Chapter 3: An Unexpected Date

  Gu Xixin stayed at home for one night and set off back to City A the next day.

  The county where Su Jinping is located is also the hometown of Gu Zixin, one of the counties under A City, and it takes less than an hour by car. There are buses running back and forth, with a trip every half an hour, which is still quite convenient.

  On Tuesday afternoon, Gu Zixin, who had just finished writing and was dozing off at her desk, received a call from someone introduced by Aunt Wang. This person named Xu Rui politely inquired over the phone and set the meeting place at a Chinese restaurant on Food Street.

  Gu Zi thought for a moment and felt no objection, so she readily agreed.

  As it was approaching the end of work, Gu Xi thought that there was still some time before the agreed meeting time, and looking at her own casual attire and flat shoes, she decisively decided to go home and make herself over.

  She quickly took a taxi home, put on some light makeup for herself, wore a linen close-fitting shirt, a fashion-style loose cowboy pants, outside with a simple and generous windbreaker, plus a silk scarf, Gu Xixin looked at the mirror, locked the door satisfactorily and set off.

  Arriving at the agreed location, Gu Xixin glanced at her watch and saw that there were still ten minutes before the agreed time. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed out her clothes in front of the glass door and pushed it open to walk inside.

  Xu Rui was already seated inside, Gu Xixin had seen his photo and didn't hesitate, walking over to extend her hand: "Hello, I'm Gu Xixin, sorry for keeping you waiting."

  Xu Rui obviously didn't expect that the person he was meeting would be a pretty and generous girl, so he smiled and extended his hand to shake hers: "I'm Xu Rui, I just arrived ten minutes ago, you're not late."

  "King's aunt didn't tell me that the person she was introducing to me was a beauty, luckily I struggled for a long time and decided to come on this blind date. Otherwise, you see, how much would I have lost?" Xǔ Ruì said with a smile after sitting down.

  "So you're not very disappointed?" With his teasing, Gu Zixin also relaxed and played along with him.

  "It's not just that I'm not disappointed, but having dinner with such a beautiful lady is my honor." Perhaps this tone would make people uncomfortable if it came from another man, but when Xu Rui said it, Gu Zhi Xin only found it amusing.

  Two people eating and chatting casually, from their respective work, to interesting people around them, to their emotional experiences, of course, also including reluctantly accepting blind dates for the sake of having an explanation for their family.

  Gu Xixin carefully observed Xu Rui for a long time, thinking that he should be like herself. Although she didn't have low expectations of her blind date, it was clear that at present, there were no plans to further develop their relationship or rush into marriage.

  With this understanding, Gu Xixin breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that the other party had moved their thoughts, which would inevitably hurt her mind and waste her energy, and if not handled properly, it might even harm someone.

  "To be honest, after seeing you, I found that you are much more excellent than the blind date object in my mind."

  "This is the greatest affirmation for me, a compliment from a beauty, I gladly accept it. However, shouldn't there be a 'but' after that?" Xu Rui's smiling eyes were full of understanding.

  "You're really a clever person. To put it this way, I came today on the one hand because I promised my mom, and on the other hand I indeed had thoughts of trying to start something, but after seeing you, I changed my mind. I think if we were friends, we would definitely be more successful than being lovers." Gu Xixin looked at him.

  "That's great, we two are thinking alike. To be honest, I was forced by my family to get married and had no choice but to come here. I think I don't need to rush into a marriage at this age." Xu Rui blinked her eyes, her vivid expression made Gu Xi couldn't help but laugh.

  The two of them reached an agreement and quickly finalized the plan, treating each other as friends while using each other as a shield to deal with their respective parents.

  With this understanding, the conversation between the two became much more relaxed, and they even made plans to meet up again another day. According to Xu Rui, he had a group of friends that he normally hung out with, and they were all quite interesting. Gu Zhi Xin naturally agreed, thinking that having more friends couldn't be a bad thing. Moreover, if Xu Rui's friends were as humorous as him, then Gu Zhi Xin was willing to join in on the fun.

  That afternoon, Gu Zixin was about to contact for an interview when Qiao Xuanan called her into the office through an internal phone call.

  As she walked into the editor's office, Qiao Xuanan sat in a chair with his back to her, lost in thought. Upon hearing her footsteps, he didn't even turn his head, merely saying, "The reaction to Sheng Yu's situation is quite big!"

  Gu Zixin didn't say anything and waited for his next words.

  Qiao Xuanan turned the swivel chair back, "As soon as our newspapers and TV stations broadcast the news, Sheng Yu received a burst of praise! What did I say earlier? This might be an opportunity. Just in time, let's take advantage of this momentum to invite Yin Shu for an exclusive interview, we must act quickly, best to do it before others do."

  "But...," Gu Xixin thought about how to phrase it, "I've heard he rarely appears in front of the media, I'm afraid..."

  "Afraid he won't accept an interview?" Qiao Xuanan smiled, "Don't worry, he will."

  Gu Xixin didn't have much hope to begin with. These so-called business elites are the hardest to meet. But she could only call the Shengyu Group, and the receptionist at the front desk politely but firmly told her: "Sorry, our CEO Yin doesn't accept media interviews."

  Gu Xixin deliberated for a long time before the receptionist finally agreed to help her make an appointment, but whether Yin Shuo would accept it was not something she could control.

  Gu Xixin thought, it can only be like this, I guess this road won't work, looks like we still need to find someone who can talk to General Yin.

  Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, Gu Zixin received a call from Sheng Yu's front desk receptionist: "Miss Gu, President Yin has an hour of time this Friday morning from 10:30 to 11:30. Can you arrange for an interview at that time?"

  Gu Zi Xin was overjoyed, "Really? Thank you so much!"