Xu Shiqi sat leisurely in the restaurant.
This restaurant is on the second floor. The sun is shining brightly outside, but it is blocked by bamboo roller blinds. With the air conditioning blowing from behind, she feels very relaxed.
She looked at her watch and it was exactly 12 noon. The angle she sat at today was just right for her to see the entrance, and every person who came in could not escape her eyes. It was not that she intended to observe, but she was just bored.
When they counted to the fourteenth person, a man hurried in and looked up at the time on the wall of the restaurant, as if he was relieved. Xu Shiqi looked at him and sighed in her heart. If he was the seventeenth person to come in, she could still convince herself to stay a few more minutes with the reason that matched her name.
The man looked around and quickly found it.
"Miss Xu...?"
Xu Shiqi smiled.
"Sorry, I'm a little late." The man sat down, lowered his head and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, then took the menu from the waiter who followed him, "Let's order."
Xu Shiqi raised his hand to the waiter and said, "A glass of ice water please."
The man looked up in surprise, then became very happy. As soon as the waiter left, he apologized formally: "I'm really sorry for being late for our first meeting. I hope you don't take it to heart."
"fine."
Xu Shiqi's tone was gentle, and the man immediately felt relieved from the heat of the journey. He drank the ice water and felt comfortable all over. He carefully asked about Xu Shiqi's favorite dishes and opened a bottle of red wine.
While the waiter was opening the wine, before the two of them could say anything, Xu Shiqi's phone rang. She made an apologetic gesture, then stood up and walked to the air conditioner to answer the call.
"Seventeen, I'm Baohua."
It has been more than ten days since Baohua got married. She should be out on her honeymoon at this time. Xu Shiqi asked curiously, "Where are you calling from?"
"We're back." Wen Baohua's voice was full of laughter. "Xia Bang was busy, so we didn't play for long. Where are you?"
"Me?" Xu Shiqi looked back at the man who happened to be looking at him and smiled softly, "I'm doing a very vulgar thing with a stranger."
"Ah?" Wen Baohua was stunned. "Are you on a blind date?"
Xu Shiqi couldn't help but laugh again. If she had asked Kuang Xiaoan this question, she might not have been so accurate: "I guessed it, but there's no prize."
Wen Baohua was also happy: "It's just right. I brought some gifts for everyone. See you at the usual place tonight. I don't want any prizes. Just listen to your blind date story. It must be very interesting."
"Okay, I'll go." Xu Shiqi hung up the phone and returned to the dining table, "Sorry..."
Xu Shiqi and her high school classmates, as long as they were in the local area, would have regular gatherings almost every month. She had worked in another place for a while before, so she hadn't been here for a long time, but she still recognized the place.
It was still late at night, and when the lights came on, they immediately entered the realm of nightlife. They had a fixed box in this famous bar. It was said that the owner of the bar was related to Wen Baohua's family.
When Xu Shiqi entered, her ears were almost deafened. A male classmate was howling like a wolf at night. The unpleasantness was only tolerated by high-quality sound insulation, which made the people inside miserable. Fortunately, it was not the first time for everyone to hear him howl like a wolf, so she soon got used to it.
As soon as she entered, she was pulled to the sofa. She looked closely and saw that it was Kuang Xiaoan. From her expression, she knew that Wen Baohua must have whispered to her. Kuang Xiaoan asked her excitedly, "I heard that you had a blind date at noon today? How was it? What does the guy do? Will he come over tonight..."
"You've had too much to drink," Wen Baohua patted her shoulder, "Didn't we say that we're not allowed to bring anyone else to our party?" She turned to Xu Shiqi and said, "How about bringing him out tomorrow?"
During this time, Xu Shiqi had been handed a wine glass. She drank two sips of the wine and said hello to a few other people. Only then did she turn around and asked with a smile, "What did you say just now?"
"Don't try to escape!" Kuang Xiaoan squeezed in. Although others didn't understand, she knew very well that Xu Shiqi was a good Tai Chi practitioner.
"There is no tomorrow. It's over before lunch." Xu Shiqi shrugged and answered truthfully.
At noon, after she had answered Wen Baohua's call and had just returned to her seat to apologize, but before she could say more, the man interrupted her with lightning speed.
"You're not leaving on the pretext that something happened to your friend, are you?"
Xu Shiqi was stunned for a moment. She was just being polite. But since that was the case, she simply said sincerely, "I do have something to do. I'm sorry."
The man looked at her disappointedly. He had just wanted to ease the awkward atmosphere of their first meeting, and made a joke that appeared in a movie, but he didn't expect that she really had something to do. He could only try to persuade her to stay: "No matter how urgent the matter is, it can't be separated from this meal. Eat before you leave."
Xu Shiqi tilted his head and said with a smile: "I don't like men who are late. Really."
After saying that, she left in a very cool manner.
As for whether the man was stunned, stupid, annoyed or angry after hearing it, that was no longer within the scope of her concern.
Kuang Xiaoan had long known Xu Shiqi's picky nature, but she still asked disappointedly, "What does that man look like? Why is your first impression so bad?"
"What does he look like?" Xu Shiqi tilted his head like he did then, and said with a smile, "I forgot."
The few people who were waiting to listen to "Seventeen Blind Dates" suddenly became deflated and walked away.
"Seventeen, don't be the last girl in your class to get married." A boy who was passing by smoking said casually.
Xu Shiqi took a cigarette from him and lit it with a lighter. After taking two puffs, she looked at Wen Baohua's eyes, which were bigger than copper bells, and was stunned for a moment: "Why, are you in a hurry to get pregnant?"
