CH 3

Someone so impressive on the surface but actually so stingy deep down, Zhou Qingbai thought.

Zhou Qingbai had never been on a blind date before, and he didn’t know the current rules in the blind dating scene. But he had seen plenty of people complain about bizarre blind date candidates on social media.

Although the man in front of him didn’t fit into that category yet, he seemed to be treading on the dangerous edge.

Zhou Qingbai casually adjusted his posture, then loosened his collar with his fingers, attempting to create a little room to breathe in that awkward atmosphere.

“Well,” Zhou Qingbai smiled, “This is my first blind date, and I don’t have much experience. If there’s anything I’m not considerate about, Mr. Pei, please don’t mind.”

Pei You rarely saw a blind date partner as considerate as Zhou Qingbai, and his impression of him improved even more. He quickly responded, “It’s okay, I have experience.”

Zhou Qingbai: “…”

Help, Zhou Qingbai thought, how should I respond to that?

Zhou Qingbai was caught off guard for a full two seconds before managing a dry chuckle. He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, not saying anything further.

The two of them fell into silence for two to three seconds. Pei You seemed to sense something from that stifled atmosphere. He put down his cake fork, carefully thought for a while, and considered that Zhou Qingbai was worth getting to know more. So, he decided to move the conversation forward.

” Mr. Zhou, would you like to get to know each other first?” Pei You said, “So that we can have a deeper understanding of each other.”

Zhou Qingbai was contemplating what excuse to use to escape when he snapped back to reality upon hearing Pei You’s words. He politely agreed, and it seemed that the topic had entered Pei You’s comfort zone. He put down his coffee cup, straightened his posture, and formally began his self-introduction.

“I’m surnamed Pei, Pei You. I’m 29 years old, from Jiaxing, Zhejiang. My family is complete, and I have a younger sister who is eight years younger than me and currently studying in Beijing.” This prepared speech seemed to have been rehearsed many times, as Pei You smoothly recited it: “I have a master’s degree in finance, and I’ve been driving for six years. Currently, I’m employed at—”

“Wait, wait a minute,” Zhou Qingbai said with a wry smile, “You don’t need to be so detailed; this isn’t a matrimonial advertisement.”

Pei You didn’t quite agree with that. He had come for that blind date precisely to get to know each other, and if they couldn’t even share basic information, then deepening the conversation was out of the question.

“I think this objective information helps us understand each other,” Pei You said seriously. “When dealing with people, there are always preferences. As strangers like us, getting to know each other’s situations early on can help decide whether we should continue developing… It’s more efficient this way.”

He said that, so Zhou Qingbai couldn’t really make him relax; otherwise, it would seem like he didn’t value that meeting. All he could do was nod vaguely and respond with a couple of “uh-huh.”

“That makes sense too,” Zhou Qingbai said.

Pei You’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He had been on many blind dates before, and most of the candidates were either the nephews of some aunt’s sister-in-law or the godson of some uncle’s teacher. They were impatient and would often leave after just a few words, hardly interested in discussing their future with him peacefully.

However, Zhou Qingbai seemed different from them. He appeared reliable, understanding, and more communicative. He seemed like a good person.

Moreover, the most important thing was that Zhou Qingbai’s personality seemed similar to his—steady and pragmatic. He probably wouldn’t find Pei You too bland.

With these thoughts in mind, Pei You decided to add another piece of information cheerfully.

“By the way,” Pei You said, “Because I am currently in a rising period in my career, I don’t have plans or the ability to buy a house in Beijing for now. However, if my future partner has residency requirements, we can discuss it together.”

Pei You considered himself traditional. For him, once a romantic relationship was confirmed, it meant committing to each other’s future. Such significant life decisions should be made with mutual compromise and consideration.

“Of course, Beijing’s housing prices are indeed quite expensive,” Pei You calculated his assets in his mind and felt a bit embarrassed, “If we buy a new house, we would each need to contribute a portion of the funds… Of course, we can have this expense notarized in advance to safeguard each other’s property.”

Feeling extremely complex, Zhou Qingbai leaned back in his chair, lowered his eyes slightly, and sent a message to his secretary under the table, asking them to call him at the earliest opportunity, ready to find a way to end that absurd blind date.

He was multitasking, sending a WeChat message to his secretary while saying, “Actually… isn’t it too early to talk about this? We haven’t even emotionally understood each other yet.”

Pei You thought about it and found Zhou Qingbai’s point valid, so he nodded and agreed, “You’re right. Emotional matters are more important. If we find our feelings aren’t compatible after communicating, it would be a waste of time for both of us.”

Zhou Qingbai thought that Pei You was overthinking. He knew from the beginning that their auras clashed.

“Right,” Zhou Qingbai said, “Why don’t we talk about each other’s deal-breakers? Things we absolutely can’t accept.”

Best if I can trigger all his deal-breakers, Zhou Qingbai thought, and then we can politely say goodbye.

“I don’t really have any,” Pei You thought for a moment and said, “Other than ethical issues, I don’t accept casual sex.”

Zhou Qingbai: “…”

Just after sending a message to his secretary, Zhou Qingbai was caught off guard by that statement. His hand slipped, and he accidentally sent a long string of exclamation marks back.

