Chapter 31
Obviously, Vanessa's mother had every doubt about her, but she didn't have any strong evidence at all.
Actually, Vanessa could have found a male friend to help her and mess her mother about. However, as she knew her parents a lot, once she acted in the play, she would have to keep it going.
And it would cause more troubles and be difficult enough to fill up gaps in her story with lots of lies. So she'd better let go of that kind of idea.
But her mother was so vigorous and resolute that everything had been settled down in just a few days.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vanessa got a few messages from her mother.
From Mom, "Well, it is settled for you. Six o'clock on Saturday afternoon. You'd better go and see him."
"I have struck a medium. There is a restaurant in the middle of your working places. It's at the CBD in Lantrie."
"But it costs there. Well, do remember to return his invitation, and tell me if you ain't long enough."
"Here is his Whatsapp ID."
From Vanessa, "……"
"Well I won't send him a friend invitation."
From Mom, "Then how will you get in touch with him?"
From Vanessa, "It will be embarrassing to add him on Whatsapp. Well, I won't do it anyway!"
From Mom, "All right. Just find the hottest man in that restaurant since you get there."
From Vanessa, "(a brittle laugh emoji)."
From Mom, "You know, I am not very struck on someone not great enough. But the man is rather nice. Actually he is a few years senior to you. And he was a big shot when he studied in my school."
"He has much loved for his good looking since he was a child. Well, there he is."
"And he has academic success. He gets a Doctor Degree and even studies abroad. Well, he is a rather independent-minded man."
"And a very polite and filial-hearted man with a high level of self-reliance."
"Although he has a rich family background, he started to live up on his own feet when he was in college. Well, he is his own man, isn't he?"
As Vanessa found her mother was still "typing" which could be seen at the top of the chat box in Whatsapp, she interrupted her mother hurriedly.
From Vanessa, "All right! I get it! Well, I've got to participate in the meeting!"
From Mom, "All right. Just trust me. You will like him."
"[Rose] [Rose] [Rose] (Three emojis of rose in a row)."
"(An emoji with the words 'Wish you the best'.)"
Actually, Vanessa did have a meeting to take part in, so she picked up the computer grumpily and rose up. And then she just put her phone face down on the table.
Tracy Jones was startled as she saw Vanessa's sudden anger. She asked as she walked to the meeting room, "What's the matter?"
"Well, what must be must be." Vanessa shook her head with her tight lips, "My mother is quite brisk, isn't she? She has fixed for me to have a blind date this Saturday."
"Is she?!" As Tracy heard that, she laughed because of helplessness, "Well, I understand that your mother pushes you to get married. But I don't think you want a blind date, don't you?"
--"What?"
Sophia Yost was walking nearby, engrossed in her phone. As she heard that, she asked hurriedly, "Vanessa, you want blind dates?"
Vanessa didn't reply to her. She seemed to acquiesce in it.
"But, don't you……" said Sophia.
"Well, my mother pushes me." Vanessa frowned and said, "Of course I don't want to!"
Hearing that, Sophia became flustered, "Then don't go! Well, haven't we arranged to enjoy our spa this Saturday? I'll pay."
What she had said froze Vanessa's words on her lips. After a long pause, Vanessa only replied to her, "Well, you don't understand, I mean, the blind date."
Actually, Vanessa's mother could be very obstinate and even much too staid although she looked rather gentle and kind.
It would be better to yield to her and mess her about rather than to tackle an issue like that head-on.
However, it was just that Vanessa still couldn't get over it as the meeting was over.
When she clocked off duty and came back home, she got consecutive messages from her mother who sent her a few pictures of that man.
Actually he was rather handsome, looking spruce. And he wore glasses, bringing a polite and graceful feeling.
A feeling that was running counter to the one that Shawn Yeats had, who also put on glasses.
There was modesty and gentleness in that man's nature.
Vanessa just swiped her phone idly. Naturally the picture of Shawn was in her sight.
And suddenly, she found that Shawn took the shine out of that man.
Well, she hadn't settled down Shawn's matter, had she…….
As she thought of him, suddenly she had an epiphany. She associated him with a foreign drama and got an idea.
What if she told Shawn that she was forced to have a blind date? What would he say?
Would he ask her not to meet that man, as the character in the dramas did?
Or, would he be in a bad mood quietly?
However, as she did open Whatsapp in her phone and was ready to send him a message, her reason convinced her.
Actually, with Shawn's character, he would probably reply to her with "Good luck for you".
--
It was five o'clock on Saturday afternoon in the blink of an eye.
Vanessa had sat down in front of her dressing table for a good while. With a powder puff in her hand, she remained still for a long time.
Actually she wanted to stay graceful. She felt that she couldn't be untidy and meet the man in that way even though it was not her idea to have a blind date.
But she was wondering, what she should do if she was well dressed and the man fell in love with her at first sight?
Well it was a tough question for her.
She had been torn between that for a good while. Finally she decided to apply a sparing make-up and wore some of her hand-me downs.
As they would meet in CBD, it was rather common to have a traffic jam on the way.
Vanessa didn't go there of her own accord, so certainly she didn't go out early. But she never expected that she would be a few minutes late.
