Chapter 83: First Blind Date
"He should be well-off, but not too rich—overly wealthy people are easy targets."
"It’s best if he’s handsome, but not a playboy."
"He needs a stable job, preferably one he can keep until retirement. A mid-life job loss is too hard on a family."
"His family can’t favor sons over daughters."
"His mother has to be easy to get along with, someone you can communicate with without issues."
"His education should be a bachelor’s degree or higher, but not a Ph.D. Someone too focused on research is no good, either. What if the government conscripts him for some project?"
"Try to avoid anyone ’in the system.’ I’d worry they’re just after your father."
...
Zhang Zhe didn’t know this was the "Marriage Minefield Avoidance Guide" that Mother Xia had "poured her heart and soul into for years" for her daughter, but he could tell at a glance that a lot of thought had gone into writing these conditions.
It seemed like there was a story behind every single point.
After reading through them one by one, Zhang Zhe quickly identified the points he didn’t meet:
One, he wasn’t his own boss. In theory, he was still just an employee with the constant risk of unemployment.
Two, he wasn’t 180 cm tall.
Three, he had little relationship experience, so he might not know how to be doting.
Except for the second point, Zhang Zhe still had room for improvement on the other two. But his height... there was really nothing to be done about that.
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Zhe should have taken the conditions Xia Yi gave him and tried to negotiate, asking if she could be a little more lenient and not so strict.
But the atmosphere didn’t seem quite right.
Xia Yi had been staring at Zhang Zhe’s face, her eyes holding an unfathomable depth. There was admiration, but something more than just admiration.
And as if on cue, the waiter brought over a dish that was plated in the shape of a heart...
The atmosphere wasn’t just right; it was *too* right.
Zhang Zhe suspected the side effects of the Nine Yang Fruit were still lingering.
He folded up the note, looked up at Xia Yi with a smile, and asked her softly, "What’s your first impression of me? Just your gut feeling. On a scale of 1 to 10, give me a score."
"A score? That’s so direct."
"Blind dates are supposed to be direct."
"Then you should tell me the scoring criteria first." Xia Yi averted her gaze, glancing down at her phone’s lock screen. "I’m afraid I’ll score you wrong."
"There are no criteria. You can score me however you want."
"For our meeting today, I’d give you a 9."
Hearing this, Xia Yi immediately looked up. "Why did you dock a point?"
"Because I don’t know you well enough yet. I’m leaving one point of wiggle room, so there’s space to add more later."
"Oh, I get it."
"Then I’ll give you an 8."
"Why do I lose two points?" Zhang Zhe asked, confused.
"Because you know more about me than I know about you," Xia Yi explained earnestly. "I don’t even know where you’re from."
’Makes sense...’
"Well then, let me introduce myself."
Zhang Zhe took a document he had prepared from his bag. It was filled out according to a standard matchmaking agency’s information form.
There was no more authoritative matchmaking profile than this.
After taking it, Xia Yi held out her hand again. "Give me back the paper I gave you earlier. I want to compare."
"Alright, but I have to say something in my own defense." Zhang Zhe didn’t forget to leave himself some leeway. "If you take these conditions and screen all the eligible single men in Qing City, you probably won’t find a single match."
"Anyone who meets these conditions is most likely already married or in a relationship."
"Mm, I thought of that," Xia Yi nodded. "I’ve seen your livestreams. I know that the more conditions you have for a blind date, the lower the chances of finding someone."
"Let me see your information first."
"Go ahead." Zhang Zhe made an inviting gesture.
Xia Yi laid his profile flat on the table, took a pen from her bag, and began to read and write with a focused expression.
’It’s like she’s taking a test.’
A kindergarten teacher is still a teacher. The way she was acting felt a bit like a teacher grading a paper.
After a minute, Xia Yi looked up, glanced at Zhang Zhe, then nodded to herself.
Half a minute later, she repeated the action.
...
Another minute later, she looked up yet again.
"I’m done reading!"
"Here, I’ve written my own information on the form too. You take a look."
"Oh, great." Zhang Zhe took the "graded" profile in pleasant surprise. Next to each of his items, she had added her own corresponding information.
As Zhang Zhe was reading, Xia Yi explained from the side:
"I can give you a 9 now, too."
"Zhang Zhe, you give me the impression of being a bit like Hu Jun, and also a bit like Liu Ye. It’s so strange."
"That’s not a great comparison," Zhang Zhe shook his head. "They played a gay couple in a movie. That sounds a bit weird."
"But I know what you mean. Thanks for the compliment."
’Being like Liu Ye is easy to understand. A lot of skinny programmers are like that—simple and clean, with a touch of melancholy.’
’Staring at crappy code all day... anyone who doesn’t get melancholic must be a god.’
As for Hu Jun, that was naturally the walking personification of male hormones from *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*.
This was a side effect of the Nine Yang Fruit, and Zhang Zhe was gradually getting used to it.
Since Xia Yi had shared her feelings, it was only natural for Zhang Zhe to share his.
A blind date is all about give and take, an exchange of impressions.
"You give me the impression of a more mature version of Zhao Jinmai," Zhang Zhe said, looking into her eyes.
"Thank you!" Xia Yi’s smile was radiant. "My coworkers say I look like Wan Qian, but I prefer your comparison to Mai Mai."
"My coworkers... they say I look like Liang Chaowei. I know they’re just flattering me."
"Haha..."
After the scoring and exchanging of information, the atmosphere of Zhang Zhe and Xia Yi’s conversation became much more normal. Although there was still a hint of deliberate politeness, their tones of voice had clearly relaxed.
Over the course of the dinner, Zhang Zhe found himself quite satisfied with Xia Yi.
She was a kindergarten teacher with all-female colleagues, an environment where you’d expect a strong culture of comparison and competition. But perhaps because of Xia Yi’s father, she was usually the one others were compared *to*.
She gave off a vibe of ’I don’t care if you have money, because you’ll never have as much as me.’
And setting aside her gentle personality and clean outlook on life, Xia Yi’s master’s degree gave her a level of conversation and awareness that surpassed all the other women Zhang Zhe had been on blind dates with.
It seemed the only obstacle that could stop them from continuing to talk was the fact that Zhang Zhe didn’t completely meet the requirements set by Mrs. Xia.
Zhang Zhe felt he should fight for it.
Happiness doesn’t just fall from the sky and land in your lap.
"Don’t just see me as someone working for a matchmaking agency right now. In a month at the latest, I plan to strike out and start my own business."
"Working for someone else is not an option."
"I was working for someone in Shencheng City, and if I come back to my hometown just to work for someone else, then what was the point of coming back?"
"You’re going to start your own business?" Xia Yi was a little surprised. "Your own matchmaking agency?"
"Yes, I’m building up a following right now." Zhang Zhe had already had this idea, but it was becoming clearer now. "The most important thing for a matchmaking agency is resources. As long as my livestreams take off, I’ll have a never-ending supply of them."
"Then, opening a physical matchmaking agency would be the logical next step."