Love Story of a Married Couple
Life is like this; walking hand in hand for a lifetime, the most memorable parts are these imperfect bits and pieces, which together form a perfect memory in the heart.
Li Fan is Very Assertive
Xiao Gang and his wife Li Fan both came from a heavy industry city in Northeast China and were admitted to universities in Beijing. Xiao Gang is not very tall and has a delicate appearance. His wife Li Fan is taller than him, with a sturdy build. During their wedding banquet, people joked that Xiao Gang would have benefited from Li Fan’s physique. The female worker’s committee member said, “She’s sure to have a lot of sons, no problem at all with having ten.”
Indeed, Li Fan gave birth to a nine-pound baby boy.
After graduation, both of them were assigned to Beijing, working at a struggling newspaper. Li Fan, being more resourceful than Xiao Gang, accumulated connections in the special edition department and excelled in advertising. She was one of the first in the newspaper to buy a private car.
Their dormitory was in Dinghuisi. Every morning, Li Fan drove her husband and son to work. It took 15 minutes to reach the newspaper office. Xiao Gang would leisurely walk through the office gates, greeting and joking with familiar faces, while Li Fan, carrying or holding her son, would breeze past him, drop off their son at kindergarten with a few kisses, then rush upstairs to arrange things with the editors before heading out like a whirlwind to secure more ads.
Often, when Li Fan was rushing out, Xiao Gang would still be chatting at the gate. She would scoff and run off.
Women driving was still rare back then, and sometimes traffic police would stop her to meticulously check her driver’s license, finding it hard to believe a woman could drive.
The traffic police would sometimes make small talk, glancing at Xiao Gang in the passenger seat, asking, “Who is he to you?” She would say he was her husband. “Why doesn’t he drive?” they would ask.
She would turn her head to the left, looking at the traffic, and at most snort through her nose.
At home, after listing Xiao Gang’s inadequacies, Li Fan would often throw out a question, “What can you actually do?”
After that, there would be some arguing, and Xiao Gang would always retreat to the kitchen to smoke a cigarette under the range hood, the designated smoking area set by his wife.
Through the kitchen glass, Xiao Gang would see his large wife, wearing an oversized tank top that couldn’t stay on her shoulders, with messy hair and a face covered in a homemade mask of cucumber or tomato and starch, bustling around. She would be busy soaking beans, grinding soybean milk, frying radish balls, waxing the floor, polishing the furniture, sewing curtains, checking the child’s homework, washing socks…
“Why all this fuss? We’re from working-class families!” Xiao Gang would think to himself, stub out his cigarette, and walk into the bedroom.
His wife would call out, “There’s freshly brewed tea, Gang! It’s top-quality oolong from a Fujian boss.”
Xiao Gang tasted it; it was rich and thick. Through the misty steam, there was a faint golden edge to the tea—truly top-grade gold-rimmed oolong.
Li Fan’s Outburst
One summer morning, Xiao Gang came to work and asked his boss for a place to sleep, saying he had fought with Li Fan. No one believed it, as both were intellectuals, and Li Fan was a PhD!
Xiao Gang lifted his shirt, revealing his back covered in scratches, like he had been raked by a pig’s trotter. The female boss, upon seeing this, tearfully comforted him. Xiao Gang sobbed, explaining how his father-in-law held down his legs, his mother-in-law pulled his hair, and his wife scratched his back with her nails, saying, “No one in that family has any humanity!”
The female boss, filled with tears, listened like she was consoling a miner. Colleagues were outraged. How could they be so cruel?
“What was it all about?” they asked Xiao Gang. “She suspects I have someone else. But I don’t!”
Considering Xiao Gang’s simple nature, colleagues found it hard to believe. Even so, the male leader, a top executive, immediately decided to clear out a basement room for Xiao Gang.
During the day, Xiao Gang ate in the cafeteria and stayed in the basement at night. The night shift editors were thrilled to have a colleague to chat with. Li Fan acted as if nothing had happened.
People also kept an eye on whether any women were interacting with Xiao Gang. Though he didn’t seem the type, you never know someone’s heart.
After careful observation, the night shift staff confirmed Xiao Gang’s innocence. After a week, Li Fan came to take him home. Xiao Gang resisted, feeling humiliated and refusing to go back. He shouted, “I won’t go back, even if you kill me!” Li Fan retorted, “You’ve gotten bold after a week out. How dare you tell me to get lost?” She slapped him hard, knocking his hat off.
“This is a PhD! A female PhD! Domestic violence!” People rushed to pull them into the office.
The male leader, who had been listening from his open office, finally intervened, shouting, “What’s going on? What’s going on?” The female leader, on the verge of tears, spilled her tea.
Xiao Gang, no longer caring about appearances, yelled, “Everyone saw that! I can’t go home! She’ll kill me!”
With the unit involved, they couldn’t allow a PhD to behave like that. Eventually, Li Fan wrote a letter of guarantee to the leaders, promising never to hit her husband again.
That afternoon, Xiao Gang, wearing his hat, got into the car with his wife and went home.
