6. Observing the night sky, I felt that the auspicious moment had arrived.

9.

The atmosphere became a little bit subtle.

My ears inexplicably started to feel hot.

Perhaps this is the biggest difference between blind dates and other forms of romantic relationships.

When you start knowing that the other person is coming with the intention of dating or even spending their lives together, our relationship can directly leap from being strangers to being in love, with a very short transition in between.

But this transition is too short!

Although it may lack a bit of excitement, we’re all adults now, and there’s no need to beat around the bush. Taking a direct approach eliminates a lot of ambiguous testing and the tangled web of uncertainties.

Wei Nanlin also seemed to sense the delicate atmosphere and took the initiative to find a topic: “So, what do you usually do for work?”

“Oh, I’m in graphic design. For example, I design logos for clients, create layouts for online shop detail pages, or work on food packaging and such.”

“Is it difficult to run a physical store these days?”

“Yeah, indeed. Our boss closed down two out of the three physical stores that he had, so now our main focus is the online business. The online shop business is actually quite stable.”

Wei Nanlin said, “I’ve heard that designers are usually busy and often work late into the night. How about your company?”

I interjected, “It’s alright. Our boss is young too, and the company’s management is quite humane. We have two days off each week, but we need to ensure that three people are on duty each day. We take turns to have time off.”

Wei Nanlin nodded, “That’s good. At least you still have days off.”

I was quite surprised, “Don’t doctors usually have weekends off? You can’t even get an appointment on the weekends!”

Wei Nanlin replied, “We also have on-call duties, and our hospital has a public account that needs to be maintained. When we have some free time, we need to write articles at home. When there are lectures on the weekends, there’s practically no rest. Actually, this is the first day off for me this month.”

It’s almost the end of the month, and suddenly I felt a bit sympathetic towards him.

Of course, besides sympathy, there’s also admiration.

“I’ll go follow your hospital’s public account. Do you use a pen name or your real name?”

“Just call me Nanlin.”

As I was searching, I commented, “Your name sounds really nice, unlike mine. My name was chosen without much thought.”

“Are you born on the Chu Qi of the lunar month?”

“Yeah, and then my aunt said a name with seven characters was too simple, so my dad changed it to Qidai (期待), which means ‘expectation’.”

“That sounds nice too, and it’s easy to remember,” Wei Nanlin said.

After some mutual business praises, I awkwardly sent a friend request to the doctor again — I had removed him from my contacts after blocking him earlier.

Wei Nanlin raised his eyebrows, “You actually removed me?”

I apologized with a gesture of clasped hands, “I’m sorry! I really thought you were that bald guy!”

Wei Nanlin put on a serious face, “Judging people by appearances is not right.”

My voice turned softer, “The main reason was that he started eating while we were on the call, and I felt he was very disrespectful to me…”

Suddenly, he burst into laughter, “Just add me by calling me ‘brother’.”

Huh?

Is this a trick again!?

After chatting for a while, we finished all the food on the table. I couldn’t help but let out a satisfied burp.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Dr. Wei’s mouth.

“Laugh all you want, don’t tell me you don’t burp?”

“Of course I don’t!”

“Scam!”

“You’ll know in the future.”

We exchanged a knowing smile. Even though it wasn’t fully revealed, the word “future” became our unspoken anticipation.

Finally, I wasn’t solo anymore!

Exiting the restaurant, the light grew brighter, and the warm filter that seemed to envelop us disappeared. It was then I noticed that Dr. Wei’s profile had a rather stern and well-defined facial structure. His skin was fair and well-maintained; despite being in his thirties, there weren’t any pronounced wrinkles around his eyes, making him look like a college student.

Dr. Wei seemed to notice and sensitively touched his lips, “Did I not clean up properly?”

“No,” I fixed my gaze on his nose, “I noticed that your nose bridge is really high, much like that of Westerners.”

He turned to look at me, “Yours… is certainly not as high as mine.”

I playfully tapped my nose bridge, “It might be because I often wear glasses; they’ve flattened my bones.”

“Why aren’t you wearing them today?”

“Since I was meeting you, I wore contact lenses.”

Wei Nanlin: “Why do you wear contact lenses when you meet me?”

I gradually blushed: “Why do you always ask such straightforward questions?”

“Wei Nanlin turned his head, sizing me up from head to toe: ‘Did you dress up on purpose?'”

“… Don’t ask any more!”

“Sorry, it’s a bit of a professional habit,” Wei Nanlin suddenly lifted his hand and ruffled my hair, “Your nose suits your features really well.”

“Thank you.”

I finally understood why cats and dogs love being petted so much!

This gesture is really gentle!

Thank goodness I washed my hair last night.

Wei Nanlin then spoke with a serious tone again: “Actually, wearing glasses won’t make your nose bridge collapse. Like other bones, the nose bridge has a certain hardness. Wearing glasses for a long time will only create two small indentations.”

“…”

After delivering that blow, he smiled and went to buy drinks.

Did you think there would be a romantic scene with two straws in a cup of cola, reaching for each other’s hands while munching on popcorn?

No!

He just bought two bottles of mineral water!

“You should drink more water, it’s good for your health.”

“… “ I looked at the kids holding popcorn buckets in their hands, then looked at him.

