Shi Quan, as the oldest child in the family and Shi Li's elder cousin, had long suffered from the pressure to get married.
His sister Shi Ruan, despite not having a partner, was never pressured by the family due to having her older brother above her.
As for Shi Li, still being in school, she faced even less pressure.
It wasn't that Shi Ruan didn't want to find a partner; she just hadn't met a suitable boy yet.
There were boys who actively pursued her, but they were either after her family's money or overly chauvinistic.
If she had to spend her life with such a man, she'd rather never marry.
As long as her brother remained single, her family wouldn't pressure her.
However, recently, during the usual marriage-pushing session at home, Shi Quan announced that he had a girlfriend and even showed her photo to the family.
Having been rained on himself, Shi Quan wanted to tear up his sister's umbrella. While the family's attention was on his girlfriend, he suggested that the parents should now focus on Shi Ruan.
Thus, Shi Ruan found herself pressured by her parents to find a partner and go on blind dates.
Shi Li's aunt, who was Shi Ruan's mother, had arranged blind dates for her during the National Day holiday.
One date every day for six consecutive days, a total of six blind dates.
For the first time, Shi Ruan felt that a holiday could be so unbearable.
She had already been on two dates, and the experience was quite indescribable.
The first two dates were accompanied by Shi Ruan's cousin, but because her cousin had to meet her boyfriend, Shi Ruan was left alone and had to ask Shi Li to accompany her.
Whether it was her cousin or Shi Li, accompanying her on blind dates wasn't free, and Shi Ruan's meager salary was nearly depleted.
Unlike other rich second-generation kids, Shi Ruan had majored in education in college and, after graduating with a master's degree, had entered a public middle school as a teacher.
Although choosing to be a teacher seemed odd compared to her peers who started businesses or joined big companies, Shi Li's uncle and aunt were quite satisfied. At least she wasn't staying at home living off her parents or wasting money on failed ventures.
Ji Chunsheng had recently attended his good friend's wedding, running around as a groomsman.
When he returned home, his mother sarcastically remarked that his good friend was already married while he didn't even have a girlfriend, insisting that he must attend the blind date she had arranged.
At the wedding, influenced by the atmosphere, he had a momentary urge to get married. So when his mother pressured him to go on a blind date, for the first time, he didn't object and was willing to give it a try.
Shi Li understood her cousin well; she was a standard "face-con" (someone who judges based on appearances).
Her previous boyfriends had all been quite handsome, which showed Shi Ruan's criteria for choosing a partner – she liked good-looking men.
Ji Chunsheng wasn't just good-looking; he was exceptionally handsome.
Compared to him, Shi Ruan's previous boyfriends didn't even come close.
Shi Li had already noticed that her cousin's eyes were fixed on the man sitting across from her.
She inwardly exclaimed, "This is bad." Even though this man was handsome, he wasn't a good match. Her cousin couldn't choose a partner based solely on looks.
As for why he wasn't a good match, it was because he was supposed to end up with Ji Feiyu's new sister-in-law in the future.
Shi Li couldn't help but think about her previous life. She didn't remember accompanying her cousin on a blind date before.
If Shi Ruan had met such a stunning man on a blind date, she wouldn't have let him go easily, at least not without pursuing him for a while.
In her previous life, Shi Li had never heard Huang Jie or her aunt mention this, so it probably didn't happen.
She couldn't help but scratch her head, wondering what she should do.
Seeing her cousin's increasingly affected behavior, Shi Li knew she must be extremely satisfied with Ji Chunsheng.
But Shi Li wasn't satisfied!
The small cake in front of her had been unconsciously mashed up and was about to become even more of a mess.
But even that wasn't as bad as Shi Li's current mood.
She wondered if there was any way she could prevent her cousin from falling in love.
Shi Li couldn't help but think that Ji Chunsheng wouldn't be interested in her cousin anyway, so Shi Ruan's feelings would likely remain unrequited.
She decided to repeatedly whisper in Shi Ruan's ear that forced love isn't sweet, and that people should obey the law, especially those working in the system, and they shouldn't do anything illegal.
With "Shi Li" the law-abiding citizen around, she suspected the entire Shi family had this tendency.
Shi Li's gaze was fixed on the two people diagonally in front of her, her eyes almost burning a hole. Ji Chunsheng followed her line of sight and saw a very pretty girl glaring at him.
Ji Chunsheng remembered seeing this girl a few days ago but didn't know when he had offended her.
However, when his gaze swept to Shi Ruan, who was covering her mouth and laughing, he guessed that this must be Shi Ruan's sister.
Ji Chunsheng pointed this out to Shi Ruan, who candidly admitted, "I've never been on a blind date before and felt nervous, so I asked my sister to accompany me. You don't mind, do you?"
Ji Chunsheng naturally said he didn't mind and even suggested inviting Shi Li to sit with them.
Shi Ruan, of course, didn't want Shi Li to be a third wheel, but she couldn't appear to be forgetting her sister for a man.
Shi Ruan said, "My sister is shy and has social anxiety. She doesn't like interacting with strangers. She's more comfortable being alone."
Shi Li wasn't far from the two and, although Shi Ruan had deliberately lowered her voice, Shi Li still heard what she said.
She inwardly cursed Shi Ruan. She had originally wanted to save Shi Ruan from this situation, but now, angered by Shi Ruan's words, she didn't want to interfere anymore. She decided to respect and bless them, knowing that Ji Chunsheng definitely wouldn't be interested in her cousin, no matter how much she liked him.
After returning from the blind date, she planned to repeatedly remind Shi Ruan about obeying the law and urge her to pay attention during Party lectures.
Shi Ruan had inherited her mother's talent for conversation. As she dominated the conversation, constantly extracting information from Ji Chunsheng, Shi Li became bored and fell asleep on the table.
Shi Ruan, the new teacher, instinctively brought out her professional habits when faced with her sleeping cousin. She banged on the table twice, "Stop sleeping, did you stay up late again last night?"
Startled awake by the stern tone, Shi Li almost thought she had fallen asleep during class.
Shi Li sat up straight, instinctively looking around. No, she wasn't in a classroom. She wiped the corner of her mouth – no drool.
Good.
Looking up, she met two pairs of smiling eyes. Shi Li picked up her bag, "Can we go home now?"
The sky outside was already getting dark. Shi Li secretly glanced at her phone – goodness, they had been chatting for three hours.
As expected of you, Shi Ruan.
While Shi Li was thinking about going home, Shi Ruan flashed her a shy smile, "It's just about dinner time now. You must be hungry after sleeping for so long."
Shi Li: ??? Are you not done yet?
