19: Second blind date

Middle-aged and elderly people in the countryside are most passionate about neighborhood gossip.

If a conflict arises in any family, they can pull back the timeline ten or twenty years and turn it into a classic family drama.

And for them, the story of a young person who made it big out in the world returning home in glory...

...is like a power fantasy novel.

It's what they love to spread the most.

Although Chen Qiu's current situation was far from a true "glorious return."

But at this time when college students hadn't even started their winter break, the bored elderly people at home were eagerly looking forward to the return of the younger generation who worked away from home all year round.

As one of the first young people to return to the village, Chen Qiu's appearance was seen as a good omen.

So much so that some families began to secretly hope that their own sons and daughters would also bring home a huge surprise this year.

Thus, various rumors naturally spread as if they had grown wings.

By the next day, the village rumors had even reached an outrageous version: Chen Qiu was already worth tens of millions and would take his parents to Shenzhen to enjoy life after the New Year!

The uncles and Aunts who weren't often seen in the village before...

...had been popping up frequently at the entrance of Chen Qiu's house over the last two days.

Chen Zhide was practically glowing with pride.

Especially with that brand-new Huawei tri-fold phone in his hand; every time someone came by, he had to take it out and fiddle with it pretentiously.

Open, close.

Open again, close again.

That expression, that posture, was purely saying: "Oh, how did you know my son bought me the latest Huawei tri-fold?"

It had to be said that the influence of the Huawei brand among the middle-aged and elderly was such that no matter how you folded it, it brought prestige!

In contrast, the Xiaomi SU7 had an incredibly high level of recognition among the village's elementary school students.

Many adults didn't even know that Xiaomi had started making cars yet.

Instead, it was those elementary schoolers with their backpacks who, seeing the car's streamlined body from a distance, would start shouting excitedly.

"Xiaomi SU7! Look! It's a Xiaomi SU7!"

This made Chen Qiu sigh with emotion; people's perception of the world nowadays was being tightly locked in airtight information cocoons by short videos and big data.

After a bustling day.

On Sunday, Chen Qiu prepared to go on his second blind date.

Meanwhile, his parents, after giving him some heartfelt words of encouragement early in the morning, happily rushed off to Haitang Bay during their break to inspect their new house.

Before leaving, Chen Qiu even heard his mother muttering about everything from the blind date to what brand of furniture to buy, planning from the engagement process all the way to the decoration of the marital home... Looking at that display, she practically wished he would produce a chubby grandson for her right after the New Year... At noon.

Chen Qiu arrived at MixC City in the city center half an hour early.

This time, he had booked the restaurant for the blind date himself.

It was a chain Cantonese restaurant.

He had eaten there a few times with clients when he was in Shenzhen; it cost about two hundred per person, and the taste was decent.

After finding a relatively secluded and private spot by the window and sitting down...

...Chen Qiu sat there for a full half hour.

He saw the waiter in charge of his area nearby getting a bit restless, wanting to come over several times to urge him to order.

"She wouldn't... be standing me up, would she?"

Chen Qiu muttered to himself.

His chat history with the girl named He Ting still ended at this morning.

In fact, from the time they added each other as friends until now, they hadn't even exchanged many words.

It was just a simple confirmation of the restaurant's location and the meeting time.

Seeing that ten minutes had passed since the agreed twelve o'clock, there was still no movement on her WeChat.

Chen Qiu sent a message over.

[Aren't you here yet?]

He waited another five minutes.

Chen Qiu was just about to leave.

...when his phone vibrated with a reply.

[I'm almost there!]

Chen Qiu was speechless.

God knows if a girl's "almost there" meant she had just crawled out of bed.

[How about I order first? What do you want to eat?]

He sent another message.

A few more minutes passed.

[Order whatever, I don't eat much.]

Since she said that, Chen Qiu didn't stand on ceremony with her.

He called the waiter over and, in one go, ordered four dishes that he liked.

Cantonese portions are generally small, so there was no need to worry about not being able to finish.

He could almost finish them all by himself.

After ordering, Chen Qiu specifically instructed the waiter not to be in such a hurry to serve the food.

Sure enough.

After sitting in the restaurant for another twenty minutes or so...

...she finally arrived late.

At this moment, the waiter, being very observant, brought out the freshly cooked dishes.

"Hello, I'm Chen Qiu."

"He Ting."

The He Ting in front of him was about 165 cm tall.

She wore a beige knit sweater on top with a short trench coat over it, and an Hermès Kelly bag slung across her shoulder.

On the bottom was a pair of tight jeans that outlined her long legs.

On her feet was a pair of simple white sneakers.

"Dressed in Hermès from head to toe..."

Chen Qiu didn't know much about luxury goods, but he recognized Hermès.

His gaze shifted, landing on her face, which was done up with somewhat flamboyant makeup.

Although there was still a significant difference compared to the heavily edited photo...

...in terms of figure and looks alone, she could indeed be called a minor beauty!

Of course.

Compared to Xu Jia's natural refinement and beauty, she was still quite lacking.

Most importantly...

...even though He Ting was wearing luxury brands, she still carried a faint, indescribable air of worldliness.

This vibe took away quite a bit from her overall image!

Chen Qiu noticed that after He Ting sat down, she was also quietly observing him.

But it wasn't the kind of curious look one has when meeting for the first time.

That look gave Chen Qiu the feeling of a condescending scrutiny.

Yes, scrutiny!

Especially when her gaze quickly swept over his ordinary casual clothes and his bare wrist, which lacked a watch.

Chen Qiu keenly noticed that He Ting seemed to have subconsciously placed herself in a more superior, higher position.

The most obvious manifestation was...

...that even though she was nearly an hour late, she hadn't mentioned it once since sitting down.

As if his waiting was only natural!

"But, being superior is fine too..."

Chen Qiu's eyes flickered slightly, but in his heart, he began to look forward to this blind date.