CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER 25 MY BLIND DATE, A BIT STRANGE!

He clicked on the contact card. An attractive avatar of a woman popped up: Annie.

He sent a friend request with a note: "Introduced by an acquaintance."

With so much spam these days, it was hard to get added without a note.

Seeing that the request hadn’t been accepted yet, Sun Dasheng got up, washed his face, and ate breakfast. When he checked his phone again, the friend request had been approved.

She had even sent a message: "Acquaintances get a 20% discount."

What? What’s that supposed to mean? Sun Dasheng was utterly confused.

He sent a "?" back.

[Annie: Sir, this is already the best price. I can’t go any lower.]

[Sun Dasheng: ?]

Since when do you have to pay someone for a blind date?

[Annie: Sir, where are you? I support nationwide ’parachuting.’ Just reimburse my travel expenses.]

[Sun Dasheng: Shanghai City.]

[Annie: That’s perfect! We’re in the same city, so no need to fly.]

[Annie: Sir, just send me an address. I provide in-home service.]

Sun Dasheng was left speechless. The blind date his mom set up for him seemed incredibly shady. Was his mind in the gutter, or was this what it looked like?

He blanked out her name and posted on the almighty ’fishing’ forum, asking for the guys’ opinions. Sure enough, in less than a few minutes, the post was flooded with comments. The unanimous replies from the forum guys confirmed his initial suspicions.

So, he replied to her.

[Sun Dasheng: Do you offer hourly services?]

[Annie: Sir, can you handle it?]

[Sun Dasheng: Don’t worry about that.]

[Annie: Of course, sir. The hourly rate is one thousand, with a two-hour minimum.]

[Sun Dasheng: Alright. I’ll send you an address. Wait for me there.]

「Disneyland.」

By the time Sun Dasheng arrived, she had already been waiting for a while. Her service attitude seemed excellent, earning a mental thumbs-up from him.

Annie wore a red mink coat over a short skirt with black tights, paired with red high heels, completely unfazed by the biting winter cold. After confirming their identities, she smiled and asked where they were going next.

Sun Dasheng pointed ahead. "Where else? Didn’t I tell you to meet me here?"

This question left Annie stunned for a few seconds. It was the first time a client had requested her services at this location. She figured there must be a hotel inside the park, one rumored to be incredibly expensive for a one-night stay. It was a small, pleasant surprise in her otherwise monotonous career.

But to her astonishment, after they entered, he didn’t head straight for a hotel. Instead, she spent the entire day accompanying her client on amusement park rides.

Can you believe it? A client was actually paying a thousand an hour for her to hang out at a theme park. If she told her friends, they’d think she was dreaming.

Halfway through the day, she cautiously brought up the subject of time, but Sun Dasheng just waved his hand dismissively. "Money is not an issue."

He even transferred a 10,000 yuan deposit to her WeChat in advance, which completely opened her eyes.

What a big shot! The wealthy really do play on a different level.

After nearly ten hours of rides, they were both exhausted. Sun Dasheng found a Western restaurant in the park. After dinner, they were having tea when Annie finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Sir, can we go to the hotel now?" she asked.

She swore to herself that she would pull out all the stops and give him the most attentive service imaginable. Otherwise, the money she’d earned today would feel like it was burning a hole in her pocket. Besides, if she could turn him into a long-term client, she wouldn’t have to wear herself out flying all over the country to serve those other losers anymore. The man sitting across from her wasn’t just a person; he was a walking, glittering money tree.

Sun Dasheng sipped his tea unhurriedly. "What’s the rush?"

"Sir, I’m very eager to get started!" Annie blurted out.

"See? You’re being impatient again," Sun Dasheng replied with a calm, nonchalant air.

Just then, the sound of a man and a woman arguing erupted in the restaurant, capturing everyone’s attention.

"Wu Siyuan, this is non-negotiable! If you don’t buy a house, don’t even think about marrying me."

"Na Na, just give me a few more years! I swear I’ll give you a home, and I’ll put only your name on the deed."

"Hah! Easy for you to say. How many years have you been telling me that? Anyone can make empty promises. I could promise that the next aircraft carrier will be named after you, but is that ever going to happen?"

"Na Na, why are you so insistent on buying a house? Aren’t we happy renting? Can’t we build a life together without owning a house?"

"Wu Siyuan, cut the crap. I’ve been listening to this for three years. Either we get married with a house, or we break up right now. My mom has already found a blind date for me with someone who owns a house. Think it over. You have one week, at most."

Having said her piece, the woman turned and walked away without looking back, though tears streamed down her face. It was clear she had genuine feelings for the man. Alas, love had once again lost out to practicality.

While Annie was enjoying the drama, Sun Dasheng suddenly asked her, "If you were to go on a blind date, what conditions would you have?"

She was taken aback for a moment but not entirely surprised. It was a common trope among her clients: wanting to corrupt the virtuous or reform the fallen.

She actually took a moment to think seriously. Instead of answering for herself, she started by talking about the people she knew.

