Chapter 1: Soul-Transmigrated Blind Date, Encountering Her Ex-Husband

Zhuang Fuyao's first twenty-two years were quite smooth.

Born into a highly educated family, with loving parents, she was beautiful and popular, like a princess living in a honey pot.

While her classmates were worrying about finding jobs, she held an art exhibition and pursued a career as a professional artist, and went from school uniforms to wedding dresses with Liang Huaixu, the heir to a wealthy family.

I don't know if even the heavens couldn't stand her going through all that, which is why she had such a huge reversal when she was twenty-two years old.

This is the tenth day since Zhuang Fuyao's soul transmigrated to sixteen years in the future. She is lounging on the sofa, leisurely eating an apple. Next to her, her mother is on the phone with a doctor in German. She can only understand a few words: "selective amnesia," "psychological factors," and "memory substitution."

Half an hour later, Ms. Ji's phone call finally ended.

Zhuang Shaoping: "How is it?"

Ji Lan: "The hospital has given us the results, saying it's a type of amnesia."

Zhuang Fuyao feigned surprise, "Is it alright?"

A few days ago, Lao Zhuang and Ms. Ji noticed something was wrong with her and took her to the hospital for a series of tests, which ultimately led to the conclusion that she had amnesia.

She thought this was fine too; compared to something beyond scientific understanding like soul transfer, amnesia was easier for people to accept.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with my body, but I've lost my memories of the past ten years or so for some unknown reason."

Ji Lan touched her daughter's face tenderly, telling her not to overthink it.

After dinner, while taking a walk, Ji Lan continued to talk to Zhuang Shaoping about the matter, "I suspect it's still about the divorce. Ever since the divorce, Fu Fu has become much more repressed."

Zhuang Shaoping laughed and said, "It's not necessarily a bad thing. Look at Fufu, she's much happier than before. We should treat her like our daughter is only in her twenties."

"You can still laugh?" Ji Lan glared at him.

Zhuang Shaoping held her hand and gently comforted her, "What's done is done, so we can only look at it optimistically."

Ji Lan sighed, "But don't tell Chao Luo about this yet. Fu Fu doesn't want everyone to treat her like a patient."

"Hmm." Zhuang Shaoping nodded, remembering something his mother, Grandma Zhuang, had been nagging about lately, "Should we still let Fufu go on a blind date with Uncle Qin's grandson?"

Grandma Zhuang is eighty-seven years old this year. She's healthier than most elderly women, but her memory isn't very good, and her temper has worsened considerably. In the past two years, she's been particularly enthusiastic about introducing potential partners to her granddaughter. To keep the old lady happy, everyone is quite cooperative.

“Go ahead, it doesn’t matter if it’s a blind date or not, the main thing is to let her relax.” Ji Lan’s mind started to work. “But we can’t say that in front of her, we have to make her behave properly. I’ve looked at the other person’s information, he’s quite a good catch, maybe they really hit it off.”

-

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the bedroom.

Zhuang Fuyao stepped barefoot onto the carpet, ready to pick out her outfit for the day.

When Ms. Ji told her about the blind date last night, Zhuang Fuyao instinctively wanted to refuse.

But then she suddenly remembered a funny story about blind dates.

The woman asked the matchmaker how tall the man was.

The matchmaker said, "Although he is only 1.6 meters tall, he can jump 1.8 meters tall!"

Zhuang Fuyao laughed until tears streamed down her face, purely out of curiosity, wanting to see what blind dates were all about.

After changing her clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction.

At thirty-eight, she showed no signs of aging. In addition to her beauty, she possessed a more mature and sophisticated air that came with age than she had in her youth—which was one of the reasons why she was able to accept her soul transmigration so quickly.

After driving for half an hour, Zhuang Fuyao arrived at the hotel. Her blind date was already there. He was wearing a polo shirt and black-rimmed glasses, a typical STEM guy, but he had a decent appearance and looked very honest.

Seeing her approach, Qin Zhenglin nervously adjusted his glasses.

He was focused on his studies and was much less emotionally aware than his peers. While his friends were already married and had children, he remained single. He didn't think much of it when he was younger, but in recent years, seeing his empty house at home has given him a sense of loneliness, so he took the advice of his elders and started going on blind dates.

He had reviewed the other person's information beforehand, and apart from the fact that she was already married, her other conditions were impeccable. However, he did not expect that she would be even more beautiful in person than in those retouched photos.

“Ms. Zhuang, I’m forty years old this year. I had a relationship when I was younger, but we broke up amicably because of different career plans. I’m currently teaching at Jiang University, with the title of associate professor. I own a three-bedroom apartment, a car, and have savings with no mortgage. If we get married, I can hand over my entire salary. I’m not good at housework, but if you don’t want to, we can hire a nanny. I have a gentle personality, and we can discuss many things together. The only thing is that I really like children, and I hope we can have two children in the future, a son and a daughter, preferably…”

After ordering, he introduced himself in great detail and talked about his future plans.

It's so detailed it's like playing some kind of Sims game.

Zhuang Fuyao felt slightly uncomfortable. "Mr. Qin, this is the first time we've met."

Qin Zhenglin smiled and said, "This is indeed our first meeting, but I am very satisfied with you."

