"You Pei? Didnât he just get transferred last year?" Over the past few years, a group of their friends have given You Pei many opportunities to meet girls, but he didnât take a liking to any of them. When You Pei left, Liao Ye joked that once he left their group, itâd be even harder for him to find a woman, and he might end up single forever.
"Yeah, itâs closer to home over there, so his mom pesters him about marriage all the time, introducing him to all sorts of girls. At first, their demands were strict, but now, as long as itâs a girl who catches her sonâs eye, theyâre willing to consider any type. Yet, he hasnât agreed to see any of them. The family has no choice but to start mobilizing friends and relatives to help introduce girls. Xiao Pei says that sometimes, he can meet over a dozen in a day in the Capital City. Frustrated, he took an assignment abroad and didnât even go home for the New Year, directly heading to Z City. Heâs been here for over a week. Just a few days ago, his mom called me, asking me to introduce him to a few girls. Iâve thought it over for a few days, but I really donât have anyone suitable around me. The ones who are considered decent, the eighteen or nineteen-year-olds are not suitable, and the slightly older ones, like twenty-four or twenty-five, are already married or engaged. Finding someone of a similar age and suitable is really hard to arrange."
"Lijuan is twenty-five or twenty-six, and although sheâs a lawyer, she could potentially change locations, right? Lijuan." Liang Hongmei thought it was a good match. Just a while ago during dinner, she mentioned that You Pei comes from a good family and holds quite a decent position now. If the two liked each other, it could also save Shen Qing some worry.
"Ah, me?" Hu Lijuan frowned slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed by the direct question. It wasnât that she hadnât dated before, but both times ended without any success. She doesnât hold high hopes for arranged dates now and still thinks that falling in love freely is better.
Besides, she has thought it over: sheâd like to find someone a bit older than her, someone who can take care of her, someone gentle, like Uncle Chen Haichang.
"I think meeting up would be fine. If the two of them like each other, then everything else is not a problem. Donât you think so?" Lin Wan thought it would be okay to meet. She knew You Pei quite well and thought that if they really got married, he would make a very good husband.
"Saozi, I have a train to catch early tomorrow morning; I have to go back. Besides, Auntie already said heâs in the Capital City, and Iâm in S City; the distance is too far, it isnât very suitable." Hu Lijuan was a bit reluctant to meet.
But Liang Hongmei and Aunt Yun were interested.
"Itâs almost the New Year, and youâre going back? Why donât you spend the festival at your big brother and sister-in-lawâs house instead? It wouldnât be too late to go back after the New Year. If your mom doesnât agree, Iâll call her and talk about it," Liang Hongmei said.
"Catching a train early tomorrow morning isnât too late; meeting up shouldnât take too much time," Aunt Yun said, checking the time; it was only a bit past seven. "If Lijuan agrees, Iâll call the army straight away and have Old Ying let You Pei out for the meeting. Driving from the army base to here wouldnât take much longer than an hour."
"Sure, Aunt Yun, why donât you first give You Pei a call? If heâs coming over, weâll wait here," Lin Wan said with a smile.
"Okay, Iâll call right away," Aunt Yun said as she got up immediately.
Liang Hongmei also got up with a smile and said, "Come on, Iâll go with you and give Xiao Wanâs mother-in-law a call, to ask for her thoughts."
The two laughed and walked to the office next door.
Hu Lijuan, left behind, frowned with some reluctance, "Sister-in-law, isnât this inappropriate? If the meeting doesnât go well, wouldnât it just be a waste of time for the two ladies?"
"Thatâs just how arranged dates are. If it doesnât work out, it doesnât work out; you canât force these things... However, You Pei is actually a nice guy. Heâs 185 cm tall and quite handsome. Lots of young girls like his appearance. Originally, your brother and I also helped him find dates. Out of ten, nine of them liked him. Itâs just that he always said no each time." They all knew You Pei had someone in his heart, but after so many years, he should move on, shouldnât he?
Though she never thought about introducing her little sister-in-law to him before.
"Heâs met so many people and never clicked. I guess this time wonât be an exception either," Hu Lijuan mumbled to herself, thinking, "Fine, Iâll meet him. Itâll be over in an hour or two. Those two ladies put a lot of effort into this, so I canât just reject their kindness."
Over there, Aunt Yun made a call to Old Ying and coaxed You Pei into coming over. Yes, coaxed. Because now whenever You Pei hears someone trying to set him up with a date, he leaves immediately after one sentence.
Aunt Yun had her husband tell him to come pick someone up, and they planned that after introducing them, theyâd find various reasons to leave early. Since Lijuan was staying at Xiao Wanâs house, they figured they could have You Pei take her back. On the way, they could probably chat a bit, and theyâd ask him how it went when they returned.
Meanwhile, after calling Shen Qing, Liang Hongmei said she wanted to introduce a match to Lijuan, explaining the guyâs familyâs background so Shen Qing could have an idea.
Shen Qing felt the familyâs status was way too high for them to reach. Plus, after her last visit to Capital City, she was quite put off by those high-status families.
So she didnât want her daughter to get involved with them.
But Liang Hongmei explained, saying how wonderful the man was and how open-minded his family was, unlike the Mei family, saying so much that finally, Shen Qing reluctantly agreed to let them meet. It was just an arranged date, after all; it wasnât certain that they would even like each other.