Chapter 271: The Wheel of Fortune Turns
The chat records were deleted, but Lu Liangting knew for sure it was Old Yang’s doing. On the phone, Xia Qingrong had made it crystal clear that the whole “finding a partner” thing was initiated by him sending a message, which is why she was helping to set him up. It was also him who insisted on starting early.
Then, he discovered that Xia Qingrong’s notifications were turned off. It was as clear as day who was behind it—Old Yang had both the motive and the knowledge of his phone password.
Lu Liangting sighed helplessly. Sure, he wasn’t fond of Xia Qingrong, but at this point, what was he supposed to say? He couldn’t claim that the message was sent by his friend just to mess with him.
If he dared to say something like that, Xia Qingrong would undoubtedly run to tell his dad. Then, he would have a pile of troublesome issues on his hands.
With Xia Qingrong’s brain working the way it did, she definitely wouldn’t think about why he, someone who had been rejecting love all along, would suddenly want to find a partner, and especially that the selection of girls would be in her hands.
It was a problem that was obvious even to someone using their foot to think, yet she did it anyway, and she didn’t even bother to verify the message before acting on it.
Of course, it was possible that Xia Qingrong did it on purpose. If she didn’t call to ask, and already had the girls lined up, then he wouldn’t have a reason to refuse—he’d have to go meet them no matter what.
“Old Yang, you really are something else, you know?” Lu Liangting could only muster this one remark.
“How can this be called something else? You’re my good brother. You helped me set up a ghostly marriage yesterday, so as a brother, helping you find a date shouldn’t be a problem, right? You’re not a kid anymore; it’s high time you get a girlfriend,” Old Yang said, feeling like he finally let out a big breath of relief.
Finally, that pesky brat was facing his retribution now!
And this was just the beginning. Old Yang was already impatient to see what Lu Liangting’s blind date would be like; it was bound to be quite entertaining, probably even better than the ghostly marriage he had arranged.
“Although the female ghosts you introduced me to were all twisted and crooked, trust me, I wouldn’t pull any tricks on you in this area. You can rest easy; I know your stepmother’s taste, and I’ll make sure to find girls who don’t smoke, drink, have tattoos, or dance at raves—girls with a good sense of values who won’t be blinded by money.”
At this, Old Yang couldn’t help but chuckle, draping an arm over Lu Liangting’s shoulder like they were the best of buddies.
If no one was aware of their current predicament, looking at this scene would feel quite warm and fuzzy.
Old Yang was half a head shorter than Lu Liangting, and as they locked eyes, their connection was almost palpable. Physically, they had such a “couple-like” look, radiating a happy vibe.
Not far away, Zhao Mingyue found it hard to control her facial expressions; for some reason, she wanted to laugh along with Old Yang.
But she had to admit, Old Yang was quite the trickster. This would undoubtedly lead to some amusing drama later, surely as entertaining as Old Yang’s ghostly marriage event.
In fact, anyone who loved gossip would be intrigued by the whole blind date situation, especially when it concerned their good friend’s romantic escapade. They would absolutely have to ask all about it!
Lu Liangting didn’t retort to Old Yang’s taunts; instead, he approached, “I’ve run into some issues here. Otherwise, I would just take you all home first. I need to return later anyway.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tianan chimed in cheerfully, “No rush! We’ve already dealt with things here, and going home early means there’s nothing left to do. Why don’t we stick around and wait for you to wrap things up?”
“Mhm!” Zhao Mingyue nodded in agreement.
They didn’t want to miss out on something this entertaining—it might not come again!
They had thought about whether staying would impact Lu Liangting, so they decided to gauge his feelings first; if he didn’t want them there, it was just tough luck.
“Manager, this is all Old Yang’s fault!” Lu Liangting complained.
“I know, it’s alright. Even if you really go on a blind date, it’s nothing to worry about. Once I’m there, I can give you some tips. Remember when I was young, like you? I was a flower among flowers, and nothing stuck to me!”
“I was pursued by many girls back in the day, but I turned them all down, and I walked hand in hand with my first love, my wife, into the marriage hall. So, it’s all about skill—trust me, you can’t go wrong!”
Li Tianan patted Lu Liangting on the shoulder, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Just as he finished, he added, “But I guess you won’t need to. Your situation is nothing like mine back then. Even if you’re cuddling up to two girls at once, they wouldn’t complain—not on the surface, at least. They’re in love with you!”
