“Yanyan, what are you standing here for? Why aren’t you going in?”
A familiar voice snapped Qiao Yan out of her daydream. She turned around. Who else could the person behind her be but Liu Meixia?
“Aunt Liu? What brings you here?”
Qiao Yan was pleasantly surprised.
Liu Meixia, who had just had her hair permed, gave her a knowing smile and took her hand. “I didn’t need to come in today, but I was worried you two might feel awkward meeting for the first time.”
“Your new hairstyle is lovely, Auntie.”
Qiao Yan first sweetly complimented Liu Meixia, then seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Blinking, she said quietly, “Thank goodness you’re here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know which foot to put through the door first.”
Liu Meixia couldn’t stop smiling at the compliment. “You’re usually so confident and at ease. Why are you suddenly shy on a blind date? It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you in and introduce you.”
“That would be wonderful!”
Qiao Yan was delighted.
She wasn’t saying this merely to flatter Aunt Liu. She genuinely didn’t know how to handle the situation before her.
Surely she couldn’t just stride in, hold out her hand, and say, “Hello, Zhao Jin. I’m Qiao Yan, your blind date,” could she?
She didn’t know how other people felt.
But Qiao Yan, for one, found it terribly awkward.
Fortunately, Liu Meixia was here now. All Qiao Yan had to do was follow obediently behind her.
As they spoke, Liu Meixia led Qiao Yan into the reception room.
True to her reputation as an old hand at the matchmaking agency, Liu Meixia entered as comfortably as if she were walking into her own home. Without any preamble, she led Qiao Yan straight toward Zhao Jin.
Having noticed the activity at the entrance some time ago, Zhao Jin had already stood up.
“Hello, Comrade. I’m Zhao Jin.”
He held out his hand, taking the initiative to greet them.
Liu Meixia was the first to reach out, happily shaking his hand. “Hello, Zhao Jin. I’m a staff member here at the matchmaking agency. My surname is Liu. I was the one who called you the day before yesterday. Let me introduce you. The young woman behind me is the prospective partner our agency has arranged for you to meet. Her surname is Qiao, and her full name is Qiao Yan.”
Then she turned to Qiao Yan. “Yanyan, this is Zhao Jin.”
“Hello, Ms. Qiao.”
Zhao Jin held out his hand again to greet Qiao Yan.
“Hello, Mr. Zhao.” Qiao Yan readily shook his hand.
Their hands met briefly before quickly separating.
Qiao Yan admitted that she was very excited.
One reason was that she had finally met Zhao Jin, this legendary first-generation programmer! That was one thing off her mind.
As for the second reason…
In a secret corner of her heart, Qiao Yan quietly blushed.
Zhao Jin looked even taller standing up.
At a glance, he was at least well over half a head taller than Qiao Yan. He was definitely over 183 centimeters.
People said height was a man’s second face. From that perspective, Zhao Jin’s second face didn’t merely avoid losing him points. It was positively outstanding.
And that wasn’t all. Zhao Jin had an excellent build too.
Being tall but weighing a hundred kilograms certainly wouldn’t qualify as having a good figure.
Likewise, weighing only fifty kilograms wouldn’t qualify either.
Zhao Jin’s build fell into that just-right range. He wasn’t fat, but he certainly wasn’t skinny.
Although his clothes prevented Qiao Yan from judging how muscular he was, those unmistakably long legs and his proportions were immediately satisfying to look at.
Especially since he was wearing neatly pressed black suit trousers and a white shirt today.
The well-cut clothes made his figure look even straighter and more striking, like a white poplar.
Yes, a white poplar.
That was the first comparison that came to Qiao Yan’s mind.
Nothing suited Zhao Jin better!
Now that they were closer, his face and features had also become clear.
She had to admit that the identification photograph hadn’t flattered him in the slightest. If anything, it had made him look a little stiff.
In person, he looked about twice as handsome as he did in the photograph.
His skin was clear and fairly pale, without any pimples or acne marks.
