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Cheng Dingyuan, long time no see.
The setting sun burned red across the sky, casting afterglow into the clouds.
Closing her laptop, Lin Mitang said goodbye to her colleagues one by one before taking the elevator down from her office.
The early spring air brushed against her cheeks, carrying a lingering chill. In her pocket, her phone vibrated nonstop.
She sniffled, feeling inexplicably cold, then lowered her gaze to the caller ID glowing on the screen. After taking a deep breath, she finally answered.
“Hello? Mom—”
Before she could finish, her mother’s loud voice burst into her ear.
“Mitang, why did you take so long to answer? Don’t tell me you forgot you have a blind date tonight?”
“I didn’t forget, Mom. I just got off work.” Lin Mitang lowered her head, avoiding the curious glances of passersby, her voice dropping a little.
“Didn’t you say the meeting was at 7:30 at East Bank? If I call a taxi now, I’ll still make it.”
At twenty-seven, according to her mother Li Xiuhua’s constant refrain, Lin Mitang was already far too old for a single woman. If she didn’t find someone soon, no one would ever want her.
Because of this, Li Xiuhua had been endlessly “worried.” Since last summer, she had arranged blind dates one after another. Unfortunately, none had worked out.
On the other end of the phone, Li Xiuhua clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“If it’s at 7:30, you can’t just show up right at 7:30! Who taught you that? First impressions matter.”
“And what kind of lousy job do you even have? Working late every day for a measly four or five thousand yuan a month? They’re treating you like an ox or a mule!”
“I told you ages ago, you should’ve taken the civil service exam. Stable job, good pay, benefits. Much better than the peanuts you’re making now. But you never listen.”
Lin Mitang tightened her grip on the phone, her knuckles pale.
She tried her best to stay calm.
“Mom, I’ve told you many times—the exam isn’t something I can just pass because I want to. And besides…”
Besides, she actually liked her job.
Yes, it was tiring and the pay wasn’t great, but her coworkers and boss were easy to get along with. The workload hardly required much social interaction, which suited her introverted personality perfectly.
But Li Xiuhua only raised her voice, dismissing her explanation.
“Nonsense! If it were so hard, how did Old Wang’s daughter Xiaoling pass? You were just lazy back then, that’s all. You didn’t even try, so how do you know you couldn’t pass?”
“Forget it, I never expected much from you anyway—”
She broke off mid-sentence, then abruptly softened her tone.
“But it doesn’t matter. If you can’t rely on yourself, you can always rely on a man.”
The words stung. Lin Mitang frowned, unable to bear it anymore. She was desperate to end the call.
“Mom, let’s stop talking. I need to get a taxi or I really will be late.”
Finally, Li Xiuhua relented.
“Fine, fine, hurry then. Oh, and Mitang, this blind date is different from the others. He’s reliable—absolutely. You have to grab this chance. This time you must succeed. Otherwise, if you miss this one, there won’t be another—”
Lin Mitang hung up.
At last, the world fell quiet.
She rubbed her temples, her head heavy.
So far, she had been on six blind dates. And each time, her mother had repeated the same words: “reliable,” “high-quality man,” “a rare catch.”
But in truth, every single one had been worse than the last.
One demanded she quit her job to be his full-time “housekeeper.”
One was nearly forty, divorced twice, with two kids.
Another drew up a full life plan on the spot: married within a month, pregnant within four months, two fat sons by next year.
If you want kids so badly, why don’t you give birth yourself?
—But of course, she never had the courage to actually say that aloud.
…
In the taxi, watching the scenery rush by outside, she had only one thought left:
Please, let tonight’s blind date not be too bizarre.
As long as he was normal, she could get through it.
—
The meeting place had been chosen by her date: a retro-style Chinese restaurant, carved wooden windows, elegant and quiet.
Exactly her taste.
Even after six blind dates, enough to call her experienced, for someone as socially anxious as Lin Mitang, sitting face-to-face with a stranger over dinner was still excruciating.
She lingered outside the entrance for a long time, psyching herself up, before finally following the waiter inside.
The reserved table was by the window, overlooking the busy traffic.
Her date had arrived already, leaving her only with the sight of his back.
He wore a fitted black shirt, hair neatly trimmed, sleeves rolled up with precision.
Under the warm lantern light, his pale, slender fingers tapped idly against the table in a steady rhythm—unhurried, at ease.
At least, compared to the greasy man who had shown up once in a tank top and flip-flops, this first impression was much, much better.
Still… why did his back look so familiar?
Hesitant, she approached, ready to apologize for being late.
