The blind date location was chosen by Lai Zhiyun.
It was a firepot restaurant not far from her house, a ten-minute walk away.
Upon entering the restaurant, Lai Zhiyun's gaze went straight to the few corners.
There were two men sitting by themselves, both facing the entrance, so she could see their faces clearly.
One had an average look, while the other was exceptionally handsome.
If her dad's words had any truth to them, then she should probably…
Walk to the left.
Lai Zhiyun walked up to the man, neither too fast nor too slow.
Since she hadn't seen a photo, she couldn't be one hundred percent certain that this man was her blind date, so she tentatively asked, "Zhou Liao?"
"Hello, I'm Zhou Liao."
The man stood up to greet her.
As he stood up, Lai Zhiyun looked up and immediately felt the pressure from his height.
He was a head and a bit taller than her.
By estimation, he was definitely around 187 cm.
"Hello, I am Lai Zhiyun."
After speaking, Lai Zhiyun sat down first.
Without waiting for him to speak, she got straight to the point, "Although this is our first time meeting, I think it's better to be straightforward."
"I'm here today because my dad paid me to come, and I actually don't have any plans to date for now, so…"
Should they still have this meal?
If he didn't want to waste time, the blind date could end right now.
Lai Zhiyun has always been a straight talker. She made her stance clear and left the decision to stay for the meal up to Zhou Liao.
"Since we're here, why don't we order first?"
Zhou Liao showed no surprise at Lai Zhiyun's candidness.
He passed the menu over with an unperturbed expression, a faint smile flickering in his eyes.
At this moment, he couldn't help but remember what He Yannian said to his dad about Lai Zhiyun.
—My younger daughter studies music, is pretty, has some talents, and everything about her is good, but she likes to blurt out harsh truths.
"I like meat."
Taking the menu, Lai Zhiyun didn't play coy. Since they were there, they might as well eat to their hearts' content. "Three servings of fatty beef, would that be too much?"
"Not at all, I like meat too," said Zhou Liao, who, before Lai Zhiyun, picked up his phone to order by scanning a QR code.
"Then we'll have two servings of the other meats?"
"Sure."
"How about brain flower, do you eat that?"
"Yes."
"Then let's get two servings of that too." Lai Zhiyun asked further, "Can you handle spicy?"
"Yes, should we get a spicy soup base?"
"Mm-hmm. You can choose the vegetables, I'm good with anything," Lai Zhiyun said, putting down the menu in her hand.
At that moment, a server approached their table and waited.
"Just a moment," Zhou Liao politely told the server.
Then he turned to Lai Zhiyun, "Let's also add sliced lotus root, a platter of bamboo shoots and mushrooms, baby cabbage, and deep-fried dough sticks. Do you want rice?"
"No."
"Noodles or glass noodles?"
"No."
She wanted to save room for meat.
"What about drinks?"
"Orange juice."
"Okay."
Zhou Liao looked down at his phone, busy with it, while Lai Zhiyun watched him.
Checking out his face.
Pleasing to the eye.
His nose was high and straight, his facial lines smooth, and his skin was also in very good condition.
Perhaps because he was genuinely handsome, or he was too lazy to bother, he didn't style his hair, keeping it a simple and refreshing buzz cut.
With no bangs over his forehead, his long eyelashes stood out like little fans as he looked down.
His skin wasn't pale, but a wheat color, with no dark circles under his eyes. His vigor was visibly good, indicating he probably had regular habits, a good lifestyle, and self-discipline.
Over the phone, Old He's description of him was very brief, merely mentioning he was quite good-looking, which left her with little space for imagination.
But now, sitting face to face and seeing him in person, his outstanding appearance did have a visual impact.
Zhiyun couldn't help but think, "He's only twenty-five and his family is already urging him to marry? Aren't they a bit too anxious?"
"Okay, that's it for now."
After they finished ordering and the waiter walked away, Zhou Liao turned back around and caught Zhiyun staring at him. "Is there anything else you want to order?"
"No, that's all."
Caught ogling the handsome man, Zhiyun didn't blush nor did her heart race. "I noticed your eyelashes are quite long, so I took a few extra looks."
"You pay attention to detail," Zhou Liao said calmly. "Shall we add each other on WeChat?"
Zhiyun didn't refuse.
"I'll scan you."
Picking up their phones, they added each other on WeChat.
It was somewhat coincidental; both of their profile pictures were of dogs.
Zhiyun's profile picture was of a Golden Retriever, while Zhou Liao's was a Shiba Inu.
Naturally, the conversation shifted to their dogs.
At that moment, the atmosphere was rather pleasant.
For a pair of strangers on a blind date, having something to talk about was already a good beginning.
Plus, the restaurant served dishes quickly.
As soon as one conversation ended, the food had already been served.
Having eaten only half a cucumber for breakfast, Zhiyun was already quite hungry.
In front of delicious food, the attractiveness of the handsome man Zhou Liao quickly faded.
The hot pot broth's aroma was strong and domineering, compelling Zhiyun to breathe deeply, inhaling a big whiff.
Delicious!
With nimble movements, she mixed a flavor dish and started eating right away.
Zhou Liao wasn't much of a talker, but he was very perceptive.
Seeing that Zhiyun was solely focused on eating, he tactfully didn't rush to make conversation, instead joining her pace and heartily eating meat.
By the end of the meal, they had developed a level of tacit understanding.
Neither of them restrained their appetites.
They ate heartily until everything was gone, even the vegetable leaves under the slices of meat were consumed.
"Wow! Look at the table next to us, they can really eat!"
A voice exclaimed from the table next door, separated by a perforated partition.
"Did you only notice how much they can eat? That guy is so handsome, and the girl seems to not be wearing makeup, huh? Her natural face is so beautiful, shockingly so! They look even better than the couple I ship online, two levels higher in appearance, so well-matched!"
"But, they don't seem very familiar with each other. When they first came in, I vaguely heard them introducing themselves to each other. Could it be a blind date?"
"Then their matchmaker must be quite reliable! At least in terms of appearance, they are well-matched."
"To look so good and still need a blind date?"
"They must have been urged to marry by their families. The woman's attitude seems very perfunctory; no makeup and the dark circles under her eyes are quite noticeable."
"..."
Zhiyun: "..."
The group of girls at the next table chatted excitedly, their voices not particularly quiet, so their conversation did not miss a beat reaching Zhiyun's ears.
She thought: Sisters, at least have the courtesy to lower your voices when discussing others.
As they were sitting at the same table, she could hear them, and it was highly likely that Zhou Liao could too.
But looking at his calm and composed demeanor, it was as if he had blocked out the surrounding noises.
So, if he wasn't embarrassed, Zhiyun felt there was no need for her to be embarrassed either.
After being full, she was in a splendid mood, finding everyone especially pleasing to the eye. Zhou Liao paid the bill without her making a scene about splitting it.
All in all, today's blind date went rather well.
Most importantly, the food was very satisfying.