Xiang Wenshan could tell what her mom was about to say the moment she heard her open her mouth.
“Sweet daughter~”
Lying on the sofa, rubbing her temples, Wenshan held the phone a little farther from her ear. “Mom. Stop right there. Let’s not even start on blind dates.”
Her mother paused briefly on the other end, then continued, “Sweetie, darling, baby, how about just this one more time? Your aunt introduced him, she said—”
Before she could finish, Wenshan cut her off. “Mom, I really don’t want to go on any more blind dates. I’m really not in a hurry. Please, don’t be anxious either. I’m begging you, Mom~”
“You child! You’re almost thirty. If you don’t get married soon, no one will want you anymore. I’m asking you to go on blind dates so you can choose while you still have the advantage. Once you’re thirty, it’ll be others choosing you.”
Wenshan took a deep breath and let it out, helpless. “Mom, I’m twenty-seven. Twenty-seven. And how many times have you said that already? Besides, your daughter isn’t bad at all. I look decent, I’m in good shape, I’ve got a car, a house, and a stable job. What are you so worried about?”
“How can I not worry?” her mother said earnestly. “You’re already—fine, twenty-seven. When I was your age, your brother was in elementary school. Going on blind dates doesn’t mean marrying immediately. Dating takes at least two years, right? Then you’ll be thirty by the time you get married. Young people nowadays don’t want kids right away, so let’s say another two years. You’ll be thirty-two. And pregnancy isn’t guaranteed the moment you try. By the time your child becomes an adult, you’ll be over fifty. And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly. The key point is—you haven’t even taken the first step yet!”
Wenshan had to admit… that logic did sound convincing.
Her mom continued, “You’ve been on so many blind dates already. How come none of them caught your eye? Daughter, good girl, maybe lower your standards a little. Just find someone you can live a steady life with.”
That made Wenshan bristle. She’d almost been persuaded. “Mom, it’s really not me being picky. The problem is those blind dates are… unbelievable. Does the person introducing them have a grudge against our family?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? They were introduced by Aunt Wang and the others.”
Wenshan rolled her eyes. “Mom, maybe you should hang out with them less. I think they’re jealous of you, so they deliberately set me up with… well. It’s hard to describe.”
“If you don’t want to go, fine. But don’t talk like that. Those aunts watched you grow up. Out of eighteen, can’t there be one decent one?”
“First one thought his family had a throne to inherit and insisted I give birth until there’s a son.
Second one was 160 cm tall, the eldest son with two younger brothers and a sister, and said I’m not career-driven enough.
Third one was greasy—called me ‘baby’ the moment we met. Ugh.
Fourth was a painfully average yet overly confident guy.
…
The eighteenth was a total mama’s boy.”
Her mother fell silent. What kind of monsters had her daughter run into?
After finishing her list, Wenshan suddenly asked, “Mom, tell me—what’s the benefit of getting married?”
Her mother: “…”
“Don’t change the subject. This one was introduced by your real aunt. The meeting’s already arranged. Your younger aunt said he’s good-looking, tall, and has great qualifications. If she had a daughter, she’d keep him for herself. He’s also a teacher—like you—but he’s a university lecturer. Not comparable to your middle school art teacher job.”
Wenshan pouted. “What’s wrong with being a middle school art teacher?”
“You’re embarrassed to ask? I told you to find a stable job, and you chose this?”
“What’s wrong with this? It’s easy—three classes a week. Besides, I didn’t even want to work in the first place. You made me get a job.” Honestly, she felt it already interfered with her drawing comics.
Her mom was too exasperated to argue further. “Two o’clock this afternoon. The café at the intersection of Heping Road Pedestrian Street. If you don’t go, just wait and see.”
“Mom—”
Click.
The call ended before she could protest. She scratched her head. That was fast—clearly afraid she’d refuse.
And how was she even supposed to find him? The café would be full of people. Was she supposed to shout, “Who’s my blind date?” with a megaphone?
Just then, her phone buzzed. Her mom had sent a photo, followed by a string of voice messages. Too lazy to listen, she converted them to text.
Her mother alternated between persuasion and threats, insisting she go. At the end, she mentioned the man’s surname was Song. He’d be wearing a white shirt and black pants.
Wenshan tapped open the photo—and was even more speechless. It looked like a sneaky candid shot. Blurry. You couldn’t even see his features clearly.
But based on her years of drawing, she could tell—he was probably good-looking.
After getting ready and eating lunch, she headed to the café. It wasn’t too crowded when she arrived.
Following her mom’s description, she scanned the room. The man by the window seemed to match—but she wasn’t entirely sure.
Mainly because he was ridiculously handsome. And his figure was excellent.
He could rival the male lead in her comics.
She shook her head. What was she thinking?
Composing herself, she walked up gracefully. “Hello, are you Mr. Song? Here for a blind date?”
The man smiled gently. “Yes.”
He stood and pulled out the chair for her. “Hello. My name is Song Zhaohua.”
His voice was deep and slightly magnetic—like the voice of a male lead in a drama dub.
Wenshan felt a flicker of interest.
Polite. Nice voice. Handsome. If he wasn’t strange, he was basically perfect.
“Hello, I’m Xiang Wenshan.”
They chatted and got to know each other. Both felt a good impression of the other. Add to that the fact they were both being pressured into marriage by their families…
They hit it off immediately.
And decided to register their marriage.
After going home to grab their household registration booklets, they headed straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Just before the Civil Affairs Bureau closed for the day, they received their still-warm marriage certificates.
Song Zhaohua spoke first. “I’ll drive you back.”
Xiang Wenshan was still a little dazed. She followed Song Zhaohua into the car. Just to avoid her mother’s constant nagging about getting married, she had actually gone and registered her marriage with someone.
How thrilling!
After the car had been driving for a while, Xiang Wenshan slowly began to sober up.
Suddenly, a piercing horn blared through the air!
An out-of-control oil tanker truck crashed with a loud bang, followed by several explosive impacts. Quite a few cars were flipped over.
Of course, Xiang Wenshan’s car was no exception…