"Tch!" Chu's mother couldn't stand anyone belittling her child, even if it was her husband. She sneered at him, "My son doesn't have those things because you're an incompetent father. If you were a rich man, my son would have everything. How dare you blame the child? Have you no shame?"

"Besides, our child is no less impressive. He's tall, strong, and handsome, with one of the best looks in the whole town. When he was little, many girls wrote him love letters. He's the dream man of countless girls. You don't know anything."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I was wrong," Chu Gao apologized. "The child's good looks are entirely inherited from you. I sincerely thank you for your contributions to the Chu family; you are our family's greatest contributor..."

Chu Gao appears introverted and withdrawn in front of his children, but he is eloquent and talkative in front of his wife.

Chu's mother narrowed her eyes to slits as she listened: "No, I have to go to the temple to burn incense tomorrow. May the Bodhisattva bless my son to have a girlfriend soon, get married soon, have a baby soon, and for me to become a grandmother soon. I also want to ask the Bodhisattva why I've been losing at cards lately."

"It's so kind of you."

"Hehe. You always know how to say the nice things. Say more."

... ...

On weekends, during breaks, cafes in Shanghai are packed with people.

Shanghai has everything, but it always lacks coffee shop seats.

Two young women were sitting inside, lounging around and occasionally glancing out the window.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a bright and beautiful appearance and fair skin. Her simple outfit of a t-shirt and casual pants was quite eye-catching.

The other girl was about the same age, wearing a baseball cap and denim shorts, and had a hot figure.

"Ugh, my mom is so annoying. I'm only a junior in college and she's already arranging blind dates for me." The pretty girl sighed helplessly. "And the guy is even older than me. I don't know what she's thinking. Has she lost her mind?"

"Your mom gets annoyed just looking at you." The girl in the baseball cap stirred her coffee and joked with a smile, "I'll arrange a blind date for you so you can get married sooner and be done with it."

The pretty girl replied, "I'm only a junior in college. I don't want to get married yet. If I'm going to get married, I'll at least wait until I graduate. And tell me, what kind of person did she find? Her blind date is from our town. He just graduated, has no car, no house, no savings. He's a nobody. What would I get out of marrying him? That he's penniless? Or that he's empty-handed?"

"What if he's handsome?"

"His WeChat Moments are full of inspirational quotes and games, he never posts selfies, he's a complete shut-in, how handsome can he be? Just a cricket!" the pretty girl asked. "Besides, can being handsome put food on the table?"

"Sure," the girl in the baseball cap nodded. "Being handsome can make you a male model, and everything will go smoothly for you. Even if you're not, you can easily be a rich woman and earn several million a month, making it easy to reach the pinnacle of life."

"..." The pretty girl rolled her eyes. "Stop talking nonsense. Do me a favor. After my blind date arrives, I'll chat with him for about ten minutes. Call me immediately and pretend that I have an exam this afternoon, then I'll leave right away."

"Hey sis, are there any exams this weekend?"

"Do you understand the word 'pretend'? He doesn't know our school's exam schedule, so how is he supposed to tell the truth from a lie?"

The girl in the baseball cap asked, "What if you like him?"

"I liked him at first sight, how blind am I?" The pretty girl replied confidently, "Once things are settled, I'll treat you to dinner."

Chu Fang arrived at the coffee shop as agreed. Before entering, he stood in front of the full-length mirror by the door and carefully examined himself.

A t-shirt, shorts, and white sneakers—a simple combination that makes you look radiant.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Custom-made clothing adds a touch of coolness.

Since he was meeting his blind date, Chu Fang tidied himself up.

It wasn't because he liked the other person; they had only exchanged a few words, so there was no question of liking them. He was simply going there with the attitude of completing a task.

Instead, his blind date was Aunt Li's daughter, and he respected Aunt Li and his mother's good intentions.

As Chu Fang entered the coffee shop, she immediately spotted her blind date (she had seen his photos on WeChat Moments).

She looks somewhat different from the heavily edited photos on social media, but she's still a beautiful woman.

"Hello, I'm Chu Fang." He stepped forward.

"Fu Xiangyu." The pretty girl looked at Chu Fang, her eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up, a blush creeping onto her face, and reached out to shake his hand.

"Holy crap, a handsome guy!" Fu Xiangyu thought excitedly.

The two sat facing each other, and Chu Fang ordered a glass of water.

He really couldn't stand coffee; it always made him feel nauseous, so he usually just ordered a glass of water when he went to a coffee shop.

"You're very beautiful." Seeing that his blind date seemed shy and introverted, Chu Fang spoke first.

"You're handsome too."

"It's alright," Chu Fang replied. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Chu Fang. I just graduated from university with a degree in interior design. I found a related job, but the salary is very low, barely enough to support myself... I need a side hustle to support myself (earning ten million a day should count as a side hustle, right?)."

"It's alright." Fu Xiangyu's voice was gentle as she carefully added water to his cup. "That's how it is for recent college graduates. Their salaries are very low. It's amazing that you've managed to settle down in Shanghai without relying on your family. I wish I had half of your abilities, Brother Chu Fang."

"I believe that with Brother Chu Fang's abilities, he will definitely achieve something."

“... ..."

Chu Fang was stunned.

What's going on?

He had already told her that he was having financial difficulties, yet this younger sister was so considerate of him and looked at him with adoring eyes.

Are all younger sisters this understanding nowadays?

He couldn't accept it right away.

“Um… ” Chu Fang paused for a moment, then continued, “I rent an apartment in Shanghai. It’s very small, just big enough for one person. I usually get around by shared bike, but sometimes I splurge on the subway or bus.”

“The house is small but feels cozy, shared bikes are environmentally friendly, and the subway and buses are convenient. Brother Chu Fang is really amazing,” Fu Xiangyu said.

Buzzing...

Just then, the phone on the table vibrated. Fu Xiangyu smiled shyly at Chu Fang, picked up the phone, and hung up immediately.

"You answer the phone, just in case it's something important," Chu Fang said.

Fu Xiangyu silenced her phone: "It's a scam call, I won't answer it."

Chu Fang nodded in understanding, opened his mouth, and suddenly froze, not knowing what to say.

All the words and lies he had prepared were meant to deceive her, to make Fu Xiangyu believe that she was in very poor condition and even had difficulty surviving, so as to achieve his mission.

To his surprise, Fu Xiangyu seemed to be unlike those materialistic girls, with a very indifferent attitude towards fame and fortune.

Every one of his 'flaws' became a virtue in Fu Xiangyu's words.

How can we continue this conversation?

We can't continue this conversation!

At this moment, Chu Fang felt a pang of guilt for deceiving a naive junior in order to achieve his goal.

That's inhuman.