“Yan, this is Li; Li, this is Yan. Please introduce yourselves.”
Seeing Zhou Xiaoyan, Li’s eyes underneath his glasses dazzled before he put his hand out toward her. “Nice to meet you. I’m Li Sihan.”
“I’m Zhou Xiaoyan.”
After exchanging names, they shook hands. As Yan took her hand back, he did the same politely.
“Yan, if you need an extra pair of hands in the shop, you can let Li know. Today’s a Sunday, so he doesn’t need to go to work.” As Mrs. Zhang finished, she turned to look at Luo Huimei, signaling with her eyes. “Huimei, do you mind going to the market nearby with me?”
It was obvious to Luo Huimei what Mrs. Zhang was trying to get at—going to the market was just an excuse for the two youngsters to have some alone time together. Looking slightly worried, Luo Huimei glanced at her daughter and left after Yan gave her a nod.
After they left, Yan remarked, “You don’t have to help out at the shop. Please just find a seat anywhere and I’ll treat you to some food.”
Li Sihan smiled gently. “That’s fine. Mrs. Zhang already told me that since it gets pretty busy here, you can let me know whenever you need an extra pair of hands. I may not be the most experienced person to help out, but I can always learn.” He responded humbly; although this did not disgust Yan, it also did not leave her with a good impression about him.
It’s impossible for me to feel good about him as I already have someone in my heart. Besides, no matter how well Xiao Su takes care of me, I can hardly make myself fall for him, let alone fall for someone on a blind date.
Yan felt that she agreed to this meetup in a rage, but… that was because she reckoned that she was able to forget Han Qing. She wanted to prove that she could live without Han Qing, and that she could still live happily ever after being with someone other than him.
Seeing an unfamiliar male face in the shop, the few workers looked at each other and began to whisper. Li Sihan and Yan looked good together; they knew when to speak and when not to. They even knew not to cross each other’s lines while conversing and not ask any questions that would cause awkwardness. Besides, he was a fast learner and was able to help Yan out a lot.
When it was break time, Li Sihan let out a gentle laugh. “I’ve learned so much today; it’s a new experience for me. May I come in and help out again tomorrow? I’m not working until the day after tomorrow, so I have some time on my hands.”
Yan nodded after giving it some thought. “Sure.”
“I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Miss Zhou. I’ll be off now.”
“Mm-hmm. Bye.”
After he left, Luo Huimei quietly sidled up to Yan and wrapped her hands around her neck. “How was it? Did you guys get along well? If you don’t like him, I can reject him on your behalf. It’s okay.”
“I’ve agreed to let him come back to help out tomorrow.”
Luo Huimei’s mouth went slack. “You fancy him?”
“No.”
“So why did you…”
“He’s a nice person. Besides, I’m single, so it doesn’t hurt to look around. After all, no one wants me.”
Luo Huimei responded, “What are you talking about? How’s it that no one wants you? Yan, please be honest with me—did you agree to this meetup in a rage? Did you do this on purpose?”
There was indeed some element of rage, but Yan did not want to admit it. She gnashed her teeth. “No. I just felt that what Mrs. Zhang said made sense. I really can’t force someone to love me. Instead of being unhappy every day, I just want to be safe and happy.”
“I’m glad if you really think that way.”
The next day, Li Sihan came again and rendered a lot of help to Yan. Before he left, he asked for Yan’s WeChat ID. It was smart of him to not mention anything about the blind date to Yan at all. Also, he would not ask questions that did not concern him, making their time together comfortable. Even though they did not click extremely well, they were proper and appropriate toward each other.
A man like this; how’s he still single? Yan wondered. Apart from the house that he owned and the stable job that he had, the way he carried himself should have helped him win the hearts of many women. But since they still did not know each other too well and she was unsure if this would carry on, she decided not to get into anything too personal.
On the third day, Li Sihan dropped by after work. He was nice to Yan’s parents and helped deliver take-outs for Mr. Zhou several times. This had helped him win brownie points with Mr. Zhou, and even made himself likable to Luo Huimei. There was nothing to complain about with him.
When Yan and her family were all home, Mrs. Zhang went up to their door and commented immediately, “Yan, I heard you’ve been getting along with Li pretty well. Is that right?”
Yan did not know how to respond. Instead, she awkwardly curled a smile when she heard Luo Huimei say, “They’ve just known each other for a couple of days. You won’t know that until much later.” What’s the big hurry?
However, Mrs. Zhang had the nerve to respond with a smile on her face, “You’re right, but if they start off on the right foot, they should be fine going forward.”
“Sigh. Who knows? No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. By the way, Mrs. Zhang, don’t blame me for putting it out there now, but the younger generation is good at hiding their true selves. No one knows who each other is until the very end. As parents, shouldn’t we be a little cautious?”
“That’s for sure. But please rest assured that Li is someone reliable; otherwise, I wouldn’t have introduced him to Yan, who’s beautiful and capable. Whenever I set someone up for a blind date, I give priority to the better ones.”
“Oh?” Luo Huimei smiled. “So why have I heard that you married the daughter of a family living in the next neighborhood off to a domestic abuser?”
Shock crossed Mrs. Zhang’s face as she heard this. She quickly explained, “How’s that my fault? It takes two to tango when it comes to domestic abuse. The wife must have been disobedient or done something outrageous.”
Luo Huimei stared at her. “Can’t they just divorce then? Why did he have to beat her up? Mrs. Zhang, do you think it’s okay to beat someone up?”
Fearing that this might get blown out of proportion, Mrs. Zhang attempted to save the situation. “That’s not the case. Huimei, please don’t be agitated. I just feel that there’s more to what we see on the surface. There must be reasons why the abuse happened, and of course, it’s wrong to beat someone up. Besides, that happened in the next neighborhood. I’ve watched Yan grow up, and I treat her like my own daughter. Why would I do anything that would harm her?”
Yan heaved a sigh as she listened to the conversation while standing in the corner. Is Mrs. Zhang trustworthy? It doesn’t look like it. Though, after spending time with Li Sihan for the past few days, everything seems fine.
When Mrs. Zhang left, Luo Huimei called Yan into her room. “What do you think about Li Sihan?”
Yan responded, “He’s… okay, I guess?”
