Blind Date Dinner

  Early in the morning, when Wen Man left the house, her mother Xu Yu'e chased after her to the door and said:

  "Man Man, Yuan Yuan needs two brushes and a box of watercolor paints. Can you buy them on your way home from work at the stationery store next to the Academy of Fine Arts?"

  After saying this, Xu Yujiao didn't wait for her eldest daughter's response and wouldn't stuff money into her hands either. She turned around and went back inside the house.

  Since childhood, Wen Man has always been the eldest at home, giving in to her younger sister Wen Huan. This law seems to be taken for granted by her parents and her sister.

  Wen Wan opened her purse, rummaged through it, and found less than 100 yuan. She thought of the art supplies store next to the Academy of Fine Arts, which was the most expensive in the city. She turned back to her room, took out the salary envelope she had just received two days ago, and withdrew another 200 yuan from it. This way, except for the living expenses paid to her parents, she had no pocket money left for this month.

  Arriving at the company, Xia Zhi's university classmate and sworn sister, Chunxia, put her arm around Wen Mian's shoulder: "My husband is not home tonight, I don't want to cook, let's go eat Japanese sushi together, how about it?"

  "I don't have money." Wen Man said honestly.

  "You just got your salary the day before yesterday." Chuxia was slightly surprised, then immediately understood and sighed, "Manman, your uncle and aunt are really biased. Don't you even resist a little?"

  Her lips were slightly pursed at the corners, and her smile was like that of a traditional Chinese beauty in a TV series, not showing any teeth.

  In early summer, it was known that this dead party was not surprising in its daily life. Only when laughing, the two bright eyes were like crescent moons, and they could kill men, women, old and young. However, Wen Man's smile only unfolded for people she trusted. Generally, people saw Wen Man as a thin-faced person with big glasses covering half of her face, who liked to hide in corners, like an invisible person.

  I remember one time at a classmate gathering, she and Wen Man came together. As a result, when it was almost time to disperse, the host checked the list of attendees to give out gifts and shouted: "Hey, didn't Wen Man come tonight?"

  Wen Wan silently raised her hand in the corner: "Present."

  The host was so embarrassed that he almost dug a hole in the ground and crawled into it.

  ……。

  "Early summer. I heard you're going to Beijing with your husband." Wen Man's words broke her best friend's reverie.

  Wen Man's voice is natural, like a little sheep, soft and fluffy. Some people dislike her voice, while others like it. Chun Xia likes it, but Wen Man's family, especially her younger sister, dislikes her sister's voice.

  It's often in early summer that I'm startled after hearing a good friend's voice, and then say: "What's wrong? Have you figured it out? Have you finally thought of leaving that house?"

  Wen Man pressed her lips together and didn't respond.

  At the beginning of summer, he patted her shoulder: "If you want to, come with us, three people will take care of each other."

  In the late afternoon, she clocked out of work on time and accompanied Wen Man to that stationery store in the city that was known for being the most expensive. She bought two high-end paintbrushes and a box of paints for Wen Huan, which cost over 230 yuan. Luckily, she had brought an extra 200 yuan with her.

  Early summer complained on her behalf again: "The money you earn is all invested in your sister. When she becomes famous, will she repay you?"

  "We've all invested in her alone, not just me." Wan Man used this sentence to brush off the concern of his party.

  "Cut it out. With her skills, I don't believe she can get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts." Chū Xiā raised her chopsticks, unable to bear watching anymore.

  "She's better than me anyway. I'm just a second-tier university student. She's from a key high school, she should be able to get into a first-tier university." Wen Man said with a warm and gentle tone.

  "I really want to curse her to death." Early summer vowed to die with two knives inserted in her ribs.

  "Immoral."

  Wen Wan often bursts out with a witty remark in between silences.

  At the beginning of summer, she felt that after so many years of getting along, she still couldn't see through Wen Man.

  The two were just about to get on the bus and head to a Japanese sushi restaurant in the city center, where Chunxia was treating them. Wen Man's phone rang suddenly.

  "Mom, what's up? I'm tonight—"

  "Come quickly to your second uncle's place now. There is a family gathering tonight and all the girls must attend." After speaking, Xu Yu'e didn't wait for her daughter's response and hung up the phone with a "click".

  "What's wrong?" asked Chun Xia.

  "My mom asked me to go to my second uncle's house. Tonight is our family gathering." Wen Man made a bitter face, "Sorry, Chun Xia."

  "No big deal. I'll just save some money on dinner and be happy about it." Chuxia smiled broadly, then looked at the clothes Wen Man was wearing, "You're going to a family reunion dressed like that?"

  Wen Wan works in the mounting room, often getting some dye or something on her clothes, so she always wears the most ordinary clothes to work. Like today, a polka-dot shirt with colored paste stains at the hem that can't be washed off, and two ink marks smeared on her jeans.

  "It's nothing, just a family gathering." Wen Man glanced at herself and shook her head, "If I go back to change, I'll be late and scolded by my family."

  So at the bus station, Wen Man parted ways with Chu Xia and boarded another bus.

  Wen Man's second uncle, Wen Shi Rong, worked as a civil servant in the municipal government and was the most successful member of the Wen family. Wen Shi Rong's house was located in Sheng Tang Garden, with a market price of 10,000 yuan per square meter, situated on the first floor of the community, with five rooms and three halls, plus a small garden.

  But if possible, Wen Man had never wanted to set foot in her second uncle's house.

  This goes back to the time when Wen Man's grandfather passed away, leaving only her grandmother living in the old house. Wen Man's father, Wen Shi Xuan, was the eldest son of the Wen family and should have become the head of the Wen family after his parents' death, taking charge of all major and minor matters. However, Wen Shi Xuan did not do well for himself and his wife opened a grocery store to barely make ends meet. Therefore, the current head of the family who can take charge is now the second brother, Wen Shi Rong.

