Chapter 43: 042 My Family May Not Be as Good as Yours, but I'm Prettier Than You

042 "My family may not be as good as yours, but I'm prettier than you."

"You came alone to drink coffee?" Fang Qingye typed back another message.

"Yeah, I had nothing to do, heard a new coffee shop just opened so I dropped by. Are you on a blind date? Which girl? Let me guess... the pretty one on the left, right?"

"Sort of."

"Mm, not bad taste. You chat with the girl properly then, I won't bother you."

"Okay."

Fang Qingye put his phone back in his pocket.

It really was a bit rude to be fiddling with his phone during a date with a girl, even though he wasn't very interested in this date.

Chen Wan was indeed very pretty, but she wasn't his type.

The three chatted idly for a while. After finishing a cup of coffee, Chen Wan said goodbye and left, with Du Juan naturally following.

"Let me walk you back." Fang Qingye decided to play gentleman one more time.

"No need, thanks." Chen Wan politely declined.

Since the other party refused, Fang Qingye naturally didn't insist. He watched them leave, then settled the bill and prepared to go.

Just then, his phone QQ buzzed again. Fang Qingye guessed it was from Xia He, took it out and looked — sure enough.

"That fast and the date is over? Come sit over here, let me hear how your blind date went."

This Xia He sure is a gossip.

But if he went back now, his mom would definitely interrogate him. Better to go back later.

Thinking of this, after paying the bill Fang Qingye picked up his unfinished coffee and walked over to sit across from Xia He.

"How was it, alright?" Xia He asked with concern.

"No chance." Fang Qingye said lazily.

"Huh? Was it that you didn't fancy her, or she didn't fancy you?"

"I reckon neither of us fancied the other."

"Heh... so the two of you just didn't click?" Xia He laughed.

"Possibly."

"Hey, what's the name of the girl you were on the blind date with? Which unit is she from? I feel like I've seen her somewhere?" Xia He's gossipy heart stirred again.

"Her name is Chen Wan, a program host at the county TV station." Fang Qingye told the truth.

"No wonder, I thought she looked familiar. On this year's March 8th Women's Day, the county Women's Federation led a cultural evening gala and she was the host. She's pretty and very poised, looks a bit like the actress Liu Shishi!" Xia He said.

"Pretty? In this world there are plenty of pretty girls..." Fang Qingye smiled: "So what about Liu Shishi? I'm not interested in these movie stars, TV hosts, that sort of thing."

"Heh, you have high standards. I wonder what kind of girl you'll end up finding." Xia He laughed.

Fang Qingye picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and said nothing.

While Fang Qingye and Xia He were chatting idly in the coffee shop, Chen Wan and Du Juan walked along the street, arms linked, chatting intimately as they went.

"Chen Wan, looks like you're not too satisfied with Fang Qingye?" Du Juan asked.

Chen Wan was quite candid: "Yeah, you could tell too."

Du Juan was a bit puzzled and said: "I think Fang Qingye's pretty good, quite handsome."

"He is quite handsome, but I don't weigh that heavily when looking for a boyfriend."

"I know, what you care about is the other person's family and job." Du Juan of course knew her best friend well: "But Fang Qingye isn't bad in that regard either — works at a bank, nice workplace, high salary."

"How high can the salary be? Can it compare to doing business? More importantly, no prospects for advancement. Listen to him say he works in the general office — that's basically like some of those obscure government units: the trade union, the Women's Federation, the archives bureau. What's the point?"

Chen Wan's analysis was spot-on. Du Juan was silent for a moment, then said: "His family is pretty good though, both parents are teachers, and his dad is even the principal of Chengguan Middle School."

"So what about being a principal? An administrative position is only deputy-section level, and he's already hit the ceiling — he can't possibly become the Education Bureau chief." Chen Wan rebutted.

"His second uncle is the Finance Bureau chief."

"That's his second uncle, not his own dad. If his own dad were the Finance Bureau chief, I'd agree."

Hearing Chen Wan's words, Du Juan couldn't help saying: "You... you're too mercenary."

"I'm not being mercenary, I'm forced into it." Chen Wan stopped walking, looked at Du Juan, and said very seriously:

"You know my family conditions are pretty average, I don't have any relatives who are officials. Since childhood I've been worse off than you all. If I want to change my fate I can only rely on myself. Luckily my parents gave me good looks, so of course I have to make full use of them to find my own happiness."

"Alright, alright, you're glib, I can't out-talk you." Du Juan said with mock annoyance.

Chen Wan smiled, then linked arms with her best friend again, suddenly thinking of something: "Hey... Du Juan, you think so highly of Fang Qingye, why don't you just date him?"

"He wouldn't fancy me." Du Juan's expression turned a bit dejected.

Hearing Du Juan's words, Chen Wan was surprised: "You haven't dated, how would you know?"

"We've played badminton a few times, right? My cousin and Liu Dong — the boy from the Propaganda Department — chatted and laughed while playing, and later Liu Dong even took the initiative to ask my cousin to play. But Fang Qingye just silently played the whole time without saying a word... sigh, if only I were as pretty and fair-skinned as you."

Du Juan finished speaking and sighed deeply.

"It doesn't matter, if he doesn't fancy you, we don't fancy him either." Chen Wan comforted her best friend, while feeling a little smug inside.

My family may not be as good as yours, but I'm prettier than you.

I must hold onto this advantage firmly.

Du Juan was a carefree girl — this dejected mood quickly vanished. Hands in pockets, with a proud look: "You're right! Come on, my treat for milk tea, way better than coffee."

"Great, thanks for treating." Chen Wan said.

"No problem, we're best buds."

So the two girls chatted and laughed as they walked toward a milk tea shop on the street.

The next day, Fang Qingye got news from his second aunt: Chen Wan said the two of them weren't quite compatible, and hoped Fang Qingye could find someone suitable.

The first blind date ended in failure.

His second aunt also comforted Fang Qinglin over the phone: "Xiao Ye, don't be discouraged, your second aunt will find you an even better one!"

"Second Aunt, no need, really, I don't want to talk about dating for now." Fang Qingye finally voiced his own thoughts.

"How can that be? If you don't hurry and find someone, good girls will be snatched up by others!"

I#￥%￥%……

Fang Qingye didn't know how to persuade his Second Aunt, but regardless, he was quite happy that this blind date had failed.

Time drifted along until early July, when students began their summer vacation.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Fang Qingye.

The rainy season finally ended, but with the scorching sun replacing the overcast rain, the temperature surged sharply, skyrocketing to 30 degrees; after work, riding his small scooter, the sun burned his face so it stung painfully, and Fang Qingye decided to take leave.

Now that he was a formal employee of the bank, according to relevant national policies, he was entitled to five days of public leave.

If counting the two weekends on either end, he could rest for a total of nine days!

It's so good to be in the system....