“Teng, no offense, but during blind dates, women generally require men to own a house and a car. But does your junk car even count? Are you sure it’s better than hailing a cab?”
Li Liang locks up the shop, asking as he steps into the rickety pickup truck.
Jiang Teng opens the passenger door and hops in, “Nonsense. The place where we’re going to meet is near the wholesale market. I'll go for the date, you can pick up some supplies on the way, and then come pick me up when you are done.”
Li Liang gets into the driver’s seat. After starting the car, he gives the scissors hand gesture, indicating that he wants a cigarette.
Jiang Teng swats his hand away, “Smoking is detrimental to your health.”
“And what about you?”
“How many times have I told you not to compare yourself with me? I have a unique strength that allows me to convert the harmful substances in cigarettes into nutritious ones.” As he speaks, Jiang Teng draws a cigarette, lights it, and takes a draw.
“Stop boasting!” Li Liang says with a contemptuous expression.
Jiang Teng doesn’t reply, just chuckling and turning on the radio.
“Breaking news on our station, the joint government forces of the Middle East finally destroyed the last stronghold of the S.B organization, a major terrorist group that has tormented countries in the Middle East for years. This is all thanks to the fact that the leader of the S.B organization was killed by a mysterious person six months ago, causing the organization to fall apart, creating a favorable situation for the joint forces to annihilate it.”
As he drives, Li Liang asks, “Teng, do you think the news these days can be trusted? It seems awfully bold to claim that such a powerful person was easily taken down. Unless this mysterious person can go invisible, I don't think anyone could pull it off."
"Maybe I killed him in my sleep!”
After saying this, Jiang Teng frowns slightly, thinking to himself: It's been so long since the incident. Why hasn’t the boss called me back yet?
Li Liang, not noticing the change in his expression, continues in ridicule, “What a boast! Might as well say you can fly to the moon and stand amongst the stars!”
Jiang Teng smirks as he changes the radio station to one playing music. He begins to sing along to the melody playing, "You're my little, oh little apple…”
The pickup truck stopped in front of the "Refreshments" drinks shop.
Jiang Teng got out of the truck and said over his shoulder, "Come pick me up here after unloading the stocks. And don't you dare open up that inflatable doll. The one you messed with last time couldn't be sold off; the manufacturer said it was too damaged to accept as a return. Just how rough were you!"
Li Liang stuck out his tongue and drove off.
Jiang Teng straightened his collar and walked into the drinks shop.
The blind date was someone Aunt Lin, who works at the orphanage, introduced to him on short notice an hour ago. The woman claimed to be busy and wanted to meet immediately, which caught Jiang Teng off guard.
He had no idea what she looked like, but since Aunt Lin mentioned she was a beauty, as a member of the appearance-obsessed crowd, he showed up.
Table 16...
He glanced at the text message on his phone then raised his eyes to scan the entire place.
The layout of the drinks shop was designed specifically for couples, with a small table and two seats per single area, separated by opaque frosted glass. It made for a quite suitable environment for couples to share whispers or make discreet gestures.
It was strange. A woman was sitting at table 16 with her back to him, but from his angle, he could see a brawny man sitting across from her.
Even if she had a boyfriend, she shouldn't bring him to a blind date, should she?
At that moment, the man harshly slapped the table, finished the beverage in front of him with a gulp and roared, "I can't stand your face!"
Can't stand? Does that mean they were on a blind date? Is this woman arranging for people to line up and meet her? Intriguing!
Meanwhile, Jiang Teng was quietly observing. Judging from this man's unsightly appearance, he was already offensive enough to viewers. With him rejecting, I wonder what the woman looks like?
Thoughts of retreat began to fill his mind…
"Never mind, I'd better watch, otherwise, Aunt Lin will be unhappy."
At this moment, the bulky man had already come over. As he brushed past Jiang Teng, he seemed to be in a bad mood, deliberately bumping into him and grumbling, "Good dogs don't get in the way."
Jiang Teng paused, turned around, and pursued with a grim look...
"Worthless man! There are too many conditions for a blind date." The bulky man opened the door of his Land Rover, got in, and couldn't help but grumble.
Smash!
The car window glass suddenly shattered into dust, and a foot kicked in from the outside...
Thud!
The muscular man was kicked in the shoulder and thrown into the air, hitting the opposite door. Before he could recover, the glass of the car window on this side exploded again, and a hand reached in, holding his neck, unable to yell, he was dragged out of the car window.
