Chapter 20: Blind dates are risky and marriage requires caution
A pure white shadowless lamp, a tilted posture, and Jiang Ranxu in a white coat.
Meng Weishen guessed he was at the dentist and quickly prepared to open his mouth. Jiang Ranxu also leaned down, almost parallel to him. He reached out and hooked his arm around Jiang Ranxu's neck, and he leaned down again, so that the two lines intersected.
But the lights were too bright, everything faded, blurring the outlines. All that was left was a vast expanse of white. Meng Weishen couldn't see what they were doing. Hugging? Kissing? Or...?
The thought struck his mind like thunder, sending a sharp pain through him. The throbbing of his watch replaced the alarm clock, and he finally lifted his heavy eyelids.
The still pure white ceiling, pure white walls, pure white bedding swayed slightly in his hungover pupils. Meng Weishen squinted his eyes again until his pupils slowly adjusted to the light and he could finally see the layout of his surroundings clearly.
He was in an unfamiliar hotel room, his coat and sweater neatly folded on the bedside table, next to a bottle of leftover electrolyte water. But the last memory he had was of the KTV room. As for the journey from the KTV to the hotel... not a single trace remained in his mind.
Meng Weishen got up in a daze and was about to go to the bathroom to cleanse the chaotic waste in his mind, but he was shocked to find that there was another person in the room -
This is the preface written by Jiang Ran.
He was leaning against the corner of the bed, his head resting on his arm, resting in an uncomfortable position. His clothes were a bit disheveled, his coat draped over his shoulders, and his shirt had several buttons undone.
Another thunderclap exploded in my mind. But no matter how hard I tried, my memory remained blank.
The only possibility is that his chun//dream is not actually a dream, but the real memory that is missing in his brain.
Jiang Ranxu seemed to be sleeping lightly. Meng Weishen had just touched the ground when he woke up to a rustling sound. He looked up at him with a normal expression and tone:
"Awake? You drank too much at the party last night, so you might be feeling dizzy today. Go take a shower, you'll feel better."
The scene of their encounter played repeatedly in his mind, like a stuck image. The dial continued to broadcast the vibration of tachycardia. Meng Weishen was extremely embarrassed. He pretended to be calm and took off his watch as if he was making necessary preparations before taking a shower.
But another reaction was harder to conceal. Even though he struggled to pull down the hem of his clothes, the outline of the congestion was still faintly visible.
He desperately wanted to lock himself in the bathroom, but Jiang Ranxu refused to let him go and instructed him, "Remember to take your toiletries bag. I've hung it on the bathroom door lock."
Meng Weishen wanted to grab the items and run away, but the heavy weight of the bag caught his attention. He rummaged through it and found that the items inside were quite complete: disposable bath towels, toothbrush sets, travel-sized shampoo and lotion, everything you could possibly need.
He hesitated for a moment and asked a very stupid question: "Did you prepare this yourself? There's not even the hotel logo on it."
Jiang Ranxu said in a matter-of-fact tone, "The hotel's things are too dirty to use. Look at how many people have lied about getting sick because they used hotel towels. Of course, most of them are just excuses to cover up."
"...are the sheets and pillowcases also disposable?"
Jiang Ranxu paused, as if realizing something was wrong, and gently advised him, "Go take a shower. Wash yourself clean. At most, you can extend your room for an hour."
Meng Weishen didn't have time to think about it and fled to the shower room.
It was normal to have a reaction in the morning. But he was extremely panicked at the moment. He struggled to pull down his waistband and belt, finally freeing himself from the confines of his jeans. He turned the shower head to cold water, drenching him in the cold. After a while, he finally resolved the problem.
By the time he finished washing, Jiang Ranxu had already straightened his clothes and handed him a disposable paper cup filled with hot tea from the hotel tea bag. He treated him as if he were seeing a doctor.
However, Meng Weishen was unable to treat Jiang Ranxu as he usually did when he was seeing a doctor.
His head was still swollen, filled with all kinds of messy thoughts. For example, he found that the blood vessels on Jiang Ranxu's cheeks were light blue, covered with a thin and beautiful layer of flesh, which appeared translucent like a cicada's wing in the excessive light.
He panicked again: "It's almost twelve o'clock, let's go and check out."
"Don't worry, just dry your hair first. Do you need me to help you?"
"No, no! ... I mean, don't bother, I'll be fine soon."
While he was drying his hair, the two continued to stay in the room together, but they did not talk.
Then they went downstairs together to check out. Jiang Ranxu helped him get the room card and reminded him to be careful not to leave his personal belongings behind. Meng Weishen then held the luxurious toiletry bag tightly.
A couple of conjoined twins appeared in the room across the street, also checking out. They looked like college students, at the age of passionate love and deep hatred, wishing they could share the same organs from mouth to rectum.
The girl glanced at them subtly and gave her boyfriend a cryptic smile. The conjoined twins then burst into laughter.
Meng Weishen was forced to follow the conjoined twins. He suspected he was ill, or perhaps too drunk last night. His cheeks were burning hot, his tailbone was numb, his head felt heavy, and every step he took felt like he was treading on clouds.
The conjoined twins squeezed onto the elevator first, but before they even had a minute to spare, the doors slammed shut. Meng Weishen had no choice but to press the button again. The electronic screen showed that the next elevator was ten floors away.
In the chaos, Meng Weishen blurted out the other party's real name: "Jiang Ranxu, did we..."
"Nothing happened between us last night." Jiang Ranxu answered in seconds.
Happen? What could happen? What couldn't happen? He just wanted to ask if Jiang Ranxu had helped pay for the room last night... But his tongue seemed to be tied, and he couldn't explain it clearly.
