novelraw Chapter 263 - 251: Where Did Things Go Wrong
Chapter 263 - 251: Where Did Things Go Wrong
It’s certainly foolish of Zhu Dadao to turn a blind date into such a mess.
"His eyes must have a problem," Qian finally realized.
It’s a busy time at Xiaoqiang’s workplace, yet Dadao is able to come over, which doesn’t add up.
Given Zhu Dadao’s various odd behaviors today, Qian guessed he must have eye issues.
"Sorry for the loss I’ve caused, I’ll make up for it," Zhu Dadao told the waiter.
He lamented that he shouldn’t have come out under such circumstances, but his father insisted, resulting in numerous blunders.
"What’s wrong with your eyes?" Qian walked over and asked.
"Conjunctivitis, everything looks like it’s shrouded in mist."
"You usually wear glasses, right? Why didn’t you bring your glasses?"
"...I did originally, but my mother forcibly took them off before I left home, saying she was afraid—" Zhu Dadao glanced toward Shuixian’s direction, which he believed was Shuixian’s direction but was actually the waiter.
"Afraid of scaring you."
His eyes certainly look a bit frightening now.
The waiter was indeed scared, thinking this customer covered in salad might try to take advantage of her, but this is a legitimate business establishment; that’s not possible!
"Pff!" Qian was amused.
Shuixian’s mouth twitched too, wanting to laugh but feeling a bit stifled.
"Why didn’t you stay home if you’re sick? What are you doing out here? Are you really that desperate to get married? You’re almost 30 if not 35 already."
Shuixian’s voice was low, slightly hoarse with a hint of magnetism, which heightened Zhu Dadao’s ability to recognize sounds amid his blurry vision. He looked toward her direction, trying hard to see the face of his blind date target, but it was still a blur.
"I’m a Tiger, 27, not yet thirty."
"Oh, then you look a bit eager to grow up." Shuixian retorted facetiously.
Actually, Zhu Dadao didn’t look as old as she said; it was just that the sunglasses made him seem serious, coupled with a bad first impression. To retaliate for him splashing water on her, she intentionally said that.
"Yeah, the girls I dated before thought so too..." He wasn’t surprised at all; this was either his tenth or eleventh blind date of the year and it had failed again.
"I’ll take you shopping and then drive you home. It was my oversight to give you a bad experience."
He’s quite the gentleman, but as he turned, he almost bumped into a pillar again, making Shuixian finally unable to hold back and laugh out loud.
Qian furrowed her brow.
"Which zodiac sign are you?"
"Tiger."
This zodiac sign seems off... How could she remember that when she met her benefactor years ago, he seemed to have just celebrated his zodiac year?
When they exchanged letters, he specifically mentioned that, as Qian didn’t have much money at the time, she wanted to send him a gift, asking him his zodiac sign while buying clothes, but he wasn’t a Tiger.
Where did the mistake happen? Did he intentionally hide the truth to save her money back then, or did she...
Mistake the person from the start?
After getting off the elevator, Teng Shuixian tugged at Qian’s sleeve. She didn’t want to buy clothes and preferred to leave directly when her car arrived.
But the driver probably didn’t expect a blind date to end so swiftly and had gone off to attend other errands.
The wind chilled her as it seeped through her coat.
"Let’s grab a cab back."
"Let’s go shopping."
Shuixian and Qian spoke simultaneously, Shuixian looked at Qian incredulously.
Friend, why are you switching sides?
Qian pulled her arm, "It’s always worth knowing more about young people."
In fact, she didn’t want to miss this opportunity; she had to confirm whether Zhu Dadao was her benefactor.
While in the elevator, Qian exchanged phone numbers with Zhu Dadao, which puzzled Shuixian. Did Qian fancy Zhu Dadao?
Clearly not, so why did she ask for his number?
Just like that, Shuixian was dragged into the mall by Qian, while Zhu Dadao remained adamant about setting things right considering how he’d turned the girls’ day into such a mess.
But in his current half-blind state, venturing into a crowded mall made Qian and Shuixian uneasy.
They feared he might bump into something like a mannequin.
Speeding through the shopping, Teng Shuixian told the clerk she wanted the item she was wearing, the clerk made the ticket, Shuixian tried to reach for it.
Qian quickly snatched it up and handed it to Zhu Dadao.
"Gentlemen first."
Shuixian didn’t want the clothes he bought, but since Qian acted this way, it would seem petty if she objected, so she whispered to Qian.
"What are you up to, are you sure he can make it to the checkout?"
Zhu Dadao’s vision now was barely better than a blind person’s.
"I’ll go with him."
Qian was just waiting for this opportunity.
She led Zhu Dadao to the checkout, and saw him trying to pay with cash, Qian pointed to the checkout counter and said.
"Only card payments, did you bring a card?"
The cashier looked at Qian, hesitant to speak.
Lady, the sign reads, ’Please present your membership card’, are you really deceiving this sunglasses-wearing blind guy, is that okay?
Zhu Dadao switched to another card and without suspicion, swiped it directly.
After signing, Qian picked up the receipt and examined it.
Indeed, it was the same handwriting.
What exactly... went wrong...
After leaving the mall, Qian remained preoccupied.
Meanwhile, Zhu Dadao and Shuixian had little to say to each other, given the age gap and lack of interest in one another; both were there due to parental pressure and admittedly had no common topics.
"I’m really sorry for the trouble today," Zhu Dadao said to Shuixian.
"It’s fine, just make sure to wear glasses next time if there’s an issue with your eyes; it’s very unsafe."
Having changed outfits, Shuixian was no longer irritated, calming down to think that they’re both under pressure from parents to get married, so mutual understanding is good.
"I have another request; could you please tell your family that you rejected me? Otherwise, my mother will certainly..."
"Alright, I’ll handle it. But why is your family so eager to rush you into marriage?"
For the sake of leaving a good impression on the girl, they even forbade him from wearing glasses; how eager they are, and it seems there have already been many failed blind dates before.
"My father had a check-up before the new year, and they found a tumor here, which is why my family is urging me to get married,"
Zhu Dadao gestured to his stomach, pulling Qian out of her thoughts, upon hearing this, she couldn’t help but ask.
"So, that’s why you wrote ’wish for family health’ on your wish card?"
Back then she saw two wish cards with similar handwriting, one for a lover, one for family, Qian wanted to confirm which one was Zhu Dadao’s.
"Yes, how do you know?" Zhu Dadao asked in confusion.
The wish card was something he wrote casually, not expecting it to be of much use.
Qian refused to answer, thinking rapidly that the wish card was indeed written by him, which meant... he wasn’t her benefactor after all.
"Since your family is rushing you to get married, why aren’t you in a hurry? I think your conditions are quite good," Shuixian wondered.