Chapter 61
"The last few lines of that Zhao Lei song are really not well-written," Zhang Zhe commented sharply. "How is turning thirty a ’sunset’?"
"No wonder people are flaming him for it."
"A lot of the women who call in all say that thirty is still young."
"Brother Zhang, I’m not like that." The woman who called in was very outgoing and picked up on Zhang Zhe’s point. "I’m about to turn 30, and I’m getting really anxious. I feel like if I don’t get married soon, my last window of opportunity will close."
"Your feeling is correct," Zhang Zhe replied objectively.
What the woman said was perfectly normal, so he gave her a normal answer.
"Alright, let’s start with your stats. You sent me a private message, but to be honest, I haven’t read it all. I get way too many DMs."
"Okay, sure."
The woman began to lay out her situation:
Born in 1995, works at a state-owned enterprise in Yanjing, with an annual income of about 200,000 yuan.
Looks: about a 3 out of 10, just an average person.
Her hometown is a prefecture-level city in Zhongyuan Province. Her parents are public sector employees, and the family has assets in the low millions. However, she doesn’t have a car or a house in her own name.
With a profile like this, she’s just an average person in Yanjing.
No, a more accurate description would be "an outsider."
[With your stats, you have basically no chance if you’re single at 30.]
[Sis, can you stop putting on that cutesy voice? We’re all women here, who are you even trying to impress?]
[To be honest, with your stats, even the streamer wouldn’t be interested in you.]
[Pull yourself together, sis. Don’t embarrass yourself.]
After writing down the woman’s stats, Zhang Zhe didn’t rush into an analysis. The woman had mentioned in her private message that she currently had a boyfriend.
She had called in to see if her boyfriend was the best she could possibly do.
The implication was:
If he was her upper limit, she would marry him. If not, she would have to reconsider.
Since he didn’t know how she met this boyfriend, it wasn’t a big deal if they’d met through matchmaking. In that case, the man would have other options too.
So, Zhang Zhe made no comment on her behavior, treating it as just part of the show’s entertainment.
"What about your boyfriend?" Zhang Zhe drew a vertical line on the whiteboard, separating the two sides. "Tell us about his situation."
"I remember you said your parents aren’t too happy with him."
"Yes, my boyfriend has a Master’s from an elite university and works in the finance industry."
"His annual income is also around 200,000 yuan, about the same as mine."
"He’s 180 cm tall, weighs a little over 80 kilograms. His looks are average, a 3, I’d say. And he treats me well."
"He doesn’t have a car or a house right now either, but he plans to buy a house in Yanjing. His family can contribute about 4 million yuan to help him get settled."
The woman left out a few details, like her boyfriend’s family situation.
People who called in always liked to hold things back. Zhang Zhe was used to it. He even enjoyed the feeling of unraveling the mystery and digging out the truth.
"If you get married in Yanjing, how much can your parents contribute?" Zhang Zhe asked her.
She answered hesitantly, "Around 300,000 yuan."
"That’s a huge difference. Aren’t your parents public sector employees?"
"They’re just very low-level ones," the woman explained. "Their income isn’t high, but the main thing is job security and a certain degree of social standing."
[Bullshit. They have ’social standing’ but can only cough up 300k?]
[Sounds like they’re the most basic, entry-level-clerk type.]
[My high school physics teacher gave his daughter a million when she got married. How is this woman’s family so poor?]
[The only good news is that her parents are clean.]
"’Social standing’ is too vague," Zhang Zhe said, waving his hand dismissively. "The man’s family can afford to set him up in Yanjing. In terms of bargaining chips for your marriage, your parents’ social standing is worth less than air."
"If you were planning to settle down in your hometown, it might be somewhat useful."
"I’m definitely not going back to my hometown," the woman answered quickly.
"Okay, then my earlier judgment was correct. You’re the one marrying up in this relationship."
"If your relationship is good, you should lock it down soon. You said it yourself, you’re getting older."
"Huh?" The woman was surprised.
"But my parents told me to consider it carefully."
"Why? Does he have a disability? Or a hereditary disease?"
