It was the end of the year again. No matter how many troubles there had been in the past year, a new year was approaching. After a year of work, it was time to pack up and go back to one's hometown.
Su Tang's hometown was in Yuncheng, an 18th - tier city in the north. Although it couldn't compare with the prosperity of City S, it was full of human touch.
Su Tang felt that although Yuncheng had been changing over the years, walking in this city where she had grown up, every place she saw was imprinted with her memories, making her feel extremely cordial.
Most importantly, her family was by her side. Since she started working, she rarely had the chance to go home. City S was far away from Yuncheng. Except during the Chinese New Year, she hardly had the opportunity to meet her parents. Thinking of this, Su Tang started to consider what Fang Ting had said. The capital city, if nothing else, was much closer to home than City S. She could spare some time to come back and accompany her parents.
Generally speaking, going home for the Chinese New Year should be a warm occasion, except for one thing - blind dates.
Mrs. Su seemed to have finally caught hold of Su Tang. She couldn't wait to arrange a blind date for her every day.
Su Tang was walking on the main road, with her mother's nagging echoing in her mind.
"The son of Aunt Wang I told you about last time, the one who's a university teacher, is really nice. Go and meet him. It won't hurt. If it doesn't work out, you can just be friends."
To be honest, Su Tang wasn't interested in Aunt Wang's son at all. Her own love life was already in a complete mess, and her mother was just adding to the chaos. She was really annoyed.
However, it was obvious that Mrs. Su was ready for a long - term battle. She was determined to achieve her goal. So Su Tang decided to end this quickly.
Meeting Aunt Wang's son wasn't a big deal. If he wasn't satisfied after the meeting, it wasn't her fault.
Yuncheng was a small city, and there weren't many suitable coffee shops. So the two of them settled for a fast - food restaurant.
Sitting on the chair in the fast - food restaurant, Su Tang's eyes were constantly sizing up the passers - by on the street, trying to guess which one was Aunt Wang's son.
The fast - food restaurant had a huge floor - to - ceiling window facing the street, providing an excellent and unobstructed view.
After a while, a man pushed open the door and sat down opposite Su Tang.
I have to say, Aunt Wang's son was a bit different from what she had imagined.
In Su Tang's impression, young university teachers were generally gentle and elegant. But obviously, Aunt Wang's son looked rather mature for his age.
Looking at his slightly haggard face, Su Tang felt a bit awkward. "Hello, I'm Su Tang."
After a simple self - introduction, the two of them started their blind - date journey. The content was nothing more than introducing their jobs, families, incomes, and whether they had a house or a car at home. Generally speaking, it was really unoriginal.
This blind date lasted for a total of one hour. In Su Tang's opinion, this kind of meaningless social interaction was just a waste of life.
After the teacher left, Su Tang finally let out a sigh of relief. He taught ideological and political education at the university, and he could talk non - stop. So Su Tang didn't have to say much. She just needed to say "um" from time to time.
It always made her feel like she was back in her university days, listening to the teachings of the ideological and political teacher.
So when the blind date ended, she always had the feeling of finally getting through an ideological and political education class. Su Tang sighed with relief in her heart. Looking at the beautiful sunshine outside the window, she decided to go out for a stroll.
As soon as she went out, she met an unexpected guest.
Ren Qingzhou swore that he had definitely bumped into Su Tang's blind date by accident. He definitely wasn't stalking her.
As for why he came to Yuncheng during the Chinese New Year, he refused to answer this question.
Su Tang's blind - date partner looked so ordinary, but he was quite talkative. For an hour, she had only seen his mouth moving non - stop, while Su Tang hardly said a few words.
As for why he stared at them for an hour, he also refused to answer this question.
Su Tang was very surprised to see Ren Qingzhou on the street of Yuncheng at this moment. "Why are you here?"
"I heard the scenery here is nice. I'm here for a trip." Ren Qingzhou laughed awkwardly.
I don't believe you. It's winter now. Where is there any nice scenery?
Moreover, Yuncheng was such a small city that you couldn't even find it on the map. Was it really worth traveling all the way here?
"If you want to travel, you should go to Yuehua Temple outside the city. It's the only well - known scenic spot in Yuncheng. You've gone to the wrong place." For some reason, Su Tang felt a bit strange inside when Ren Qingzhou caught her on a blind date.
"I can't find it. I'm lost." Ren Qingzhou looked pitiful.
Every time she saw this look on his face, Su Tang had no resistance. Although she said that he should take a taxi there by himself, her body honestly got into the car with him.
How useless she was.
He was so good - looking. It would be a pity if he really got lost, Su Tang comforted herself.
The taxi driver was a kind - hearted man. Seeing Ren Qingzhou looking like an outsider, he asked enthusiastically in his broken Mandarin, "Are you here for a trip, brother?"
