How did I become famous?

Do you smoke and drink?

Inside Starbucks in Goose City.

Fang Bie looked at the pretty girl in the red dress sitting opposite him. The plastic bracelet on her wrist looked quite nice. He heard it was called Swarovski.

Fang Bie's right hand, which was in his jacket pocket, unconsciously touched the rectangular cardboard box.

Do you dislike it when others smoke or drink?

"What do you think?" The girl took a sip of her coffee.

As a "petit bourgeois" woman who earns 3,000 a month but spends nearly 10,000 a month, she didn't have much hope for this blind date.

Anyway, I'm just here to get rid of this ordinary man and give an explanation to the matchmaker.

"I don't know, but I really hate it." Fang Bie tapped the table lightly with his finger, then picked up his Frappuccino and took a sip.

This is the only drink he likes at Starbucks.

The girl across from me was still smiling.

She understood that if the other party was perceptive, they should have made an excuse to leave after seeing her reaction.

Fang Bie felt a dampness on his back and wanted to find a topic to continue the conversation.

"Before, I could use the excuse of driving when I went out to eat that I couldn't drink, but now the industry has developed so fast that there are designated drivers everywhere." Fang Bie stared into the girl's eyes, trying to see if she was interested in the topic. "So now I always carry a strip of cephalosporin in my car. When someone offers me a drink, I say I just took my medicine and really can't drink."

This is experience that Fang Bie gained from countless blind dates.

Since it's a blind date, everyone is very realistic.

However, some girls are quite fussy. If you directly state your conditions, the other party will think you are there to make a deal.

So, Fang Bie figured out a trick on his own—why don't I just change the subject and bring up the car and house again?

Fang noticed a spark of interest in the girl's eyes; clearly, she had become interested.

"Don't your parents call to urge you if you get home late?" the girl continued.

Fang countered with, "My house was just renovated, and I live alone now. My parents... have both passed away."

The girl's initially aloof expression softened. She twirled a strand of hair at her temple with her fingers and casually remarked, "Paying a mortgage alone must be tough, right?"

An only child with a house, whose parents are both deceased, feels good.

However, having a mortgage would lower her quality of life.

Fang Bie's expression was innocent: "My new apartment isn't big, only about 80 square meters, but I bought it outright, so there's not much pressure. I usually work as an artist at a game company, and my salary after deducting social insurance, housing fund, and taxes is enough for me."

To be honest, Fang Bie's salary is about five thousand a month.

Of course, this is the pre-tax salary and the salary before deductions for social insurance and housing fund.

He is a concept artist at a game company. In addition to his work at the company, he occasionally takes on freelance work to earn some extra money.

In Goose City, a small, eighth-tier city where the average monthly salary is 2,500 yuan, his income is indeed considered quite good among his peers.

"I think 80 square meters is a bit small. I can move to a bigger house in the future." The girl finally found a sense of superiority, although it was unclear where this sense of superiority came from.

After all, it's not the beginning of the month, so it's not time for her to pay back her Huabei (Alipay's credit service) yet.

She is now still the "petit bourgeois" who spends nearly 10,000 yuan a month, instead of the ordinary office clerk who only earns 3,000 yuan a month.

"Yeah, I think so too." Fang Bie nodded in agreement. "I'm planning to sell my old 70-square-meter apartment without an elevator and buy a 120-square-meter one. It's really inconvenient without an elevator."

A smile bloomed on the girl's face: "Where are you planning to buy?"

"I heard that the 'king of the buildings' in Shanshui Huafu is about to be launched." Fang Bie took a sip of his slightly melted Frappuccino. "I'm thinking of taking my girlfriend to look at apartments together in the future, since I'll have to put her name on the property deed eventually."

The girl almost burst out laughing: "Do you think a simple wedding or a lavish one is better?"

This kind of meal ticket... a golden bachelor, it would be a shame not to grab it.

"Either is fine, but I personally prefer something simpler." Fang Bie rubbed his temples. "Actually, the bride price is the biggest expense. These days, the popular amounts here are 188,000 and 288,000. Honestly, in a place where the monthly income is only around 2,000, I don't know how anyone can scrape together that much money."

He looked up and suddenly asked, "What do you think?"

"Hmm... actually, a wedding doesn't require that much money." The girl's eyes darted around, "but the necessary expenses still have to be paid, right? Otherwise, it won't look good for the bride's family."

Here it comes... Fang laughed: "It's alright, tell me, since we're on a blind date, it's better to be direct."

The girl picked up her coffee and took a small sip: "Three hundred and eighty-eight thousand."

"..."

"..."

"Sorry, I must have misheard." Fang Bie scratched his ear, looking puzzled. "Could you say it again?"

The girl smiled and said, "Three hundred and eighty-eight thousand, that's not difficult, is it? You can save almost one hundred thousand a year, it'll only take two years. If you're frugal in your daily life, it shouldn't be hard, right?"

