Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 15

Blind date.

Wu Jiu was not unfamiliar with the term.

He knew that in the human world, some people would seek their future partners through “blind dates.” Once successfully matched, they would enter into marriage and spend the rest of their lives together.

However, he could not associate these two words with Zhu Xiao.

How could Zhu Xiao engage in romance, marriage, and children?

Wu Jiu had always believed that Zhu Xiao was different from other ordinary people in the world. He would not waste his time and life on such utterly boring matters.

Moreover, who in the world would be a match for Zhu Xiao in marriage?

Wu Jiu still remembered the scene of Zhu Xiao’s last blind date.

In an elegant Western restaurant, separated by the reflective floor-to-ceiling glass, Wu Jiu saw Zhu Xiao politely pulling out the chair for the other party.

Zhu Xiao still had that calm and unruffled demeanor, and it was impossible to tell what he thought of the blind date. He naturally had an aloof aura, and since he was not very talkative, he spent most of the time listening to the other person.

But Wu Jiu was certain that he was not distracted because Zhu Xiao politely looked at the speaker and nodded in response from time to time.

The most outrageous moment was when the other party seemed to have mentioned something interesting, grinned, and Zhu Xiao, catching the other person’s mood, also smiled faintly.

Wu Jiu stood outside for a minute and finally couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped inside.

When he entered, the waiter asked him, “Hello, do you have a reservation?”

Very well, so this was a restaurant that required reservations.

Wu Jiu asked, “How far in advance do you need to book?”

The waiter replied with a smile, “At least three days.”

Very well, so this was a premeditated blind date.

Premeditated for at least three days, and he was completely unaware!

The waiter, thinking he had no reservation, approached him with body language that subtly blocked his way, “You can leave your phone number first, and we will arrange a dedicated service for you after the reservation.”

“No need, I have a table,” Wu Jiu pointed in a direction, “That table, the one with the surname Zhu, I’m with them.”

Seeing him accurately state the name of the person who made the reservation, the waiter had no reason to block him anymore. He turned his right arm into a welcoming gesture, “Please come in.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, enjoy your meal.”

The waiter maintained a professional smile but was puzzled inside: “What’s going on here? It feels like I’m catching someone in the act…”

Wu Jiu stormed up to Zhu Xiao’s table, ready to make a scene, but after hearing what they were talking about, he immediately calmed down.

This person seemed to be a business and finance guy, talking eloquently about stocks and funds, occasionally throwing in a couple of foreign words, as if a sneeze from him could affect the global economic situation.

Wu Jiu couldn’t remember this person’s name now, only the nickname he had given him: Wall Street Pretentious Guy.

Zhu Xiao definitely wouldn’t like someone like this.

In a second, Wu Jiu was certain that this person was not a threat.

Wu Jiu took a step forward and deliberately said, “Zhu Xiao, what a coincidence.”

Zhu Xiao glanced at him but didn’t respond.

He didn’t see what was so coincidental. Wu Jiu had clearly wanted to disrupt things two minutes ago, and it was hard for him to hold back for a whole minute.

Pretentious Guy asked Zhu Xiao, “Do you know him?”

“Of course,” Wu Jiu answered for Zhu Xiao, pulling out a chair and sitting between them as if he had every right to be there.

As soon as he sat down, he seemed to activate a shielding system, completely ignoring Pretentious Guy on his right, and struck up a conversation with Zhu Xiao: “Zhu Xiao, guess whose thesis got accepted? Mine.”

“While you’re sitting here chatting, I’ve already left you far behind.”

Zhu Xiao: “…”

Wu Jiu’s presence blocked most of the view to the right, and Pretentious Guy couldn’t get a word in, not to mention see Zhu Xiao’s face.

He kept shifting his body, using body language to tell Wu Jiu that he was in the way.

“Sorry, it must be tough for you to keep looking at my right profile,” Wu Jiu apologized insincerely, “but you’re not at a loss, my right side is quite handsome.”

Pretentious Guy: “…”

He endured it for a bit but couldn’t stand it anymore: “Zhu Xiao, your friend doesn’t seem to like me.”

“Sorry,” Zhu Xiao reached out and expressionlessly pushed Wu Jiu’s head to the side, allowing the blind date to come back into view.

“But there really is no need to continue, Mr. Li,” Zhu Xiao said, “Out of politeness, I didn’t interrupt you just now, but I said this ten minutes ago.”

