The knuckles on the hand clutching her phone went rigid. Her breathing grew heavy, and she froze in place.
“You… you should’ve asked me first.”
“I know you don’t like staying in touch with her.” Little Aunt had her reasons and hurried to explain. “She showed up at my house out of the blue that day and wouldn’t leave. She stayed the whole day. From the look on her face, she wasn’t going anywhere without your number.”
“Your Aunt’s Husband started getting annoyed, and the kids needed to rest for school the next day. I couldn’t just let her camp out at my place forever…”
“I’m sorry, Qiqi. Don’t hold it against Little Aunt.”
[TN: “Qiqi” (七七) is an affectionate nickname for Jiang Zao. The Chinese character for Zao (皂) is visually made up of two parts: ‘White’ (白) on top, and ‘Seven’ (七 – Qi) on the bottom!]
How could Jiang Zao possibly blame her? If Little Aunt hadn’t looked after her all these years, it was anyone’s guess whether she’d even have the life she did now.
She blamed only herself for dragging other people into her mess again.
“It’s okay. If you hadn’t given it to her, she would’ve kept hounding you.”
Little Aunt tried to reassure her. “Your mom’s getting on in years now. She’s not as wild as she was when she was young. Don’t worry.”
“If anything comes up, call Little Aunt right away. I don’t mind you troubling me.”
Jiang Zao murmured a couple of agreements, hung up, and headed off to her blind date.
~~~
Her date was thirty-two, the quintessential big-city finance bro. And how quintessential was he? It started with the very first words out of his mouth: “Federal Reserve rate cut.”
“I’ve been really looking forward to meeting Miss Jiang, but you know how overseas trips can shift at the drop of a hat.” He spent a solid five minutes mixing English into his rundown of his job, then undid the top two buttons of his shirt. A wave of men’s cologne hit her, all wrapped up in an aura of supreme confidence. “Truth be told, I was still at Nancheng Headquarters yesterday, grinding through back-to-back meetings with sponsors. We haven’t ordered yet, right? Waiter—”
Jiang Zao held her smile steady. “I don’t know much about this stuff, Mr. Liu. You pick.”
“You can leave it in my hands, no problem.” Mr. Liu flashed a grin. “I hit this place every time I’m in Qinnan. The ingredients are always fresh, at least. The head chef trained in the same city where I studied abroad, and the red wine gets airlifted straight from Italy. It’s got that fruit-forward profile I love, with perfect acidity.”
He went on like that for a good while before finally glancing her way. The scrutiny in his eyes was plain as day. “Heard Miss Jiang just wrapped up her master’s this year? Nanchuan University?”
She nodded.
“Prestige-wise, a mentor from Chongjing Media University might carry more weight.” He let out a chuckle, like he was forgiving her some minor sin. “Still, getting into Nanchuan’s no small feat.”
“Has Miss Jiang dated before?”
Jiang Zao shook her head. “School kept me too busy. No room for anything else.”
At last, she could get a word in, firing back politely. “Mr. Liu’s love life must be way more eventful than mine?”
“Not a ton of traditional relationships, honestly.” Mr. Liu’s gaze drifted up to the ceiling fixture, as if he figured that made him sound irresistibly suave. “Miss Jiang, you’ve been living in Nancheng for years now—you get it. For young folks like us, those casual, no-strings setups sometimes match the big-city pace better.”
“…”
Jiang Zao kept her smile in place, the corners of her mouth twitching ever so slightly. “So… what made Mr. Liu decide to jump into blind dates all of a sudden?”
“I’m not desperate or anything—you can see my prospects are solid.” Mr. Liu spread his hands before clasping them again; the gleam off his watch caught the wineglass. “But a guy’s gotta think about settling down at some point. A stable family setup’s non-negotiable.”
“Miss Jiang checks all my boxes.” He leaned in. “Word from your family is you’re keen on moving back to Nancheng long-term. I’ve already got a place there. With your degree and skills, I wouldn’t sweat you handling the home front or the kids’ upbringing.”
Jiang Zao’s smile didn’t waver. She said nothing, just lifted her glass and knocked back another gulp.
~~~
By ten that night, she and Mr. Liu were parting ways downstairs from the restaurant.
He’d offered to drive her home, but Jiang Zao’s emotional battery was tapped out. She couldn’t fake her way through another minute with this premium finance specimen.
She told him she was off to meet friends for round two. Even that short wait for her ride earned her a sly dig from Mr. Liu about how he wasn’t into women with wild nightlife habits.
Qinnan sat among the cities ringing Nancheng, just a high-speed rail hop under forty minutes away. The bustle of Riverside’s city center could give Nancheng’s a run for its money.
It was the heart of the night, when the glowing, thrumming streets pulsed like the city’s fevered arteries. The neighborhoods packed with young blood were lost in a boozy haze.
The two of them each hailed a cab.
Jiang Zao actually hadn’t called a cab at all. She just wanted to send him on his way so she could catch the bus.
She gazed across the street at the riverbank, sneaking a glance at her bank balance. Inwardly, she grumbled: The guy brags about pulling in tens of thousands a month, yet he’s terrified she’ll balk at splitting the bill and insists she foot it.
