You don’t have to wait until the weekend. On an ordinary Wednesday evening, you can put together a relaxed and exciting date time.
Avoid the elaborate formal dinners and choose a Japanese izakaya tucked away in an old alley. Arrive ten minutes early and order a pot of warm sake and two plates of small dishes – salt-roasted chestnuts and poached eggs mixed with spinach. When he arrives, the sake is just warmed up, and the warm aroma envelops the wooden bar, perfectly easing the fatigue of a weekday. There’s no need to talk about work; just talk about the strange vegetables you saw at the market last week, or share the sunset photos stored on your phone that you didn’t have time to post on WeChat Moments.
After finishing the meal, we went to a nearby second-hand bookstore. We picked two books with attractive covers, found a corner by the window and sat side by side. There was no need to talk. Occasionally, we would look up and watch him carefully turning the pages. The sunlight filtered through the glass window, falling on his hair, and even the dust became gentle. Before leaving, each of us chose a small book to give to the other. It didn’t have to be expensive. The best one would be a collection of short stories with a surprise on the first page.
Finally, we took a walk to the riverbank. The gentle evening breeze just carried away the faint intoxication from the wine. We walked slowly under the shadows cast by the streetlights. Just as we were approaching the subway entrance, he said, “Next time I’ll take you to that restaurant where you mentioned the steamed buns.” You smiled and nodded, but didn’t say “OK”, but secretly in your heart, you had already set the date for the next date to be this weekend morning.
A truly enjoyable date is not one filled with a packed schedule and checklists, but rather a time when two people waste their time together, yet feel that every second is precious.