Chapter 2 Indulging Your Arrogance in a Blind Date
Xie Qingci received the call from Grandma Zhuang as she boarded the bus bound for the main urban area.
As Ke Meng and Duan Siyu had anticipated, the sudden downpour made it difficult to hail a taxi.
She had already placed an order on a ride-hailing app and was in the queue when she came out of the exhibition hall, but it was still showing as waiting even after she got off the campus bus.
Just then, a bus arrived at the bus stop near the school gate. Looking at the route map, it was in the same direction as where she wanted to go, and she only needed to transfer once.
The rain was still pouring down outside the platform, and the splashing water mist dampened the hem of her skirt. She quickly closed her umbrella and hurried onto the train.
After swiping my bus pass, I sat down in an empty seat by the window. My wet skirt clung to my calves, and the air conditioning inside the bus was blasting, making it feel icy cold.
She took out a tissue to wipe the water from her legs, when her phone vibrated in her bag.
She initially thought that Ke Meng and Duan Siyu had something they needed her to take with them and forgot to mention it when they left.
To make it easier to visit the exhibition hall, the two of them have been staying in the school dormitory recently.
During the hot summer, neither of them wanted to go out. Xie Qingci lived closer to the school and would go back every few days. Occasionally, they would ask her to bring some things from outside the school.
Most of them are dessert shops located in the streets and alleys, and are not available on food delivery platforms.
She put down the tissue, took out her phone from her bag, and paused for a moment when she saw the words "Grandma Zhuang" on the screen.
She pressed the answer button, held the phone to her ear, and called out, "Grandma Zhuang."
A response came immediately from the other end of the line, the voice filled with apology, "Xiao Ci, I'm so sorry, I didn't expect it to rain today. I was just going to take a nap, but I overslept. Did you go out? If not, how about another day? It's really inconvenient to go out in this weather, so please don't bother coming!"
Xie Qingci glanced at the bus stop passing by outside the car window, just about to say that she had already boarded the bus.
The other person seemed to suddenly come to their senses, not giving her a chance to speak, "How about this, where are you now? I'll have this kid come find you. Honestly, how can you expect a girl to take the initiative to go to him when you meet him!"
Yes, Hsieh Ching-Tzu went on a blind date today.
When she was young, Mrs. Zhuang was a close friend of Xie Qingci's maternal grandmother. Later, one married into the capital and the other married into Shanghai, which meant they were completely separated, one in the south and one in the north.
In an era when communication was underdeveloped, their decades-long friendship was mostly maintained through letters. It wasn't until Xie Qingci's mother married into the Jingzhao region that the two old best friends reconnected.
A few years ago, Xie Qingci's maternal grandmother passed away due to illness, and Old Mrs. Zhuang was heartbroken for a long time because of it.
Xie Qingci's blind date today is Grandma Zhuang's grandson.
To be precise, it should be the marriage partner.
Thinking of this, Xie Qingci was slightly lost in thought for a moment, her long eyelashes, slightly damp, drooped, and then she smiled, "It's okay, I'm already on the bus."
Actually, when she found out it was raining, she originally wanted to ask if they should reschedule for another day, but then she thought it would be impolite to change the time at the last minute, so she went out as planned.
Grandma Zhuang glanced at the rain outside and felt even more guilty, muttering to herself, "That brat."
Then he hurriedly added, "Be careful on the road, don't rush, walk slowly, it's okay if you're a little late."
The original scheduled time was 3 p.m., but it seems we will indeed be late.
Xie Qingci smiled and replied, "Okay."
*
When I got off the bus, the rain had subsided, leaving a misty veil of fog that seemed to be about to stop.
Xie Qingci stood on the platform and opened the map to search for the exact location.
The main urban area is mostly composed of various old alleyways that intersect, with gray bricks and black tiles, red doors and white walls, hidden in quiet alleys, yet every inch of land is precious.
The old lady of the Xie family had a small villa nearby. In the past, Xie Qingci would often stay there during the summer when she had nothing to do, so she was quite familiar with the terrain of this area.
Having determined the general area, she opened her umbrella and walked out of the bus stop.
It had just rained, and the streets were damp and cool. Xie Qingci followed the house numbers nailed to the wall and went to each one.
There were occasional puddles along the way, which she carefully avoided, walking rather slowly.
After searching through the alleys, she stopped when her eyes locked onto a house number that perfectly matched the one on the navigation.
A delicate courtyard house came into view.
The vermilion gate was tightly shut, the gray walls stood tall, and the crape myrtle flowers that bloomed in summer grew over the eaves, their branches displaying a fiery glow.
After confirming the address again, she put down her umbrella and walked onto the doorstep.
Press the call button on the video doorbell, and the door will suddenly open from the inside after the first ring.
The heavy door, crafted entirely from nanmu wood, slowly opened inward with a resounding boom.
