The Matchmaker Immortal Wants to Return to the Celestial Court - Chapter 4

Lin Weiting sat in his general manager’s office, glaring unhappily at the petite woman with beautifully dyed deep red hair sitting in the visitor’s sofa area. He smoked one cigarette after another, hoping that the smell of the smoke, which she disliked, would make her retreat.

However, she remained relaxed, casually leaning on the sofa while flipping through their company’s latest brochure. Frustrated, Lin Weiting took a deep drag of his cigarette and then forcefully pressed the butt into the ashtray.

“Qian Hongxian, I run a water purifier company here, not a detective agency!” Lin Weiting finally snapped.

“I know,” Qian Hongxian said innocently, holding up the water purifier brochure.

“Then hurry up and leave. I’m not helping you find that Yun-whatever guy.” Lin Weiting waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly, then turned to face his computer, pretending to ignore her.

Suddenly, Qian Hongxian seemed to remember something and stood up abruptly.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot—I brought you something delicious.” With that, she pulled a small insulated pot out of her bag and walked up to Lin Weiting’s high-end wooden desk. She placed the pot down and opened the lid.

Lin Weiting had been scowling, but as soon as he saw what was inside, his expression immediately softened.

“Auntie’s braised pork belly!” He eagerly grabbed the disposable chopsticks she handed him and began devouring the food with a look of pure happiness. “Her cooking is unbeatable! I’ve tried braised pork belly from so many places, but none of them come close to Auntie’s.”

Qian Hongxian grinned.

“Ever since you became a general manager, you’re always too busy to eat properly. If you help me find Yun Jinyao, I’ll take care of your lunches—yours, your wife’s, and your kids’ too! Since you don’t live far from my place, I’ll drop off the meals at your home every morning. How’s that?”

Lin Weiting scoffed and grabbed another piece of meat.

“You’re not the one cooking them, are you? You’re just making your mom prepare the meals for you! I’m not going to be part of abusing Auntie like this. Unless you become my maid and cook for my entire family yourself, I might consider it.” He smirked, clearly enjoying himself.

Qian Hongxian placed her hands on her hips. “The braised pork belly you’re eating right now—I made it.” She emphasized the words “I made it” with extra weight.

Lin Weiting was chewing a piece of meat. When he heard Qian Hongxian’s words, he froze.

He glanced at the insulated pot, disbelief written all over his face.

Damn it. He’d been tricked.

Since when did Qian Hongxian become so good at cooking?

“That settles it, then. Oh, and I’ve already sent a Line message to Xiangrong. Every morning, I’ll drop off the meals at your place, and she’ll help distribute the lunchboxes to you and the kids.” Qian Hongxian leaned on his expensive wooden desk with one hand while scrolling through her phone with the other.

Lin Weiting angrily chomped down on a third piece of pork belly, trying to calm himself.

He wasn’t sure if meeting Qian Hongxian as a high school classmate had been a blessing or a mistake.

He had never met a girl as strange as her. When they ended up in the same class in their first year of high school and got to know each other, he confessed his feelings to her not long after. Naturally, she rejected him—but her reason was bizarre, so bizarre that it was hard for him to take it seriously.

“I’m sorry, I can’t date you. I can only live until the age of thirty-two.” Qian Hongxian said as she politely bowed at a ninety-degree angle. “Besides, your future wife is already right by your side, so there’s no need to waste time on me.” She pointed toward Lan Xiangrong, who was chatting cheerfully with their other female classmates.

Hot-blooded and stubborn, Lin Weiting refused to give up. He assumed she had just made up an excuse to push him away. He constantly found ways to hang around her, inviting her to lunch every day. That was when he first tasted the cooking of Qian Hongxian’s mother, Huang Shuzhen.

But every time he got close to Qian Hongxian, she would always call over Lan Xiangrong. He thought he wouldn’t give in, but somehow, over time, his attention slowly shifted toward Lan Xiangrong. By the time they graduated, he and Lan Xiangrong had gotten together.

Looking back, Lin Weiting was grateful that Qian Hongxian had played matchmaker for them—Lan Xiangrong turned out to be the perfect partner for him. When he and Lan Xiangrong got married, Qian Hongxian gave them a huge red envelope as a wedding gift. When they had children, she sent them plenty of presents. He was so thankful that he told Qian Hongxian she could always count on him for help.

However, everything changed when he used his detective skills to help Qian Hongxian track down a man named Xie Yuqin. From then on, it was Qian Hongxian who wouldn’t stop pestering Lin Weiting, constantly asking him to find random people—most of whom she didn’t even know personally.

At first, Lin Weiting thought she had romantic or financial disputes with these people. But after she found them, all she did was match them up with potential partners.

He couldn’t understand it. He had never heard of a matchmaking agency working like this.

He started avoiding her requests, but she was like a sticky osmanthus jelly cake—once she latched onto her “plate,” she refused to let go. To this day, Lin Weiting had secretly investigated the personal information of forty people for her.

“Why do you keep looking for people and setting them up? Is this Yun guy another case? What’s the deal?”

