Qin Qingman wasn't easily frightened, but the cold aura surrounding the man startled her. When he glanced over at her, she felt a bit awkward and offered a slight smile to ease the tension-it was her fault for staring first, after all.

After giving him an apologetic smile, she didn't wait for a response. She quickly looked down and resumed eating her noodles.

She had no intention of provoking that man any further. Her intuition told her that he was dangerous-someone she couldn't afford to mess with. However, even though she wanted to avoid him, the conversation from the next table drifted over clearly.

"After we get married, can I live on base with you?"

"I have a little brother. He's only eight, really clever, and he's very attached to me. Can I bring him with me to live on base?"

"My parents aren't in good health. Would I be able to send them some money each month?"

"I also have a sister. She's twenty this year, but she has trouble walking. Could you arrange a light job for her?"

"I heard the military cafeteria is short-staffed. My cousin is in great shape-strong and hardworking. Could you help him get a job in the cafeteria? Oh, and I have another cousin..."

On and on, the girl's requests kept coming.

Qin Qingman couldn't help but overhear every word. She hadn't expected the woman on the blind date to be so tactless. How could someone make so many demands before the relationship had even begun? This wasn't a proposal for marriage-it sounded more like she was looking for someone to take responsibility for her entire extended family!

If it were her, she'd have to ask, "Why? What makes you think that's okay?"

Was it because her face was big?

Sure enough, the expected response came: "No," the man cut off the girl's endless stream of demands. He was already feeling a bit impatient. He had only come to the blind date because a fellow soldier had tricked him into it.

Had he known this was going to happen, he wouldn't have left the base at all today.

The girl stared blankly at Wei Ling after being interrupted. Something wasn't right. The matchmaker had said that her blind date would be very honest, not talkative, and would agree to whatever was asked of him.

Why wasn't the situation going as expected?

To dampen the girl's enthusiasm further, Wei Ling bluntly said, "I don't engage in favoritism, nor do I arrange jobs for anyone. Job opportunities are equal for everyone. If you believe you're qualified, you can compete fairly."

"But... getting a good job isn't that simple..." the girl tried to explain.

Wei Ling didn't give her a chance to continue and said, "Apologies. I didn't know I was here to meet you today. I'm not interested in this meeting. My family has already made arrangements for my marriage. I'm sorry, I hope you understand."

"You liar!"

The girl stood up in a panic, glanced at Wei Ling with fear, then covered her flushed face and ran off.

To be rejected by a blind date with such a reason felt like a complete insult. The girl felt utterly humiliated.

Wei Ling: ...I was tricked into this too!

From listening to the conversation, Qin Qingman pieced together what had happened. It seemed that this cold, stern man didn't want to get married and had been tricked into coming for a blind date. Whether the person who deceived him had good intentions or ulterior motives, she didn't know.

Luckily, the man wasn't stupid.

At least he knew how to say no.

With that in mind, Qin Qingman found herself liking Wei Ling a little bit more.

"Qingman, unfortunately, Liu Comrade couldn't make it today. He's busy with work and can't meet you in person. How about we take you to his workplace for a quick look from a distance? If you like what you see, the marriage can be arranged."

As Qin Qingman was still enjoying the amusement of Wei Ling's situation, Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang walked over with smiles on their faces, proposing a new "compromise" for the blind date.

Qin Qingman: ...They really think I'm an idiot, don't they?

Wei Ling, who had been planning to leave, was drawn back by Zhu Hongxia's loud voice. Just from the words alone, he could tell there was something fishy about this blind date.

With that in mind, he glanced over at Qin Qingman.

In his previous life as the eldest legitimate son of a noble family, Qin Qingman wasn't the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but she definitely had an air of elegance. With just one glance, he deeply remembered her bright and lively features.

"Aunt, Little Aunt, didn't you say you had arranged to meet Liu Comrade today? How is it that he suddenly can't make it because of work? Could it be that he's using work as an excuse because he doesn't want to meet me?" Qin Qingman didn't intend to give Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang the chance to cause more trouble.

Both Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang froze.

Qin Xiang laughed awkwardly and patted Qin Qingman on the shoulder, teasing her, "What are you saying, silly girl? Liu Comrade is very fond of you! Ever since he saw your photo, he's been nothing but impressed!"

"Wait a moment..."

Qin Qingman's expression turned serious, her brows furrowing slightly. "Little Aunt, how did Liu Comrade get my photo? When did you show him my picture?"

Qin Xiang, realizing she had let something slip, cursed herself internally and quickly tried to cover up her mistake, "Photos are part of the usual process for blind dates. How else would Liu Comrade know how outstanding you are?"

"Little Aunt, that doesn't sound right," Qin Qingman replied, her gaze growing colder as she looked at Qin Xiang. "In traditional matchmaking, matchmakers introduce people face-to-face unless they're separated by great distances and can't meet in person. There's no reason for someone to be shown a photo without the person's consent-especially since I had no knowledge of this."

Qin Qingman wasn't speaking loudly, but it was hard to ignore her words with so many curious listeners nearby.

Many people in the restaurant turned to look.

Most of the people at the restaurant were there for blind dates themselves and knew the usual process. Hearing what Qin Qingman said, many raised their brows in surprise, their eyes full of suspicion.

They looked at Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang as if they were traffickers.

The sudden suspicious stares made Qin Xiang's heart skip a beat. She felt deeply uncomfortable. ...Wasn't her niece supposed to be pretty naive? Why was she so clever today?

This situation was getting complicated!

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Zhu Hongxia, growing increasingly anxious, quickly tried to explain.

