Three days later.

Xiang Zhen had just finished a late night shift. He didn’t understand why humans had chosen to abandon their thousands-of-years-old rhythm of rising with the sun and sleeping with the moon—he didn’t like it—but he would be fired if he didn’t work the night shift.

At nine in the morning, Xiang Zhen walked out of the company building and received a call.

“Is this Miss Xiang Zhen?”

“Ah—oh.” Xiang Zhen happened to be mid-yawn. As he looked up, he saw the sun hanging between two tall buildings. His pupils illuminated with its brilliance, and he felt a surge of energy. “Hello, this is Xiang Zhen.”

“Hello. You previously signed up for a public welfare matchmaking event. After screening and matching by volunteers, we’ve found several suitable male candidates for you. Do you have time to meet them one by one?”

As soon as he heard the word “matchmaking,” Xiang Zhen enthusiastically cooperated. “Yes, yes! I have time during the day today!”

“Great. I am currently contacting them; I will call you back shortly.”

Xiang Zhen hung up and walked along the roadside, deliberately choosing paths where he could bask in the sun. He meandered slowly back to his rental apartment. Just as he inserted the key into the lock, his phone rang again.

It turned out a male candidate was free that afternoon, so the volunteer helped set up a meeting at the Vitality Coffee Shop at 3:00 PM.

In early May, the Zhoufu Group held its AGM. The financial report was already a collection of astronomical numbers.

The meeting didn’t end until noon. Zhou Sicheng disentangled himself from the endless, meaningless figures, waved away his driver, and drove out of the underground garage alone.

At the traffic circle at the intersection, new and expensive spring flowers had been planted. Many drivers rolled down their windows to admire the seasonal display while waiting for the red light.

Two white cars were parked side by side waiting for the light to change. The left car’s passenger window was rolled all the way down, while the right car’s driver-side window was only cracked open a sliver.

In the left car sat a man in his thirties with a dark, irritable complexion. He frowned while taking a call, saying to his driver, “Master, I’m not going to Vitality Coffee Shop anymore. Take me to Deer Garden Apartments.”

The driver replied, “Aren’t you going there for a matchmaking date? What could be more important than a life-changing event?”

“Going there is a waste of time. The other party is a customer service agent earning only 3,000 yuan. I really don’t know how she survives here. If we actually became a couple, I’d have to support her. The profile says she likes cake and milk tea—ha, a piece of afternoon tea cake costs a day’s wages for her…”

The man crumpled his matchmaking profile and tossed it out the window.

The green light turned on.

Two white cars, with a hundred-fold difference in price, grazed past each other.

Zhou Sicheng looked at the paper ball stuck in his windshield wiper. It was a photocopy of the other party’s profile. The words “Xiang Zhen” were crumpled, but the strokes were written with an earnest, flowing hand.

[There is no one left in the world who will love you. Give up all your foolish and laughable thoughts. No one will ever look past your money to love the person you are.]

The curse-like words surfaced in his mind. His fingers, resting on the leather steering wheel, tightened slightly.

At 2:30 PM, Xiang Zhen took the bus to Vitality Coffee Shop. The volunteer said he could have picked up the hard copy of the other party’s profile at the office earlier, but that would have required a detour costing an extra two yuan. Xiang Zhen couldn’t bear to spend it. Since they were meeting anyway, he had a mouth; he could just ask himself.

On the way, he frantically studied some matchmaking tips, afraid of exposing his lack of knowledge.

“100 Questions for Matchmaking: House, car, profession, salary, social security, height, parents’ pensions, siblings, smoking/drinking habits, work schedule…”

Hmm—human matchmaking is actually quite complicated. Xiang Zhen recited the list all the way there. Once he arrived at the cafe, he closed the “cheating” web page and sat down with dignified posture, his waist straight and thin. He ordered a full-sugar latte.

This cafe was a designated matchmaking spot for the charity organization. There was a specific “matchmaking table” with a large heart-shaped balloon tied to it. Sitting there entitled one to a free coffee.

