Chapter 273: Old Yang Is My Choice
Sitting on the couch, Old Yang was as calm as a cucumber, completely ignoring the weird looks from the relatives around her. She was engrossed in a chat with Zhao Mingyue, making it seem like she was boasting about her brilliant plan.
“Honestly, that first girl was a total bust. She was completely the opposite of what Lu Liangting likes. I’m not hating on her for the perm, dye, and tattoos—everyone has the right to their style! But Lu Liangting also has the right to say ‘no thanks.'”
“You were in the same class as him at school, so you should know that.”
“Not just him—I can’t accept it either! Seriously, just looking at her feels so unsteady.”
“And the second one? No major problem with her looks, but her insides? Yikes!”
“Did you see how she cursed when she left? That look in her eyes? After chatting for ten minutes with Lu Liangting, she probably sealed her fate.”
Crossing her arms, Old Yang shook her head, clearly in a much better mood. As long as she could torment Lu Liangting and make him wear a mask of suffering, her plan was a success.
Zhao Mingyue, sitting awkwardly to the side, laughed nervously. “Haha, you make a good point.”
If it weren’t for this atmosphere, she’d love to discuss this further with Old Yang. She really wanted to share her thoughts, especially to critique how fast Lu Liangting was moving—seriously too quick! It was like within minutes everything was over. Did he even bother to chat a little longer with those girls?
If he added all their contacts, he’d end up with twenty numbers! Can you imagine him messaging each one? He’d go completely bonkers!
Across the room, Lu Liangting’s uncle had an extremely odd expression.
Did the girl really not have a clue about relationships? Was she completely oblivious to the atmosphere?
It was so tense that everyone had gone quiet. How could she not notice?
Exchanging glances with the other relatives, the man spoke up, “Hey, you’re Yang Tianji, right? Can I ask how close you are with my nephew? From what you’re saying, you seem to know him quite well. He’s the son of the chairman of a famous company in the country, you know.”
“I know that—he’s definitely loaded.”
“So you…”
“Me? I’m just an ordinary person, not nearly as wealthy as Lu Liangting’s family, and I have no connections.”
“Are you kidding me? Hahaha!” Lu Liangting’s uncle seemed skeptical, thinking Old Yang was joking.
“I’m not, seriously just a regular person. What’s wrong with that?” Old Yang tugged at her clothes. “Have you ever seen a rich person wearing this?”
As soon as she said that, the relatives’ faces visibly darkened; the forced smiles vanished.
Taking a closer look, it was true. Old Yang was wearing no fancy jewelry, and her clothes looked like they were from a budget stall.
“Hey, I remember Lu Liangting’s dad is the president of the business association, right? That’s quite the status; he ranks among the elite nationwide.” A relative chimed in, and soon others nodded in agreement, praising the Lu family’s influence.
“The girls we brought this time don’t match Lu Liangting’s background, but at least they’re somewhat wealthy! Didn’t your niece just return from studying abroad last year?”
“Are you talking about Yanyan? Yes, she got a degree overseas.”
“If it works out with her, that’d be great! Such a girl would be worthy of Lu Liangting’s status. You can’t just pick someone at random, or everything will be ruined.”
“Exactly! In the past, it was all about matching social status. Nowadays, it’s not as strict, but at least there should be some compatibility, right?”
“Who knows if it’ll work? Let’s give Lu Liangting more options so he won’t miss out on the big things in life. If it really doesn’t work out, we need to tell him to be careful of some people out there; they’re definitely after his money. Don’t let him get scammed.”
The relatives were chattering, and even Zhao Mingyue could tell there was a double meaning in their words. Of course, Old Yang picked up on it too but didn’t care at all, calmly sipping her tea.
“You know, that’s not quite right. If it were like you’re saying, would Lu Liangting even come here for blind dates? He’d be off searching for those society ladies or heiresses, you know! Those are called gala dances, not lined-up blind dates.”
“Of course, I’m not just talking about the blind dates but also this venue.”
“Think about it: why would Lu Liangting come here to date? Does he think he’s in some rundown place, with no fancy hotel or yacht?”
This little speech left the relatives speechless, their faces turning sour.
They seemed to have forgotten a crucial detail: the owner of this villa, Xia Qingrong, married Lu Liangting’s father from a position they looked down on. Their words slandered Xia Qingrong without them even realizing.
“True, we might be poor, but hey, at least this is Lu Liangting’s grandmother’s and grandfather’s home. Isn’t it fine for him to find dates here?” Lu Liangting’s uncle said in a low voice, not even bothering to look at Zhao Mingyue anymore.
He had wanted to talk to Zhao Mingyue but kept getting interrupted by Old Yang.
