Life Plan

Chapter 28, Blind Date

Liu Chichi arrived at the agreed location sent by her mother five minutes early. It was an old-fashioned Western restaurant, and the sky and the restaurant were both dimly lit.

Given her nearsightedness, she wouldn't be able to see the dishes even if they weren't completely clean.

She vaguely remembered that the other person was also wearing glasses.

Dining in this restaurant was an unfamiliar experience for her. The menu, as thick and exquisite as a book, landed in her hands. Each page was arranged in three languages, but there was no Chinese or prices listed.

She could vaguely distinguish that it was Italian, French, and English. In the English, she could recognize some of the ingredient names, but she couldn't understand most of the uncommon phrases.

She hurriedly put it down, and a very perceptive waiter quickly stepped forward: "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh, maybe, uh, do you have a Chinese menu?" At this moment, Liu Chichi felt embarrassed and blushed because of her lack of worldly experience.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, no. Our restaurant serves authentic Italian cuisine and traditional French desserts, and the menu is created by our chef himself."

"So what's the English for?"

"Equivalent to a comment."

This is absurd. A restaurant located in a bustling area of ​​China serves Italian cuisine for main courses and traditional French tapas for desserts, with the menu notes in English.

People forget their embarrassment when they feel it's absurd. Liu Chichi put down the menu, speechless, and shook her head at the waiter: "Then let's wait a little longer."

Judging from the time, her blind date, He Qing, was already ten minutes late.

Liu Chichi is not good at self-consistency. The occasional glances from the waiters and other diners around her made her uneasy and even a little anxious.

After waiting another fifteen minutes, the man in the overcoat finally arrived. He looked more refined than in the photo, or perhaps the well-tailored shirt concealed his figure. He Qing handed the overcoat to the waiter and smiled politely at Liu Chichi: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Considering the other person was busy, she politely offered an excuse: "No, I just arrived too."

He expertly flipped through the menu and started ordering, then asked Liu Chichi, "The T-bone steak here is very good, but one serving might be a bit too much for a girl. Would you like a smaller portion?"

"A normal amount is fine, thank you." More than an hour had passed since her mealtime, and she felt like she could eat a whole cow. "Oh, and by the way, well-done."

Hearing her words, He Qing suddenly laughed: "Extra spicy?"

"Can I add it?"

His laughter clearly carried a hint of mockery: "Then you should go eat stir-fried beef with green peppers."

Liu Chichi thought to herself, "That's certainly a good idea." She repeatedly declined He Qing's recommendations for various desserts. Ever since she had suffered from toothache, she hadn't eaten sweets often.

He Qing, who had been rejected multiple times, raised an eyebrow: "It's not a bad thing for girls to like desserts. Let's change it to soup then."

This time, it wasn't about asking for her opinion, but about making arrangements.

They exchanged casual pleasantries, with He Qing mostly describing how he fought his way out of the fiercely competitive internet industry, while Liu Chichi occasionally offered perfunctory replies such as "That sounds really tough" or "Oh, I see."

Liu Chichi wanted to look down at her phone many times, but politeness made her restrain herself. Her thoughts couldn't help but drift to Jiang Xiaonv. The follow-up visit was just two days away from the deadline, and Dr. Li hoped to see it through to the end. As long as it wasn't an immediate death sentence, the clinical trial should continue.

She was thinking about how to contact Sun Qiang and apply for medical parole as a relative of Jiang Xiaonv.

He Qing quickly noticed her distraction and gave her what she thought was an understanding smile: "It's normal for girls not to be interested in these things. What have you been doing lately?"

Liu Chichi blurted out, "I just visited a murder scene this afternoon."

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. He Qing frowned at her as if she were an ignorant child, and twitched the corner of her mouth: "You're really funny."

Liu Chichi felt annoyed by her loose tongue. She lowered her head, bit her lip, and then gave an embarrassed smile. This expression amused He Qing, and he stopped caring.

But being outspoken isn't all bad; Liu Chichi finally got a quiet meal. She broke apart and ate the 1.2-pound T-bone steak. It was all beef, and with the spicy sauce, it was indeed quite similar to her stir-fried beef with green peppers.

After dinner, He Qing took her home and asked her if she had time tomorrow, saying they would meet again.

Liu Chichi was taken aback: "Next time?"

She even paid the bill separately, which cost her over a thousand yuan. She decisively swiped the "salary card" that her mother could see. She thought they were even, so why was there a next time?

He Qing seemed to enjoy seeing her look confused, and explained with a smile, "Aside from being a little bit immature, I'm very satisfied with you. Of course, at your age, being immature isn't a bad thing; I'll teach you slowly in the future. I'm currently living in the next city, and this trip is actually for business; I'll be going back the day after tomorrow. I hope we can take advantage of this time to get to know each other better."

Is he satisfied that they are about to meet?

What if she's not satisfied?

But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong; she just felt awkward. He Qing's words and actions hadn't crossed any lines, and while there were occasional moments that made her uncomfortable, they were still within her tolerance.

This coercive, even controlling attitude felt familiar and oppressive to Liu Chichi, and she obediently nodded: "Okay."

"Then find a place to eat, how about... stir-fried beef with green peppers?"

She was even quite considerate; it seemed like there was nothing she could refuse.

When she got home, Liu Chunhong was waiting at the entrance of the building again, but this time she wasn't wearing a supermarket vest, but a black trench coat, and her face was all smiles.

He Qing got out of the car and greeted her. She was so enthusiastic that she was almost exaggerated. She even asked him directly if he wanted to come upstairs for a chat. It had only been three hours since Liu Chichi and he first met.

