Can We Get Married

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

In the midst of a thunderstorm, a sudden and urgent knocking on the door startled Zhou Mo, who was curled up on the sofa watching a horror movie. She was so scared that her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

Wearing slippers, she opened the door and asked, “Who is it?”

Outside the door stood a man drenched in rain, more terrifying than a ghost. Zhou Mo was left speechless with shock when she recognized him—it was Han Chen, her neighbor from high school and her puppy love.

He looked disheveled, with his hair sticking to his head like a lid, his white shirt stained with patches of dirt, and his black pants covered in mud spots. Though it had been ten years since they last met, she instantly recognized him.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Mo felt a bit awkward.

“It’s me, Han Chen.” Han Chen’s voice was hoarse.

“I know, I recognized you.” Zhou Mo confirmed.

A flicker of disbelief flashed through Han Chen’s gloomy black eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“All right, go ahead.”

She waited for a while, but he remained silent. Han Chen furrowed his brow, his face tense, his thin lips pressed into a line, as if he had something difficult to say.

After all these years, his aloof and taciturn personality hadn’t changed. It seemed that speaking a few more words would cost him his life.

“Say it, what’s the matter?” Zhou Mo urged.

“Can we get married?”

“...”

This person was either silent or uttered something horrifying the moment he opened his mouth.

Zhou Mo even suspected that there was something wrong with her ears. “With whom? You?”

She wasn’t being impulsive; she just wanted to confirm Han Chen’s meaning, if it was what she thought it was.

Han Chen nodded slightly. Coincidentally, the motion-sensor lights in the hallway went off, making it difficult to discern the emotions in his dark eyes. They blended into the dim light, deep and unfathomable.

“What’s the reason?” Zhou Mo remained rational. She knew that with Han Chen’s sudden appearance, her heart would still flutter because of their past relationship. However, his current appearance wasn’t enough to make her feel disoriented.

“My mother is sick.”

He kept it simple.

“I see.”

There was no need for Han Chen to explain further. Zhou Mo fully understood his intentions. Although she rarely returned home after starting college and rarely saw Han Chen and her mother, she vaguely heard her parents mention that Han Chen’s mother had a heart problem.

Han Chen had been raised by his mother since childhood, and in order to comfort his ailing mother, Zhou Mo could understand his decision.

Moreover, Han Chen’s mother had a good personality, was very gentle, and treated Zhou Mo well. While she and Han Chen had a “secret relationship” during their school days, which her parents were unaware of, Han Chen’s mother was the only person who knew their secret.

In the past, when she went to Han Chen’s house to ask about homework, Han Chen’s mother would close the door and sometimes even use the excuse of going out for a walk to give them space to be alone.

But she and Han Chen had never done anything romantic, it was just for studying.

After Han Chen’s mother fell ill, she stayed in a nursing home, and Han Chen went to college in the capital city. Their relationship with her family gradually faded away.

“Can you agree?” Han Chen’s voice was heavy, his words rushed, tinged with anxiety.

“I need to think about it.” Zhou Mo hesitated.

Han Chen reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He opened it and pulled out two cards, stuffing them into Zhou Mo’s hand.

“One is my salary card, and the other is for additional income. The password is 931111. You should know my job; the amount is not much, and currently, this is all I have. I’m paying off a mortgage for an apartment, and the car is fully paid for.”

For the first time, Zhou Mo heard Han Chen speak so many “useless words“. As she looked at the slightly damp bank cards in her hand, she was shocked and also felt a bit uncomfortable.

He already had a car and an apartment... damn it, he was doing better than her.

Zhou Mo followed suit and went into the house to fetch her own card. She handed it to him and said, “Take it all, but let me make it clear. I don’t have a car or a house, so don’t complain that I’m a burden.”

Han Chen was surprised. “Do you agree?”

Zhou Mo nodded. “I’m not foolish. Nowadays, when looking for partners, you first consider their material conditions and then their appearance, right? You’re doing well in all aspects.”

And her parents would surely like him.

Not only because Han Chen was their familiar neighbor from childhood and had excellent grades, but also because of his profession as a doctor. In her parents’ eyes, working for a state-owned institution meant stability, and stability equaled happiness.

Zhou Mo’s father was a civil servant, and her mother was a middle school teacher. They both held public positions and were more conservative.

Zhou Mo didn’t really care about her future partner’s job, but she didn’t want to disappoint her parents. After all, she had already disappointed them once.

“Keep your cards,” Han Chen pushed her hand back.

When their hands touched, Zhou Mo felt her hand warming up. It wasn’t Han Chen’s body temperature, or at least not the temperature she remembered from before. The scorching sensation startled her, and she instantly sensed that something was off.

Looking at Han Chen’s face, which appeared a bit pale, and his lips lacking their normal color, with beads of sweat or rainwater on his face, she couldn’t distinguish if it was sweat or rainwater.

“Are you running a fever?” Zhou Mo asked.

Han Chen remained silent, closed his eyes slightly, endured the discomfort, and nodded slightly.

“Come in first,” Zhou Mo was truly exasperated with him. “Getting married is not something that needs to be rushed. At least choose a day with good weather to talk about it.”

She bent down to open the shoe cabinet and find slippers for him.

As Han Chen was about to enter, he suddenly stopped and said, “Then I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Zhou Mo threw the slippers in front of him and stood up, hands on her hips, looking at him with an annoyed expression. “Fine, come tomorrow, dress up nicely, and remember to buy flowers. Get 999 red roses and a diamond ring weighing no less than five carats. Otherwise, there is no way to get married.”

Han Chen knew she was speaking sarcastically, so he just frowned and didn’t say anything further.

” Come in after changing your shoes. Don’t dirty the floor,” Zhou Mo said as she folded into the house. She grabbed a new towel and a set of new men’s pajamas and pointed to the bathroom. “Go in.”

Han Chen didn’t respond, but he accidentally glanced at Zhou Mo. He didn’t see her face, only the top of her head and the fair neck exposed by the collar of the pajama.

Her hair wasn’t fully dry yet, and her black hair was combed to one side, emanating a faint scent of lilies.

This two-piece pajama was conservative and outdated, revealing nothing. Only the skin on her neck was visible, and it was still as fair as before, crystal clear and shining.

Zhou Mo lowered her head, her whole focus on the items in her hands, considering if there was anything missing.

“I only have these things here, so just make do with them,” Zhou Mo handed everything to Han Chen all at once.

Han Chen frowned. “Have they been used by someone else?”

He referred to the men’s pajama.

“They’re new, never used. I didn’t have a chance to give them away before we broke up,” Zhou Mo clarified upfront. “I just broke up with my ex. If you mind, you can still regret it now.”

She was referring to marriage.

Han Chen lowered his gaze and looked at the men’s sapphire-blue pajama in his hands. They were made of silk, smooth to the touch, and indeed expensive.

He also knew Zhou Mo’s current situation. She was still pursuing her Ph.D., had not yet graduated, and had no income.

It was a pity that she had gone through so much trouble for him.

“Have you completely cut ties with him?”