As she went into the restaurant, with her impression of the picture, she spotted the man sitting by the window at once.
Like what he looked like in the picture, he was simply dressed and sat there quietly. Without spending time on the phone, he was flicking through some books on the table.
Seeing that, Vanessa walked over there in a hurry.
"You must be Mr. Foster, Lonn Foster? Sorry, I got caught in the traffic jam and I'm late. I'm sososo sorry, truly."
But Lonn just looked up to her blandly.
"That's all right. I'm just here."
Finding that he took it coolly, she became a bit embarrassed instead.
 "Take a seat please." said Lonn.
As they both sat down, the atmosphere they had started to become moody.
And Lonn heaved a sign unaccountably, and then he raised his hand to beckon the waiter.
"Why don't we order some food?"
Vanessa replied to him with a "Right."
--
Actually, Lonn was not a bookworm at all although he was wealthy in knowledge. Basically, he had a tongue in his head.
However, for the first twenty minutes of the date, it was Lonn who had been talking merely. Vanessa just replied to him, instead of starting up a conversation.
As all the dishes were served, Lonn ordered a glass of lemonade for Vanessa. And then he asked her directly after giving her a quick survey, "Are you forced to come here by your family, right?"
Vanessa, "……"
She took a grip on herself and confessed it straightly, " Well, I am."
But to her surprise, Lonn smiled as if relief were written all over his face, "Well, so am I."
As she heard that, she let go a sigh of relief as he did.
"Well, I don't think I need a blind date, as I'm just twenty five."
"No. You are still young enough." Lonn said, "But I'm thirty. Well, my family is worrying about my marriage. But I don't want to make a nest for myself at the moment. I don't think I have the energy to manage a relationship, or even a marriage for now."
As they exchanged their glances, they both had an expression of understanding on their faces.
--
Meanwhile, in the lounge of the Yeats Family, someone put a Financeweek magazine with articles of the past two issues on the sofa.
Shawn just picked it up, and found that it was Theo Sanchez in the key part on the cover.
He was thumbing through the book and found the right page with "Vanessa Green" in the preface of the article.
Actually the interview had been published for a long time, but he didn't have the time to read it.
As he found it at the moment, he just browsed through the article, but got caught in those words instead.
And he was so absorbed that he was not aware when William Yeats was talking to him.
"Shawn?"
William tapped on the magazine in Shawn's hands, "You didn't listen to me, did you?"
Shawn closed the book, "Well, I am reading Uncle Theo's interview. What's the matter then?"
"I hear that you have been going out with an actress recently, haven't you?" asked William straightly.
As Shawn's father, William didn't ask much of his son's private life.
It was just that he had heard about it sometimes, and the rumor sounded rather impressive. As he thought that it was not Shawn's style at all, he just asked him.
Certainly Shawn had heard something about it. But he didn't want to spend time and energy to deal with those idle stories at all.
However, unutterably, he became rather concerned about it.
"Who told you then?"
"Well, people are always repeating what others say. You just can't trace the rumor back to its origin." William said, "Just tell me the answer."
"No." Shawn just said desultorily.
As something occurred to him, he moved on, "And she has a strong desire of acting. Well, calling her an actress is an insult to that kind of profession."
William could only ask so much about it. And he didn't question him about the details.
It was just then that Sophia came here. William turned his attention to her while Shawn opened the magazine again and went back to his reading.
Before Sophia could go through the door, William asked her, "Well, why are you here?"
It was known that the love in every other generation was much deeper, which was the style of almost any old man.
Actually William rarely smiled. But he would soften a little as he met his granddaughter.
With her grandfather backing her up, certainly Sophia was spoiled, and therefore was somehow haughty. She was not scared of Shawn that much. 
And she just threw away her bag freely. As she kicked off her shoes, she put on slippers instead and came to them.
William asked her to sit next to him, and then turned to ask her, "Well, didn't you go to the library with your leader?"
"I have been stood up." Sophia bent down and rubbed her legs, "Well, she has a blind date."
And then she started to chatter like magpies about something else. As the auntie responsible for cooking came to ask them the dishes they loved, it became bedlam in the lounge.
However, none of them found that suddenly Shawn raised his head and glanced at Sophia. And then he closed the magazine in his hand.
"Well, she starts to have blind dates, although she is about three years senior to you. And you?"
"I'm afraid even your graduation from the college will be a problem." said William with a smile.
As he mentioned it, Sophia cast a glance at Shawn, looking rather guilty.
And it set her mind at rest as she found that he was looking through his phone without any reaction to the words.
"Well, if I tell you that I want to get married right now, I don't think you will agree, won't you?"
Sophia whined, "Besides, someone like us must think twice before marriage. Blind date is not our thing."
And it seemed to remind her of something. Suddenly she asked William, "Do you still remember Nell Parker, grandfather?"
Hearing that, William nodded and said, "Well, I hear that she is getting a divorce recently."
"She is!" Sophia slapped her thighs, becoming rather excited, "Well, she had a flush marriage the year before last, hadn't she? She insisted on marrying a bodyguard, as if she were charmed by the witch. No persuasion worked. And she didn't sign a prenuptial agreement at all."
