Chapter 1 Blind Date "We'll get to know each other well."

Junmao Capital Building, City A.

As Tang Yi stepped out of the board office, the setting sun shining through her frameless glasses through the company's floor-to-ceiling windows made her squint.

She stared at the tips of her high heels as she walked toward the elevator, her mind replaying the job changes the chairman had just mentioned, carefully considering her options, while constantly nodding in response to her colleagues' greetings along the way.

It was well past closing time when she walked around the empty office area and sat down. Her phone screen lit up, and the chat box at the top of WeChat was a message from her best friend Xu Xiaoxiao, sent half an hour earlier.

[Just laugh it off: Where is everyone?! See you at Heaven tonight~]

[Just laugh it off: Sigh, Secretary Tang is so busy, it's taken her so long to reply, boohoo]

The setting sun cast a golden glow on Tang Yi's employee ID badge. She took off her glasses, rubbed her temples, and a smile finally appeared on her face, which had been tense all day. She leaned back comfortably in her office chair, let out a long sigh, and quickly typed a reply:

[Recliner: I'm here. I just got off work. Waiting.]

After sending the message, Tang Yi stood up, took off her employee badge, picked up her handbag, and pulled out a dark red lipstick from the bottom of the bag to touch up her makeup.

Her porcelain-white face was adorned with bold and passionate red lips, overshadowing her original light lip color and creating a striking contrast with the gentle temperament of her nude pink shirt and white pencil skirt.

Tang Yi noticed this, but she didn't care. She simply walked towards the elevator, her high heels making a rhythmic sound on the floor. While waiting for the elevator, her phone rang. The caller ID showed Ms. Chen Lian.

"Hello, Mom?" Tang Yi held the phone to her ear with one hand and rummaged through her bag with the other, looking for the perfume she had just bought a few days ago.

"Off work?" Ms. Chen Lian's voice was sharp, like a needle piercing the eardrum. "Kangzhuang, Songfeng Pavilion, seven o'clock. Your father and I are having a welcome dinner for our friends, don't be late."

Tang Yi paused as she rummaged through her bag: "Now? I just made an appointment..." However, before she could refuse, the call had already ended.

It's the same again; no questions asked, only orders given.

She suppressed her frustration, tossed the perfume back into her bag, and took out her car keys.

Guided by the waiter, Tang Yi found Songfeng Pavilion without any trouble. Instead of going in, she went to the bathroom mirror, took out a disposable wet wipe from her bag, leaned forward slightly, and began to carefully wipe her lipstick.

She only applies this lipstick before going to Heaven. If Ms. Chen Lian were to see this shade, she would probably scold her terribly.

Thinking of Heaven, she stopped applying lipstick.

Oh no, I forgot to tell Xu Xiaoxiao.

She took out her phone and dialed Xu Xiaoxiao's number, but it took a long time for the other party to answer.

"Hey? Yiyi, where are you? How long has it been and you still haven't arrived?" Amidst the noisy and chaotic background and deafening music, Xu Xiaoxiao's voice seemed to drift from a great distance, making it difficult to hear clearly.

"Sorry, Xiaoxiao, my mom suddenly said she has a dinner party for me to attend, so I might be a little late." Tang Yi turned on the tap, wet a wet wipe a little, and looked up to wipe again.

She methodically folded the wet tissue in her hand several times, threw it into the trash can, smoothed her long, flowing hair in front of the mirror, retrieved her phone, and walked out, saying, "Have fun..."

After finally listening to Xu Xiaoxiao's strong condemnation of her failure to arrive on time and appeasing this dear young lady, Tang Yi finally walked to the door of the private room, cleared her throat, put on another standard smile, and pushed open the door.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt! I'm so sorry, there was a bit of traffic during rush hour, I just arrived, I'm really sorry."

"Why are you up so late?" Chen Lian said reproachfully, getting up and pulling Tang Yi's arm toward the table. "Come on, let's get to know each other."

Tang Yi habitually glanced around. Besides her parents, there was also a couple of similar age to Tang's parents, presumably the friends Ms. Chen Lian had mentioned on the phone.

The only unexpected thing was that a young man was sitting next to the two of them.

He was dressed in all black, with the brim of his black baseball cap pulled low, and he was looking down at his phone, making it impossible to recognize his face.

Another blind date.

Almost the instant she saw him, Tang Yi understood the meaning behind her mother's harsh tone.

She rolled her eyes inwardly, but showed no sign on her face, still wearing a professional smile. Under her mother's guidance, she greeted the two seniors in turn, her manners impeccable, which earned her repeated nods from the two seniors, whose gazes also became kind.

"This is your Uncle Zhang's son, Zhang Minglang. Xiaoyi, sit next to him and get to know each other." Chen Lian beat around the bush before finally getting to the point.

Tang Yiyi smiled again and politely extended her right hand to the man, "Hello, I'm Tang Yiyi."

The man finally looked up from his phone screen.

He slowly raised his head, and his narrow eyes beneath the black brim met Tang Yi's gaze. His facial features were sharp and distinct, exuding an unspoken, authoritative coldness.

Tang Yi's pupils flickered slightly, and she raised an eyebrow imperceptibly, secretly admiring his flawless face. His dark eyes were unfathomable, as if he could see right through her.

