Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Fake marriage?
“…”
The unexpected words made Lin Mo stunned. Her consciousness seemed to be suddenly drained away. She couldn't react for a long time until the man chuckled and brought her back to her senses.
"Mr. Lu, you are joking, right?" Lin Mo blinked her bright eyes, her voice uncertain.
"No kidding."
"But aren't you going on a blind date to meet an elderly person? I thought..."
She had assumed that since everything had been made clear, as long as they worked together and explained things to the elders, everything would be fine. So, she hadn't felt any psychological burden. But the current situation had caught her off guard, and she was even more confused about the man before her.
"Why?"
Noticing the girl's nervousness as she unconsciously twisted the tassels of her scarf with her hands, Lu Yanxiao's inner peace gradually crumbled. He put away his aggressive stance, raised his lips and smiled, jokingly saying, "Are you scared?"
"Don't be nervous, I'm talking about a fake marriage."
"Fake marriage?"
"This way, you can reassure the old man, and I can save myself the trouble of going on blind dates. It's a win-win situation for both of us."
Finally understanding what Lu Yanxiao meant, Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief. The panic in her eyes gradually receded, and a gentle and harmless smile appeared on her face: "I'm sorry, I don't accept it."
Although she volunteered to go on a blind date, she saw it as a way to meet the opposite sex, with the goal of finding true love, and she never intended to deceive her grandfather. Moreover, she was a law-abiding person at heart, and a "fake marriage" was too much for her, and she couldn't accept it.
Seeing the girl's hesitation, Lu Yanxiao didn't say anything more. He put one hand in his pocket and added nonchalantly, "Don't worry, you can think about it."
*
It is impossible to consider it at all.
When she got home, Lin Mo had already put the matter behind her. She sat at the dining table, eating the food she brought back, and wondering whether she should go back to Changli this afternoon or tomorrow.
If I go back this afternoon, I can either book a taxi at a high price or take an intercity bus from the bus station. However, I can leave the things I need to take with me at my home in Changli in advance and stay in Changli tonight, so I don’t have to get up early tomorrow. If I go back tomorrow, I will have to get up early to catch the company bus, and I will have to carry all my bags to the company first.
It's really inconvenient not having a car.
While she was struggling with this, her cell phone vibrated. Lin Mo lowered her eyes and saw that it was the parking lot of L Hotel!
"Ms. Lin, our hotel garage door is finally fixed. I just drove over and parked your car in the parking space outside the complex. I gave the key to the security guard. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting so long."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Lin Mo was surprised. The call from the parking attendant completely put an end to her confusion. She decided to drive back to Changli this afternoon.
Although Changli Town belongs to Shaofeng City, it is like two separate cities.
It is nearly 100 kilometers from the urban area of Shaofeng to the main urban area of Changli Town. Along the way, you pass through many towns, villages, large tracts of fields and a large river. It can be said to be "climbing mountains and wading through rivers". If there is no traffic jam, the whole drive takes more than an hour.
Considering that today is the day before the end of the holiday and the road conditions may not be very good, Lin Mo quickly packed up her things, called her grandfather to report, and set off early.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the vehicle arrived at the old town of Changli Town.
As soon as you enter the old town, the atmosphere of this small northern city of Shaofeng hits you. Street signs with airplane logos are everywhere, road names with airplane elements in them, and various airplane models and sculptures stand in squares and in front of schools...
There are not many tall buildings and narrow roads in the old city, and the buildings look old and simple.
However, with the continuous growth of the aviation industry, this small town famous for airplanes has welcomed a wave of new aviation people. The original scale of the old city has long been unable to support it. Therefore, some aircraft-related research institutes and factories have expanded or moved outward, and new buildings and commercial entities have also sprung up on the periphery.
Today, the scale of the entire Changli Town, with the old city as its center, has expanded many times outward.
Lin Mochangli's home is in this newly developed area, further south of the old city. It is an improved high-end housing built by the Research Institute where she works. It has a large area, good layout, and is sold only to internal employees at a very low price.
Three years ago, with the original intention of providing for her grandfather in Changli, Lin Mo discussed with him and decided to rent out their old house in Changli, which didn't have an elevator. Using the generous relocation allowance from her employer and her scholarships from school, she gritted her teeth and bought a new house outright. However, while the house was still under renovation, her grandfather suddenly fell ill. Medical resources in Changli weren't as good as those in the city, so after much discussion with Lin Zhijie, she had no choice but to send him to a nursing home in the city.
Now, just like when she was in the city, Changli lives alone in this house of more than 160 square meters, but she enjoys it. She arranges her life and work in an orderly manner and feels extremely comfortable.
