“Hello, my name is An Ning!”
Looking at Lu Qingze with poise and confidence, An Ning felt a momentary daze in her heart.
Sicheng actually had such a handsome man?
Although Aunt Fen said he was already 35, the reason he hadn’t married was because he was introverted and not very good at interacting with girls. Plus, he worked in IT, so he had few opportunities to meet women, which was why he had been single until now.
But the man before her looked to be in his late twenties, only a few years older than her.
He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his bronze skin clearly indicating he exercised regularly.
Then, looking at his face, An Ning couldn’t help but feel her breath catch.
He could easily rival the top male celebrity on her computer wallpaper.
Such an outstanding man still needed to go on blind dates?
Shouldn’t women be chasing after him instead?
In just a few seconds, countless thoughts raced through An Ning’s mind.
Seeing the man staring at her without any intention of speaking, An Ning smiled and continued, “I’m 25 years old, a graduate of Sicheng University. I work in administration at Remote Group, which is located upstairs in Imperial View.”
That pretty much covered her own introduction.
An Ning looked at Lu Qingze, showing a hint of embarrassment. “I… I still don’t know your name. I forgot to ask the matchmaker.”
A blind date?
Lu Qingze’s gaze flickered slightly.
The moment An Ning walked toward him, he thought she was coming to thank him and ask for her suitcase.
But from what he was hearing now, she hadn’t recognized him at all?
Still, it wasn’t hard to understand. Back then, she had been crying with tears in her eyes, and it was such an awkward moment of getting into the wrong car—she probably hadn’t even gotten a clear look at his face.
“Sorry, you might have…” taken the wrong seat.
After getting into the wrong car, she had now mistaken her blind date.
When Lu Qingze spoke again, he tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible, hoping to soften the embarrassment An Ning was about to feel.
But before Lu Qingze could finish, a surprised voice rang out from a distance.
“An Ning?”
From the corner, Zhao Chengyuan hurried over to An Ning, looking incredulously at her and then at Lu Qingze. “What… what’s your relationship?”
“Is it any of your business?”
Going on a blind date and being caught red-handed by her recently broken-off fiancé—what a mortifyingly awkward experience!!
Her ears instantly flushed red, but An Ning remained calm. “Zhao Chengyuan, you were the one who proposed ending the engagement. I agreed, as you wished. Now that I’m single, who I go on dates with doesn’t require your approval, does it?”
“You!!”
Zhao Chengyuan’s expression darkened.
After getting engaged to An Ning, the two of them had lived together like roommates for two years.
Because of the 200,000 yuan bride price, An Ning always seemed to carry a sense of inferiority around him.
Even though they lived in the same apartment, she tried her best to leave early and return late to avoid him. When they occasionally ran into each other, she would greet him gently and politely.
Later, as time passed and she realized he was truly waiting for his first love, Bai Weiwei, to return, An Ning became less resistant toward him.
Sometimes, if she cooked too much food, she would even ask if he wanted to eat together.
There were many moments when Zhao Chengyuan thought that if Weiwei really didn’t come back, it wouldn’t be so bad to just go along with marrying An Ning.
But those were only fleeting thoughts.
And now, the white moonlight he had waited for two years had finally returned.
Thinking back to that morning when he had awkwardly told her about breaking off the engagement, she had only been downcast for a moment before accepting it.
She turned and went back to her room, and in less than half an hour, she had packed her suitcase and left. As she walked out the door, she even wished him and Weiwei a long and happy life together.
As gentle and serene as ever.
Accustomed to An Ning’s gentle and obedient demeanor, this was the first time he had seen her adopt such a firm attitude.
Zhao Chengyuan narrowed his eyes, “You didn’t get involved with him before the engagement was called off, did you?”
Involved.
An Ning’s expression changed slightly, her tone softening, “It’s not what you think. I don’t even know his last name. Today was our first meeting.”
Standing up and looking in the direction Zhao Chengyuan had come from, An Ning asked softly, “Are you here to meet Weiwei?”
Ah, I almost forgot the main matter.
Taking out his phone to check the time, Zhao Chengyuan turned and glared fiercely at Lu Qingze.
