Until she got off work, Su Tang didn't receive any message from Ren Qingzhou.
Thinking that he must be busy, she didn't call him to disturb him.
Instead, Fang Haoran sent a message saying that he had already arrived.
Su Tang packed up her things and went downstairs.
When going downstairs, she happened to glance at the working group where she used to be. As expected, everyone was there and the lights were on brightly.
Thinking about her recent work state, Su Tang thought to herself that programmers were really not suitable for falling in love.
She had been in a state as if she was about to quit her job recently.
Fang Haoran was still parked at the same spot where he dropped her off in the morning. When he saw her coming out, he even waved at her specifically.
Su Tang got in the car and heard him ask, "What shall we eat?"
Su Tang asked him, "Is there anything you don't eat?"
"I don't think there's anything I don't eat. You decide. I'm fine with anything."
So Su Tang took him to the hot - pot restaurant she often went to with Fang Ting.
On the way, she sent a message to her mom: "Mom, I won't be back for dinner tonight. Don't wait for me."
She and Fang Ting had been there so many times that even the waiters had an impression of her.
"You didn't come with that little girl today?"
Su Tang smiled politely and nodded as an answer. The waiter led them to their seats and then handed them the menu.
Su Tang handed the menu to Fang Haoran first and asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Fang Haoran waved his hand and said, "You can just order."
"Do you eat spicy food?" Su Tang actually hated having meals with people she wasn't familiar with the most. When she asked others what they wanted to eat and they told her, "You decide."
How was she supposed to decide? She really wished they could just tell her what they liked...
But she could only complain in her heart. It would be impolite to say such things out loud.
Su Tang asked politely and politely, "Do you have any food taboos? Do you eat spicy food?"
"I'm really not picky. When we're on shift, we're very busy. We always ask others to bring food for us. We just eat whatever others bring. After a long time, we naturally stop being picky."
Doctors often don't have time to eat when they're busy. If they're picky, they'll starve to death.
After hearing his words, Su Tang said while ordering, "Then I won't be polite."
"Are you usually very busy at work?"
"Busy. There's hardly any idle time." Fang Haoran replied, "But there's no job that's easy these days. I think you're also very busy, aren't you?"
"Our work is in stages. After being busy for a while, we may be a bit more relaxed."
Su Tang ordered some of the restaurant's signature and special dishes, and also picked a few dishes that she thought were delicious. When she thought it was about enough, she called the waiter to place the order and serve the dishes.
After the waiter left, the two of them just sat there bored, not knowing what to say for a moment.
In fact, she and Fang Haoran couldn't be considered familiar at all, but it was also different from an ordinary blind date.
In an ordinary blind date, people would just talk about work and family matters.
They would just perfunctorily say a few words and then find an excuse to leave.
After that, it would just be that they were not suitable or didn't like each other.
Su's mom wouldn't force her to meet the person for a second time either.
Later, Su Tang understood what her mom meant. Refusing to go on blind dates was a matter of attitude and was absolutely unacceptable.
If they were not suitable, they could find someone else. If she didn't like someone, no one would force her.
It wasn't that her mom wanted to marry her off right away.
With this standard in mind, Su Tang changed her strategy in time.
If you ask me to go on a blind date, I'll go. Anyway, whether I like someone or not is up to me. If I don't like anyone, what can you do?
This was called "The higher the skills of the exorcist, the higher the magic power of the demon."
But Fang Haoran's situation was different from those of the previous people.
They had known each other before, and she hadn't figured out Dr. Fang's background yet.
It wasn't appropriate to act rashly and accidentally hurt him.
After all, Dr. Fang was really a nice person.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Dr. Fang decided to start a conversation first: "You've never had a boyfriend before, have you?"
Then Su Tang became visibly uncomfortable.
This topic wasn't a very good one. After all, they weren't very familiar, and it was actually a bit impolite to just come up and inquire about someone's private affairs like this.
"Sorry, I'm not very good at talking." Fang Haoran realized his mistake and quickly tried to make up for it. "I've been studying all the time. After graduating from undergraduate school, I went on to study for a master's degree, and then a doctorate. Before I knew it, it seemed that everyone around me had gotten married, and I was left alone."
After hearing this, Su Tang said, "I went to Tencent right after I graduated. The overtime culture in our company makes people only passionate about work."
"I don't know if it's appropriate to say this to you now, but I still want to ask you."
"I can tell that you don't have any plans to fall in love recently. You're just going on blind dates because your family is urging you."
It was just a formality.
Su Tang had to admit that Dr. Fang was really smart. No wonder he was a doctor.
"I'm just too busy these days. I really don't have time to fall in love."
The main reason was that she actually had a boyfriend, but she couldn't tell others.
Moreover, even if she didn't have a boyfriend, she still really refused the idea of blind dates.