After entering the complex and parking her car in the underground garage, the first thing she did was check the condition of her electric scooter in the carport. In Changli, she relies primarily on her electric scooter for transportation, so she takes it very seriously. After going upstairs, she spent another hour cleaning the house. After a short rest, she headed straight to the nearby vegetable market to do some shopping.
When we came out of the vegetable market, the small cart was full.
As she munched on her newly bought eggplant box, she walked back home. Passing the Cheongcheon River, she paused. The setting sun cast a dazzling glow on the river, imbuing the small town with a romantic atmosphere that slowed everyone's pace.
Everything was ridiculously comfortable.
Lin Mo sat on a bench by the river, admiring the sunset and eating a whole box of eggplant. Just as she was about to go home, someone called her.
"Senior Sister, Senior Sister Lin Mo!"
Lin Mo looked over to see a slender figure with a bob hairstyle sitting on a small electric scooter, waving at her furiously. As she got closer, she saw it was Li Ningxin, an intern in their office. She'd graduated from graduate school the previous year and started working there in September. She'd studied the same university and major as Lin Mo, making her a direct junior. Therefore, she always addressed her as "senior sister."
"Senior Sister, help me, please!"
The girl was still wearing her company's blue work uniform, clearly having just gotten off work. She hurriedly got off the scooter and offered to help pull the scooter. She even pretentiously wiped the scooter's seat with her sleeve, "Sister, you get on the scooter and sit. I can leave the heavy lifting like pulling the scooter to you."
"puff--"
Lin Mo was amused by her, "Alright, alright, if you have something to say, just say it."
"Sister, I didn't mean to bring up work in such a beautiful place, but I've been on duty these past few days and my head is spinning. I didn't expect to see you right after work. I feel like I've suddenly come alive."
"You're leaving without saying anything?" Lin Mo was used to her dramatic nature and pretended to leave.
"I can't figure out one set of budgets, and I've run another set of experiments over ten times, but the data I get is different every time." Li Ningxin finished quickly, looking pitiful. "Senior Sister, tomorrow is my deadline."
"Did you bring your computer?"
I knew my senior sister was the best. Li Ningxin patted the carriage happily and said, "It's inside."
After returning home, Lin Mo realized that the girl's request for her help was not a coincidence, but a long-planned one. She took out not only a laptop computer but also a box of persimmon cakes from the car.
Lin Mo glanced at her and asked, "Are you counting the time to wait for me to return to Changli?"
Li Ningxin chuckled, "I haven't been picking them for long. I just started yesterday. But, Senior Sister, even if I don't ask you for help, I'll give you these persimmon cakes. We planted the fruit trees ourselves, and my mother made the persimmon cakes herself. They are absolutely natural and have no additives."
"Then please thank Auntie for me."
Lin Mo accepted it with a smile. Thinking that the girl had just gotten off work and might not have eaten yet, she pointed to the bags she had bought from the market and said, "There's an eggplant box in there. Go and help yourself."
"Okay."
Li Ningxin didn't get angry with her. She ate the eggplant box while helping to put the newly bought flowers into the vase.
Lin Mo was concentrating on checking the budget and test data on the computer.
In fact, they were not big problems. It was just because Li Ningxin had just started working and lacked experience. It only took her half an hour to find the crux of the problem.
"The budget is OK. You need to follow my instructions tomorrow and verify the experiment again. There shouldn't be any problems."
"Thank you, Senior Sister. Love you."
Li Ningxin clasped her fists in gratitude, feeling relieved. She felt even more admiration and love for her kind-hearted senior sister.
Years ago, when she learned that her senior sister's wedding was cancelled, she was very worried, but she only dared to send a cautious message to say hello.
A few days ago, she ran into Wei Wei at the research institute and learned from her, "Lin Mo didn't take the scumbag to heart at all, and she's fine now." At that time, she wasn't completely relieved. Only now did she finally believe that her senior sister was in good shape and hadn't been affected by Xu Tingzhou, the scumbag, for too long.
So, he said without distraction: "Senior Sister, I'm waiting for you on time because I have an important piece of information to tell you."
Lin Mo lazily leaned back on the sofa, listening attentively: "What information?"
"Senior sister, do you have any plans for a blind date?" Li Ningxin asked seriously.
So that's what happened. Ever since they knew she had canceled her wedding, many people wanted to introduce her to someone, including those from research institutes and cooperative units. Li Ningxin was on duty at the unit during the holiday, so she might have heard something and might be able to reveal something to her in advance.
Lin Mo nodded: "Yes, I have this plan. Do you know who you want to introduce to me?"
"One is Sister Fang from the Publicity Office, and the other is Sister Li from the Human Resources Department."