“Sure, they may have only known you for a few days or a month, but they’ve known money for decades!”
Li Tianan’s words carried a deeper meaning, and Lu Liangting picked up on it without arguing back because what he said was true. Anyone recommended by his mother was likely either a rich heiress or someone who would be dazzled by wealth.
“There’s no helping it,” Lu Liangting shrugged, pulling out his car keys. “Alright, if you want to see it, let’s go!”
He said goodbye to Spider and Little Moon before heading out, glancing back at Old Yang, “Let’s go see how your plan turns out!”
Lu Liangting’s car was parked not far from Spider’s house. Li Tianan was in the passenger seat, while Old Yang and Zhao Mingyue sat in the back. She didn’t want to sit next to Lu Liangting. It was fine before, but now in this body, the passenger seat felt off.
Zhao Mingyue turned back and saw the white-haired little girl standing at the door, waving her goodbye.
The girl looked a lot better, even if she still appeared frail, at least there was some color back in her cheeks. Zhao Mingyue suddenly had a fresh understanding of the word “redemption.”
She couldn’t quite pinpoint why, but she felt much more at ease.
Waving goodbye to Little Moon, she wondered when they would see each other again. Maybe she’d come back to check on her if she got the chance.
Without the Evil God around, there shouldn’t be much danger for her anymore.
As they drove toward the other side of the village, Lu Liangting asked, “Are you guys going to come in with me, or wait in the car? If you go in, you might feel uncomfortable. The environment in that house isn’t the best.”
“The daughter married into the wealthiest family in Tianchang City. Climbing the social ladder means that everyone in the village is competing furiously. The older generation lacks education, so they look down on others from their high horses,” Li Tianan explained from the front seat.
“Plus, with the flattery from relatives, it’s only natural things turned out this way.”
Stopping the car in front of the only luxurious villa in the village with a large courtyard, Lu Liangting agreed, “I hate to admit it, but that’s indeed the case.”
“So, are you all coming with me, or staying here?”
“Let’s go in together.” Li Tianan opened the car door and got out.
“Alright then.”
As soon as Zhao Mingyue stepped out of the car, she casually glanced at the luxurious villa, and the next moment, her jaw nearly dropped to the ground in shock.
In the courtyard, a group of meticulously dressed girls stood in orderly lines, chatting amiably among themselves. It looked quite harmonious, with servants delivering tea and bowing out respectfully.
Had she not known this was Lu Liangting’s blind date scene ahead of time, she might have thought they were at some large-scale beauty contest or a rural “If You Are the One” show.
Only someone like Lu Liangting could gather such a crowd of girls waiting for blind dates. She even suspected that if he wanted to date all those girls in the courtyard privately, he could easily do so.
Is this the life of the rich? Wealth really does limit her imagination!
But wait a minute—given Lu Liangting’s status, why was he even having a blind date in the village? Hadn’t his mother considered that?
It wasn’t just Zhao Mingyue who was stunned; the mastermind behind it all, Old Yang, also stood there for a moment in shock after seeing this scene—it was quite different from what he had envisioned.
Shouldn’t blind dates involve Lu Liangting going to the girl’s home? With his status, this was unnecessary. But hosting a beauty pageant in his own backyard was just ludicrous! Was Xia Qingrong’s brain malfunctioning? Didn’t she fear being talked about behind her back in the village?
If they were going to do blind dates, should it not be done one by one? Since when was this a group activity?
Queueing up was already absurd enough, but forming a team pushed it over the edge of ridiculousness!
Old Yang silently reminded himself that none of these girls were Lu Liangting’s type; to him, it was just a meeting of the weirdos that would only turn him off even more.
For some reason, even while trying to comfort himself with such negative thoughts about the girls, he still felt off. It was nothing like he had imagined it would be!
d*mn this jealousy—it was just vile.
Why had those ghostly women from yesterday’s blind date been such misfits, while Lu Liangting just sent a few texts, and then a slew of stunning young ladies lined up for him?
Not to mention their appearances—each one had completely dressed up and didn’t have an ugly duckling among them. They were all young, with excellent figures and poise.
In terms of looks, disregarding values, any one of them could have replaced the ghost girls from yesterday’s date!
“Let’s go,” Lu Liangting beckoned.
To him, ahead was a hellish experience.
He had already decided, since things had come to this, he would just roll with it and let Xia Qingrong know his intention!
As long as the arrangements were perfect this time, there would be no more next time.
Perhaps he should even thank Old Yang.