“Sorry, the traffic was a bit heavy. I think I’m a little late.”
But when she saw his face, she froze.
Her already soft voice caught in her throat, vanishing completely.
At that exact moment, the clock hand on his watch pointed precisely to 7:30.
He lifted his gaze, eyes meeting hers. In his cool, detached expression, a faint, almost unnoticeable smile appeared.
“You’re not late, Lin Mitang. You’ve always been punctual,” he said.
Lin Mitang couldn’t respond.
Seeing the shock in her eyes, he raised an eyebrow, his smile deepening—
though it was impossible to tell if it carried amusement, or regret.
“What’s this? You don’t recognize me anymore?”
He shrugged carelessly. “But thinking about it, it has been quite a few years since we last saw each other. It’s normal if you’ve forgotten me.”
That same clear, familiar voice and tone.
As the initial shock slowly faded, Lin Mitang steadied her expression, a little reserved as she sat across from the man. “I didn’t forget.”
She called his name with certainty: “Cheng Dingyuan, long time no see.”
“Just… why are you here?”
Lin Mitang had first met Cheng Dingyuan when she was two years old.
Back then, the Cheng family had just moved into her neighborhood. From kindergarten through high school, they had always attended the same schools—practically childhood sweethearts.
She remembered that the Cheng family was well-off. Cheng’s father and mother not only shared a harmonious relationship but were also very fond of her.
Since they lived close by, Lin Mitang often visited their home.
Cheng’s mother was beautiful, her voice soft and gentle.
Every time, she would smile warmly and hand Lin Mitang a pile of snacks, or expensive fruits she would never have eaten at home.
Cheng’s father also left a strong impression—an elegant man who always wore glasses, sitting leisurely by the window reading and sipping tea.
Whenever he noticed her arrival, he would remove his glasses and look at her with kind affection.
“Ah, Mitang, you’re here. Dingyuan’s at home. Go play with him, and stay for dinner later, alright?”
As she grew older, Lin Mitang developed a natural sense of unease around adults, but never with Cheng’s parents.
Every visit to their home felt comfortable.
As for Cheng Dingyuan, he was the kind of child adults both loved and hated.
Handsome, always top of his class, winning awards endlessly, and athletic to boot. At every sports meet, he was first place in his solo events. Whether in middle school or high school, countless girls adored him.
But the bold and willful boy never obeyed rules, speaking and acting purely on his mood, leaving teachers constantly troubled.
After graduating high school, Cheng Dingyuan suddenly decided to study abroad. Lin Mitang never even got the chance to properly say goodbye. Eventually, they lost all contact.
Now, after so many years, they met again—under such circumstances.
Lin Mitang studied him carefully.
He had fully grown into his features, the boyishness gone, replaced with the steadiness of a mature man.
Yet, from the lazy curve of his lips and the casual tone in his voice, she could still see traces of the unruly boy he once was.
“And why else? Blind date, obviously.”
Lin Mitang blinked in brief confusion. “…Blind date? With who?”
But in her heart, she thought—had she heard that right? Even someone like Cheng Dingyuan needed a blind date?
Over the years, she had heard bits of news about him through high school classmates.
Apparently, he had done very well for himself. After returning to China, he founded a tech company and quickly rose to prominence in the industry—someone far out of reach for their peers.
With such exceptional conditions, surely he wouldn’t need to resort to blind dates.
She raised her eyes and found him watching her, an amused glint in his gaze that seemed to say, “You can’t be serious.”
Resting his chin on one hand, Cheng Dingyuan looked at her with a half-smile.
“Miss Lin Mitang, the person sitting across from me is you. Who else do you think I’m here on a blind date with?”
It took Lin Mitang several seconds to fully grasp his meaning.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she looked a little dazed. “So… you’re just here to humor your parents too?”
After all, with his conditions, that was the only explanation she could come up with.
“Of course not.” Cheng Dingyuan arched a brow.
His lips curved in a teasing smile, peach blossom eyes locked onto her. Then, out of nowhere, he asked:
“Lin Mitang, if I’m not mistaken, you should be twenty-seven this year, right?”
She didn’t understand why they were talking about blind dates one second, and then suddenly he cared about her age.
But she instinctively answered honestly: “Ah… yes.”
Cheng Dingyuan was only a few months older than her—he should have known that well.
He nodded, then continued.
His voice was calm, as though he were simply discussing the weather.
“Then do you still remember… that promise I once made to you?”
“That if you reached twenty-seven and still hadn’t married anyone… then I’d have to marry you?”