From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

My mom was still stunned in her chair, looking at me, then at Su Qing, and then down at the pearl necklace in the box.

She lived a frugal life and never wore any valuable jewelry. The most precious item she owned was a pair of ordinary silver earrings that my father gave her when he married her.

Looking at the exquisite and expensive pearl necklace in front of him, he was at a loss for words, his eyes filled with surprise.

The matchmaker standing to the side was dumbfounded, her gaze constantly shifting between Su Qing and me.

Xiaoping's reaction was even more shocking; she froze on the spot, her mouth half-open.

She was just convinced that I had no proper job and nothing, but then she turned around and saw a beautiful young woman calling me "boss," with a million-dollar luxury car parked at the door, and her casually taking out an expensive pearl necklace.

She was clearly not in the right state of mind; she was both surprised and delighted.

She had been about to leave, but then she stopped.

She stared at the luxury cars outside the courtyard, then looked at the necklace in my hand, and cautiously asked:

"You...didn't you say you were delivering food and doing odd jobs?"

Before I could respond, Su Qing calmly took over the conversation: "That's right, he did deliver food before. But that was just a learning experience during the transition period of starting a business. Now he's the boss of our company."

After saying that, she turned to me and said in a natural yet respectful tone, "President Wang just sent a message asking about the cooperation contract. When will you have time to reply to him?"

I paused for a moment, then quickly regained my composure and calmly replied, following her lead:

"I'll deal with it tomorrow. I'll stay home with my mom today."

"OK."

Su Qing nodded gently, then smiled politely at the matchmaker and Xiao Ping, saying, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your conversation. I'll go wait in the car first."

After saying that, she gracefully turned and walked out of the courtyard, getting straight back into her luxury car.

Su Qing's smooth and skillful maneuver completely turned the tide, making the atmosphere in the room extremely awkward.

My mother was the first to recover. She carefully closed the jewelry box and looked at me with curiosity and confusion, clearly full of questions.

The matchmaker immediately plastered a fawning smile on her face, chuckled awkwardly, and began to speak enthusiastically:

"Oh my! Yezi, so you've already started your own company and become your own boss! That's so impressive, why didn't you tell me sooner! This is fantastic news!"

I glanced at her indifferently, then looked at Xiaoping, who looked flustered, without saying a word.

At this moment, Xiaoping was no longer as picky as before.

She nervously lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes, her eyes darting around, clearly calculating the gains and losses.

A few seconds later, she looked up, her tone carrying a deliberate gentleness:

"Actually, what I said earlier was all for the sake of our future life, and to put my parents at ease. Marriage is a major life event, so it's always good to be cautious. But if your conditions are really good, we can definitely get to know each other better."

Looking at her face change so quickly, I couldn't help but find it incredibly ridiculous.

She was criticizing me in every sentence, saying I wasn't good enough for her.

Upon seeing the luxury cars and expensive necklaces, and learning that I was the so-called "boss," his attitude immediately changed.

I know in my heart that blind dates are essentially an exchange of interests, and everyone will weigh the pros and cons.

Her pragmatism is understandable, and no one can be considered noble.

But this snobbish attitude of turning on someone faster than flipping through a book truly opened my eyes.

I don't want to have anything to do with women who are too materialistic and only care about material things.

I replied calmly, with a hint of detached sarcasm, and directly refused:

"No need. My situation is really not good. I have no house, no car, no savings, and I have a sick mother to take care of. The burden is very heavy."

"You deserve someone better; there's no need for us to force you."

My crisp and decisive refusal instantly drained most of the color from Xiaoping's face, leaving her embarrassed and at a loss for what to do.

But she forced herself to keep a straight face and put on a deliberately ingratiating smile.

Her attitude was completely different from before; she was now much gentler and more polite.

She lowered her stance and said with a hint of feigned apology, "I'm sorry, Brother Ye. I was clumsy with my words and didn't think before I spoke. Please don't take it to heart. I really didn't mean to look down on you."

Seeing this, the matchmaker immediately tried to smooth things over, quickly echoing:

"That's right, Yezi! You're now running your own company and being a big boss. You're so successful. Why didn't you say so sooner? Xiaoping was just confused and said the wrong thing. You young people should have a good talk and give each other a chance."

I still didn't speak very kindly, and said in a deep voice, "There's no need for that. You should leave. I don't have any extra time to waste on this."

I had initially thought that I should be polite and leave room for maneuver, but the other party's condescending contempt and snobbishness showed that they didn't respect me at all.

Politeness is always reciprocal. Since she has used worldly standards to belittle me, there's no need for me to keep trying to be nice to her.

The matchmaker sighed helplessly and turned to glare fiercely at Xiaoping.

Her eyes were full of resentment, blaming her for speaking too harshly and ruining a perfectly good marriage.

But Xiaoping was still unwilling to give up and took two steps forward.

She adopted a weak and delicate posture, speaking in a coquettish tone with a deliberate attempt to please:

"Brother Ye, I really know I was wrong. I sincerely apologize to you. Please don't be angry with me, okay? Let's just get to know each other and become friends, okay?"

I felt nauseous watching this, and I truly admired her thick skin.

Just a moment ago she was full of complaints, but in the blink of an eye she can put on such a wronged and weak appearance. Her ability to change her expression is simply unmatched.

Just as she got closer, I inadvertently caught a glimpse of a dark tattoo hidden on the side of her neck, where it was concealed by stray hairs.

I don't dislike tattoos, nor would I judge a person's character based on them.

She looks so innocent and reserved, does she look like someone who would get tattoos?

That means she's pretending to be innocent.

I gave her a disdainful look, then took a step back and said coldly:

"Don't say that, I really don't deserve you."

Xiaoping quickly shook her head vigorously, desperately trying to persuade him: "No, wild brother! I really don't mind you. I'm willing to suffer with you. We'll work hard together and live a good life!"

Hearing these insincere, pretty words, I almost burst out laughing.

Just now she was insisting on a dowry of 180,000 yuan and a wedding house in the city, refusing to endure hardship with someone.

Now, upon seeing luxury cars and expensive gifts, they immediately change their tune and say they're willing to share hardships.

With acting skills like that, it's a real shame she's not an actress.

Seeing this, the matchmaker quickly seized the opportunity to push for a match: "Since you've already opened up, why don't you add each other on WeChat and chat more often? You'll get to know each other better gradually!"

Xiaoping nodded vigorously, quickly took out her phone, and stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to add her as a friend.

I remained expressionless and decisively shook my head: "Really, it's not necessary. There's no need for us to waste each other's time."

I was too lazy to keep up the pretense, so I simply saw them out: "I mainly came back today to be with my mother, I don't have time for anything else, please leave."

The matchmaker, still unwilling to give up, turned to my mother and said, "Auntie, look at this..."

My mother glanced at me and immediately refused, saying, "There's nothing I can do. If the child doesn't want to, I can't force him."

The matchmaker was completely at a loss. With a helpless sigh, she waved to Xiaoping and said, "Let's go."

But Xiaoping still refused to give up, and said with a hint of grievance:

"Brother Ye, don't be really angry. Even if we don't date, we can at least add each other on WeChat and get to know each other, right?"

"I'll treat you to dinner tonight as an apology!"