The moment Yun Suni uttered those words, it was as if she had plastered the words "Ren Baiping is my blind date" all over her face.
It couldn't be more obvious.
For some reason, she glanced at Gu Rongqi across from her again out of the corner of her eye. The light from above shone on his hair, casting a shadow over his features.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly looked away, pretending to pick out the fish bones from the mackerel on her plate.
Yun Suni also realized that there was something wrong with what she had just said, and she looked at Cheng Qicai with apology in her eyes.
The phone in her bag suddenly vibrated, and Cheng Qicai took it out of her bag.
She saw that it was a message from Ren Baiping, asking her what she was doing.
She replied that she was out having dinner with friends.
The other person replied, "[Okay, let's chat again when you're free.]"
Cheng Qicai replied with an "Mmm" emoji.
Cheng Qicai put her phone away and saw several people looking at her. Yun Su Ni's eyes were filled with curiosity, while Lu Qi's eyes seemed to be... watching a good show? She couldn't tell what Gu Rongqi meant.
She gave them an awkward smile, "Why are you all looking at me? Let's eat, let's eat..."
After finishing her meal, Cheng Qicai originally wanted to leave with Yun Suni and the others, so that Gu Rongqi wouldn't have to see her off and everyone's time wouldn't be wasted.
But Yun Suni spoke up: "Excuse me, Qicai, Lu Qi and I are going to his house, so we might..."
"It's okay, I'll go back by myself." Cheng Qicai understood what she meant and offered to go.
"Then we'll be going now." Yun Suni waved to her.
"Okay, sis, brother Lu, goodbye." He parted ways with the two of them.
Cheng Qicai then turned to Gu Rongqi and asked, "Shall we go back now?"
Gu Rong nodded, "...Mm."
Just as she got into the car, Cheng Qicai received another call from Ms. Yun.
When Cheng Qicai saw it was her call, her head started to ache. She didn't even need to answer to know what she wanted to ask.
The constant vibrations were like a death knell.
Cheng Qicai intended to wait for the call to hang up automatically so she could call back when she got home, but she clearly couldn't wait. The call ended as soon as the first one ended, and the next one came in.
"Aren't you going to answer?" Gu Rongqi was also drawn to her constantly vibrating phone and asked her.
Cheng Qicai sighed and answered the phone, "Mom."
"What are you doing? You haven't answered the phone for so long."
"Eating out with friends?"
"Xiao Ren?"
"No, other friends."
"How did your meeting with Xiao Ren go yesterday?" As expected, Ms. Yun asked the question after only a few words.
"It's alright," Cheng Qicai replied simply.
"Then you should have a good chat with them. The people your uncle introduced this time are all pretty good. You can bring them home so we can get to know them..."
Cheng Qicai was speechless. This was still far from over, yet Ms. Yun had already brought up meeting the parents.
She interrupted Ms. Yun, "Okay, I'll talk to you later. I'm going to talk to you now, I'm out having fun with my friends."
"Then remember to have a good chat..." Ms. Yun instructed anxiously.
"Okay!" Cheng Qicai nodded perfunctorily and hung up the phone.
She turned her head and realized that Gu Rongqi's car hadn't started yet. She looked at him in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Rongqi didn't answer. Under Cheng Qicai's gaze, he turned the key and started the car.
"It seems your family is really concerned about your marriage," Gu Rongqi's voice suddenly rang out.
When Gu Rongqi said this, Cheng Qicai was not surprised at all. With so many people coming and going today, it was impossible not to know that Ren Baiping was her blind date.
Was the car not started just now because you were listening to your own gossip?
But the thought that if Gu Rongqi were on the phone talking about blind dates, she would also be eavesdropping.
Cheng Qicai replied, "There are already few people my age in my family. They all have stable partners. Now I'm the only one left. They must be anxious."
"Does your mother think you and your current... blind date are a good match?" Gu Rongqi's voice sounded a little dry.
"No!" Cheng Qicai denied.
Gu Rongqi loosened his grip on the steering wheel, and his expression softened considerably.
However, Cheng Qicai didn't notice anything in the dim environment.
She smiled and continued, "My mom is very satisfied with every one of my blind date partners."
Gu Rongqi's hand tightened again, "..."
Cheng Qicai started complaining: "Sigh, the kind of thinking my mom and her family have is that if you have a stable job, you should get married, and if you don't have a stable job, you should get married even more. Basically, as long as you're not studying, you should be thinking about marriage."
“My mother still holds onto the old-fashioned ideas that once you stop studying, you should get married early, especially girls.”
“We probably don’t get married as late as people in your circle,” Cheng Qicai said.
"You think so too?" Gu Rongqi asked.
"No, but like I said before, I don't want to get married when I'm too old, so I'll look into it if there's someone suitable now." Cheng Qicai laughed. "Who knows, maybe I'll find the right person? Who can predict fate?"
Gu Rongqi then asked, "Do you think this is the right one for you?"
"I don't know, I'm still watching."
Cheng Qicai immediately felt the air inside the car cool down. She turned her head and saw that Gu Rongqi had rolled down the car window.
Although it's spring now, the temperature is still not high, so it's not necessary to open the windows, is it?
"Are you hot?" Cheng Qicai wanted to remind him to close the window.
"Hmm." Gu Rongqi squeezed out a sound from his nose, "The air is a bit stuffy, let's blow some air."
Hearing Gu Rongqi say this, Cheng Qicai had no choice but to wrap her clothes tighter.
After a moment of silence, Gu Rongqi suddenly spoke up: "Do you have time next week? I have a few tickets to a creative exhibition. If you're interested, we can go together."
Cheng Qicai shook her head and refused, "No, I have something to do next week."
Gu Rongqi turned his head and glanced at her.
"Really." Cheng Qicai remembered the lie she told in the elevator earlier, and she awkwardly touched her nose. "I have an appointment with someone next week."
This time it wasn't just a perfunctory excuse; something really happened.
Last night, Ren Baiping asked her to come to his school next week.
"..." The cold wind outside the window blew even harder, and Gu Rongqi's voice seemed to carry a hint of coldness as well, "Is he your blind date?"
Cheng Qicai nodded slightly, feeling a little embarrassed. "Mmm..."
Gu Rongqi lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
Seeing that Gu Rongqi didn't ask any further questions, she didn't speak again.
That's how it is with her and Gu Rongqi; most of the time they seem unable to connect.
Perhaps this is the class system that cannot be crossed?
The car slowly came to a stop, and Cheng Qicai got out and went home.
Gu Rongqi watched Cheng Qicai's figure disappear at the entrance of the residential area before starting his car and returning home.
In the gray room, that touch of pink had already robbed most of its vibrant life.
That was a gradual decline that could not be stopped by any means of prolonging it.
Gu Rongqi's hand touched the withered yellow petals, and as soon as he touched them, the petals fell to the ground, leaving only a single stamen.
So, is it really impossible to stop it?
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