Chapter 1: Coffeehouse Clash

Two in the afternoon, and the biggest coffee joint in Riverside City was hopping. Over in the regular area, Yelon zeroed in on table 99 right away. There sat a woman with a ton of makeup on. She was pretty good - looking and tall. At the moment, she was sippin' on coffee and chowin' down on food.

Yelon took a quick peek at the pic his mom had texted him. He was dead - sure this woman was his twentieth blind date. Countin' that mix - up he had in the VIP section earlier, she was actually the twenty - first.

Yelon walked on up and apologized like he meant it. "Ms. Zhu, I'm really sorry. I got tied up earlier, so I'm late..."

Zhu Meiling sized Yelon up from head to toe. When she saw his casual and cheap - lookin' outfit for this date, she got impatient right off the bat. And when she laid eyes on his old - school flip phone, she got even more ticked off. "Are you seriously here for a blind date?"

"Yeah." Yelon answered, all earnest. "I'm Yelon. I'm twenty - eight. I work as a security guard at a hotel. Make around seventy grand a year. I own a place, but I live with my mom and my little bro..."

Zhu Meiling's chest was heaving like crazy. She was super mad.

Yelon went on. "If you marry me, as long as you treat my mom and bro right, I'll do whatever it takes to give you the life you want."

That did it for Zhu Meiling. She couldn't hold back anymore. She grabbed the half - full cup of hot coffee on the table and chucked it at Yelon's face.

Yelon quickly dodged. He looked at her all surprised and confused.

Zhu Meiling pointed at Yelon, practically jumping out of her skin. "You broke - down loser! With your lousy situation, how dare you make me wait?"

"Look at your ratty self. How did you even have the nerve to be late?"

"You're like some street - side toad tryin' to snag a swan!"

"Go take a leak and check yourself out. With your broke - down look, you don't deserve a wife!"

Zhu Meiling's outburst had everyone in the joint looking. A bunch of coffeehouse waitstaff rushed over.

After getting all her anger out, Zhu Meiling snatched up her designer bag and turned to split.

"Hold up!" Yelon called out all of a sudden.

Zhu Meiling shot him a cold look, crossing her arms over her chest. "What? You wanna apologize and try to win me back? You wanna be my little lapdog? You don't stand a chance!"

She turned to leave again.

But Yelon stepped right in front of her, blocking her way.

Zhu Meiling shouted, steamed. "What the heck are you doing? Listen, there are plenty of people here. I'm not scared of you pullin' something!"

Yelon said, "You can go, but you gotta pay the tab."

Zhu Meiling glanced at the food on the table. She'd ordered a whole spread to get back at Yelon for making her wait a few minutes.

Zhu Meiling screeched, "What? Me pay? Are you flat - broke?"

Yelon shook his head. "It ain't got nothin' to do with whether I'm rich or not. You ordered all this food, and I haven't touched a bite. So you're the one who should pay."

Yelon turned to a male waiter nearby. "How much is it all? Tell her to cough it up."

The male waiter stepped up. "Miss, it's seven hundred and sixty - eight bucks total."

Zhu Meiling glared at Yelon, grinding her teeth. "You good - for - nothing loser! If you're broke, don't even think about going on blind dates. Who ever heard of making the girl pay on a blind date? Are you so broke you can't even scrape together a hundred bucks?"

"You're a total loser. You're gonna be single for life..."

"Waiter." Yelon was getting pretty ticked off now. He said, "Bring me a table full of the exact same food she ordered."

He plopped down at an empty table nearby.

"Nice move!"

"Dude, you're the man!"

"This guy's awesome. He's really sticking up for us guys!" Some of the guys nearby started cheering.

"You!" Zhu Meiling's face turned red, then white with anger.

Before long, a table full of the same food was set down next to Yelon. He started munching away like he didn't have a care in the world.

Zhu Meiling was even more fired up. "You son of a gun! You're a total waste. If you can find a wife, I'll take your last name!"

Zhu Meiling paid the bill, fuming. With all the guys jeering and making fun of her, she bolted out of the coffeehouse.

The joint soon got back to normal. Everyone went back to minding their own business.

Just then, a sweet, alluring scent hit Yelon's nose. His eyes lit up. A drop - dead - gorgeous woman, like an angel straight out of a dream, sat down across from him.

She was rockin' a white, super - elegant evening gown that showed off her dainty shoulders. Under the lights, her skin was like fine china, giving off a sexy glow. With delicate eyebrows, almond - shaped eyes, a cute nose, and cherry - red lips, she was a knockout.

Yelon recognized her right away. It was Zhou Ruobing, the woman he'd mistaken for is blind date in the VIP section earlier.

Yelon never expected that this goddess would come back to find him.

With her arrival, almost all the men in the room stared straight at them, as if their souls had been captured by her. Her exquisite features, perfect figure, and the noble aura cultivated from a life of privilege were truly enough to make every man in the room drool over her.

But at the moment, her face was covered with a layer of frost, like a thousand - year - old iceberg, making people hesitate to approach.

Zhou Ruobing had witnessed Yelon's failed blind date with Zhu Meiling just now.

Yelon was extremely surprised. "Ms. Zhou, you..."

Zhou Ruobing said, "Come home with me now. I'll give you ten thousand dollars."

"Ah?" Yelon was dumbfounded.

Zhou Ruobing continued, "I need someone to pose as my boyfriend..."

Just now, Zhou Ruobing had received a call from her mother, saying that her grandfather was critically ill. Zhou Ruobing had planned to visit him right away. However, her grandfather had demanded that she bring her boyfriend back, or she wouldn't be allowed to enter his house.

Zhou Ruobing didn't have any male friends, and it wasn't appropriate to ask an employee from her company to pose as her boyfriend. That's why she had come to Yelon.

"Ms. Zhou, I'm sorry, I..." Yelon was about to say that he wasn't interested in the money when his eyes caught a small jade pendant inside her collar.

How could she have the Xuanfeng Jade? Yelon was shocked. Zhou Ruobing narrowed her beautiful eyes and looked at him coldly. In the entire Riverside City, which man wouldn't jump at the chance to get close to her? Why would he reject this opportunity?

Yelon was then suddenly attracted by a jade bracelet on her left hand. He could see a trace of blood - red light in it, which was a bad omen!

A strange glint flashed unnoticed in Yelon's eyes. He said, "Ms. Zhou, I can help you with this, but after it's done, you need to give me your bracelet."

Zhou Ruobing looked at the jade bracelet on her wrist. It was a gift her best friend had brought back for her from abroad two months ago.

She looked up at Yelon.

Yelon said, "Ms. Zhou, I don't care about the money. You can think about it."

She could explain it to her best friend later!

Zhou Ruobing simply said, "Deal!"

Yelon was about to stand up when his eyes were drawn to a couple walking towards them.

The woman with heavy makeup, somewhat pretty, was none other than Zhu Meiling, his previous blind date!

But now, a chubby middle - aged man had his arm around her waist. They were clearly acting like a couple.

The man was Li Hong, a contractor of a construction company in Riverside City. Zhu Meiling had been his mistress for three years.

Zhu Meiling also saw Yelon at this time. Her body froze. "You're still here?"

A few months ago, Zhu Meiling had gotten pregnant. She had planned to find an honest man to take the blame. That's why she had been set up on a blind date with Yelon.

She never thought this blind - date guy was such a loser!

Zhu Meiling was about to leave with Li Hong when Li Hong was attracted by the woman across from Yelon. He let go of Zhu Meiling's waist and walked forward.

Only then did Zhu Meiling notice the beautiful woman sitting across from Yelon.

"You low - life! You're still on a blind date!"