Qiu Mang immediately sensed something was wrong. Who introduces themselves like this the moment they meet? Could this be a blind date?
Qiu Mang looked at Shi Nan, her eyes signaling what was going on. Shi Nan smiled, patted the back of her hand, and told her to relax.
“Zhao Nian, this is my cousin, Qiu Mang!” Shi Nan introduced.
Shi Nan and Zhao Nian had met a few times. Zhao Nian ran a shop selling electronic products. Shi Nan had bought a computer from his shop before, but because she didn't know how to use it, she called to ask for help. Zhao Nian came to her shop to teach her.
After getting to know Zhao Nian, Shi Nan felt that he was a good person, down-to-earth and hardworking, suitable for a life together, and a local with a house and a car, so she thought of introducing him to Qiu Mang.
"Hello!" Qiu Mang greeted.
Qiu Mang has fair skin and a pure, sweet appearance. Zhao Nian is a homebody with little experience interacting with girls; after just one glance, he lowers his head shyly.
Shi Nan could tell that Zhao Nian was very satisfied with Qiu Mang, so she smiled and picked up the teapot to pour water for the two of them.
Zhao Nian's face flushed, and his palms were sticky and sweaty.
He had little social experience, had been overprotected by his parents since childhood, and wasn't good at lying. He picked up a cup of tea from the table, lowered his head, and took a sip to hide his nervousness.
Suddenly, he felt a push on the back of the chair, and he tensed up instantly, only then remembering what his mother had told him before he left home that day.
He took a deep breath, gripped the glass awkwardly, and mustered his courage to stammer, "Miss Qiu, I'm very satisfied with you. I wonder what you think of me?"
Qiu Mang was dumbfounded. He had only been sitting down for a few minutes, and he was already saying he was satisfied? That was way too fast!
Qiu Mang pursed her lips: "We just met, and I didn't know it was a blind date before I came, so I wasn't prepared."
The light in Zhao Nian's eyes gradually dimmed, but he quickly straightened his back again: "It's okay, we can get to know each other slowly in the future."
Perhaps because he really liked it and didn't want to miss out, he seemed more confident than usual.
Qiu Mang didn't know what to say. If she refused, she was afraid it would be embarrassing for Shi Nan. If she agreed, she felt it was too hasty.
Seeing Qiu Mang's hesitation, Shi Nan quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Xiao Zhao is a nice guy, but A Mang is a bit slow to warm up and easily gets shy. I think we should start by being friends, go shopping or have a meal together whenever we feel like it, and then we can talk about other things once we've gotten to know each other better."
Zhao Nian was going on a blind date for the first time and had no experience. Hearing what Shi Nan said, he nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, Zhao Nian felt the back of the chair vibrate again, and the vibration became stronger and stronger.
The waiter brought the dishes, and Zhao Nian's hand holding the chopsticks trembled, almost dropping them, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He was going on a blind date today, and his elderly mother was worried and insisted on coming along. She was sitting at a table behind him, eavesdropping. Although Zhao Nian found it absurd, he couldn't stop his mother's behavior.
Zhao Nian felt like a monkey being watched in a zoo, and he felt like he was going crazy.
He knew what his mother wanted him to ask, and if he didn't ask, his mother might come directly to him.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, took another bite of eggplant, and then mustered the courage to ask, "Miss Qiu, what do you do for a living? How much do you earn a month? Do you own a car or a house? Do you have any savings?"
Once the words were spoken, the back of the chair finally calmed down.
Qiu Mang and Shi Nan were stunned. Zhao Nian had just started out as a shy and innocent young boy, but now he looked like a parent interrogating him about his household registration.
However, Qiu Mang felt that one should be honest when going on a blind date. Since the other person had already mentioned their situation during their initial self-introduction, she couldn't hide it from him either.
Qiu Mang took a bite of rice, looked at Zhao Nian, and said sincerely, "I'm a salesperson. My base salary is four thousand, and with commission, it's over ten thousand a month. I don't own a house or a car."
Shi Nan smiled and was about to reply when Qiu Mang gave her a look and continued, "I don't have any savings either."
Zhao Nian didn't care; he felt that as long as a girl could earn some money to support herself, that was fine. It was normal for Qiu Mang to be young and have no savings.
Qiu Mang paused, then looked at Zhao Nian again: "Not only do I have no savings, but I also have debts."
Shi Nan looked at her in surprise: "You haven't finished paying it back yet?"
She knew Qiu Mang owed money before, but Qiu Mang usually lived frugally and didn't have large expenses. She had also earned quite a bit in the past month or so, so she thought Qiu Mang had paid it off.
If she still owes debts, how much does this girl owe? Shi Nan's brows furrowed into a line.
Qiu Mang looked at the two of them and said, "I owe over 500,000 yuan, and I've only paid back a little over 30,000 yuan so far!"
This was the first time she had openly disclosed her debt situation to outsiders. She felt that one should be sincere when going on a blind date, and she couldn't deceive Zhao Nian, an honest man.
Shi Nan and Zhao Nian both gasped when they heard the figure, finding it hard to reconcile the enormous debt with the pure and sweet girl in front of them.
What exactly caused the debt of 500,000?
But the first to react was not Shi Nan, nor Zhao Nian, but a middle-aged woman sitting at the table behind.
The woman walked up to the three of them, slammed her hand on the table, and glared angrily at Qiu Mang: "Young lady, what kind of good girl is burdened with debt at such a young age? You can't pay it off, so you're looking for a sucker to help you pay it off!"
“Mom…” Zhao Nian reached out and grabbed the woman’s arm, trying to pull his mother away, but this only provoked the woman to become even angrier.
She turned around and scolded, "Why are you pulling me? Did I say something wrong? I told you long ago that you can't date girls from out of town; they're all after your money! You just wouldn't listen. Now you know, right?"
Shi Nan couldn't stand it anymore and quickly pulled Qiu Mang behind her. "Auntie, you can't say that. They've only just met. We haven't deliberately hidden our financial situation, let alone cheated you out of your money. There's no need to say such hurtful things."
The woman's face flushed with anger. She pointed at Qiu Mang and said, "What? Scammers these days have new tricks. They don't bother with roundabout methods anymore, they just go straight for the obvious and brutal stuff? Humph! So, according to you, you're more sincere than those who rack their brains to swindle money? Do you expect me to thank you?"
Qiu Mang had only come for a meal, but she didn't expect the situation to become so tense. She stepped forward and said, "Auntie, I'm very sorry about what happened today. I do have a lot of debt, but that's my own business. I never intended to lie to anyone. I originally came out today to meet a new friend. If you really mind, let's pretend we never met, and I don't know this gentleman."
Zhao Nian looked at Qiu Mang, feeling a pang of unease. He wanted to say something for Qiu Mang, but didn't know how to begin.
The woman nodded, but her tone remained unfriendly: "Not bad, at least you know what's good for you. However, I must remind you, with your circumstances, don't even dream of becoming a phoenix by climbing the social ladder. A pheasant will always be a pheasant; that's an unchangeable fact."
Shi Nan glared angrily at Zhao Nian's mother: "Auntie, you've gone too far. Amang didn't steal or rob; he just owes some debts. Is it necessary to insult him like this?"
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