At this moment, Peiwei was nestled under her blanket binge-watching a drama when a “knock knock” came at the door. The door immediately swung open, revealing her mother Xu Xiaoyan’s face: “Weiwei, your dad’s back. He wants you to come downstairs.”

Xu Xiaoyan, in her forties, bore a 40-50% resemblance to Zhou Peiwei in appearance. She was a full-time housewife with a live-in maid, so she hardly needed to do any chores. As a result, she maintained both her figure and looks quite well.

Even at her current age, Xu Xiaoyan carried herself with impressive poise. Peiwei’s natural gifts were likely inherited from her mother.

“Oh, got it.”

Peiwei’s drama-watching was interrupted, and she grudgingly shut her iPad, slipped on her slippers, and went downstairs.

Peiwei’s dad, Zhou Guoqiang, was a tall and well-groomed middle-aged man. When he saw his daughter appear, his face broke into a doting smile: “How did the matchmaking go today, Princess Zhou?”

“Not great.”

Peiwei pouted, “Didn’t like him, not interested, no spark.”

Zhou Guoqiang exchanged a glance with Xu Xiaoyan before laughing, “I saw the kid’s photo–handsome, 6 feet tall, and a Ph.D. graduate from Wuda. And you still didn’t like him? Your standards might be a bit too high.”

“A Ph.D. from Wuda, handsome? So what? No spark means no spark.”

“Be honest with us, Weiwei. Do you already have a boyfriend?” Xu Xiaoyan asked from the side.

“Nope. There’s no man in this world worthy of Zhou Peiwei yet.”

Peiwei brushed her bangs aside and spoke proudly.

She wasn’t about to admit she was dating a loser, let alone that things went south with him this afternoon.

“Who do you even take after with this personality of yours?”

Zhou Guoqiang was amused yet slightly exasperated. Still, he had no intention of forcing his daughter. The main reason for setting up the blind date was to placate his superior, and since the boy seemed decent on paper, he figured it was worth letting his daughter give it a shot.

If she didn’t like him, then there was no point in pushing it.

Xu Xiaoyan tried to console him, “Old Zhou, if Weiwei’s not interested, just talk to Mr. Gu. He seems like an understanding parent.”

The company had organized a few senior management family gatherings before, so Xu Xiaoyan had interacted with Gu Junchen’s father, Gu Dongliang. Her impression of him was quite positive–well-mannered and polite.

“Alright, I’ll give him a call.”

Zhou Guoqiang picked up his phone and walked to the garden, dialing a contact named Gu Dongliang.

“Hello, Mr. Gu, it’s Zhou Guoqiang.”

“….”

“After my daughter came home, she told me that Junchen is a very impressive young man–great qualifications, polite demeanor, and humble personality. But my daughter’s quite particular when it comes to connections. She said he’s just not her type.”

A voice came through on the other end, “Junchen also told me that Peiwei looks much more beautiful in person than in photos. Guoqiang, you’ve raised an amazing daughter. For her to get into Renmin University shows how hardworking she is. Growing up in a family like yours, that’s truly rare.”

“Thank you for the high praise, Mr. Gu. Compared to Junchen’s achievements, my daughter’s hardly worth mentioning.”

Zhou Guoqiang laughed, “With that being said, I don’t plan to force things. After all, young people these days value freedom in love. If we interfere too much, they might resent us.”

“Ah, Guoqiang, that’s not quite the right approach,”

Gu Dongliang countered, “Marriage is not a trivial matter. As parents, we must guide them. Freedom in love is fine, but who knows what kind of person she’ll end up choosing? My suggestion is that we let them meet a few more times. For young people, it’s normal not to hit it off at first glance. Spending more time together might change that.”

Zhou Guoqiang was at a loss for words. He thought his remarks had made things clear, and that Gu Dongliang wouldn’t press the issue. But apparently, he’d underestimated the man’s persistence.

“Mr. Gu….”

Zhou Guoqiang was about to say more, but Gu Dongliang interrupted, “How about this? Let’s have a family lunch tomorrow at noon. Both families bring the kids. Marriage is a lifelong matter, and as their parents, we owe it to them to oversee this process, right, Guoqiang?”

Given how firmly Gu Dongliang put it, and considering his superior position, Zhou Guoqiang could only grit his teeth and agree, “Alright, I’ll have another talk with my daughter.”

“Great, I’ll book the restaurant. See you tomorrow at noon.”

After hanging up, Zhou Guoqiang frowned slightly. Everyone knows you can’t force feelings, so why is Gu Dongliang so rigid?

What era is this? Why are we still doing this whole arranged marriage routine?

Even if the parents agreed, that didn’t mean their children would go along with it.

Zhou Guoqiang returned to the living room. “Weiwei, we’re having lunch with their family tomorrow at noon.”

Peiwei furrowed her eyebrows, “Dad, I already said there’s no spark. What’s the point of having lunch?”

Zhou Guoqiang tried to smile and reassure her, “This time, it’s just a casual family gathering. Both sets of parents will be there. Even if nothing comes of it, you might as well make a new friend.”

Peiwei muttered sulkily, “I’m not going. How about you guys go instead?”

Zhou Guoqiang gave Xu Xiaoyan a subtle look, signaling for her to step in. Xu Xiaoyan understood and sat next to Peiwei to gently talk her through it.

In Zhou Guoqiang’s mind, it was like this: if his daughter liked him, great; if not, he wouldn’t push it. But as a courtesy, they needed to show some respect to Gu Dongliang. After all, his higher rank demanded it.

Still, as a father, he wished for his daughter to find a good match–but only on her terms. If it weren’t for Gu Dongliang’s rank, he wouldn’t care in the least.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Garden Villa District.

Inside a lavishly decorated villa, Gu Junchen was dealing with a similar situation. His expression turned slightly irritable, “Dad, it’s obvious she’s not interested in me. Why are you still pushing for this? I have so much going for me–I’m not exactly struggling to find a partner.”