mom, is your aesthetic really normal?!
Jian Ran took a deep breath, and felt that every cell in his body was screaming in rejection.
Even if he doesn’t take this marriage seriously, don’t test him like this! When Jian Ran thought about taking wedding photos and holding a wedding with this person in the future, he almost suffocated!
He drank a half a cup of Coke clean in one breath, and walked towards his “fiancé” step by step with a fearless attitude.
“I…” Jian Ran looked at the man’s broad forehead, and hesitated to speak, “I’m Jian Ran.”
The “fiancé” raised his head and looked up at him in confusion.
Jian Ran said with a stiff upper lip: “So uh… let’s make it quick and easy, should I push you over?”
The fiancé was confused, “What the hell?”
Jian Ran was confused, “Aren’t we going to get married?”
The “fiancé” looked at him as if he were a fool, muttered “crazy”, and drove away on his wheelchair.
Jian Ran: ???
What’s this situation?
At this moment, a young male voice sounded from behind him, “Jian Ran?”
Jian Ran looked back.
It was a very tall boy, wearing a simple off-shoulder white T-shirt and black trousers. His eyes looked like they were kissed by God, very charming, and an out-and-out anime style handsome guy.
Jian Ran stared at his face for a few seconds and finally asked, “Where’s your wheelchair?”
Didn’t you say you broke your fvcking leg?!
“Hmm? Oh, that?” The boy said slowly, “It’s healed already.”
Jian Ran laughed angrily, “It was still broken yesterday, but it’s fine today?”
The boy showed a “no shame at all for having his lie exposed” expression, and replied “En, …surprise?”
What a surprise! Dad almost died of fright!
Jian Ran raised her middle finger to the boy in his heart and said coldly: “Let’s go line up.”
The boy said calmly, not at all in a hurry, “Someone is holding the line for us. We can get the certificate at any time.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Jian Ran said impatiently, “Let’s finish this and go home early. I have an appointment tonight.”
The boy glanced at the suitcase next to Jian Ran and said lazily, “Let’s go.”
Jian Ran followed the boy directly to the top of the line, where a middle-aged man in his thirties was politely inviting the couple behind him to go in first.
The boy called out, “Brother Xu.”
“Hey, you’re finally here!” The man glanced at Jian Ran and said with a smile, “Is this the young master of the Jian family? I thought the picture was photoshopped, but I didn’t expect the real person to be even more handsome than the photo.”
Jian Ran smiled politely.
The man asked, “Have you brought all your belongings? Your ID card and your household registration?”
Jian Ran replied, “I brought it.”
“Did you also bring your photos?”
Jian Ran and the boy looked at each other and simultaneously replied, “No.”
The boy explained, “We’ve just met ten minutes ago.”
The man was a bit speechless. “Then go take the photo over there. You can get your marriage certificate after you’re done. It’s very quick.”
Most couples prepare their photos in advance, so there were not many people in the photo studio. When they arrived, there was only one couple taking photos because they forgot to bring their photos.
After receiving the photo, the girl seemed very unhappy, with a long face she muttered, “Our original photo was taken at an internet celebrity photo studio, and it took several hours just to edit it. You guys are too perfunctory. Look how big my face is in this photo.”
The shop owner looked helpless and said, “Miss, the Internet celebrity photo studio charges hundreds of yuan per photo, and mine is only 20 yuan. What else do you want? And you’re in such a hurry, I don’t even have time to fix it for you.”
The girl’s eyes turned red and she said aggrievedly, “Then I don’t want such an ugly photo to be posted on my marriage certificate.”
The boy who came with the girl hurriedly pulled the person aside and coaxed her: “Baby, don’t cry. Should I go back and get the photos for you right now?”
“It will be dark by the time you come back…”
“Then let’s get the certificate tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow isn’t Valentine’s Day!”
The shop owner got a headache because of the girl’s noise. When he saw Jian Ran and the other, his eyes lit up, “Are you two also here to take photos?”
Jian Ran nodded, “Wedding photos, the fastest kind, no need to edit.”
The shop owner smiled and said, “Okay, both of you, this way, please.”
When the girl heard the words “no need to edit”, she was slightly stunned. She looked up and saw two handsome guys walking into the studio one after the other and she cried even harder, “I… I also want a face that doesn’t need to be photoshopped!”
Jian Ran and the boy sat side by side in front of the camera, the red cloth behind them was dazzlingly bright.
Jian Ran was depressed to find that the boy was a head taller than him.
In the south, Jian Ran’s height of 1.78 meters was already considered very good, but in the north it was not good enough at all. He could only comfort himself with the regional differences.
It’s rare to see such a good-looking couple. The photographer was very enthusiastic and directed them enthusiastically, “Come closer, yes, yes, closer – don’t be shy!”
Jian Ran: “…You can just shoot it casually, really.”
The photographer seemed like he couldn’t hear him, “Tilt your heads towards each other, raise the corners of your mouth, and imagine your sweet days after marriage…”
Jian Ran stood still. The boy took the initiative to lean forward, until Jian Ran’s shoulder rested against his chest.
With a click, the photographer pressed the shutter button, “A few more photos. Can you smile a little more happily?”
“No need,” Jian Ran stood up, “Just this one is fine.”
The photo was processed very quickly. The photo retoucher was the first to see the photo and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ahhhhh so handsome!”
Jian Ran took a look. The two people in the photo, one was indifferent, the other was casual, it didn’t look like they were taking wedding photos at all.
The boy stared at the photo thoughtfully and said, “There are two words written on your face.”
“What?”
“Forced marriage.”
It took a while for Jian Ran to react and finally he asked, “Didn’t your mother force you to do this too?”
The boy looked at Jian Ran with a smile in his eyes, “No, I volunteered.”
Jian Ran was stunned for a moment, and just when he was about to ask why, he remembered that in a way he had also agreed. He estimated that the other party was in a similar situation, and accepted a lot of benefits from the Ren family before agreeing to marry him.
After getting the photo, Jian Ran was about to pay, but was stopped by the shop owner with a smile.
“Little brother, I won’t charge you the money for this photo. Can I keep your photos as sample films?”
“Forget it.” The boy rejected the shopkeeper on Jian Ran’s behalf. He looked at Jian Ran and said, “My wife will be shy.”
___
Author’s Note : ~poor didi doesn’t have a name in the first chapter.
TLs Note: my very first TL! Thank you for for choosing to read my translation and following me on this journey. I’m still figuring out how to post here so my uploads may be a bit slow 😅 Pls feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and remember to support the author!
I just wanted to point out, that in the sentence where JR raises a mental middle finger, the pronoun is “her”, instead of “his”
On another note, I don’t know why, but it really pissed me off when it turned out that the broken leg was a lie, just because he was too lazy to travel a bit… JR even offered to pay for the trip. He could have been honest and said that he doesn’t want to travel, why lie? It’s nice that he seems to be more enthusiastic about the marriage than JR, but this unnecessary lie made a really bad first impression.
Thanks for the translation ❤️
Thank you for the translation!!!