Wu Jiu, pushed to the side, had wanted to fire a targeted shot at Pretentious Guy, but hearing what Zhu Xiao said, he quickly lost his steam.

Zhu Xiao indeed didn’t like this kind of person.

Wu Jiu laughed maliciously on the side, taking on a spectator’s posture, and even after being glared at by Pretentious Guy, he had no intention of leaving.

He raised his hands, considerately giving him the stage back, “Ignore me.”

Pretentious Guy: “…”

How could he ignore him? This person was so flamboyantly dressed, with an extremely strong presence, it was as if he had “look at me” written on his forehead.

“Hahaha, I didn’t really want to continue with you either. There are too many differences between us. Maybe I should still find someone in a similar field; that would be a soulmate,” Pretentious Guy salvaged his dignity, “I have something else to do, so I’ll leave first. The coffee I ordered can be canceled, it hasn’t been served yet anyway.”

With that, he got up and left, walking a bit hastily, as if he had urgent matters to attend to.

Of course, the coffee was not canceled and eventually ended up in Wu Jiu’s hands.

Pretentious Guy left just in time; as soon as he was gone, the cake and coffee arrived.

Zhu Xiao picked up the fork and looked up, asking, “You got accepted?”

“No, I haven’t even finished writing it,” Wu Jiu said confidently; he just wanted to give Zhu Xiao a sense of urgency.

Zhu Xiao leisurely finished the cake and then pushed the bill towards Wu Jiu, “You ruined my date, you pay.”

Wu Jiu never cared about the amount of money, only who he was spending it on. He paid the bill without hesitation. By the time he finished, Zhu Xiao had already walked out the door.

Wu Jiu quickly followed, “Hey, Zhu Xiao, why are you going on a blind date?”

“None of your business,” Zhu Xiao was already being civil, he didn’t even say “get lost” directly.

“It is my business,” Wu Jiu persisted, “Are you bored? Or are you too lonely? Or did you suddenly decide to study humans?”

Zhu Xiao stopped and tried to create some distance between them.

Wu Jiu quickly retreated, sticking back to Zhu Xiao’s side, “Why, trying to run? Did I hit the nail on the head? Is it because of which reason?”

“You’re annoying,” Zhu Xiao commented.

Wu Jiu was puzzled, “Is this the first day I’ve been annoying?”

“Answer my question first.”

“……”

“Unwilling to answer.”

Wu Jiu was relentless, “You can’t avoid it. Zhu Xiao, why are you going on a blind date?”

“Why are you so curious? Afraid that I’ll marry someone else and not you?” Zhu Xiao was thoroughly annoyed by the disturbance and resorted to bringing up the past—he knew Wu Jiu would clam up at the mention of it.

Sure enough, the tactic worked like a charm, and Wu Jiu immediately fell silent.

Taking advantage of his silence, Zhu Xiao resumed walking and left.

Wu Jiu stood there, stunned for a long time, his face turning red.

By the time he snapped out of it, Zhu Xiao was long gone.

Wu Jiu realized he had fallen into the same trap again and gritted his teeth, “……Zhu Xiao, you’ll never break the habit of bringing up the past!”

Seeing the past about to repeat itself, Wu Jiu looked at the message from Zhu Xiao and irritably sent a reply: [No way, you’re not going.]

Zhu Xiao: [I’ve already agreed.]

Wu Jiu was being overly controlling—what did this have to do with him?

Zhu Xiao was puzzled: [Why can’t I go?]

Wu Jiu thought for a long time, but all he could come up with was “How could Zhu Xiao go on a blind date?” But that reason was too domineering, and Zhu Xiao would definitely not listen.

So he said: [There are many unsavory people out there. What if you get scammed and end up in Myanmar? How would you visit my grave then?]

Zhu Xiao thought he was worrying unnecessarily: [That won’t happen.]

Wu Jiu: [How do you know it won’t? How well do you know him?]

Wu Jiu fired off a barrage of questions like a machine gun: [What’s his name? How tall and how much does he weigh? What’s his health condition? Does he have any bad habits? Where does he live? Is he a permanent resident or a transient? What’s his job? How much does he earn? How many years of social security has he paid?]

The densely packed questions made Zhu Xiao’s eyes spin, and he only responded to the first one: [It just won’t happen.]

He didn’t care about the basic information of the blind date and had no intention of prying.

He wasn’t really planning to develop a relationship with the person; at most, he would just have a meal.

