Chapter 585: Episode 4 1. Late at First Sight

In the cafe, Shen Junze sat by the window and glanced at his wristwatch—it was already twelve o’clock, half an hour past the agreed time, yet the other party hadn’t arrived. He furrowed his brows slightly, just about to take out his phone to make a call, when he caught sight of the white rose on the table from the corner of his eye. After thinking it over, he pulled his hand out from his pocket, "Let’s wait another half hour. If she doesn’t show up by then, it won’t be too late to leave."

He was on a blind date today, introduced by Chu Yunrong. This was already the fourth prospect Chu Yunrong had introduced to him, and he had rejected the previous ones for various reasons. He still wouldn’t have agreed to meet this one if Qinglan hadn’t asked him to.

He was very busy at the moment, with a lot on his plate at the company, and being young, he really wasn’t in a rush about his personal life. Nonetheless, Chu Yunrong was very keen on it—constantly introducing him to potential matches—, and Grandfather too would mention it now and then, intentionally or otherwise.

Among the three children of the Shen Family, he was indeed the only one still unattached. He could understand the feelings of Chu Yunrong and Grandfather, which was why he agreed to meet her this time. But he hadn’t expected her to be late, making him wait for half an hour.

Normally, even if displeased, Shen Junze wouldn’t mind it, as some people liked to test one’s patience in such ways. However, he had a very important video meeting that afternoon, crucial for the company’s development over the next three years, and he couldn’t miss it. He could wait another thirty minutes at most; if she didn’t show up within that time, he would definitely leave.

Shen Junze thought indifferently.

Time ticked away, and in ten minutes it would be half an hour. He picked up his now cold coffee from the table and took a sip, gradually losing patience.

Just as he hesitated about leaving a few minutes early, the other party appeared, slightly out of breath. "Are you Shen Junze? I’m sorry, my car broke down on the way, and I hurried over as fast as I could. I’m really sorry to have kept you waiting so long."

Wang Ning apologized immediately upon meeting him, her face full of sincerity.

Shen Junze’s gaze circled around her face, he extended his hand, "Hello, I’m Shen Junze."

"I’m Wang Ning, really sorry. It wasn’t intentional; my car broke down and I couldn’t get a cab, so I had to walk here."

Shen Junze smiled faintly, "It’s okay. But Miss Wang, I have a very important appointment this afternoon and can’t spend much time chatting. We have about half an hour left, I hope you don’t mind." He believed her, as her forehead was covered with fine sweat, clearly indicating that she had run her way here.

Wang Ning felt this showed his displeasure with her tardiness. Although somewhat disappointed by his pettiness, she didn’t comment but sat down across from Shen Junze. "My fault for today."

Even though she said so, today’s incident was truly an accident. She hadn’t planned to be late, nor did she want to test anyone in this manner. Still, Shen Junze’s obvious displeasure seemed a bit too petty to her; this was her first impression.

Probably because neither was very impressed with the other, they left the coffee shop in less than twenty minutes. Shen Junze stood by his car and spoke to Wang Ning, "Miss Wang, where are you headed next? I can give you a ride."

With a politely smiling face, Wang Ning replied, "No need, you have important matters to attend to shortly, I don’t want to keep you. It’s easy to get a cab here, I’ll just take a taxi."

Seeing her insistence, Shen Junze didn’t press further, nodded to her, and drove away. Wang Ning watched his car disappear, indifferent, chuckled to herself, and hailed a cab. However, her gait appeared somewhat awkward.

Because her car had broken down and she couldn’t find a taxi, she had to run to avoid being late, but unfortunately, she didn’t notice the steps and twisted her ankle. Luckily it wasn’t severe, and she managed to meet Shen Junze without showing any discomfort.

But now that she was alone, the pain in her ankle made her quite uncomfortable, so she headed straight to the hospital after getting into the cab.

"Ningning, what happened to your foot?" Upon returning home, Wang Ning was met with her mother’s concerned frown.

Wang Ning smiled, "It’s nothing, I just sprained it accidentally on my way back. I’ve been to the doctor; they said it’s nothing serious, so don’t worry."

Mrs. Wang helped her daughter to the sofa, "Look at you, always so careless. By the way, weren’t you supposed to meet that young man from the Shen Family today? Did you meet him?"

"I did meet him."

Hearing this, Mrs. Wang looked at her, "How is he?" She hadn’t met Shen Junze, but since he was introduced by Chu Yunrong—a colleague from her band whom she had worked with for many years—she trusted her judgment and had therefore allowed her daughter to meet him.

Wang Ning’s expression was neutral, "He seems fine, but I don’t think we are quite suitable."

"Why is that? Didn’t you like him?"

"Mom, you didn’t phrase that right. It should be said that we didn’t like each other."

Mrs. Wang responded with disappointment, "That’s not possible; I heard from Yunrong that the young man seemed quite reliable." Remembering something, she asked her daughter, "Your ankle is injured, didn’t he drive you home?"

