Shu Chen lived up to Xiao Meng’s expectations, stepping forward to intercept Aunt Qin and saying with a smile, “Please don’t insist anymore. I can see that Teacher Meng doesn’t want it. Let it go.”
Aunt Qin also noticed Teacher Meng’s insistence and said, “Well then.”
She put away the money but packed some fruits in a bag, insisting that Xiao Meng take them back to the dormitory.
Xiao Meng, helpless, had no choice but to accept.
Shu Chen’s mom had been smiling all along. When Shu Chen signaled her to leave, she pretended not to see and asked Xiao Meng, “Are you a student? Are you going back to school?”
Before Xiao Meng could answer, Aunt Qin said, “Xiao Meng is from Huada University.”
Shu Chen’s mom, of course, had known this all along but now pretended to have just found out. She praised and complimented Xiao Meng for a while.
Having experienced the embarrassment Shu Chen went through just now, Xiao Meng now felt sympathy for him.
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Even though it was their first meeting and they weren’t familiar at all, Xiao Meng surprisingly understood Shu Chen’s hint to “quickly escape from here.”
The words of refusal remained unspoken. She nodded and said, “Thank you then.”
Shu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Aunt Qin, we’ll be going now!”
The two middle-aged women sent them off with smiling faces.
After closing the door, the two of them huddled together and whispered.
“This girl seems nice!” Aunt Qin said.
Shu Chen’s mom nodded, “Her gaze is dignified, and she speaks confidently.”
Aunt Qin added, “Trust my judgment. She has worked at our house for a year and a half, and I can tell you, she has never been late once. She takes teaching seriously, patient and meticulous. Clearly, she’s a good girl.”
“It’s just that her family’s circumstances are a bit tough, definitely not as good as yours,” Aunt Qin continued. “She only has a father at home, and her mother passed away during spring festival last year. Her father remarried earlier this year. I talked to her, and this girl wants to stay in the provincial capital after graduation, not going back.”
Shu Chen’s mom waved her hand dismissively, “Family circumstances don’t matter, as long as she has a good character!”
Speaking with concern, she added, “She seems like a neat girl. I don’t know if my foolish son is up to her standards. Oh…”
As soon as they were out of sight of the two middle-aged women, Shu Chen and Xiao Meng both sighed in relief.
They exchanged a glance and burst into laughter simultaneously.
Shu Chen, rubbing his forehead, said, “I can’t stand it.”
Xiao Meng, suppressing a smile, remarked, “Aunties are really enthusiastic.” She didn’t specify which aunt, as both were quite enthusiastic.
Shu Chen glanced at her, sensing that this girl had a good personality, cheerful and straightforward.
He asked, “Do you know Ji Anning?”
Xiao Meng was surprised, “You know Ji Anning?”
Shu Chen smiled, saying, “Ji Anning used to work part-time at my café. My mom actually helped introduce her to this tutoring job. I remember she mentioned passing it on to a classmate, was that you?”
Xiao Meng was indeed Ji Anning’s close friend, Meng Xinyu. She exclaimed, “You’re the manager of that anime-themed café?”
The two found a common point in their social network, and suddenly the distance between them closed.
“Let’s go,” Shu Chen said, “I’ll take you back.”
Meng Xinyu wanted to decline politely, but Shu Chen insisted, “My café is on Guangming Road, it’s really on the way.”
Shu Chen had a refined appearance and a sunny smile. He had tactfully intervened for Meng Xinyu today, leaving her with a positive impression. She expressed her gratitude and got into his car.
As two strangers, they didn’t have much to talk about, so they naturally turned the conversation to Ji Anning.
“How is she doing now?” Shu Chen asked. “I haven’t been in touch with her for a long time.”
Shu Chen’s relationship with Ji Anning was superficial. Ji Anning had only worked part-time at his café for two months. His connection with Wen Yu, who later managed one of his branches, was much deeper. Wen Yu had given him significant discounts when he opened the branch, which is such a huge favor.
However, their lives didn’t intersect much. After they had a meal together, there wasn’t much contact.
“She’s doing well,” Meng Xinyu said. “She’s getting married in July.”
“Huh?” Shu Chen was a bit bewildered. “Aren’t you still in school? What year? Sophomore?”
Meng Xinyu laughed, saying, “Yes, sophomore. But she’s turning twenty soon, legal age.”
Shu Chen cautiously asked, “Is it with Wen Yu?”
Meng Xinyu was surprised, “You know Wen Yu too?”
Shu Chen said, “Back then, he used to pick up Ji Anning after work.”
Meng Xinyu vaguely recalled Ji Anning mentioning that the manager of the café where she worked was a good person. Since Ji Anning and Meng Xinyu shared similar values, their judgments about people were alike. Looking at Shu Chen today, he indeed seemed like a good person.
The car arrived at Huada University, and Meng Xinyu expressed her thanks, preparing to get out of the car.
After a moment of hesitation, Shu Chen decided to apologize.
“Um… I’m really sorry about today,” he said sheepishly.
“???” Meng Xinyu was still clueless, after all, she was young.
Shu Chen scratched his head, saying, “You didn’t realize, but today… they arranged a blind date for us.”
Meng Xinyu: “…Huh?” Completely bewildered.
Shu Chen quickly explained, “I didn’t know before I came, just like you. My mom didn’t have any bad intentions; she just wanted to give us an opportunity to get to know each other. But… I can see you didn’t know either, and I feel really sorry about it. I’ll talk to my mom when I get back. Please don’t feel uncomfortable about this in the future.”
At this age, middle-aged people sometimes lacked an understanding of respecting others, privacy, and individual will.
Arranging a blind date for young individuals without any prior notice was crossing the line, and Shu Chen felt a bit angry about it.
