The Matchmaker Immortal Wants to Return to the Celestial Court - Chapter 18

Qian Hongxian sat on her bed, holding her phone and reading the message Yun Jinyao had sent. She couldn’t stop grinning.

Lisa leaned in to take a look, her jaw almost dropping in shock.

“I’m not seeing things, right? Yi-ge and Yunqi are definitely kissing in this photo!”

Qian Hongxian didn’t answer. She just kept laughing like a lunatic.

“Are you okay, Hongxian-jie? You’re not feeling sick or anything, are you?”

Qian Hongxian finally calmed down. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“That’s good.” Lisa leaned against the wall. “You’re amazing, Hongxian-jie. You actually predicted that Yunqi was Yi-ge’s type. Ever since she arrived, Yi-ge has been so much more cheerful. He used to look so gloomy all the time. But I never expected things to develop this fast!”

No one could escape the pull of the red thread of fate—not even Yun Jinyi, who couldn’t forget his junior. He was destined to be with Liao Yunqi. Once they met, it was only a matter of time before they fell in love.

Qian Hongxian didn’t say any of this aloud. Instead, she hugged Lisa and rubbed her head against her, releasing all the joy in her heart. Now that she had successfully matched Yun Jinyi, Yun Jinyao had no more excuses—he had to go on the blind dates she arranged.

Later that night, when Yun Jinyao returned home, Qian Hongxian and Lisa were waiting at the door, giving him an enthusiastic welcome. Annoyed, he just wanted to avoid the two of them.

“Where are Yunqi and Jinyi?” Qian Hongxian tiptoed to peek behind him.

“They’re not coming back tonight.” Yun Jinyao put his shoes away and headed upstairs, leaving Qian Hongxian and Lisa squealing in excitement. Their noise was so loud that Lisa’s mother rushed out of her room, telling them to keep it down.

“Looks like we’ve got our first sister-in-law confirmed. Now we just need the second one.” Lisa grinned at Qian Hongxian.

Qian Hongxian was too lazy to respond.

The next day, close to noon, Liao Yunqi and Yun Jinyi arrived at the restaurant, hand in hand. As soon as Jinyi went to the kitchen to find Chen Shaoxuan, Qian Hongxian dragged Yunqi upstairs for a private conversation.

“Come on, do we really have to be so sneaky?”

“Hey, weren’t you mad at me yesterday morning? And now you and Jinyi are all lovey-dovey? You two are officially dating, right?” Qian Hongxian grabbed Yunqi’s hands, eyes shining with excitement.

Yunque still seemed a bit annoyed at her, but at the mention of Yun Jinyi, her expression softened, and she even lowered her head with a smile.

“Thanks for setting us up.”

Qian Hongxian hugged Yunqi happily.

“So how was your date? Did he take you to watch the night view all night? Or did you two stay up to see the sunrise?”

Yunque chuckled.

“We didn’t waste time like that. Of course, we spent the whole night at a hotel.”

Qian Hongxian’s face turned red in an instant, her ears burning as she quickly raised a hand to stop Yunqi from saying anything more.

“Even though I know you two are destined to have a happy ending, he couldn’t let go of his junior before. Has he sorted out his feelings now?” Qian Hongxian asked with concern.

“After we… finished, I mentioned how I saw his junior’s name tag still hanging on his camera strap that morning. Right after that, he went online and sold every piece of photography equipment she had given him.” Yunqi’s smile was unmistakable.

“That’s great! That’s amazing!” Qian Hongxian hugged Yunqi tightly again.

Now that Yun Jinyao’s challenge had been completed, it was time to find him a match. However, finding his destined partner was still a challenge. Most of the women in her database, like Miss Yu and Miss Ding, were already taken. The remaining ones had broken red threads—should she pick one of them and give it a shot?

Deep down, Qian Hongxian knew that wouldn’t work. If someone’s red thread had been severed, it meant they had no destined partner—forcing a match wouldn’t change that. But she didn’t have much time left. She had to do something to move things forward. Maybe, just maybe, a broken red thread could be reconnected?

So she contacted one of the women with a severed red thread, Miss Ding, and the next time Yun Jinyao was about to head out in his car, she quickly slipped into the passenger seat to stop him.

“A blind date?” Yun Jinyao scoffed and turned to look at her. “Why should I go on a blind date?”

“Hey, you promised! You said that once I found Jinyi a match, you’d let me arrange your dates!” Qian Hongxian said anxiously.

Yun Jinyao stared at her thoughtfully for a moment.

“You told me that once I get married, you’d be able to return to the celestial realm, right?” He spoke slowly. “Then why don’t you just marry me?”

“Huh?” Qian Hongxian’s jaw dropped.

“If we get married, that would still count as me getting married, right? Wouldn’t that fulfill the condition for you to go back?”

Qian Hongxian covered her face with her hands and leaned back against the seat.

“Stop messing around! Yun Jinyao, you made a promise!” she pleaded.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Yun Jinyao met her gaze again, his expression intense—just like when they first met on Dong’an Bridge.

That look again! The same one as Siming!

“You think I kissed you just to tease you?” Yun Jinyao continued. “Qian Hongxian, I like you. Can’t you see that?”

Qian Hongxian froze completely, unable to move.

“I liked you from the moment you walked into the restaurant looking for me,” Yun Jinyao said, leaning back.

“You might find this hard to believe… but I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. And I like you so much that I can’t control myself. But you never seem to understand my feelings.”

In the past, whenever a man confessed to her, she could always calmly turn them down. But facing Yun Jinyao, she couldn’t say a single word.

Her heart was racing, and at the same time, she felt as if something was gripping it tightly. This overwhelming feeling—she had only ever felt it when she was with Siming. Why was she feeling it with Yun Jinyao, too?

