A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 1

“Miss Shen, you’re not married and you have a child, but you’re still coming on a blind date… That’s just not right. Who do you think I am, Zhao Changjiang? A trash collector?”

When Zhao Changjiang got anxious, his voice grew loud, and his mouth had no filter.

Shen Sisi clenched her fists, her eyes instantly reddening. She felt her gentle baby, Niu Niu, shrink into her arms, and she squeezed her palms, forcing herself to endure.

In the past few days, she had faced similar situations countless times.

Some had cursed her with even more vicious words, publicly calling her a “worn-out shoe” or a cheap, worthless slut.

She thought she had become immune to it all, but deep down, it still hurt.

Yes, she had never been married, and she did have a child. But she was still a pure maiden! She was not a “worn-out shoe”!!!

She squeezed the cup hard, regaining her composure. “Didn’t the matchmaker tell you about my situation before you came?”

Zhao Changjiang suddenly choked up. He remembered the matchmaker’s hesitant look, as if there was something more she wanted to say.

But he had been so smitten with Shen Sisi’s photo—she looked just like a celebrity on a magazine cover—that he had run off before the matchmaker could finish.

To meet her, he had specially bought a new poplin shirt and ordered a table full of good food, which had cost him half a month’s salary.

And the real person was even more beautiful than the photo!

With almond-shaped eyes and peachy cheeks, her skin was fair. Her smile was charming and captivating. And her figure… she had slender arms and legs, but her curves were in all the right places, a look that promised she could bear sons.

He was utterly enchanted. He had even already decided on a name for their son… but who knew she was a “worn-out shoe”?

She wasn’t even married, yet she had a child and dared to bring him to a blind date, as if she was afraid people wouldn’t know about her “glorious deeds” in the countryside.

He felt so ashamed!

Seeing his dazed expression, Shen Sisi ground her back teeth in silent fury. “Since you knew my situation and still came, why are you humiliating me in public?”

Her voice was soft, yet it had an underlying resilience. Despite her anger, she spoke slowly and deliberately, with a powerful force that struck at the heart of the matter.

Half of the fire in Zhao Changjiang’s chest was extinguished. Looking at her beautiful face, filled with both anger and resentment, his heart inexplicably softened.

“I… I’m satisfied with you. I can be generous and not mind your past, but…”

His gaze slowly shifted to the little burden in her arms. The child was sallow and thin, sickly-looking and disheartening. “But this child can’t stay…”

If he couldn’t accept her Niu Niu, there was nothing left to discuss.

Shen Sisi glanced at the man, who had a plain, even ugly, face. With the last shred of her dignity, she stood up decisively. “You like me, but I don’t like you. I won’t argue with you today. We have no reason to see each other again!”

Zhao Changjiang stared at her retreating figure, his brain still not processing what had happened. What? A “worn-out shoe” didn’t like him?

Didn’t that mean he’d wasted half a month’s salary for nothing?

“Wait… hold on!” Zhao Changjiang took a few steps forward and blocked Shen Sisi and her daughter. “You have to pay for the meal.”

Shen Sisi raised an eyebrow and looked back at the table full of dishes: braised pork, stewed pork with vermicelli, stir-fried pork… all rich, expensive dishes.

She was so angry she laughed. “Comrade Zhao, you ordered these dishes, not me. I haven’t even touched them. Why should I pay?”

“I ordered them to meet you, so…” Zhao Changjiang’s argument was weak. His blind date was a bust anyway, but he couldn’t let both the person and the money get away!

He felt his face burn under the gaze of the curious onlookers. He was flustered and exasperated. “If you don’t pay, then come home with me and we’ll get married.”

“Are you sick? Go to the hospital and get your head checked,” Shen Sisi gave him a disgusted glare.

She had met many terrible people on blind dates these past few days, but this was the first time she’d met such a stingy man. It was a new low.

Seeing her start to walk away, Zhao Changjiang ran after her.

“No, why don’t you like me? I’m Zhao Changjiang, a security guard at the printing factory. I make 30 yuan a month, I have an urban residency permit, and I’m an only son. You’re an unmarried youth who messed around with men and gave birth to a bastard child, and I’m not even disgusted by you…”

A buzzing sound filled Shen Sisi’s head. She used one hand to cover Niu Niu’s ears and the other to splash the tea in her cup at him.