She was quite satisfied with the other party.

The girl is twenty-seven this year, having just turned twenty-four.

As the saying goes, "A woman three years older than you is a golden brick."

Moreover, Fang Bie's income is not low, he owns a car and a house, is quite handsome, over 1.8 meters tall, and has a good physique.

Moreover, they won't need to take care of their in-laws in the future.

This was the most satisfying blind date she had ever had in her more than 30 blind dates.

Fang didn't speak. He simply took out a cigarette case from his jacket pocket, then looked up and smiled, "Sorry, I had stopped smoking last night, and I even took a shower and changed my clothes after lunch today. But the urge just came back and I couldn't resist."

The girl's smile wasn't forced at all: "It's okay, I don't mind. But it would be best to quit now, the smell of cigarettes makes me feel nauseous."

She has begun to take control of this man.

Fang Bie picked up a cigarette with his left middle and index fingers and put it in his mouth, while his right hand took out a chrome-plated Zippo lighter that his father had left him a few years ago.

That was a birthday gift from Fang Bie's father when he was twenty-two and had just graduated.

Although he didn't smoke back then, his dad said that since he was graduating and entering society, he should give him something a little more "street-smart" as a memento.

Actually, he wanted to have someone to blame when his mother scolded him.

Three months ago, my parents were in a car accident.

Fang started smoking from that day on.

As his thoughts drifted, he lowered his head slightly, cupped his left hand in front of the cigarette, and flicked the flint with his right hand to produce sparks.

The flickering yellowish-white flames illuminated a dazzling red.

I took a deep breath, and wisps of smoke slowly drifted out the door.

"I'm sorry, I will quit smoking in the future, but not now."

............

In the white Toyota in the underground parking lot, Fang Bie listened to his colleague's usual question.

"Failed again?"

Fang Bie tilted his head, holding his phone between his shoulder and ear: "Yeah, a dowry of 388,000 yuan. Tsk tsk, doesn't he even look in the mirror? Does he really think he's made of gold? Regardless of whether I have it or not, or whether I can afford it or not, these words are grating and meaningless."

After a long silence, the colleague's weary voice rang out again: "But you've only met each of your blind dates once. What's going on? Weren't you satisfied with that elementary school teacher I introduced you to last time?"

Fang Bie chuckled and said, "He's 1.5 meters tall and weighs 150 pounds, Old Wu, I don't have a grudge against you, do I?"

"And what about the one further ahead? That person's house was just demolished as compensation, they have eight apartments!"

Fang Bie got even angrier when he said this: "Old Wu, I don't have high requirements, as long as she's average-looking, that's fine. But the key is that the lady in question is far from average-looking. I've shown you her photos before."

"What about the one before that?"

Fang Bie shrugged: "Before that, there was an older brother who was 28 and unmarried, and a younger brother who was just 20."

"Then the one further ahead, that one must be pretty, right?"

Fang Bie sighed: "The place they asked me to meet was a bar, and the music was so loud it gave me a headache. Before I even sat down, they showed off the tattoo on their arm, and the first thing they asked me was, 'Do you have a cigarette? I've run out.' I didn't say a word the whole time."

Silence, long silence.

"Old Wu, my phone is still ringing. I've used up all my free call minutes for this month."

"Xiao Fang..." The voice on the other end was tinged with despair, "This is your fiftieth blind date..."

Fang laughed: "That's great! I'll go buy a cake later to commemorate it. Sakuragi Hanamichi's story only officially began after he confessed fifty times and was rejected. Maybe mine will be too."

"What story? Did you think a long-legged, mature woman would just fall from the sky and appear for you when you got home? By the way, who's Sakuragi Hanamichi? A celebrity from Japan?"

"Don't worry about the details." Fang Bie shrugged. "We don't need a tall, mature woman; a tall, beautiful high school girl will do."

Old Wu on the other end of the line hung up the phone immediately.

Fang rolled down the car window and started playing with his Zippo lighter.

The dim yellow flames reflected on Fang Bie's face, which held a mixture of emotions, in the dimly lit underground parking lot.

After a long while, a red light appeared, and wisps of smoke drifted out of the car window.

"Fifty blind dates already... Why is finding a partner so difficult?"

Although... actually, he simply didn't want to look for it.

A person who hides within the walls they have built themselves will not allow others to break down the walls in their heart.

That's why he failed at fifty blind dates.

"Ha, maybe when I get back, a beautiful woman will come to my house in distress, and after I rescue her, she'll start a new life."

"Yeah, right~~"

Back outside the residential area, Fang Bie parked his car in a secluded spot and then leisurely strolled into the neighborhood with the cake in his hand.

"What's going on...?"

At his own front door, holding the key to the security door, Fang Bie looked at the long-haired, black-haired girl squatting by his door and finally couldn't help but rub his forehead.

"Are you really going to pull a surprise attack on me?"

P.S.: New book, new look! This is a story I love, and I hope you all will like it too.