Wei Nanlin glanced at the popcorn, then at me, and once again came out with a surprising statement: “Can you still eat all of that?”

“…”

Fine! Is it not acceptable if I don’t eat anymore?

How does this person’s emotional intelligence fluctuate so unpredictably!

For the movie, I chose the popular film ‘The Meg’, a sci-fi blockbuster with realistic special effects. Throughout the movie, I could hear the exclamations from the audience around us: ‘Wow – Oh – Ah!’

When the shark invaded the base, Wei Nanlin took off his glasses and sympathized, “Uh-oh… that little girl is going to be eaten.”

“…” I patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, in Hollywood blockbusters, kids never die.”

Wei Nanlin was quite surprised, “Is there such a rule?”

“Of course!” I explained to him proudly, “In American TV shows, scenes of kids dying are very rare. They might only be killed off at the beginning to set up the story. Even in horror movies, kids usually survive, let alone in mainstream movies like this.”

“Oh…” Wei Nanlin suddenly realized, “This touches on my knowledge gap.”

I laughed, “Welcome to enroll for Chu Qi’s Trivia Mini-Class! I’ll recommend all sorts of great American films for you!”

He leaned in close to my ear, “Can the teacher accompany me to watch movies?”

“Of course!”

Wei Nanlin enthusiastically raised his hand, “I’m signing up!”

After the movie finished, my first priority was to relieve myself after holding it in for so long.

Feeling relieved.

While going downstairs, I casually asked, “How did you come here?”

“I walked,” Wei Nanlin said.

I was taken aback, “Why didn’t you drive? Is your home nearby?”

“It’s about four to five kilometers away. It’s healthier to walk a bit more.”

“Aren’t you a psychologist? Why are you acting like an old traditional Chinese doctor, emphasizing health so much?”

“I didn’t just study psychology. Scientific experiments have shown that prolonged sitting can lead to decreased immunity, sore neck and back, slow blood flow, reduced memory, and various other problems. Only regular exercise is the foundation for maintaining good health.”

I burst into laughter, “Where are these kinds of experiments?”

“They do exist,” Wei Nanlin said with a smile. “You should also pay attention. Staring at the computer for long periods is bad for your eyes and spine. You need to get up and move around after sitting for a while.”

“Oh, speaking of that! My back has been a bit sore recently! My colleague told me that the hospital has a massage department where people can get massages, right?”

Wei Nanlin replied, “We don’t have that here for now. You would have to go to a larger traditional Chinese medicine hospital in the northern part of the city.”

“Oh, then I guess I’ll go for a blind massage instead. The round trip to the northern part of the city would cost over a hundred in fuel alone.”

Wei Nanlin glanced at me, “Actually, I’ve also learned a bit about massage.”

“You’re too versatile!”

“Just reading a book in my spare time.”

Reading a book when having spare time.

Look at this person’s lifestyle! Healthy, low-key, and hardcore! And at the same time, it benefits countless people!

But all I know is how to play some King of Glory…

We chatted about backaches and soreness for a while, and I belatedly realized, “Are you suggesting to give me a massage?”

Wei Nanlin: “Yes.”

“Well, that’s a bit embarrassing… hehe.” I grinned slyly.

Wei Nanlin: “So, would you be willing to pay three hundred for an hour?”

I exclaimed, “You’re quite the money-grubber!”

At the elevator lobby, we exchanged affectionate glances, reluctant to part.

“How about I take you back? It’s getting late, and you’ll have work tomorrow.”

Wei Nanlin: “Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“It’s not a trouble!”

Wei Nanlin’s home was very close to our company, at most just one kilometer away, with only two traffic lights in between.

His apartment building was an older one, the exterior had weathered over time, showing signs of wear and tear. However, the advantage of those older buildings was that they weren’t too tall, and there was plenty of green space.

I noticed that their apartment building had no more than ten floors, with a considerable gap between it and the one in front, indicating ample sunlight.

I liked communities with fewer people, less hustle and bustle.

Wei Nanlin’s home was on the ground floor, with an open-style small garden outside, very spacious. The garden was planted with various flowers and plants, as well as a pomegranate tree.

I couldn’t help but approach and ask, “Did you arrange all of these?”

“Of course not, they all fell from the sky and landed in front of our door.”

His cold humor made me laugh again, “This pomegranate is huge, even bigger than my fist.”

Wei Nanlin casually plucked a large pomegranate.

“Give it a taste.”

“Thank you.”

Who could have thought that the first thing I would receive upon coming to the doctor’s house would be a pomegranate?

We stood beside the lush pomegranate tree, with faint cicada and frog sounds in our ears and a starry sky above us.

As I observed the night sky, a slight smile curled at the corner of my lips. The atmosphere was so beautifully romantic and had a strong touch of bourgeois sentimentality.

The auspicious moment had arrived, and the next moment should involve a bit of ambiguous action, right?

I hinted with my eyes, and suddenly, Dr. Wei raised his hand.

Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!—

Blushing, I closed my eyes.

Dr. Wei pinched a leaf, saying, “Xiao Chu, did you know that pomegranate leaves actually have the effect of astringency and stopping diarrhea? Pomegranate peel can also stop bleeding, treat dysentery, intestinal wind with blood, hemorrhages…”

“…”