Lin Yao's body grew stiff, and there was a look of disbelief on her face.
Old woman?
Who was she calling an old woman?
Li Shulan's mother gazed at her with a worried expression on her face. "As a girl~if you haven't gotten married by the age of 20, you won't be able to get married~"
Lying down on the bed, Li Shulan shouted at her again, "*...%￥!*—~•!!!" It seemed that she was chiding her mother for speaking so tactlessly.
Li Shulan's mother spoke a few words back, in their dialect, "%￥#•!*~~!" It sounded like she was trying to reason with her, but she sounded less assertive than Li Shulan.
Li Shulan and her mother were on the verge of getting into an argument because of her, not to mention the fact that Li Shulan was pregnant.
Lin Yao couldn't bear this, so she hurriedly explained, "Auntie, many of the girls here are still in school in their twenties. They usually get married when they're about 30, but not necessarily even then."
The room was suddenly quiet for a few seconds.
Li Shulan's parents stared at her like she was an alien, and then they said with certainty, "If a girl hasn't married by the age of 30~it must be because she can't~get~married~"
Lin Yao was no longer surprised anymore. She smiled at them and said, "In reality, there are many girls in the city who don't want to marry. How does getting married, having children, and serving your husband give you nearly as much freedom as working and achieving financial freedom?"
Li Shulan's mother was stunned. She obviously couldn't believe that there was such a thing in the world. She muttered to herself, "If a woman neither marries nor gives birth to~children~, is she still a woman~?"
Lin Yao tugged her lips awkwardly and said, "Now that men and women are equal, everyone can choose their own way of living. Isn't that great?"
Upon hearing these words, Li Shulan's father and mother looked like they'd been struck by thunder. They were both shocked.
The conversation came to an abrupt end.
On the one hand, Li Shulan couldn't wait to instill some neoliberal ideas into them. On the other hand, Li Shulan's parents were worried that their obedient daughter would be negatively influenced by this unorthodox and outrageous "old woman," and wanted to brainwash her.
In the end, Li Shulan's mother didn't even finish washing the last few dishes. The family of three closed the door and talked (argued) for a long time.
This was the first time Lin Yao had encountered this kind of situation, and she finally realized that she and Li Shulan's parents really couldn't see eye to eye.
Lin Yao thought about it a lot. Before, in order to avoid the rush hour commute, and to save time for studying, she had been leaving early and returning late.
Although she and Li Shulan had lived under the same roof for nearly two months, they never had any deep conversations, so she didn't know that this was the situation in Li Shulan's hometown.
In fact, Lin Yao had actually secretly worried about whether Li Shulan was tricked into Hangzhou by her boyfriend/husband because of her naivety.
Now, it seemed that the young and naive one had actually been herself!
It turns out that in some places, girls started looking for suitable partners in their twenties, like they did in ancient times.
Then, the girl raised the children at home, and her husband was responsible for working hard and making money to support the family.
This kind of life, although relatively primitive, wasn't necessarily bad.
One could imagine:
Several years later, Lin Yao finally gets a firm foothold in the workplace, and she begins to consider her marriage, while for Li Shulan, her children would already be independent.
Lin Yao would be preparing to take out a mortgage to buy a house, while Li Shulan would be building a beautiful big house in the countryside.
Ten or twenty years later, Lin Yao's children would still be young, while Li Shulan's children would already be working and making money.
Lin Yao would be worrying about her children's education, while Li Shulan would be busy arranging her children's marriage.
It wasn't clear whose life would turn out better, and it wasn't clear who should be more envious of the other.
Someone like Li Shulan, who had been taken care of by her parents since she was little, and had a husband to take care of her by her teens, probably had a much easier life then Lin Yao, who left her parents in her teens to study in another province, and entered the workplace in her twenties and had to face everything alone as a rookie.
But Lin Yao had gained her own career through hard work and thus enriched her life.
Li Shulan listened to her parents when she was at home, to her husband after she got married, and would listen to her children when she got old.
But every decision Lin Yao made, and every step she took would be her own choice!
Lin Yao and Li Shulan lived in the same world, but they had two very different lives!
If Lin Yao was asked to choose again, she would still choose her own life, and wouldn't depend on anyone!
******
"Knock knock knock", Lin Yao's door was knocked on again.
Outside the door, Li Shulan asked tentatively, "Sister Lin, can I come in?"
Lin Yao's room was small, so she could walk to the door in just a few steps. She opened the door and welcomed Li Shulan into the room.
Li Shulan appeared a bit ill at ease, and she appeared to be unsure of what to say. "Sister Lin, that... my mother, she's lived in the countryside all her life, and this is her first time in a city, so she doesn't understand anything. Please don't take her words to heart."
Lin Yao leaned against the wall and gazed at her mirthfully. "It's nothing, it was just a casual conversation." It was simply a conversation on local traditions and customs.
"I heard it all." Li Shulan ruffled her hair sheepishly and said earnestly, "My mother, she's a bit self-righteous. I've already scolded her, and I'm here to apologize for her!"
Lin Yao said nonchalantly, "It's totally fine, you don't have to come here just to tell me this."
"Are you sure you aren't mad?" Li Shulan asked anxiously. "How about this, I'll tell her to cook something delicious at dinner, and tell her to apologize to you personally, alright?"
What Lin Shulan's mother said to Lin Yao mainly made her feel shocked, instead of anger or anything else.
They were just roommates, Li Shulan had her life, while Lin Yao also had her own. There wasn't that much interaction between them either.
She wouldn't interfere with Li Shulan's life, nor could Li Shulan's parents interfere with hers.
If everyone sought common ground while reserving differences, nothing would happen, right?
"No, no!" Lin Yao waved her hand with a smile. "It's nothing, just casual chatting, I'm not angry, really, not angry at all! I have other arrangements tonight, so I'm afraid I can't eat with you."
The food Li Shulan's family cooked really suited Lin Yao's appetite, but she felt embarrassed when she thought of the family arguing over her, so there was no way she could eat with them again.
Li Shulan was a sentimental pregnant woman. When she heard Lin Yao say this, her eyes suddenly grew red and said in a choked voice while holding back a sob, "Sister~Lin~, sorry~."
Why was she crying?
Lin Yao patted Li Shulan's shoulder gently and consoled her in a tender voice, "You're going to be a mother soon, so why are you acting like a child? You have to know that I'm a couple of years older than you, and I know that your mother said those words to me out of good intentions. How could I be angry just because of a few words? I really already have other arrangements."
Lin Yao knew in her heart that her relationship with Li Shulan's family could potentially become extremely awkward.
It wasn't easy for Li Shulan's parents to come all the way here. If she continued to be caught in the middle and caused a ruckus between their family, that would be wrong of her!
Therefore, she planned to spend the weekend at Jiang Mingshu's place!