Chapter 20: Forced into Marriage

Lan Mo glanced at her watch, estimating that the potatoes she had planted at noon were ready. It seemed she would have to make another trip to the restroom to enter the space and harvest them.

Previously, she had only started planting and harvesting vegetables after returning home from work. But ever since her father gave her a watch, she had been calculating the timing precisely, using the few minutes during bathroom breaks to enter the space for planting and harvesting.

Sure enough, planting both during the day and at night had significantly sped up the leveling process. Now, her farm had already reached level five, and she had started planting chili peppers.

When she reached level three, she spent ten thousand Gold Coins to open up an additional plot of land. From the newly opened plot, she even dug out a bag of sunflower seeds.

However, she wasn’t planning to plant sunflowers for the time being, so she simply stored the seeds in the Warehouse.

After planting the chili peppers, Lan Mo immediately exited the space. During work hours, she didn’t have any extra time to slowly “steal” crops from other friends.

Returning to the office, Lan Mo noticed the special “yellow rose” on her desk and smiled.

“Doctor Lan, does the family member of the patient in bed one of Ward Two like you? I saw him picking up ginkgo leaves early this morning.”

Was Doctor Deng talking about Yang Wei? So, it was him who had picked these ginkgo leaves.

“Doctor Deng, you’ve misunderstood.”

Doctor Deng chuckled and said, “Doctor Lan, you’re about twenty-one now, right? It’s time to start looking for a partner. Find someone this year, get married, and have a chubby little one by the end of next year.”

Her twentieth birthday had just passed not long ago. Her parents hadn’t started urging her to get married, but now her colleagues were. The mention of having children made Lan Mo blush instantly.

“Doctor Lan, I have a nephew around your age. Would you like me to introduce you two?”

Director Qin suddenly walked in, smiling as he said, “Doctor Deng, are you planning to set Doctor Lan up? Is Doctor Lan starting to look for a partner now? If so, I could introduce someone to her as well.”

“Director Qin, your eldest already has several children, and your youngest is still in school, right?”

“Well, Doctor Deng, I’m not planning to introduce her to my sons. Someone as outstanding as Doctor Lan naturally deserves a man who matches her excellence. Your nephew is only a few centimeters taller than Comrade Xiao Lan, but his weight is probably twice hers, isn’t it?”

This Doctor Deng really had some nerve, thinking of having Doctor Lan, such a beautiful flower, stuck in the manure of his family. What a ridiculous idea.

Kid Gu Yan’an, I can only help you this much. Hurry up and make your move!

Seeing them argue, Lan Mo awkwardly smiled and said, “Director Qin, Doctor Deng, I’m only twenty. It’s still too early to think about finding a partner…”

Director Qin suddenly changed the subject, saying, “Comrade Xiao Lan, make one more round to check on the patients before you leave work.”

“Understood, Director.”

Lan Mo quickly stood up and fled the scene. As soon as she left, Doctor Deng asked Director Qin, “Director Qin, who were you planning to introduce Doctor Lan to? Your family doesn’t have any suitable young men, does it?”

“A friend’s eldest nephew. You don’t need to worry about that. That kid begged me for help, so I couldn’t refuse.”

“It couldn’t be the patient in bed one, could it? You could have easily handled that minor surgery alone, but you deliberately brought Doctor Lan along.”

“I was giving her a chance to practice. But you have to admit, Comrade Xiao Lan’s hands-on skills are exceptional. From now on, I’ll have her handle those minor surgeries directly.”

“The younger generation is truly formidable. What a shame my nephew doesn’t have that kind of luck…”

After finishing her rounds in Ward One, Lan Mo immediately knocked and entered Ward Two.

To my surprise, Gu Yan’an was standing on one foot in front of bed three, feeding water to the elderly woman there.

Lan Mo walked over to bed three and asked, “Where are the family members of bed three? Comrade Gu Yan’an, don’t you know you just had surgery yesterday? If you jump off the bed, do you not care about your leg anymore?”

“Doctor Lan, my daughter went to the cafeteria to buy food. I was thirsty, and my hands aren’t very steady. The young man in the next bed jumped over on his own to help me. It’s not my fault!”

Lan Mo didn’t know what to say. It was true that the elderly woman in bed three had injured her right hand, but she was less than sixty years old—couldn’t she lift a cup with her left hand?

Not only did she not thank the person who helped her, but she also shifted the blame onto him. This Gu Yan’an was such a fool.

