Volume 1, Chapter 53: The Real Reason You Tricked Me Back

I was half-asleep when I was hauled out of bed. Rubbing my drowsy eyes, I asked, "Where are we going?"

"To a blind date!"

It felt like I was struck by lightning, and I snapped wide awake instantly.

"A blind date? What kind of blind date! Why didn't I know anything about this beforehand?"

With that, looking at his complicated expression, a flash of lightning crossed my mind, and I finally understood his purpose in tricking me into coming home.

My heart sank, and suppressing the churning emotions within me, I asked, "The thing you wanted to tell me when you called me last night... was it to have me come back for a blind date?"

My father glanced at me and said, "Mhm, yes."

I was growing furious, but forcibly suppressing my boiling anger, I said helplessly, "Why didn't you just say so earlier? If I had known, I wouldn't have rushed back in the middle of the night."

"If I hadn't told you that, would you have come back?"

His words left me completely speechless.

My father continued with a righteous tone, "The matchmaker finally managed to introduce a match for you this time, and just like you asked, the girl hasn't been married before! How could I not trick you into coming back? You rascal, you better seize this opportunity."

"..."

I was left speechless, not knowing what to say for a moment. Seeing my silence, my father furrowed his brows, a trace of impatience creeping into his tone.

"Bin, it's not that I'm hounding you, but I had no choice. If I hadn't called you in the middle of the night, would you have come back? Before, you turned your nose up at divorcees; now the matchmaker has introduced someone who has never been married, the least you can do is go meet her. I'm doing this for your good."

A wave of bitterness washed over me. Right now, besides helplessness, I felt nothing but helplessness. He was my father; no matter how furious I was inside, what could I do?

My father lit a cigarette and handed another to me. We sat there smoking in silence, neither of us speaking, until he finally broke the silence.

"I know you can't forget Kuang Li, but you aren't getting any younger either. It's time to find someone else. The matchmaker told me this girl is exceptionally nice, and she has two older brothers at home. Just go meet her! The matchmaker went through so much trouble, and if you keep making excuses and turning it down, nobody will introduce anyone to you in the future."

Since he had already lowered his stance, no matter how angry I felt, it wasn't right to say anything more. After all, he was my old man; if I really managed to anger him into falling sick, I would be the one footing the bill in the end.

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded silently.

The old man finally looked somewhat relieved. As if afraid I would go back on my word, he quickly called the matchmaker, who gave me an address. Carrying a tragic, heroic resolve, I set off alone to face my fate.

Watching his eager posture—as if he couldn't wait to push me onto a blind date—I felt like a pig being forced into breeding. With a sense of utter helplessness, I drove off to the blind date.

The venue was a mid-to-high-end restaurant in the county town. Upon arrival, I dialed the phone number my father had sent me via WeChat.

The call went through, and a slightly arrogant voice came over the line.

"Hello, I'm Xu Fei. You're already here, right? Well, wait a minute, I'm almost there too."

With that, she hung up.

She said she was almost there, but my waiting dragged on for a full half-hour. Just as my patience was running out, she finally appeared.

I had seen the photo the matchmaker gave me. Although the filter was heavy, I could still tell that this was indeed the girl I was supposed to meet.

Since I was already here, no matter how reluctant I was, I had to at least put on a show. So I smiled and waved at her. But when I saw several other women trailing behind her, the smile on my face instantly froze.

"Yu Bin, right? I'm Xu Fei."

She nodded perfunctorily, raising her voice a notch as if trying to build up momentum for herself, exuding a sense of superiority.

I glanced at the flock of people behind her and nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I am. May I ask who these..."

Xu Fei introduced them to me grandly: "This is my mother, this is my second aunt, this is my eldest sister-in-law, my second sister-in-law..."

I was utterly shocked. Why bring an entire entourage to a blind date, deploying the whole family like this? Were they afraid I'd get stuck with her and couldn't get rid of her?

The way they looked at me was as if they were examining a piece of merchandise, completely disregarding my feelings as the person involved. Pointing and passing judgment right in front of my face, Xu Fei's mother gave me a head-to-toe scan and snapped ungraciously, "Didn't the matchmaker say he was at least one meter eighty? How come he looks barely one meter seventy-five?"

Remembering the photo my father had given the matchmaker, I smiled and said, "Maybe she meant one meter eighty while riding a horse?"

"..."

While taking off her coat, Xu Fei asked me, "The matchmaker said you work in Beijing. Have you bought a house locally?"

I gave a dry laugh. Real estate there cost a fortune; buying a house on a salary alone was nothing short of a fairy tale.

"Not yet, I'm renting."

Xu Fei's expression instantly chilled, a flicker of disdain flashing in the depths of her eyes. She glanced at her mother, who immediately chimed in, "I heard you just broke up with your girlfriend of nine years. Why is that?"

I was taken aback and instantly felt rather displeased, but out of politeness, I glossed over it vaguely, "Oh, we weren't a good match, so we broke up."

I thought that would be the end of it, but her mother kept pressing for details. "It took nine years to realize you weren't a match? That can't be right. Was it because of the bride price? How much did her family ask for?"

I stared straight into her eyes for a long moment before finally speaking. "We didn't break up over the bride price. In fact, I'd like to ask, why did Xu Fei and her last boyfriend break up?"

Xu Fei's expression changed. "How can you ask a question like that? That's completely inappropriate."

I smiled and said, "Oh, right! Didn't you all just ask me the exact same question?"

Xu Fei was instantly struck dumb, and her mother hurriedly took over the conversation, continuing, "Then what is your monthly salary?"

"Base plus bonus, after deductions for the five social insurances and housing fund, I take home just over ten thousand!"

Xu Fei curled her lip, making no effort to conceal her scorn. "In a big city like that, that's not much at all!"

I was irritated to the extreme, nodded, and countered with a question of my own, "Then how much do you make?"

"Twenty-five hundred." She was proud of it rather than ashamed.

I laughed out of sheer anger. What on earth is going on here?

Sensing that I was mocking her, Xu Fei said angrily, "I'm in my hometown; two thousand and something a month in a small county town is plenty. It's enough for my own expenses."

Seizing the opening, her mother continued like she was conducting a household census investigation, "The matchmaker said you bought a house in our county town? If you have a house, that's alright, how many square meters?"

"About a hundred square meters. I bought it with a mortgage a couple of years ago."

"What? You still have to pay a monthly mortgage?"

Her mother shrieked, obviously quite displeased.

I nodded, suppressing my growing discontent, and said, "Yes, two thousand a month."

Xu Fei and her entire family faction all wore expressions of deep dissatisfaction. Xu Fei remained silent, but her mother looked at me with disdain, frowning as she said, "You're so much older than Fei, and the house is mortgaged too. If the two of you actually work out, you'll have to write me a guarantee letter before getting married."