Chapter 3 – Blind Date (Part 2)

Xu Shiqi’s parents ran a small restaurant with just twenty tables, including four private rooms. The restaurant was located on a street behind a large hotel, surrounded by internet cafes, game rooms, and foot massage parlors. Her family’s restaurant, called “Xu’s Culinary Notes,” was often referred to by regulars as “going to Xu’s,” making it sound like they were visiting a friend’s house. The reason regulars frequented the restaurant despite its location amidst entertainment venues was because Xu Shiqi’s father had wisely positioned the restaurant’s appeal: all the dishes were freshly cooked, with no ingredients left overnight. For customers with discerning palates from eating out frequently, being able to enjoy fresh stir-fried dishes was a reward for their taste buds.

Because of this, when some dishes took a bit longer to prepare, customers would take turns going to the kitchen to complain, only to return to their seats and wait patiently.

The kitchen employed two chefs, and during peak dining hours, the place was bustling and chaotic, like a raging fire. Meanwhile, the customers outside were struggling with the contradiction of having to wait another hour to be served while already feeling starved.

During such times, soothing the customers was crucial. Xu Shiqi’s father, Xu Zhongda, handled the kitchen operations, often standing at the kitchen door with his broad frame, listening to complaints. Her mother, Wang Yuan, manned the cash register, occasionally looking up to apologize to customers with a calm expression. There was no other way; such scenarios played out daily, and not everyone remembered to make reservations. There were, of course, those who left in a huff after waiting too long without getting their food.

Xu Shiqi admired her parents’ composure and gradually learned to adopt the same attitude.

After returning home, Xu Shiqi didn’t rush to find a job. Given how busy the family restaurant was, she decided to help out, even though she often couldn’t contribute much.

On this particular day, her mother, dressed elegantly, mysteriously went out to meet someone, leaving Xu Shiqi to sit at the cash register. It wasn’t yet eleven in the morning, and there was only one table of customers, seated in an upstairs private room. Bored, she turned on the TV, but since it was mounted high, her neck soon started to ache, making her nod off.

With only one table of customers, the food was served relatively quickly. The waitress, dressed in a red chili-like tunic and green leaf-like pants, passed by her frequently—an outfit chosen by her mother, who, thankfully, hadn’t insisted on a headscarf.

While Xu Shiqi was lost in thought, the glass door opened, and a man and woman walked in. At first glance, they looked like a mother and son. The woman talked nonstop from the moment she entered, while the man focused on frowning and finding a place to sit.

They didn’t go upstairs but chose a window seat somewhat far from the cash register. The waitress, Reiko, handed them menus and then turned back to Xu Shiqi, making exaggerated facial expressions—she had apparently overheard something interesting.

After taking their order and returning to the cash register to get drinks, Reiko whispered to Xu Shiqi, “These two are here for a blind date.”

Xu Shiqi couldn’t help but show a look of understanding mixed with sympathy, “Let’s wish him good luck.”

Reiko’s expression became even more animated, knowing that Xu Shiqi had recently been set up on a blind date by the store manager’s wife, which had ended due to the man being “late.”

A short while later, Reiko returned to Xu Shiqi, this time with a pout, clearly unhappy.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Shiqi asked softly.

“That woman was complaining about why the girl chose such a small restaurant, as if it’s so disgraceful…” Reiko grumbled, scratching the counter in frustration.

Xu Shiqi smiled and patted her hand. That mother and son did seem to dress rather meticulously, so maybe the woman was a regular customer.

After some time, the woman, having checked her watch eleven times, finally got up, gave the man a few more instructions, and hurriedly left.

It looked like only the main characters of the blind date were left now.

Having been on a forced blind date herself, Xu Shiqi was curious about others’ experiences. Even though more customers arrived, she kept an eye on that table. Around noon, the restaurant became busier, and she received a call from Wen Baohua.

“Where are you?”

“I’m helping out at the restaurant,” Xu Shiqi answered directly.

There was a sigh of relief on the other end, followed by a hurried “phew” before the call was abruptly ended.

Xu Shiqi was puzzled, but had to attend to more customers and planned to call back later.

She didn’t need to, because a few minutes later, Wen Baohua pushed open the restaurant’s glass door.

Behind her was a girl with very plain eyes and a noticeably thin frame.

The two entered separately but seemed to have coordinated their actions. Wen Baohua headed straight for the cash register, while the thin girl approached the table where the man waiting for the blind date was seated.

