Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Hurry up, let’s go to the hospital!” Zhao Yu’s mother grabbed Zhao Yu’s hand and dragged him. “How could this be? Your head is bald, you have no hair! Your face is swollen! Oh, my son!” The old lady sounded dreadful. “Why did you have to be a policeman? I told you, run and hide when there’s danger. No wonder you didn’t even come back for the Dragon Boat Festival! Aiya, hurry up! Let’s go to the hospital in case there is something wrong with your head…” Zhao Yu’s mother was dragging Zhao Yu out and Daheng was barking at the old lady.
“Mum, Moooom…” Zhao Yu seemed flustered as the old lady bossed him around. “Listen to me, this was not from work. I accidentally fell, I swear! Don’t, don’t, don’t…I just came back from the hospital. I already saw a doctor! Hey, Daheng! That’s enough. Any more barking, and I will have some dog meat…” Suddenly, the house was in chaos. Zhao Yu was sweating all over.
After an acrimonious tussle, Zhao Yu finally forced the old lady to sit on the couch. But she had yet to sit tight for long before she started nagging, “Son, are you trying to live a hard life? Why did you leave the free dorms and rent a house here? It is such a good unit, the rent must be expensive!”
“No…no…” Zhao Yu had no idea how to answer. He had never felt so helpless even when he had been faced with criminals.
“Aiyo. Why did you send us so much money if you are renting a house! Son, quickly, do you have enough money? I brought some along…” She took out her purse and passed him some cash.
“No, no, no… I have enough…” Zhao Yu quickly stopped her. But hearing what the old lady said made him upset, and he felt like crying. It had been a long, long, long, time since someone cared about him so much! What the old lady said was simple, but it showed the love and care a mother had for her son. His emotions surged like the tides, and he had not felt like this for a very long time.
“Mom…I’m okay, really! I have money!” Zhao Yu choked out. Thinking of his past life, he had never received a mother’s loving care. What was happening in front of his eyes made him feel warm and fuzzy.
“Aiya…” Zhao Yu’s mother saw the wound on his head and said anxiously, “You, tell me, what should we do? What should we do? I already set up a date!”
“Mom, what do you mean what should we do?” Zhao Yu was excited but puzzled. He did not know what the old lady was panicking about.
“I’ve booked a slot for you. 8:15am at Ting Ting Coffee Shop for a blind date!” The old lady said anxiously. “But your head, what should we do about it? How about getting you a cap? Oh, right. I remember that policemen wear caps, right? Hurry up and go put it on!”
“What is this…” Zhao Yu was confused. “What blind date are you talking about? I have never heard you say anything about it?”
“My dear son, you have to listen to me this time!” Zhao Yu’s mother grabbed Zhao Yu’s hand and told him strictly, “I don’t care how busy you are, you have to attend the blind date! Ting Ting Coffee Shop, it is a group blind date. I’m sure that you’ll find someone! I guarantee that they’ll be better looking than those b*tches opposite…”
“F*ck!” Zhao Yu patted Daheng’s head and said dully, “Mom! To be frank, I really have a very important case to solve! I can’t!”
“I knew you were going to play this card! Do you know how old you are now? Do you know that if you don’t settle down with someone, your dad and I will go crazy? Alright!” The old lady took out a piece of white cloth and said, “If you are not going, I am going to make you a white robe for you to send me and your dad off to heaven! Aiyo! My poor life. So pitiful…”
“Aiya, Mum! Don’t say that! You… F*ck…” Zhao Yu pulled the cloth. His brain was buzzing. He thought, “Now I know where I got my foolishness from!”
“Eight o’clock! It’s already seven now!” The old lady said, “Put on some clothes, put on your police uniform! Make yourself look good. Hurry up and go get me a daughter in law! Your brother already has two daughters. I am looking upon you to give us a grandson!”
“Oh my God!” Zhao Yu legs felt weak. “This…what the hell is this!!!”
“Bark… Bark…” Daheng did not know what was driving Zhao Yu crazy, but he joined in the chaos. Then, under the coercion of the old lady, Zhao Yu was forced to shave and wear nice clothes. He then had no choice but to follow her out. Zhao Yu wanted to get a cab but the old lady insisted on walking two kilometers to take a public bus.