Li Ningxin took off her slippers and sat cross-legged next to Lin Mo, looking like she was going to have a long conversation. "I found out the person Sister Li introduced is from the Third Hospital. Do you remember the guy who brought us water when we went to do the strength test?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment and asked in surprise, "Mr. Tang?"
"Yes, it's him, Tang Kai."
Tang Kai's shrewd and smooth face popped up in her mind, and Lin Mo couldn't help but frown, her eyes filled with rejection. As a colleague, she shouldn't judge others carelessly. She could only say that their values were different, and this person was definitely not the type she would consider.
Li Ningxin, however, didn't care at all, fearing that her senior sister was being deceived, and said bluntly: "I have a classmate who is in the same department as him. He seems to be a decent person on the surface, but in fact he has no sense of responsibility and often blames the number one."
"Also, Senior Sister, believe me, it's best not to go on a blind date with a colleague. If it doesn't work out, it'll be really embarrassing. What if the person has bad character? It might even make you unable to work properly."
"And the other one?"
"Sister Fang introduced me to a dentist at Changli Hospital. I don't know much about him, and we don't have much contact with him at work. If you want to go on a blind date, you can give it a try. If it's not suitable, just say goodbye and never see him again."
Although Li Ningxin is young, she has more experience in blind dates than her because her parents are pushing her hard.
Lin Mo thought about it carefully like a confused student, and felt that what she said made sense, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I will go see this doctor when the time comes."
The next day at work, as soon as it was lunchtime, Sister Fang found Lin Mo and introduced her to the man, who was a 30-year-old dentist at Changli Hospital named Zou Yuewen. She immediately arranged a time for the two to meet and said that if they met and chatted and felt it was a good fit, she could add him in contact, otherwise not.
Around dinner time two days later.
The meal went smoothly, but when walking out of the restaurant, Lin Mo suddenly felt movement beside her hand, and then, she was shocked to find that Zou Yuewen actually took her hand openly.
"What are you doing!" Lin Mo threw him away in panic.
"The first step for a boyfriend and girlfriend to confirm their relationship is to hold hands." Zou Yuewen didn't notice anything wrong at all, and smiled with a hint of pride.
“…”
Lin Mo's eyes widened in disbelief, and she instinctively shoved her hands into her coat pockets. "What do you mean by boyfriend or girlfriend? Doctor Zou, you and I just met today."
"You have a good impression of me, don't you?"
Zou Yuewen was still detached from the situation and said shyly, "You kept praising me during our chat. Just now, you used the excuse of going to the bathroom to quietly pay the bill. I guess you want to develop a relationship with me further, right? So, I'm taking the initiative."
Lin Mo was simply speechless and laughed.
It is undeniable that she did have a good impression of Zou Yuewen at first, but this only meant that the two of them could get to know each other better. How did they suddenly become boyfriend and girlfriend?
He kept talking about his work, and others couldn't get a word in and could only agree with him symbolically. In the end, they paid the bill out of politeness and bought the wrong thing?
The initial impression of "okay" instantly turned into disgust. Lin Mo said coldly: "I'm sorry, we are not suitable."
"What's the meaning?"
Zou Yuewen finally realized what was happening, and he was confused and angry. "What's wrong with that?"
"Doctor Zou, we are all adults. There is no need to embarrass each other. That's it. Goodbye."
"etc."
Zou Yuewen strode in front of her and said with a disdainful smile, "I know, is it because I just held your hand?"
Lin Mo did not deny it.
"Since you're here for a blind date, aren't you hoping to find someone to marry quickly? I'm not young anymore, and I'm so busy with work, how can I have time for a relationship? I have a very good impression of you. If you're willing, we can get married right away. The betrothal gifts, the car and the house are all negotiable. We can also live together after marriage, which will make it easier to slowly cultivate our relationship..."
"Stop talking!" Lin Mo interrupted the man. She didn't want to hear a single word. "I'm sorry, please leave. Don't contact me again."
Zou Yuewen's words were like sharp thorns that pierced the fantasy she had woven for herself. She wanted to fulfill her grandfather's wish and settle the marriage issue in the shortest time possible, but she also hoped to meet true love in a short blind date. How could such a good thing happen in the world?
She herself was tangled and contradictory, so Zou Yuewen's words fell heavily on her heart. She felt depressed and was walking out absent-mindedly when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure flashing into the corner.
Lu Yanxiao?
Lin Mo quickly chased after him, but when she reached the corner, she didn't see Lu Yanxiao.
She looked around blankly for a while, and was sure that she had seen it wrong. Why did Lu Yanxiao suddenly come to Changli?
Then she slammed her head in frustration and muttered to herself, "Stupid! Why did she chase me? Could it be that she really wanted to have a 'fake marriage' with him?"
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