Li Chuntao finished speaking and noticed that the young man had fallen silent, seemingly lost in thought. She immediately asked, "Young Master Yang?"
Chu Lian was snapped back to reality by Li Chuntao’s call, "Miss, I have something urgent to attend to. I must leave now. We can talk another day if the opportunity arises."
Without waiting for Li Chuntao’s response, he quickly left. He was so shaken by the news that he no longer had the capacity to worry about anything else; he just wanted to go back and be alone with his thoughts.
Seeing that he had gone, Li Chuntao didn’t try to stop him. She thought that Xiaoxiao’s husband really must have had something important. She had wanted to ask if his brother was engaged yet but would have to wait until she saw Xiaoxiao again to ask.
As she was about to leave with her medicine pack, she saw someone at the entrance of the teahouse—it was Xiaoxiao’s younger uncle, wasn’t it?
Her heart fluttered with excitement, feeling it might be destiny. It had been three months since their brief encounter, and she hadn’t expected to run into him here. She wondered if he had any recollection of her.
As if possessed, she followed him and found a spot where she could observe without being noticed, actually just the next table over. They were seated in the same direction, and Li Chuntao could see Yang Dong’s back when she looked up.
She hastily ordered a pot of tea, speaking in a hushed tone to avoid detection. She didn’t have the courage to approach, not while she was still overweight.
She noticed that after he sat down, he ordered a pot of tea and then deliberately placed a corn cob on the table in a conspicuous spot before he continuously peered at the entrance, as if he was waiting for someone.
Shortly after, a woman who looked older than her entered. She was heavily made up and scanned the room before her gaze finally settled on Xiaoxiao’s younger uncle’s table.
Li Chuntao’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that they had arranged to meet here? What exactly was their relationship? She decided to keep her restless heart in check and eavesdrop for a while.
Yang Dong sat there, a bit nervous as this was his first time doing something . His parents had been pressuring him to find a wife, and his sister-in-law said he could meet someone first, leaving the decision up to him.
He thought he might as well come, as he had to find a wife eventually. It was better than having his parents randomly pick someone for him without having met her. Maybe he would like her as soon as she arrived.
But whose idea was it to use a corn cob as a signal? To put a corn cob on a teahouse table was quite peculiar. Although it was meant to make it easy for the other party to recognize him, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
After waiting for a while, he saw a woman enter. Her face was painted pale, almost ghastly, and he shuddered at the thought that it might be her.
Seeing that the woman was indeed heading toward him, his heart sank. He was relieved it was just a preliminary meeting; bringing her home could have been quite a fright.
His sister-in-law had said that, regardless of whether it was a match or not, he must be polite and not leave abruptly, making the lady feel embarrassed.
So, he stood up courteously and asked, "Are you Sister Zhou introduced by the matchmaker?"
Sister Zhou’s pale face suddenly blushed as she shyly replied with a soft, "Yes."
The two then sat down, Yang Dong feeling quite unsettled. What should he say next? He felt like there was nothing to talk about.
He couldn’t accept her face painted like that. His sister-in-law also wore makeup, but the effect was completely different. If it were applied like his sister-in-law’s, he might have been able to accept it.
Hearing Xiaoxiao’s younger uncle mention the matchmaker, Li Chuntao’s face darkened immediately. She had to intervene, or someone else might take him away.