JR Chapter 7

Five years ago, Mo Lin’s grandmother fell ill with an incurable disease and could only be cared for slowly. The doctor’s words to Mo Lin emphasized that her grandmother’s emotional state was crucial.

Mo Lin knew that her grandmother had always been optimistic, but still held traditional beliefs. Since falling ill, her grandmother’s biggest worry had been Mo Lin’s personal life.

“Your father passed away early, and your mother has long had another family and doesn’t care about you. If I leave this world, you’ll be alone. No one will take care of you, and no one will keep you company…”

The old lady often ended up crying as she spoke. It was because she felt for Mo Lin and was also frustrated that time showed no mercy and refused to pause for her.

Mo Lin thought being alone was fine; she could keep herself company and take care of herself.

But seeing her grandmother so upset made Mo Lin feel deeply distressed. So, Mo Lin made a marriage plan for herself, wanting to reassure her grandmother and stabilize her emotions as soon as possible.

But after several disastrous blind dates, Mo Lin realized one thing—her previous self-assessment was very accurate.

She was just not suitable for marriage!

Or rather, she was not suitable for entering an intimate relationship.

When she met with potential partners and asked her “normal” questions, half of them already wanted to back out. And after she introduced her requirements, the other half began to strategically drink water, take phone calls, or “go to the bathroom.”

Almost no eligible men who wanted to get married could accept her.

Mo Lin had always been strong-willed. She handled her affairs efficiently and cleanly, but marriage required cooperation with another person! As decisive as she was, she had to accept this reality.

The turning point came on that fateful day, March 1st.

In the morning, Mo Lin took care of her grandmother at the hospital. In the afternoon, she went to the studio to meet with an old client, Ms. Jiang Yu.

In Mo Lin’s view, she had quite a fate with Ms. Jiang.

On the opening day of her and Cheng Lulu’s jewelry studio, besides Cheng Lulu’s friends and her parents’ friends, the only real customer was Jiang Yu.

The jewelry design studio, located in the Cultural and Creative park, often deterred people from stepping inside. Imagining how high the cost of the jewellry could be, made most passers-by hesitant. The people, who casually strolled in to browse typically had financial means. However, when they first opened, the items Mo Lin and her team sold were not expensive. Most pieces ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand, with only a few items reaching tens of thousands. After all, they were just starting and couldn’t afford high costs.

Customers with financial means typically didn’t think much of such “cheap goods.”

However, Jiang Yu was quite interested and browsed for a while. In the end, she bought a very small ruby pendant for around seven thousand yuan, which was one of their more expensive products at the time.

Jiang Yu mentioned that she really liked Mo Lin’s style, which used geometrical arrangements that were almost devoid of emotion to create aesthetically pleasing pieces.

Later, Ms. Jiang often came to them for custom orders. Ms. Jiang was not short on money and never rushed the design. She always provided ample time and money for Mo Lin to slowly realize her ideas.

She was the perfect customer.

Mo Lin had always cherished this appreciation and connection. She had always considered Ms. Jiang to be an elegant, peaceful, and tasteful older sister.

Until that afternoon…

Ms. Jiang stormed into her little shop, angrily cursing on the phone.

“***, I am telling you Jiang Yuanmu, you brat with an attitude, that your parents are worried sick that you’ll never even find a girlfriend. And you still claim that you’ll get married? Marry a ghost! You should just buy a dog and live with it!”

It’s unclear what was said on the other end of the line, but Ms. Jiang flew into a rage: “Of course I know your mom doesn’t agree with you getting a dog! Anyway, I won’t help you find anyone anymore! You’re on your own. Go to heaven or hell, I want to see how capable you are, finding someone who meets your requirements! Go pray at a temple! Maybe the Goddess of Childbirth can immediately grant you one… Hello? Hello! How dare you hang up on me!”

Furious, Ms. Jiang threw her phone onto the small shop’s sofa.

Mo Lin was sitting at her usual design workspace, staring blankly at Ms. Jiang for a moment. She calmed herself and greeted, “Sister Yu,” standing up, “Would you like something to drink?”

Ms. Jiang didn’t answer her question. Instead, she vented her frustration to Mo Lin:

“My big nephew is really going to drive me crazy. He’s no longer a child, but just because his parents are pressuring him, he wants to get married. And he has a bunch of absurd requirements. As soon as he meets someone, before saying anything else, he asks if they have an infectious diseases, if they have a history of hereditary diseases in their family, and if they’re willing to sign a prenuptial agreement. Who does he think he is? The emperor?”

After hearing Jiang Yu’s scolding, Mo Lin didn’t say anything. She silently lowered her head and touched her fingers.

“Sigh, I set him up with my friend’s kid—don’t you think I know the background? Why ask these questions! Even if you need to ask, can’t you wait a few days? Get familiar! Get to know each other! Can’t you start by being friends first! Do you really have to make me, the matchmaker, so embarrassed! And he keeps saying things like ‘if it’s not suitable, the sooner we break up, the better!’

Mo Lin quietly took another sip of water without saying a word. 

Jiang Yu continued to scold.

 

“I knew that he had a bad temper since childhood, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Dating someone like he’s hiring for a job? All structured and methodical, even asking people to prepare their documents and photos in advance. And export them in PDF format!” Jiang Yu laughed angrily. “It’s just ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Hearing this, Mo Lin raised her eyebrows slightly in admiration and then noted down a line in her phone’s memo: “Prepare documents and photos in advance.”

“Anyway, I’m not helping him find a partner. Where could you find a woman that meets his requirements? Not even a deity could do it.”

As soon as Ms. Jiang finished speaking, Mo Lin’s phone vibrated. She glanced at it and saw an unknown number. She told Jiang Yu, “Sister Yu, I need to take this call.”

Jiang Yu nodded, and Mo Lin answered the call. And with that, everything happened.

On the other end of the line, a torrent of insults came through:

“Mo Lin! If you don’t want to go on blind dates, then don’t come. Don’t start by asking if the other person has any infectious diseases or a history of hereditary diseases! What do you think of our family? What do you think of my son? It’s only the first meeting, and you already want a prenuptial agreement? Huh? Let me tell you, we’re not after your money! And we won’t serve you…”

“Beep,” Mo Lin hung up the phone.

It wasn’t because of the insults.

It was because the insults were being broadcasted through the high-quality Bluetooth speakers in their shop.

After Mo Lin hung up, both she and Jiang Yu, who was sitting on the sofa, experienced a moment of stiffness and awkwardness.

Silence… Especially after the public broadcast of the insults, the silence at this moment was particularly pronounced.

Mo Lin was the first to calm down. She cleared her throat and stood up, “Sister Yu, I’m sorry…” Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Yu suddenly sprang up from the sofa.

Jiang Yu looked at Mo Lin, and there was an indescribable light in her eyes.

“The king of heaven himself,” she murmured, “I’ve found him.”

Even though Mo Lin didn’t hear Jiang Yu’s murmuring, she understood her meaning. Then she thought: it’s worth a try.

Jiang Yu, the perceptive aunt of Jiang Yuanmu, connected Mo Lin and Jiang Yuanmu on March 1st. They agreed to meet on March 3rd, with the first step being to prepare each other’s documents and photos.

And then, the delightful negotiations began.