"Huh? Brother Jiang, you're married and have a wife?"
He Jing suddenly remembered that when Jiang Tao sold her the watch, he had mentioned breaking up with his girlfriend, hadn't he?
"Ahem, yeah, sorry about that, Xiao He. I told a tiny little lie back then."
Jiang Tao pinched two fingers together in a gesture, openly admitting that he had lied at the time.
When he sold the Longines watch to He Jing, he had casually made up a story.
He never expected that they would turn out to be from the same hometown and would cross paths again.
Now that his lie had been exposed, aside from a slight bit of embarrassment, it wasn't a big deal.
"Oh, no worries~"
After hearing Jiang Tao's explanation, He Jing quickly let it go.
She often bought and sold items on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace).
Sometimes, to reassure buyers or dispel their concerns, she would also tell a tiny white lie or two.
One of her roommates did the same, often selling unworn stockings as "original flavor."
While chatting with He Jing, Jiang Tao's mind was racing.
He was pondering how to bring up the matter of the landlord grandpa and her aunt.
His CPU was practically smoking from overthinking, but he couldn't come up with a good way to start.
In the end, Jiang Tao decided to stop beating around the bush and skip the "nine shallow, one deep" approach, going straight for the point.
"So, Xiao He, do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Huh? Brother Jiang, what—what do you mean?"
He Jing's expression instantly tensed up, her eyes looking at Jiang Tao with confusion.
This guy wasn't about to say he fell for her at first sight, was he?
"Don't get me wrong, Xiao He. I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about the landlord of the place I'm renting."
"The landlord grandpa saw your aunt by chance and was completely smitten by her."
"But the landlord grandpa is a bit shy and didn't feel comfortable asking your aunt directly, so he asked me to help find out about her marital status."
"And since I happened to run into you here, I thought I'd ask."
In the end, Jiang Tao chose to trust Brother System's judgment.
According to the intel provided by Brother System, the compatibility between Landlord Grandpa Lü Qian and He Jing's aunt, Ma Dongmei, was a whopping 97%!
This level of compatibility was absolutely a match made in heaven!
Jiang Tao suddenly realized something.
What he needed to do wasn't as complicated as he had imagined.
All he had to do was get the two to meet, and the rest could be left to fate!
Of course, before arranging the meeting, confirming Ma Dongmei's marital status with He Jing was definitely necessary.
If she was already married, he couldn't go breaking up someone's marriage just to complete a task.
"Oh, I see. But…"
He Jing's expression turned a bit regretful as she said, "My aunt probably won't ever want to get married."
"Nothing is absolute! What if it works out? You don't want your aunt to live out her days alone, do you?"
Jiang Tao said earnestly, "Sure, my landlord grandpa is a bit older, but he's still in pretty good health.
And I've been renting from him for six years, so I know his character well. He's definitely the kind of person suited for a stable life.
What I mean is, whether it works out or not, let's at least get them to meet. If it doesn't happen, we'll let fate decide.
Meeting up won't hurt anything, right, Xiao He?"
He Jing was touched by Jiang Tao's words, "You don't want your aunt to live out her days alone, do you?"
Of course, she didn't want her aunt to live a lonely life forever. She wanted her aunt to have a close companion to spend the rest of her life with.
But…
He Jing felt that the chances of this happening were almost nonexistent.
She had heard from her mom that her aunt had been hurt emotionally when she was young.
She had deeply loved a man and was even engaged to him, ready to walk down the aisle.
If it weren't for that accident, her aunt's child would probably be older than her by now.
But there are no "ifs." An accident happened when it shouldn't have.
On their way to get their marriage certificate, her aunt's fiancé encountered a few children who had fallen into the water.
He saved four of the drowning children but lost his own life in the process.
Since then, her aunt had never dated anyone and had remained single to this day.
It had been almost forty years since the incident, but her aunt had never been able to move on.
"Then… should I go talk to my aunt about it?"
He Jing looked at Jiang Tao, clearly swayed.
"Xiao He, I think we should just go for it—set it up first and tell her later. Just get them to meet."
Jiang Tao's decision was, of course, based on his confidence in the intel provided by Brother System.
A 97% compatibility for ordinary people?
With a match like that, it's practically a done deal!
"Uh, is that okay?"
He Jing looked worried, afraid that her aunt might get mad at her if she found out the truth.
Jiang Tao said meaningfully, "Sometimes, people need a little push from behind to take that step forward.
If you don't give her that push, she might never take that step."
"Well… alright then!"
He Jing's eyes lit up after hearing Jiang Tao's words, feeling that he made a lot of sense!
If she went to her aunt and said she wanted to set her up with a blind date, her aunt would definitely refuse!
"Then I'll go call the landlord and tell him to come over quick!"
"Oh, by the way, Xiao He, do you have any daily photos of your aunt on your phone? Could you send me one?"
"Oh, yeah, I do. Sure, I'll send you one."
He Jing reached into her Prada bag, pulled out her phone, and after a few taps, sent Jiang Tao a picture.
The photo showed Ma Dongmei standing in front of Tiananmen Square.
In the picture, Ma Dongmei was wearing a light yellow cardigan, simple black casual pants, and a pair of black flat shoes.
Her outfit was simple and elegant, not at all old-fashioned. She looked gentle and refined, like a cultured lady from a scholarly family in the Republic of China era.
The warm, loving smile on her face was especially infectious!
"By the way, Xiao He, how old is your aunt this year?"
Jiang Tao asked a few basic questions about Ma Dongmei to prepare for his conversation with the landlord grandpa.
He Jing answered honestly, "My aunt is five years older than my mom. She just turned 60 this year, and she'll be 61 after the New Year."
"Five years older than my mom, and she's in such great shape…"
No matter how Jiang Tao looked at it, Ma Dongmei didn't seem like a 60-year-old, but he knew He Jing wouldn't lie about something like that.
"Right? When my aunt and my mom are out together, no one can tell she's the older one. People always think she's the younger sister, and my mom's always annoyed about it."
Talking about the amusing stories between her aunt and her mom, He Jing couldn't help but smile.
"Then I'll go call the landlord and tell him to hurry over."
After a bit of small talk, Jiang Tao stepped aside, found the landlord grandpa's WeChat, and made a voice call.
He Jing also returned to her aunt's side to talk with her.
Of course, their communication wasn't through words but through gestures.