On the bus, the old lady took out a booklet and showed Zhao Yu. There were all good looking men and women. “Son, take a look. Scout out a good one, then you will have a target later!
“Mom! These are either photoshopped or they had plastic surgery. How can you believe this?” Zhao Yu complained.
“Wrong!” Zhao Yu’s mother said, “I am not a three-year-old. I am very strict with people! Let me tell you, this group blind date was organized by your third uncle’s daughter. If they were to fool us, they can’t escape! And, and…” Then, the old lady flipped to a page where there was a woman wearing a yellow dress. “This one, I picked this one for you! I did a background check on her. She is the daughter of Auntie Xiao Qin’s second aunt. An office lady, works in a big corporation. Look, look! Isn’t she a beauty?” Zhao Yu took a glance. The lady dressed in yellow did look very beautiful, just like a celebrity.
“How about it?” Zhao Yu’s mother continued, “Your Ba Zhi matches with hers too! Look at her face, she has broad cheeks, meaning she is a very forgiving woman; a full earlobe, meaning she could give birth to a son! And, and, look at her eyebrows, this is called the heartening eyebrows, it brings luck to the husband!”
Oh… Zhao Yu then recalled that his family picked up physiognomy passed down by their ancestors. His mother had been influenced at a very young age, so she could be considered somewhat of an expert. But…it did not seem to be that accurate…
Looking at the crowd, Zhao Yu panicked. He just wanted to get it over with so he could head back to investigate the case. “Such an early morning, why would it…oh…” he realized. He suddenly recalled, “Oh yeah! I got a ‘Xun-Li’ hexagram. ‘Xun’ represents family, and so my mom came, but it turned out like this…”
At the beginning, Zhao Yu was worried that he would not be able to relax! But when he saw the old lady hustling and bustling, he had no worries. “No matter if it’s this life or my last one, this old lady is my mother, an irreplaceable mother!” he decided.
The bus stopped right at the entrance of Ting Ting Coffee Shop. When Zhao Yu got off, he realized that it was located in the city center, and it was really close to the place where he had chased after Zhao Qing! He even passed by the same coffee shop!
The coffee shop was full of lively chatter, all young people who came for the group blind date. The air conditioner was on full blast and Zhao Yu sneezed when he entered!
“Oh man,” he thought. Zhao Yu had a bad feeling about it. If he did not have flu, something bad must be happening. “Blind date, blind date! That’s so weird!” He had never gone on a blind date. He found it interesting as he looked around, not knowing what to do.
“Son, quickly go register over there and take a number!” The old lady had done her homework well. She said, “Oh, and, when you register, see what Jin Yuanyuan’s number is. Remember to look for her first! I have a feeling this girl will be my daughter in law!”
“Aiyo…” Zhao Yu was at loss of words. He wanted to curse but he could not do it in front of his mother, so he had to follow her order and register at the counter.
When he was registering, he found Jin Yuanyuan’s registration information. Zhao Yu took a glance at her ID number and her birthdate. He smiled sadly when he realized that Jin Yuanyuan was nine years older than him! Zhao Yu smiled helplessly and wanted to tell his mother this news so that she would forget about this Jin Yuanyuan.
At that very moment, Zhao Yu’s phone rang. Miao Ying was calling him,
“Zhao Yu, are you okay?” Miao Ying sounded really serious over the phone.
“Nothing, why? Is there any update?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Miao Ying said solemnly. “Zhao Yu, tell me, why did you go to the place?”
“Huh? What? Where?” Zhao Yu did not understand what Miao Ying meant. He was confused.
The host suddenly spoke over the microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, the group blind date will start very soon, please complete your registration as soon as possible, and…”
“What? Group blind date?” Miao Ying heard and asked, “Zhao Yu, you…went for a blind date?!”
“No, it’s my mom…”
“What? Your mom went on a group blind date?” He could tell that Miao Ying was furious over the phone. She said angrily, “Zhao Yu, I thought you went to the cake shop to find out something! Alright, go ahead with your blind date then!” She hung up the phone.
“What?!” Zhao Yu was so confused. “What is going on? Where did this cake shop popped out from?” he wondered.
“Cake shop… Cake shop…. Wait a minute…” Suddenly, Zhao Yu remembered something and he took a deep breath!