Chapter 57: I Also Came for a Blind Date

Du Qiu was surprised. How could it be such a coincidence that on his very first blind date, he was caught by this lady, Zhang Mingliu?

It turns out Officer Ning’s question just now was a trap for him.

He turned around and got up, trying to maintain a smile on his face, and said, “What a coincidence, are you here for coffee yourself?”

“Can you drink it for me?”

Zhang Mingliu gave Du Qiu a scornful glance and then turned to Ning Shuangshuang. Despite being impressed, she quizzically asked Du Qiu, “Is she your friend?”

Before Du Qiu could respond, Ning Shuangshuang had already nodded and said, “We are on a blind date.”

A trace of sourness flashed across Zhang Mingliu’s eyes. She turned to face Du Qiu, “So you fell in love at first sight just after meeting?”

She had overheard their last conversation and hurriedly interrupted Du Qiu.

Habitually, Du Qiu rubbed his temples and said with a smile of resignation, “That’s my personal business.”

“Du Qiu, who is this…” Ning Shuangshuang stood up and inquired.

“My friend.”

“I am his ex-girlfriend!”

Both Du Qiu and Zhang Mingliu spoke almost simultaneously.

Ning Shuangshuang nodded, “Oh, an ex-girlfriend.”

Her words seemed alright, but Ning Shuangshuang heavily emphasized the word “ex.”

Zhang Mingliu obviously caught Ning Shuangshuang’s implication and immediately retorted, “As an ex-girlfriend, let me give you a piece of advice: This guy has a very bad temper!”

After saying that, she turned to walk away.

Du Qiu habitually rubbed his temples and gave Ning Shuangshuang a wry smile.

Zhang Mingliu, however, suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned around slowly, and said deliberately, “Did you think you’re the only one going on blind dates? I’m here on a blind date as well.”

She then gestured towards a young man standing by a window, provocatively saying, “See that guy over there? He’s handsome and cultured, a hundred times better than you!”

Before she finished speaking, the young man had already come over to them.

Zhang Mingliu promptly went up to him, whispered a few words, and was about to leave arm in arm with the man.

The young man, however, suddenly took Zhang Mingliu to where Du Qiu was standing, extended his hand, and warmly introduced himself, “Nice to meet you, my name is Chen Han Sheng.”

Du Qiu looked at this handsome man with a hint of rascality in his eyes and felt inexplicably irked.

Nevertheless, he shook hands with Chen Han Sheng, “My name is Du Qiu.”

Zhang Mingliu tugged at Chen Han Sheng and said, “Let’s go, the movie is about to start.”

Chen Han Sheng smiled at Du Qiu and then turned to leave with Zhang Mingliu.

Through the glass window, Du Qiu watched as Zhang Mingliu and the man got into a Mercedes and drove away.

“Do you feel a bit reluctant to let her go?” Ning Shuangshuang’s voice suddenly sounded somewhat distant.

Du Qiu turned back and apologized, “I’m sorry; I didn’t expect to run into her here. My ex-girlfriend has a bad temper, and I’m afraid you found it amusing.”

“Do you still love her?”

“Of course not!”

Du Qiu replied immediately and couldn’t help but elaborate, “Our tempers didn’t mesh; we used to fight every three days and have bigger arguments every five. So, we’ve been broken up for two years now.”

Ning Shuangshuang watched Du Qiu and quietly listened.

After finishing, Du Qiu felt a bit parched and drank his coffee in one gulp.

When he looked up again, he found Ning Shuangshuang still staring at him, prompting him to ask, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you have any more ex-girlfriends aside from this one?”

Du Qiu was taken aback and answered, “I’ve only been in two relationships. Outside of Zhang Mingliu, I had an early love.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Ah, sure.”

Du Qiu organized his thoughts and said, “It was five years ago. I was in my third year of college, and she was an American who came over to exchange at our school. We met and fell in love.”

“How did you break up?”

“I finished all my credits in my junior year, and got a paper that caught my advisor’s attention; he suggested I graduate early and go straight into a combined master’s and Ph.D. program with him.”

“You’re pretty exceptional.” Ning Shuangshuang complimented.

Du Qiu nodded, “Yeah, I’ve always been pretty good since I was a kid.”

Ning Shuangshuang rolled her eyes, “You can’t handle compliments.”

“Heh heh,” Du Qiu chuckled before continuing, “She thought I should go to the U.S. for further education and eventually stay and develop there. I didn’t want to. I felt I could be top-notch in my own country without needing to squeeze into the U.S. We broke up because of this. She went back to the U.S., and we lost contact.”

“It seems you’re quite patriotic. But many say we should learn from America’s advanced technology and then return to serve our homeland.”

Du Qiu snorted, “Yeah, those who go out get dazzled by America’s glitz and most never come back.”

“Are you worried you wouldn’t have returned either?” Ning Shuangshuang caught his drift.

“People’s desires sometimes need to be restrained. If you let them run wild, you may not end up with the results you want. So, it’s better not to surround yourself with too many temptations.”

Ning Shuangshuang nodded, “Yes, the pursuit of one’s life value is actually a process of constantly satisfying desires.”

“What about you? Have you had any romantic experiences?”

Du Qiu swiftly turned the topic from lofty ideals back to reality. He couldn’t be the only one sharing; he also needed to know about Ning Shuangshuang.

Ning Shuangshuang gestured for a refill and then looked at Du Qiu, “I’ve never been in a relationship. Do you believe me?”

“I believe you!”

Looking into Ning Shuangshuang’s profound and clear eyes, Du Qiu felt an inexplicable trust.

“Thank you for your trust.”

As Du Qiu pondered whether to invite Ning Shuangshuang to a movie, she suddenly asked, “Du Qiu, did you say last night that you posted a photo of the crystal cube online?”

“Oh, yeah.” Du Qiu had not expected Ning Shuangshuang to bring this up and simply nodded.

Ning Shuangshuang’s expression turned serious, “I think you were a bit reckless. If you hadn’t posted the picture, ‘Wolf’s Kiss’ would have had to probe each possibility and would’ve been exposed to many flaws, giving us the chance to catch them. But now, they just have to quietly wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.”

Du Qiu chuckled, “I have high-tech; as soon as they approach, I’ll be the first to know.”

“Don’t drop your guard!” Ning Shuangshuang sharply cautioned, then suddenly lowered her head and took a sip of her coffee, feeling perhaps she shouldn’t have been so blunt.

Du Qiu opened the AlertNet app on his phone and placed it in front of Ning Shuangshuang, “Look, the enemy has already appeared. This red dot is their listening device they just placed on my car.”

Ning Shuangshuang was a bit surprised, took the phone, and looked at it for a while, then asked, “Can you tell who placed it?”

“My system caught a child placing it. Probably instigated by the enemy. I’ve handed the video over to Su Jianming. I believe the city’s surveillance network should be able to trace a clue from the parking lot.”

“Send me that video; I’ll help you check it out too.”

“Sure.”

Du Qiu immediately sent the video to Ning Shuangshuang.

Her willingness to help showed concern for him, suggesting that today’s blind date was seemingly a success.

“That’s it for today; I need to go back and investigate properly,” Ning Shuangshuang said quickly after watching the video.

“Ah? Leaving already? What about our blind date…”

“We’ve already had it.”

“Then what about us…”

“Mm, I’ll think about it.”

After saying that, Ning Shuangshuang hurriedly left.

Watching Ning Shuangshuang walk away, Du Qiu felt like he had shot himself in the foot. He reached for his coffee cup only to find it empty a long time ago.

“Sir, would you like another cup?”

“Check, please!”