Had the blind date scene really sunk to nothing but weirdos?
This street was the ritziest spot in Qinnan City, lined with luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.
That call from Little Aunt had soured her mood, and she’d knocked back quite a few drinks during the date. Now the booze was hitting her hard. She turned her head, and even the streetlights trailed ghostly afterimages.
Dizzy, Jiang Zao stumbled toward a utility pole for support, but Mr. Liu beat her to it. He slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Careful.”
The touch of a stranger sent goosebumps prickling across her skin. Jiang Zao steadied herself on the pole and edged away a step, twisting back to thank him.
But the words “thank you” never made it past her lips. Her eyes slid past Mr. Liu, locking onto the entrance of the grand hotel behind them. A familiar figure came into view.
Xie Lisheng wore a casual button-down shirt and wide-leg pants, hands jammed in his pockets, strolling along at his usual easy pace.
The difference was the stunning woman in a Chanel dress walking beside him.
It was less like she was tagging along and more like he was escorting her.
His steps were slower than normal, synced to the rhythm of her high heels.
They didn’t seem close—their conversation was all polite formality. Jiang Zao knew the vibe all too well: probably his latest blind date.
But.
She narrowed her eyes, sharpening her focus.
The woman tilted her head up at him, her gaze shimmering with laughter. Xie Lisheng’s expression softened in response.
The atmosphere between them was night and day compared to her own standoffish blind date with him.
Call it intuition or whatever, but just as she stared, Xie Lisheng cut off his chat with the woman and looked straight over.
Jiang Zao reacted a beat too late. Their eyes met across the distance.
She jerked her head away in embarrassment, finally managing that thank-you to Mr. Liu.
Mr. Liu pulled his arm back from her shoulders. After that fleeting contact, his gaze grew more intense.
The cab he’d called pulled up. Jiang Zao watched it drive off, exhaling in relief.
She turned—and there was Xie Lisheng, just five steps away.
He was staring right at her.
The woman who’d been with him was gone.
Jiang Zao’s breath caught. She set her face in a mask of indifference, pretending not to notice, and started to walk away.
The street buzzed with traffic and chattering crowds, but his voice cut through crystal clear.
“What about your earphones?”
She halted, meeting his faintly gleaming eyes through the press of people. After a long moment, she dipped her head and shook it.
Blind dates colliding like this—was Qinnan really that small?
Xie Lisheng closed the gap in a few strides, eyeing her wilted posture and catching the whiff of alcohol. “How much did you drink?”
“My car’s parked nearby. Let’s walk over—I’ll grab your earphones.” He turned and led the way.
A breeze stirred as he passed, carrying the scent of booze.
He’d been drinking too. Plenty.
Same amount, and he was steady as a rock. So unfair.
By some stroke of coincidence, then, on this Friday night, the two of them ended up walking side by side along the neon-glowing riverside boardwalk.
Jiang Zao fixed her gaze on the path ahead and blurted, “Didn’t you say before that you weren’t rushing into blind dates?”
Xie Lisheng shot her a sidelong glance but didn’t reply. “When did I ever say that?”
“The vibe you gave off… it just seemed like you weren’t in any hurry.” Drunk as she was, her thoughts weren’t lining up straight—she was going purely by gut.
“So it really was a blind date.”
He let out a laugh, like the whole thing struck him as ridiculous. “Got a problem with that?”
“Of course not.” Jiang Zao hadn’t meant it that way and tacked on, “I was on one too.”
Xie Lisheng nodded, getting it. “I didn’t ask.”
Jiang Zao: “…”
Her mind drifted to her date that evening, and she stole a glance at Xie Lisheng. Without pausing to wonder if it was appropriate, she asked, “What do you think?”
“Of what?”
“Your blind date today.”
Their footsteps echoed with wooden creaks along the boardwalk, rippling ahead.
“Tough question?” He stayed silent as they rounded the corner and crossed the street. Keeping it light, she pressed on: “Fine, let me rephrase.”
Jiang Zao lifted her eyes, craning her neck to meet his. “Compared to me, how does she stack up?”
She was using herself—an utterly average girl in every way—as the benchmark.
She wanted to know if his date was some knockout.
No way she could be worse than the dud Jiang Zao had drawn.
But to Xie Lisheng’s ears, her words landed with a very different spin.
His gaze, which had been lowered, locked onto her face.
Jiang Zao was far from sober.
Her usually calm, somewhat dull round eyes, now flushed with the haze of alcohol, resembled a rippling lake set to boil. They gazed at everyone with deep affection, sparkling with life at every blink.
In that instant, Xie Lisheng had only one thought: Why didn’t I remember her looking like this before?
Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Jiang Zao repeated herself. “I’m asking you. Come on, how do I stack up?”
The streetlight flashed a beam of green—
Xie Lisheng pushed her forward, chuckling to himself as he shot back, “How am I supposed to compare myself to you?”
Her heartbeat skipped a sudden beat.
Wha…
The next moment, he glanced over at her with a teasing smile.
“You didn’t even let me get a word in that time.”
Jiang Zao: “…”
What on earth had she been expecting?