Chapter 40: A Blind Date?
Chapter 40: A Blind Date?
Xiaoyu dragged her suitcase, looked at the unfamiliar station, rubbed her sore forehead, and made a phone call.
“Qianqian, I’ve arrived.”
“Do you want me to pick you up and stay at my place for the night?” a female voice came from the other end of the phone.
“No need. I’m going to stay at my uncle’s place tonight. I’ll rest tomorrow and go directly to your wedding the day after.”
“Alright, see you then.” the female voice replied from the phone.
After hanging up, just as she was about to call a taxi, her phone rang again.
“Xiaoman, what’s up?”
“Sis, I have some bad news.” a gleeful voice sounded from the phone.
“What bad news? I’m a bit tired now. Hurry up and tell me. I still need to go to Uncle Zhang’s house.”
“I overheard Dad talking on the phone with Uncle Zhang today. Uncle Zhang asked about you, found out you’re about to graduate, and then the topic turned to your future marriage. Guess what happened next?”
Xiaoman’s voice was still full of glee.
“What happened?” Xiaoyu had a bad feeling.
“Hehe, Uncle Zhang said Aunt Zhen has a nephew who also just graduated from university this year, from your school. He thought you two would be a good match and wants you to meet tomorrow. If you hit it off, you can be friends; if not, just treat it as meeting someone new.”
Xiaoman laughed over the phone, thoroughly enjoying the situation.
“No way?” Xiaoyu was stunned. “They want me to go on a blind date?”
“Pretty much. Mom and Dad both agreed. After all, someone introduced by Uncle Zhang must be reliable. Sis, you’re on your own now. I can only help you this much. Hahahaha…”
Before her laughter faded, the line went dead. Xiaoman had already hung up, leaving Xiaoyu bewildered.
She had come to Huacheng to attend her high school classmate’s wedding. But her father wasn’t comfortable with her traveling alone, so he asked her to stay at a friend’s house for a few days and return home for the New Year.
She had met Uncle Zhang Yang a few times. He and her father were both in the fishing boat business and were good friends. Uncle Zhang was a nice person, so Xiaoyu agreed.
But now they wanted her to go on a blind date? And she wasn’t even informed? What if she really met him tomorrow?
Thinking of this possibility, Xiaoyu’s face fell. She hurriedly flagged down a taxi and headed to the nearest hotel. She definitely couldn’t go to Uncle Zhang’s house now; it would be too awkward.
Just after getting in the car, her phone rang again.
It was Aunt Zhen.
Seeing the number, Xiaoyu instantly tensed up. “Aunt Zhen.”
“Hello, Xiaoyu, you’ve arrived, right? I’ll have your uncle pick you up.”
“I’ve arrived, but there’s no need to trouble Uncle. I’m going out to eat with a friend now. I might be back late, so I’ll stay at her place tonight and come to your house tomorrow.” Xiaoyu lied, feeling her heart beat faster.
“Is that so? Okay then. Come over early tomorrow. Be safe if you’re going out at night, and don’t stay out too late.”
After hanging up, Xiaoyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
…
The next day, Chen Mo was woken up early by his mother to have breakfast.
“Ah Mo, go change into something nicer and come with me to your aunt’s house.”
“Aunt has seen me before. Why do I need to dress so nicely?”
“You just got back. Make a good impression. Don’t be as sloppy as you are at home. You’re a grown-up now.”
Chen Mo felt something was off, but he didn’t refuse his mother’s request. He found a comfortable-looking outfit and went out with her.
The aunt was his mother’s younger sister, named Shao Zhen. He also called her Aunt Zhen.
She had taken good care of him when he was little, so Chen Mo had a very good impression of this aunt. She always gave him red envelopes during holidays.
Chen Mo remembered when he was young, his father was out of work, and the family wasn’t well off. When his eldest uncle came to collect debts, it was Aunt Zhen’s husband who lent them money to pay him back.
After that incident, his family fell out with his eldest uncle’s side, and their relationship with Aunt Zhen’s family became closer.
Soon, led by his mother, Chen Mo arrived at Aunt Zhen’s house.
As soon as they reached the door, Aunt Zhen came out. Seeing Chen Mo, she smiled. “You’ve grown into a handsome young man.”
“Thank you, Aunt Zhen. Where’s Xinxin?” Chen Mo asked.
He remembered his cousin who grew up in their house. Back then, Aunt Zhen and her husband went out to work, and with no elders to look after the child, they sent his cousin to their family for care.
So he and his cousin Zhang Xinxin grew up together, just like real siblings.
“That girl went traveling during the break, then to a friend’s house. She hasn’t come back.” Aunt Zhen said. “Ah Mo, you sit in the living room for a while. Your mother and I will go to the kitchen to cook.”
“Ah Zhen, what about the girl?” Mother Chen asked as they walked.
“She’s not here yet. I’ll call and ask.”
Chen Mo sat on the sofa and straightened up. His body had undergone Potential Exploitation, so his hearing was very sharp. He clearly heard their conversation.
“A girl?”
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Chen Mo’s mind, finally settling on two words.
Blind date?
Thinking of this possibility, Chen Mo almost spat out blood.
