Luo Huimei tagged along behind her daughter. Mrs. Zhang was fidgeting as she sat at the table until her eyes lit up as she smelled the ramen that Yan served to her. She then picked up the spoon and took a sip of the broth.
“Yan’s a good cook, and she can also make a lot of money. Whoever marries you should feel blessed!”
Yan’s mouth twitched as she heard this. Seriously? She’s only tasted the broth and already wants to marry me off? She should at least finish the whole thing. The ramen should be good enough to distract her.
Very quickly, Mrs. Zhang began to realize how delicious the ramen was and had stopped talking to Yan. Later on, she took a few more sips of the broth and resumed eating the noodles with her head down. “Mrs. Zhang, I hope you enjoy it. I’m going to go first.”
“Yan, please don’t be in such a hurry. I came here today to speak with you.”
The look on Luo Huimei seemed to be saying to Yan, ‘See, I knew this was going to happen.’
“Mrs. Zhang, perhaps we could talk another day? It’s a busy day at the shop today.”
“No. No. No. I’ll tell you now. It won’t take long. It’s only going to take five minutes of your time.”
Yan was rendered speechless.
“There’s a nephew of a distant relative of mine who came to visit his aunt recently. I met him—he’s tall, handsome, and looks down-to-earth. More importantly, I heard that he recently bought a house but has always been single. I was thinking that since you’ve been back for so long and are still single, I could perhaps pull some strings for the both of you to get to know each other.”
If this conversation took place before this, Luo Huimei would have given Mrs. Zhang her full support. But right now, especially after Luo Huimei had witnessed her daughter experience a heartbreak, this arrangement would not work and would even disgust Yan.
That was why before Yan came out from the kitchen, Luo Huimei had already rejected Mrs. Zhang’s proposal. But, she did not know that Mrs. Zhang still would not give up and even spoke so highly of that man. She was adamant that the two had to meet each other.
“Hey, Mrs. Zhang, what about my daughter? The shop is really busy right now since its grand opening, as you’d have noticed when you came in. Where would she find the time to leave the shop?” Luo Huimei interrupted her, rejecting tactfully.
Mrs. Zhang immediately shook her hand in disagreement. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just give him a call for him to come over.”
Luo Huimei and Yan looked at each other and kept quiet. Ask him to come to the shop for a blind date?
“Mrs. Zhang, I’m afraid that might not be proper.” Luo Huimei inquired, “As you can see, things are pretty busy around here. What if we can’t tend to him while he’s here?”
“Not to worry. He’s a diligent person; he could even help you out then. Yan, to be honest, you’re a good girl. Managing this shop on your own is too tiring. Besides, your parents are aging, so you can’t expect them to always be here to help out. Why not find someone local who owns a house and is down-to-earth, and then spend the rest of your life with him. After you get married, you can even have a few chubby children. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a house full of children?” Mrs. Zhang was eloquent in her pitch about their prospective future life. However, it was a shame that it did not move Yan at all.
Luo Huimei, who saw the man the other day, however, was convinced; he was indeed good-looking. Maybe too good-looking for her ordinary-looking daughter. It might not work for the two. Then again, maybe Mrs. Zhang is right. She can still find someone down-to-earth to have a normal life with. That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? But still, she dared not agree with Mrs. Zhang.
“Yan, he’s a wonderful person. Perhaps let me give him a call right now to ask him to come over.” As she finished, Mrs. Zhang proceeded to swiftly take out her phone and make a phone call. She was so quick that none of them could respond.
“Mrs. Zhang, this might be too quick. This…”
“Forget it, Mom.” Yan suddenly stopped Luo Huimei and let out a gentle smile. “Don’t you want me to do this? Let’s do it then.”
This startled Luo Huimei. “Yan, please don’t take it that way. You have to understand that I just want you to be happy. If doing this doesn’t make you happy, then perhaps—”
“Not really,” Yan interrupted with a smile on her face. “I feel good about the blind date. Mrs. Zhang’s right; I do need to find someone to settle down with and begin living a normal life.”
Luo Huimei did not know how to respond. Was this something that someone who had just experienced a heartbreak would say? Before Luo Huimei could add anything, Mrs. Zhang jumped in, “Come on. Your daughter’s already agreed, so why are you still hesitating? If she’s willing to do it, just let her do it. After all, it’s just a meetup. It doesn’t hurt anybody. If they feel good about each other, we’ll let their relationship develop. No one is forcing anything to happen.”
“Mom, she’s right. If I don’t like him, I’ll just let him go.”
Alas, Yan’s words put Luo Huimei at ease. “Alright then; if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.”
It’s just a meetup and it doesn’t hurt anybody. Who knows? She might like him. Wouldn’t it be great if this could even help her get out of the heartbreak? The thought of this comforted Luo Huimei.
Shortly after Mrs. Zhang made the phone call, the man arrived at the shop. Standing from afar, Luo Huimei looked at Mrs. Zhang and the man while they spoke. He was wearing a white and spotless dress shirt; he looked proper. He might not have an extraordinary look, but it was still good enough. He even had glasses on, which made him look somewhat refined.
This first impression made Luo Huimei nod in approval. “He looks fine. What do you say, Yan?” Realizing that she did not get a response, Luo Huimei turned around and found that her daughter was looking at her phone with a frown on her face.
“What is it?” Luo Huimei remarked.
Yan instantly came to her senses and locked her phone right away before sliding it into her pocket. “Nothing.” It was a screenshot she received from Little Bean about Han Qing returning the money and asking Little Bean to return it to her. Now, Little Bean was asking her what he should do. She felt conflicted when she received this text.
At this point, Luo Huimei followed up. “What’s on your phone that you don’t want me to see? You seem to be occupied by that. Maybe we should just call off the meetup?”
Yan smiled. “Mom, I’m okay. Let’s do this.” Since going on a blind date did not need to involve any feelings, it was all up to fate whether or not they could see themselves being with each other. Perhaps I’m like Su Jiu and I’ll end up finding a husband whom I love and who loves me. By then, we’ll be a happy family with kids. Why would I still give a d*mn about that cold-blooded man?
At this juncture, Yan took a deep breath. “Is he here already? I’ll go and see him now.”
“He’s still talking with Mrs. Zhang.” As she said this, Mrs. Zhang was coming in with the guy and stopped right in front of Yan for introductions.
