Chapter 55: Never Blindly Set a FLAG
The system’s reaction was a bit much. Three exclamation points, as if it was afraid Zhang Zhe wouldn’t take it seriously.
But Zhang Zhe had spent all last night researching marriage and relationships. He knew all too well how important a mother was to a child.
The girl he was on the call with was a classic example.
This was also why, in real life, many parents would carefully vet their child’s potential in-laws when considering marriage prospects.
They stayed far away from anyone whose family was dysfunctional or whose parents had bad habits.
The influence of one’s family becomes more and more apparent with age. Since a marriage is supposed to last a lifetime, no one is willing to gamble on something like that.
"Miss, what is your family situation really like?"
"I’ll give you one more chance to answer. Can you tell the truth?"
"It’s just a normal A8 family, nothing special." The woman was still being evasive. "It’s just that my dad and I don’t have a great relationship, but that’s all."
"Alright then." Zhang Zhe didn’t expose her lie. He mainly couldn’t be bothered arguing with this type of woman and told her directly, "In that case, we’re not a good match."
"Why not?"
"Because my client’s son is still young." Zhang Zhe gestured vaguely toward the top-right corner of his screen, where the man’s basic information was displayed. "I’m worried you’ll be a bad influence on him. What if he ends up finding a wife who’s older than me?"
[Hahaha, that line was a killer blow.]
[Exactly. It’s mainly about not being a bad influence on the kid. Otherwise, this woman is actually pretty suitable for an old man, because she knows her place.]
[This kind of woman is destined to be the ’plus one’ in a ready-made family.]
[She’s so young, she should really walk a more righteous path.]
The atmosphere in the Douyin comments was different from Xiaohongshu.
The old uncles and aunties in the chat were brutally honest, and occasionally, a "big brother" would drop some thirsty comments.
"So, Brother Zhang... what kind of marriage partner do you think I’m suited for?"
"Look for someone in your daily life. Matchmaking isn’t for you," Zhang Zhe said bluntly. "In matchmaking, you need to attract people with your strengths. The stronger your best assets, the bigger your advantage in the market."
"From our conversation so far, it feels like you have two main advantages: you’re busty, and you’re daring."
"No man looking for a wife through matchmaking will marry you for those two reasons."
"Your priority right now should be to improve yourself—your character, your perspective, everything. Otherwise, the only ones who’ll come after you are those rich but cringey old men."
This girl was different from the one Zhang Zhe had met on Xiaohongshu before.
That girl had also been uninhibited.
But she had a clear strength—a high level of education (which is roughly equivalent to high intelligence).
If a wealthy, divorced A9 man had to choose between the two of them to marry, he would definitely pick the one from Xiaohongshu.
The mid-to-high-end marriage market is dominated by competition between women, and the girl on the call right now was no match for those other women. She wasn’t even on the same level.
The advice Zhang Zhe gave was, all things considered, quite sincere.
The girl mumbled a reply, then silently left the call. It looked like his words hadn’t sunk in.
But it didn’t matter. Zhang Zhe’s job was to vet candidates for the "big brother" client.
"To the brother who DMed me, are you there?"
"My analysis should be on point, right?"
[Host, invite me to speak. I have a question for you.]
[@RenShengHaiHai sent the host a Carnival * 1]
Seeing the gift notification, Zhang Zhe quickly said his thanks.
He glanced at his control panel and saw that the "big brother" was requesting to join the call, looking like he had something to say.
...
"Hello, Big Brother, you’re on."
"Did you have something to say?"
"Thank you, Brother Zhang." The man was very polite from the start. "I admit it, I was mesmerized by the photo the Matchmaker showed me. I’ve been single for too long, so I get a little dazed when I see a pretty girl."
[This guy is so honest. My advice is to go get your ears cleaned to relieve some stress.]
[Don’t you have hands?]
[You’re an A8 and still this pent-up? You’re one of a kind.]