Back at school, he had teased Xiaoyu, saying she might be taken on a blind date when she went home. And now, as soon as he got home, he was the one being dragged into it.
Even if it was a joke, did it have to be so literal? Chen Mo still wasn’t entirely sure, so he slowly moved closer to the kitchen.
“Xiaoyu, why aren’t you here yet? The food is almost ready.”
“Well, Aunt Zhen, I… I’m not feeling well. Can we do it another day?” Inside a hotel room, Xiaoyu looked anxious, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
That damn Chen Mo. She would definitely deal with him when she got back.
At school, he said she might be taken on a blind date when she went home, and that jerk was actually right. She couldn’t sleep all night thinking about this.
“Not feeling well? Then I’ll have my nephew pick you up and take you to see a doctor. Your father told us to look after you. Otherwise, we can’t explain it to him.”
Aunt Zhen didn’t suspect anything. From what Old He said, his daughter was very well-behaved.
“No, no, it’s not necessary, Aunt Zhen. It’s a minor thing, not that serious. Wait, I’m going out with a classmate soon. I wouldn’t be able to stay at your place for long anyway. How about I come over later? My classmate is here to see me now. I’ll contact you later. Goodbye, Aunt Zhen.”
After saying that, Xiaoyu directly hung up the phone.
“Stupid Chen Mo, jinx.”
Xiaoyu was cursing Chen Mo in her heart, but she didn’t know how to handle Aunt Zhen next.
“Achoo!”
Outside the kitchen, Chen Mo sneezed, his face full of despair. He didn’t even know how he felt right now.
He had heard everything his aunt just said. She wanted to introduce a girl to him.
Basically, it was a blind date.
“Mom, Aunt Zhen, I’m not feeling well. I’m going out to buy medicine.” Chen Mo shouted and, without waiting for their reply, rushed out of the house.
“Ah Mo, where are you going? Aren’t you eating?”
Just as he ran outside, he bumped into his uncle. His uncle was usually optimistic and a bit humorous. Every time he saw Chen Mo, the two got along very well.
“Uncle, well… I’m going out to buy something.” Chen Mo ran off as fast as he could.
Seeing Chen Mo’s fleeing back, Zhang Yang shook his head and smiled, then walked into the house.
“Where’s Xiao Mo?” As soon as Zhang Yang entered the living room, Shao Xuemei looked at the empty sofa and asked.
“He ran off. Probably figured out we were introducing a girl to him.” Zhang Yang chuckled. “Xiaoyu didn’t come either?”
“Xiaoyu said she made plans with a classmate.” Shao Zhen said.
“Let’s cook then. We’ll eat by ourselves. I’ll call a few friends over for a drink. Those two probably both knew it was a blind date and ran off with excuses.” Zhang Yang chuckled a few times. “We’ll find another chance next time. You can’t force these things. They just graduated from university and are still young. They might not be used to it yet.”
Chen Mo ran out onto the street, still feeling startled.
That was too dangerous. They quietly tricked him into a blind date. If Xiaoyu found out, she’d probably laugh herself to death.
Just as he reached the street, his phone rang.
Seeing it was Xiaoyu, he immediately relaxed. If it was his mother calling him back, he’d rather just go to the hospital and stay there for two hours.
“Xiaoyu, what’s up?”
“Your family is in Huacheng, right?” Xiaoyu asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m in Huacheng right now.” Xiaoyu said.
“Did you miss me that much? You came to find me? Where are you?”
Chen Mo immediately laughed. This was perfect timing. He had nowhere to go now. He definitely couldn’t go back to his aunt’s place. If he went home now and his mother came back, she’d probably skin him alive for standing someone up.
“A good friend of mine is getting a wedding, and it’s here. I just got home, and they only just told me, so I had to rush here. I just arrived last night and didn’t tell you. I have some free time today. Take me out to have some fun.” Xiaoyu said.
After getting Xiaoyu’s address, Chen Mo rushed over immediately.
Seeing Xiaoyu, Chen Mo’s frustration from being tricked into the blind date vanished completely. But he definitely couldn’t tell Xiaoyu about this, or she’d laugh at him to death.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Stop talking first. Let me hit you for a bit.”
Xiaoyu thought about the blind date incident and desperately wanted to beat Chen Mo up. That jinx of his actually made her almost get tricked into a blind date as soon as she got home. Luckily, her sister warned her, or it would have been really awkward.
“Go ahead and hit me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoyu started pounding on him wildly, but only on his shoulders, and she stopped when her hands started hurting.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone hurt themselves while hitting someone else.” Chen Mo directly grabbed Xiaoyu’s hands and laughed.
“I’m done throwing my little tantrum.” After saying that, Xiaoyu kissed him on the cheek. “That’s your compensation. Now take me out to play. Anywhere is fine.”
“Let’s go to my house. Meet my parents.”
“Dream on.” Hearing about meeting parents, Xiaoyu’s face instantly turned red. “You kept the scarf with you all this time?” Xiaoyu started to straighten Chen Mo’s clothes, which had gotten messy from her hitting him.
“Of course. Wearing it is like having you by my side.”
“Eww~ I see you’ve gotten cheesy.” Xiaoyu made a disgusted face, then smiled softly. “Come with me to my friend’s wedding tomorrow.”