28. Brother from your mother's side
Just two days into their warm mother-daughter relationship, Chi Jin was tricked by Yue Shuangshuang, the woman who had raised her for over twenty years, when she attended her cousin's wedding. The blind date she had tried so hard to turn down was cleverly arranged for this unavoidable occasion.
"Your uncle introduced this to you. Your cousin is getting married today, so it's a good opportunity for you to get to know each other and share in the good fortune."
When Chi's mother brought her blind date over, Chi Jin had no choice but to maintain basic social etiquette and introduce himself: "Hello, Chi Jin."
He quickly glanced at the other person: his facial features were not ugly, his temperament was kind, and he was slightly bald.
Surprisingly, Chi's mother, for once, avoided mentioning keywords like "civil servant" or "within the system." L City, a third-tier city, was a city where Sun Ting's art exam training network covered nearly the entire city. While the market was limited, it was sufficient to ensure a comfortable life. However, knowing her mother's temperament well, Chi Jin understood that in Ms. Yue's heart, the title of "CEO" might not carry the same weight as "Section Chief." She secretly wondered what it was about Sun Ting that had impressed her mother.
"I heard from Auntie that you work at Zhongxin Media?" Sun Ting said with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of familiarity from his colleagues. "Come to think of it, when I was in college, I interned at Jianghu magazine, which is under Zhongxin."
Jianghu, Zhong Xin's professional publication for fine art photography, has shrunk from a biweekly to a quarterly publication, a testament to its current plight. Chi Jin didn't point this out, but this internship experience itself was enough to prove that this smiling man was no amateur in his field.
"You're also from No. 2 Middle School? What year?"
Being alumni brought them closer together. However, Sun Ting was two years older than her, and their senior year wasn't in the same building as the other grades, so there was no chance for them to meet.
"So you're going to attend Xiao Jiang's wedding on the 4th, too?"
She almost forgot that her high school classmate Xiao Jiang, whom she was going to marry the day after tomorrow, was an art student and seemed to be a member of the art club at that time.
Oh, so there is this network of relationships. She understood.
Chi Jin thought this was a natural way to expand his network, so he took out his phone and said, "Add WeChat so we can get in touch. I'll scan you."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two returned to their seats. Chi's mother leaned closer to her daughter, lowered her voice, and spoke with a touch of the wisdom of someone who had experienced it: "It's just a blind date. Just think of it as making more friends and expanding your network. It's worth it."
Chi Jin immediately and calmly checked his social media feed. It was indeed a businessman's play. It was filled with studio promotions, art exam information, and student recruitment announcements. He had clearly withdrawn from teaching and was focused on behind-the-scenes operations management.
Chi Jin turned off the screen and whispered, "He won't go to Jing City, and I won't come back. It's impossible."
"Big cities are full of tricky people, be careful of being scammed. This kid's parents died young, so I know him well and he's a down-to-earth person."
Hearing that her parents had passed away, Chi Jin's heart skipped a beat. She knew what Yue Shuangshuang was up to. Yue Shuangshuang might have subconsciously felt that someone like Chi Jin, whose father had passed away at an early age, was at a disadvantage in the dating market, while Sun Ting, despite having the same "disadvantage", was more of a "match".
"My dad is a hero. If he were alive, he would definitely support me." On someone else's happy day, Chi Jin didn't want to mention such a sad thing. Seeing Chi's mother's face change, Chi Jin quickly calmed down, "This meal doesn't look delicious. When I go back tonight, I will cook you two new dishes I learned."
Yue Shuangshuang also realized that she had said something wrong and nodded in agreement.
Chi Jin's grandparents passed away when she was in junior high school. After her father died heroically during her senior year of high school, interactions with the Chi family became increasingly rare, limited to polite greetings during festivals. Attending Chi family weddings always brought back an indescribable sense of awkwardness and sadness, and thoughts of Chi's father were inevitable.
She ambitiously followed a highly-rated online tutorial, only to end up with two "hard dishes" on the table: one had a strange color, and the other was mushy and shapeless. Yue Shuangshuang looked at her daughter's disastrous results and burst out laughing, her waist doubled.
"Oh my silly Jinjin! You're really putting on quite the show!" There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her laughter, only the tenderness of a mother who sees her child get into trouble, both distressed and amused. "Let me do it, don't waste these good ingredients you bought."
As she spoke, she had already stood up swiftly and tied on an apron.
The mother and daughter ate at the table with much more joy and freedom than at the wedding banquet. Chi Jin took a bottle of beer, and Chi's mother rarely said anything earnest or nagging, such as "drink less alcohol", but just silently took a bottle out of the refrigerator, with a rare bit of "indulgence".
Under the light, Yue Shuangshuang looked at her daughter's youthful yet slightly weary profile with a complex expression. She took a sip of her cold beer, and her forced smile gradually faded, replaced by a deep, unspoken worry.
"Jinjin, you just turned 27 in July. If you're working hard out there, you'll eventually have to start a family. If that's the case, why not date a few people to gain experience, even if it's just trial and error? You have to know that not all men are as good as your father, and their true nature won't be revealed without a period of testing. Over the phone, Mom is always urging you to come home, to take the civil service exam, to find a young talent... You're annoying, and Mom knows it. You have a high degree of education and your own ideas. You should find someone you like and comfortable with in your urban work and relationships, but the older you get, the less satisfied and fulfilled you'll feel."
