The 372nd Failed Blind Date
Jiang Yi could no longer remember how many blind dates he had been on, nor how many times he had been rejected.
If you asked him why he was still single?
Jiang Yi would always say that having met so many beautiful women, not one of them had made his heart flutter.
What a pretentious excuse! Jiang Yi sat on the long sofa in the café, laughing self-deprecatingly.
The young woman who pushed through the door had a peach-blossom-delicate face adorned with exquisite makeup. Her long hair traced beautiful arcs as she moved, and her powder-blue dress outlined her graceful and well-proportioned figure.
He really hadn’t expected that this blind date would be with such a stunning beauty. Jiang Yi squinted his eyes slightly, his heart bubbling with delight, silently giving his mother 32 likes in his mind.
He placed the champagne-colored roses beside him in a conspicuous spot, and sure enough, the woman walked toward him. Her lips, painted with nude-colored gloss, curved into a charming smile. “Hello, are you Jiang Yi?”
Jiang Yi secretly marveled—she was not only beautiful but also had a pleasant, melodious voice. Suppressing the joy in his heart, Jiang Yi stood up and struck what he considered to be an elegant pose, extending his right hand. “Hello, I’m Jiang Yi! You must be Ruan Qingqiu, Miss Ruan?”
Ruan Qingqiu nodded and extended her hand to shake his. Her soft, jade-like hand rested in his palm, and Jiang Yi couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart.
The two sat facing each other. Jiang Yi was not good at conversation—he couldn’t make small talk, nor did he know how to please women. Otherwise, he wouldn’t still be single. Blind dates were already awkward enough, and when one party didn’t know how to liven up the atmosphere and just sat there dryly, it would obviously make the already stagnant mood even more lifeless.
Jiang Yi felt he couldn’t remain reserved any longer. After organizing his thoughts for a long while, he picked suitable topics and began chatting casually with Ruan Qingqiu. After they had talked for a bit in a rather bland manner, Ruan Qingqiu asked, “Mr. Jiang, what prestigious position do you hold?”
Jiang Yi scratched his hair somewhat awkwardly. “What prestigious position? I’m just a web novelist!”
“Like Tang Jia San Shao or Tiaowu, that kind of web novelist?”
(TL: 唐家三少 (Tang Jia San Shao) → A hugely famous Chinese web novelist known for works like Douluo Dalu (Soul Land) and many other fantasy/action novels.
跳舞 (Tiao Wu, literally “Dancing”) → Another well-known Chinese online novelist, author of popular series like The King’s Avatar and various romance/fantasy works.)
Seeing the excited gleam in Ruan Qingqiu’s eyes, Jiang Yi lowered his head, looking embarrassed. “No, no, no, they’re masters. I’m just a rookie!”
“Mr. Jiang, don’t sell yourself short. How much do you earn per month in manuscript fees?” Ruan Qingqiu extended her jade fingers flat. “Fifty thousand?”
Jiang Yi lowered his head and shook it slightly.
“Twenty thousand?”
Seeing that Jiang Yi remained silent, the excited expression on Ruan Qingqiu’s pretty face gradually darkened.
“Mr. Jiang, I’m your blind date. I hope you can be more honest about some questions!”
Seeing the displeasure on Ruan Qingqiu’s face, Jiang Yi hastily said, “Miss Ruan, I’m not being dishonest.”
“Then how much do you actually earn per month?”
“Five or six thousand! But once I finish this book, I’ll get a very large completion bonus.” Just thinking about the new benefits the website had rolled out, Jiang Yi couldn’t help but get excited. “Miss Ruan, you don’t know—our website has great development prospects. Don’t just look at how I only earn five or six thousand a month now. If I can get on the wireless platform, that would be incredible. That would be…”
Before Jiang Yi could finish, Ruan Qingqiu interrupted him. “Mr. Jiang, that’s not what your mother said. She said you were an internationally renowned stock market trader with assets worth hundreds of millions. When I first saw you, I thought it was strange—I’d never seen a rich person wearing street vendor clothes.”
Jiang Yi looked down at the shirt he was wearing. Although it was from a street vendor, it really was made of pure cotton. He had never cared about brands; as long as clothes were comfortable to wear, that was enough.
“Actually, whether you have money or not isn’t really important. The main thing is being a good person without any bad intentions. But I never expected you to be a liar!”
Ruan Qingqiu’s face was full of mockery, her dark, thick eyelashes laden with contempt. Jiang Yi lowered his head, feeling bitter in his heart.
“Miss Ruan, although I don’t have money, I will definitely treat you well!”
Having tasted the bitter flavor of failure, Jiang Yi really didn’t want to spend the upcoming Qixi Festival alone again.
(TL: 七夕节 (Qixi Festival) → A traditional Chinese festival often called Chinese Valentine’s Day, celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.)
But Ruan Qingqiu wasn’t buying it. She snorted coldly. “Mr. Jiang, that romantic theory of ‘love conquers all’ is clearly no longer suitable for today’s society!”
“The coffee here isn’t cheap. With your income… tsk tsk, I’ll pay instead!”
As she spoke, Ruan Qingqiu pulled out a bright red hundred-yuan bill from her bag and slapped it on the crystal table, then without looking back, disappeared outside the café door on her high heels.
Jiang Yi hung his head, his face full of defeat. He couldn’t remember how many times this kind of situation had occurred.
See? It wasn’t that Jiang Yi wanted to be single—it was just that nobody appreciated him.
Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, Jiang Yi’s brow instantly furrowed into a knot. Without even looking, he knew it must be his mother’s criticism call. He reluctantly answered, and the woman’s voice that came roaring through the phone made Jiang Yi’s eardrums buzz.
“You wretched child, you managed to miss out on such a good girl. What exactly do you want? Do you know how many blind dates you’ve been on? I’m telling you—372 times, a whole 372 times!”
“Jiang Yi, tell me exactly what kind of person you’re looking for? Don’t give me that talk about fate—that’s all nonsense. You’re already 30 years old. Can’t you stop making your mother worry?”
Jiang Yi pursed his lips and muttered quietly, “I’m only 29, I haven’t had my 30th birthday yet!”
“What did you say?” The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly turned cold. Jiang Yi quickly shut up and gently tried to soothe his mother’s agitated mood. “Mom, don’t scold me anymore! It’s not that I don’t want to find someone—the girls just don’t like me.”
“Did you start talking nonsense again? I warned you a thousand times not to say you’re a web novelist. Why won’t you listen?”
“Mom, that’s what I actually do. How can I lie to people?”
“Fine, fine, fine, don’t give me that. Come home and see me tomorrow.”
Jiang Yi knew that once he went home, he’d be in for a barrage of criticism. With a pained expression, he pleaded. “Mom, I have to work on my manuscript tomorrow. I don’t have time to come back!”
“I don’t care. If I don’t see you tomorrow, I’ll hire an internet army to give you hundreds of fake bookmarks so your book can never get published!”
Seeing his mother drop this harsh threat, Jiang Yi panicked. Not getting published meant complete failure, and complete failure meant no money, and without money, how could he live?
“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll come back tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Jiang Yi broke out in a cold sweat. What a mess this all was!