"Great then." Sophia took a sip of the water and continued to share a bitter hatred of the enemy, "Well, divorce means that you have to lose much of your fortune. I have heard that the safeguard thought the money was not enough and filed a suit recently. Well, I met Nell a few days ago, and found that she became rather harassed. Actually she is just thirty years old, but she looks as if she were forty."
Actually William had no interest in that kind of topic and his attention was taken away. But Sophia wasn't aware and still talked to herself, "What a lesson! Well, all of them felt that the safeguard had an axe to grind at that time. But she didn't believe it, instead, she thought that they were thinking too much. Well then, look at her, she was swindled out of money and love." 
As she finished, Shawn tapped on her head with a magazine moderately.
"What are you doing, Uncle?"
But Shawn just looked at her coldly.
"Well, don't make any more snide remarks. That's none of your business."
--
Actually since they both told the truth, they had felt rather pleasant to dine with each other.
Lonn didn't talk about his love affair at all, instead, he only shared his experiences of studying abroad with Vanessa. 
Vanessa was a rather great listener with her occupational habit, who would only respond to the topic on the right moment. And in a blink of an eye two hours had passed.
After dinner, it was natural for Lonn to see her home.
As they were on the way back, he was driving, and then he asked her, "So, do you stay single for a long time?"
Vanessa replied to him softly, "I do. Well, sort of."
She didn't think about Jackson Scott at all.
Hearing that, Lonn smiled, and then turned to look at her, "Well, you must have a lot of admirers, don't you? Is there someone in your heart, someone with whom you can't possibly go out?"
Vanessa thought that it made sense.
"Well, there is. It can be."
So they arrived at another consensus, again, as they were on the way home.
Since both of their families urged them to get married, they could just muddle through and tell their families that they were getting on with each other and needed to know each other further, thus they could escape a new blind date that their families fixed for them.
As Lonn left his car at the gate of Vanessa's neighborhood, he added her on Whatsapp.
"Well, actually I will study in Bostabaca after the New Year. I will say that it is better for us to be friends. Is it all right?"
"It is, of course."
As Lonn had her Whatsapp, she unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. And then she smiled and waved, "Take care then."
Lonn made a gesture of "ok" in return. As he drove the car and was a few feet away from her, he stopped. And then he stuck her head out of the window to say to her, "Well, I guess we'll have to meet each other next week."
Vanessa gave him a meaningful look of "get it", "All right."
She looked after him, and she didn't turn around to walk towards the neighborhoods until his car disappeared from sight.
However, as she just took a few steps forward, she heard clearly someone calling her name "Vanessa", and then she stopped.
But she was not sure.
Because it seemed to be Shawn.
She turned around slowly.
Those vendors were still selling their goods outside the neighborhood. And they put up the lights casually which struck gleams without any rule. The people heading for their home moved around to buy some food, while the kids wearing a heavy down jacket were leaping to and fro.
As Shawn was standing on the curb, his face could be seen clearly by the streetlight.
His appearance didn't tally with the style of the street scene at the moment, so she thought that she just guessed it wrong.
But he did stand there.
And his car was parked behind him, whose engine had long been shut off and became cooled.
Vanessa was stumped for a moment.
But surprisingly, it was guilt first that raced through her mind.
He didn't see her having a blind date with another man, did he?
Helplessly, she just stared at him when he headed for her, and she backed up a step suddenly.
She didn't find that his face collapsed until he came near her.
There was anger even in his look.
As he pressed forward steadily, suddenly a kid rushed out and banged into him.
"Oh! I'm sorry, sir!"
Shawn glanced down at the kid subconsciously. As he looked up and found that Vanessa drew back, he stopped.
But he just kept his eyes fixed on Vanessa.
"You, you……" She got very nervous. She couldn't even act in the play at the moment, "Why are you here?"
Why was he here?
Actually he also wanted to know the answer.
He knew clearly that she had her own motives and difficulties, and what she had done was nothing but a play.
But he just came here.
And he eyeballed her pretty hard, suddenly making the noise ringing in their ears start to drift away.
She felt uneasy because of his gaze, and then she started to confess without being pressed.
"Well, he is the son of my mother's leader. We have known each other since we were kids."
But he remained silent.
Actually he didn't pay attention to what she was saying.
Instead, he just looked at her flashing eyes. He found that she had constant thoughts in her mind and kept rotating her eyes. She dared not exchange glances with him even.
However, it was at the moment that he seemed to be relieved suddenly.
What was the matter if she got some intents?
She could do nothing but cheat him.
If she was a money swindler, well, she would not be his league, would she?
But a love swindler--
Shawn just came forward. As the streetlamp threw a shadow on him and Vanessa, it felt like that the small world of those shadows was only there for them.
But Vanessa became increasingly nervous that her ears burned.
She lifted her head slowly with her cheeks tinged with red. She fluttered her eyelashes so frequently that people seeing it would want to put their hands over her blinking eyes.
Shawn was looking at her, with the ghost of an imperceptible smile playing around his lips slowly.
Well, if she was a love swindler,
She could be at a disadvantage, couldn't she?