Chapter 131: Chapter 129: Love Is Just an Illusion, Isn’t It?

She was just being rational.

Zhang Wenliang was also curious. ’Can Sister Wen Ying really play matchmaker for someone?’

Aunt Zhang had said that ever since Sister Wen Ying inherited Grandma Wen’s clinic, she’d become a total homebody with no social life to speak of.

’Where would she even find any eligible men?’

’There’s no one suitable on this street, is there?’

The closer he got to Sister Wen Ying, the more mysterious she seemed.

Zhang Wenliang was slowly being consumed by his own curiosity.

Wen Ying smiled and took a piece of yellow paper from her small wallet. Both he and the sales associate looked over, intrigued.

The yellow paper wasn’t large. Drawn on it were... ’peach blossoms?’

One, two, three blossoms?

Three peach blossoms were layered on top of each other.

This was the "Peach Blossoms" Skill Wen Ying had won in a draw. The system had used reputation value to convert it into a tangible talisman paper.

"This is a peach blossom charm. Keep it on you, and in one month, you will meet your destined partner."

Zhang Wenliang looked at Wen Ying in confusion. "Sister Wen Ying, is this a talisman paper? Do peach blossom charms actually work? I thought wearing one was supposed to attract tons of suitors—countless bad ones, and maybe one good one."

Wen Ying looked at Zhang Wenliang curiously. "Did you read that in *The CEO’s Stand-in*?"

Zhang Wenliang blushed and nodded. ’Yes, I did.’

"After the CEO’s ’white moonlight’ returned, the stand-in left on her own. She didn’t take any compensation from the overbearing CEO and walked away with nothing. But she had a childhood friend who was in love with her, and he got her a peach blossom charm from somewhere. She wore it and ended up attracting a ton of terrible suitors."

"You finished it in such a short time?"

"Sister Wen Ying, I can read ten lines at a glance."

Zhang Wenliang felt a little embarrassed for using his speed-reading ability on something like this. He was a bona fide Qingbei genius, yet here he was, using his "ten lines at a glance" skill to read a novel about a CEO’s stand-in.

’If word of this got out, it would be total social suicide!’

The sales associate didn’t understand what Doctor Wen and the handsome young man were talking about. All that talk of overbearing CEOs, stand-ins, white moonlights, and childhood friends went over her head. The only thing she understood was "peach blossom charm."

"Doctor Wen, this peach blossom charm must be expensive, right? I’ll transfer you the money."

"You’ve already paid," Wen Ying replied with a smile.

"But wasn’t that thousand yuan for the consultation? I know your rules, Doctor Wen."

"So Sister Wen Ying broke the rules for you?"

’A Qingbei genius should be able to make a decent wingman, right?’

"Doctor Wen, I really should pay for it. I know your line of work involves certain risks, and you shouldn’t have to... for my sake."

"Then let’s just say this peach blossom charm is a gift, because I like you. This charm will automatically screen out bad suitors for you and keep you from getting tangled up with them. The person you meet in a month will be the one who is most suitable for you. If you insist on paying, then it’s not for sale~"

The sales associate looked at Wen Ying with gratitude. She carefully took the talisman paper, folded it gently, and tucked it into a small pocket close to her body.

"Doctor Wen, please wait a moment!"

The sales associate suddenly ran into the back room of the shop. A few minutes later, she came out holding a small box, which she handed directly to Wen Ying. "I don’t know how to thank you, Doctor Wen. Please accept this as a thank-you gift."

Wen Ying opened the small box right then and there. Inside lay a single Copper Coin.

It looked ancient, but the characters on it weren’t the kind you’d find on historical currency.

In fact, it looked a bit like the one from Uncle Zhang’s family.

"This Copper Coin doesn’t look like an antique, does it?" Zhang Wenliang asked curiously.

"This Copper Coin was passed down through my family. I don’t know what it’s for. But I think my ex-husband’s family only wanted me to marry into their family to get this Copper Coin. I never let them know I had it, and when I left, I was so glad I hadn’t given it to them. For some reason, I just have a feeling this Copper Coin will be useful to you, Doctor Wen."

"It is indeed useful." Wen Ying stared at the Copper Coin, nodding thoughtfully.

"I’ll accept the Copper Coin. Consider it a favor I owe you. Here’s my contact information. If you need my help with anything in the future, you can come to me once, free of charge."

After they exchanged contact information, Wen Ying learned the sales associate’s name: Zhang Haimei.

After Wen Ying and Zhang Wenliang left the shop, another associate who had been standing at a distance walked over. "Sister Hai Mei, do you know them?"

A smile touched Zhang Haimei’s lips. "I suppose I do now. She’s my benefactor."

The other associate looked at Zhang Haimei, confused. "Benefactor? But I saw she only bought a single qipao for a little over four hundred yuan. She doesn’t even qualify as a store VIP."

Zhang Haimei shook her head. "Oh, Xiao Xia, you’re still young. You don’t understand that a benefactor isn’t always someone who brings you money. In any case, she is my benefactor."

Zhang Haimei simply felt a deep sense of peace.

It was normal for a woman her age to long for love, to hope to meet someone she could spend the rest of her life with. She was just a woman with normal desires.

"Sister Hai Mei, isn’t that stuff about talisman paper just superstitious nonsense? How could you actually pay a thousand yuan for it?"

"You can’t put a price on my own willingness. You’ll understand one day. In short, she’s a master, and she’s my benefactor. Now, let’s do inventory."

After leaving the shop, Wen Ying and Zhang Wenliang went to get coffee.

It had to be said that the domestic coffee scene had developed quite well in recent years. The emergence of many affordable coffee shops had changed the public’s perception of coffee as something exclusively for white-collar workers.

Domestic coffee was affordable and tasted pretty good.

It was perfect for the average consumer.

Wen Ying and Zhang Wenliang chose just such a coffee shop, where two cups of coffee cost them thirty yuan.

After finishing their coffee and sharing an order of fried rice cakes, a very satisfied Zhang Wenliang carried the single bag holding the qipao.

"Sister Wen Ying, that woman... will she really be able to find a suitable and equal partner?"

"Why wouldn’t she? Do you also think it’s hard for a divorced woman to find true love?"

Zhang Wenliang immediately shook his head. He wasn’t about to make such a dangerous statement.

"No, that’s not it. I just think love and all that... it isn’t very realistic. Life isn’t some fantasy. She’s an outstanding woman, and a man’s first impression is, of course, her looks—and she’s beautiful. But she’s been married and has a child. I can understand it, but when faced with a choice like that, a lot of men would automatically see her as a step down, wouldn’t they?

There was actually a senior at our university like that. She was brilliant, even more brilliant than me. But the year she graduated, a rumor went around that she was with an... older man. This man already had a wife and children, and she got pregnant by him.

None of us could understand it. With her talent and hard work, she could have easily landed a job with a million-yuan annual salary. So why did she choose that path? In the end, she didn’t get to marry the man. The child she bore was taken away by his family, and she not only lost her job but her reputation was completely ruined.

Later, I heard that when people tried to set her up, it was always with divorced men in their thirties or forties. But she was only in her early twenties!"