Introduction

Introduction

The three chatted for a while longer when Chang Bin suddenly said, "Oh, right. Let me introduce you to a girl. She's the younger sister of one of Xiaohan's high school classmates, four years younger than us. She's a local and works in finance at her uncle's company. She's 162 centimeters tall and very cute and pretty. I'll send you her number and WeChat. We can set up a time for you two to meet, tomorrow or the day after."

Xiang Kun froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Maybe we should forget it. We're four years apart—isn't that inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about four years? It's perfectly suitable. Her parents said they wanted someone more mature. Besides, I already told her parents about your qualifications. They have no problem with it. I've met the girl too. She has a great personality, bright and lively. Her family is very well-off too. She already has two apartments in her name, and she's bought herself a car..."

"Um... I don't want to date for the time being," Xiang Kun quickly cut in. In his current condition, he was still thinking about survival. How could he dare consider dating? He could not even manage to eat with other people, let alone deal with the many issues he had not figured out himself.

But Chang Bin did not care about any of that. He waved a hand and said, "Don't want to date, my ass! You're already thirty and still don't want to date? Don't tell me shaving your head means you're really planning to become a monk? Remember to tell me which temple you're joining, then—I'll donate some incense money for you. Who was it that asked me to introduce him to a girlfriend before? Now I've found you such a high-quality girl, and you're getting all coy? Forget it, I'll arrange it. The night after tomorrow. If you dare not show up, don't bother coming to my and Xiaohan's wedding either!"

Wang Han lightly smacked her boyfriend's arm and chided, "Watch your tone!" Then she said to Xiang Kun, "That classmate of mine has been one of my closest friends since childhood. Her little sister often hung out with us too, so I know her very well. She's a really good girl. You two can meet and get to know each other, just as friends. It's not as though you have to get together or get married. Whether it works out will still depend on what the two of you want. If neither of you feels anything—whether she isn't interested in you or you aren't interested in her—then there's no point in the rest of us trying to force it, right?"

With things having been put that way, Xiang Kun naturally could not refuse again.

In fact, he was very grateful to Chang Bin. He had already understood what was going on. Chang Bin had insisted on getting him to come today not merely because he wanted to introduce his fiancée to him after getting engaged. He had wanted Wang Han to see him in person and decide whether she could introduce him to her classmate's younger sister.

Xiang Kun could easily imagine that when Chang Bin learned that Wang Han's classmate and close friend had such a pretty younger sister preparing to go on blind dates, he must have immediately recommended his long-suffering single friend to Wang Han.

Wang Han had surely seen recent photos of him too. In those pictures, he looked like a forty-year-old uncle, so she probably had not been very willing to introduce him to her classmate's younger sister, afraid she would get blamed for it afterward.

He could even guess what Chang Bin had told his fiancée: "My buddy might look average, but he's actually a really great guy. You'll know once you spend time with him. He's capable, smart, and well-paid. He bought a home locally through his own efforts, has no bad habits, doesn't smoke or drink, and he'll definitely make a good husband in the future..."

So Chang Bin had needed Wang Han to meet Xiang Kun and confirm whether he could be introduced to her classmate's younger sister. That was why Chang Bin had exchanged a look with his fiancée before bringing it up.

Though all of this was only Xiang Kun's guesswork, based on what he knew about his friend, he felt he was probably eight or nine tenths right.

This was not the first time Chang Bin had introduced him to a blind date.

People often said that the kind of person others introduced to you revealed roughly what image you had in their minds.

And the women Chang Bin introduced to him were, every single time, objectively much better catches than him if one set aside subjective factors and looked only at appearance, age, and all kinds of practical conditions.

Take this girl, for instance. She was four years younger than him, a local, from a wealthy family, and cute and pretty—Xiang Kun knew that if Chang Bin said she was cute and pretty, then she definitely was. He was not just flattering her. Generally speaking, girls like that who went on blind dates either looked for locals from families of equal standing, promising young talents with bright futures, or handsome, accomplished men they clicked with. Compared with them, he was an older programmer who fit none of those criteria.

After sitting for another ten-odd minutes, Xiang Kun found an excuse to leave first. On his way out, he settled the bill at the front desk.

After he left, Wang Han looked at her fiancé. "Your friend doesn't seem like someone who dislikes dealing with people or hates lively gatherings. He's pretty humorous and outgoing when he talks. Why do your classmates all think he's withdrawn?"

Chang Bin shook his head. "It's not that he can't socialize. He just doesn't like to. When he's with me and another friend from our dorm, he has a great time and really opens up. But if there's a big group, he doesn't talk much. I think he just can't be bothered dealing with people he doesn't like or doesn't know well. He feels it isn't necessary."

"But he looks very different from those old photos. In them, he looked listless and drained, and much older than he really was. Today, even though he was dressed pretty unfashionably... all right, pretty simply... his overall impression was much better. Could it be because of the hairstyle and glasses?" Wang Han said thoughtfully.

"It's probably related to working out too. He's gotten rid of his belly, and he looks more upright overall."

Wang Han nodded, then could not help shaking her head. "Still, I think Nana probably won't be interested in him. That girl is extremely picky. Last time, there was that British returnee her age—handsome and tall—and after seeing him only twice, she stopped responding to him."

"That just proves she doesn't judge people by appearances. Maybe she and Xiang Kun will hit it off and feel a spark? Fate is impossible to predict. Besides, I'm only responsible for making the introduction. I never guaranteed it would work out." Chang Bin shrugged.

On his way home, Xiang Kun bought a pair of black-rimmed glasses with clear lenses. He had realized that without glasses, his appearance and temperament changed quite a bit. Perhaps he could use that look in the future when he did not want people to recognize him. For now, though, wearing glasses could lessen the unfamiliarity caused by his body's "mutation" and his shaved head, so people who knew him would not focus too much on how suddenly unfamiliar he seemed.

Besides that, he needed to buy new clothes as well. As his body continued to change, his old clothes would inevitably become more and more ill-fitting.