Even though their identities had swapped, Ye Zhen’s mindset still hadn’t adjusted. To think he’d been made to take the blame so unceremoniously by Jiang Xiaoyi right in front of that pack of old foxes—it was truly a humiliation beyond words.
What was even more absurd was that, afterward, he’d actually been scolded by Jiang Xiaoyi for not understanding corporate management.
He himself didn’t understand management? Did she, then?!
Ye Zhen finished tidying up the conference room while holding back his anger, returned to his desk, and had just sent off a few emails when Li You’ai came walking over to him with a face full of smiles.
“Little Ye, ah, stay late tonight.” Li You’ai cleared his throat, dropping his earlier cold demeanor and giving Ye Zhen’s shoulder an affectionate pat. “Let’s have dinner together. My treat.”
The moment Li You’ai mentioned treating him, Ye Zhen thought of the “Japanese food” sushi from that other day, and immediately refused: “No need. I’ve got something to do.” He looked at Li You’ai expressionlessly. “I don’t like ‘Ja-pa-nese food.'”
“No, no, not Japanese food this time—we’re Chinese, we should support our own country, we’ll have Chinese food! My treat!” Li You’ai insisted firmly. “Little Ye, ah, I’ve had a lot of misunderstandings about you before, been a bit hard on you—I want to apologize, let bygones be bygones!”
Ye Zhen frowned slightly, and did indeed notice the shift in Li You’ai’s attitude—before, he’d never called him “Little Ye,” always “Tom.” Was he genuinely trying to bury the hatchet?
This was, of course, not impossible—because a truly capable person’s presence couldn’t be hidden. Li You’ai, being the type to bully the weak and flatter the strong, had probably keenly sensed that Ye Zhen was no ordinary man, and wanted to mend fences—not entirely unreasonable.
Since there seemed to be no way back to his own world for the time being, and Li You’ai was proactively extending an olive branch, Ye Zhen felt he could lower himself to go along with it, just this once.
**
Half an hour later—
Ye Zhen stared at the sign for the Shaxian Snacks restaurant, utterly incredulous.
Li You’ai remained quite enthusiastic: “Little Ye, ah, don’t just stand there. I know things are hard for your family, that you don’t get many chances to eat at proper restaurants—eat well tonight! I’ll even treat you to a takeout box to bring home afterward! No need to be shy!”
“……”
“Oh right, I want to introduce you to someone tonight.” The moment Li You’ai finished speaking, he waved toward the entrance of the Shaxian Snacks shop. “Yongli! Over here!”
Li You’ai looked at Ye Zhen and made the introduction: “It’s like this—this is my niece, Li Yongli. She saw our company’s team-building photos and thought you were quite something, and wanted to make friends with you.”
Following Li You’ai’s voice, a girl with a middle-parted long hairstyle pushed the door open and walked in. Though Li You’ai himself wasn’t particularly good-looking, this niece of his was actually quite pretty, just looking a bit young—like a teenager, fifteen or sixteen years old.
Right on her heels, a well-preserved, elegantly dressed middle-aged woman walked in, looking to be only in her early thirties, with a face that resembled the girl’s quite closely—presumably the girl’s mother.
Though Ye Zhen was thoroughly repulsed by this thinly veiled blind-date setup, at the same time, he couldn’t help feeling a bit smug inside—even having fallen to such destitution in this world, wasn’t it still his sheer personal charisma that had made Li You’ai, who kept targeting him at every turn, introduce his own pretty niece to him?
This niece, who looked so young, clearly had a wide range of dating options in this current world, yet she was so eager to arrange a blind date with him immediately, and even her family took it seriously enough that her own mother had come along—clearly this was being treated with great solemnity.
So a man’s excellence really couldn’t be hidden.