"A lot of my friends, once they earn enough money, go back to their hometowns, buy a small storefront to start a business, and marry an honest man."

"And you?" Sun Dasheng asked.

Annie smiled. "I’d never do that. It sounds nice, but as soon as their husbands find out about their past, their lives become miserable. It’s a small town, you know? Not many people, small social circles. Once your past gets out, how are you supposed to live? A lot of them even suffer domestic abuse but are too afraid to speak up."

Sun Dasheng nodded, his eyes opened. He had learned another strange piece of trivia about the world.

"You still haven’t answered for yourself."

"I’d stay in Shanghai City, of course. I hope to meet a generous man and become his mistress. That’s still better than going back to my hometown," Annie said with a completely serious expression.

Sun Dasheng nodded thoughtfully. She was a bit like the famous courtesans of ancient times, waiting for a good man to buy their freedom so they could become his concubine. Clear-headed, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. If not for her lack of education, she could probably have a successful career.

"What if your family arranged a blind date for you?"

The question brought them back to where they started. Annie looked at her client, wondering why he was so obsessed with asking her about blind dates. She had deliberately tried to dodge the question before, but this man was just too generous. Now that he was asking again, she couldn’t pretend to be clueless anymore.

"I’d probably list a bunch of outrageous demands to scare him off."

"For example?" Sun Dasheng pressed. Then he added, "The walls have ears here. Just send them to me on WeChat."

Huh? Why all these strange requests? But he was the big-spending ’sir,’ so who was she to argue?

She typed out a long list of demands on WeChat: a house within Shanghai City’s inner ring road worth no less than ten million yuan; a car worth over one million yuan; a minimum bride price of 880,000 yuan; the ’three golds’ jewelry set, ’change of address’ fees, tea ceremony money, and gifts for friends and relatives must total an amount no less than the bride price; and the wedding must be held at a five-star hotel, with the banquet paid for by the groom.

Wow. Those demands were truly astronomical. It seemed that getting married nowadays required more than the ’six wallets’ combined.

He took a screenshot of the messages and sent it to his mother with a note: "Mom, I met her. But we can’t afford this wedding. We’ll talk about it later."

Seeing it was getting late, Annie suggested again, "Sir, it’s getting dark. Should we head to the hotel now?"

"Why would we go to a hotel?" Sun Dasheng asked in surprise as he put away his phone.

"Then why did you ask me to meet you today?" Annie was even more surprised than he was.

"For our blind date, of course!" Sun Dasheng said, shaking his phone. "You’re the blind date my mom set up for me. She said your aunt made the introduction."

"Huh?" Annie felt a wave of social death wash over her.

"You should have said so earlier!" she exclaimed in frustration.

Sun Dasheng gave a helpless shrug. "I did. When I added you, the note said, ’Introduced by an acquaintance.’"

So *that’s* what "acquaintance" meant. What was she going to do now? Would her family find out? Could she even go home for the New Year?

His next sentence, however, brought her back from the brink.

"I just never expected a blind date would come with a fee," Sun Dasheng grumbled.

"Huh?" Is that really what he thought? Are there really people this ’innocent’ in society today?

"What about the friends I mentioned earlier?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh, you mean the internet celebrities? It’s no big deal," Sun Dasheng said. "Even though people back in their hometowns look down on them and say they’re no different from prostitutes, that’s just prejudice. They’re earning their own living. I don’t have any prejudice against them. Why do you ask?"

The tension in Annie’s chest finally eased. She placed a hand over her ample bosom, taking a long moment to calm her racing heart. That was too close! I almost blew my cover.

So, the man in front of her was her blind date after all. For the first time, she had a chance to properly size him up. He wasn’t that young, but he was handsome and incredibly generous. Marrying him wouldn’t be so bad.

But before she could finish her daydream, he threw a bucket of cold water on it.

"Of course, just because I’m not prejudiced doesn’t mean I’d marry an internet celebrity."

Damn it! She should have denied it when he first brought up internet celebrities. But if she hadn’t played along, wouldn’t that have been a dead giveaway she was in that line of work? That would have been even worse. Annie’s head was spinning. She felt completely strung along by Sun Dasheng’s mind games.

She shot him a resentful glare.

[You have received intense resentment from Liang Ni. Resentment Value +50]

Seeing the notification pop up on his system panel, Sun Dasheng nodded in satisfaction. It hadn’t been a waste of time playing these mind games with her after all.

Now that he had gotten his experience points, he decided to wrap things up. After all, the girl wasn’t a bad person, and he shouldn’t tease her cruelly.

"Even though the date didn’t work out, I had a great time with you today. Keep the money as payment for your company."

Then he transferred another thousand yuan to her. "This is for your taxi fare. Be safe on your way home tonight."

"Let’s delete each other!" Annie said, feigning a bit of temper. She was hoping to test him and see if she could salvage the situation.

Sun Dasheng was already walking away. Without turning back, he waved a hand. "Already did."