A middle-aged man in a uniform stood behind the door with a smile on his face. Upon seeing her, he took two steps back and said, "Are you Miss Xie? Please come in."
It was as if they had already anticipated that the visitor would be her.
Uncle Zhong was actually already waiting in the main hall, just in case he missed the doorbell ringing.
As the time was approaching, he decided to come to the door to check, but the doorbell rang as soon as he reached the porch.
This is Liang Jingzhuo's private residence in Jingzhao. Apart from the Zhuang family elders, no one would suddenly visit.
He had only invited Miss Xie today, and he was certain that the person in front of him was Xie Qingci almost immediately.
Xie Qingci smiled and stepped over the threshold. "Yes, hello."
Uncle Zhong's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he smiled and nodded, stepping aside to guide her, "Please follow me."
She nodded and agreed.
After passing the screen wall in front of the gate, crossing the outer courtyard, and then passing through a hanging flower gate, we entered the inner courtyard where the main house is located.
With its red lacquer paintings, carved eaves, and a ginkgo tree planted in the northwest corner of the courtyard, its branches and leaves are lush and green in the height of summer. Under the tree is a water vat filled with clear water.
Upon entering the main hall, Uncle Zhong first arranged for Xie Qingci to sit in the reception room, and then instructed someone to serve tea and refreshments.
Once everything was in place, he smiled and said, "Please have some tea first, I'll go and call Jingzhuo down."
Xie Qingci had only heard the name Liang Jingzhuo once from Old Madam Zhuang, and she didn't know exactly which characters it was.
When a completely unfamiliar name entered her ears, she was momentarily stunned before she remembered who it was.
He nodded and replied, "Okay, thank you."
Uncle Zhong smiled, turned around and walked out of the reception room.
The servants who served tea and refreshments had already left, leaving Xie Qingci alone in the reception room. The rain outside had stopped, and only the occasional sound of water splashing against the eaves could be heard, making the surroundings even more quiet.
The snack box, candied fruits, and tea were neatly arranged on the tea table. She glanced down and recognized them as tea snacks from Fangxinzhai.
Grandma Xie has a sweet tooth and her favorite food is their Longjing pastry.
However, Fangxinzhai has a fixed daily menu, and Longjing Pastry is only available on Tuesdays.
Looking at the familiar green shortbread in the box, she realized that today was Tuesday.
Just as I was planning to stop by Fangxinzhai on my way back today to bring some Longjing pastries back for the old lady, I suddenly heard a soft footstep coming from the corridor behind me.
She turned her head at the sound.
The afternoon sun was bright and dazzling, shining through the latticework of the covered walkway and into the corridor. Water dripped from the lotus-patterned roof tiles, leaving residual water stains on the roof.
A tall, slender figure walked steadily and calmly through the dappled light and shadow, appearing in view.
Before Uncle Zhong went upstairs, Liang Jingzhuo was answering phone calls from Grandma Zhuang.
From the moment I called him back from the car to say that the girl had already left and we couldn't reschedule, I launched into a nearly hour-long tirade against him.
"Look how hard it's raining outside! You wouldn't even want to go out if it was just a little rain, yet you expect a girl to come looking for you!"
He walked to the window with his phone in hand, glanced at the rain outside which had lessened, and replied, "Didn't you say she'd be spending the summer in this area of Fushun Hutong, about a five-minute walk away? Besides, the rain is almost stopping now."
The reason we initially arranged to meet here was because Grandma Zhuang said that the girl was filial and that she would spend her summer vacations here with her elders whenever she had free time.
When he comes to Jingzhao, he usually stays in Fushun Hutong, thinking that it's close by and he doesn't have to travel much.
Grandma Zhuang coughed lightly, looking slightly embarrassed. "I didn't expect I wouldn't be able to go this year..."
"In short, it's your fault! If you had taken the initiative to ask her out in the first place, would this have happened?" The old lady was determined to pin the blame on him.
He nodded helplessly and replied, "Okay, it's my fault."
"Tell Lao Zhong to keep an eye out and keep an eye out at the alley entrance. If they haven't arrived by the appointed time, you should contact them!"
It's already inappropriate to let the girl come over on her own initiative; we can't afford any more accidents.
"How am I supposed to explain this to Yinghe...?"
Liang Jingzhuo roughly knew that Old Mrs. Zhuang and the other party's maternal grandmother were old friends for many years. Upon hearing this, he looked up at the alley outside the window.
The rain hadn't stopped, it was still drizzling, and a slender figure emerged from the bright sunlight.
The rain and mist rose, and the fine smoke, shrouding the light, drifted down in a flurry.
Along the way, trumpet vines grew over the walls of some houses, hanging down and swaying gently in the wind.
She walked slowly, the hem of her pale yellow floral print skirt swaying with her steps. Under the umbrella was a beautiful oval face, with a delicate forehead and red lips, pure and elegant. She would occasionally look up at the signs of the courtyards along the way.
He paused for a moment, then said, "They've arrived."
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