"Me too. I'm already busy enough with the hospital's work. And if I get married, I won't be able to take care of the family. The whole family will rely on the wife. Such a marriage is not healthy."
"But you can't be single for the rest of your life, can you?"
"Of course not. If two people really like each other, they're naturally willing to make some sacrifices for each other. But the matter of blind dates..." Dr. Fang didn't know how to describe it. He thought Su Tang would understand what he meant.
Su Tang indicated that she understood. He was really like - minded with her.
As they were talking, the hot - pot base boiled, and the two of them started to put the dishes into the pot.
Fang Haoran was really not picky. Maybe because they were from the same hometown, their tastes were quite similar.
"I've been in City S for many years, but I didn't know about this hot - pot restaurant. The taste is really good."
"You're usually too busy at work. You really don't have time to go out for a meal. I've never heard of a hot - pot restaurant that delivers takeout."
"That's true. I'm quite familiar with the takeout near our hospital."
They had a pleasant meal.
It was only when Su Tang was about to pay the bill that she realized Fang Haoran had already paid.
"I said I'd treat you to dinner."
"Next time. Just consider it my thanks for letting me discover such a delicious hot - pot restaurant."
"Although I don't like blind dates, if it weren't for our grandmas, maybe we wouldn't have gotten familiar so quickly. It's good to make a friend. Can I be considered your friend now?"
"Of course. We're very suitable to be friends."
Fang Haoran sent her back and then went home.
As soon as Su Tang got home, she thought her mom looked very kind today.
Sure enough, her mom took her bag and asked gently, "Who did you go out for dinner with today?"
Su Tang thought her mom was really well - informed. "A friend. Just a friend."
"I'm telling you, this young man Fang is really a good one. I..."
Su Tang quickly interrupted her and said, "Mom, I'm going to sleep!"
Su's mom understood the principle of "extremes meet." She thought she couldn't push too hard, or it would easily arouse her daughter's rebellious psychology.
"Okay, okay, okay. Go to sleep. The Dragon Boat Festival is coming in a few days. Won't you go back with me?"
"You're going back?"
"I can't let your dad spend the Dragon Boat Festival alone. You go back with me too. You're all by yourself here."
"Okay, then I'll book the air tickets."
"Okay. Wait a minute. I'll ask Grandma Li if she wants to go back with me. She's old. She needs someone to take care of her on the way."
"Okay. Let me know after you ask."
When Su Tang got back to her room, she saw a missed call from Ren Qingzhou.
She was used to keeping her phone on silent, so she didn't hear his call on the way.
So she called him back directly.
Ren Qingzhou answered the call quickly.
"Working overtime again?"
"Yeah."
Su Tang answered vaguely.
Lying was really a bad thing. Su Tang only deeply realized this old saying at this moment.
One lie needed countless other lies to cover it up.
"I've been filming all day and night. I was really exhausted when I got back. I just fell asleep and didn't hear your call."
"Get a good rest." Su Tang felt that she was running out of words.
Fortunately, Ren Qingzhou still had something to say and didn't ask her about the overtime. "Do you have a holiday during the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"Yes. We usually have holidays on legal holidays. But I may go back with my mom this Dragon Boat Festival."
"You're going back to your hometown?"
"Yeah. Will you come back during the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"Probably not. It's good for you to go back." Ren Qingzhou paused for a while and then continued, "I probably won't be able to go back to City S. It would be really lonely for you to spend the festival alone. And your dad must miss you."
When he said this, Su Tang suddenly thought that he had to work on the film set during the festival. It was so miserable.
"Maybe I should go to the film set to see you instead of going back with my mom."
"The film set has been very busy these days. I won't have time to take care of you even if you come. Don't come. Remember to bring me something delicious when you come back."
"Okay. I'll bring you the zongzi my mom made. But do you southerners usually eat meat zongzi?"
"Sweet zongzi is okay too. I'm fine with anything." Ren Qingzhou indicated that he would accept anything his girlfriend brought back.
"Then you work hard. See you after the Dragon Boat Festival."
It had been a while since they last saw each other.
Just as they were talking, they heard Su's mom knocking on the door outside. "Putong, are you asleep?"
Su Tang was so startled that she jumped.
"My mom is calling me. I'll stop talking to you now."
She hung up the phone and opened the door. Her mom was standing outside and said reproachfully, "Why do you lock the door when you're at home?"
Su Tang changed the subject and asked, "What's up?"
"Grandma Li and Fang are also going back. See if it's more convenient for us to buy the tickets separately or together."
"Let's buy them separately. Dr. Fang will take care of Grandma Li."
Buying the tickets together would require sending personal information, which was really a bit troublesome.
"Okay. Go to bed early."
"I wonder how your dad is doing at home alone..."
Su's mom said as she walked back.
Su Tang knew that her mom really missed her dad. Their relationship had always been very good. It was also because of them that she would look forward to love.
Because love was not something illusory. It was right beside her.