Xu Shiqi saw them both at the same time and instantly recognized the thin girl as Wen Baohua’s cousin, Wen Jialuo, who had been a bridesmaid at her wedding.

“She…” Xu Shiqi, somewhat stunned, pointed at the couple on the blind date. She saw Wen Jialuo’s gaze sweep over after she sat down, and Xu quickly retracted her finger, saying to Wen Baohua, who had just ordered a bottle of water, “No way…”

“It’s exactly what you see,” Wen Baohua, slightly out of breath, confirmed her unspoken question.

Xu Shiqi was at a loss for words, realizing that the blind date taking place in her family’s restaurant was probably not a coincidence but influenced by Baohua.

Thinking back, it seemed Baohua had mentioned her sister being even more troublesome than herself. However, Xu Shiqi couldn’t see where the trouble lay and didn’t understand why Baohua had brought her sister here for a blind date.

Baohua seemed to sense Xu Shiqi’s confusion and smiled wryly, “You don’t know my sister well, and I couldn’t take you both to the date, so your restaurant was the best place.” However, there was something she didn’t say. Initially, the man had suggested the best Western restaurant in the city, but Jialuo had immediately vetoed it. Her contrarian attitude reminded Baohua of Xu Shiqi, prompting her to choose this place instead.

Looking back, Jialuo’s expression was still calm and she hadn’t spoken. It was unclear whether the man with his back to them was giving a solo performance or was equally silent. This scene made Baohua shiver and feel relieved that she didn’t have to endure such awkwardness since she had married for love.

The background noise of customers calling for their orders persisted like a constant symphony, making it impossible to hear anything from that table. Xu Shiqi gave up on her curiosity, figuring Baohua would explain everything later.

Just as Baohua and Xu Shiqi started chatting, the woman from the blind date stood up and walked straight towards them. Xu Shiqi, resting her hand on the counter, watched her approach and suddenly realized that the common complaint about their restaurant being too small and the tables too close together might not be entirely fair. Watching Baohua’s cousin walk over confidently, unlike the waitresses who had to waltz around, she whispered, “Your sister is really thin, huh.”

Baohua, raising her eyebrows, sighed slightly and quickly asked Wen Jialuo, who had arrived, “What’s wrong? Do you need something?”

Without looking at Xu Shiqi, Wen Jialuo replied calmly, “It’s too noisy here.”

Xu Shiqi’s mouth twitched. She heard Baohua tentatively ask, “So…should we go somewhere else?”

“No,” Jialuo seemed to smile, “because it’s too noisy, the date is over.”

Her words were so blunt that Baohua’s mouth twitched, and Xu Shiqi struggled to suppress her laughter, lowering her head to make it clear she wasn’t getting involved.

“Let’s go,” Jialuo said, turning to leave.

As the hostess, Xu Shiqi habitually added, “Take care, come again next time.”

Jialuo paused and looked back at her.

That voice…

Xu Shiqi, seeing her turn back, wondered if she had said something wrong. Given that she had used the noise as an excuse to end the date, she probably wouldn’t be coming back. So she smiled and added, “Goodbye.”

Jialuo, who had been hesitant, immediately confirmed that it was the same voice!

It was the voice she had heard upstairs at her cousin’s place the day before her wedding. She hadn’t seen who the voice belonged to but knew it was a friend of her cousin. Later, at the wedding, there were too many of her cousin’s friends for her to identify the owner of the voice, and it had become a fleeting memory.

She hadn’t expected to hear that voice here and was slightly disappointed that the owner of such a gentle and pure voice didn’t have the same classical beauty as her cousin.

If she hadn’t heard her speak, Jialuo would never have associated that angelic voice with this woman, whose eyes had a mischievous glint.

No wonder she couldn’t recognize the voice among her cousin’s friends.

With that thought, her obsession with the voice faded, and she walked out. Baohua had no choice but to stomp her foot, gesture to Xu Shiqi to call her later, and followed them out.

Once the two Wen family members left, Xu Shiqi finally allowed herself to laugh. Goodness, she thought “being late” was an excellent excuse, but it turned out that “too noisy” was even better. She bit her lip, wondering if she could use that excuse next time.

Soon, the man from the blind date, now alone, came over to buy a pack of cigarettes, talking on his phone as he did.

“No, she’s too skinny! No flesh on her bones, it’d be like hugging a skeleton… no matter how good her other qualities are, I’m not interested…”

This time, Xu Shiqi couldn’t muster a smile. She numbly gave him his change, a strange thought crossing her mind. But she immediately dismissed it because it seemed too unkind, and she would never treat herself that way.