**124. Blind Date in Progress**
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Liu Xuefei looked stunning today, dressed in a beautiful white sleeveless gown, sporting a light makeup that cleverly concealed any flaws on her face. Standing next to her brother, she radiated a certain “I’m such a delicate little bird” vibe.
However, let’s not forget, this is actually a creep who’s living out his fantasy of dressing girls up to go out!
Lin Nan pursed his lips. As Wu Guodong stepped forward, Lin followed closely behind.
It had been a while since he last saw Liu Xuefei. Sure, they occasionally had classes together, but those big lectures were packed, making it hard to spot her. Not that he ever bothered to look for her, anyway.
Clearly, Liu Xuefei felt the same; upon seeing Lin Nan, her face showed no reaction. She merely nodded faintly, possibly tricked by her mind into thinking the guy behind her matchmaker was a girl, never considering it could be Lin Nan.
Lin Nan felt a little baffled. Why was she so cold toward him? She used to practically cling to him, urging him to try on girl clothes!
“Old Chen!” Wu Guodong greeted with a big smile. “What do you want to eat today? It’s on me!”
Although he tried to put on a generous front, when his gaze flicked to Liu Xuefei, his expression turned awkward.
The man they called Old Chen glanced at Lin Nan and joked, “What’s up? You planning to introduce me to a girl too?”
“This is my nephew…” Wu Guodong hesitated. “Niece.”
Lin Nan’s face turned dark as he noticed Liu Xuefei looking curiously his way. He quickly ducked behind Wu Guodong.
If Liu Xuefei figured out who he was, he’d never hear the end of it at school!
So he lowered his head and tried to look all shy and demure, hiding his features behind his uncle’s larger-than-life figure, afraid to utter a sound that might give him away.
“I’m just dropping her off at school. I’m not like you, so eager to push your sister into the fire,” Wu Guodong chatted merrily with Old Chen, throwing playful jabs, clearly showing their friendly rapport. But every time his eyes accidentally landed on Liu Xuefei, he tensed up a bit.
This girl was even prettier than in her photos.
He thought about Lin Nan again, though.
With that makeup on, she was about a fifty-fifty match with the bare-faced Lin Nan. Plus, um… this girl had some curves. Lin Nan was definitely more on the flat side…
Wasn’t this blushing beauty just a pretty boy?
“This is my sister, nineteen this year. The family’s been pushing her to settle down fast, so here I am, dragging her out for blind dates,” Old Chen sighed dramatically. “My parents have old-fashioned views; they think girls should get married young. They just don’t get it! But I think you seem like a decent fellow, and she finds your photos quite nice… right, sister?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Liu Xuefei replied, completely devoid of the enthusiasm she had while dolling Lin Nan up last time. She was less interested than a cat watching paint dry.
Wu Guodong, feeling the weight of Liu Xuefei’s indifference, awkwardly led them into a nearby restaurant for a meal.
He had hoped Lin Nan would lend him some courage, but he was surprised to find Lin Nan went full-on mute, not uttering a word as he ducked behind him like a scared rabbit. Weren’t they supposed to be classmates?!
Old Chen continued to vent about his parents’ rigid thinking while Liu Xuefei wore a face full of discontent.
“You won’t believe it. When my sister got into college, my parents didn’t even want her to go! I had just started working, saved a bit of tuition for her, but they wouldn’t even give her pocket money!” Old Chen chuckled bitterly.
“My sister’s a girl, for crying out loud! She needs to buy some makeup and skincare stuff! Her expenses are already way lower than other girls, and she hasn’t taken a cent from home since college. She even works part-time as a makeup artist to earn her keep. But my parents are still insisting she gets married off, saying they need to recoup some costs.”
Wu Guodong couldn’t help but interject, “Isn’t that just selling your daughter?”
“They might as well be! My sister can’t stand them anyway. Just afraid when she gets married they’ll start bleeding her dry!”
Who on earth would ever want to marry this amazing specimen of a sister?!
Wu Guodong’s lips twitched, realizing this colleague had dropped a major liability in his lap. He initially thought this blind date might help him find love, but now he just wanted to finish the meal and run for the hills.
He wasn’t an idiot; spending money on Lin Nan as a nephew was fine, spending on a future wife was fine, but having a money-sucking mother-in-law? No way!
Meanwhile, Lin Nan finally pieced together Liu Xuefei’s family situation. Back when he had her all dolled up, he thought she came from a wealthy family. She even bought a load of makeup! Turns out, it’s actually a different story?
He envied those who could make a living with their makeup skills. But if it weren’t for a responsible brother, Liu Xuefei probably would’ve ended up as some factory worker, gearing up to get married. Forget about being a part-time makeup artist!
Thanks to his father, Lin Nan suddenly found a kindred spirit in Liu Xuefei.
The group of four arrived at the nearby Zhou Mapo restaurant, finding a table for four.
At this point, Lin Nan could no longer hide behind Wu Guodong and had to keep his head down and stay quiet as much as possible.
“Why do you look… familiar?” Liu Xuefei studied Lin Nan for a while before asking, “Do we know each other?”
Lin Nan shook his head like a bobblehead doll.
Then she remembered the time Lin Nan tried to dress up in the cafeteria; he had shaken his head just as frantically.
This déjà vu sparked a light of suspicion in her. Tentatively, she asked, “Lin Nan?”
As soon as she spoke his name, Lin Nan’s face froze.
“It’s really you? You didn’t learn how to do makeup, did you? You looked way worse last time! And what’s with your uncle calling you a niece?”
Lin Nan’s face, already frozen, turned beet red in embarrassment. His voice came out like a mosquito’s buzz, “How am I supposed to know what’s going on in his head?”
Wu Guodong shot a glance at Lin Nan, then at Liu Xuefei, and modestly chuckled, “I thought you two weren’t greeting each other because someone recognized you from your photos. Didn’t want them to think you were weird, so I just called you a niece.”
“???” Old Chen was utterly confused. “A guy? Isn’t he the one you brought here for a blind date?”
Liu Xuefei stepped on her brother’s foot with her high heels, causing the poor programmer to go pale.
“Already got a sister-in-law! Why are you setting me up!”
The previous awkwardness fluttered away as their loud quarrel ignited the atmosphere. Wu Guodong loosened up, chatting casually with his coworker, while occasionally tossing Liu Xuefei a compliment, seeming pleased with her presence.
But Lin Nan still felt a cloud of gloom hanging over him. Being mistaken for a girl just felt like a slap in the face, especially at this moment when his whole world was flipping. It felt like how he’d felt around Lilith before!
Wu Guodong and Liu Xuefei hit it off like a house on fire, trading contact info after their meal, and then they happily headed off to school. Meanwhile, Lin Nan just silently considered how to avoid being mistaken for a girl during all this.
But, uh… was there any way to pull that off?
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The more I owe, the more I want to update!~
