Chapter 40: Blind Date

In March 1988, An Xiuxiu gave birth to a healthy, chubby baby girl with dark, shiny hair and big, round eyes—she was especially adorable. Song Shiyan held her, comforting her, and named her Song Mingzhu, the precious pearl of the Song family.

Jiang Banyue brought a basket of eggs to visit her. In the kitchen, an elderly woman around seventy years old was stewing pig’s feet soup. This was Song Shiyan’s grandmother.

Jiang Banyue greeted the elderly woman and then went into the bedroom to chat with An Xiuxiu.

An Xiuxiu was lying on the bed, smiling happily, and called out, “Jiang Jie.” The baby was lying beside her, peacefully sleeping.

Jiang Banyue quietly walked over to look at the adorable little girl.

“The baby is so cute.”

An Xiuxiu smiled and said, “She looks like me. I was so chubby when I was her age!”

“How’s your recovery going?” Jiang Banyue asked her with concern.

An Xiuxiu patted her chest confidently.

“I’m doing great, no problems at all!”

Jiang Banyue felt relieved. After chatting a bit more, she decided to leave. As she walked along the villa area’s road, she noticed that more and more people were moving into the area. She became worried that she might not be able to afford a place in the future, so she decided to use all her savings to buy a house. The prices would only go up, and it seemed better to bite the bullet and buy now while it was still affordable.

Jiang Banyue went home, took out her savings book, and went to the bank to withdraw money. Before leaving, Shen Yunhe had given her all his money, or else she wouldn’t have been able to buy the house.

After purchasing the house and completing the paperwork, Jiang Banyue walked out of the villa district holding the property deed. She had bought the house—a three-story villa of over 100 square meters.

This would be the home for her and the children in the future. Although she had spent all her money, she still felt very happy inside.

“Ugh! Back to being poor again. I really need to work harder and earn more money!”

On her way back, Jiang Banyue passed by a coffee shop and saw a familiar face through the window—Gu Qingci. He was sitting at a round table, with a pretty woman sitting across from him.

Jiang Banyue guessed they were on a blind date. She quickly left. Gu Qingci had once hinted at wanting to be with her, but she had rejected him. In this life, all she wanted was to earn money and raise her children. She had no interest in love or relationships.

Inside the coffee shop, Gu Qingci stared blankly out the window, watching Jiang Banyue’s departing figure. Since the last time he confessed and was rejected, he hadn’t seen her in months. Recently, his mother had been driving him crazy about his marriage, constantly coming up with ways to set him up on blind dates.

“Qingci, Qingci…” The woman across from him called his name over and over, but he kept looking outside. The woman turned to look as well, but saw nothing.

She reached out to grab Gu Qingci’s hand, but he shrugged her off, standing up.

“Zhao Jie, I’m sorry. I don’t think we’re suited for each other.”

Zhao Feifei stood up, sizing up the man. When her family had arranged the blind date with him, she had been quite pleased. His family was well-off, and he wasn’t bad-looking either.

“What’s wrong with us? I think we’re quite compatible. Are you sure you don’t want to at least try dating me?”

“No need!” Gu Qingci turned and left. Zhao Feifei stomped her foot angrily.

“Gu Qingci!”

Back at home, Zhao Feifei’s mother greeted her.

“How did it go? Wasn’t that guy from the Gu family quite good?”

“Hmph!” Zhao Feifei threw her bag on the sofa, sitting down angrily.

Zhao Mother walked over, asking, “What’s wrong? Why are you so upset? Did that guy from the Gu family bully you?”

“Mom!” Zhao Feifei fumed, “Gu Qingci wasn’t paying attention during our blind date! He didn’t even try to make it work. He left me alone in the shop and just walked off! I was so embarrassed!”

“What! Isn’t that just messing with you?”

Zhao Mother sat on the sofa and dialed Gu Mother’s number. As soon as the call connected, she began to scold her.

“Old Gu, your son is too much! If he didn’t want to go on a blind date, why did he agree to it? Leaving my daughter all alone in the shop, making her look bad!”

Gu Mother was stunned. After a moment, she quickly apologized.

“Sorry, how’s Feifei doing?”

“She’s fine, no need to worry!” Zhao Mother snapped and hung up the phone angrily. Gu Mother sat on the sofa, her face dark. Over the years, she had introduced many potential matches to her son, but he didn’t like any of them. When she asked if he had anyone in mind, he always denied it.

“What does he want?”

When Gu Qingci returned home, his mother was waiting for him in the hallway with a serious expression. He walked slowly toward her.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

Gu Mother spoke sternly. “Why did you leave the Zhao girl alone in the shop? Why do you keep resisting blind dates?”

“Mom, I’m sorry.” Gu Qingci lowered his head in guilt. Gu Mother softened and spoke more calmly.

“If you like someone, just bring her home. Even if her family isn’t that great, it’s fine. I’m not old-fashioned.”

Gu Mother felt she had guessed her son’s thoughts correctly. He must like someone but was afraid to tell her because he thought she wouldn’t approve.

Gu Qingci had always wanted to bring her home, but she wouldn’t accept his love. The last time, when he was playing with the babies, one of them had unintentionally called him “Dad.” He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and answered. Taking the chance, he indirectly confessed to Jiang Banyue.

“If the babies like me, I’m willing to be their dad for life.”

Jiang Banyue rejected him, saying, “The babies have their own biological father, and he loves them very much. If they accept you as their father, it wouldn’t be fair to their real dad!”

He had left the shop that day in a daze, and after that, he avoided Jiang Banyue. He hadn’t been back to her shop and spent his days locking himself in his room, drinking himself into a stupor.

Gu Mother was convinced her son had someone he liked, so she decided to observe him more carefully and see who he was spending time with. After a few days of watching, she found that he was either at the factory or out drinking with his friends. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“Could it be that I was wrong? Maybe he doesn’t have anyone he likes after all.”

Just as she was about to head home, she saw her son stop on the street, his eyes fixed on something across the road. Gu Mother looked across and saw Jiang Banyue’s cake shop. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the woman her son liked was Jiang Banyue?

Although she liked Jiang Banyue, it didn’t mean she would accept her as a daughter-in-law. Jiang Banyue was divorced and had three kids. Her son came from a good family and was handsome; he could have any woman he wanted. How could he marry a woman who was divorced and had children? It would be a laughingstock.

Gu Mother tried to reassure herself. “I must be mistaken. No way, Qingci wouldn’t like a divorced woman with kids!”

She glanced at her son, then turned and walked home. She decided to gather more photos of other women for him to choose from. Surely, he would find someone he liked.