Xiang Zhen sipped his latte while watching the door—he glanced whenever a woman walked in, and glanced whenever a man walked in. After all, the volunteer hadn’t told him the gender of his match.

Fifteen minutes past three, the table was still empty.

Xiang Zhen had almost finished his latte. He held the last mouthful in his mouth, rolled it around his cheeks twice, and swallowed it with lingering satisfaction.

Once he finished the “free” coffee, he would go home to sleep.

The moment he stood up, the glass door was pushed open. In walked a man who looked to be 1.9 meters tall, wearing a charcoal-grey three-piece suit. He pushed the door with one hand but didn’t step in, his body language still suggesting he was ready to leave at any moment.

Zhou Sicheng scanned the cafe nonchalantly. His eyes instantly landed on a… beautiful, honest-looking yellow-haired guy, and the tacky balloon on the table next to him.

A man, actually.

As it turned out, Zhou Sicheng didn’t care.

He turned his shoes and pushed the glass door open wider. Zhou Sicheng strode over to Xiang Zhen. His dark, deep eyes narrowed slightly. “Xiang Zhen?”

From the moment the man appeared, Xiang Zhen’s entire being was captured by that handsome face. It was soul-stirring and dizzying.

He was the best-looking human he had ever seen—tall, handsome, with deep features and a high nose bridge. He was like the scorching sun, illuminating every soft leaf of a sunflower.

Xiang Zhen couldn’t look away, his gaze tracking Zhou Sicheng like a sunflower following the sun as the man sat across from him.

How can a man grow up to look like this! It’s too bewitching for a demon!

“Are you here to matchmake with me?” Xiang Zhen woke up from his sun-dazed trance and pinched his thigh to keep from looking suspicious.

“Yes. I’m Zhou Sicheng.” Zhou Sicheng waited, but no waiter came to take their order. He only saw a yellowed QR code image in the corner of the table, which was enough to kill one’s appetite.

Xiang Zhen, focused on Zhou Sicheng, immediately said, “Do you want a drink? Matchmaking dates get one free!”

Zhou Sicheng: “No need.”

Xiang Zhen’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll drink it for you. I want to try the coffee with chocolate.”

Xiang Zhen briefly split his attention to the chocolate coffee, finished his own cup, poured half of the new one, and took a sip. “It’s good. You should try it.”

Zhou Sicheng looked at the price list on the wall; he had no obligation to comment on a 19.9-yuan coffee. “I’m allergic to coffee.”

Xiang Zhen regretfully hugged both cups into his elbows, the corners of his mouth curving to reveal two faint dimples.

Zhou Sicheng hated the coffee that had stolen Xiang Zhen’s attention. He was used to being the one people stared at.

Xiang Zhen felt nervous. Looking at Zhou Sicheng’s face, he forgot all his matchmaking tricks and skipped straight to the final step: “Do you have WeChat?”

Zhou Sicheng took out his phone.

Xiang Zhen successfully added him and saw the display name was “Zhou Sicheng”—a very nice-sounding name.

Once he opened his phone, he caught a glimpse of the “100 Questions” web page again and immediately remembered the correct procedure.

“I’m Xiang Zhen. I’m a customer service agent. My monthly salary is 3,000, I have no house or car, a mother in the countryside, and no other relatives. How about you?”

Zhou Sicheng was expressionless; he never had to introduce himself.

Seeing him looking a bit awkward, Xiang Zhen assumed the man was nervous, unlike himself, who had rehearsed a script on the way. “It’s okay. I ask, you answer. That works.”

Xiang Zhen: “Do you have a house?”

Zhou Sicheng: “No.”

Xiang Zhen peeked at his phone, reading aloud: “Do you have savings?”

Zhou Sicheng: “No.”

Xiang Zhen empathized: “Oh, oh, it’s very hard to save money here. Do you have a car?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Yes.”

Xiang Zhen: “What is your profession?”