Meng Xinyu was only in her sophomore year, her mom passed away last year, and her family had faced financial difficulties before. Her father’s focus had been on taking care of her mother, and no one had talked to her about things like having a boyfriend until her father’s remarriage at the beginning of the year when he casually asked if she had a boyfriend. She said no, and he didn’t bring it up again.
Meng Xinyu couldn’t believe that her first experience with arranged dating happened so quietly and unexpectedly.
I really can’t believe these meddling aunties!
Young people nowadays value their independence and self-expression. Meng Xinyu felt a bit displeased for not having her subjective will respected. However, Shu Chen apologized sincerely, and like her, he was also unaware of the situation. Meng Xinyu’s slight discomfort dissipated. She was still young and hadn’t been tainted by the idea of arranged dating to the point of strong resistance.
Waving her hand, she said, “Forget it, it’s okay.”
Now that she knew the truth and looked at Shu Chen again, she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Meng Xinyu wasn’t particularly concerned about family background; she believed in individual effort and hard work. However, Shu Chen was slender, tall, with fair skin, and a refined appearance. Moreover, she could sense that his character was good. It left her with a favorable impression.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit different.
Shu Chen cleared his throat, feeling a bit warm at the ears, and asked, “Um… can I add you on WeChat?”
Meng Xinyu’s face was also a bit warm, but she confidently took out her phone and said, “Sure.”
They added each other as friends, and before leaving, Shu Chen said, “Say hello to Ji Anning and Wen Yu for me.”
Watching his car drive away, Meng Xinyu sighed in relief. Her face was still a bit warm.
When she saw Ji Anning, Meng Xinyu told her about the arranged dating incident.
Ji Anning took a while to recover from the shock.
In her previous life, these two individuals had no connection at all. Although Meng Xinyu and Shu Chen were both good people, Ji Anning wasn’t a middle-aged woman with matchmaking thoughts. She had never whimsically thought about bringing these two together.
Never thought in this life…
“So… what are your thoughts?” Ji Anning asked.
Meng Xinyu’s face turned slightly red, “What thoughts can I have? He hasn’t indicated any interest in me.”
However, Ji Anning knew that although Shu Chen had a good temperament, he wasn’t an air conditioner. Asking for Meng Xinyu’s WeChat was a subtle expression of interest.
The matters between two people should not be interfered with too much by others; they should be allowed to follow their natural course. Ji Anning didn’t expose anything and just smiled.
Meng Xinyu, who had never had a boyfriend, lacked experience in this area and blushed at Ji Anning’s teasing.
Even though she didn’t admit anything verbally, in private, she sneakily browsed Shu Chen’s Moments (Friendship Circle) on WeChat.
It was filled with things related to anime and the joyous excitement overflowing the screen when showing off newly acquired figurines.
Meng Xinyu: “…” Feeling like she wanted to cover her eyes.
But then again, she found it quite cute.
After Shu Chen went home, he browsed Meng Xinyu’s Moments and discovered that her life was particularly simple. It mainly consisted of posting selfies and pictures with female classmates; she rarely posted solo selfies and wasn’t someone obsessed with taking them.
After contemplating for a while on how to start a conversation with Meng Xinyu, Shu Chen decided to approach the topic from something he was familiar with, abandoning typical openings like “Are you there?” or “What are you doing.”
“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but this anime is really good, I recommend it to you,” he said, attaching a link below. It served as a conversation starter.
Meng Xinyu replied, “I’ll check it out.”
Then she asked, “So, you really like anime?”
Shu Chen said, “Yes. That’s why after graduation, I didn’t want to work nine to five. I wanted to do something I love, so I opened an anime-themed café.”
Meng Xinyu mentioned, “Anning mentioned it before.”
The first chat was a success.
Two days later, Meng Xinyu suddenly replied, “It’s really good! Is this the only season? I really like XX and XX!”
Shu Chen looked at his phone, revealing a satisfied smile.
Ji Anning’s wedding was scheduled for July, taking place on an overseas island.
Wen Guoan, Wenyu, and Ji Anning, three unrelated individuals, miraculously had no plans for a grand, luxurious, business-oriented wedding. They chose a low-key and intimate celebration.
They only invited genuinely close people.
On Ji Anning’s side, she only invited Meng Xinyu.
If we consider the connections from their past lives, Ji Anning also wanted to invite Shu Chen. However, in this life, her relationship with Shu Chen was too shallow. It would have been awkward and forced to invite the manager of the coffee shop where she had worked for only two months to attend her overseas wedding. Thus, she had to give up on that idea.
However, in June, Ji Anning told Wen Yu, “Add one more guest.”
Wen Yu asked, “Who?”
Ji Anning said, “Shu Chen.”
Wen Yu said, “Huh, didn’t you say not to invite him?”
Ji Anning smiled, “He’s now Meng Xinyu’s boyfriend.”
The wedding was small in scale due to the limited number of guests but was very exquisite.
The Wen family booked the entire island, and the wedding took place on a white sandy beach. The bride and groom were very young, one handsome and the other beautiful.
They made promises to each other under the floral arch, exchanged rings, and kissed each other.
Then, the bride tossed the bouquet, which landed in the hands of her best friend.
They looked at each other and smiled.
Life might have had its challenges, but it was sure to get better.
For me, and for you too.
Sansukini: I ship this couple and I’m glad the author decided to pair them.
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Thank you for the chapter!!!
Thank you for reading.
Meng Xinyu and Shu Chen pair is too cute
Shu Chen is a catch! He can cook, and can clean, he’s kind, he has his own business too. Now that Anning and WY are married, that Sun girl must be green with envy
Really glad that he was given his own partner in the extra.
Me too!! I shipped them since their existence. Two single yet likeable characters? Impossible not to ship!