"Qingman, you don't understand. People with jobs like Liu Comrade's don't have much freedom in their schedules. As a leader at the farm, he has to deal with things the moment they come up, so of course he couldn't leave. Rest assured, Liu Comrade truly intended to meet you, but something important at the farm kept him."

Zhu Hongxia attempted to divert the conversation, but Qin Qingman wasn't about to let it go. She pressed on, "Aunt, being busy isn't a valid reason for him to see my photo without my permission-unless, of course, he somehow knew in advance that he wouldn't be able to meet today."

Zhu Hongxia was now even more frustrated. Why was this girl suddenly so stubborn?

Wasn't she always so easily swayed before?

By now, Zhu Hongxia had already been forced to repay a lot of what she owed Qin Qingman, but she still hadn't realized that her niece was no longer the same as before. She thought Qin Qingman had just gotten lucky by receiving help from the village leader, Zheng Anguo.

"You're not talking about the Liu Comrade who's the head of the farm's union, Liu Hechang, are you?"

At that moment, a voice from within the restaurant suddenly spoke up.

This revelation about Liu Hechang's identity caused many people to look at Zhu Hongxia and her group in shock.

One woman, who had brought her daughter to meet a blind date, couldn't help but curse at Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang, "So it's that Liu Hechang? You two women are definitely up to no good! You can't possibly be her real family, or you wouldn't be so eager to push her into such a disaster!"

"Shut up! Didn't you hear her call me her aunt? Of course, I'm her real aunt!" Zhu Hongxia, quick to speak without thinking, instantly confirmed her relationship to Qin Qingman, making it known to the entire restaurant.

"Shh-"

As soon as they heard that Zhu Hongxia was indeed Qin Qingman's real aunt, the restaurant erupted in hisses of disapproval.

The woman who had just cursed at them became even bolder, now criticizing without restraint. She was practically pointing at Zhu Hongxia's nose as she shouted, "You old hag! You call yourself her real aunt, but you're throwing her into the fire pit! You're really heartless. Doesn't everyone in town know about Liu Hechang? No wonder you didn't bring him here to meet her face-to-face! With that old face of his, no young girl would be interested!"

Even though Liu Hechang had some power at the farm, he couldn't control everything in town. There were plenty of people who didn't like him.

Following the old lady's comment, others began to expose more about Liu Hechang. "That Liu Hechang is almost fifty years old! Not only has he been married before, but he also has four grown children. What are you trying to do, as an aunt, introducing a young, beautiful girl like her to him? What's your real motive?"

"It looks like the young girl has no idea about Liu Hechang's situation. Are you trying to deceive her?"

"Young lady, don't believe these two relatives of yours. Liu Hechang is no good! Otherwise, he wouldn't be looking for a wife in the countryside. He's probably trying to fool someone who doesn't know his background. No girl in town would ever marry him."

"Girl, have your parents been kept in the dark by these two relatives as well?"

Hearing these kind-hearted warnings, Qin Qingman was secretly delighted, but on the surface, she put on a shocked and hurt expression.

Sometimes, saying nothing speaks louder than words. It's often better to let people fill in the blanks themselves.

Sure enough, the scolding directed at Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang intensified.

The two of them wished they could crawl into a hole and disappear.

If they had known so many people would stick their noses into their business, they wouldn't have brought Qin Qingman to the restaurant in the first place. These busybodies had nothing better to do, interfering in other people's affairs!

It made them furious.

"Aunt, Little Aunt, is what everyone's saying about Liu Comrade true?" Qin Qingman added salt to the wound, twisting the knife in Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang's backs.

Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang didn't know how to respond.

Quick-thinking Qin Xiang stomped her foot in anger and said, "Well, it looks like that matchmaker really tricked us! She kept singing Liu Comrade's praises, and we truly believed he was a rare, good match. Turns out, it was the matchmaker who deceived us first!"

"That's right, Qingman! Your little aunt and I were misled. With the heavy snow, we rarely come into town, so we relied on what the matchmaker told us about Liu Comrade. We never intended to deceive you. Don't worry, we'll definitely demand justice from the matchmaker when we get back!"

Seeing the crowd turning against them, Zhu Hongxia quickly followed Qin Xiang's lead.

The sincere tone in Qin Xiang and Zhu Hongxia's statements made some of the bystanders start to wonder if they might have blamed the wrong people.

After all, the quality of a blind date's character is usually based on the matchmaker's word. In more isolated areas, it was indeed easy to be misled by a matchmaker. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

With this realization, the onlookers softened their judgment toward Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang.

However, a few particularly concerned people still leaned in close to Qin Qingman and quietly told her more about Liu Hechang and his family situation, fearing that a pretty young girl might fall into a trap.

Qin Qingman, who had achieved her goal, gratefully thanked the kind-hearted individuals. Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she left the town with Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang.

The blind date had been thoroughly ruined by the helpful crowd, and Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang knew they couldn't push it any further.

But on the way back, neither of them showed the slightest bit of kindness in their expressions.

Thinking about the chickens and grain they had just returned to Qin Qingman the previous day, the two women were so angry they almost gave themselves internal injuries.

In perfect contrast to Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang, Qin Qingman was in a wonderful mood, even as the cold wind blew against her.

Although the issue with Liu Hechang wasn't fully resolved, she was confident that her cousin, Qin Caiyun, would take care of that for her. After all, when they were leaving town, she had spotted Qin Caiyun on the other side of the street.

What Qin Qingman didn't know was that everything that had happened in the restaurant-her seemingly unintentional exposure of Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang's true intentions-had been observed by Wei Ling. He had taken note of it all.

Having grown up in the household of a duke, Wei Ling immediately saw through Qin Qingman's true nature.

Beautiful and clever, delicate yet strong-she was a little fox who knew how to charm and deceive.