After a kick, being hit, and thrown, the man felt as if his internal organs were displaced. He touched his head twice, only then did he see clearly the man who had kicked him, who just happened to be the one he had insulted as a "good dog that doesn't get in the way"!
Jiang Teng laughed and hoisted the man up, "Who were you insulting?"
"No... I wasn't insulting you!"
Jiang Teng lit a cigarette, "Are you having a blind date with that woman?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"How does the woman look? Is she pretty? You have to tell the truth!"
"Beautiful! Beautiful! But her demands were too high! It's just like a job interview, she asked a bunch of questions, about work, income, love history, cars, and houses, and so on. I couldn't stand all these, that's why I stormed off!"
"Darn it! This is so freaking overboard!" Jiang Teng said furiously.
"Exactly! Bro, are you also going to attend a blind date?"
"Well, you go ahead. I must confront her later!"
Jiang Teng then returned to the cold drink shop.
"It's you!"
When Jiang Teng calmly approached and saw the woman clearly, they both almost simultaneously uttered these two words.
Jiang Teng vividly remembered. Back in high school, when he was fooling around with his female desk mate, they were chased out of the classroom by this beautiful teacher before him.
He hadn't seen her for six years, yet Teacher Gu Xia'ai looked exactly the same. She still had this luminous allure, and her body was as slender and voluptuous as ever. Even though she was sitting, her enticing curves were apparent. However, she now had an added mature charm that wasn't there in the past.
She was dressed in slightly tight professional clothing. She paired a white fitted blouse on top with a black pencil skirt on her bottom.
She seemed to be the embodiment of a white-collar woman. Did she stop teaching?
With some trepidation, Jiang Teng sat down.
With a cordial smile, Gu Xia'ai turned her laptop toward him and said, "Just fill in the score according to the table, leave your contact number, and you can leave."
An electronic spreadsheet appeared on the screen.
Apart from the basic information, the spreadsheet also included details about appearance, educational background, income, ownership of car/house, marriage history, and other such items.
There were also scoring rules following each item. The age column had already been filled in by Gu Xia'ai. He was 22 years old according to it.
Jiang Teng gave it a skim and knew scoring anything over fifty would be a challenge for him. "Since you're the host today, you get to call the shots!" he said.
"Do you think your overall score would be any higher than your academic results back in school, excluding your handsome appearance of course?" Gu XiaoaI smirked.
Jiang Teng was at a loss for words. He initially came here with his head held high, ready to square off against this strong woman. Then realizing she was his teacher, how could he ever make a move?
The waiter brought a drink, probably a standard offering for every blind date participant.
Gu XiaoaI glared at him and said, "You wasted a drink of mine again. Are you going to finish it before you leave or just take it with you?"
"I'm not interested in you at all!" Jiang Teng responded, not taking his drink and choosing to leave right away. A man has to maintain some level of dignity after all.
Li Liang hadn't arrived yet, and Jiang Teng was sitting on the steps outside, drinking the cold beverage and waiting.
A black Audi pulled up in front of the store. A tall, handsome man wearing a black tailcoat stepped out of the car and walked elegantly into the cold drink store.
Jiang Teng recognized this man. His name was Mu Yunfei - a magician who had performed on the local TV station. According to rumors, his father was a prominent figure in the Yunhai City Television Station, which gave him the opportunity to perform and gain some fame.
As Mu Yunfei brushed past him, Jiang Teng noticed a small maneuver the man made.
He observed Mu Yunfei withdraw his hand from his pocket, and with swift technique, flick a small plastic bag neatly into his sleeve...
Jiang Teng caught an eye of it, noticing the phrase scribbled on the bag: "Dry Rain Powder".
As the owner of an adult novelty store, Jiang Teng had heard of this drug. Regardless of gender, twenty minutes after taking Dry Rain Powder, one would become dazed and lose consciousness. About another five minutes later, they would become extremely lustful, to the point of being uncontrollable.
Miscreants often used Dry Rain Powder on women as a means of harm, which led Jiang Teng to never stock the drug in his store.
He couldn't help but stare at Mu Yunfei's retreating figure. In the end, Mu Yunfei sat down at table number 16, right opposite Gu XiaoaI. He was also here for a blind date, and apparently, he had ill intentions.
"Bastard." Jiang Teng muttered under his breath, then made his way towards table number 16.
"Miss Gu, I think we could get to know each other a little more."
With that, both Gu XiaoaI and Mu Yunfei looked up in surprise at the now speaking Jiang Teng.