The moment An Ning left that morning, Zhao Chengyuan felt the entire house suddenly become empty.
He even thought that if he had put a little effort into An Ning before, perhaps she would have been willing to stay with him.
When Weiwei returned, at most, he could give Weiwei the status and An Ning some practical benefits, enjoying the blessings of both.
But who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, not only did An Ning have a new blind date, but that blind date was such an outstanding man.
Zhao Chengyuan felt a sense of shame turning into anger.
He wanted to bring up the 200,000 yuan betrothal gift with An Ning, but time was running short, and he was afraid Weiwei would see him talking to another woman as soon as she walked in.
“I’ll contact you later.”
Hurriedly tossing out a sentence, Zhao Chengyuan turned and walked to a corner booth.
Only his eyes kept glancing over at An Ning’s table from time to time.
Her ears were flushed red, and her face was slightly red too. An Ning didn’t dare lift her head, whispering, “I’m… I’m sorry, I…”
What should she say?
Say that she had just broken off the engagement with that man that morning—or rather, had been broken up with—and then came to meet him for a blind date that evening?
Or say that she had her own reasons?
Her eyes grew hot again, and An Ning muttered to herself, “An Ning, why are you crying so much lately?”
Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Lu Qingze, who had remained silent all along. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble. I’ll pay for your coffee. When you go back, tell Aunt Fen… just say you didn’t like me. Let’s consider this blind date over.”
A flicker of surprise passed through Lu Qingze’s eyes.
If it were any other girl, by now she would either be crying in the restroom or simply running off with a cold face.
Yet she could calm down and handle the aftermath, even considering the feelings of someone like him who had just watched the drama.
Suddenly, he felt that the stagnant, dull life he had been living since coming to Sicheng was beginning to seem a little interesting.
Lu Qingze looked up and raised a hand toward the server at the bar.
“I’ll do it, I’ll pay…”
Thinking he was about to leave, An Ning hurriedly rummaged through her bag for her phone.
Then she saw Lu Qingze say to the server who approached, “A cup of hot milk for this young lady.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
The server turned and left.
An Ning was taken aback.
Then she saw Lu Qingze look at her, his expression softening slightly compared to before. “Where were we in our conversation just now?”
Uh…
An Ning blinked.
Then Lu Qingze spoke, “Hello, An Ning. My name is Lu Qingze!”
Even his name sounded so pleasant.
An Ning put her phone back and sat up straight to look at him. “Hello, Mr. Lu.”
The girl’s smile was as bright as a flower, and the nervousness and awkwardness from moments ago vanished in an instant. She seemed like a gently blooming magnolia, glowing softly in the dimming evening light.
For some reason, Lu Qingze felt a sudden surge of joy. He lifted his gaze and shot a cold, warning glance toward the door.
At the open glass door, a young man in a tailored suit met that murderous glare and paused mid-step.
When he looked toward the graceful figure sitting across from Lu Qingze, his eyes widened in shock.
Was he hallucinating from rushing too fast and his heart racing?
Why did he see a woman sitting across from his brother?
That was Lu Qingze!
The Lu family stood at the very pinnacle of Didu’s elite, and Lu Qingze was the most outstanding descendant the family had ever produced.
At just 28 years old, he was already the CEO of Dijing Group. In just three years, Dijing’s industries had spread across the country, and its overseas ventures were steadily expanding.
Even the humble and cautious Old Master Lu had said that with Lu Qingze at the helm, Dijing’s glory would undoubtedly reach its peak within a decade.
Yet, despite all this, Lu Qingze had always kept his distance from women.
So far, not only had he never been in a relationship, but there hadn’t even been a woman by his side.
The untouchable, woman-averse Young Master Lu of Didu was now dating a girl in Sicheng?
Oh wow, this was exciting!
Unfazed by that icy glare, the young man pressed forward, passing Lu Qingze’s table and sitting at a diagonal angle where he could see An Ning.
As he took his seat and got a clear look at An Ning’s face, Qin Jiangzhou let out a silent whistle in his mind.
So that’s why!