Ji Tong believed he had come up with a foolproof plan.

If her mother agrees, she will pretend to be in a relationship with Miyahiko.

If her mother disagreed, she would act as if she would marry no one but him.

Ji Tong hung up the phone after a long night.

She sent another message to Gong Yanli, briefly mentioning the dinner arrangement on Saturday, and adding at the end: "[My mom doesn't seem too happy with you, but I've thought of other ways, and I'll defend you during dinner, so don't worry.]"

Gong Yanli often stays up all night to work shifts.

Ji Tong originally intended to wait a while, but unknowingly fell asleep on the bed.

When I woke up in the morning, I saw a message from Miyahiko.

There's only one word: "Good".

There wasn't even a single punctuation mark.

Ji Tong glanced at the message time, which was 4 p.m., and ultimately decided not to argue with him.

-

Ji's mother booked a room at the most expensive garden restaurant in the northern part of the city.

The restaurant is located in an ancient royal garden. The entire garden has only four private rooms. There is no menu; dishes are prepared according to the number of people.

The purpose of Ji's mother in choosing this location was very clear: even though the two families were very different, she wanted to make a good first impression so that Gong Yanli would know that the Ji family doted on their daughter and valued their relationship.

The dinner appointment was for 7 pm.

Ji's mother had calculated the time carefully, originally planning to leave half an hour early and arrive at the restaurant on time at 7 o'clock.

Neither early nor late.

But it wasn't even 6 o'clock yet, and Ji's mother dragged Ji Tong away early, saying they were going to buy some clothes.

Ji Tong got into the car like a fool.

When the car had traveled more than halfway, Ji Tong realized that this road didn't seem to lead to a shopping mall, but rather to a restaurant.

"Mom? Did you... go to the wrong place?"

“We didn’t go to the wrong place.” Ji Tong had just spoken when her mother reached out and took the phone from her hand. “Let’s go to the restaurant now and see what time your boyfriend is coming.”

"mom!"

Ji Tong instinctively tried to grab the phone.

Ji's mother placed her phone in the door opening on the left side of the driver's seat.

With a loud bang.

This effectively extinguished Ji Tong's intention to tip him off.

While driving, Ji's mother glanced at her daughter out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but say, "Look at you, so spineless. We'll only be about twenty minutes early if we go now. Isn't it basic etiquette for him to arrive half an hour early when meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time?"

"What kind of basic etiquette is this?" Ji Tong couldn't help but get angry. "There's still half an hour left. With all those freaks you introduced me to, it's a miracle they're not late!"

"You go on blind dates first, then I'll screen them out. If they don't work out, I'll naturally help you eliminate them."

"Since you're so good at interfering, why don't you go on blind dates for me in the future? If you think one is good, just bring him to me and I'll get married. Anyway, you don't care whether your daughter is happy or not. As long as she gets married, it's all good, right?!"

Ji Tong got angry too.

For the past six months, her parents have been relentlessly pushing her to go on blind dates.

It happens especially frequently during the Chinese New Year period.

Her anger finally erupted at this moment.

"Stop the car and give me back my phone." Ji Tong reached out. "Don't go. You're wasting my time by finding me trashy blind dates, and when I find someone myself, you make things difficult for them. Since that's the case, you can go find someone yourself. As long as you nod and they agree, I'll get our marriage certificate right away, sleep in the same bed with them, get pregnant, quit my job to have the baby, and be a full-time housewife. Is that okay?"

Ji's mother had indeed been arranging blind dates for Ji Tong.

She's never been happy, but she's never been this angry before.

At this moment, even if she were naive, she could tell from her daughter's attitude that her daughter genuinely liked Gong Yanli.

She parked the car on the side of the road, took out her phone, and didn't return it to Ji Tong right away. "Tong Tong, it's not that Mom insists on you getting married, it's just that your parents are getting old and can't be with you for the rest of your life. You don't have any siblings, and Mom is afraid that after we pass away, you won't even have anyone close to you."

He finished speaking before handing the phone back to Ji Tong.

Ji Tongfa's hand was already on the car door handle, but after hearing his mother's words, he withdrew his hand.

"Never mind." Ji Tong pursed her lips, her tone softening. "Mom, Gong Yanli manages such a big hospital, and he's at the hospital six days a week. It's already quite good that he can come on time."

Ji Tong thought that Gong Yanli should not be late, but it would be difficult for him to arrive early.