"You’re still young; you don’t need to rush at the moment," Old Sir Shen detected the implication in Chu Yunrong’s words and offered a word of comfort.

Shen Junze smiled and nodded. The person who had been in a rush from the very beginning wasn’t him, but he accepted this as the elders’ goodwill, "Great Aunt, I’ll be heading back now."

Chu Yunrong responded with a "Okay," "Drive safely on the way back, and give me a call when you get home."

When Shen Junze got home, he first called Chu Yunrong to let her know he had arrived safely, then took a shower and went to bed without giving the day’s matchmaking event another thought. In his opinion, since the other party wasn’t interested, that was the best outcome and he let the matter slip from his mind.

The next time he ran into Wang Ning was a month later. Coincidentally, Shen Junze encountered her while she was dining at a restaurant with friends during his second arranged date.

Shen Junze looked at the girl before him, in her early twenties, quite young, a primary school teacher, with a pretty and fair complexion, and a very quiet demeanor, speaking very little. For every ten sentences he said, she might respond with two or three.

Shen Junze considered himself a talkative person but found himself unable to continue the conversation halfway through and resorted to just focusing on his food. It was at this moment that the sound of a crashing dish echoed through the restaurant, followed immediately by a woman’s shrill voice, "Are you blind? Didn’t you see someone walking here? Look at my new skirt; what have you done to it?" The woman’s new skirt had been splashed with a drink, just at the hem, but because it was light-colored, the stain was very noticeable.

Wang Ning pursed her lips; she had accidentally knocked over a drink glass with a slip of the hand, resulting in the cup falling to the floor and breaking, just as the woman was walking by, causing the drink to splash onto her skirt.

"Very sorry," Wang Ning apologized—the woman’s words might have been unpleasant, but it was indeed her carelessness that caused the drink to splash on her skirt, "How much is your skirt, I’ll pay for it."

The woman huffed, "Can you afford it? This skirt cost me thirty thousand yuan, and this is the first time I’m wearing it. How am I supposed to wear it now after you’ve ruined it like this?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wang Ning glanced at the skirt; it was of a limited edition brand, and a friend of hers had struggled to purchase one, indeed hard to come by, "Then give me the skirt, I’ll send it to the dry cleaners, then deliver it back to you, all expenses will be on me." If it was indeed hard to obtain, the only option was to have it dry-cleaned.

"You talk so lightly, but this is my new skirt, and you’ve dirtied such a large area the first time I wear it. Do you think dry cleaning will get it out completely?" The woman was relentless.

"What do you want then?" Wang Ning countered, since neither solution seemed acceptable to her.

"Compensate me with money. I had a hard time getting this skirt and would definitely not be able to buy another one. ’A dear heart’s fondness cannot be bought,’ you ruined my treasured possession, you should compensate me."

Wang Ning frowned, clearly displeased, but said, "Fine, I’ll give you five thousand." Five thousand yuan should cover the dry cleaning costs.

But the woman was dissatisfied, "My skirt cost thirty thousand yuan, and if dry cleaning doesn’t clean it properly, then the skirt is ruined, and thirty thousand goes down the drain."

Was this an attempt at extortion? Wang Ning thought dispassionately.

"This time you will compensate me fifty thousand, thirty thousand for the skirt, plus twenty thousand for my emotional distress." The woman was stubborn, her eyes twinkling mischievously, thinking to hike up the price because she saw that Wang Ning seemed easy to talk to.

Wang Ning became angry; this was outright extortion. Just as she was about to speak up, she heard a voice.

"I’ll give you fifty thousand, take off the skirt and give it to me now," a strange yet somewhat familiar male voice sounded not far away. Wang Ning turned her head and saw Shen Junze—it was him!

Shen Junze walked up to Wang Ning and calmly looked at the woman, "I’ll give you fifty thousand, give me the skirt now," he repeated his offer.

The woman was taken aback, "And who are you?"

"I am this lady’s friend. I saw everything that just happened. Although my friend accidentally dirtied your skirt, she apologized immediately and showed a sincere attitude toward resolving the issue. On the other hand, you are demanding an exorbitant amount of money. What, you think she’s easy to bully and you can just extort her?"

The woman’s plan being exposed made her tighten her facial muscles and she huffed, "So because she said it was accidental, it’s accidental? I say she did it on purpose. Who knows if she’s jealous of my limited edition and wanted to ruin my skirt?" This was mere shrewdness and irrational defiance.

Shen Junze’s expression turned cool as he stared steadily at the woman, "You wanted compensation, right? I agree. I’ll pay fifty thousand for the skirt you’re wearing."

"Alright then, show me the money first, how else will I know if you’re serious or just pretending?" The woman looked at him skeptically.

Shen Junze immediately took out a checkbook and a pen from his jacket pocket, made a quick flourish, and tore out a check, "This is fifty thousand."