"But Mr. Qin, I think what you just said is based on the premise that both of us are satisfied and decide to continue developing the relationship, right?"

Qin Zhenglin countered, "Miss Zhuang, are you dissatisfied with me?"

He felt that someone with his qualifications was highly sought after in the matchmaking market. The reason he hadn't married all these years wasn't because he couldn't find a wife, but because he didn't want to. If he really wanted to, there were plenty of women ten years younger than him to choose from.

On the other hand, although the woman on the other side is attractive and has good qualities, her age and previous marriage are ultimately a factor...

So Qin Zhenglin really hadn't expected to be rejected, and continued, "I really like you. Even though you've been divorced, I don't mind."

"..."

She almost blurted out something sarcastic, but Zhuang Fuyao restrained herself.

She remembered Ms. Ji's instructions and deliberately went along with him in a rather humorous way, saying, "I'm not only divorced, but I also have a grown son. Even if you don't mind, I still feel that I'm not good enough for you."

Qin Zhenglin frowned as expected, "You have a child?"

-

In the VIP room of the same restaurant.

He Zongqin had just returned from the restroom and asked with great interest, "Guess who I saw outside?"

After everyone guessed correctly, He Zongqin smiled mysteriously and said, "Old Qin, this stubborn guy is actually going on a blind date."

"Which Old Qin?"

"Who else could it be? The one in our department who's forty and still unmarried."

That's all everyone knows now.

Among university teachers, whose marriage rate is over 90%, it is indeed rare to find someone who is forty years old and has never been married.

Everyone present works at Jiangnan University, and even those who aren't familiar with Qin Zhenglin have likely heard some gossip about him. Years ago, a university leader arranged a blind date between Qin Zhenglin and a teacher from the School of Literature. Qin Zhenglin immediately posed a math problem, which the teacher couldn't solve, leading Qin Zhenglin to say that the two had nothing in common.

When this got out, Qin Zhenglin was laughed at by the teachers at Jiang University for a long time.

"Hey, Lao He, tell us, is Lao Qin out there setting up math problems again?"

"No, not this time. I saw Lao Qin chatting quite enthusiastically."

"What kind of person is the other party?"

"I only saw her from behind, but she had a very elegant air about her." He Zongqin smiled. "Why don't you go over and take a look?"

"Alright, I can't bring myself to do that. It would be so embarrassing if Lao Qin saw this."

Everyone just took it as a joke, laughed it off, and quickly moved on to other topics.

He Zongqin noticed that Liang Huaixu wasn't in a very good mood today, so he went over to strike up a conversation, "Old Liang, are you really planning to take over that piece of land in Nanheng?"

Liang Huaixu: "We have this plan, but the board of directors hasn't held a meeting yet."

Others chimed in, saying, "That's true, but the directors of Changting don't all listen to you."

Liang Huaixu was somewhat absent-minded, responding to the conversation only half-heartedly, his mind preoccupied with what the housekeeper had told him last night when he returned from his business trip: a woman surnamed Zhuang had come to see him.

The only woman with the surname Zhuang that he knew was his ex-wife, Zhuang Fuyao.

He considered sending her a message several times to ask, but since she hadn't contacted him, he figured it couldn't be anything serious. Asking again would only annoy her. Unable to shake off the feeling of unease, and mindful of the pregnant woman present, he got up and said, "I'm going outside for a smoke."

-

After discussing the topic of having children, Qin Zhenglin became noticeably quieter.

Qin Zhenglin is the grandson of her grandfather's former comrade-in-arms, and Ms. Ji specifically instructed her not to embarrass him.

So she held it in for as long as the meal lasted, and when she finished eating and stood up, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The two haven't even added each other on WeChat yet, which probably means it's over. She's done her job without ruining the relationship.

Qin Zhenglin: "Let me take you."

Zhuang Fuyao: "No need, I drove."

Qin Zhenglin: "Alright then."

After saying this, she fell silent again. As Zhuang Fuyao quickened her pace, she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

But sometimes life is just so dramatic. She turned a corner and bumped into Liang Huaixu—her husband from sixteen years ago, now her ex-husband.

The person was still the same as she remembered, but his temperament was completely different. When he was young, Liang Huaixu was very handsome, with naturally fair skin, and his emotions were written all over his face. She liked to leave her mark on his collarbone, or do other things to make him blush.

Liang Huaixu, dressed in an official uniform, stood there, seemingly gentle, yet with a hint of indifferent aloofness, making it difficult for others to discern his thoughts.

Sixteen years had passed, leaving Zhuang Fuyao feeling somewhat at a loss. Before she could think of anything to say, Qin Zhenglin leaned over and said warmly, "President Liang, it's been a long time."

Qin Zhenglin wasn't familiar with Liang Huaixu. Although they both worked at Jiang University, Liang Huaixu had another identity outside the university—a highly respected figure in the industry and a business tycoon. Qin Zhenglin wasn't a fawning person; in the past, he would at most nod when they met. Today, he was doing this purely to show off his connections to Zhuang Fuyao.

Fearing the other person might not remember him, he prompted, "We also participated in a Tibet aid project together; I was one of your team members back then."

Realizing the situation, Liang Huaixu subtly shifted his gaze away from Zhuang Fuyao and replied politely, "I remember you, Professor Qin, right?"