After a brief pause, the man finally made a move. He extended his right hand, his dry and warm palm gently grasping her fingertips in a courtesy.

"Zhang Minglang."

His voice was deep and hoarse as he uttered his name simply and sparingly, without saying anything superfluous.

Physical contact is fleeting.

Tang Yi withdrew her hand and her thoughts, and sat down next to Zhang Minglang as her mother asked, straightening her back and regaining her calm and proper demeanor.

Soon the waiter served tea, and Tang Yi naturally got up to take the teapot and poured tea for the elders present.

Zhang's mother's gaze was almost glued to her. The more she looked at the child, the more endearing and polite she seemed. So she asked, "Yiyi, what kind of work do you do now? Are you usually busy?"

Tang Yi had just finished pouring the tea in order when she heard this and gently put down the teapot: "Auntie, I'm at Jun..."

"She's only interested in being that lousy secretary, serving tea and water to people all day long. I don't know what future she has!"

Chen Lian got angry as soon as the topic came up, interrupting her daughter's reply and starting to pour out her grievances to Zhang's mother. She went on to complain about not coming home for Chinese New Year last year and being late for the dinner party today, belittling the secretary's job to almost nothing.

Tang Yi wisely shut her mouth. She was already used to it, so she remained sitting there quietly, not uttering a word in rebuttal, and her face showed no sign of the anger she felt from being scolded in public by her mother.

Zhang Minglang, who was playing on his phone, raised his eyelids, glanced at the calm and composed woman beside him, and then looked at Chen Lian, who was talking non-stop, and Tang's father, who was trying to break up the fight. He seemed to be thinking about something.

He curled his lips slightly, turned off his phone screen, and took out a metal lighter, leisurely playing with it in his hand, making rhythmic clicking sounds.

Chen Lian finally got tired of talking, picked up her teacup to take a sip to soothe her throat, and was about to put the cup down to continue when Zhang Minglang straightened up from the back of his chair and slowly said, "Aunt Chen, what you said is not right."

Suddenly, the invisible man in the corner spoke, and the entire room fell silent. Tang Yi was startled and turned her head slightly, only to see the sharply defined profile of his face.

"Being a secretary is not an easy job, and it's not just about serving tea and water."

Zhang Minglang snapped the cap off his lighter with a crisp, clean motion. “From preparing materials and arranging meetings and banquets to reading the boss’s mind and speaking and acting accordingly, none of it is an easy job. It’s very stressful.”

After saying that, he turned to look at Tang Yi, who was stunned, and gave her a smirk.

"Yes, yes, Minglang is right." Mother Zhang was the first to recover from her shock and quickly covered Chen Lian's hand to comfort her.

"Young people are bound to be busy with work. Minglang's dad and I came to City A this time because our son was transferred to the head office, and we took the opportunity to travel around. Your Yiyi is so beautiful, sitting there so quietly and gracefully, so considerate and thoughtful in her words and actions. If I were you, I would be smiling in my dreams!"

Hearing her friend's praise of her daughter, Chen Lian's face brightened, and her eyes were filled with pride in her parenting skills.

For a moment, she forgot to continue complaining and started talking to Zhang's mother about how obedient Tang Yi had been since she was a child, and how she had become more independent as she grew up.

“Young people should have plenty to talk about, why are you two so quiet? Talk about friends, talk about work. Minglang, you're a guy, take the initiative and add Xiaotang on WeChat! Isn't this how you young people make friends?” While chatting, Zhang's mother didn't forget to subtly encourage the two of them.

Tang Yi wasn't surprised at all. She put down her teacup, unlocked her phone, opened WeChat for work, and then turned to Zhang Minglang with a smile, saying, "I'll scan your QR code."

The entire process was completed in one go, as if it had been rehearsed many times before.

Zhang Minglang seemed not to have expected her to react so decisively. He paused slightly, his gaze meeting her sincere eyes.

He didn't say anything, and silently opened the QR code.

Seeing her son being so cooperative, Zhang's mother felt there was hope and decided to give it another push.

So she smiled and said to Chen Lian, "I knew your Yiyi was so lovable! She must have a boyfriend by now, right? Minglang is such a busybody. When I ask him to date, he says he's not in a hurry. When I ask him what kind of girl he likes, he won't say. He'll be 28 next year and he's still not in a rush. It's driving me crazy!"

"What a coincidence! Tang Yi is single too. She's been arguing with me all these years and hasn't dated anyone."

Chen Lian responded excitedly. The two of them were speaking in unison, their purpose obvious.

"I already said I won't..."

"OK."

The only two eligible individuals present spoke at the same time, but uttered two completely different sentences.

Zhang Minglang suspected there was something wrong with his ears.

He frowned and turned to look at her, his eyes clearly full of doubt and questioning.

However, the other party didn't even glance at him, but stared intently at the two matchmakers opposite him.

"I've thought it through. We're both at an age where it's time to find someone. We'll get to know each other better and give it a try. We're both really looking forward to our next meeting, right?"

She turned to him for his opinion.

Zhang Minglang instantly understood her intention.

It's better to avoid trouble and deal with it as soon as possible.

So he nodded slowly, and after mentally preparing himself, looked up at the two pairs of eyes shining across from him, and forced out a single word through clenched teeth:

"yes."

A note from the author: