Qiao Yan woke up on the folding bed.
Today was Sunday, the day she had arranged with Aunt Liu to meet someone at the matchmaking agency.
By rights, Qiao Yan should have gotten up early, just as she had for the meeting at the little park, to shower and get herself ready.
But today, for some reason, even as she watched the hands of the wall clock tick steadily onward, she simply didn’t want to get up.
Perhaps it was because the folding bed beneath her was too hard. Although it had two thick layers of bedding, there was no mattress, so it was still hard.
And that wasn’t all.
The screws seemed to have come loose too.
As long as Qiao Yan lay flat on her back, it was fine. But the slightest attempt to turn over would inevitably make the bed creak.
It was especially irritating in the dead of night, when everything else was quiet.
Of course, those were far from the only drawbacks of sleeping in this bed.
The fact that it was in the living room, where everyone had to pass the head of her bed on their way to the bathroom at night, was already enough to make Qiao Yan miserable.
Back at university, one of her roommates had often gotten up to use the bathroom during the night. Every time she did, Qiao Yan, a light sleeper, would inevitably wake up.
But back then, it had only been one person. Unpleasant as it was, she could put up with it.
Now there were four other people in the Qiao household. No, six!
Thinking of the countless nights like this awaiting her, Qiao Yan sighed. However much she wanted to stay in bed, it was time to get up.
Naturally, once she did, she couldn’t escape Mother Qiao’s nagging.
“You little brat. Do you really think your wings are strong enough for you to fly away?”
“Is that man out there really so wonderful? So wonderful that you won’t even acknowledge your own mother?!”
“Hmph! I bet he’s a fraud too, all looks and no substance!”
Qiao Yan let the words go in one ear and out the other, grabbed a change of clothes, and hurried into the bathroom with her head down.
Although the late-June weather wasn’t particularly muggy yet, being shut inside the tiny bathroom was still uncomfortable.
Besides, the Qiao family hadn’t installed a water heater.
Even now, everyone still bathed by boiling water, pouring it into a bucket, and using a dipper to ladle it over themselves, one scoop at a time.
For that reason, Qiao Yan didn’t linger. After quickly washing her hair and body, she slipped out of the bathroom.
Fortunately, Mother Qiao was gone by then. She had probably gone out to buy groceries.
Qiao Yan felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
After her shower, she changed into clean clothes. They certainly weren’t as pretty as the new dress she had carefully styled for herself that day, but she had youth and a firm figure on her side. They didn’t look bad on her at all.
As for her hair, she left it loose over her shoulders again, but without the rhinestone clip she had worn that day.
To be honest, after the previous failed blind date, Qiao Yan had become considerably less enthusiastic about the whole business.
She was going to meet Zhao Jin at the matchmaking agency today only because she wasn’t quite ready to give up. She wanted to give this first-generation programmer, and herself, a chance to meet.
Having been “driven out” of the bedroom, Qiao Yan now understood all too well that relying on herself was better than relying on anyone or anything else.
Rather than expecting a strange man found through a matchmaking agency to give her a happy life, it would be more practical to think carefully about how to use her knowledge from the future to make money in this era.
1995 was undoubtedly a time of rapid growth.
Perhaps Shenzhen in 1995 wasn’t paved with gold, but saying it was paved with silver wouldn’t be far off.
Although Qiao Yan certainly couldn’t compare with the male and female leads, who had their special advantages and uniquely favorable circumstances, surely she could earn enough to feed herself and put a roof over her head?
In any case, she couldn’t go on sitting around waiting for disaster.
With that thought, Qiao Yan grabbed her little bag and hurried out.
Once outside, she found that having few expectations made her less nervous than last time.
Just as she had on her first outing, Qiao Yan wandered along the street, looking here and there. Every so often, she even went into a shop to feel the merchandise and ask a few questions.
And so she made her leisurely way toward the matchmaking agency.
Strangely enough, the farther she walked, the more her gloomy mood lifted.
When she reached the intersection nearest the matchmaking agency, she even stepped in to right an injustice she couldn’t bear to watch.
It was only a small matter.
A little girl who looked about seven or eight wanted some tanghulu.
If she wanted tanghulu, why not let her have some? It wasn’t exactly a rare treat these days.
Besides, the little girl was gazing at it so longingly. Even if her family was poor, what harm would there be in letting her have a bite or two?
Yet the well-dressed middle-aged woman, who didn’t look short of money, suddenly darkened and began loudly scolding the little girl in the street.
The already timid child was berated until she couldn’t even lift her head, crying pitifully.
Qiao Yan had never been able to bear seeing little girls cry.
The other passersby might ignore it, but she wouldn’t!
She immediately rushed forward, pulled the little girl into her arms in one swift movement, and shouted at the middle-aged woman.
“You won’t even let your daughter have a one-yuan tanghulu, yet you’re wearing a dress that costs over a hundred? Are you her stepmother or something?!”
Before she had even finished speaking, the woman’s expression abruptly changed.
Well, well.
Qiao Yan understood. She had only made an offhand remark, but by sheer coincidence, she had guessed correctly.
Looking again, she noticed that this “stepmother” was also holding a little boy, about three or four years old.
And what was that little boy holding, if not the imported ice cream Qiao Yan had supposedly been “dreaming of” a few days earlier?
Qiao Yan laughed in anger. “Well, well. You’ll buy your own son fancy ice cream at seven yuan a bar, but you won’t even buy your daughter a tanghulu?”
A crowd gradually gathered around them.
The middle-aged woman’s expression grew uglier, and she began berating Qiao Yan. “What does this have to do with you? Mind your own business. Xiaoyu, get over here. We’re going home!”