  Wen Shixuan was unable to hold his head up in the family, and Xu Yuer was called "Big Sister" but suffered humiliation. The two were unable to give birth to a son to inherit the incense, and all their hopes were placed on their two daughters. However, Wen Man, who was the oldest among the seven girls of this generation in the Wen family, was actually the most useless. She couldn't attend a key high school, only managed to get into a second-tier university, and after graduating, she could only find an average job. Now at the age of 29, she still hadn't been able to find a partner.

  Xu Yujiao felt that her eldest daughter was a disappointment, and she poured all her energy into her second daughter, Wen Huan. At least Wen Huan had made it to a key high school, with the goal of attending a key university in Beijing.

  Wen Man pressed the doorbell of Second Uncle's house.

  The door was opened by Wen Haosheng, the daughter of Second Uncle.

  Wen Haosheng is twenty-two years old this year, studying at a media university in the city. She looks like her mother Zhang Qiuyan, with a round face, curly long hair and a pair of beautiful eyes that resemble Danfeng's eyes.

  It's strange that Wen Haosheng is at home tonight, but why is he wearing a pair of high heels on his feet and rouge on his face, looking like he's going out to attend a banquet?

  "Mei Mei Jie, didn't your mom tell you anything?" It seemed that Wen Haosheng was the one expressing surprise, as he took in the sight of Wen Man's dirty clothes and pants.

  "What's wrong?" Wen Man asked, holding a plastic bag with the pen and paint he had bought for Wen Huan.

  Wen Haoxue took one look at her expression and guessed that she didn't know anything, so he pulled her inside the door first, then slowly said: "My dad brought over two sons of his colleagues."

  "Ah?" Wen Man was pulled directly by her all the way to the living room.

  Inside, the three layers of Wen's family members, men and women, were all dressed up. The men wore formal Western suits with ties, while the women were all dressed to the nines. Such a grand lineup scared Wen Man quite badly.

  "Manman, how are you dressed like this?!" Xǔ Yù'é was the first to see her daughter and pointed with a jump. At this shout, everyone heard the sound and focused their eyes on Wēn Man, Xǔ Yù'é regretted it and lost face greatly, suddenly sitting back in her seat.

  Wen Haosheng's mother Zhang Qiuyan walked over and asked with concern: "What's going on, Haosheng?"

  Wen Haosheng said in front of everyone in the living room: "Mei Mei doesn't know what tonight's gathering is for. It seems that Big Aunt didn't tell her."

  Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, just about to speak.

  Xu Yujiao hastily said: "I told Yuanyuan to call her sister and remind her to go home and change clothes."

  Wen Yu saw her mother kick the ball onto her own head, and her expression didn't change: "I called my sister, but she didn't answer. Don't believe me? You can ask Shuya, I even asked Shuya to call my sister again."

  Receiving Wen Huan's glance, Liao Shuya, who was flipping through a magazine with Wang Yunyun, also remained expressionless: "I called Manman sister, Manman sister must be in the car and didn't hear it."

  The responsibility rolled back onto Wen Man's own body. Wen Man smiled warmly, a smile that didn't show her teeth.

  Xu Yujiao saw that her eldest daughter didn't care at all, and she was really resentful.

  "Since that's the case, let Haoyue lend a set of clothes for Manman to wear." Zhang Qiuyan spoke up, her words dripping with generosity and warmth, effortlessly showcasing the demeanor of a matriarch.

  Xu Yujiao furrowed her brow, thinking: If she accepted, she couldn't swallow this breath of anger. If she didn't accept, others would say she only cared about saving face and not about her daughter. What could be said, this grievance had to be swallowed too.

  Wen Haosheng caught his mother's gaze and with a forced smile, he pulled Wen Man into his room.

  Wen Man said with a smile: "Thank you, Second Aunt, for your kind intentions. However, Haoyue's clothes are a bit too big for me and don't fit well."

  Hiss——

  The first to laugh was the youngest and only boy in the Wen family, unfortunately an outsider, named Wang Shao-han, 13 years old, in fifth grade, like a little emperor, pampered by his parents, always without a care, laughing when he wants, crying when he wants, you say he doesn't understand the subtleties but is very clever.

  Everyone knows that Wang Shaohang is laughing at something. Among the girls, Wen Haosheng is the most plump and Wen Man is the thinnest. If Zhang Qiuyan hadn't spent a lot of money to buy brand-name shirts for Wen Haosheng, with Wen Haosheng's figure, wearing those unbranded uniform clothes would definitely be uglier than a pig.

  Wen Hao and Xue's mother-daughter duo both fell silent at the same time.

  Wen Man didn't think that they would lend her clothes out of kindness. In a way, her parents were just reckless, but her second uncle's family was the worst kind of foxes. Wen Man had seen through this point early on and walked to a stool near the balcony, habitually hiding herself in the shadows.

  This blind date party, to put it bluntly, was just a way for Uncle Wen to show off his daughter, Wen Haixue. The other girls knew what the Wens were thinking, but they didn't want to give up the chance to become a phoenix by flying onto a branch. But Wen Man had self-awareness; if the world were full of Cinderellas and Prince Charmings, it wouldn't be called a fairy tale.

  The door opened with a creak, and Wen Shihong was in the lead. Behind him were two handsome and slender figures that caught the attention of all the girls.

  "The second one looks more handsome."

  Digression

  Everyone, remember to collect it, (*^__^*) This article will be in the style of Fei Ma, witty, humorous, sweet and spoiled, self-reliant women, please support me! Your support is Fei Ma's motivation.