After He Qing declined and left, Liu Chunhong kept muttering, "What a sensible child."

Liu Chichi saw the living room, which was spotless. The old fan had been put away, and the wall lamp in the entryway was off. Instead, the crystal chandelier in the living room was on, the one that Liu Chunhong had scolded for wasting electricity for many years.

As soon as Liu Chunhong entered the room, she turned off the chandelier, leaving the wall lamp casting a pale white light. She kept repeating how outstanding He Qing was.

Liu hesitated for a moment, then interrupted her: "Mom, this meal cost me 1,200 yuan."

"You know to treat us now? Well, that shows you're quite sensible."

"You pay the bill yourself; mine is 1200."

"So expensive!" Liu Chunhong was surprised for a moment, then laughed. "Taking you to such an expensive place to eat means you're a discerning person, which is a good thing."

Liu Chichi silently entered the bathroom. As the water washed over her scalp, she thought of her years of financial hardship. Her mother thought her weekly allowance of one hundred yuan was a waste, while she praised others for being more refined when the bill was one thousand two hundred.

The next evening at dinner, He Qing was fifteen minutes late, and as always, he said "Sorry to keep you waiting" without any apology.

Liu Chichi remained calm, and even considering that she arrived ten minutes earlier than last time, she offered another way out: "It's okay, I just got here too."

He Qing leaned back in her chair and said, "I've heard that women always arrive late for dates to show how much they value them. How late were you? Let me see how much you value it."

Liu Chichi frowned, her expression even a little embarrassed: "Actually, I arrived five minutes early, just like last time."

He Qing shrugged indifferently. Compared to yesterday, his attitude today was somewhat frivolous. He leaned back almost completely, and his weariness was undisguised.

Liu Chichi couldn't help but reflect on herself. Was it because she hadn't chosen a good restaurant?

This restaurant is a private kitchen. Liu Chichi specifically asked Shen Shuyi about it, and it was not simple at all; it was quite famous locally.

Was he just too tired?

She carefully considered her words before speaking: "Did you have a long day? Why don't you go home and rest first, and we can meet up again another time?"

He Qing frowned, remained silent for a while, and then spoke as if he was somewhat embarrassed: "I investigated you."

"what?"

"Because my family moved to a neighboring city a long time ago, we don't know much about this area. The person who introduced us gave us a basic overview, but I still want to have a clearer understanding before continuing, so I asked a friend to look it up. Although you're doing clinical research, you're actually an outsourced worker, right?"

Liu Chichi fell silent. To the hospital, that was indeed her role. Even when contacting medical staff, she was occasionally criticized for being too fussy.

"Of course, our family doesn't expect you to earn money, so that's fine. I'm quite satisfied with your education and life trajectory, and we hope you can devote yourself to taking care of the family after we get married."

"What about my job?"

"Resign."

Liu Chichi couldn't help but raise her voice: "Why?"

"For an outsourced job, the pay is low and it's not very meaningful."

Liu Chichi couldn't help but get angry. She was so angry that she couldn't eat a single bite of food and even felt nauseous. But she wasn't good at arguing, and apart from sulking, she couldn't utter a single word.

He Qing laughed out loud, leisurely savoring the stir-fried beef with green peppers, his gaze fixed on Liu Chichi's flushed face, and he couldn't help but comment, "So cute."

In that instant, Liu Chichi felt harassed. She picked up her bag and said, "I have something to do at the hospital, I have to go."

He Qing didn't even look up, her tone still carrying an air of nonchalant confidence: "Your mother and my aunt introduced you as someone from the hospital system, so among the three of you, who lied?"

Liu Chichi had just pushed open the door to the private room when she turned around and sat down again, taking a deep breath. She knew she looked like a clown in their eyes, but she had to put on a docile smile: "It's me."

He clasped his hands under his chin, and fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes as he smiled: "It's not a big deal."

In He Qing's view, Liu Chichi's lie to her mother was nothing more than a young girl's desire to save face; a little vanity was actually easier to control. He had been working for many years, and Liu Chichi's youthful energy was extremely attractive to him; he was happy to marry a young and beautiful bride.

Moreover, she is good at complying.

He Qing smiled and reached out her hand: "So now, is this our shared secret?"

"Yes."

Liu Chichi gritted her teeth, reached out her hand, shook hands briefly with the other person, and immediately withdrew it, frantically telling herself in her heart that she should just treat it as helping an old man cross the road.

"Being a full-time housewife is much easier than working. My income is steadily increasing, more than enough to support you. You just need to stay home and take care of the kids, and spend your free time pursuing your hobbies. Want to think about it?"

I have no hobbies or interests.

"It's not too late to start training now. As the old saying goes, marriage is a woman's second chance at life. You must seize this opportunity for rebirth."

Liu Chichi's resistant emotions subsided somewhat after those words. She was silent for a moment, then lowered her head and said, "I'll think about it."

She didn't take He Qing's car home today because she didn't want to hear Liu Chunhong's eager inquiries about how their relationship was going and whether she had behaved well. Like a commodity waiting to be sold, reporting on its performance in the transaction.

After seeing He Qing off, she returned to the private room. The meal consisted of five dishes, a soup, and a serving of glutinous rice balls. He Qing ate very restrainedly, leaving half of the dishes untouched.

The empty private room actually made her feel at ease. She heard the sounds of drinking games coming from the room to her left, so she picked up her chopsticks again.

She had just taken a couple of bites when there was a knock on the door of the private room. Thinking it was a waiter, she raised her voice and refused, "I don't need any service."

"It's me, Zhou Ya."