A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 102 Arranged Marriages by Parents and Matchmakers

Li Mu's two older sisters actually got married quite early.

The eldest sister, Li Juan, is 19 years old, and the second sister, Li Qing, is 20 years old.

It's all very early.

The process from matchmaking to the two older sisters didn't take much time at all. Li Mu's memory was that the matchmaker came to their door, and then—in about a month or two—his older sister got married.

In terms of age, it was indeed very early, but in Li Mu's mind, the two of them got married after entering "society".

The reason is simple: neither of the older sisters were good students. The eldest sister only went to junior high school, while the second sister got married before even finishing vocational school.

The two of them entered society because they didn't do well in their studies.

They got married after entering society.

But I am different. I finished high school normally, got into university, and just graduated. Although I have just entered society, I am still a long way from being a "social person".

This is how he defines himself.

But he really didn't expect that, having just completed his internship and become a full-time employee, someone would immediately arrange a blind date for him—if it were just someone from work, he could give them face and meet them. Whether it went well or not, he could at least give Sister Yan an explanation.

But—why are Mom and Dad causing trouble by coming along?

I just graduated, and they want me to get married?

Can we talk about this when I'm more mature?

The seventh day after Fatty's death is still not over! His tragic end of being cheated on is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Are you in such a hurry to send me to my grave?

Frankly, he was a little angry at the moment, but as a "good child" in other people's eyes since childhood, his respect for his parents was deep in his bones.

So much so that even if he had thoughts of resistance, he couldn't bring himself to say them as his father raised his voice.

But Bie Yan clearly doesn't have that kind of burden.

"Young Li has just been promoted; he's a young man, at the age where he should be striving forward."

"We need to shoulder more responsibility."

"While I understand how you feel, marriage is a serious matter that requires careful consideration."

"No, what I mean is that Xiao Li is a reporter, and reporters' work is very busy, especially since he has just been promoted and still needs to learn a lot."

"Well----"

Since the hands-free mode wasn't on, Li Mu didn't know what his father was saying.

A hint of helplessness appeared on Brother Bie's face. He glanced at Li Mu and said directly, "Uncle Li, perhaps you didn't understand what I meant. Let me put it more bluntly. I think Xiao Li should focus on his work right now. Getting married too early will affect his future. Even a formal reporter is just the lowest level in our unit; he can still climb the ranks. Do you understand now?"

"————Okay, I've given him the phone."

The phone was handed to him again, and Li Mu put it to his ear: "Hello, Dad."

"---Well, then you should stick with your boss and work hard. Try to get promoted, and we'll talk about it when you come back after the New Year."

"6

Li Mu's lips twitched.

He thought to himself, "Dad, why do you make it sound so simple?"

But she still agreed verbally, saying, "Okay, I have work to do, I'll hang up now."

Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone.

Then he looked at the older brother and said, "Brother Bie, I'm really sorry to have you involved in this kind of thing—"

"Ha, it's nothing."

Bie Yan casually waved his hand: "What I said is the truth. You've only just been promoted. It's fine for you to have a girlfriend, but it's really not the right time for you to get married. I understand your parents' feelings, but they're too anxious. They think that now that you've been promoted and are stable, you should get married and have children as soon as possible. But that's just your parents' thinking. You're only 21, the age for having fun. Getting married too early is immature and not a good thing. But ultimately, the older generation's thinking is still quite traditional, so all I can do for you is delay it. You'll have to figure out how to communicate with your family."

"I really didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Li Mu was increasingly speechless: "This wasn't mentioned at all before I was officially hired, but suddenly—not only my parents, but even Sister Yan suddenly said she wanted to introduce me to someone. It's like the whole world suddenly wants me to get married—"

"That's normal. You're a college graduate, a full-time reporter at a newspaper, not some temporary worker whose job is precarious. To be honest, as long as you don't make any big mistakes, you could stay in a permanent position for the rest of your life. The elderly just want stability. They want their children to have stable jobs, get married, and have children so they can hold their grandchildren and carry on the family line. That's their biggest wish, and you have to understand your parents' good intentions."

As he said this, Li Mu noticed a hint of melancholy in the older brother's eyes.

Then, changing the subject, he added, "But ultimately, it's your life. Others can only offer advice; the final decision is yours."

"Yes, I understand."

"You don't know anything."

Hearing this, Bie Yan rolled her eyes: "If you understood, you wouldn't have stammered like that just now—you're young and inexperienced. Why didn't you just agree? Promise your parents you'd meet the girl, have a meal, and chat. If you really like her, you can start as boyfriend and girlfriend; if you don't, just tell your parents you don't have feelings for her, right? It's just a meal, why make such a fuss?"