Ren Qingzhou just made some non - committal sounds.
The driver then asked, "Are you two traveling together?"
Afraid that he would promote some messy travel groups to her, Su Tang quickly stopped him. "No, I'm a local."
She could see from the rear - view mirror that the driver had a knowing look on his face. "Brother, you're here to find a girlfriend, right? The trip is just a side thing, right?"
Ren Qingzhou wanted to jump up and give the driver a thumbs - up. Brother, you're so perceptive. You can even tell that I'm here to find a girlfriend!
Su Tang was speechless about the two of them. Brother, turn your head and take a look! Am I a match for him? I'm not!
For the next twenty minutes, the driver kept sharing his insights on how young people should fall in love. Su Tang felt like she was stuck in her throat and on pins and needles, just like the famous saying.
Finally, they arrived at Yuehua Temple. She got out of the car quickly as if she was escaping.
If she had stayed in the car for another five minutes, the driver would have started talking about having children after talking about marriage. That would have been really terrifying.
Buddhism was enshrined in Yuehua Temple. Su Tang's family didn't believe in these things, and they didn't have the habit of coming here regularly to offer incense. So every time they came, they just regarded it as a scenic spot. Apart from being a Buddhist holy land, the architecture here was also very exquisite and worth seeing.
Su Tang remembered that the last time she came here was when Fang Ting came to Yuncheng, and she accompanied her. She even asked for a love - luck token.
It seemed that all scenic spots would offer things like fortune - telling, praying, and hanging love - luck tokens, which were very ritualistic. In Su Tang's opinion, these things worked if you believed in them and didn't if you didn't. But the things in the scenic spots were usually very expensive. Su Tang thought it was just a waste of money.
In fact, while Su Tang was thinking, Ren Qingzhou had already wasted his money. He also asked for a pair of love - luck tokens.
Looking at the pair of tokens, which were just a bit bigger than Fang Ting's but otherwise looked the same, Su Tang was speechless.
Damn capitalism! Do rich people buy things so casually? The one in his hand was more than twice as expensive as Fang Ting's.
Su Tang felt bad about the money, even though it wasn't her own...
Ren Qingzhou didn't believe in these things either, but he just thought it was fun. He handed a small token to Su Tang. "The people in the temple said that if you write your wish on it and hang it on that wall, it will come true."
I know that no matter what I want, I have to work hard for it, including you. But I still want to make a wish to the gods and Buddhas here, hoping that you'll be happy. Of course, it would be best if it's related to me.
Su Tang complained, "This is a love - luck token. It's for two people to hang together to pray for love, not for general blessings!"
Ren Qingzhou readily responded, "Then you hang it with me."
Su Tang was really convinced by him. How could there be such a cheeky person in the world!
"No, I don't want to be on the entertainment news." Su Tang refused firmly.
"You're overthinking it, sister. Even if someone sees us, they'll probably just think it's something made up by fans. There must be my name on the tokens on this wall. Do you believe me?"
Yes, yes, yes. You're so famous. You're the most famous in the universe. Su Tang was too lazy to argue with this childish guy.
Ren Qingzhou still took a pen and wrote down his wish. Then he secretly hung it on the wall full of tokens.
Out of the principle of not wasting things, Su Tang took the remaining small wooden token and planned to write something on it.
But she didn't know what to write. Poems and songs seemed too pretentious, especially since her love life was now in a bit of a mess...
Well, it didn't seem to be completely empty anymore...
Su Tang turned her head slightly and could see Ren Qingzhou carefully hanging the token on the wall. He was extremely good - looking. His facial features were as perfect as a sculpture carved in proportion, three - dimensional and profound. Every time Su Tang saw his face, she would be a bit dazed and feel a bit unreal.
Just now, when facing that talkative political teacher, Su Tang admitted that she had been distracted.
In a trance, she seemed to see Ren Qingzhou sitting opposite her. He wouldn't talk so much. In fact, just sitting there and smiling at her would make her happy.
People are very deceptive. They deceive themselves and others. Sometimes they even start to believe their own lies. But in fact, how can they deceive their own hearts? Whether you like someone or not, just ask yourself when it's quiet at night, and you'll get the answer.
Su Tang fell silent. Maybe she really should ask her own heart.
Ren Qingzhou knew that Su Tang was looking at him. He was always very sensitive to other people's gazes, so he immediately noticed her secret peeping.
In an instant, he became nervous. He didn't know what to do. This feeling was just like when he first stepped onto the stage. Even though he had made full preparations, his heart still raced a bit.
He was always afraid of doing something wrong and making others think he wasn't perfect.
Now he had passed the age of pursuing perfection, and he knew that many things couldn't be forced. But no matter how many truths he understood, when facing the person he liked, he would still be shy, nervous, and turn back into that innocent child.
He wanted to show his best side and let her know how special he was.