Blind Date?

Xiao Yu dragged her suitcase through the unfamiliar station, rubbed her aching brow, and made a call.

"Qian Qian, I've arrived."

"Do you want me to pick you up so you can stay at my place for the night?" a female voice asked from the other end.

"No need. I'm staying at my uncle's place tonight, resting tomorrow, then I'll go straight to your wedding the day after."

"Okay, see you then," the female voice replied.

After hanging up, Xiao Yu was about to hail a taxi when her phone rang again.

"Xiao Man, what is it?"

"Sis, I have some unfortunate news for you," came Xiao Man's gleeful voice from the other end.

"What unfortunate news? I'm a little tired right now, so hurry up. I still need to go to Uncle Zhang's house."

"I overheard Dad talking to Uncle Zhang on the phone today. Uncle Zhang asked about you and learned that you were about to graduate, then they started talking about your lifelong affairs. Guess what happened next?"

Xiao Man's voice was still full of gloating.

"What happened?" Xiao Yu had a bad feeling.

"Hehe, Uncle Zhang said Aunt Zhen has a nephew who's graduating from college this year too, and he goes to your school. He thinks the two of you are a good match, so he wants you to meet tomorrow. If you get along, you can become friends. If not, at least you'll get acquainted."

Xiao Man laughed over the phone, utterly delighted by Xiao Yu's misfortune.

"No way?" Xiao Yu stared wide-eyed. "You mean I'm being set up on a blind date?"

"More or less. Mom and Dad already agreed. After all, anyone Uncle Zhang introduces must be reliable. Sis, good luck. That's all I can do for you. Hahahaha..."

Before the laughter had even faded, the line went dead. Xiao Man had already hung up, leaving Xiao Yu standing there in utter disarray.

She had come to Flower City to attend a high school classmate's wedding. Her father had been worried, so he told her to stay at a friend's house for a few days before going home for the New Year.

She had met Uncle Zhang Yang a few times. He and her father both worked with fishing boats and were close friends. Uncle Zhang was also a good man, so Xiao Yu had agreed.

But now she was being made to go on a blind date? And she had not even known about it. What if she really met him tomorrow?

At the thought, Xiao Yu's face fell. She hurriedly flagged down a taxi and headed for the nearest hotel. She definitely could not go to Uncle Zhang's house, or things would become awkward later.

As soon as she got in the car, her phone rang again.

It was Aunt Zhen.

The moment she saw the number, Xiao Yu tensed up. "Aunt Zhen."

"Xiao Yu, you've arrived, right? I asked your uncle to pick you up."

"I've arrived, but there's no need to trouble Uncle. I'm going out to eat with a friend right now, and it might get late tonight, so I'll stay at her place. I'll come to your house tomorrow." As Xiao Yu lied, she felt her heartbeat accelerating.

"Is that so? That works too. Come over early tomorrow. Be careful when you go out at night, and don't stay out too late."

Only after hanging up did Xiao Yu finally let out a breath of relief.

The next day, Chen Mo was dragged out of bed early by his mother to eat breakfast.

"Ah Mo, go change into something more handsome and come with me to your aunt's house."

"My aunt has seen me before. Why do I need to dress up?"

"You just got back, so make a good impression. Don't be as sloppy as you are at home. You're already a grown man."

Chen Mo sensed that something was off, but he did not refuse his mother's request. He found a comfortable-looking outfit and followed her out.

His aunt was his mother's younger sister, Shao Zhen. He called her Aunt Zhen too.

She had taken great care of him when he was young, so Chen Mo had always had an excellent impression of her. Every holiday, she would give him a red envelope.

Chen Mo remembered that when he was little, his father had been unemployed and the family had not been well-off. When his eldest uncle came to their home demanding repayment, it had been his uncle-in-law who lent them money to pay him back.

After that incident, their family had fallen out with his eldest uncle's side of the family, while they had grown closer to Aunt Zhen's family.

Before long, Chen Mo arrived at Aunt Zhen's house under his mother's lead.

As soon as he reached the door, Aunt Zhen came out from inside. When she saw Chen Mo, her face broke into a smile. "You've grown into such a handsome young man."

"Thank you, Aunt Zhen. Where's Xin Xin?" Chen Mo asked.

He still remembered his cousin, who had practically grown up in his home. Back then, Aunt Zhen and her husband had gone out to make a living, and with no elderly family members to care for their child, they had sent Xin Xin to Chen Mo's home.

That was why he and his cousin Zhang Xinxin had grown up together. They were no different from real siblings.

"That girl went traveling during the break, then stayed at a friend's house. She hasn't come back," Aunt Zhen said. "Ah Mo, sit in the living room for a while. Your mother and I are going to the kitchen to cook."

"Ah Zhen, where's that girl?" Chen's Mother asked as they walked away.

"She hasn't arrived yet. I'll call and ask."

Chen Mo sat on the sofa, his body stiffening. After undergoing Potential Development, his hearing had become extremely sharp. He had clearly heard their conversation.

"A girl?"

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Chen Mo's mind before settling on two words.

Blind date?

At the thought, Chen Mo nearly spat blood.