Qian Hongxian hadn’t even realized she was staring at Yun Jinyao’s striking profile, completely lost in thought.

Then Yun Jinyao met her gaze again, his eyes burning with intensity, making her blush instantly.

“You should get going now. Bye.” Without another word, Qian Hongxian bolted out of the car.

To avoid drawing too much attention, she spent the next few days acting as normal as possible, keeping her interactions with Yun Jinyao at the restaurant casual. Yun Jinyao played along, not making any further moves. Whenever she had free time, Qian Hongxian clung to Liao Yunqi, at least until Yunqi announced she was heading back to Taipei.

“Yunqi, can I go back to Taipei with you?” Qian Hongxian asked, sitting on the floor of Yunqu’i room, helping her pack, her voice filled with disappointment.

“No way.” Liao Yunqi immediately rejected the idea while packing her wedding gown. 

“You’ve been clinging to me for too long. On this trip back to Taipei, I want to be alone with Jinyi. He’s also moving back to Taipei, so we’re leaving together. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange these past few days. Weren’t you determined to find a match for Yun Jinyao? Why are you suddenly backing out and wanting to leave?”

“It’s nothing… I just feel like Jinao wyon’t agree to a blind date anyway, so staying here is pointless.” Qian Hongxian listlessly stuffed Liao Yunqi’s facial toner into the suitcase.

“Of course, he wouldn’t agree.” Liao Yunqi zipped up her bag.

“Yun Jinyao genuinely likes you. Lisa even said that ever since you started working at the restaurant, he hasn’t been with any other women. I also heard that he’s never actually had a real girlfriend—his flings didn’t even know his real name or how to contact him.”

Qian Hongxian buried her burning face into her knees.

“You know that Jinyao likes me too?” Her voice was muffled against her legs.

“My god, even a blind person could see it.” Liao Yunqi sighed, sat down next to her, and gently patted her shoulder.

“I’ll help you extend your leave from work for a few more months, okay? Stay here and spend time with Yun Jin Yao. Take this chance to reflect on your own feelings.”

“Why should I reflect? I already like someone else.” Qian Hongxian lifted her head.

“The person you like—does he like you back? Has he given you any promises? Is he as gentle with you as Yun Jinyao is?”

“Of course, Siming is gentle with me!” Qian Hongxian retorted indignantly.

Liao Yunqi crossed her arms and gave her a sharp look before sighing.

“Forget it. You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep. Qian Hongxian, just don’t come crying to me when Yun Jinyao really gives up on you and starts dating someone else.”

Qian Hongxian turned her head away.

“I’d be thrilled! He should hurry up and date someone else and get married already.”

But the image of Yun Jinyao dating another woman suddenly flashed through her mind, making her chest ache.

She unconsciously placed her hand over her heart. It’s nothing, she told herself. She was just tired—not jealous of whoever would be Yun Jinyao’s future wife… because the one she liked was Siming!

“Think it over,” Liao Yunqi said as she stood up. “Tell me before it’s too late. While I’m still working at the company, I can put in a good word for you with the general manager so you can extend your leave.”

Qian Hongxian froze and stood up as well.

“What do you mean? Are you quitting?”

Liao Yunqi lowered her head.

“Jinyi wants to start a bridal studio with me.”

Qian Hongxian’s face lit up. “Really? That’s amazing! Jin Yao told me Jinyi is incredibly capable, that he built everything from scratch. If he’s helping you, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

“At first, I refused when he offered to invest in me because I wanted to succeed on my own, not just benefit from his resources as his girlfriend.”

“So why did you change your mind?”

A slight blush crept up Liao Yunqi’s face.

“He said he wants to spend every moment of every day with me.”

Qian Hongxian couldn’t help but feel shy along with her, surprised at how clingy Yun Jinyi was.

The next morning, Liao Yunqi and Yun Jinyi left with their luggage, with Lisa driving them back to Taipei. Before leaving, Yun Jinyi joked that Qian Hongxian still owed Liao Yunqi a few bridal photoshoots—she could make up for it when she and Yun Jinyao got married. Thankfully, Yun Jinyao and Chen Shaoxuan were at the market, or she would have wanted to crawl into a hole.

After sending them off, Yun Jinyao, Chen Shaoxuan, and Qian Hongxian met at the restaurant to prepare for the birthday banquet for the town’s centenarian the next day. Because of this, the restaurant was closed for the day.

Qian Hongxian deliberately stuck to Chen Shaoxuan, following his instructions and helping him with tasks, just to stay as far away from Yun Jinyao as possible. Yet, for some reason, she kept sneaking glances at him. Why did even the way he chopped vegetables look so handsome?

“Hongxian-jie.” Chen Shaoxuan suddenly called out.

“Huh?” Qian Hongxian nearly jumped.

“Are you okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s nothing. What did you want to say?” She patted her chest, feeling guilty.

“I heard from Liqing that you can read people’s fates in love,” Chen Shaoxuan whispered while washing vegetables. “Can you read mine too?”

“Well… I can see relationships, but I don’t exactly ‘read’ them. What’s up? Are you thinking of going on a blind date too?”

“No, it’s not that. I have someone I like. She lives in Taipei. I invited her to the centenarian’s birthday banquet tomorrow, and after the event, I was thinking of taking her around town. Can you check if we have a romantic fate?”

Qian Hongxian glanced at the red string on his wrist and nodded.

“But tomorrow’s event is mostly for elderly folks. Won’t she find it boring?”

Chen Shaoxuan shook his head. “Don’t worry. She said she loves spending time with the elderly. She used to deliver meals to senior citizens in her community. When she heard we were hosting a birthday banquet for a centenarian, she even volunteered to come.”

“In that case, I’ll check for you tomorrow and see if you two are destined for each other.”