“Our Yongli is an only child, her family already owns a wedding house, both her parents are dual-income and now retired with pensions, and she’s the same age as you. And even though our Yongli’s circumstances are this good, she won’t look down on you for having your parents to support—she says she’s still willing to get to know you…”
Li You’ai continued, coaxingly: “I know you stole away from Yongjian and were with our Boss Jiang for a while, but looking at how Boss Jiang treats you now, that’s probably in the past, right? So I did try to advise you earlier—where would an outstanding woman like her ever stay for you? If she could give up on Yongjian for you, couldn’t she just as easily give you up for some other pretty boy?”
“As for you—sure, your family’s poor, but you’re still a very capable man. Why hang yourself from one single tree with Boss Jiang?”
Though Ye Zhen had no intention of dating at the moment, given how much recognition Li You’ai was showing him, he found himself declining with a somewhat more measured tone: “I still prefer someone a bit more mature. Your niece doesn’t look like she’s my age—she might be too young, there could easily be a generation gap.”
But the secret satisfaction inside him didn’t last long, because Li You’ai went right on—
“Aiyo, Little Ye, you really are something! My niece is just well-preserved—she’s not young at all! Look, doesn’t her own daughter already turn fifteen?!”
“Don’t be fooled by how young she looks—she’s actually forty! Even though by generational rank she’s my niece, she’s older than me!” Li You’ai said happily. “Aiyo, I was worried you’d think she’s too old, so I didn’t tell you the truth—turns out you actually like mature women, so isn’t this a perfect match?”
“……”
So the person Li You’ai wanted to introduce him to wasn’t this fifteen-or-sixteen-year-old girl—it was her mother?
He himself, a handsome young man in the prime of his youth—and they were pairing him up with a forty-year-old divorcée with a kid?
They say the quality of your blind-date match reflects your own worth in the matchmaker’s eyes…
So this was all he was worth?
Li You’ai, completely unaware of the way Ye Zhen’s expression had instantly darkened, continued speaking with great enthusiasm: “Little Ye, ah, look, my niece already has a child, and the child won’t even take your surname, so you won’t need to support her either. Whether or not you want more children in the future is entirely up to you, no pressure at all.”
“And even if you do want children, no need to worry about having a daughter and being looked down on by your in-laws—my niece already has a daughter carrying on the family legacy. If you have a son, no problem either, no pressure at all!”
“……”
This was their first meeting, and the way he was talking, it sounded as though the two of them were already about to go register their marriage…
Looking at the fast food from Shaxian Snacks being brought to the table, and then at the small, run-down surroundings of the restaurant, and then at the middle-aged, well-dressed woman before him, Ye Zhen felt he needed to find an excuse to leave immediately.
But before he could open his mouth, it was Li You’ai’s niece across the table who spoke first: “My uncle told me your name is Ye Zhen, right? I’m fairly satisfied with you. Marrying you wouldn’t be a problem, but there are a few things I need to make clear first.”
“Even though you won’t need to pay for the household expenses, you know a family needs a man managing things at home. My daughter is in her first year of high school, and she has an important placement exam coming up soon. You’ll need to quit your job and tutor her at home. Only once she gets into the advanced-track class will I give you a proper title and register our marriage with you—otherwise, we’ll just be living together.”
Having finished speaking, Li Yongli pulled out a thick stack of workbooks from her bag, including even a copy of the well-known exam-prep book Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulated Tests: “These are my daughter’s various subject workbooks from school, plus recent years’ college entrance exam papers. Do a set first, and let me see how well you score. If you can’t even pass, then we can’t continue—first, you wouldn’t be able to tutor my daughter, and second, I’m worried our child together after marriage would end up too stupid.”
“You understand—a family like mine cares a great deal about the quality of our next generation.”
Ye Zhen was simply dumbstruck—what kind of family were they exactly? What kind of family took someone out for Shaxian Snacks on a first blind date?!
But Li Yongli mistook Ye Zhen’s disbelief as the excitement of unexpected good fortune falling into his lap. “Don’t get too excited just yet.”