Even a Sturdy Woman Has a Soft Side
Li Fan’s domestic violence came to light. The issue started simply: Li Fan brought her parents to live with them, and on Sundays, they played mahjong. Xiao Gang, though clumsy in housework, was an expert at mahjong, winning several hands right away, without showing any courtesy to the elders. The father-in-law, annoyed, commented on this lack of respect. When Li Fan played a tile that Xiao Gang needed to complete his hand, he loudly declared victory. Li Fan tried to take the tile back, but Xiao Gang wouldn’t let her. Li Fan’s face showed a mix of despair and anger, and she cursed. Emboldened by alcohol, Xiao Gang replied with an insult.
Sitting nearby, the mother-in-law slapped Xiao Gang. A fight ensued, and Li Fan accused Xiao Gang of flirting with young female colleagues at the newspaper, naming a few. This indicated that the root of her anger was not the mahjong but her discomfort with Xiao Gang’s behavior.
Resolving this was straightforward. Li Fan’s parents moved back to Northeast China to keep peace. The couple sent the elders off and visited the Temple of Heaven.
It wasn’t a big deal; family matters rarely are.
Xiao Gang continued to joke with female colleagues, and Li Fan tightly controlled the finances, knowing Xiao Gang’s flirting was harmless. Whenever Xiao Gang worked late, Li Fan would fetch him, no matter how important her social engagements were.
Later, an advertising company offered Li Fan a better-paying job. The newspaper leadership, reliant on her for a significant portion of the income, was anxious. Surprisingly, Li Fan declined, saying she wanted to stay with her husband.
This became a joke among colleagues, with young female editors teasing Xiao Gang. He grumbled that Li Fan just wanted to keep an eye on him.
Choosing not to pursue a lucrative career to stay close to her husband was seen as foolishly romantic. Yet, Li Fan confided to a friend, “Xiao Gang is a good man. You just don’t know.” She blushed as she said it.
Endless Affection in Xiao Gang’s Eyes
When their son entered middle school, Xiao Gang started feeling bloated and had digestive issues, which were initially ignored. As autumn came, he lost weight rapidly. Li Fan, seeing him worsen, took him to the hospital, where they learned he had advanced liver cancer.
This was an open secret from the start, and Xiao Gang knew his condition well. Li Fan informed his family.
The newspaper and Li Fan used their connections to get Xiao Gang admitted quickly. As the pain became unbearable, a liver transplant was suggested. But the liver donor was delayed, and the cancer had spread, making the surgery less meaningful.
In the doctor’s office, hearing this, Xiao Gang’s mother wept. Li Fan asked if the transplant would ease his pain. The doctor said theoretically, yes. Li Fan decided to proceed, saying that even one day of reduced pain was worth it.
The hospital calculated the cost, totaling 300,000 yuan.
Xiao Gang’s parents were disheartened. Li Fan said she would handle the expenses.
With years of savings from advertising, the cost wasn’t a major issue. The real challenge was finding a liver donor. Li Fan underwent tests to see if she could donate part of her liver to Xiao Gang.
Xiao Gang opposed this, fearing for her health and their child’s future. Li Fan reassured him, saying, “You’ve already hit the jackpot with this illness; we won’t get lucky twice. If you use my liver, you’ll be entirely mine, with no second thoughts.” Xiao Gang replied he never had second thoughts. Li Fan joked, “Maybe not in action, but in mind.”
Tests showed they were not compatible for a transplant. Xiao Gang’s parents, physically exhausted, returned to Northeast China. Unexpectedly, a donor liver became available soon after,
and the surgery succeeded.
After recovering, Xiao Gang was pain-free and happily returned home. But two months later, he began vomiting blood, and the pain returned, sending him back to the hospital.
Li Fan’s sole focus became finding pain relief for Xiao Gang, spending large amounts of money on high-priced and black-market narcotics, fearing to think of the future. Her parents returned to Beijing to help their daughter and support their son-in-law through his final days. Colleagues from the newspaper, seeing this, were deeply moved by the unity of the family.
When Xiao Gang could no longer bear the pain, he told Li Fan he couldn’t hold on, knowing their savings were nearly exhausted. He felt it was better to leave something for their son rather than debt.
Li Fan reassured him, saying, “Gang, as long as you’re alive, this is a home. When our son calls you ‘Dad,’ it gives me strength.”
Colleagues visited the hospital and saw Xiao Gang, with a blackened face, leaning on his wife’s shoulder, who was gently holding him, speaking for him as he rested.
In the few words Xiao Gang managed, one was to his wife: “She’s exhausted,” with endless affection in his eyes.
Leaving, Li Fan softly said, “He may not make it past the New Year.”
Xiao Gang passed away in December, surrounded by his wife, son, parents-in-law, and all the love in the world.
What is Love and Marriage?
This is love; this is marriage.
Life is like this, walking hand in hand for a lifetime. The most memorable parts are these imperfect bits and pieces, forming a perfect memory in the heart.
This is a lifetime.
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