Chapter 12: If Marriage Were a Blessing...

Li Yunchu felt as if she had encountered all the eccentric characters in the world, but then again, perhaps there simply weren’t many normal people left. Everyone seemed a little unwell.

The young woman sighed. She had already ordered the dishes, but before the food arrived, the other person had left. And now she was stuck paying the bill.

She truly felt swindled. With only three thousand yuan a month, so many unnecessary expenses kept popping up. Even if she wanted to run now, it was too late—the waiter was already bringing the dishes. Tears involuntarily slipped from the corner of Li Yunchu’s mouth.

Well, she thought, I might as well eat… Consider it a reward for myself.

Li Yunchu took out her phone and checked her balance. Fortunately, payday was coming soon. Suddenly, a profile picture flashed beside her Moments feed—it was Pei Siyie. His WeChat avatar was a cloud.

She had seen his Moments before; he rarely posted anything. Wait, there was one photo—a cloud.

She opened her phone again and saw that he had just posted a new Moment: "Just finished a three-hour surgery." There was also an address attached.

Curious, Li Yunchu clicked on it and realized it was only a few hundred meters away from where she was. Had he just left the hospital and was about to head home?

She didn’t like the post, so she went back to the chat screen and saw her mother calling. She answered.

"Yunchu, how was the blind date this afternoon?"

Li Yunchu felt a headache coming on as she recounted the day’s events to her mother.

"Mom, I can’t finish all these dishes alone. Why don’t you come over for dinner? I’m paying anyway."

"Mom, can I stop going on blind dates? Do you really trust me to marry any of these people?"

"Of course not," her mother replied. "That’s why… no more blind dates from now on."

Li Yunchu: ?

Is this for real?

Had her mother finally changed her mind?

"Mom thinks she can’t trust any of those guys you meet; they’re too unreliable. She thinks you should only marry Pei Siyie to put her mind at ease."

"By the way, you said you’re eating alone, right? I won’t come, but send me the address. I’ll have Siyie go. He just finished surgery, probably hasn’t eaten and must be tired. Hurry, hurry."

Her mother hung up without giving Li Yunchu a chance to refuse.

Reluctantly, Li Yunchu sent the address. She hadn’t planned to get involved with Pei Siyie any further, but her mother was so eager to set them up.

Li Yunchu felt this was not a good omen.

She put down her chopsticks. Pei Siyie would be here soon; she might as well wait and eat together. Otherwise, it would seem as if she was eating someone else’s leftovers.

Less than ten minutes later, Li Yunchu saw the man walk in.

She stood and waved at him. "Dr. Pei."

Pei Siyie saw the young woman waving at him sweetly and softly from inside, looking as well-behaved as ever. A faint smile curved his lips as he quickened his pace toward her.

In truth, he had known she was here all along.

Endless blind dates were no good for him either. He had finished his surgery two hours earlier. When he learned she was going on yet another blind date, a strong sense of urgency gripped him.

He found a middle-aged couple and got the man escorted away.

Being Pei Siyie’s rival in love required certain qualifications. He ran a few small shops but couldn’t offer Li Yunchu a carefree life.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Li Yunchu shook her head quickly. "No, you only just got here."

She looked at the man before her—upright and dignified, his posture sharp and commanding. He seemed very different from the man she had met on their first blind date.

A thought crossed her mind, and she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

"Hmm? Am I funny?" Pei Siyie asked, his eyes flickering with curiosity but quickly returning to calm.

His gaze settled on the soft strands of her hair, fluffy and likely pleasant to the touch. If only she could lean into his arms.

He wanted to help wash and style her hair, to care for her gently as one would a child.

Li Yunchu’s hair was soft and thick.

She shook her head.

"No, it’s not that."

Her face flushed slightly as she quickly suppressed her smile. "Dr. Pei, I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"When you came to the blind date that day, did you deliberately dress to look fierce, even smoked, to make the blind date fail?"

Though Li Yunchu didn’t know Pei Siyie well, she never felt he was someone who smoked regularly. Whenever she saw him, there was no trace of smoke on him. Men addicted to cigarettes usually carried a faint smell—her male colleagues at the office were like that.

Pei Siyie paused.

He hadn’t intended to sabotage the blind date.

He had hoped it would succeed, that she might like him, but things had gone awry.

His friends even teased him, saying he was a spirited young man, but without his looks, the girls would probably avoid him every time.

He narrowed his eyes, and since she had given him an opening, he took the chance.

"I didn’t know what kind of person the blind date was. Miss Li and I shared the same thought—not willing to settle—so I resorted to that method."

Li Yunchu found it amusing and blushed. "So Dr. Pei also does things like that."

Pei Siyie’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"If I could do it over, I probably wouldn’t act that way."

"Miss Li, you can forget about that day. Let’s start anew and get to know each other properly."

Li Yunchu immediately lowered her head, the smile disappearing from her face.

Why… why did it circle back to this again?

She bit her lip and hesitated to answer.

Pei Siyie watched her for a while, noticing her retreat and avoidance.

If her hesitation was because she disliked him, that would be one thing.

But if it was due to outside reasons, that seemed unfair to him.

He thought he should clarify with her.

"Miss Li, do you dislike me so much that you don’t want to get to know me?"

Li Yunchu shook her head. Though it was hard to say, she didn’t want to lie.

"It’s not about you, Dr. Pei. It’s my own reasons. The more my mother pushes, the less I want to get married."

"If marriage were a good thing, there wouldn’t be so many blind dates. Everyone would marry willingly..."

Her voice was soft, uncertain if Dr. Pei could understand.

Probably not. People’s thoughts were practical. Saying such things might make her seem naive.

"Marriage, for a girl, indeed involves many sacrifices."

"I shouldn’t say this—it sounds hypocritical—but I also don’t want my wife to compromise or sacrifice because of marriage. If she chooses not to have children, that’s perfectly fine."