Chapter 62: Blind Dates Are Simply Out of the Question

Chapter 62: The Idea of Blind Dates Is Out of the Question

The villa newly purchased by his parents cost 1.6 million, with a floor area of 180 square meters. Located in Golden Autumn Residences, it offered convenient transportation and easy access to daily shopping.

True to the community's name, the environment was elegant and high-class, consisting entirely of two-story semi-detached villas designed in a Chinese architectural style.

Gao Yun had visited a few times before, and his parents had even given him a spare key. Although it was a pre-owned villa, the interior decoration was not outdated, and the furniture and appliances were all top-tier brands. Seeing that his parents were living comfortably put his mind at ease.

"Eight hundred miles away, and I pop the Jap's head with a single shot!"

At this moment, an anti-Japanese war drama was playing on the living room television. Gao Zhishan sat on the sofa, making a phone call while scratching his foot with one hand and holding the phone with the other, his eyes glued unwaveringly to the screen. "Mayor Wang? What made you suddenly think of me today? It's neither a holiday nor a festival for extending regards to retired veteran cadres."

His elder sister, Gao Peng, who had been half-reclining on the sofa playing on her phone, instantly perked up and leaned in close to eavesdrop.

"I've got good news!"

The voice of Mayor Wang from the other end of the phone was deep and robust as he laughed heartily. "I'm calling to introduce a daughter-in-law to you, Old Gao."

I knew it!

Gao Zhishan thought to himself. Just how many has there been? Matchmaking calls had been coming in endlessly lately; his phone bill had already exceeded a thousand yuan. When his son finally came home, he was definitely going to make him reimburse it.

During his active years, his father had served as the primary or secondary leader of several bureaus and offices, giving him deep connections in local official circles. But people drifted apart as tea went cold; four or five years into his retirement, those relationships had gradually faded.

However, over the past two months, following Gao Yun's rise to prominence, the number of his self-media followers had surged, and his fame had spread rapidly.

His former colleagues, leaders, subordinates, and old friends had suddenly started popping up out of nowhere, either calling Gao Zhishan or specifically inviting him to dinner parties.

Some came simply to reminisce and shower praise on his son, others seized the opportunity to borrow money, and the vast majority called to set him up on blind dates.

"You're introducing a match for my son?"

"That's right! My niece, she has a postgraduate degree, is very pretty, stands one meter seventy tall, and her parents own a local paper mill. Her financial conditions are quite impressive!"

He added as an afterthought, "Their family assets are probably around five or six hundred million."

Tsk. Gao Zhishan felt a surge of pride, mingled with a hint of impatience. This Little Wang was still as tactless as ever. So what if a family has five or six hundred million in assets? What does that have to do with my son? Besides, marriage shouldn't be based solely on material conditions. Are you marrying a person or marrying money?

Of course, more importantly, my son doesn't want to go on a blind date! What good is telling me, his father?

"Ah, that sounds wonderful. Let me thank you in advance. But the boy is older now, and he has a bit of an aversion to blind dates."

"Aversion is normal. We can just have the two kids add each other on WeChat and chat first. Whether it works out or not is up to fate."

"Yes, yes, what you say is right. Why don't you send the girl's photo over first, and I'll let Gao Yun have a look later to see if the two of them have any chemistry."

Mayor Wang was almost choked to the point of passing out. What kind of talk was that? What do you mean by "have a look at the photo to see if they have chemistry"? No looks, no chemistry?

"Oh, first impressions matter, and a spark at first sight is also a form of destiny."

"...Fine, I'll add you on WeChat in a moment and send it over."

Having brushed off Mayor Wang with a few perfunctory words, Gao Zhishan hung up the phone and sighed.

"Is that another person trying to set our son up?"

Wearing an apron and holding a spatula, Wang Hui walked out of the kitchen, looking bewildered. "What's going on lately? How come all these young daughters have taken a fancy to our Gao Yun? Where did they even find out about him?"

Gao Peng chuckled. "My little brother has become an internet celebrity now. You two don't surf the web or watch short videos, so naturally you wouldn't know."

Gao Zhishan explained, "Our son has been doing that Douyin thing lately, shooting videos. It's gotten really popular; none of my former colleagues don't know about it."

"What on earth? Douyin?"