[So you really do like busty women. No wonder that girl earlier was so proud of her assets.]
"Don’t worry about it. It’s determined by human genetics, so you’re not to blame. It’s just the basic human instinct to procreate."
"Besides, if you were bottle-fed as a baby, or if you often didn’t get enough to eat as an infant, that can also lead to this kind of preference."
"It’s only human."
"Oh, so that’s how it is! Brother Zhang, you’re awesome! So it’s not my fault after all." The man said while clapping. "Then what about good men falling for toxic women? Does that have anything to do with genetics?"
"That one, definitely not." Zhang Zhe shook his head. "No one in academia is researching that. It’s... probably, maybe, just because you like the wild ones."
"Alright."
"Brother Zhang, I actually came on the call because I wanted to ask something."
"If I get married again, there’s a high probability she’ll just be after my money. I’m short and chubby, so why else would she marry me if not for my money?"
"If that’s the case, isn’t there a high probability she’ll be a bad influence on my son?"
Hearing the man’s description of himself, Zhang Zhe thought he was talking to Wu Dalang.
Wu Dalang’s wife ran off with another man, and so did this guy’s. The only difference was that in real life, the good guy survived.
It was normal for the man to have these worries. Every wealthy person with ordinary looks has the same doubt: ’Is she only with me for my money?’
The man also had the additional issue of his son’s education, which made him even more worried.
"Your problem is actually very simple."
"Find a female teacher."
"When you’re meeting potential partners, be upfront about the division of assets. Use a prenuptial agreement to avoid getting taken to the cleaners, and you’ll filter out the ones who are purely after your money."
"But... wouldn’t that filter everyone out?" the man asked worriedly.
"No, it won’t," Zhang Zhe said with certainty. "Even among those who are attracted to your wealth, some are after your savings, while others are after the lifestyle you can provide. Understand?"
"Oh, I think I get what you mean, Brother Zhang."
"So, I’m still the one spending my money, and she just gets to enjoy the lifestyle that comes with it, right?"
"More or less," Zhang Zhe nodded. "Why was the last girl a no-go? Because she might as well have had ’Looking for a rich guy to mooch off of’ written all over her face."
"Okay, I completely understand now."
"Thanks, Brother Zhang. I won’t say more, it’s all in the gifts."
The man was a person of few words and decisive action. As soon as he finished speaking, another Carnival gift animation rose up in the livestream chat.
[The boss is getting it wrong!]
[Brother Zhang’s meaning is simple: the money is for women to see, not for them to spend.]
[The suggestion to find a teacher is brilliant. He won’t have to worry about his son’s education.]
[Actually, finding someone with a government job would also work, but the ones whose age matches his are all older single women, and they’re hard to deal with.]
...
He’d only been working for half an hour and had already received 6,000 yuan in gifts.
Zhang Zhe hugged his thermos and suddenly felt that being a Matchmaker paid better than being a programmer, and you didn’t have to take crap from your boss.
At most, you’d run into a few weirdos. Overall, the livestream was still full of relatively normal people.
"Welcome to today’s second guest."
"You may speak now."
"Okay, Brother Zhang." The speaker was a girl, and her voice sounded a bit like Han Hong.
"Before I introduce myself, I want to first share my thoughts."
"I just feel that no man is a good person. I can’t inherit their education, and their money won’t... like, for example, an A9 guy isn’t going to transfer his house to my name."
"So I have a really pessimistic view on relationships."
SLAP!
Hearing this, Zhang Zhe raised a hand and slapped himself across the face.
’Why did I have to go and jinx it?’
’And just like that, a weirdo shows up.’
At that moment, Teacher Wang, who had just left the hospital, opened the Zhuyin Marriage Agency’s livestream and happened to see this exact scene.
’Ah, this feeling is all too familiar.’
She suddenly felt unwell and turned to run back.
’Doctor! Doctor! I need a stronger dose!’