The woman had already seen the amount written on it, her eyes lighting up slightly, and she reached out to take it but saw Shen Junze pull his hand back, her expression changing, "Having second thoughts?"

"No second thoughts," he clarified, "but it seems you didn’t quite understand what I said. I said I want to buy the skirt you are wearing."

The woman gestured dismissively, "I heard you. I’ll take off the skirt when I get home, give me your address, and I’ll send it over."

Shen Junze smiled, "I like to pay and receive goods at the same time, who knows whether you will run off with my money or not."

The woman’s face darkened, "Do you really think someone of my status would covet your few tens of thousands?"

"Who knows what people really think, they say the heart is separated from the stomach. I can give you two thousand yuan—you can send the dress to dry cleaning, or I can give you fifty thousand, and you take off the dress and give it to me right now."

The woman’s face turned grim as she stared at Shen Junze, realizing that the man had no intention of compensating her. Stripping off her dress in public was out of the question, but two thousand yuan...

She looked down at her dress. It was only a small stain; dry cleaning surely wouldn’t cost two thousand yuan, right? Still, considering the bad day she’d had, she felt reluctant as she pointed at Wang Ning and said, "She just promised me five thousand a moment ago."

Shen Junze sneered, "That was my friend being generous. You know very well what dry cleaning costs. Even at two thousand, you’re making a profit. As the saying goes, ’Greed will swallow you whole, like a snake trying to eat an elephant.’ Being too greedy isn’t good." It was an obvious warning.

The woman wanted to retort, but meeting Shen Junze’s stern gaze, she ultimately swallowed her words, huffed, and extended her hand, "Two thousand, hand it over."

Shen Junze pulled out two thousand from his wallet and handed it to the woman, who took it without hesitation and left.

Shen Junze was about to leave when Wang Ning handed him two thousand yuan, "Thank you so much for today. It was really my responsibility; I couldn’t let you foot the bill for me."

Shen Junze glanced at her, didn’t refuse, and took the money, "Miss Wang, don’t worry about it. I just happened to be there."

He wouldn’t admit he had spoken out because he saw that Wang Ning was not adept at handling such situations.

Wang Ning intended to invite Shen Junze out to eat, but seeing him approach a woman he seemed to know, she decided not to and thought there would be another opportunity to show her gratitude later.

"Have you finished eating?" Shen Junze asked as he returned to his seat.

His blind date nodded and stood up, "Let’s go."

The pair left the restaurant. Shen Junze dropped her off before driving away, not giving another thought to the encounter with Wang Ning. Naturally, his actions today made his date feel that Shen Junze was indifferent to the blind date, so it was no surprise that this second date also failed.

Just as Shen Junze had put the restaurant incident out of his mind, he suddenly received a call from Wang Ning. She invited him to lunch, saying it was to thank him for his assistance that day. Shen Junze raised his eyebrows slightly but did not decline her invitation.

In the restaurant, Wang Ning had already arrived early.

"Miss Wang, I apologize for being late."

Wang Ning gave a small smile, "It’s me who arrived early, Mr. Shen is very punctual." There were still fifteen minutes to their appointed time; indeed, Shen Junze was not late.

Shen Junze smiled and passed the menu to Wang Ning, "Please order."

Wang Ning declined, "Since I invited you, naturally I should order."

Shen Junze hesitated briefly, then asked, "Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

Wang Ning shook her head, "I can eat anything, feel free to order."

Shen Junze ordered several dishes that were safe bets, things most people would eat. Wang Ning didn’t comment on his choices.

"I’ve been wanting to thank you for what happened at the restaurant that day," Wang Ning said, "but I was out of the country performing and only came back yesterday." It was an explanation for why it took her so long to invite him to dinner.

Shen Junze didn’t take it to heart, "It was simply lending a hand, Miss Wang should not worry, I would have done the same for any friend."

The look in Wang Ning’s eyes flickered. When she first met him, she found him impatient and lacking gentlemanly manners. Now, it seemed she might have misunderstood him; perhaps he did have urgent matters that day.

"Still, I must thank you. If it weren’t for you that day, I would have been conned by that woman." She was passionate about music, and such situations were indeed not her forte.

The meal passed amidst Wang Ning’s thanks. As they were parting, Wang Ning gave Shen Junze a few tickets to a concert, "This is my performance in Beijing, Mr. Shen, if you’re interested, you might bring your family and friends to listen."

Shen Junze didn’t refuse. Although they hadn’t talked much during the meal, the conversation had been more interesting than with the primary school teacher he’d met before. He had thought those deeply involved in music were aloof and detached from worldly affairs, which seemed evident from the restaurant incident. But upon closer acquaintance, that wasn’t entirely the case.

"Thank you, I’ll definitely come," Shen Junze said with a smile, "Where are you heading? Let me give you a lift."

Wang Ning declined, "No need, I drove here today, goodbye."

Shen Junze didn’t return to his company until she was long gone. Holding the three concert tickets in hand, he pondered who he should give the other two to.