“I think it’s fine too! So I believe there’s an issue with what you just said. Social status is important, yes, but what really matters is whether the two people fit well together. Just look at the couple right in front of us! Auntie Xia and Uncle Lu are living quite happily, aren’t they?”
The man hesitated, and the relatives around him couldn’t find a comeback or reason to argue. If anyone disagreed now, they would be insulting Xia Qingrong, considering a lot of them were somewhat aware of what level she started from.
“Here we go again.” Old Yang suddenly turned her head as she spotted the third girl heading toward the backyard.
This girl didn’t seem too bad; at least Old Yang couldn’t see any immediate issues.
“Feeling like another failure.”
“Why?” Zhao Mingyue instinctively asked.
“Can’t say, just a hunch.”
Zhao Mingyue rolled her eyes. Seriously, that was a waste of a question! This whole blind date thing was Old Yang’s doing to set Lu Liangting up, and since he didn’t want to find a partner anyway, it was safe to say every girl in this lineup was destined for failure.
Sure enough, not long later, that girl also met with failure, her head down and a very unhappy expression.
Maybe to these girls, Lu Liangting seemed too proud and unfriendly. With a little money, he thought he was all that, right? Just two words into a conversation, and he was already out of steam.
The relatives sat in silence, all their eyes glued to Old Yang now. They thought the biggest threat would be Zhao Mingyue, but it turned out it was far from that.
The living room was eerily quiet, even Xia Qingrong had nothing to say.
But from her gaze, she was clearly upset.
Feeling the pressure, she knew if she kicked someone out, Lu Liangting would give her a cold shoulder right in front of everyone, and heavens knows what they’d say about her behind her back.
She was already a target of their gossip; if Lu Liangting added fuel to the fire, it would validate all those nasty comments they made.
The girls were leaving every ten minutes on average.
After a while, they would walk out with their heads down.
Old Yang was rather amused by the speed; she was dying to see Lu Liangting’s expression right now.
Finally, the tenth girl appeared, and Zhao Mingyue perked up.
This girl was one of Bai Yu’s old friends! She actually showed up! Wonder how Lu Liangting would pick this time.
To everyone’s surprise, less than three minutes later, loud commotion erupted from the backyard. The servant responsible for keeping an eye on the girls hurriedly rushed in front of Xia Qingrong, whispering something. Xia Qingrong’s face changed, and she quickly stood up to check what was going on.
“I’ll handle it. Isn’t it just a case of a girl refusing to leave Lu Liangting’s side? I know what to do.”
Old Yang stood up and locked eyes with Xia Qingrong.
Surprisingly, Xia Qingrong didn’t say a word and nodded, signaling Old Yang to follow her.
Her plan was pretty straightforward: find a chance to pull Old Yang aside, have a private chat, and offer her some money to keep her away from Lu Liangting.
So far, this was the only solution she’d come up with. Using money was the simplest and most direct approach.
Girls like her with no money and no background were easy to send off. Besides, she didn’t look like she was genuinely interested in being with Lu Liangting.
Just give her some cash to clear up the trouble—it wouldn’t be a loss.
Meanwhile, in the backyard, the short-skirt girl was clinging to Lu Liangting’s sleeve, refusing to let go, even trying to plant a passionate kiss on him.
The two servants were panicking, but the girl was too strong, easily tossing them aside.
“Mrs. Xia, what should we do?” The servant approached Xia Qingrong in a hurry.
In the little garden of the backyard, the girl kept babbling on, insisting that the things she could offer Lu Liangting were unparalleled.
In fact, many female madmen had told Lu Liangting similar things before.
“Hey, friend, why don’t we cool it down here?” Old Yang stepped in.
“Is this the right place to cause a scene?”
The girl turned to glare at Old Yang, giving her a warning look.
“Look, you’re all here to compete fairly. If you keep doing this, everyone will fail.”
When the girl didn’t stop, Old Yang went for broke. “You know the doctor, right? She’s in the house now. If you break the rules, be careful she won’t follow them either. You might miss your chance to come back next time!”
The moment those words left her mouth, the girl’s expression changed, slowly releasing her grip.
“Doctor?”
“Don’t believe me? Why not bet on it?”
The girl hesitated but then finally agreed. “Fine.”
With that, she turned and left, not forgetting to signal Lu Liangting to call her when he had a moment.
Once the girl left, only a few of them remained in the backyard.
Lu Liangting looked at Xia Qingrong, then glanced at Old Yang, and in that moment of confusion, he took a step toward Old Yang.
Ignoring her stunned expression, Lu Liangting grabbed her wrist decisively.
“No need for anyone else. I’ve made my choice.”