'

'

Li Mu remained silent.

I thought to myself that Brother Bie really didn't know the situation back in his hometown.

If only it were that simple.

He remembered clearly when his older sister was the matchmaker. When he came home from school, he saw his older sister crying and shouting in the yard that she didn't like him and didn't want to get married—but in the end, she still got married anyway.

Marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers.

How can you just refuse like that? (Note 1)

However, he did not explain.

The reason is simple: what the older brother said is indeed a valid approach. It might not work well for parents, but it's a viable method for matchmaking arranged by others.

He pondered for a moment, then followed Brother Bie toward the security checkpoint.

On his third trip to Macau, the helicopter no longer offered him any novelty.

I even found it a bit noisy, and wearing headphones for a long time wasn't comfortable either, as they pinched my ears.

Fortunately, the flight was short, lasting just over an hour, and the plane landed back in Macau.

As they boarded the shuttle bus and headed towards the exit, Bie Yan's phone rang. When he answered, Li Mu heard him say, "Sister, don't rush me, we've arrived."

In an instant, he roughly guessed who was on the other end of the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Bie Yan suddenly sighed, "Sigh, this is going to be tough."

"What's wrong?"

"The last time we got together was on 9/11. You called me while we were eating. I still owe you two rounds of drinks, and I guess I'll die here today."

Li Mu was speechless for a moment, thinking to himself, "Brother, are you really ignoring what I said?"

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Try not to drink too much, brother. Your stomach hasn't been feeling well these past few days."

"fine."

Bie Yan waved her hand: "I have an appointment for a check-up next Tuesday. After all, I have a criminal record, and you said that my face suggests I have a sensitive stomach, so I naturally have to be more careful."

With a single sentence, he instantly saved Li Mu from the trouble of continuing to design this matter.

but----

"Why can't we go on Monday?"

"Because there's a regular meeting on Monday morning."

Bie Yan rolled her eyes: "Damn it, I didn't feel anything before I got promoted, but now that I've been promoted, all the administrative work has suddenly increased."

Isn't the deputy director in charge of editorial and reporting work?

The director is in charge of administration, and the deputy director is in charge of news gathering and editing; this is the proper division of responsibilities among newspaper leaders.

Why is it the other way around with Brother Bie?

Li Mu pondered this in his heart, but didn't ask.

The two of them took the shuttle bus to the exit, and after hailing a taxi, their destination was not the Lisboa Hotel, but a place called the Army Club.

Li Mu asked curiously where this place was. He learned from Bie Yan that it was a members-only club that specialized in Portuguese cuisine.

That's also where he'll "lose his life on the spot" in a little while.

Li Mu's lips twitched upon hearing this.

I thought to myself, "Brother, can you please stop cursing yourself like this?"

It's just a meal and a few drinks, it's not that serious.

When the car arrived at a large, red building that looked like it belonged to a historical era, the two got out of the car.

Looking at the building, Li Mu subconsciously asked, "Brother Bie, how much does a meal cost here?"

"here?"

Bie Yan glanced at the gate and laughed, "You can't get into this place just by having money."

Then, he led Li Mu to the door and gave his name: Ms. Zhang Jing.

Zhang Jing — could it be Sister Zhang's name?

As Li Mu was pondering this, the waiter at the door nodded politely and led the two of them into the building.

Upon entering the lobby, he immediately sensed a level of extravagance distinct from that of the Lisboa Hotel.

The Lisboa Hotel gives people a sense of wealth and luxury, but this place gives people a feeling of—a strangely profound tranquility.

It's quite different.

However, Li Mu did not linger in the hall with various dining tables on the first floor. Instead, he went up to the second floor and, led by a waiter, arrived at the door of a private room.

When Li Mu pushed open the door and walked in, he saw seven or eight people. Zhang Jie, sitting at the head of the table, waved and said, "Oh, you're finally here! I was starving if you hadn't come—hey, Xiao Li, haha!"

The woman looked at Li Mu and laughed heartily.

(Note 1: To clarify, I suspect some people might find the matchmaking part of the story a bit far-fetched. But these are things my wife told me. In our rural hometown, matchmaking is indeed quite different from what people imagine, even more inhumane. In my wife's words, it feels more like selling a daughter. The most outrageous story my wife heard was that two young people met one day, and just because they both said "it's about right," the next day, the man drove a truck loaded with gifts like chicken, duck, fish, and meat to the woman's house to propose marriage. From their first meeting to their wedding, it didn't even take a month. So, I'm mentioning this here because it's needed for later plot developments.)