Back at school, he had teased Xiao Yu about not getting dragged home for a blind date by her family. Yet the moment he came home, he had been dragged here himself.

Even if words could come back to bite him, did fate have to toy with him like this? Chen Mo was still not entirely sure, so he slowly moved closer to the kitchen.

"Xiao Yu, why haven't you come yet? The food's almost ready."

"Um, Aunt Zhen, I... I'm not feeling well. Could we do it another day?" Xiao Yu asked anxiously from a hotel room, torn between laughter and tears.

That damn Chen Mo. She would definitely deal with him when she got back.

At school, he had said she would be taken on a blind date when she went home, and that bastard had actually been right. She had not slept well all night because she had been thinking about it.

"You're 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 won't be able to answer to him."

Aunt Zhen did not suspect a thing. According to Old He, his daughter was very well-behaved.

"No, no, no, there's no need, Aunt Zhen. It's nothing serious. I'm going out with my classmates in a moment, and I won't be able to stay long even if I go to your place. How about I come later? My classmate is here to see me. I'll contact you later. Goodbye, Aunt Zhen."

With that, Xiao Yu directly hung up.

"Damn Chen Mo and his cursed mouth."

Xiao Yu was cursing Chen Mo in her heart, but she had no idea how to deal with Aunt Zhen next.

"Achoo!"

Outside the kitchen, Chen Mo sneezed. Despair was written all over his face, and even he did not know how he felt right then.

He had heard every word Aunt Zhen had said just now. She really was planning to introduce a girl to him.

To put it plainly, it was a blind date.

"Mom, Aunt Zhen, I'm not feeling well. I'm going out to buy medicine," Chen Mo shouted. Before either woman could reply, he rushed out the door.

"Ah Mo, where are you going? You're not eating?"

The moment he ran outside, he bumped into his uncle-in-law. His uncle-in-law was usually cheerful and had a bit of a sense of humor. Whenever he met Chen Mo, the two of them always got along especially well.

"Uncle, um... I'm going out to buy something." Chen Mo took off running.

Watching Chen Mo's retreating figure as he fled in panic, Zhang Yang shook his head with a smile and walked into the house.

"Where's Ah Mo?" As soon as Zhang Yang entered the living room, Shao Xuemei looked at the empty sofa and asked.

"He ran off. He probably figured out we were introducing a girl to him." Zhang Yang smiled. "Xiao Yu didn't come either?"

"Xiao Yu said she had plans with a classmate," Shao Zhen said.

"Then let's cook and eat by ourselves. I'll call some friends over for drinks. Those two probably both realized this was a blind date and found excuses to run away." Zhang Yang chuckled. "We'll find another chance next time. This sort of thing can't be forced. They just graduated from college and are still young. Maybe they haven't adjusted to it yet."

Chen Mo ran onto the street, still shaken.

That had been too dangerous. They had actually tricked him into going on a blind date without saying a word. If Xiao Yu found out, she would probably laugh herself to death at him.

As soon as he reached the street, his phone rang.

When he saw that it was Xiao Yu, he immediately relaxed. If it had been his mother calling him back, he might as well have gone straight to the hospital and stayed there for two hours.

"Xiao Yu, what is it?"

"Your home is in Flower City, right?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"I'm in Flower City right now," Xiao Yu said.

"You missed me already and came to see me? Where are you?"

Chen Mo immediately smiled. He had nowhere to go anyway. He definitely could not return to Aunt Zhen's place, and if he went home now, his mother would probably skin him alive for standing someone up.

"One of my good friends is getting married, and it happens to be here. I had just gotten home when I was notified, so I rushed over here again. I arrived last night and didn't tell you. I happen to have time today, so take me around and have some fun," Xiao Yu said.

After getting Xiao Yu's address, Chen Mo immediately hurried over.

The moment he saw Xiao Yu, all his frustration over being tricked into a blind date vanished. Still, he absolutely could not tell Xiao Yu about it, or she would laugh him to death.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Don't say anything yet. Let me hit you for a while."

Whenever Xiao Yu thought of the blind date, she wanted nothing more than to beat Chen Mo up. That cursed mouth had nearly gotten her tricked into a blind date as soon as she came home. Luckily, her sister had warned her, or it would have been unbearably awkward.

"Go ahead."

The instant the words left his mouth, Xiao Yu began hammering him with random punches. She only hit his shoulders, though, and stopped when her own hand started to hurt.

"This is the first time I've seen someone hurt herself while hitting another person." Chen Mo grabbed Xiao Yu's hand and laughed.

"I've let out my little temper." After saying that, Xiao Yu kissed him on the cheek. "That's your compensation. Take me somewhere fun. Anywhere is fine."

"Come to my house and meet the parents."

"In your dreams." At the mention of meeting his parents, Xiao Yu's face immediately turned red. "You've been wearing the scarf the whole time?" She began tidying the clothes she had messed up while hitting him.

"Of course. Wearing it feels like you're by my side."

"Ew, you've gotten so cheesy." Xiao Yu made a disgusted face, then smiled softly. "Come with me to my friend's wedding tomorrow."