SFS Chapter 113 Pre-Blind Date Phase
Chapter 113 Pre-Blind Date Phase
The "Shanghai Trip for Impoverished Children from Welfare Home" activity organized by Yang Xiuyuan, under the organization of Zhang Liangjun and Ji Xiaotong, progressed very smoothly. Only one child bumped into something while going up the stairs, but was not seriously injured.
Two days later, all the children were returned to Daishan Welfare Home safely and without a single one missing, thus successfully completing the activity.
Although the children all went back, Yang Xiuyuan stayed behind.
Zhang Liangjun returned to Qingjinxuan after get off work in the afternoon.
As soon as Yang Xiuyuan saw Zhang Liangjun enter, she said, "Liangjun, come and sit here. I've already arranged with your Aunt Xia. The time is set for the afternoon of the day after tomorrow at the Qiantang Tea House. I'll go with you! You probably don't have any plans yet, right?"
Zhang Liangjun, still confused, asked, "I really don't have anything planned for the day after tomorrow, but what are we going there for? To the tea house for tea?"
“You forgot? When you went home last time, I told you about the girl your Auntie Aixia introduced to you! She also works in Shanghai. When she heard I was in Shanghai, she called me and asked me to take this opportunity to meet her.” Yang Xiuyuan explained with a smile, “Aixia said she spoke highly of you to the girl’s parents, and the girl’s parents value you a lot. They will also come to Shanghai the day after tomorrow.”
Zhang Liangjun understood. "Oh, okay, since it's all agreed, let's go."
Yang Xiuyuan was overjoyed when she saw that Zhang Liangjun had agreed. "Then I'll tell Aixia right now!"
"So, what you just said, 'it's definitely the day after tomorrow,' was all a lie? It wasn't accurate at all!" Zhang Liangjun felt like he'd been tricked.
Yang Xiuyuan disagreed with Zhang Liangjun's statement, "You can't say that. Aixia said that both sets of parents agreed. Oh, by the way, your Aunt Xu came by today, talked to me for a while, and then left."
Zhang Liangjun paused for two seconds before saying, "I understand."
Aunt Xu is Qu Xiaoxiao's mother, and her name is Xu Lilan.
Zhang Liangjun knew that Xu Lilan had come because of Qu Xiaoxiao. Qu Xiaoxiao was already twenty-four, but she followed Zhang Liangjun around all the time, sometimes not even coming home. Xu Lilan had talked to Qu Xiaoxiao and even argued with her a few times, but to no avail. Qu's mother, Xu Lilan, knew that this daughter was beyond redemption, so she wanted to help her. Building a good relationship with Yang Xiuyuan was one of her methods.
Xu Lilan is a person with connections and abilities. She played a significant role in helping Qu's father build a business worth hundreds of millions from scratch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to easily drive Qu's father out of the company and transfer it to Qu Xiaoxiao.
Zhang Liangjun was somewhat wary of Xu Lilan, after all, she was a ruthless woman who dared to harm even her husband. However, with Qu Xiaoxiao in the middle, he wouldn't be too overtly cautious, maintaining a facade of harmony while remaining wary behind the scenes. But from childhood to adulthood, Xu Lilan had never had any issues with Qu Xiaoxiao; she possessed a profound and unwavering maternal love!
…………
Qiantang River Tea House.
Although it's called a tea shop, it's more like a restaurant, a mid-range restaurant specializing in tea.
Before they even agreed on a time, Yang Xiuyuan hurriedly urged Zhang Liangjun to go and wait for them, lest they be late. As a result, the two arrived half an hour earlier than the agreed time.
Less than ten minutes later, an aunt who looked very, very familiar but whose identity I couldn't quite place walked over, followed by a pot-bellied, greasy middle-aged man.
An older woman who seemed familiar asked, "Excuse me, are you Zhang Liangjun?"
Zhang Liangjun quickly stood up. "I am Zhang Liangjun. Hello, Auntie! Hello, Uncle!" Zhang Liangjun suddenly felt that the blind date was a bit awkward, and even his greetings sounded like those of a primary school student.
Yang Xiuyuan also stood up and took the initiative to shake hands with the familiar aunt, "You must be Guanguan's parents! Hello, I am Xuejun's mother."
Yang Xiuyuan inwardly complained, "Who calls their daughter a nickname based on a repeated part of her surname? Wouldn't that create chaos? The whole family would be Guan Guan! The daughter would be Little Guan Guan, the husband would be Big Guan Guan, and the father-in-law would be Old Guan Guan?"
"Yes, yes, hello! Hello! Please sit down, you don't need to stand up," Guan Juer's mother said politely, and the four of them sat down accordingly.
Although Zhang Liangjun sat down, his mind was racing. What had he just heard? 'Guan Guan's parents'—that familiar face! He remembered now; those were veteran actors! He was going on a blind date with Guan Ju'er? Ha!
I glanced around furtively and spotted several security cameras. Excellent! They can record Guan Juer's expressions from every angle!
What was originally a casual blind date suddenly became alluring.
Guan Juer has been extremely busy lately. Her education and abilities are actually somewhat limited, especially since she's only recently joined the company and her familiarity with various tasks is still relatively low. Often, what others can do in one hour takes her more than two hours to complete, and sometimes, if a crucial problem goes wrong, the entire task has to be scrapped and redone.
This situation is quite common among new employees. The worst-case scenario is that their mistakes cause significant losses to the company, leading to disciplinary action and potential claims for compensation. Of course, such critical work is generally not assigned to new employees; otherwise, if an accident occurs, the supervisor will also bear joint responsibility and suffer the consequences.
Guan Juer received a call from her mother in the afternoon, and was very happy to hear that her parents had suddenly come to Shanghai. Feeling nervous, she asked her team leader for a night off, promising to finish the paperwork that night. The team leader, a woman in her forties who had likely worked her way up from the bottom, was both amused and exasperated by Guan Juer's overly cautious nature, and kindly extended the deadline by half a day.
When Guan Juer arrived at the tea shop, her mother was already waiting outside.
Guan Juer greeted her mother first, "Mom!"
"Guan Guan, you're finally here! What happened? Why are you so slow!" Guan's mother led Guan Juer into the teahouse, complaining that Guan Juer was late while tidying up Guan Juer's messy hair and collar.
Guan Juer felt a little wronged, "I rushed here as soon as I got off work, but it was still a bit late."
Once they reached the table the four had reserved, Guan's mother began praising her daughter, "Our Guan Guan is just too dedicated to her work! Even though the boss has told her to leave, she won't!"
Guan Juer saw three people sitting at the table. One was her father, and the other two, with their backs to her, appeared to be a mother and her children based on their clothing. Suddenly, a word that seemed incredibly distant flashed through her mind: "blind date"!
"Dad!" Good family upbringing has ingrained manners into Guan Juer's bones. Even if she has something on her mind, she will still greet her parents when she sees them.
Fathers of only daughters usually dote on their daughters more than mothers, saying things like, "Hey, come here. Sit down and have some water."
Guan's mother pushed Guan Ju'er to sit in the middle seat of the table, so that the three of them could sit on the same side.
Guan Juer's bottom had just touched the chair, and before the two had even exchanged energy, the chair immediately felt her bottom moving away from it.