Mrs. Jiang shrieked in a shrill voice, “What’s wrong with it?! Of course, you can’t!”
The shrillness of her voice was ear-piercing. Jiang Xiaobai reached her hands up and covered her ears. “Madam Du, please mind your image!”
Only then did Mrs. Jiang restrain her emotions. Reaching up to pat at her face, she spat out in annoyance, “I lost control of my visage all because of you.”
“Come on, Mom. If you stop getting angry, then you won’t lose control of your visage. Besides, what I said is the truth! This is how I usually look; if I go on a blind date, I should present myself in my original state. Otherwise, if I dress up beautifully, then show my partner my sloppiness after marriage, won’t I frighten him so much he’d ask for a divorce?”
Hearing those words, Mrs. Jiang wanted to roll her eyes snappily. However, she controlled herself after some consideration. She was an elegant lady—a woman who paid extra care to her image. Still, she found that the image she was so proud of crumbled to pieces when facing her daughter.
“Mom, I’m right, aren’t I? Look; if I go there like this and the other party becomes attracted to me, that means he sincerely likes me. On the other hand, if I dress up nicely, the other party is simply attracted to the fake me. Mom, do you wish for your daughter to find somebody who sincerely likes her or somebody who only likes her for her appearances?”
Mrs. Jiang glanced at Jiang Xiaobai, saying nothing. Then, she sneered, “You speak so righteously; don’t think I don’t know what you are aiming for. You just want to scare the other party away with your sloppy appearance, don’t you? You only need to tidy yourself up and you won’t chase the guy away. Seeing as you are my daughter, I have confidence in your good looks.”
Jiang Xiaobai sighed sadly. “All the men in the world love good looks. However, even if your daughter inherited your looks, it won’t last forever. Mom, when you married my father, wasn’t it because he was the only one among the crowd who had no interest in how you looked?”
Mrs. Jiang said nothing in reply. She felt annoyed just thinking about her husband. She thought back on how exquisite she was when she was younger; there was an endless line of men trying to court her. However, look at what happened in the end. Jiang Xiaobai’s father was as dull as a bookworm. When his friends asked him whether she looked beautiful, he had scratched his head and answered that she was not bad. Not bad? At the time, she was one of the most beautiful people in the school, yet in his eyes, she was simply ‘not bad’. Still, she could only blame herself for falling for an idiotic guy like him. However, it was exactly because he was an idiot that he would come out looking for her in the rain at midnight—just to pass her an umbrella. Then, after handing her the umbrella, he stupidly wanted to leave.
For the first time, she became attracted to him. Thus, the two of them got together. Afterward, she asked him for the reason he came out to give her the umbrella—was it because he liked her? However, he denied it, saying that he thought she was pitiful since she did not have an umbrella on that rainy night. So, that was why he did what he did.
At that time, Du Xiaoyu had lost her temper. They almost broke up because she realized that she was delusional about his love for her. How many suitors did she have? Why did she have to be in a relationship with somebody who had no interest in her? Luckily, the slow-witted guy finally understood what was going on. He managed to persuade her to stay, convincing her that he loved her for her talents and whatnot.
Jiang Xiaobai brought this story up with great relish. Later on, she even wrote a short novel based on this story and the sales for the short novel had been quite good. “It shows that men like my father are so rare and precious. A man who would bring you an umbrella in the rain and hold no other intentions toward you. I’m afraid he is the only person in the world who would do that.”
Mrs. Jiang continued to keep quiet. She was very furious because she felt that everything her daughter was saying was true. Therefore, she could not find the words to refute it. After all, despite being married for so many years, she was still being pampered. She did not need to do any of the housework; she only needed to maintain her beauty.
Jiang Xiaobai knew she had managed to persuade her mother. Thus, she smilingly hugged her mother’s arm. “Mom, if I can be as blessed as you are and find myself a man like Dad, won’t that be great? A man who really loved you wouldn’t care about your appearances. So, isn’t it fine if I dress casually when I show up at the blind date later? There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”
“Hah,” Mrs. Jiang sneered. “Don’t think I’ll let you off just because you bring up your father. Go into your room right now and get dolled up. If you don’t put on your makeup, or dress beautifully, don’t think about returning to your place for the next half a month.”
Jiang Xiaobai was rendered speechless. Two minutes later, she was chased to her room. The room had been prepared for her by her mother, so many of the things were unfamiliar to her. For example, there were brightly-colored dresses, translucent high heels, all sorts of lipsticks, and eye shadows in every shade. It seemed as if Mrs. Jiang had prepared everything for her—she had spared no effort for Jiang Xiaobai to go on the blind date.
Even so, Jiang Xiaobai was not in a hurry. Lying down on her bed, she picked up her phone and sent her best friend, Fang Tangtang, a message. When Fang Tangtang heard about how Jiang Xiaobai had been called home to go on a blind date, she burst out laughing, relishing in her friend’s misfortune. “To think you would face a day like this too, Jiang Xiaobai. Hahaha. Forcing you to go home for a blind date? See what happens when you don’t get a boyfriend? You’re being pressed into going on a blind date.”
Jiang Xiaobai was depressed. “How dare you laugh? Believe it or not, the next time you visit your crush, I won’t accompany you there.”
Fang Tangtang immediately replied solemnly, “Bai, you are too pitiful. How can Aunt Jiang do that to you? Something like having a boyfriend wouldn’t affect you whether you have one or not anyway; if you have no interest, she shouldn’t be forcing you like this.”
Jiang Xiaobai felt speechless at her prompt change in attitude. “What do I do now? She wants me to dress myself up, or else she won’t let me return to my place. She wants to ground me for half a month.”
“If it’s just half a month, then so be it. At home, you will be given food. You only need to eat and sleep, then continue eating when you wake up again. What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem?! Are you treating me like I’m unemployed? Do I not have manuscripts to write?” Jiang Xiaobai roared in rage.
“That’s true… Then, you should just… go on the blind date.”
“What?”
“Cough, cough. You have other options besides going on the blind date—you can ask somebody to pretend to be your boyfriend. If you introduce him to your mother, won’t they stop forcing you to go on blind dates in the future?”
Hearing that, she sneered, “What kind of terrible idea is that? Will you believe me if I say that the moment I introduce a boyfriend to her, she will start forcing me to get married in the next second?”
Fang Tangtang murmured, “Aunt Jiang sure is terrifying.”
“I think she’s quite terrifying too. She had the freedom to choose her love, so why can’t I? Moreover, she said that I’m getting old! I’m obviously still just a young lady!”
“Pfft—don’t flatter yourself, alright? Still a young lady? You’re nearly thirty!”
“Be serious; hurry up and help me. I don’t want to be locked at home for half a month.”
“How can I help you? Currently, you have two choices. Either you be a good girl and go on the blind date, or you tell your mother you have a boyfriend.”
“Fang Tangtang, are you joking with me? How can I possibly go on the blind date? Moreover, what’s with the other lousy idea? Tell my mother I have a boyfriend? I don’t have one, alright?”
