Chapter 13: Blind Date

Liu Hongying’s face flushed red, and she didn’t refute. She was both angry and wronged, pulling the blanket over her head and hiding herself completely.

Finally, the room was quiet. Lin Xiangnan sighed in contentment, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

As graduation approached, there wasn’t much going on at school. Students were either looking for jobs or going on blind dates.

Lin Xiangnan spent two days at school. On Sunday, she had just woken up when Hu Meili started fussing over her appearance.

“Put on more face cream, I bought it for you, didn’t I?”

“Change into a new outfit, why are you wearing that old thing?”

“What’s with your hair? It’s all loose and messy, not at all neat. Let me do it.”

Lin Xiangnan protected her hair, “It’s fine like this. Tying it too tight will make it fall out.”

“Nonsense,” Hu Meili rolled her eyes, “Alright, let’s go, don’t be late.”

Liu Hongying watched them, her eyes filled with longing, her mood sinking again. She disliked the person Hu Meili had introduced to her, but when she didn’t have a partner, she felt empty and envious.

Even though she wanted her daughter to stay in the city, Hu Meili wasn’t willing to settle for anything less. The person she introduced to Lin Xiangnan was carefully chosen.

Lin Xiangnan hadn’t had any expectations, but when she saw the handsome young man in the courtyard, her eyes lit up.

She looked at Hu Meili in shock, “He’s actually quite good-looking.”

It seemed middle-aged women weren’t all bad at judging looks, they weren’t just praising any man they saw.

“What do you mean by that? You don’t trust me anymore?” Hu Meili raised her chin proudly, “I know you young girls, you all like pretty boys.”

Because she had been the same when she was younger, she liked scholarly and refined men. She had fallen for Lin Xiangnan’s father at first sight.

Even though he had died young, and she had been widowed and remarried at a young age, she felt it was worth it. Because she had three beautiful children, her eldest son and second daughter were as smart as the deceased, she hadn’t married in vain.

Hu Meili greeted the matchmaker with Lin Xiangnan, then the elders left the two young people alone to get to know each other.

“Let’s go see a movie. I have two tickets,” Lin Xiangnan suggested.

The blind date was named Zhao Qi. He had a delicate and fair face, his temperament resembled a scholar from the Republic of China, but his personality wasn’t as gentle. He directly rejected Lin Xiangnan’s suggestion.

“What’s there to watch in a movie? Let’s just go for a walk in the park.”

Lin Xiangnan was on her first blind date, she didn’t know the procedure, so she said indifferently, “Okay, let’s go for a walk then.”

They hadn’t walked far when Zhao Qi said, “I heard you have many siblings. If you can’t find a job after graduation, you’ll have to go to the countryside, right?”

Lin Xiangnan looked at him strangely, “Aren’t we on a blind date?”

“Your fear of hardship is unacceptable,” Zhao Qi commented.

He looked good, but his personality was really off-putting. Lin Xiangnan stopped, “My feet hurt, I don’t want to go to the park anymore, let’s just stand here for a while and then go back to fulfill our obligation.”

“Then let’s stand here for a while,” Zhao Qi didn’t understand Lin Xiangnan’s meaning, and continued, “You’re very pretty, but you don’t know how to dress. If it weren’t for your face, I wouldn’t even go for a walk with you in the park. Your braid today is really ugly.”

“Just by listening to you, I know you’re a straight talker, but you can’t just say whatever comes to your mind. You look decent, but how come you talk without thinking?”

“What do you mean? I’m complimenting you, and you’re scolding me?” Zhao Qi’s face darkened.

Lin Xiangnan’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, “Compliment? Is that how you compliment someone?”

“That’s how I compliment people. You have to get used to it.”

Lin Xiangnan scoffed, turned around and left without hesitation.

“Your temper is also bad, you need to change it.”

“Change my ass, you’re the one with a problem.” Lin Xiangnan turned back and cursed, then sped up and ran away.

After taking Hu Meili out from the matchmaker’s house, Lin Xiangnan said directly, “He’s not suitable, I don’t like him.”

“You don’t like him?” Hu Meili suddenly raised her voice, “Such good conditions, and you don’t like him!”

“How can you decide after just one meeting?” Lin Xiangnan urged, “Help me find a few more, let’s see, maybe I’ll find someone I like.”

She actively participated in the blind date, but if the person wasn’t good, what could she do?

Hu Meili was unwilling to give up, on the way back, she kept trying to persuade her, “I think you misunderstood. He’s gentle and refined, not like what you said.”

“He’s not suitable, maybe the next one will be better. It’s a new era, we can’t put all our eggs in one basket.” Lin Xiangnan remained unmoved, “I wouldn’t marry someone like that, I’d rather go to the countryside.”

No matter what, her bottom line couldn’t be crossed. Even if she just found someone to live with, she had to find someone she found attractive.

Mentioning going to the countryside, Hu Meili shut up, grumbling, “I must have owed you in my last life, so I’m serving you like a cow and a horse in this life. Picking and choosing, I wonder what kind of person you’ll end up choosing.”

Although Hu Meili scolded her daughter at home, she still gave the matchmaker an answer.

“My Xiaonan said, they’re not compatible, so this time it’s over.”

“Oh dear, why not compatible? The Zhao family said Zhao Qi was very satisfied with your Xiaonan, why did you reject them? The Zhao family has such good conditions.”

“Zhao Qi’s father is a leader in the unit, with a high salary, and they only have one child, they definitely won’t be short of money. If your Xiaonan marries into their family, even if she doesn’t have a job, she can just stay at home and take care of the children, and life will be comfortable.”

“Other girls would all want to marry into the Zhao family, but Zhao Qi’s standards are high, he’s not interested in others. Your Xiaonan is pretty, so she caught his eye. Xiaonan is young, she doesn’t know how to appreciate it, you’re already this age, how can you not understand?”

The more the matchmaker spoke, the more Hu Meili’s heart ached, “Xiaonan doesn’t want to, what can I do? It’s not the old society, it’s not arranged marriage, I can’t force her to marry.”

“Then you can try to persuade her again when you go back?”

Hu Meili had a bitter face, “I can’t persuade her anymore. I talked myself hoarse yesterday, she didn’t change her mind.”

“Alright, then forget it. When I find someone good, I’ll arrange it for your Xiaonan.”

The matchmaker gave up, but Hu Meili’s heartache and regret didn’t end. When she got home, she started nagging at Lin Xiangnan.

Everyone in the family knew she was in a bad mood these past two days, so they all kept quiet and didn’t dare to provoke her.

After two days of being nagged at, Lin Xiangnan thought Hu Meili would finally stop on the third day. When she got home, she saw a visitor.

The visitor was her blind date Zhao Qi.

What did this mean? She just cursed at him a few times, she didn’t do anything. Why did he come to her doorstep?