Wen Baohua thought about it, stepped back a little, then looked at her with his chin in his hand: "I just still can't accept the fact that you smoke." Seventeen is not that kind of enchanting woman, but her posture of holding a cigarette in one hand and supporting her elbow with the other hand is particularly... flavorful.
Kuang Xiaoan folded his arms and sneered, "She appears to be a good woman on the surface, but she doesn't have a single peaceful bone in her body."
Xu Shiqi smiled and said, "Anyway, there's no one around me who's breathing my secondhand smoke."
Soft music was playing in the box. Under the dim light, Xu Shiqi seemed to be feeling a little lonely when he heard her say this. However, he still had an indescribable carefree attitude.
Wen Baohua wanted to say something, but then he thought that he had just gotten married and if he acted like he wanted everyone in the world to get married as soon as possible, it would be annoying.
Xu Shiqi smiled when he saw her expression. This was the benefit of talking to her. Just a little bit would stop her. On the contrary, Kuang Xiaoan was very straightforward. She reached out and pinched Xu Shiqi's cigarette, glared and said, "It's better not to do this kind of thing that hurts others and yourself. I think you should find someone to take care of you as soon as possible."
"I didn't hurt anyone." Xu Shiqi muttered. But she didn't have a smoking addiction, so she just put it out. There were many things that were like non-addictive cigarettes to her, which were easy to dissipate.
"It's even more wrong to harm yourself." Kuang Xiaoan continued to glare.
"That's true," Xu Shiqi nodded, "I won't do anything to let myself down. Don't worry."
"Your topic is too serious. Let's go, let's have a drink..." A female classmate had obviously drunk a lot of wine with the male classmates and was already in a swaying position. She pulled Kuang Xiaoan away - this one was also a heroine, the kind that was unfathomable, and it was her turn to come on stage.
Wen Baohua watched everyone making a fuss with a smile. As long as they didn't get drunk like on her wedding night, it would be fine.
Xu Shiqi also knew everyone's temperament, so she went out to ask someone to send some sobering things. When she was leaving, her cell phone rang, and she sighed and picked it up.
The other party's roar almost pierced her eardrums, and she had to put the phone away.
"Xu, Shi, Qi... What faults are you finding in others again?"
"Mom," Xu Shiqi said lazily, "He's late!"
"Late? I'm a busy person, but you insisted on making an appointment with me at a different time. It's so cool at night, but you made me run around in the midday heat. I asked, but I was only a few minutes late. I think you were early on purpose, right?"
As expected, no one knows a daughter better than her mother. Xu Shiqi did not argue and just admitted, "I hate people who are late. I don't want them!"
"Okay." The sound of gritting teeth could be heard on the other end of the phone. "Then there will be other suitable mothers to arrange it in the future. I will definitely not be late. Don't make up other excuses."
"Sure." Xu Shiqi replied very obediently, "I'm not really that picky."
But it was obvious that her words were not very convincing. The person on the other end of the phone snorted twice and hung up.
Xu Shiqi smiled and shook her head. Since she came home, her mother has devoted herself wholeheartedly to the task of finding a blind date for her. Although it is very likely that she will fail over and over again, she is also very likely to keep trying!
What excuse should I find next time
Xu Shiqi went downstairs while thinking.
When she returned to the box, a group of people had formed a circle around the coffee table and seemed to be playing some tricks.
Everything on the coffee table was swept away, even the previous wine stains were wiped clean. A wine bottle was spinning alone and innocently on the table, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the mouth of the bottle. Xu Shiqi looked around twice and immediately felt something was not good. She immediately followed her instinct and wanted to withdraw, but she was held tightly by someone. Sure enough, the mouth of the bottle was pointing directly at her.
"I'll go see if the sobering drinks I ordered for you have arrived." Xu Shiqi stood up and spoke in a gentle tone.
She was the most powerful person in their class. When she was gentle, she could make people feel soft to the bone. But after all, after so many years of being classmates, she had developed some resistance - which meant that this trick didn't work.
The people on both sides stretched out their hands and clamped Xu Shiqi, who was unable to move. Someone shouted: "Baohua just got married and has the right to speak today. Come over and ask her questions, don't let her run away."
Wen Baohua did not join the game today, but still came over while holding back his laughter.
"Seventeen, I asked."
Xu Shiqi looked helpless. If he had known, he would not have come closer. Curiosity really kills the cat.
"… Um, what drinks did you order?"
Everyone was stunned. Xu Shiqi cheered and hugged her: "Baohua, you are so kind."
Naturally, no one wanted to know the answer. Seeing that Wen Baohua had wasted an opportunity, everyone was dissatisfied. Wen Baohua took this opportunity to give everyone a gift that she brought on her honeymoon. When it was Xu Shiqi's turn, she whispered, "I'll let you go today. I will still care about your problems in the future if I have the chance."
"Okay." Xu Shiqi nodded generously. If it were someone else today, according to the rules of this game, they would have to answer whatever they were asked.
"When I heard you talk about blind dates, I wanted to learn from your experience. My sister is more troublesome than you, alas!" Wen Baohua sighed.
Xu Shiqi thought for a moment and remembered that she only had one cousin, who was her bridesmaid at her wedding, a very thin girl.
"Not everyone needs a blind date. Wouldn't it be great for her to find a relationship on her own?"
"Ah, let's talk about it next time..." Wen Baohua hadn't finished speaking when he was dragged to play the game because he hadn't asked any punitive questions. This time, Xu Shiqi only stood outside and watched the fun, and definitely didn't participate anymore.