Beijing Colors Lingering

What's it like to go on a blind date with your best friend's uncle?

Qiao Yunshu expressed her surprise and embarrassment at this.

At that moment, in the beautifully decorated coffee shop, Qiao Yunshu and the man sitting opposite her looked at each other.

A few days ago, Qiao Yunshu's mother arranged several blind dates for her, but she resolutely refused them after learning the consequences.

However, under her mother's constant nagging, she eventually accepted and went to meet her blind date partners one by one.

Qiao Yunshu had no choice but to go through the motions and arrived at the agreed location. When she saw the man's appearance, she was suddenly stunned.

Her blind date turned out to be He Sinian.

Qiao Yunshu wasn't interested in blind dates, so when her mother introduced the other person, she didn't listen carefully at all, let alone look at the photos her mother sent her.

Since she was already there, Qiao Yunshu decided to make the best of it and go through the formalities first, so she calmly sat down in her seat.

Immediately afterwards, He Sinian also sat down.

Before long, his expression returned to normal, and he curled the corners of his lips into a smile. "What a coincidence, the person I'm going on a blind date with is you."

He Sinian originally planned to meet his blind date for the day and leave quickly, so he didn't even ask her name.

However, his thoughts quietly changed at this moment.

Qiao Yunshu nodded upon hearing this, and awkwardly added, "It is indeed a coincidence. I didn't expect it to be you."

At this moment, the coffee shop waiter handed the two of them drink menus and asked them what they would like to order, which broke the slightly awkward atmosphere.

Next, the waiter brought over two cups of coffee.

He Sinian looked at Qiao Yunshu and asked directly, "Did you go on blind dates often before?"

Qiao Yunshu shook her head and smiled helplessly, "It's not often. My mother only arranges blind dates for me occasionally."

He Sinian leaned back and said lazily, "My parents are always arranging blind dates for me. We meet whenever they have time, but it's all just perfunctory and a formality."

"Hmm." Qiao Yunshu nodded slightly.

Perfunctory?

I figured that was her plan too, it was just a formality.

He Sinian pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Qiao Yunshu, I want to discuss something with you."

"What is it?" Qiao Yunshu stared at him, looking puzzled.

He Sinian tapped the table lightly with his well-defined fingers, his brows furrowing slightly.

After a long pause, he spoke slowly and deliberately: "I can tell that you, like me, don't like blind dates and don't want to accept arranged marriages. Why don't we get together first, so we can stop these boring blind dates? Once you find a man you like in the future, we'll end this."

Qiao Yunshu was stunned after hearing He Sinian's words and asked him, "You mean we should pretend to be dating to appease our elders and temporarily avoid blind dates?"

He Sinian nodded and continued, "You don't have to agree to me now. You can think about it carefully first and tell me your decision in a few days."

Qiao Yunshu pursed her lips. "But I have to meet other blind dates tomorrow. My mother has arranged several blind dates for me this time."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Sinian's face froze in surprise.

Soon, a faint smile appeared on his lips as he said, seemingly jokingly, "Then you'll have to consider me first."

Qiao Yunshu chuckled softly and told him the truth: "Actually, I was prepared to just go through the motions and had no intention of agreeing to be with anyone."

He Sinian raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "Plans usually can't keep up with changes. You can seriously consider my suggestion."

Qiao Yunshu took a sip of her iced latte, pondered for a few seconds, and then nodded, "Then I'll think about it carefully."

"I look forward to your answer." He Sinian looked at Qiao Yunshu and chuckled softly.

Over the next two days, Qiao Yunshu met several more blind dates, but she would only chat for a few minutes before pretending to have something to do and leaving in a hurry.

The following evening, Qiao's mother stopped Qiao Yunshu, who had just entered the hall, and said to her with a smile, "Yunshu, do you still remember He Sinian, whom we met a couple of days ago?"

Qiao Yunshu, puzzled, nodded and asked, "I remember, what's wrong?"

Qiao's mother explained to her, "The He family wants to form a marriage alliance with our Qiao family. If you have feelings for He Sinian, our two families can start preparing for your engagement."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Yunshu was stunned, still unable to process what she had just heard.

Didn't He Sinian say they would pretend to be together first? How did it turn into an engagement?

When Qiao Yunshu didn't answer, her mother thought she was unwilling and continued to say to her, "If you have no feelings for He Sinian, then forget it. You can choose someone else."

Qiao Yunshu pondered for a while before replying, "Mom, let me think about it."

"Hmm." Mrs. Qiao nodded, then added after a few seconds of thought, "If you don't like them, then we can talk about it later."

"Okay, I see."

-

The next afternoon, He Sinian appeared at Qiao Yunshu's dessert shop.

The man's tall and slender figure stood by the door, as elegant as a pine tree.

Qiao Yunshu had just finished her work when she looked up at He Sinian and their eyes met instantly.

Qiao Yunshu felt a sudden stirring in her heart and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

He Sinian's looks and figure are quite outstanding, which is actually her type.

She quickly came to her senses and invited He Sinian to sit down first.

The two then sat by the window, where the bustling crowds outside contrasted sharply with the elegant and quiet dessert shop.

After the waiter brought over two drinks and two desserts, Qiao Yunshu asked her question: "Didn't you mean the other day that we should pretend to be together to avoid boring blind dates? How did it suddenly turn into getting engaged?"

He Sinian spoke calmly and slowly: "An engagement will make both our families believe that we are really together. When you find a man you like in the future, we can just find some reason to break off the engagement."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "If you don't meet someone you like in the future, we can still stay together until we get married."

Qiao Yunshu pursed her lips, lowered her gaze, and fell silent. She did not answer He Sinian immediately.

He Sinian could tell that Qiao Yunshu was struggling with her decision, so he naturally wouldn't force her to give an answer right now.

After a while, He Sinian slowly opened his mouth and said, "Wait until you've thought it through before making a decision. There's no rush."

Qiao Yunshu nodded slightly upon hearing this and replied, "Then I'll think about it some more."

He Sinian didn't say anything more, picked up a delicate silver spoon, and scooped out a small piece of cake.

After tasting it carefully, he spoke in a deep, soothing voice: "It tastes very good. Did you make this cake yourself?"

Qiao Yunshu nodded, "Yes, this is the tiramisu I made today."

He Sinian ate another small piece of tiramisu and said casually, "Then I'll come to your shop to eat cake whenever I have time."

"Come on over, I'll definitely welcome you," Qiao Yunshu said with a smile.

A few days later, Qiao Yunshu agreed to get engaged to He Sinian.

Qiao Yunshu knew very well that she would eventually accept the arranged marriage. Rather than being with a stranger in the future, she would rather choose He Sinian, at least she would know him.