Chapter 221: Moving Really Fast
Actually, Yang Ye never really planned to get married. He didn’t like the idea of blind dates either. He believed marriage should be a continuation of love.
If there was no love, he’d rather stay single forever. He held onto this belief for years…
Until recently, when he realized that his friends around the same age already had kids who were old enough to run errands. Only then did he start to feel a little anxious.
Besides, he had just bought a house and a car (with a down payment), and his parents and relatives were either clearly or secretly pushing him to settle down.
But the problem was, as a teacher, the women he met in daily life were either students, or married women in their thirties or forties.
He didn’t like partying or clubbing either, so it was really hard for him to meet single women his own age.
Left with no choice, he half-heartedly agreed to the blind date arranged by his parents.
They said the girl’s parents had some weird demands. Almost treating it like selling a daughter, they wanted a big bride price but would not give any dowry back. Even so, he still decided to give it a try.
After all, he was almost thirty, not very successful in his career. If the girl was nice to talk to and if it could somehow turn into real love, he thought he could accept it.
And then, he met Chen Li.
Yang Ye’s face turned slightly red with embarrassment. Sitting awkwardly in front of his own student, he really didn’t know what to do.
“Isn't it a good thing... if you can get someone young?”
Chen Li said with a trembling voice. She turned her head away, not daring to look at Yang Ye. Even her ears, peeking out from under her short hair, were so red they looked like they might bleed.
"This is..."
Yang Ye tried hard to keep the same calm attitude he usually had with students, but today he just couldn’t control himself. His eyes kept wandering over Chen Li.
Before, he had never noticed it...
but now he realized Chen Li actually had a pretty good figure.
Normally, when dealing with students, he only cared about their mental health and study habits. As long as they behaved, didn’t cause trouble, and listened well, that was enough for him.
This was the first time he had looked at Chen Li this way.
Her looks might not be called stunning, but after being a teacher for so many years, he had seen plenty of beautiful students.
Chen Li had a more gentle kind of beauty, the type that looked better the more you looked. She was the kind of girl who could be described as "delicate and lovely."
From what he knew about her, Chen Li would definitely make a very caring wife in the future.
Pleasant to look at, good personality, caring... maybe a little too shy...
Yang Ye’s heart started to stir a little.
He swallowed nervously, his hands even shaking a bit. He suddenly remembered Chen Li’s confession to him the night before. At that time, he had firmly rejected her, sticking to his role as a teacher.
But he didn’t expect to meet her again, this time at a blind date.
And now… he actually felt a small, real attraction to her.
Inside the cafe, only soft background music played.
Outside, the three friends barely dared to breathe, secretly peeking through the glass door.
"Do you... want to eat something?" Yang Ye finally managed to speak again.
Normally, he wouldn’t be this nervous, but because his blind date turned out to be his student, the guilty feeling made him extremely tense.
Especially when inappropriate thoughts (that every man understands) started to pop into his head. He felt so ashamed he didn’t even want to face himself.
How could something so coincidental happen?
But Chen Li was really a great girl.
If he refused her now, future blind dates would probably never be with someone younger, cuter, prettier, or someone he already knew and trusted this much.
"Anything’s fine..." Chen Li said, pressing her hands tightly against her thighs, her head still bowed low.
"Waiter!"
Yang Ye quickly ordered two small cakes and two coffees.
When he looked back at Chen Li again, he saw her quickly lowering her head once more.
It was obvious that while Yang Ye was talking to the waiter just now, Chen Li had secretly been watching him.
"Yang... Yang Ye..."
"Hmm?"
Before, Chen Li had always called him "teacher."
"Well, you know... the two of us..."
"Want to give it a try?" Yang Ye felt that a girl shouldn’t have to be the one to confess again and again.
He held back his embarrassment, took a small sip of the bitter coffee, and said, "Maybe we’re quite a good match. Let’s spend some time together and see how it goes?"
"Then..."
"After we finish the cake, how about we go watch a movie? And then maybe find a place to have lunch? As for the afternoon... we can decide later if you don’t have anything planned."
"I’m free!" Chen Li’s voice sounded much happier now.
Yang Ye felt the small ripple in his heart growing stronger. The more he looked at Chen Li, the more charming she seemed.
He had watched her grow from fifteen to eighteen years old. Before, she was just a student, just a younger sister in his eyes. But now, he had to look at her as a possible life partner. He couldn’t deny, looking at her from a different point of view really made a difference.
Chen Li lifted her head a little. Her face was still red, but she looked a lot braver now.
"Yang Ye, my family really won't give any dowry."
"I know." Yang Ye thought for a moment and said, "My only worry is... after you marry me, your family might keep asking me for money."
"Ma-marry?"
"Well, a blind date is for finding someone to marry, right?" He tried to keep his mind clear.
Chen Li was quiet for a few seconds, then her face turned even redder. She lowered her head and said shyly, "I-I won't let that happen, I'll definitely prioritize us."
Outside the cafe, Li Mu quietly watched them chatting and eating cake inside. She whispered, "Looks like things are going pretty well."
If Yang Ye had really hated the idea, he might have said just a few words and left, or maybe even taken Chen Li straight home to talk seriously with her parents.
But looking at it now, they seemed to be having a good time.
Every now and then, when Chen Li lifted her head, Li Mu could see happiness and sweetness shining in her eyes.
"Ah~ how nice~" Wang Ruoyan let out a long sigh. "Now only Yuanyuan and I are still single."
"I thought this was going to be a sad story about a family preferring boys over girls," Li Mu smiled a little, "but somehow it turned into a happy story."
Meanwhile, Lin Yuanyuan was already smiling warmly like an aunt watching a sweet young couple. Her eyes and her round little face were full of kindness.
Not long after, Yang Ye and Chen Li walked out of the cafe together. It was very clear that their relationship was already different from before.
If it had been in the past, Yang Ye would have kept a clear distance from any female student. But now, even though they weren’t holding hands or acting overly close, they were already walking shoulder to shoulder.
"I'm taking Chen Li to watch a movie. You three want to come?"
"We're going!"
Li Mu and Lin Yuanyuan quickly grabbed Wang Ruoyan and said, "Actually, no, we have something else to do."
Wow, straight from a blind date to a real date already.
"Alright then." Yang Ye still seemed a little nervous, but he was slowly getting back to his normal self. "Then we’ll head off first?"
"Wait, wait!"
Wang Ruoyan suddenly broke free and ran over to Chen Li and Yang Ye.
"Not taking me to the movies is fine, but—"
She laughed brightly, grabbed both their hands, and placed them together.
"—at least hold hands, or I won't let you two go!"
Yang Ye’s face, which had just calmed down, turned red again. He glared at Wang Ruoyan, using his strict class teacher attitude.
"Stop messing around!"
But after saying that, he gently tightened his fingers around Chen Li’s hand, holding it fully in his own palm.