Chapter 68: I’ll Be Waiting
Actually, this guy’s problems went far beyond just the betrothal gift.
Zhang Zhe had only heard of the bride’s family providing a car as part of the dowry when their daughter married, but this was the first time he’d heard of the groom’s side buying a car outright for the bride before the wedding. If she really needed it for her commute, they could just discuss buying one after they were married.
’Isn’t buying it before the wedding just another way of giving a betrothal gift?’
But the guy’s thinking was very primitive:
He felt that because he was from the countryside, even with money, he still had to spend lavishly to earn the respect of a town schoolteacher he wanted to marry, like a country bumpkin trying to make it in the city.
The man’s mindset was already set in stone, so all Zhang Zhe could do was offer a little guidance.
Whether he could figure it out was entirely up to him.
After the stream ended, the first thing Zhang Zhe did was check WeChat.
Xia Yi hadn’t disappointed him. She had actually accepted his friend request!
DING—
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully adding your blind date target’s WeChat. Reward: 10 Happiness Points.]
[Now, try chatting with her and get her interested in you.]
[Further advancing the relationship will grant more rewards. To unlock the next stage, you must meet with her offline, alone. Expected reward: 20 Happiness Points.]
Zhang Zhe glanced at his balance. Xia Yi’s arrival had sped up his point collection. He was now just over ten points away from unlocking the next item.
At the rate he was going with his matchmaking streams, it would take three days at most.
But the faster way, of course, was to ask Xia Yi out.
Zhang Zhe glanced at his phone.
’What reason should I use?’
Just as he was thinking, a message came in from Xia Yi:
"Brother Zhang, is your stream over? Are you resting?"
"My cousin has another question for you."
When Zhang Zhe saw the message, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
’This cousin is a lifesaver. His timing is perfect. He shows up with a problem just when I was wondering how to break the ice.’
"Yeah, I’m here."
"I just finished my stream and was about to rest. Does your cousin have another question?"
"He said he forgot to mention something."
"It’s about the girl who’s a manicurist. She’s more or less accepted my cousin, and now she wants to change careers and start a small business."
"That foolish cousin of mine wants to use his own savings to help her."
"He’s even going on about how ’relationships are about growing together,’ and that he’d be willing to help even if she ends up just scamming him."
Reading this key, albeit delayed, piece of information, Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but frown.
’It’s a good thing that the young woman wants to transition out of the service industry.’
’But for it to happen right after she met the cousin? What a coincidence.’
’You could say it seems a bit too intentional.’
He could tell from reading between the lines of Xia Yi’s messages that she wasn’t happy with her cousin’s decision, but it seemed she couldn’t talk him out of it.
Zhang Zhe thought for a moment and offered the best possible solution:
"Starting a small business is fine, but first, have her write up a business plan. At the very least, she should research the market and calculate all the costs and potential profits to avoid losing money."
"The woman most likely won’t ask your cousin for money directly."
"But your cousin will definitely be tripping over himself to give it to her."
"Don’t let him pay for the whole thing himself. Have the girl get a loan. If your cousin really can’t resist, he can help her pay the monthly interest."
These days, banks were practically begging people to take out loans, so interest rates were already very low.
By just helping with the interest, any potential loss would be limited.
Of course, the right move was to contribute effort but not money. That would be better for both of them and would prevent financial disputes if they broke up later.
After receiving Zhang Zhe’s message, Xia Yi wanted nothing more than to shove the phone in her cousin’s face.
"See that? Advice from the matchmaking expert."
"Who just forks over money like a fool? What happens if the woman just takes it and runs?"
Her cousin took the phone and glanced at it, shaking his head defiantly. "Brother Zhang makes a lot of sense, but he doesn’t know what kind of girl Xiaoke is."
"If he met Xiaoke, he’d know. She’s not like other girls."
"I... I really can’t stand that love-addled brain of yours." Xia Yi clenched her fists in frustration, but finally just threw her hands up in resignation. "I’m your sister, and this is as far as I can guide you."
"If you get scammed, don’t you dare come crying to me."
"Don’t worry, Sis," her cousin said nonchalantly. "Actually, I lied. I already lent her the money. It’s too late for regrets now."
"But I appreciate you looking out for me."
"If things go well with Xiaoke and me, we’ll be married by next year. If you’re still single then, I can have Xiaoke toss the bouquet your way, you know, for some good luck."
"Hmph, as if I’d want that!" Xia Yi stomped her foot, shot her cousin a glare, and turned to go back to her bedroom.
She wasn’t really what you’d call a "leftover woman." She was still a long way from thirty.
But she could already feel the "concern" from everyone around her.
Frowning, Xia Yi found herself inexplicably tapping on Zhang Zhe’s profile picture again.
His contact name was currently saved as "Matchmaker Brother Zhang."
She hesitated. ’Should I really go on blind dates? It feels so awkward, being put on the dating market to be judged and scrutinized.’
"Miss, I still don’t know your name."
"Tell me, so I can update your contact name."
The message from Zhang Zhe snapped Xia Yi out of her thoughts.
"My surname is Xia. You can just call me Xiaoxia."
"Alright, Miss Xia. I’m just going to fill out your client information now."
"I have a few questions to ask you."
"How tall are you..."
The two of them chatted for a bit.
Zhang Zhe took the lead, openly gathering information about Xia Yi.
Although the system had already given him a lot of intel, he still had to go through the motions of asking to make good use of it.
It was like when Zhang Zhe had asked how to address her.
If he hadn’t asked and just came out with "Miss Xia," she would probably assume she’d been doxxed.
After getting the basic information, Zhang Zhe immediately began steering the conversation toward an offline meeting:
"Miss Xia, you’re in Qing City?"
"What a coincidence! I’m from Qing City myself."
"I work in Qing City, at the Zhuyin Marriage Agency. Have you heard of it?"
Of course Xia Yi knew about the marriage agency where Zhang Zhe worked.
She had been referred by Boss He, after all.
But she wasn’t about to reveal that just yet, so she played along with Zhang Zhe’s line of questioning and replied:
"Of course I’ve heard of the Zhuyin Marriage Agency."
"This is such a coincidence."
"Yes, it seems my luck is turning." On his end, Zhang Zhe was grinning at the messages. Everything was going according to plan. "If it’s convenient, you could come by our agency."
"I can analyze your situation for you in person."
"Miss Xia?"
"Sorry, I don’t really have time lately. Our kindergarten has been really busy, and I’ve been getting off work very late."
"No problem, I can wait for you at the gate of your kindergarten." Zhang Zhe didn’t like beating around the bush; he preferred a direct approach. "The matchmaking business is tough these days, so we take every single client very seriously."
"Miss Xia, just give me a chance!"
"I’ll be there to pick you up when you get off?"
"Okay..." Xia Yi had never imagined that a Matchmaker would be offering to pick her up from work at her kindergarten.
’Has the matchmaking industry gotten this competitive? I’ve never heard of anything like this before.’
But with Zhang Zhe being so insistent, she felt too embarrassed to refuse him outright.
After thinking it over, she replied, "You don’t have to come all the way here. How about this: you stay a bit late, and I’ll come to your agency to find you at 7 PM?"
"No problem," Zhang Zhe replied in a flash. "See you then! [Grinning Emoji]"
"Okay, see you then! [Handshake Emoji]"