"This!" Gao Peng pulled out her phone, opened her brother's Douyin account interface, and showed it to her parents. "Look, he already has eighteen million followers."

With that, she opened a few of his videos with the highest number of likes and played them. This made Wang Hui's teeth itch with anger. Oh, so the few people her deadbeat son hired at home were being paid such high salaries?

In her anger, she immediately threatened to call and interrogate the prodigal son to ask what on earth he was trying to do—did he want to fly up into the sky and rub shoulders with the sun?!

Fortunately, Gao Peng understood a thing or two about self-media operations and explained the logic behind it, making Wang Hui understand vaguely.

Oh, so the boy could actually make money this way?!

"Oh, you don't need to understand the details. Just knowing that your younger son is doing legitimate work and not squandering money is enough."

Gao Peng knew that trying to make her parents, who never went online, fully comprehend the ins and outs of this industry would be far too difficult, so she changed the subject. "How's the cooking coming along? My brother can't eat food that's too oily."

"It's done. I specifically prepared some beef and deboned chicken thighs for him."

"Great, I'll go serve it on the table."

Click.

As it happened, Gao Yun pushed open the door with his key. Looking around, he bent down to change his shoes and asked, "Where's my nephew?"

"At cram school."

Seeing his son return, Gao Zhishan slowly lowered the foot he had been scratching, picked up his cup, and took a sip of tea. "Lately, your Uncle Wang, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Li, Auntie Qin... well, a lot of people want to set you up on dates again. Care to meet some of them?"

"Can't do it. I'm going on a long trip in a couple of days, and I probably won't be staying in Hushi much in the future."

Gao Yun changed into his slippers and helped his sister and mother serve the food and set the table. Once the family was seated and officially eating, he began to talk about his future plans. The family members didn't have any major objections; Wang Hui muttered a few words under her breath, but didn't say much else.

The ancients said: While your parents are alive, do not travel far; if you do travel, you must have a definite destination.

It is also said: A fine young man has ambitions that span the four seas.

The fifteen million that Gao Yun had previously left behind was more than enough; his parents had used 1.6 million to buy a villa, fifty thousand to buy a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and the remaining money was more than enough to support them in their old age. There was no real need for him to stay tethered to their side.

Wang Hui and Gao Zhishan could also be considered open-minded parents. After all, a young man needed to go out into the world, forge his own path, and achieve something. Though filled with reluctance in their hearts, they both understood and supported him.

"I'll be leaving in a couple of days. I've dismissed the two housekeepers; you two can go stay at my villa whenever you have free time."

"Don't worry, little brother. Just focus on your work. I'll take care of Mom and Dad here. In a while, your brother-in-law will also resign and move back to Hushi. By then, the two of us can help look after them."

Gao Yun nodded. "He should have come back sooner. My brother-in-law has been under a lot of work pressure; if he keeps working like that for a few more years, his health will be completely ruined. The sooner he quits, the sooner he can enjoy life."

Gao Peng sighed emotionally. "Yeah, he has had it tough. Out of the eight million you gave me, I used 600,000 to buy a BMW 5 Series. I plan to keep a portion for Qiao Huan, use another portion to buy some real estate, and start a small business."

Gao Yun mumbled through a mouthful of chicken leg, "Sister, you need to spend money! You really do! If it's not enough, I still have more. Leaving aside other platforms, just on Douyin alone, my quote for shooting a commercial video starts at 800,000, and the highest is four million. Even then, I find the money too little and am too lazy to take them."

"And you, Mom and Dad, don't skimp on money. Live it up, hurry up and hire a housekeeper. How old are you both and you still don't know how to enjoy life? I have money coming out of my ears right now. When I go to the capital, I'll hire two bodyguards for you to prevent any accidents, seeing as I'm currently quite prominent in all sorts of circles around Hushi. It's inevitable that some people might harbor malicious intentions."

Gao Peng looked at her parents with an expression that clearly said, "See? What did I tell you?"

Wang Hui couldn't stand her son's arrogant attitude. She slammed her chopsticks down on her rice bowl, her eyes wide with indignation. "You've got money? So what if you have money? Didn't you still break up? How come with all that money you still don't have a girlfriend? At this point, we've already given up on the hope of you getting married, but can't you at least hurry up and date someone?!"