Feeling the little girl shrink back in her arms, Qiao Yan held her more protectively.
Keeping the little girl close, she took out her own money to buy her a tanghulu and spoke loudly enough for the crowd to hear.
“It’s all right. Big Sister will buy it for you. Here, take it. When you get home and your dad asks, tell him exactly what happened.”
The middle-aged woman panicked at those words and hurried forward to pull the little girl away.
But the neighbors watching could no longer stand by. Apparently, the woman lived nearby. They all knew her and were familiar with her family’s situation.
Previously, no one had taken the lead. Now that Qiao Yan had brought the matter into the open, the concerned neighbors began chiming in.
“Exactly, Old Zhou’s wife. This is no way to treat someone!”
“The new home you and your husband live in was bought with the death benefits paid out for Xiaoyu’s mother. Her mother hasn’t even been gone two years. How can you treat Xiaoyu like this?”
“Poor child. Her younger brother gets ice cream, but she can’t even have a tanghulu. I bet Old Zhou doesn’t know about this.”
“If Old Zhou found out, wouldn’t he want to slap himself…”
As everyone spoke, Qiao Yan watched the middle-aged woman, who had been so arrogant moments earlier, lower her head further and further, her face flushing with shame.
Finally, under pressure from the crowd, the woman paid for the hawthorn and red bean paste tanghulu herself.
With the tanghulu in hand, the little girl finally stopped crying and smiled happily.
Feeling that she had done a good deed, Qiao Yan was in excellent spirits. After pressing a one-yuan note into the little girl’s hand, she bought herself a tanghulu too, one with hawthorn and walnuts.
A large walnut was sandwiched between the halves of each pitted hawthorn, coated in clear, glistening sugar syrup and wrapped in edible rice paper.
One bite sent sweet and sour flavors bursting through her mouth. It was indescribably delicious.
The hawthorn’s tart sweetness mingled with the rich, nutty fragrance of the walnuts.
And it cost only one yuan!
It was an incredible bargain. The more Qiao Yan ate, the happier she became.
Of course, the main reason for her happiness was that she had been able to help the little girl.
Although a tanghulu only addressed the symptom rather than the root of the problem, so many neighbors had witnessed the incident. Even if only because of “public pressure,” that woman would have to think twice before mistreating the child again, wouldn’t she?
Besides, judging from what the crowd had said, the girl’s father didn’t know about this yet.
Qiao Yan had made a scene today, and these were neighbors who saw one another all the time. It probably wouldn’t take long for the girl’s father to hear about it.
As long as he was any kind of decent father, he ought to step in and protect his daughter.
The thought made Qiao Yan even happier, and her steps grew lighter.
Eating her hawthorn-and-walnut tanghulu and humming a popular tune, she wandered around nearby for a little longer in high spirits before returning to the matchmaking agency.
The matchmaking agency’s staff didn’t work on Sundays.
Qiao Yan had only learned in the past couple of days that the two-day weekend had first been introduced in 1995.
Still, for the public’s convenience, the agency remained open on Saturdays and Sundays, with two small rooms available specifically for eligible men and women to meet on blind dates.
Qiao Yan had arranged with Aunt Liu to meet at two in the afternoon.
It was now about 1:50 p.m.
After throwing away the long tanghulu stick, Qiao Yan stood a short distance from the entrance and peered inside curiously.
She hadn’t expected anything from that glance.
After all, before leaving home today, Qiao Yan had already decided that she was better off relying on herself. How could a man compare with money? She had only come because she didn’t want to break her appointment.
Yet that single glance left her mesmerized.
There was only one reason:
He was handsome!
Now she finally understood why the original owner had insisted on trailing after Chen Guangzong.
So this was how devastating a handsome man could be in real life!
Although Qiao Yan couldn’t make out the details of Zhao Jin’s features from her distant vantage point, he sat upright, his bearing straight and dignified.
Just the outline of his figure was enough to send her heart fluttering wildly.
Thinking about it more carefully, he stood out so much even while seated, and his long legs looked so cramped beneath the table. Clearly, the height of 183 centimeters listed on his profile hadn’t been exaggerated. If anything, it might have been understated.
Despite herself, her face flushed several shades deeper.
Now she began to regret not dressing up before leaving home today. Would Zhao Jin dislike what she was wearing…?
What Qiao Yan didn’t know was that, while she was boldly studying her blind date, the man inside the room had noticed her too.
The matchmaking agency’s staff had arranged for Zhao Jin to meet her at two in the afternoon.
He was already seated inside the matchmaking agency at precisely 1:40 p.m.
According to the staff, the young woman interested in him this time was a high school graduate, exactly twenty-one years old, very pretty, and lively and straightforward.
Zhao Jin hadn’t believed it.
It wasn’t that he thought too little of himself. Ever since he had reached marriageable age, his maternal grandfather had been busy trying to find him a partner.
The search had begun when he was twenty-two and continued until he was twenty-seven.
He had met prospective partners during those years. But whenever they met, the women either objected to his father being divorced or felt that his job wasn’t stable enough.
Zhao Jin had already given up on finding a partner altogether.
But when the matchmaking agency called again, he hesitated. Thinking of his maternal grandfather’s dying wish, he swallowed the refusal on the tip of his tongue.
He decided to keep the appointment, but deep down, he didn’t believe this blind date would work out.
Until this moment, when the young woman’s bold, ardent gaze clung to him like glue, making his heart skip a beat.
Outside the window, the sunshine was lovely.
A cloud drifted past. Zhao Jin averted his eyes from the young woman’s frank gaze, a barely perceptible blush rising to his face.
Author’s Note:
Introducing an innocent twenty-seven-year-old male lead who’s never been in a relationship.