Yue Shuangshuang couldn't finish the rest of the sentence. She turned away, picked up her beer glass, and took a long, disingenuous sip. The fear of losing her husband, the guilt over influencing her daughter's college entrance exam choices, the anxiety she didn't know how to express, the self-blame she felt—all in the wine.
Chi Jin's heart clenched violently, and she gulped down a mouthful of wine. The cold liquid slid down her throat, but she couldn't suppress the bitterness in her heart. She could still recover from the bottleneck at work, but this matter of love... she was truly confused and at a loss.
"I remember that. But Mom, your daughter is only 27 years old. She still has two-thirds or even three-quarters of her life ahead of her. Please, have some faith in me!"
Yue Shuangshuang felt a little angry, but also a little relieved. She picked up her wine glass and clinked it with her daughter's.
"Then bring a boyfriend back for the New Year and let me see your determination."
…
On the 4th, it was Xiao Jiang's wedding. My high school classmate Xiao Jiang was at the wedding. My classmates and I filled the table. I knew a lot of the faces, but I couldn't even remember their names.
She saw Sun Ting greet her and nodded politely. The two of them had no communication on WeChat, but they seemed very warm when they met.
The classmate was surprised and said, "You two actually know each other!"
The two of them tacitly glanced over the "blind date" from the day before yesterday, and the topic quickly shifted away from the two of them.
Chi Jin listened with dismay, having already deposited his gift money into the bank, hoping the couple would finish their toast quickly so he could leave.
"The girl's family seems quite wealthy."
"Yeah, look at her parents, they're wearing all sorts of gold and silver, and that cheongsam looks so expensive."
"Hey, who was that in our class back then? Her mother would wear a neck full of jewelry whenever she came to the parent-teacher conference. She was pretending to be rich in this small city in the 80s."
Seeing that there were still many tables left to toast to, Chi Jin stood up and planned to go outside to get some fresh air.
The wedding was held in a castle with a Western architectural style, which is considered a relatively prestigious wedding venue in L City.
Just as I stood by the window, heavy footsteps approached - it was Sun Ting.
"It's stuffy in there, with all the alcohol and cigarettes. I only dared to come out after I saw you came out first."
A simple answer revealed that he does not smoke or drink, and is a good young man without any bad habits. At the same time, he also does not like this kind of atmosphere. The two are like-minded people.
"I've been busy these two days and haven't had time to send you a message. How many days do you have for the National Day holiday?" Sun Ting found a topic.
"Nine days."
"Nine days?" Sun Ting was surprised. "I thought your media industry, especially a large platform like Zhongxin, would be very busy during holidays."
Chi Jin had no intention of explaining the differences within the editorial department. He just smiled and said half-jokingly, "Those who are capable should do more work. A small fry like me is content to be free and unhurried."
Sun Ting naturally took a small step closer and said in a negotiating tone, "It just so happens that after the holiday, our institution is organizing key teachers to go to Jing City to attend an industry summit and exchange ideas. When the time comes, I'll have to ask you, the 'local tycoon', for some advice on what authentic Jing City delicacies are there. We have picky eaters here, as you know."
Chi Jin thought that her extravagant eating and drinking was still in her school days, and she immediately gave up this bad habit after making money. Just as she was trying to find an excuse to shirk her responsibility, a cold, familiar voice, but with a hint of elusive emotion, sounded behind her without warning.
"Editor Chi. What a coincidence."
Editor? This title made Chi Jin look up for a second.
"Chen Yisheng?" She subconsciously called out, not her title, "Why are you here?"
Sun Ting, standing nearby, addressed the question in a timely manner, his tone of familiarity just right: "This is the bride's cousin. Just now, during her speech, the bride specifically thanked Mr. Chen for the handwritten wedding invitation. Were you not paying attention?"
Chi Jin's mind went blank. He wrote the invitation! Of course he knew she would come!
"What a coincidence..."
"What a coincidence indeed." Chen Yisheng's eyes swept over her and Sun Ting calmly, his tone calm, "I didn't expect to run into Editor Chi here."
Bastard, he wrote the invitation and he didn’t know that he would see Chi Jin here?
Sun Ting's eyes fell sharply on the simple silver ring on Chen Yisheng's left ring finger, and with a hint of inquiry, "Who are you two...?"
"This is our editor-in-chief, Chen."
Sun Ting recounted his brief internship experience at Zhongxin Media, this time with more detail.
Chen Yisheng nodded slightly, then turned his gaze towards Sun Ting, with a hint of scrutiny: "Who are those two...?"
He threw the same question back, with a clear goal.
Seeing that Chi Jin did not take the initiative to explain, Sun Ting smiled and said, "We are schoolmates and also blind date partners. We just met at her cousin's wedding the day before yesterday, and we are still developing."
"Developing" was too imaginative. Chi Jin ignored the embarrassment and looked at Chen Yisheng almost instinctively.
"Editor-in-Chief Chen, can you please have a moment with me?"
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