“That’s enough!” Shen Sisi turned around, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury. “Don’t go too far, not in front of the child!”

Her face was flushed. She was like a little wild cat protecting its kitten, baring her claws and looking especially fierce.

He could say whatever he wanted about her, but he couldn’t say anything about her Niu Niu!

A mother is strong. As a “mother,” whether the child was her own or not, she would use all her strength to protect Niu Niu, not allowing her to suffer even the slightest bit of wrong. And she would never tolerate anyone calling her child a bastard!

Zhao Changjiang’s face was beet-red. His new poplin shirt was stained with tea, and steam was rising from the hot liquid.

It was ruined! His new shirt was ruined!

He gritted his teeth in heartache and completely tore off his last bit of pretense. “You dare to splash me… Do you know how much this shirt costs? If you don’t pay me 30 yuan, I’m not done with you!”

Compared to his furious outburst, Shen Sisi was overly calm. But her trembling fingers still revealed her anger.

“Everyone here saw that you started spewing filth and even cursed my daughter. Didn’t you deserve a beating? I didn’t hit you; I just helped you calm down. You should be happy about that! Pay you? Dream on!”

The onlookers saw that Shen Sisi was neither humble nor arrogant. She didn’t act like a girl in her early twenties, but rather as if she had already weathered many storms. Her strength was strangely heartbreaking.

In the early 1980s, an unmarried woman with a child could be convicted of being a hooligan.

This girl must have gone through something very serious to have a child without being married.

Or perhaps she had married a peasant in the countryside during her time there but hadn’t gotten a marriage certificate. Now that many young people were returning to the city, she wanted to bring her child back too.

In short, she must be a poor, tragic girl…

Shen Sisi noticed the sympathy in everyone’s eyes and guessed they had misunderstood her.

In reality, she wasn’t as pitiful as they thought, but she had signed an agreement that she could never reveal a single word of the truth to outsiders. She could only swallow her bitterness in silence.

“That mother and daughter are already so pitiful. The little child is so small and sick. You’re a grown man, so stop being so difficult,” a kind-hearted elderly woman advised.

Zhao Changjiang pointed at his shirt. “If you’re so kind, then you can pay for her!”

The elderly woman looked at the poplin shirt and fell silent.

“My last name is Zhao. Come at me directly. Don’t scare others,” Shen Sisi said.

“Fine, I’ll go after you!” Zhao Changjiang felt a surge of rage looking at her defiant face. “You ‘worn-out shoe,’ you dare to give me attitude? If you don’t pay me 30 yuan today, you’re not leaving!”

“30 yuan? Are you trying to extort me? Why don’t you just rob someone instead?” Shen Sisi was shocked by his shamelessness.

30 yuan was a whole month’s salary for the man named Zhao.

Even if she had 30 yuan in her pocket, she would prioritize using it to buy medicine for Niu Niu. How could she possibly give it to a scoundrel?

Seeing that she couldn’t take out the money, Zhao Changjiang reached out and grabbed her wrist. “No money? Either we go to the police station or you come home with me. You choose…”

He twisted Shen Sisi’s wrist and forcefully pulled her toward the door.

During the struggle, Niu Niu let out a loud cry and coughed violently. She clung tightly to her mother’s neck like a frightened fawn.

This uncle was so scary; he wanted to eat her mommy!

What should she do…

Shen Sisi’s ears were filled with Niu Niu’s cries. She struggled and held the child with one hand, almost completely helpless.

Just as she was about to be dragged away by Zhao Changjiang, a long, slender, and slightly rough hand with prominent knuckles and bulging veins reached out from behind a curtain. It clamped down on Zhao Changjiang’s “pig trotters.”

Shen Sisi looked at the hand. It was large and slender but a little rough. The prominent wrist bone had a frightening knife scar… It seemed a little familiar. Looking further up, she saw a military green sleeve.

Before she could see clearly, a tall, imposing figure strode through the curtain.