She couldn’t pinpoint what made his features attractive, but there was nothing to fault. Together, they were even more harmonious.
Qiao Yan had practically no resistance to this sort of refined appeal. She had liked him immensely from the very first glance.
Especially with those rimless glasses on his face… Could anyone understand? For someone attracted to intelligence like Qiao Yan, it was enough to make her head overheat and spin!
Despite herself, Qiao Yan remembered a term that had once been popular online:
Hot nerd.
If “hot nerd” had a face, Qiao Yan thought it would probably look like Zhao Jin.
Still, this was only their first meeting.
If she acted so excited and enthusiastic right from the start… wouldn’t she scare Mr. Zhao away?
And so Qiao Yan had to rein in her excitement. Out of sight, she secretly pinched her thigh, barely managing to keep herself calm.
Back in reality, Liu Meixia had already taken charge. “Both of you, sit down. I’ll pour you some tea.”
Zhao Jin instinctively moved to take over the task, but Liu Meixia stopped him.
“Sit down, Xiao Zhao. I’ll do it. Have a chat with Yanyan. If there’s anything either of you is curious about, you can ask now and get to know each other.”
Zhao Jin nodded stiffly in agreement.
But once he sat down, how to begin was a problem.
It wasn’t that there had been no girls around him growing up. But Zhao Jin had devoted himself to his studies and paid little attention to them, much less interacted with them.
Later, once he was older, his family had arranged blind dates for him.
Most had ended before they even reached the stage of meeting.
So this was Zhao Jin’s first time speaking face-to-face with a young woman with marriage in mind.
He was already nervous enough, and now an extraordinarily beautiful young woman was sitting across from him.
Zhao Jin admitted that, when Qiao Yan entered earlier, he hadn’t been able to resist stealing a glance at her.
That very first glance had felt like an electric shock.
He couldn’t believe that a girl this beautiful existed. Her skin was as fair and smooth as milk, and her lips were as soft and vivid as flower petals.
Of course, what left the deepest impression on him was her eyes.
They were so large, so clear and luminous. Their brilliance surpassed even the world’s most precious gemstones, and no code could ever capture their lively expressiveness.
Zhao Jin was utterly stunned.
But what he still couldn’t understand was why a young woman as beautiful and young as Qiao Yan had agreed to meet him.
Could Staff Member Liu have failed to tell her about his actual circumstances?
Despite himself, Zhao Jin grew anxious.
He quickly suppressed the ripples of feeling that had only just stirred deep in his heart.
While Zhao Jin was hesitating over whether to explain his circumstances with complete honesty, Qiao Yan couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke first.
“Since we’re both here, I’ll speak frankly!”
That was exactly what Zhao Jin wanted, so he hurriedly nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’d like that too.”
“Then I’ll introduce myself first,” Qiao Yan said. “You’ve probably already heard about my circumstances from Aunt Liu, but I’ll go over them again so you can be sure.”
“All right. Please go ahead.”
“My name is Qiao Yan. I’m twenty-one years old, a high school graduate, and currently unemployed and staying at home.”
Zhao Jin nodded, then said, “My name is Zhao Jin. I’m twenty-seven years old and have a bachelor’s degree. I currently work as a software development engineer at Shenghua Network Technology.”
“A network technology company?”
Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up. They already had network technology companies in this era?
What sort of company was it? Could it be this novel’s version of Tencent?
Zhao Jin, however, thought she didn’t understand and patiently explained, “A network technology company is a new type of technology company. Its main business is developing and maintaining computer software.”
“I know, I know,” Qiao Yan said quickly. “You’re a programmer. Aunt Liu told me all about it.”
“You know what a programmer is?”
A clear flicker of delighted surprise appeared on Zhao Jin’s face.
After all, very few people in this era knew what programmers were or understood their work.
Even his maternal grandfather, a highly educated university professor, had repeatedly expressed his inability to understand Zhao Jin’s occupation, let alone ordinary people.
On his previous blind dates, he had lost count of how many people had looked deeply disappointed the moment they heard he was a programmer.