"I just took a taxi back myself; there was no need for him to see me off, especially since he didn’t even know I sprained my ankle," Wang Ning said. She wasn’t the type to gossip behind others’ backs. Even though she was dissatisfied with Shen Junze, she didn’t mention it to her mother. After all, he was just a stranger she wasn’t likely to meet again. What was there to talk about? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Mrs. Wang disagreed, "That’s not the way to look at it. Even if he didn’t know about your injured foot, wasn’t it his responsibility to offer you a ride since you didn’t have a car? This just shows his lack of attention and his absence of gentlemanly manners. I don’t think he’s as good as Yun Rong described. Let’s forget about him; such people really aren’t worth bothering with. It’s great that you don’t like him."

Mrs. Wang had also lost interest in Shen Junze. Her daughter was only twenty-four and not in a rush to marry. If it hadn’t been for Chu Yunrong’s sake, this meeting would never have taken place.

Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding at the Shen Family’s home. Chu Yunrong knew that Shen Junze had gone on a blind date with a girl that day and had specifically asked him to come home for dinner.

Now with Shen Junyu and Wen Xiyao no longer living at home, and Shen Qinglan already married, only Chu Yunrong and Old Sir Shen were left in the house, with the occasional visit from Shen Qian. The house felt much emptier than before. Shen Junze didn’t interact much with his birth mother, always seeming like a loner, so Chu Yunrong worried about him eating properly and often called him to come home for nourishing meals.

Shen Junze knew what Chu Yunrong wanted to know, but he pretended not to understand and kept his head down, focusing on his food. Watching him, Chu Yunrong assumed he had been too busy to eat properly and kept offering him more food, "Eat more, eat slowly."

Shen Junze nodded absentmindedly and wanted to leave as soon as he finished his meal, "Aunt, I’m done eating. I’ll head back now."

Chu Yunrong came out of the kitchen, "Wait, I have something to ask you. Sit down first."

With a wry smile, Shen Junze knew he couldn’t easily escape and obediently sat down; even Old Sir Shen, who rarely did so, sat down too.

Chu Yunrong wiped her hands dry and looked at Shen Junze with a smile, "How was your meeting with Wang Ning today?"

Shen Junyu didn’t mention that the other party had made him wait for fifty minutes, simply saying, "She’s quite a nice girl."

"So you liked her a lot?" Chu Yunrong’s eyes brightened.

"Aunt, that’s not what I meant. She’s a nice girl, but I don’t think we’re quite compatible. We didn’t have much in common. Look, she studies music, and I know nothing about it, what could we even talk about?"

"Common interests can be cultivated. You just need to talk more, get to know each other, then you’ll find things in common, right?"

Old Sir Shen fully supported this viewpoint, "I think your aunt is right. You shouldn’t just write someone off after the first meeting. Since you think she’s not bad, you should try to keep in contact. Good girls are hard to find." He was greatly concerned about Shen Junze’s marriage, fearing he would end up like his father and choose someone unreliable.

Shen Junze thought... Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have said she was a nice girl. Wasn’t this digging his own grave?

"Grandpa, aunt, even if I liked her, she may not like me back. Forced affection won’t be sweet." Shen Junze tried to persuade the two elders from their perspective to let go of the idea.

"Did Wang Ning say that to you?" Chu Yunrong was skeptical.

"No, but that’s what I observed," Shen Junze replied.

"So you’re just guessing. You can’t be sure, and men can’t understand the subtleties of women’s thoughts." Chu Yunrong was relieved. As long as it wasn’t explicitly stated, there was still a chance.

Hearing this, Old Sir Shen spoke, "Yunrong, why don’t you call her and ask about her feelings?"

Chu Yunrong nodded and stood up to make the call, not giving Shen Junze a chance to object. Shen Junze couldn’t leave just then and had to sit and wait.

Chu Yunrong ended the call quickly and soon returned, fixing Shen Junze with a steady gaze. Shen Junze felt a nervous flutter, wondering what she had said about him with that look in her eyes.

Just as Shen Junze’s nerves were rattling, Chu Yunrong spoke, "Jun Ze, don’t worry. Your aunt knows plenty of nice girls. If this one doesn’t work out, we’ll look at another and find someone who truly matches your heart. I don’t think Wang Ning was that outstanding."

Was this supposed to be comforting? Shen Junze thought. It seemed she really wasn’t interested in him. That was probably for the best, less hassle.

"Aunt, I’m not in a hurry."

Chu Yunrong mistook Shen Junze’s gracious words for polite reluctance, feeling a faint sympathy for him; he had finally liked a girl, and yet she hadn’t reciprocated his feelings.

She patted Shen Junze’s shoulder, "Don’t worry, Jun Ze. Your aunt will definitely find someone right for you." As she spoke, she pondered silently about other potential candidates.