Zhou Sicheng’s eyes flickered; he didn’t seem to want to state it clearly.

Xiang Zhen was very clever. “I know! You have a car, so you’re a ride-hailing driver, right?”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

Xiang Zhen analyzed: “Your name is Zhou Sicheng. ‘Si’ means to manage, ‘Cheng’ means to gallop with horses. In modern times, managing galloping horses is exactly what a ride-hailing driver does.”

Because the other party was so excellent, Xiang Zhen showed off his literary knowledge a little.

Zhou Sicheng: “Correct.”

For the first time, he learned that he was born to be a ride-hailing driver.

Ride-hailing driver income was unstable. Xiang Zhen considerately skipped asking about his salary and asked: “Education?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Master’s degree.”

Xiang Zhen was shocked. He didn’t expect the organization to match him with someone so tall, handsome, and highly educated. “I haven’t read much; do you mind?”

Zhou Sicheng: “I don’t mind.”

Xiang Zhen: “Family members?”

Zhou Sicheng: “No comment.”

Can two men get married and meet the parents anyway?

Every family had its own troubles. Human family structures were complex. Xiang Zhen didn’t mind Zhou Sicheng’s evasion and curled his eyes: “Okay! I’m done asking. I like you very much. Shall we get married?”

He had definitely fallen for Zhou Sicheng at first sight. The Guide to Adulthood said that humans were best at missing opportunities and were very fragile—if you met someone and missed them, it was like a terminal illness. Demons had to take it as a warning.

If you meet someone you like, you have to marry them.

“…” Zhou Sicheng asked back, “What do you like about me?”

Xiang Zhen: “I just like you as a person!”

Zhou Sicheng narrowed his eyes. Was there really someone who liked this… broke version of him? Was it possible? Perhaps Xiang Zhen had seen his photo on the Zhoufu Group’s official website.

Xiang Zhen: “If we get married, we can live together and save on rent. Cooking together is also more economical. Would you consider it?”

Zhou Sicheng: “I have no house, no money, no job, and my lease is up. Are you sure you want to marry me?”

Xiang Zhen felt Zhou Sicheng was being humble: “You do have a job! You’re a ride-hailing driver! Your income must be higher than mine. Your rental lease is up? Well, I just rented a place, so you don’t have to pay rent.”

Zhou Sicheng stared at Xiang Zhen, his gaze sweeping over the soft golden hair. None of the celebrities or socialites he had ever met could dye their hair as beautifully as Xiang Zhen; it looked as if it were natural.

“Sure.”

Incredible.

Xiang Zhen could barely believe it. He had found a human husband so quickly. He would definitely be very, very good to his husband and wouldn’t let him suffer any hardship being with a demon.

“Did you drive here? I’m off today; I can help you move!”

Where would Zhou Sicheng have a rental apartment? He refused calmly: “No need. I’ll send you back first. I don’t have much luggage; I’ll move it myself tonight.”

Xiang Zhen understood—it was almost time for the evening rush, the peak hour for ride-hailing.

“Making money is important, but don’t forget to eat.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

There was no parking near the coffee shop. It was the first time Zhou Sicheng realized parking could be so difficult; he was delayed for fifteen minutes, causing him to be unpunctual. It took another ten minutes to walk to his car.

In the vast parking lot, a white Maybach flashed its lights discreetly.

“Please.” Zhou Sicheng opened the passenger door. It was the first time he had acted as a driver for someone, but his etiquette was perfect.

Xiang Zhen sat in with a sense of novelty, looking left and right. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; he felt this car was far better than Sun Youzhi’s.

Seeing him observing everything, Zhou Sicheng knew even a fool would realize this car was expensive. He distanced himself: “This car belongs to a friend—”

Xiang Zhen wanted to show off his knowledge: “This is a BYD, right!”

Zhou Sicheng: “…Yes, a friend’s BYD. Mine is in for maintenance.”

That night, Zhou Sicheng bought a genuine white BYD.

How absurd.