“I think, after a stable emotional relationship is established, then we can consider sexual intimacy. That way, we’ll be more responsible to each other,” Pei You explained earnestly.

Is this guy gay for real? Zhou Qingbai skeptically wondered. Ge Xing wouldn’t be so shameless as to set him up with a bisexual for a blind date, right?

Zhou Qingbai was a singleist himself, but all his friends were carefree. Though they didn’t go wild every night, they were open to casual relationships when they found someone they liked. None of them had encountered someone like this model gentleman.

His feelings were extremely complicated. Seeing Pei You’s eyes shining as if he had discovered some rare species, Zhou Qingbai couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked, “Stable… how long?”

Pei You hadn’t thought about that before, but he pondered for a moment and gave a vague answer, “A year… at least.”

Alright, Zhou Qingbai sincerely respected him, thinking that Pei You was a senior member of the male virtue class.

In the world, there are a thousand tastes, with those who prefer casual relationships and those who prefer serious commitments. Nevertheless, in the gay circle, there probably weren’t many who preferred serious commitments.

—Unless the person can’t perform.

Now Zhou Qingbai believed Pei You’s claim of “having experience.” With Pei You’s method of blind dating, finding a suitable partner seemed as difficult as finding a ghost.

However, regardless of all that, it had nothing to do with Zhou Qingbai. He followed his principle of “less is more” in life and politely smiled, saying, “Sounds good.”

After that statement, he didn’t initiate any more topics. Combined with Pei You not being great at socializing, the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence again.

That baseless silence felt very familiar. Pei You stirred his half-cold coffee with a spoon, realizing that he probably hadn’t done well again this time.

In a short period of time, showing one’s charm to strangers is an art. Pei You had always excelled in academics since childhood, but when it came to interpersonal communication, he was always a bit awkward. Until now, he hadn’t learned how to present himself appropriately in front of a blind date.

That silence lasted for about three minutes. Zhou Qingbo felt so embarrassed that he started sweating on his back and gripped the floor with his toes for a while before finally receiving a rescue call from his secretary.

As the phone rang, Zhou Qingbo breathed a sigh of relief, pretending to respond on the phone with “um” and “ah” for quite a while. Finally, he furrowed his brow and said, “I’ll be right there.”

Pei You noticed that he had urgent matters to attend to, so he waved to the waiter so he could pay the bill.

Zhou Qingbo still had the impression that Pei You was stingy, so out of habit, he wanted to split the bill, but Pei You remembered Pei Zi’s instructions and insisted on paying himself.

At first, Zhou Qingbo thought it was just fake politeness, but to his surprise, Pei You actually went head-to-head with him in several rounds of tug-of-war over the bill. At one point, Zhou Qingbo’s phone almost fell onto the couch.

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

After a moment of speechlessness, Zhou Qingbo felt a mix of anger and amusement. He wondered where Gao Xing had found this Buddha-like Pei You.

He felt embarrassed to argue with Pei You in front of the waiter, so he took a step back, watched him pay the bill, politely smiled at him, and exchanged WeChat contact as customary before using the excuse of having something else to do and left.

After pretending to be a social elite all morning, Zhou Qingbo was exhausted. As soon as he stepped out of the restaurant’s door, his shoulders slumped. He walked a little farther and looked back to see that Pei You didn’t follow him, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He gritted his teeth and called Gao Xing.

Gao Xing, who had a habit of staying up late, must have been waiting for a reply, as he answered the phone right away.

“Hello,” Gao Xing said with a smile, “It’s over? How did it go?”

“I…” Zhou Qingbo was about to get angry from Gao Xing’s tone, but he held back the curse that came to his lips and said, “This is just a scam! What does this have to do with matchmaking? He acts just like my elder brother!”

Zhou Qingbo was the second eldest in the family, with an older brother named Zhou Cangshan who was seven years older than him. Zhou Cangshan was an exact replica of their father—strict, cold, and serious. He had served in the military when he was younger and had a no-nonsense attitude. Zhou Qingbo had received his fair share of beatings from him due to his mischievous behavior.

Because of his experiences with Zhou Cangshan, Zhou Qingbo was afraid of meeting serious people. When he sat across from Pei You, he felt like any frown from him would lead to a scolding, and the mental pressure was too much to handle.

“And, moreover—” Zhou Qingbo had a lot of complaints, originally intending to say that Pei You was stingy, but then he remembered that Pei You paid for the bill, so he held back that remark.

“And he almost made my shirt wet!” Zhou Qingbo continued to vent, “You know what? He doesn’t even accept casual sex! After a year of dating, he would only hold hands. Forget about grown men, my great grandmother’s chastity archway is less strict than him!”

Gao Xing couldn’t help but burst into laughter on the other end of the phone, barely able to catch his breath as he spoke, “Well, that’s good. He’s honest and serious, just right for you. In the future, you’ll have someone who can keep you in check at home.”

“What home are you talking about!” Zhou Qingbo was like an angry cat with its tail stepped on, immediately jumping up three feet high. He retorted with a lack of patience, “Let me tell you, Gao Xing, in this lifetime, even if I starve, I will never live together with that poker-faced, pretentious guy!”