This “elegant lady” took a composed sip of the free barley tea provided by the Shaxian Snacks shop, somehow managing to drink it as if savoring the finest tea leaves. She raised her pinky finger, lightly touching her heavily made-up lips as she gave a light cough: “Even if you get a passing score, and I’m satisfied with you, you’ll still need to satisfy my daughter—afterward, my daughter will interview you as well.”
She pursed her lips and smiled: “After all, you know how some stepfathers can be quite vicious. I’d still like to find someone who can take care of the child and treat her as his own.”
“……” This time Ye Zhen truly couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled out his phone and pretended to have just received a message, then looked up. “Boss Jiang needs me for something, I’ll head out first.”
The moment Ye Zhen stood up, Li You’ai yanked him right back down: “Little Ye, ah, I’ve treated you so wholeheartedly precisely because I saw you and my nephew as fellow sufferers in exile from love. The best way to forget a painful relationship is to start a new one. As for you, stop thinking about rekindling anything with Boss Jiang. There’s really no need for us to keep clinging to her, is there? People need to know their own place and act accordingly.”
“Boss Jiang’s been treating you like that lately—clearly exiling you all the way over to me—she must have someone new already.”
Ye Zhen refused: “No, Boss Jiang really does have something going on that she needs me for.”
Ye Zhen genuinely just wanted to leave now—even if it turned out Jiang Xiaoyi really was calling him in for overtime, he’d be willing at this point.
Seeing Ye Zhen about to leave, Li You’ai’s tone turned urgent as well: “What good could Boss Jiang possibly want you for at this hour? She’s obviously summoning you for a booty call! Free of charge! You need to have some backbone, don’t disgrace us men—I’m introducing my niece to you right now, seize this chance! You’re not right for Boss Jiang—your temper’s a fiery one, from what I can see. It’s Yongjian who’s suited for her. Yongjian can endure Boss Jiang keeping her flag flying high with plenty of others besides him—can you? You’re better off with my niece. As long as you pass my niece’s assessment, my niece is willing to be with you, one heart, one soul, for life!”
At this point, Ye Zhen finally understood.
What good intentions could Li You’ai possibly have?
And introducing him to someone, of all things?
So in the end, this was all just to “split up” him and Jiang Xiaoyi, to prevent the two of them from getting “close” again, and to create an opening for Li Yongjian.
Ye Zhen let out a snort of laughter: “Boss Jiang said she just likes the fiery type, likes someone like me, with a bad temper and a real drama king…”
Ye Zhen had wanted to keep going, taking the opportunity to strike at his rival, but as fate would have it, right in the middle of his boast, Jiang Xiaoyi’s call actually came in.
Ye Zhen naturally wasn’t about to pass up such a perfect opportunity. He immediately waved his phone screen, showing the incoming call, in front of Li You’ai: “Boss Jiang’s calling me. She’s the impatient type—if I don’t pick up within ten minutes, she’ll definitely blow up. Sorry about this, Director Li, I’ll head off first.”
“Hey! Ye Zhen! Wait a—”
Before Li You’ai could even finish his sentence, Ye Zhen had already fled the Shaxian Snacks shop as if making his escape.
He had never once imagined that a day would come when he’d actually look forward to a call from Jiang Xiaoyi so eagerly.
Taking a breath of the fresh air outside, Ye Zhen finally answered the call…
**
On the other end of the line, Jiang Xiaoyi, unable to find an electronic copy of a document she urgently needed, was calling to ask Ye Zhen about it.
Ye Zhen apparently had some kind of engagement tonight, since he hadn’t come home yet at this hour. After work was, after all, personal time, and Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t quite muster the same confident, matter-of-fact attitude the old Ye Zhen used to have—she felt somewhat uneasy calling him at all.
But instead of the irritated tone she’d expected, quite the opposite happened—Ye Zhen’s voice was full of eagerness. Jiang Xiaoyi had barely finished calling out his name, hadn’t even gotten a chance to say anything else, when Ye Zhen eagerly cut her off—
“I was wrong! I’m heading home right now to work out!”