That was the only reason Zhang Zhe could think of.
"He does have something. He has vitiligo. It’s not very serious and you can’t see it on the surface, but isn’t that condition hereditary?"
"My mom says if we have a child with a skin condition, life will be very difficult later on."
"That’s a valid reason," Zhang Zhe nodded. "But vitiligo can be controlled with medication and is mostly treatable. Does his family have the financial means for that?"
"You still haven’t told me about the man’s family situation."
"His parents haven’t retired yet. His father is the director of orthopedics at a local top-tier hospital."
"That’s excellent. Is he an only child?"
"Yes."
"So your parents know about his family’s status and they still look down on him?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I get it now." Zhang Zhe nodded. Anyone with half a brain could see what was going on.
Her parents were unbelievable, and the daughter had clearly inherited their genes.
’Could it be that her public-sector parents actually look down on his family?’
A director of orthopedics at a top-tier hospital... considering the son’s age, the father was probably between 55 and 60. For the only son of a family like that to get married, saying they could only come up with 4 million for a house was being far too modest.
They could probably double that amount without breaking a sweat.
In the era before centralized procurement, his father made money as fast as if it were raining from the sky and all you had to do was catch it in a basket.
[His father has that kind of standing, and your family still looks down on him?]
[Her parents have terrible judgment, and this woman is just as clueless.]
[Honestly, only people who’ve been sick know how important medical connections are. They’re more important than money.]
"Miss, I notice you keep talking about what your parents think."
"What do *you* think?" Zhang Zhe asked.
"I’ve heard of a mama’s boy, but are you a mama’s girl? You’re 30 years old and you still do everything your parents say?"
"I’m just considering their opinion," the woman said, trying to save face. "I’ll definitely be the one to make the final decision. My parents are just telling me to be cautious."
"Fine, then stop using your parents as an excuse. The truth is, you’re the one who’s hesitating."
Zhang Zhe exposed her without mercy:
"The reality is you just want to know if you can find someone better, right?"
"Yes." The woman was surprisingly honest.
"You won’t," Zhang Zhe said, shaking his head. "This guy probably has some insecurities because of his vitiligo, and you’ve managed to get a hold on him. Otherwise, with his stats, he wouldn’t have ended up with someone like you."
"Why not?" the woman asked, confused. "Is it just because his parents can afford the down payment?"
"Brother Zhang, you’re making him sound so great, but he hasn’t even bought a house yet. By your standards, wouldn’t a guy in Yanjing who already owns a car and a house be some kind of god?"
[A guy with a car and a house would be interested in you? You’re a 3 out of 10!]
[Being able to buy a house in Yanjing whenever he wants is completely different from being shackled to a mortgage.]
[Is this really the understanding of a 30-year-old?]
[Sis, this guy isn’t good enough for you. My stats are worse than yours, let me take him off your hands.]
[I have vitiligo too, I don’t mind his. I’ll take him too.]
"That’s right. Those guys who own a car and a house are gods, and you’re a mere mortal." Zhang Zhe laughed out loud. "Your boyfriend is nothing like you. His father is a director at a top-tier hospital. Let me put it this way, even *I* would want to get to know him."
"If I ever got sick, I could ask him to pull some strings for me."
"Okay, I get it."
The woman’s voice softened, but she was still trying to explain:
"I actually like him a lot. It’s just that my parents hope I can marry a little better. I’m what you’d call a ’small-town test-taker’; it wasn’t easy for me to make it from a small town all the way to Yanjing."
"Oh, just shut up. Stop trying to pass the buck to your parents. If you were really who you say you are, you wouldn’t have called in today."
"Who isn’t a ’small-town test-taker’ these days? There are six of us in my old class group chat, and not a single one would pull a stunt like riding a donkey while looking for a horse."
"By the way, don’t get ahead of yourself."
Zhang Zhe went on the offensive, completely fed up. It was people like her who gave ’small-town test-takers’ a bad name, always hiding behind their parents:
"Your parents look down on him, but what makes you think *his* parents will look favorably on you?"
"I highly doubt it, don’t you?"