Compared to that, he was more curious about the unanswered question from the dream that had been interrupted.

Zhu Xiao asked: [Are you really not coming back to life?]

Perhaps because Wu Jiu had died but still appeared in the Yin-Yang Messenger to talk to him, he couldn’t help but entertain unrealistic thoughts—that it might not be impossible for him to come back to life.

At this moment, Wu Jiu was so furious that he threw a series of punches into the air. Upon seeing that Zhu Xiao was changing the subject again, he became even more agitated.

Wu Jiu almost dented his phone with frustration: [I’ll be mad enough to come back to life!]

For the entire night, Wu Jiu couldn’t sleep.

It was no longer office hours, and he didn’t want to disturb Butler Bai, so he just lay there with his eyes wide open until dawn.

He was extremely restless, tossing and turning in bed, with his mind completely filled with thoughts of Zhu Xiao.

Why did Zhu Xiao agree to the blind date?

How could Zhu Xiao go on a blind date? On what grounds?

How soon after his death could Zhu Xiao consider going on a blind date?

What about after the blind date? Would they end up together?

Would Zhu Xiao marry this unknown person?

What would happen next—would they drink the wedding wine at his grave?

The more Wu Jiu thought about it, the more annoyed and upset he became. He wished he could get up right now and, risking a serious offense, erase the name of Zhu Xiao’s blind date from the Book of Life and Death.

…But he didn’t even know the person’s name. Zhu Xiao hadn’t told him.

Finally, after a long night, he endured until morning, with two huge dark circles under his eyes, looking like a vengeful ghost. He summoned Butler Bai and asked, “Who is Zhu Xiao going on a blind date with?”

Butler Bai was startled by his appearance, thinking he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

“Ah? You mean Mr. Zhu is going on a blind date?”

Wu Jiu’s怨气 was enough to kill ten people, and his voice turned cold: “Find out. And remember, get every detail down to this person’s date of birth.”

“Yes, young master, I’ll do it right away.”

Butler Bai could tell Wu Jiu was extremely upset and didn’t dare to provoke him further, so he quickly left to carry out the order.

Zhang Ruijun was extremely efficient. The next day, she sent over the WeChat contact of the blind date candidate, asking Zhu Xiao to add them in advance to avoid awkwardness during their meeting on Saturday.

No matter what, awkwardness was inevitable. Zhu Xiao was not good at chatting with strangers he had just met.

Zhu Xiao didn’t pay much attention to this matter, and with his busy work schedule, he didn’t realize until the evening that the other party had already sent a friend request.

With the task assigned by Zhang Ruijun, he didn’t think much and simply clicked “Accept.”

He politely selected a “handshake” emoji from his work-related set of six and sent it over.

The other party also chose a “smile” and “thumbs up” from their set of six and sent them back.

Then they sent a message: [Hello, my name is Wu Jiahe. [bowing gesture]]

After exchanging names, the conversation should have naturally ended, which suited Zhu Xiao just fine.

He copied the name from the message to change the contact’s nickname.

It was while changing the nickname that Zhu Xiao suddenly realized that the blind date candidate his aunt had introduced to him seemed a bit… abstract.

Who these days still has a nickname like “Filial Piety Comes First”?

Zhu Xiao frowned, finding it a bit odd, and clicked into the person’s profile.

The person did appear to be a lawyer, with a profile picture of him in a suit that looked like he had sold insurance for three years. His Moments were occasionally filled with case studies and legal education videos.

But his legal education videos were also quite abstract.

[Disrespectful! Zhang San, who failed to complete his homework, was scolded by his father and, feeling wronged, went to the police station to report his father for child abuse…]

[What to do with a naughty child at home? These few legal tips you must know…]

[Is it illegal to hit a child? Let’s see what Lawyer Wu has to say…]

Did this person have children? But he remembered Zhang Ruijun saying that he was still quite young.

However, Zhu Xiao was not interested in other people’s family situations. After changing the nickname, he exited without further investigation.

Zhu Xiao glanced through his schedule and placed the blind date on Saturday at the very bottom of his priorities. What came a bit higher was the matter of visiting Wu Jiu’s grave tomorrow.

It had been over a week and two days since he last visited Wu Jiu’s grave. He had been busy the past few days and hadn’t had the chance to go.

Fortunately, he was free tomorrow and could take the opportunity to buy some things and bring them along.

Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 15

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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