At 5:30 PM, half an hour before the scheduled time for the blind date, I tidied up my appearance slightly and walked out of the bathroom. At that moment, Bandy just opened the door of the house with his briefcase in hand.
I couldn’t help but feel the urge to ask Bandy for some money again. After a moment, I said, “Bandy, you’re home pretty early today.”
“Isn’t it always around this time?” Bandy replied indifferently.
I quickly poured a glass of water for Bandy, who accepted it naturally without noticing anything unusual. He then asked me, “How’s your job hunting going these days?”
“I just sent out my resume and had interviews at a few places, but I’m not really satisfied.”
“Don’t set your expectations too high. Just find a decent job.”
“I’m not a fresh graduate without work experience anymore. I can’t just settle for anything. You know how much expenses young people have these days. At the very least, the salary should be enough to support myself!”
I was subtly hinting at the high expenses faced by modern young people, hoping Bandy would understand and give me some pocket money to relieve my current financial pressure.
However, Bandy replied casually, “If you know you have a lot of expenses, just spend less.”
His logic frustrated me, and I remained silent for a while. Bandy, too, seemed unwilling to continue the conversation. He put down his teacup and turned toward his study.
“Bandy…” I finally gritted my teeth and called out.
Bandy turned around with his usual serious expression and asked, “What is it?”
His expression made me inexplicably nervous. After a moment of hesitation, I mumbled, “That… that… lend me some… can I borrow your car tonight? I have a blind date.”
As soon as I said it, I wanted to slap myself hard. Why was it so hard to ask for money?
It really was difficult to ask… After all, I was already an adult who had been working for several years. It was just too ridiculous to ask my parents for money anymore!
Fortunately, Bandy didn’t sense anything unusual. He simply took out the key to his old Santana 2000, which was provided by his company, and handed it to me.
I stared at the car key in my hand, somewhat stunned, then stood there dumbfounded as I watched Bandy walk into his room. Only after the door was closed did I realize I had probably missed yet another opportunity to ask for money.
…
Clenching my teeth, I drove Bandy’s almost-scrapped Santana 2000 toward the prearranged coffee shop. Along the way, I briefly considered borrowing money from old friends, but most of them were high school buddies I hadn’t kept in touch with for years. It felt somewhat unfair to suddenly ask them for money.
Unconsciously, I passed several intersections with traffic lights, and suddenly saw the coffee shop about 50 meters ahead. The bright store sign made me even more anxious.
I parked the car slowly and reluctantly, then dragged my feet toward the second floor. While moving like a snail, I took out my phone and checked the photo again before scanning the interior of the coffee shop’s hall.
After scanning twice, I finally noticed a girl in a corner whose appearance matched the photo quite well. I adjusted my clothes and walked toward that corner.
Standing in front of the girl, I took another look. She was quite attractive, with nice facial features and good skin. However, compared to Jianwei, she lacked that stunning charm and poise; compared to Mica, she lacked that extraordinary beauty; and compared to Leyao, she lacked that fashionable, avant-garde, and sexy aura. In short, she was just an ordinary pretty girl.
But this kind of girl was suitable for settling down with, so my first impression of her was quite positive.
I smiled politely and asked, “Excuse me, are you Miss Li Xiaoyun?”
The girl nodded and smiled at me, saying, “Then you must be Zhaoyang?”
“Exactly. Can I sit down first?”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as I sat down, a waiter came over with a menu and asked, “Sir, madam, are you ready to order now?”
“Um, do you pay after the meal here, or do you need to pay right after ordering?”
The waiter seemed surprised by such an unusual question but replied, “Either way is fine.”
I let out a sigh of relief and said, “Okay then, give me the menu.”
The waiter handed me the menu. Xiaoyun and I each ordered what we wanted to eat, and then we started chatting while waiting.
Xiaoyun was quite lively and took the initiative to say, “Let me introduce myself first. You already know my name. This year is my zodiac year, so you can guess my age. Currently, I’m the head of the client department at an advertising company. I don’t have my own house and am living with my parents for now. That’s basically my situation.”
I looked at Xiaoyun with wide eyes. Her straightforward self-introduction surprised me greatly, making me feel as if I had asked her to report her household registration details.
Xiaoyun was also puzzled by my reaction. After a while, she asked tentatively, “Is this your first blind date?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder. The self-introduction I just gave is a necessary procedure for blind dates. If you ever go on more blind dates in the future, you’ll get used to it,” Xiaoyun smiled and said.
I nodded and said, “Right, that’s how it’s portrayed on TV!”
“So it’s your turn to introduce yourself now.”
I sat up straight and formally stated, “My name is Zhaoyang. I’m 26 years old now. Currently unemployed, uh… no car, no house, no savings either. I’m living with my parents now and might have to stay with them for quite a while. As for the future, I don’t have any specific plans or goals. I’m the type who just takes things as they come.”
Xiaoyun seemed shocked by my self-introduction. After a while, she asked, “Are you serious?”
“Yes, absolutely true!”
“But Auntie Zhang didn’t say that when she introduced us!”
“So what did she say?”
Xiaoyun recalled for a moment and said, “She said you just came back from Suzhou and were a white-collar worker at some large department store. You’re hardworking and ambitious… a very good young man!”
I laughed and said, “You actually believe what matchmakers say? That’s way too exaggerated! I’m even embarrassed to hear it!”
Xiaoyun looked at me with a mix of amusement and disbelief. After a while, she asked, “Then is it also untrue that Auntie Zhang said you can play the guitar and are multi-talented?”
Her question made me a bit nervous. It was really difficult for my mother. I guessed she must have really struggled to find any positive traits about me, so she simply mentioned that I could play the guitar to Auntie Zhang, who then enthusiastically relayed it to Xiaoyun.
After a while, I said to Xiaoyun, “It’s true that I can play the guitar, but that doesn’t really have much to do with a blind date, does it?”
Xiaoyun nodded and didn’t say anything else.
I smiled and asked, “Are you feeling disappointed because your idealistic expectations have suddenly turned into a harsh reality, creating a sense of loss?”
Xiaoyun shook her head and smiled, saying, “Not really. I think you’re actually quite good. At least you’re very honest, much more honest than most men!”
I felt a surge of joy inside and thought this was a rare opportunity to find a way out. So I thickened my skin and continued with Xiaoyun’s words, saying, “I also think I’m very honest, but there’s one more thing that I need to be even more honest about.”
Xiaoyun looked at me with confusion and asked, “What is it?”
“…I don’t have a single penny on me right now, so… this meal will have to be on you!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage