Wu Маngmаng wаtched thе mаn bеfоrе her with a hint of bоrеdom.
What hаd he just introduсеd himsеlf аs аgаin?
To bе fair, this elite gentleman wаs еxсeрtiоnаllу handsоmе—аt lеаst sevеnty perсеnt as gоod-looking аs that reсently skуrосkеting mаlе stаr surnamed Нuо. Yet, likе thаt stаr, he аlso саrried an аir оf eхcessive рroprietу.
Рrоpеr and restrainеd, hе shоuld havе bееn quitе аlluring. Unfоrtunatеlу, his demеanоr was toо gentlе аnd hаrmless, lеаving Wu Маngmang comрletely uninterestеd. She could оnly lowеr her gаzе and idlу examine her nails.
The newly done sparkling gradient gel polish had cost 680 yuan—a reasonable price.
Wu Mangmang bit her lower lip, thinking the color was a bit too plain. She considered switching to a seductive Chinese red next time.
She lifted her eyelids slightly, only to find him still speaking in that gentle tone, uttering incomprehensible words. She lowered her gaze again.
How she wished she could smoke a cigarette.
In truth, Wu Mangmang didn’t usually smoke, nor did she even know how to inhale and exhale smoke properly.
But she loved the feeling of holding a cigarette between her fingers.
Her fingers were slender and delicate, her nails perfectly rounded and elongated. The way she held a cigarette was so elegant that every time she smoked, she would sit in front of a mirror, mesmerized by her own reflection.
Her lips were also perfectly suited for smoking. Wu Mangmang’s skin was as fair as the white of a boiled egg—smooth, supple, and bouncy. Among all lipstick shades, she only favored true red.
The contrast between her soft, fair complexion and the intense red of her lips had captivated countless ex-boyfriends time and time again.
And when a white cigarette rested between her fiery red lips, the effect was nothing short of breathtaking.
But if you assumed Miss Wu Mangmang had a seductive, alluring appearance, you would be sorely mistaken.
Her features were exquisitely delicate, carrying an innate innocence within their refined beauty. Even with her striking red lips, she merely gave the impression of an innocent girl playfully feigning allure—a unique charm of pure, untainted appeal.
Wu Mangmang’s hair was smooth and straight, with a shine that could rival a Pantene conditioner commercial. At the moment, it had been styled at the salon with a retro inward curl at the ends, while her Korean-style bangs neatly—yet not stiffly—framed her beautiful forehead.
It was precisely this appearance that kept the elite returnee before her, a graduate of a top global university, chattering on incessantly, even though he clearly sensed her impatience.
“You don’t have to worry about language barriers. I’ll be with you all the way,” the man across from her said.
How had the conversation shifted to immigrating overseas?
Wu Mangmang smoothed her bangs. While it was true she disliked speaking English, French, or other foreign languages, she disliked the idea of settling abroad even more. Even if the air in China was polluted beyond measure, she still preferred to breathe freely under this sky.
“I think you’ve misunderstood. It’s not that I can’t study abroad—it’s that I don’t want to,” Wu Mangmang said.
This was another complicated topic. Back then, her parents had been desperate to send her abroad for studies, but Wu Mangmang had clung to the doorframe, resisting with all her might and wailing pitifully. How could someone like her survive overseas?
She was spoiled, chronically lazy, knew nothing, could do nothing, and couldn’t bear even occasional discrimination. How could she possibly live abroad?
Despite being as pale as a fluorescent light, Wu Mangmang was still of Asian descent—and fiercely patriotic at that."Actually, staying in the country isn't so bad either? The quality of education at domestic universities has generally improved these days, so it's not absolutely necessary to go abroad just to gild one's resume. Graduates from diploma mills overseas often struggle to find jobs too." The man across from her was quite considerate.
"I have a friend who's a company CEO, and he has an unwritten rule when hiring: he never takes self-funded international students, and he won't consider anyone from a university ranked below the top hundred."
Blah, blah, blah—doesn't his mouth ever get dry? Wu Mangmang thought to herself.
Is the top hundred really that impressive? After all, ever since she graduated from university at twenty-one, her parents had initially set the standard for her blind dates at graduates from globally top-twenty prestigious schools.
By the time she was twenty-three, that standard had dropped to the top fifty.
And now, at twenty-five, the standard had just been lowered to the top hundred.
This gentleman before her was quite lucky—with the lowered standard, he was actually the first man she'd met.
"I'm sorry for talking about myself all this time. Actually, there's a question I've been wanting to ask Miss Wu."
"Please go ahead." Wu Mangmang nodded with a smile.
Her smile was truly charming, and the man across from her was momentarily captivated.
"With Miss Wu's looks, temperament, and family background, why would you come out for blind dates?"
Yes, why would she come out for blind dates? And she'd been attending various matchmaking events since she was so young and fresh-faced.
Wu Mangmang smoothed her hair again, tucking a strand behind her ear. She couldn't even remember how many blind dates she'd been on, but at least ninety-nine out of a hundred times, the men were quite interested in her.
She'd tried dating some of them too. They were all sincere and treated her with great care, but in the end, even though she was the one being pursued, she was always the one who got dumped.
During university, she'd had five relationships, all of which ended with her being dumped, to the point where her parents had no choice but to arrange various matchmaking events for her.
Wu Mangmang thought they were truly prescient—knowing their daughter was hard to sell, they decided to start early with blind dates at twenty-one. Yet here she was at twenty-five, still unmarried.
"Because I've never met the right person." Wu Mangmang said calmly.
Of course she couldn't admit that it was because she kept getting dumped.
Actually, this hadn't been too devastating for Miss Wu. She knew that countless ex-boyfriends had told her during their breakups that they weren't good enough for her.
And what was even more remarkable was that none of the breakups had been awkward.
When the other party said they wanted to break up, Wu Mangmang always accepted it calmly, never resorting to petty actions like pouring water over their heads.
So, even after breaking up, they all remained friends.
Of course, there were exceptions. Whenever her ex-boyfriends started dating someone new, they would decisively cut off contact with her and, with remarkable synchronization, act as if they didn't know her.
Wu Mangmang used to get quite angry about this.
But one of them had offered an explanation: she posed too great a threat to their current girlfriends. Even if there was nothing between them, her mere existence would make their new partners restless and uneasy.
Apparently, just one glance at her could deliver a critical hit of a hundred thousand points of damage.What a perfect and considerate answer, leaving Wu Mangmang no choice but to accept the fact that she had completely lost all her ex-boyfriends.
Remembering the hundred-thousand-point damage, Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but reach for her phone, wanting to play a mobile game.
Unfortunately, her parents had anticipated this. Before coming, they had confiscated her iPhone 6 and given her an antique phone instead, which only had calling and texting functions. The only game available was Snake.
Bored out of her mind, movement at the neighboring table caught her attention, and Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but glance sideways.
The first thing that caught her eye was the hand casually resting on the table—and the watch on that hand.
A limited-edition Patek Philippe.
However, the watch’s design was understated luxury, so what drew more attention was the hand itself.
Clean, slender.
Like the hands of a conductor, or a magician. It could no longer be described as merely beautiful, but with just one glance, Wu Mangmang had already begun to imagine how such fingers would feel gliding across someone’s skin.
The hand gave rise to endless expectations, and she hoped the face wouldn’t be a disappointment.
Wu Mangmang lifted her gaze to look over, just as the man diagonally across from her swept his eyes in her direction. However, his gaze lingered for no time at all before shifting away, as if he hadn’t even registered Wu Mangmang in his sight.
Yet Wu Mangmang’s hand, casually resting on the table, couldn’t help but tighten around her water glass. Her body felt a bit restless, but unfortunately, she was wearing a dress with a high collar and a large bow tied at the side, making it impossible to loosen the neckline.
Wu Mangmang could only tuck her hair behind her ear again.
Describing the limited-edition gentleman as handsome seemed too mundane.
How should she put it? What he exuded was more of a kind of charm.
Or, as commonly known, hormones.
It felt as if the entire café was permeated with a layer of male hormones. Besides Wu Mangmang, the woman in her mid-thirties to her left had already glanced over several times.
Under the guise of drinking water, Wu Mangmang peered through her glass to take a few more looks at the limited-edition gentleman.
His lips were truly beautifully shaped, perfect for kissing.
If such a kiss were to land on her collarbone, or her shoulder blades…
Wu Mangmang quickly shook her head. Recently, a friend had sent her a Korean film titled "Human Poison."
She must have been poisoned too.
A dilapidated jeep…
She absolutely could not let her thoughts continue down that path.
When Wu Mangmang stole her third glance at the limited-edition gentleman diagonally across from her, she was finally caught in the act.
His deep, profound eyes were like a massive whirlpool, pulling all gazes cast into them to the bottom of the lake, burying even the people behind those gazes there.
The limited-edition gentleman’s gaze lingered on Wu Mangmang’s face for no more than two seconds, and the corners of his lips seemed to curve ever so slightly upward.
It wasn’t mockery, but rather a casual, dismissive smile of acknowledgment.
Acknowledging Miss Wu Mangmang’s infatuation with him.
Wu Mangmang’s fingers tightened around her water glass once more. Her body was no longer restless but excited.
In Miss Wu’s limited life experience, the average time any man she had encountered spent looking at her face was at least five seconds.
Although she had been dumped countless times, she had never been so thoroughly ignored right from the start.
Call her masochistic, call her self-destructive—Miss Wu had always been drawn to men like the limited-edition gentleman, who disregarded her charms.
Of course, there were countless men in the world, and Wu Mangmang had naturally encountered those who paid no attention to her charms.
But they had never sparked her interest in pursuing them.
Yet that smile from the limited-edition gentleman seemed to be telling her:Though I have no interest in you. But want to chase me? You can give it a try.
His eyes were truly captivating, like a fishhook that had caught Wu Mangmang on the bait, making her reluctant to let go.
The elite gentleman sitting directly opposite checked his watch. "It's dinner time. How about we have a meal together, Miss Wu?"
Wu Mangmang decided to be an honest girl at this moment.
"Sorry, I have to work on weekdays, so my weekends are packed with appointments." Wu Mangmang gave a helpless smile.
The elite gentleman's smile faded slightly but quickly regained its vigor. "I understand. I'll ask you out for dinner another time."
"Alright." Wu Mangmang stood up and gave a slight nod as she saw him off.
Once seated again, Wu Mangmang immediately took out her antique phone to make a call.
"Hello, Mr. Gao, could we change the meeting location at seven o'clock to..." Wu Mangmang gave the name of the café she was currently sitting in.
After hanging up, Wu Mangmang keenly noticed the curious gaze of the limited-edition gentleman opposite her, directed at her phone.
Well, it was indeed rare for a young person to use an old-fashioned phone these days.
Especially someone as beautiful and fashionable as her.
While waiting for the next Mr. Gao, Wu Mangmang unabashedly began to scrutinize the limited-edition gentleman.
Judging by the length of his lower legs while seated, his height was at least over 180 centimeters.
She just wondered if there were 18 centimeters elsewhere.
Wu Mangmang sighed. She desperately needed a lighter to fiddle with in her hands to distract herself.
She was probably truly addicted, but it was understandable.
A twenty-five-year-old leftover woman, countless times wanting to offer her precious "chastity," but always getting dumped before it happened.
Time passed so slowly. After appraising the limited-edition gentleman's bespoke leather shoes, Wu Mangmang admired his broad shoulders and his tall, handsome, and bookish nose bridge for a while.
Finally, Mr. Gao arrived at six forty.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Mr. Gao truly hadn't expected such a stunning beauty like Wu Mangmang to not only be punctual but also arrive early.
"I came early." Wu Mangmang maintained a proper smile.
When she smiled, her eyes always curved charmingly, radiating an innocent beauty.
Mr. Gao was clearly struck by it.
"Miss Wu's name is truly unique. The surname Wu seems particularly rare." Mr. Gao started today's blind date conversation with the topic of names.
But Wu Mangmang was clearly distracted.
The lady sitting opposite the limited-edition gentleman stood up and headed to the restroom.
It was only then that Wu Mangmang realized he had a female companion with him.
Enough to see the charm of the limited-edition gentleman, which directly overshadowed everyone around him.
The limited-edition female companion had an excellent figure—neither too plump nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short. She wore a Chanel Suit and shoes, carried a Hermès Birkin bag, had beautiful short hair, a uniquely patterned and colored scarf, and her face was flawlessly beautiful.
This reflected the limited-edition gentleman's refined taste and considerable financial strength.
Wu Mangmang's hand "accidentally" knocked over the red wine glass in front of her. The burgundy liquid flowed precisely onto Mr. Gao's trousers.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry." Wu Mangmang stood up, flustered.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll go to the restroom." Mr. Gao left the table.Based on Wu Mangmang's understanding of beautiful women, the limited edition gentleman's companion would not return quickly, as she needed to touch up her makeup.
Wu Mangmang carried her Hello Kitty crystal-studded bag and sat down opposite the limited edition gentleman.
He merely raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no surprise—clearly accustomed to being approached.
Wu Mangmang twirled her vintage phone on her finger. "Sir, I heard the iPhone 6s is out, and I really want to buy one. Are you interested?"
She reached out her hand, but just as it was about to cover the back of his, the limited edition gentleman slowly withdrew his.
Truthfully, Wu Mangmang wasn't sure whether she wanted to touch his hand or his Patek Philippe limited edition watch more.
"You're not worth the price of an iPhone 6s."
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