“I’ve already told you many times.” Qian Hongxian pouted, looking both wronged and innocent. She scrolled through her phone as she returned to the sofa. “I’m the Moon Matchmaker. I accidentally spilled ink on the Book of Fate, smudging the records of people’s destined partners. As punishment, I was sent to the mortal world to fix those pages by matchmaking the affected people. Otherwise, they would never meet each other.”

Lin Weiting rolled his eyes. Here we go again with this excuse, just as absurd as the one she used to reject his confession, saying she could only live to the age of thirty-two.

“If you don’t want to tell me the truth, I won’t force you. But last time, you said Chen Zhongguo and Wu Xiumei would be the final pair. Yet here you are, breaking your promise. However, because of the braised pork you made, I’ll help you one last time. After that, no matter how many pots of braised pork or bowls of Auntie’s pork rib soup you bring, I won’t help you again.”

“Oh, so pork rib soup works as a bribe too?” Qian Hongxian nodded, pretending to take notes.

“Hey, I’m serious.” Lin Weiting accidentally spat out a bit of meat from his mouth.

Qian Hongxian giggled at him. “Alright, alright, I got it.”

Lin Weiting sighed, moved his mouse, and opened the browser. “Alright, tell me, what’s Yun Jinyao’s background?”

“Male, twenty-eight years old, lives in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu County, and owns a Hakka restaurant. That’s all I know.”

“Guanxi? That’s not hard to find. Xiangrong’s family is from there. A little asking around should do the trick.” Lin Weiting’s fingers flew over the keyboard, the clacking of keys filling the room as he started searching for all the Hakka restaurants in Guanxi Township. “While you’re at it, give me the name of Yun Jinyao’s other half, and I’ll look that up too.”

Qian Hongxian’s face fell.

“I didn’t get to hear who the Matchmaker Goddess paired him with before I was sent back to the mortal world. So, once I find Yun Jinyao, I’ll figure out who his red thread of fate is connected to.”

Lin Weiting nodded ambiguously. “Alright, I’ll help you find Yun Jinyao first.”

Just as Lin Weiting had said, since his wife’s family was from Guanxi, it wasn’t hard to get information. The very next day at work, he sent Qian Hongxian the address of Yun Jinyao’s home and restaurant via Line, setting a new personal record for the fastest search.

His message was read immediately. Qian Hongxian sent back a happy sticker and said she was heading to Guanxi the next day.

“Even though you’re the top agent in your company, aren’t you worried your boss will scold you for not focusing on your sales targets and dealing with other matters instead?” Lin Weiting messaged.

“Don’t worry, my performance is so good that my boss doesn’t bother me at all.”

Sitting in his office, Lin Weiting ate the scallion oil chicken rice bento Qian Hongxian had prepared for his family that day. He chewed happily while typing his reply.

“How about I drive you there? If you go alone, you’ll probably get lost for three days and nights before finding the place.”

“How rude!”

In the end, Qian Hongxian agreed. The next day, Lin Weiting picked her up from her apartment, and after a little over two hours on the road, they arrived in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu County.

They decided to visit Yun Jinyao’s restaurant. It was deep in the mountains, on a narrow road that wasn’t easy to drive on. Fortunately, the place was quite famous, with many bloggers sharing travel guides online, making it easy for them to locate the restaurant.

Lin Weiting parked in front of a place called “Mountain Stream and Green Fields—Hakka Creative Cuisine.” To their right was the restaurant, while to their left, the view stretched into distant mountains and lush fields. The peaceful scenery instantly soothed their tired minds.

“This place is so deep in the mountains. Can a business even survive like this?” Lin Weiting frowned at the traditionally styled, antique-looking restaurant entrance.

In the passenger seat, Qian Hongxian was dressed in formal attire, with a blazer draped over her shoulders. At that moment, she was checking her makeup in the mirror.

“I heard it’s packed every night, especially on weekends. During holidays, forget about it—you won’t get a table unless you book at least six months in advance.” Qian Hongxian closed the vanity mirror on the car ceiling. “I didn’t expect his restaurant to be this famous. Even newspapers and magazines have made reports about it. If I’d known, I could’ve just Googled his name along with ‘Hakka restaurant’ and found him right away.”

“I already tried that but nothing came out. The restaurant isn’t officially registered under his name. I should bring my wife and those two little rascals here to try it out sometime.” Lin Weiting became a bit interested after hearing how popular it was. “I’ll wait for you here,” he added.

“Hey, move the car forward a bit. You’re parked on a red line.” Qian Hongxian pointed ahead.

“Oh, come on, it’s fine. I’m staying in the car, and besides, who’s coming to eat at such a remote restaurant at this hour?” Lin Weiting waved his hand dismissively. The road was so narrow that he didn’t want to keep moving the car.

“No way. You’re ‘Zero Violations’—how can you just park anywhere? You can’t betray your good name.” Qian Hongxian placed her hands on her hips, showing a mischievous smile.

Lin Weiting suddenly felt that this warm and blossoming April had turned a bit chilly.