Some words, once spoken, make you instantly know what the other person’s next sentence will be.

At this moment, An Ning even felt a bit of regret. Over the past few years, she had been busy with her career and, feeling she was still young, hadn’t paid much attention to the matter. That’s why she hadn’t taken the first step to resolve her personal life issues.

Now, she was somewhat passive after all.

Wearing a simple, plain-colored coat, sitting by the window in the state-run restaurant, An Ning rested her chin on her hand out of boredom, while simultaneously running various calculations in her mind.

Speaking of which, across so many lifetimes, this whole “blind date” thing was actually her first time experiencing it! Quite novel indeed.

She didn’t have to wait long, perhaps just a minute or two, before a tall, slender figure appeared before her.

He also wore a solid-colored long coat, paired with a clean white sweater inside, and military-green trousers that were very much of the era. On his left wrist was a somewhat retro-looking, pure black watch.

An Ning recognized this brand too. Among domestic watches of the sixties, it was one of the few renowned for precision and had originally been a military brand.

Hmm… clean, refreshing, taste not bad.

Her gaze paused briefly on his face, and the discomfort brought by this blind date finally lessened considerably.

However, the next second, after nodding in acknowledgment, before he could even sit down, she saw him look at her steadily. His rather clear eyes even held a trace of understanding.

“Comrade Wang An Ning, it really is you!”

An Ning: “???”

Meeting the other person’s gaze, An Ning was uncharacteristically stunned for a moment. Perhaps the memory capacity of this lifetime was truly limited; she dug through her mind for a long time but couldn’t unearth when she might have met this person.

No choice. She could only maintain a smile and ask, “Excuse me, comrade, have we met before?”

After she spoke, An Ning originally thought a child of the big courtyard compound like him would at least feel a bit awkward. Who could have guessed this person opposite her wasn’t much bothered? He just nodded faintly and said matter-of-factly, “Right. The first-place winner generally doesn’t remember the second-place winner. I’m the same; I’ve never remembered the name of the third-place winner either.”

Then, he specifically emphasized again, “That math competition ten years ago, we met!”

Oh~ That makes sense, An Ning thought to herself. She really had no impression of this person in front of her.

But with him saying it like that, it seems much easier to understand now!

However, since he was second place in that math competition and is now a physics department researcher, his intelligence must be decent. She had to admit, at this moment, An Ning felt a bit relieved in her heart.

Adding one more thing: as for emotional intelligence… well, it’s indeed… um… pretty average?

Barely scraping the lower-middle tier, I’d say!

After chatting briefly for a while, An Ning silently evaluated in her heart.

Although his low EQ was visibly evident, years of upbringing meant this person still had a bit of considerateness. After a simple meal, seemingly sensing that An Ning didn’t much like this noisy environment, he quickly suggested maybe going out for a walk first.

As for movies and such nowadays, it was visibly clear they weren’t within the scope of appreciation for either of them.

“Comrade Lu, do you usually enjoy playing chess?”

Since she felt the other party’s conditions were good, An Ning took the rare initiative. Her exceptionally bright peach-blossom eyes gazed unblinkingly at him, carrying a natural, shimmering allure under the sunlight.

After all, who knew what kind of oddballs might show up next time? In these times, those with clean backgrounds who weren’t easy to step on landmines with were few and far between.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the person opposite her eyes noticeably lit up.

In this era, sweet romance wasn’t really in vogue either.

In short, after a very era-appropriate date, both were fairly satisfied. It was only then that she learned not only was he second place in that previous math competition, but he was also second place in the high school entrance exam years ago. Even during several joint high school exams in the city, he was consistently second in the city…

It was only because they chose different categories for the college entrance exam—she was in Literature & History, he was in Science & Engineering—that they barely managed to miss each other.

An Ning: “…”

No wonder. Who wouldn’t have a deep impression of that?

If it were her, who knows how frustrated she’d be. Seems this person’s mentality is pretty good?

“That… Comrade Wang, are you free again soon?”

Before parting, she heard him ask, his face slightly flushed. An Ning generously nodded.

On the way back, the system quickly dug up his detailed information.

Lu Zheng, twenty-three years old, from a big courtyard compound. Originally had two older brothers and an older sister above him, but they had all passed away early, with two of them having sacrificed their lives.

Currently, his family background had no issues.

No wonder his personality developed like this, An Ning thought to herself. This straightforward, low-EQ manner, yet his family indulged him, and he didn’t even face much ostracization at his workplace. Having a good family background is really nice.

“It’s just, being the only child, the whole family will likely have to live together in the future.”

“But isn’t that also not without its benefits?” An Ning couldn’t help but laugh. “Being an only child means the family’s political resources, even connections, can only be poured into him.”

And Lu Zheng’s personality, to be honest, was fine for doing research like he is now. But if he really went into politics or tried to climb higher, to put it bluntly, he’d be easy prey for others.

Especially since the elderly couple isn’t getting any younger either.

Tsk, even this kind of “soft rice” ended up being eaten by her!

However, after this experience, the stone weighing on An Ning’s heart finally settled.

After all, even before this blind date, Director Wu had already hinted at the other party’s family background. Logically speaking, this person was quite good in terms of both family background and looks. He was also a Tsinghua University graduate, so his educational qualifications weren’t much worse than hers. Why would his high-ranking, powerful parents take a liking to her?

For such families, it’s better if they have some ulterior motives. Having none is the most terrifying.

But for now, it’s still too early to draw conclusions. The specific situation should be assessed after meeting the people.

After pondering for a moment, An Ning soon put it out of her mind. She bought some pastries at a nearby supply and marketing cooperative before leisurely heading home.

At the same time, at the Lu residence.

“Hey, Old Lu, do you think it’ll work out this time?”

On a very era-appropriate sofa, a dignified-looking woman around fifty years old unconsciously glanced toward the door before voicing her worry.

Not far away, Old Lu, who was reading the newspaper, snorted coldly.

“What do you mean ‘won’t work out’? If he can’t even take a liking to a twelve-year-old national top scorer, does that brat still want to reach for the heavens?”

Didn’t he see? This kid originally wasn’t planning to agree. Only after hearing that this Comrade Wang was a national top scorer did his eyes light up more than a little.

Hah, these days, even finding a partner requires checking their IQ.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep