Chapter 109: Blind Date

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the most common tradition was paying New Year visits.

Wen Jiu followed her parents to the countryside to call on relatives and offer New Year greetings.

Because she had studied abroad, she had not returned to her rural hometown for several years.

The village had changed beyond recognition. Wen Jiu was astonished by how swiftly the countryside had developed, and once again witnessed how seriously the country valued rural revitalization, along with the concrete actions taken to support it.

Wen Jiu recorded a short video and sent it to Gu Zehuai, telling him where she was.

Gu Zehuai’s family also had people to visit, though for the most part it was relatives coming to the Gu ancestral home to pay their respects for the New Year.

After finishing their rounds, the three of them took a car back to the Wen residence.

In truth, once the first day had passed, the New Year was more or less over. City A had no especially distinctive traditional celebrations, and because it was a region that drew a great many newcomers, the downtown streets were quiet to the point of emptiness. One could even say that the atmosphere of the holiday was almost absent.

Wen Jiu could not bear to stay home. On the second day of the new year, she called Shen Mengxia and asked her out to play.

Shen Mengxia reacted as though she had found salvation, so excited she could hardly contain herself, and immediately made arrangements with Wen Jiu for the time and place.

The moment they sat down, Shen Mengxia began explaining why she had reacted so strongly.

“Jiujiu, let me tell you, I’ve been forced into so many blind dates these past few days that I honestly don’t know what to say anymore. My mom has no idea which lady she listened to, but she’s been arranging them for me like crazy lately, and I can’t even refuse to go. Sigh.”

“Xiaxia, what about you and Senior Ye? How is that going?”

The instant Shen Mengxia heard that name, Ye Chen’s face surfaced in her mind.

Shaking her head, she forced herself not to think about him and said stubbornly, “What do you mean, how is it going? I haven’t even agreed to let him pursue me yet.”

Wen Jiu laughed when she heard that.

She knew Shen Mengxia was not far from no longer being single. After all, in the past, Shen Mengxia would never have considered accepting anyone’s pursuit.

But now, her attitude had clearly changed.

As they chatted, Shen Mengxia gradually steered the conversation back to Wen Jiu.

“Jiujiu, don’t keep teasing me. You and Gu Zehuai are all sweetness and tenderness, but I’m still single.”

Wen Jiu covered her mouth and laughed. “Then you don’t have to be, do you?”

Shen Mengxia pouted. “Jiujiu, you just love making fun of me!”

Wen Jiu quickly begged for mercy and ordered a few more small cakes for Shen Mengxia, trying to appease her.

Little by little, the conversation drifted farther and farther from anything serious.

With a sly, mischievous look, Shen Mengxia eyed Wen Jiu. “Jiujiu, you and Gu Zehuai, have you two ever...”

Wen Jiu hurriedly cut her off. “I know what you want to ask. Don’t ask it. Swallow it back.”

In truth, Wen Jiu did not think Shen Mengxia’s question was strange. Back then, their conversations had been far more uninhibited; by comparison, this was already restrained.

Girls in their youth were naturally curious about matters of sex, and Shen Mengxia and Wen Jiu were no exception.

But most children, from childhood to adulthood, received almost no sex education at all, and knew very little about it.

Shen Mengxia had matured early and understood a bit more than most, so much of what Wen Jiu knew had actually come from the links Shen Mengxia had sent her to study.

How could Shen Mengxia not know that Wen Jiu was embarrassed? She could easily guess as much, so she only smiled and said, “All right, all right, I won’t ask. But I know.”

After saying that, she even brought a hand to the corner of her mouth and mimed zipping it shut.

Wen Jiu was amused by her and laughed, steering the topic away at once.

As lunchtime approached, Wen Jiu received a message from Gu Zehuai.

Jiujiu, where are you?

Wen Jiu sent him her location at once.

I’m out with Xiaxia.

Because most shops were still closed, Wen Jiu and Shen Mengxia were wandering aimlessly around the square. But between walking and talking, neither of them felt bored.

Then, all at once, Wen Jiu stopped, because she had seen a man and a woman walking toward them from not far away.