Candy!
Candy—a name that sounded sweet just hearing it.
With his limited knowledge of Foreign Language, Zhou Feiyu barely recognized the word. He felt somewhat pleased too. At least she seemed to have a good attitude. She did not resist talking to her blind date, nor did she act arrogantly and keep him at arm's length.
Of course, Zhou Feiyu was not going to entertain any unnecessary illusions because of that.
They were only chatting through WeChat; it did not mean anything. Blind dates arranged by family were generally reliable, after all. They were all from the same hometown, people who would see each other sooner or later.
"Hello, I'm Zhou Feiyu."
Zhou Feiyu sent several messages, briefly introducing himself before asking about her situation.
He casually opened her Moments as well. She had not blocked him or restricted her posts to the past three days. After scrolling a little, he could see everything from the past year.
"A homebody type."
Most of her Moments consisted of photos with family or friends, little snippets of her everyday life. That made Zhou Feiyu like her a little more.
His only minor regret was that she had never shown her face from the front, and he did not know why.
"Hello, I'm Li Shihan. I heard my aunt introduce you before."
Candy—Li Shihan—briefly introduced herself, then said, "To be honest with you, I don't want to get married so early."
Zhou Feiyu was instantly left speechless. Looks like this is another lost cause.
After thinking it over, Zhou Feiyu sent her a message. "I'm in Peng City too. Where in Peng City are you? Are you free to meet tonight? I can come find you."
For a long time, there was no reply.
More than half an hour passed. Just when Zhou Feiyu thought there was no chance at all, a message popped up from Li Shihan. "Sure. I'm over in Qianhai. I'll send you my location."
Then she sent him a location pin. It was not too far away, but still seven or eight kilometers away—about half an hour by subway.
Zhou Feiyu replied with a smiley face. "Six-thirty tonight, then. I'll call you when I get there."
Li Shihan replied, "Okay."
After ending the conversation, Zhou Feiyu set an alarm and took an afternoon nap until it went off.
He washed up and headed out.
After arriving at the agreed location on time, Zhou Feiyu first found an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant, then called Li Shihan and asked her to come out.
Li Shihan did not stand him up. More than ten minutes later, she appeared before Zhou Feiyu. She had not brought a best friend or anyone else along; she had truly come alone. That both surprised and delighted him.
"It's you!"
The moment he saw her, Zhou Feiyu was stunned. Straight legs, shoulder-length hair, a round face, thin lips, and monolids—wasn't she that tall, slender girl he had met on the High-speed Rail?
"So it's you."
Li Shihan was surprised as well. A smile appeared on her face, her eyes and brows curving into crescent moons. She had an easy charm that made those around her feel comfortable.
As Zhou Feiyu walked over and pulled out a chair for her, he smiled and said, "What a coincidence. Looks like we really are fated. Have we met before?"
Li Shihan gave a faint smile. "Thank you. I don't think so."
"Did you graduate not long ago?"
"This is my second year after graduating. What about you?"
"I graduated five years ago."
"How did you graduate so early? You're only two years older than me, so how did you graduate three years earlier?"
"I started school early."
"Oh, what was your major? What do you do now?"
"Materials Forming and Control Engineering. I'm currently doing materials research and development for my family."
"Hehe, then you must have been better at studying than I was. I don't understand any of that. I studied the arts—dance in college—and now I teach children traditional-style dance in Peng City."
"Did you come to Peng City on a business trip?"
"No. I developed a New Material and came here to pitch it to clients."
The two chatted intermittently, saying nothing but dry, mundane things. Still, it was an essential process of getting to know each other. At least, that was how Zhou Feiyu saw it.
On the way over, Zhou Feiyu had racked his brains to think of conversation topics and things to say, but none of them had come in handy. He could only give up. Whatever happened, happened.
The meal lasted an hour. Afterward, Zhou Feiyu walked Li Shihan back to her rental apartment. He learned from her that she shared it with two cousins before taking the subway back.
"Sis, how did it go?"
As soon as Li Shihan returned, her two cousins rushed out of their bedrooms, grinning mischievously as they eagerly pried for gossip.
One was plump and the other slender. The plump one was Li Shiyu, one year younger than Li Shihan. The slender one was Li Shixin, Li Shiyu's biological younger sister, six years younger than Li Shiyu and only nineteen this year.
"What do you mean, how did it go?"
Li Shihan deliberately put on a stern face, casually tossed her backpack onto the sofa beside her, then sat down holding a teddy bear. Yet the smile at the corners of her eyes could not be hidden.
Li Shixin giggled. "The blind date, obviously. How was the guy you met today? Was he better than the one my dad introduced?"
Without even thinking, Li Shihan answered, "Definitely better than the one your dad introduced. At the very least, he's much more mature and steady."
Li Shiyu immediately said, "Then this blind date sounds pretty promising. When are you getting married?"
Li Shihan was instantly speechless. "What marriage? What are you talking about? We haven't even gotten started."
"So boring."
Li Shiyu clicked her tongue and stopped asking. She immediately pulled out her phone and said to Li Shixin, "Xinxin, forget Li Shihan. Let's queue up together. I'm about to reach Star Glory."
Li Shixin immediately replied, "Let's go!"
And so, the two started gaming together on their own.
"I can't believe you two. You're already grown up, and you're still playing games?"
Li Shihan shook her head helplessly, then returned to her room.
After removing her makeup, washing up, and applying skincare, she took off her coat, revealing her slim, tall, and alluring figure. Such a beautiful sight was not for outsiders to see, however. Li Shihan quickly put on an extremely loose, fluffy set of pajamas, completely covering it up.
After putting on a face mask and lying down, Li Shihan planned to scroll through her Moments for a while before sleeping.
A call came in. It was from her mother.
"Hello, Mom!"
Li Shihan greeted her. "It's getting a little late. Aren't you two going to sleep yet?"
"Sleep? The young man Uncle Li from the village introduced to you—how was he? Did you meet him?" A rapid barrage of questions immediately came from the other end of the line.
"Uh, yes, we met. We met today."
Li Shihan hurriedly answered.
"How did he seem?"
Her mother continued questioning her.
"He seemed quite steady. He was just a little short."
After thinking for a moment, Li Shihan offered her opinion.
"How is he short? Is he shorter than you?"
"Not really. He's about five foot ten, I guess."
"And you call that short? What are you thinking? Do you think you're that tall? You're not even taller than him, and you have the nerve to call him short? Where did you get that confidence?"
After that round of questioning, Li Shihan was completely rendered speechless by her mother. In the end, she surrendered. "I understand. I'll spend more time getting to know him first."
Naturally, Zhou Feiyu knew nothing of these developments, nor did he know Li Shihan's assessment of him. Still, he could imagine that for a pretty girl Li Shihan's age, the threshold of her family's door had surely long since been worn down by suitors.
Before he had even returned to the hotel where he was staying by subway, Wang Wei suddenly called.
"Zhou Feiyu, where are you? Can you come over?"
Wang Wei's voice was extremely urgent.
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