Lan Mo looked at Gu Yan’an with a complicated expression and said, “Comrade Gu Yan’an, where is your cousin? How do you plan to get back to your bed?”

“Doctor Lan, my cousin also went to buy food. Could you give me a hand? I suddenly feel a bit of pain in my wound…”

Gu Yan’an looked pitifully at Lan Mo, but she pretended not to notice. His expression didn’t look like he was in pain at all.

If Gu Yan’an were an older man, Lan Mo might have helped him up.

Although doctors shouldn’t distinguish between men and women, it still depended on the urgency and nature of the situation. Some things required discretion.

“Wait here. I’ll go get you a crutch.”

Gu Yan’an shook his head helplessly. As soon as Lan Mo left, he hopped back to his own bed, sighing inwardly: The road to winning her heart is long and arduous, but I will strive tirelessly. Keep going!

When Lan Mo returned with the crutch, she found Gu Yan’an already back in his bed.

“Comrade Gu Yan’an, use this crutch next time you need to get out of bed. Here, let me check your wound first.”

“Okay, thank you!”

“You’re lucky. The wound hasn’t reopened or bled. Take good care of it! Don’t put any more strain on this leg!”

Gu Yan’an obediently replied, “Alright, I’ll remember. Doctor Lan, I’ll listen to you.”

He was clearly a strong, dominant man, yet now he was as gentle as a kitten. It was so strange. Lan Mo glanced at Gu Yan’an and quickly left the ward.

After returning home from work, Old Mrs. Lin took Lan Mo’s hand and said, “Momo, your second brother sent you a big box of things. Hurry and open it to see what’s inside.”

Lan Mo then remembered—it must be the birthday gift from the original owner’s second brother. Due to the long distance, it had been delayed.

Lan Mo opened the large cardboard box and found five cans of meat, two pounds of fruit candies, two pounds of light yellow wool, a piece of fabric, and several hair clips.

The original owner’s family truly had impeccable character. Sigh, I should hurry and level up the space to level ten. It’s time to repay them.

“Grandmother, take this fabric to make clothes for yourself. The wool can be used to knit two new sweaters for Xiao Li’er.”

Lin Xiuying smiled and said, “This is from your second brother. I’m too old to wear such colorful fabric. You should use the wool to knit a high-neck sweater for yourself. Xiao Li’er already has sweaters and doesn’t need new ones.”

“Last time for my birthday, Grandpa and the others also brought two pounds of wool. There are still two old sweaters in the cabinet. Grandmother, I really don’t need to knit so many new sweaters.”

Lin Xiuying felt the wool and said with a smile, “Haishi gets cold in the winter. You can unravel an old sweater to knit into woolen pants. A sweater made from new wool will be warm and nice-looking. You’re at the age where you should be looking for a partner, so it’s better to wear something brighter.”

Just then, Su Mei walked in. Looking at the pile of things in front of her, she said, “So Jingmo actually remembered his younger sister’s birthday. I thought he’d forgotten. This wool has a nice color. Mom will knit you another turtleneck sweater.”

“Mom, this color suits Xiao Li.”

“Don’t worry, there are still a few ounces of wool left from what your grandfather bought before. Your brother’s wool will also have some leftover. I’ll use the remaining wool to knit a set for him.”

“Mom, you have to work—when will you have time to knit sweaters?”

“I can knit a bit during my lunch break, and I can knit for an hour or two before bed.”

“Mom, I know how to knit sweaters too. Why don’t I take these two pounds of wool and knit one myself?”

“Momo, when did you learn to knit sweaters?”

She had known how to knit sweaters in her previous life, of course, but she couldn’t say that because it seemed the original owner’s mother hadn’t taught her.

“I learned from my classmates in college. They were knitting sweaters, so I helped them out.”

Su Mei felt a pang of guilt. She took Lan Mo’s hand and said, “Momo, it’s all my fault. I’ve been so busy that I never had time to teach you those things. You’re twenty now, so if you have time in the evenings, start by learning how to make clothes from your sister-in-law. Once you get married and have children, you can make little clothes for them.”

Ah, are women really considered old once they pass twenty? Colleagues bring up matchmaking, Grandmother says she’s at the age to find a partner, and even Mom is starting to talk about marriage and children.

Everyone is urging her to get married. Does she really need to start looking for a partner now?

But finding a good partner is truly difficult. Besides coming from a decent background, the most important thing is that their character must be good. No matter how good-looking they are, it’s useless if their character is poor.

Take it slow. If it’s meant to be, you’ll meet across a thousand miles; if not, you’ll pass by without even recognizing each other!