"Really? I went to KTV to look for you last night, but you were already asleep and refused to go home, so I had no choice but to bring you to the hotel. You were also too drunk, and I was worried something might happen to you that night, so I stayed with you." Jiang Ranxu's description was flawless. "Don't worry, even though most gay men out there have their heads full of dirty laundry, I'm different. I've always been clean."
"...You mean, you stayed by my bed all night?"
Jiang Ranxu nodded and said seriously, "Hangovers are very dangerous. My classmate works in the emergency department, and every New Year's Eve they receive many patients who suffocate in the middle of the night, all because of drinking."
Panic quickly gave rise to guilt. Meng Weishen used his social common sense and sincerely apologized to Jiang Ranxu: "I'm sorry to bother you. I'll transfer your room fee later. I was supposed to treat you to lunch, but I have an appointment with my former boss. How about tonight?"
"No need to pay for the room." Jiang Ranxu always showed tolerance. "If you are free tonight, we can go to the lantern festival we missed yesterday."
The elevator finally landed at their floor, making a dinging sound.
There was ample space in the elevator, allowing them to maintain a respectful distance. As they descended a level, a group of elderly tourists arrived, their chattering elderly women and men crowding the space and air. Jiang Ranxu pulled him in, the two of them huddled close together in a corner of the elevator.
The distance seemed too close. The other person's regular breathing passed through his ear bones, turning into a lighter that repeatedly ignited, the flame burning from his ear to his cheek, burning and itching.
Without any prelude, Jiang Ranxu whispered in his ear: "But, in fact, it's not that nothing happened."
"What?"
Meng Weishen turned around rashly and met the man's drooping brows. Even if he was slow to react, he could still sense a hint of resentment in his expression.
Jiang Ranxu continued, "You said last night that you wanted to marry me."
Time in the elevator seemed to pause, and the woman playing a short video in the front suddenly fell silent. Only the floor sank lower and lower in silence.
Meng Weishen couldn't understand what the other party was saying for a moment, "Did I say that?"
"Have you forgotten everything?"
Jiang Ranxu quickly held up his phone, facing the screen towards him, and started playing a mobile video.
The video was shot from a first-person perspective, with only one of Jiang Ranxu's arms showing. Meng Weishen occupied most of the frame, staggering forward while holding onto that arm. Several large, bright red characters appeared in and out of his sight behind him:
Marriage Registration Office, Civil Affairs Bureau, Haidian District, Beijing.
In the video, Meng Weishen was both sticky and serious, insisting on dragging the camera into the dark registration hall: "Let's go, look, there's no one queuing, how perfect. We'll definitely get the certificate soon."
…A nuclear bomb exploded in Meng Weishen’s brain, razing everything to the ground.
This is so unethical! This is simply sexual harassment! How is this any different from the gay men who post photos of their lower body online? How is this any different from the male colleagues in the team who grope other people's wives?
Under the horrified gazes of the sunset reds, Meng Weishen wanted to jump down the elevator shaft: "I'm sorry! I really didn't mean it! This has never happened before. I usually just sleep when I'm drunk. I'm sorry, I really don't remember anything at all..."
Jiang Ranxu comforted him in return: "It's okay, I agreed to marry you anyway. You didn't do anything else to me, so you don't need to apologize."
"But this is so embarrassing, can you delete the video first..."
"I'll delete it in a minute." Jiang Ranxu had already put his phone away. "You have an appointment, so go ahead. See you tonight at the Lantern Festival, don't forget."
——
Two hours later, the first person to strongly oppose the marriage appeared.
"Anyone with common sense would object!"
Kuang Jia had bought a bunch of succulent potted plants for her new office and was unpacking them one by one. These delicate little plants were packed in complicated packaging, stuffed with cotton wool and wrapped in plastic wrap. Kuang Jia had been busy unpacking them, but when she heard he was planning a quick marriage, she forgot about the packages and wanted to perform a craniotomy on him with a box cutter.
Meng Weishen felt like he was back in his internship, realizing he'd made a mistake but not knowing exactly where. He could only anxiously ask his supervisor, "What's wrong?"
"Nonsense. Meng Weishen, are you sick? Is marriage such a casual thing?"
"I'm just acting in front of my mom, it's not real, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little casual..."
Kuang Jia slammed her knuckles on the table, pointing out the crux of the matter. "Then you shouldn't have gotten the marriage certificate. Do you know the other person's background or motives? How dare you marry them? There are so many fraud gangs these days. Aren't you afraid of being ripped off and losing everything?"
"I know. I'm very familiar with Dr. Jiang. He works at a dental clinic near our company. He's not part of a scam gang." Meng Weishen quickly reported to his superiors, "As for his motive... he's definitely not someone who can cheat me out of money. He's a very nice guy and he's very caring towards me."
Kuang Jia looked like she was watching a stupid idol drama: "Are you sure? Are you sober? Talk to me when your mind is clear."
Meng Weishen had ordered a sobering kelp and spine soup for lunch. His mind cleared, his impulsiveness subsided. He regained his composure. Jiang Ranxu's image in his mind remained perfect, but his motives... He had never considered what motivated him to go on a blind date and marry him. It couldn't be to compete for orthodontic clients, could it?
Reason nurtured a seed of doubt. Meng Weishen said, "I'm sure... I guess. But marriage isn't decided yet, and I'd like to hear everyone's advice."
"Whether it's your blind date or your new boss, the solution is essentially the same. You need to conduct a thorough background check on them, get to the bottom of it, and then formulate a strategy."
"I agree. So where do I begin my investigation?"
Kuang Jia always acted decisively. After a moment's thought, she placed her utility knife on the delivery box and fished out a business card from her oversized Longchamp bag.
"This is my divorce lawyer. He's a professional in handling marriage issues. It never hurts to have a lawyer help you with some clarification."
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