Zhan Ruoqing didn't believe she possessed the eloquence to change her parents' minds with just a few words.
She spent a day mulling over her thoughts, becoming increasingly convinced of her own reasoning.
The next day, Qi Xuan was once again trending.
This time, an anonymous source claiming to be an internal employee of the Qi Corporation alleged that during work hours, they had approached Qi Xuan to report on a task. Qi Xuan had then extended his hand, proudly stating, "You also think my engagement ring with Ye Zhi looks great, right?"
This employee anonymously posted their complaints online, and many other Qi Corporation employees chimed in, saying their CEO had already boasted about it eight hundred times that day.
Hashtags like #PresidentQiPresidentYeEngagement and #EngagementRingLooksGreat flooded the trending topics. Seeing these, Zhan Ruoqing's face contorted into an expression of disbelief, akin to an old man looking at a phone. This Qi Xuan truly wanted the whole world to know about his engagement with Ye Zhi.
As work neared its end, Zhan Ruoqing received a call from Zhan Li, inviting her home for dinner.
After Zhan Ruoqing returned to the Zhan residence, the family sat down for a meal, a picture of harmony.
Zhan Li inquired about Zhan Ruoqing's work and finally couldn't help but urge her to get married.
Zhan Ruoqing, having anticipated this, began with her prepared words, "Dad, I think marriage is something to be taken seriously; it can't be rushed..."
"You're 28 this year, and you're still not in a hurry!" Zhan Li was thoroughly exasperated. "Daughter, do you still have feelings for Qi Xuan? He's about to get engaged to Ye Zhi!"
"Dad, what are you talking about?" Zhan Ruoqing felt a wave of speechlessness. "How is that possible?! Even if I did have feelings, it would be for Ye Zhi!"
An eerie silence fell over the dining table, and everyone stared at Zhan Ruoqing in shock.
"Ahem, I didn't mean it like that, I'm straight!" Zhan Ruoqing explained awkwardly. "I just wanted you to understand that Qi Xuan isn't true love for me! Just like when I used to pursue him, it didn't stop me from having normal relationships!"
Everyone: ...
Who would describe themselves like a femme fatale?
Zhan Ruofeng cleared his throat and began to cover for her, "I can testify to that. My sister wasn't pursuing Qi Xuan when she was in normal relationships; it was always during the blank periods after breakups, an intermittent pursuit."
"Yes, yes, that's right!" Zhan Ruoqing quickly nodded. "Dad, it's not that I don't want to get married, but before getting married, I need to protect my assets! If I marry someone from a comparable background now, it would be almost like merging two companies. Can I afford to be careless?"
Following this, Zhan Ruoqing elaborated on her carefully considered points to persuade her family.
Zhan Ruofeng looked solemn, clearly agreeing with her, but Zhan Li and her mother, Liang Xue, seemed unconvinced.
"I think you're overthinking it," Zhan Li frowned. "You haven't even interacted with anyone yet, but you're already pre-emptively assuming they'll marry you just to scheme for your assets?"
"Actually, what Qingqing said has some merit; it's not wrong to be cautious," Liang Xue advised from the side. "But Qingqing, what your father said is also right. We need to interact with them first to judge their character, don't we?"
Zhan Ruoqing sighed in resignation. She knew that she couldn't convince her parents with just words.
"Then what do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Go on blind dates," Zhan Li said. "Don't worry, if you truly don't click with them, we won't force you."
"Alright," Zhan Ruoqing agreed.
Zhan Li and Liang Xue were immediately overjoyed. They began enthusiastically briefing Zhan Ruoqing on the potential blind date candidates.
After dinner, Zhan Ruoqing retired to her room, citing fatigue. Before long, she heard a knock on her door.
She opened it to find Zhan Ruofeng standing outside.
"Sister," Zhan Ruofeng said with concern, "Your worries are valid. It's just that Mom and Dad's perspectives haven't caught up yet. Don't worry, I'll help you talk them around. Don't do anything rash and marry just anyone."
"Don't worry, Brother," Zhan Ruoqing said, her heart warmed. "I won't joke about my own life."
"That's good." Zhan Ruofeng breathed a sigh of relief. He ruffled Zhan Ruoqing's hair forcefully, messing it up. "Get some sleep early."
"Get lost!" Zhan Ruoqing shoved him away, closed the door with a sigh, picked up a comb, and her surge of emotion instantly vanished.
***
Soon, the appointed day for the blind date arrived. Zhan Ruoqing arrived at the designated coffee shop right on time, and her date was already there.
Her blind date this time was Zheng Yan from the Zheng family. The two families were considered a good match, and Zheng Yan was the groomed heir of the Zheng family.
Zhan Ruoqing pulled out a chair and said politely, "I apologize, I'm a bit late."
"Miss Zhan, you kept me waiting for five minutes. I dislike people who lack punctuality," Zheng Yan said coldly.
Zhan Ruoqing, who was about to sit down, froze.
She looked at him. Zheng Yan was decent-looking, and his hair was still present. However, his stern expression and his unapproachable aura practically screamed 'overbearing CEO.'
Zhan Ruoqing sat down and smiled slightly, "I didn't expect Mr. Zheng to be so strict. You don't need to dislike yourself just because you arrived five minutes early."
Zheng Yan's expression turned cold, but he glanced at Zhan Ruoqing and restrained himself. He spoke in a frigid tone, "Miss Zhan, I'm a direct person and not good at flattering women, so I'll be frank. I have no objections to a marital alliance between our families, and I am very satisfied with you as a person. After we get married, I won't touch your dowry. Furthermore, I will give you a monthly allowance of 100,000 yuan.
After marriage, your duties will be to take care of my daily needs, manage the household, raise our children, and be filial to my parents. I have a sensitive stomach and cannot eat outside food, so you must personally prepare all three of my meals. I have mysophobia and cannot tolerate clothes washed by a washing machine, so all my clothes need to be hand-washed. I also have..."
Zhan Ruoqing was stunned!
While she had anticipated that this blind date might be unusual, she never expected it to be this absurd!
What kind of bizarre demands were these? Was the Zheng family so poor they couldn't afford servants? And what was this about her post-marriage duties being raising children and being filial to parents? Did Zheng Yan truly know who he was on a blind date with?
"Wait," Zhan Ruoqing couldn't help but interrupt him. She asked suspiciously, "Mr. Zheng, you do know that I am the boss of Zhiwei, right?"
"Yes, I know," Zheng Yan nodded with satisfaction. "You've proven your capability, and you're very suitable for educating our next generation. Therefore, after we get married, you won't need to go to the company anymore."
"Then what about my company?" Zhan Ruoqing asked dazedly.
"Of course, it will be managed by me," Zheng Yan said with an air of self-evidence. "Including Fangxin Rentals, you can hand them all over to me to manage. After we get married, we'll be one family. Do we still need to be so formal?"