Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1259: Sour date, Sweet crepes

"I wasn’t stalking him!"

Chunhua dumped her bag on her bed in a huff, cheeks still red with half embarrassment, half fury.

"He is just manipulating the situation to his favor..." she pursed her lips.

Dropping herself on the bed, she dragged out a big sigh of frustration.

"I should clear the air with him or he will keep misunderstanding!"

’Trying to explain makes you look more guilty, you know~?’

"..."

His words from before flashed in her mind.

Ughhh!! I will only make a fool of myself if I explain myself...

Just then the door opened and Chunhua’s mother stepped in, a severe expression marred across her face as if she already had enough for the day.

"Chunhua. Come down. Your father and I need to talk to you."

She sat back straight, her heart jumping back and forth in her ribcage. Swallowing a gulp the whole way, she came down, and took a seat at the dining table where her parents were already seated as if about to announce something she really wasn’t going to like.

It turned out just as she had expected.

"Your father just received a very good proposal for you."

"Proposal?"

"Marriage proposal, what else?"

She looked blank. "Marriage?"

Her mother frowned. "Why are you so shocked? You are at the right age."

"B-But I am still studying-"

"That will be done and dusted by next year. No reason to let such a good proposal go. It’s not like you will work after marriage."

"B-But I want to! There will be companies coming up next year for internships and-"

"Chunhua," Her father’s lips pressed into a thin line. "This much education is enough for you. At least you won’t embarrass us in your husband’s family. There’s no need to study so much and be ambitious. That’s a man’s job to do anyway. He works and provides for the family and the wife takes care of him and the children. Considering everything, we have already been very generous in letting you study this far." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Th...This is not fair. I-I don’t want to marry right now. This is too soon!"

"Chunhua! Is this how you speak to your parents!? This is what happens when girls are allowed free reign for too long. You just keep slipping out of our hands! There is no scope of any further discussion. We have already set up your meeting with the man tomorrow. There is no way you will regret this marriage. You will be going into a good family."

Chunhua stood up, her reddened eyes threatening to spill her tears of injustice and her grievances.

Her mother slid an envelope towards her side. "Take this. It has all the details you need to know about-"

"I don’t want to meet anyone! Why don’t you understand? I have my own dreams and aspirations too!"

Saying her piece of mind, she stormed back upstairs as drops of tears plopped on the floor.

"This girl...!" Her father banged his palm on the table. "She didn’t even care to take the envelope with her!"

Her mother consoled him. "Let it be for now. Once she meets him herself, she would forget all about education and aspirations. Where will she ever get such a capable man as her husband?"

His fury eventually calmed down as he nodded. "She better be on her best behaviour tomorrow! I will throw her out of the house if she dares to embarrass us!"

—

Chunhua stood in front of a lavish restaurant the next day. Though her bold declaration last night had made her intentions crystal clear, she had no choice but to come here when her father threatened to cut her college fees.

I should have started working part-time jobs...she bit her lips, lamenting her lack of initiative.

She went in and looked around - only to realize that she had no clue what this date looked like. The envelope with the man’s picture and details still lay sealed on the dining table.

I don’t even know how he looks...

That further increased her embarrassment as she stood around idly, unsure of which table to go approach. Then at the far end, she noticed a lone man engaged with his phone. Seeing him with a mobile phone alone told her he came from a well-to-do family. Mobile phones were only beginning to gain more popularity then, where most families still relied on wired landlines. To her, he looked to be the most probable date.

Chunhua awkwardly approached the table, fingers clutching onto her hand bag. "Umm..."

The man looked up, eyes sharp and piercing. Chunhua could only stare at him.

"You..." she then gasped and stepped back in disbelief. "Y-you are the guest lecturer from before!"

"Excuse me?"

The way his cold voice dropped by a few decibels raised the fine hair on the back of her neck.

"First, you arrive five minutes late and then you raise your voice at me?"

"I-I..."

How...? Mom and Dad chose him for me...?

Though looks and physical features weren’t the problem at all, his age certainly was - a man nearly ten years older to her. Chunhua had assumed it would be someone closer to her age, but this felt like a whole generation difference. Then again thinking back to how he had retaliated against the assistant professor Chen Guiren in public had set a peculiar image in her mind.

"Sit down already," he glared. "You are making a spectacle out of us."

Stiffened, she quickly took her seat, her heart thudding beyond her control.

"Huang Chunhua. Twenty years old. Studying architecture. Quite ambitious."

"Th-Thank you..." she was still unable to wrap her head around the fact that she was seated opposite the same guest lecturer, now as her potential future husband.

"Ambitious but which wouldn’t get you anywhere. It’s too hardcore of a job for a woman. Plus, you won’t be working after marriage anyway, so I am not sure why you chose this line of field to pursue."

She froze, staring at him with a vacant look.

"Let’s get this over with. I don’t have much time. I have other meetings to attend to. I don’t see any problem with you. You are beautiful and educated enough to be smart for helping me with my business. You look polite and demure too. Just be a good supporting housewife. That’s all I want. I will tell my parents, and they will set up a date for engagement-"

"Umm!"

"What?" He snapped. "I am still talking. I don’t like being interfered with."

Her chest swelled, breaths racing all over the place. "I am s-sorry but en-engagment? I haven’t even entered my last year in college-"

"So? Engagement doesn’t need to be postponed for that. We can get engaged right now and marry when you graduate. Obviously, I won’t marry an ungraduated woman."

"You...y-you want a graduated woman but...not a working woman?"

He stared at her as if she just told an impressive joke. "Working? Who do you even see working with your gender? Education is necessary so that you can help me with business. You cannot be dumb or what reputation will I have? Your education should aid me and my ambitions, not yours. When do women start having ambitions?"

Being made fun of by her parents first, then a strange man who knew nothing about her, made tears well in her eyes. For a reason she didn’t quite understand herself, she felt as if she was searching for Hai in this man. But this man was far too different than him. Instead of a goofy grin was a piercing countenance who didn’t even allow for the other person to talk. An odd cruelty shone in his eyes that spiked her heart with uneasiness.

Dragging the chair behind her, she stood up, biting her lower lip. "Thank you f-for your time, but...I don’t think I am the right woman for you. I cannot agree with what you want, so I think it’s best to end this here..."

His gaze darkened by several shades. "...Rejecting me? How dare you? A woman from a no-name family dares to reject me?"

She breathed hard, noticing his knuckles faintly crackle as if urged to shed some violence. "If our thoughts don’t align then...I don’t see a point in going ahead..."

Also, you are rude and mean.

"I wish you all the best."

His stabbing gaze made it impossible for her jelly knees to stay standing any longer, so she turned around and ran at the first chance she got. She didn’t know how far she had come running but she found herself in front of the same crepe store from across her college.

We didn’t get to eat here that day...

Her stomach gurgled with hunger, yet she felt in no mood to eat. She took a seat on a nearby bench, wiping her tears.

What should I do? Mom and Dad will be so mad...

Out of nowhere, a sweet and savory crepe landed before her eyes and she looked up, stirred and surprised.

"Let’s have a crepe date~!" Came the familiar goofy grin of the man she had been searching for just a moment ago.