In this era, the most respected and readily understood occupations were still those with an “iron rice bowl.”
Jobs at state-owned enterprises, civil service positions, teaching…
The matchmaking agency had told him that unmarried men with such jobs had the easiest time finding partners.
As for programming, even in Shen City, where the economy was growing rapidly and exchanges with the outside world were changing by the day, Zhao Jin’s field remained difficult for people to understand.
That was why he responded to Qiao Yan’s understanding with such excitement and enthusiasm.
By then, the tea was ready. Liu Meixia poured them each a cup and casually interjected, “I wasn’t the one who told her that. Xiao Zhao, don’t listen to Yanyan’s nonsense. I don’t know what a programmer is. All I told her was that you worked with computers. As for this programmer business, she probably looked it up herself!”
“Auntie, don’t give me away.”
Qiao Yan’s cheeks grew warm.
Although Aunt Liu wasn’t right either, she hadn’t investigated anything. It was simply that, coming from 2025, she had immediately associated Zhao Jin’s computer science degree with programming.
But she couldn’t explain that… Now that Aunt Liu had put it that way, what would Zhao Jin think of her?
Sure enough, the moment Liu Meixia finished speaking, Zhao Jin looked even more excited. His eyes behind those rimless glasses seemed almost ablaze, making Qiao Yan’s heart tighten again and again.
Just when she was in danger of swooning over his good looks, Zhao Jin abruptly averted his gaze. After taking a deep breath, he apologized.
“…I’m sorry. I seem to have gotten a little excited. It’s so rare to meet someone in person who understands my profession. I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable.”
Qiao Yan hurried to reassure him. “Not at all. Don’t be discouraged, Mr. Zhao. I think that as the world develops, more and more people will understand you and your industry. Maybe one day, everyone will have a computer at home.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
At her words, Zhao Jin regarded Qiao Yan with even greater respect.
He admitted that his assumptions had been narrow-minded. He had thought she was merely a pretty young woman, never expecting her to have such keen insight that she could envision the vast technological world of the future.
“Exactly. I think so too,” Zhao Jin said, visibly excited.
Just then, Qiao Yan smiled and changed the subject. “That’s actually why I’m a little worried.”
“Worried about what?” Zhao Jin asked.
“That you won’t be interested in me!”
“How could that be…” Zhao Jin hurried to explain himself, nearly biting his tongue.
Qiao Yan, however, continued calmly and earnestly. “Think about it. You’re a talented graduate of Shen City University, and you work at a high-tech company with such promising prospects. But me? I’m only a high school graduate, and I don’t have a job right now. Of course I’m worried you won’t be interested in me.”
Qiao Yan was straightforward by nature, and she was no different with Zhao Jin.
Although she had indeed taken a liking to him at first sight on today’s blind date, finding him both impressive and handsome, she understood perfectly well that a blind date wasn’t like buying vegetables. Just because she liked him didn’t mean he had to like her back.
Besides, even when buying vegetables, neither party could be forced into the transaction, could they?
Qiao Yan admitted that what she currently had to offer fell somewhat short of Zhao Jin’s circumstances.
So, rather than bring certain things up later, she might as well say them now.
Besides, she wanted to know what Zhao Jin thought of her!
After saying her piece, she looked at him with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, waiting for his reaction.
Yet although Qiao Yan had imagined all sorts of responses, she had never expected Zhao Jin to wear an expression that could only be described as bitter.
A trace of desolation appeared on his refined, handsome face, revealing an insecurity that seemed at odds with everything he had going for him.
Qiao Yan’s heart sank.
Had she accidentally touched on something painful?
But how could this be painful? She had clearly been complimenting him…
Just as Qiao Yan was growing increasingly anxious and uncertain, Zhao Jin finally responded.
Lowering his eyes, he said quietly, “How could that be? Ms. Qiao, surely I’m the one who should be worried about that.”
Author’s Note:
An inferiority complex is a man’s best dowry.
Of course, that’s just at the beginning. The male lead will grow later, and so will the female lead.