Zhan Li's expression was a bit unnatural. With a hint of apology, he said, "We were inconsiderate about the previous matter. We should have been more cautious regarding Qingqing's marriage and vetted the other party's character more thoroughly. However, Qingqing, people like Zheng Yan are certainly a rare minority. You should still go on blind dates. Of course, if there's anyone you dislike, we absolutely won't force you."
Zhan Ruoqing nodded. She wasn't against blind dates herself, she just hoped her parents wouldn't be too hasty in the matter and would give her the reins. With her objective achieved, Zhan Ruoqing naturally had no objections.
However, Zhan Ruoqing never expected that her subsequent blind dates would introduce her to such a diversity of species.
Following Zhan Li's arrangements, she went on one to two blind dates a week. But many of the people she met later were even worse than the previous Zheng Yan. After all, Zheng Yan, though greedy, was decent in terms of material conditions, and they were considered a good match. As for the other blind date candidates, they were truly peculiar in their own ways.
Because Zhan Ruoqing rejected them so quickly and frequently, Zhan Li even suspected she was deliberately causing trouble and had Zhan Ruofeng go on a blind date for her.
The blind date candidate Zhan Ruofeng went to meet seemed fine at first glance. Apart from lacking capability, everything else was quite good. More importantly, the person showed no interest in Zhan Ruoqing's company or personal assets.
However, Zhan Ruofeng was cunning. He didn't rush to judgment. Instead, he befriended the man, and they went to a bar to talk about everything under the sun. After a few drinks, the man treated Zhan Ruofeng as a confidant and spilled everything.
It was then that Zhan Ruofeng learned that the man had many mistresses on the side. He even hoped Zhan Ruofeng would help persuade Zhan Ruoqing that after marriage, it would be best if they both lived their own lives without interfering with each other. This infuriated Zhan Ruofeng so much that he almost beat the man on the spot.
Later, Zhan Ruoqing shared this story as gossip with Ye Zhi. She genuinely didn't expect to be discussing gossip related to herself with her good friend one day.
Ye Zhi listened with great interest and even became a regular follower of the 'serial'. Hearing that Zhan Ruoqing had another blind date that day, she proactively called to hear the story.
"Ruoqing, how was the person you met today?" Ye Zhi asked with interest.
"Don't even mention it," Zhan Ruoqing sighed. "Today's was even more absurd. He seemed very nervous after seeing me. I was about to say something to ease the atmosphere when, guess what he said?"
"What did he say?" Ye Zhi pressed.
"'I heard Zhiwei was founded by you, so let me test you,'" Zhan Ruoqing continued speechlessly. "I almost thought I misheard! I didn't even register what he was asking."
Ye Zhi: ...
How arrogant did this person have to be to want to test the boss of Zhiwei in front of her?
"You didn't engage him, did you?" she asked.
"Of course not! Did I give him the face to answer him when he asked?" Zhan Ruoqing sneered. "I directly questioned him if he intended to steal trade secrets and even called a lawyer on the spot, threatening to see him in court. He was so intimidated that his face turned pale, and he ran off immediately."
"Boss Zhan, you're mighty!" Ye Zhi chuckled. She asked with some surprise, "But it sounds like your blind date candidates this time are worse than before?"
"It's all because my mother is desperate and willing to try anything," Zhan Ruoqing sighed. "My mother has a few friends she does beauty treatments with, and this blind date candidate is a relative of one of those friends. They're not from our social circle. Who would have thought it would turn out like this..."
"You seem to be stuck in a misunderstanding," Ye Zhi suddenly said.
"What misunderstanding?" Zhan Ruoqing was startled.
"Your blind date candidates are all around your age. Why not broaden the scope?" Ye Zhi asked curiously.
Zhan Ruoqing said with some frustration, "These past few days, I've met almost all the eligible bachelors of marriageable age in our circle. If I broaden the scope, I'll only find divorced individuals or those much older than me."
Ye Zhi said half-jokingly, "Who says you can only find someone older than you? Or, you could consider dating a younger man."
"Find someone younger? Let me think about who I know who's younger..." Zhan Ruoqing smiled mischievously. "Hey! Your brother would be good! We know his background, and he's quite good-looking!"
"That could work," Ye Zhi said with amusement. "As long as you're in love, I'll be very happy for you to become my sister-in-law."
"No, no, no, I was just kidding," Zhan Ruoqing said with a frightened expression. "Even a rabbit doesn't eat grass near its burrow! Come to think of it, when I was in university, your brother was still in elementary school, wasn't he?"
"That's true. But true love shouldn't be hindered by age," Ye Zhi smiled faintly. "Perhaps your destined one is still studying right now?"
"Then he'd better be an adult. I don't want to wait too long," Zhan Ruoqing said half-jokingly.
After chatting for a few more minutes, they hung up the phone.
The successive failed blind dates also frustrated Zhan Ruoqing's family, and they quieted down for a while. However, before long, Zhan Li arranged another blind date for Zhan Ruoqing.
Zhan Ruoqing initially thought it would be just an ordinary blind date, but on the day of the meeting, the blind date candidate changed the meeting location to a bar.
Zhan Ruoqing was suspicious. What was this blind date candidate planning? She couldn't help but call Ye Zhi to voice her confusion.
"The bar he chose is a quiet bar," Ye Zhi said with some doubt.
"Yes, and his reason is also quite normal," Zhan Ruoqing frowned. "He said a younger brother from his hometown works at a bar, and that brother asked for leave due to illness, asking him to help out at the bar for a day. He couldn't make it to the original location, so he changed it to the bar. I find it really strange that he changed it to a bar, but if he really wanted to do something, why choose a quiet bar?"
Ye Zhi was speechless. "How have your blind date candidates now reached the point of working in a bar?"
"Because my parents 'broadened the scope'," Zhan Ruoqing explained with a wry smile. "They now think that since there's no one suitable in our circle, they'll consider finding a live-in son-in-law, as they'll be easier to control. This blind date candidate was actually an old university classmate of mine. He's a top student from a small town. After finishing his master's degree, he joined my family's company. My father met him a few times incidentally and was quite satisfied with his capabilities, so he arranged this blind date."
"Wait a moment," Ye Zhi said. After a pause, Ye Zhi's voice came from the receiver again. "You go ahead. Qi Xuan knows the owner of that quiet bar. If anything goes wrong, someone will protect you."