Livestream Matchmaking: My Intel Infinitely Refreshes

"How long has it been since your blind date with Hui Zi?"

"Since we were introduced, about a week, I guess." Xu Lu sat up straight and looked at Zhang Zhe, her expression tense, like a struggling student afraid of being called on by the teacher.

"Have you never been on a blind date before?"

"No."

"Never? Logically, if you’re looking to get married through arranged dates, wouldn’t you start by looking for someone in your own city? Why would you consider marrying someone all the way out in Qing City?"

Zhang Zhe’s questions were specific.

Unless there was a problem with the family relationship, no parents wanted their daughter to marry far from home. They’d always prefer to have her nearby.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

If she’s close by, she can always come home if she’s unhappy with her in-laws.

And if her family needs anything, they can easily get in touch with their daughter and son-in-law.

So, if Xu Lu’s parents wanted to find her a husband, their first choice would’ve certainly been someone local.

The only reasons to look farther afield would be if they couldn’t find a suitable match, or if her reputation in town had been ruined.

Zhang Zhe suspected it was the latter. That blond-haired guy from earlier had been too conspicuous.

"I’m the one who doesn’t want to stay near my parents," Xu Lu explained. "They’re too controlling. They’ve been nagging me my entire life. Ever since middle school, I’ve known that I would marry someone far away."

"Otherwise, after I get married, I’ll have to put up with nagging from both my parents and my in-laws."

"Oh, I see." Zhang Zhe looked at Xu Lu and nodded. "You were born in ’98, right? And after you graduated from your associate’s program, you’ve just been helping with the family business?"

"That’s right."

"So you’ve never really had a formal job. And when you deal with people, it’s usually from the perspective of an owner, right?"

"More or less."

"In that case, you really are a good match for Hui Zi." Zhang Zhe said with a smile. "His family wants to find him a wife from a similar background who can help run their business. With your experience, you should have no problem taking the reins."

"I’ll have to work in the business if I marry him?" Hearing this, Xu Lu shook her head repeatedly. "No, I can’t do that. I’m no good at business."

"At home, my parents always told me what to do. I just did whatever they said."

"They told me that after I married him, I could just be a lady of leisure and wouldn’t have to get involved in their business."

"But then wouldn’t you just be controlled by his parents?" Zhang Zhe said, tempting her. "Why not work with Hui Zi to seize financial control of the family?"

"His parents are getting old. Sooner or later, you’ll be the one running the household."

"Then let him manage it himself."

"No, I don’t want that." Xu Lu shook her head quickly. "I’m not an ambitious person..."

As she spoke, Zhang Zhe carefully observed her expression.

’The girl seemed desperate, as if she were in a hurry to prove she had no ambition.’

’Could she have heard about Hui Zi’s last blind date? Is that why she’s deliberately trying to avoid this landmine?’

’It’s very possible.’

’But it’s also possible she really does just want to marry in and be a pampered wife.’

’Her main post-marriage duty would be to stay healthy—the kind of wife who’d pop out two kids in three years.’

"Alright, I think I have a clear picture now."

"Go on out and send Hui Zi in."

"Oh, okay."

As Xu Lu rose from her chair, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Hui Zi, for his part, was already waiting right outside the door.

The second the door opened, he squeezed in, hurrying Xu Lu out. He shut the door behind him and turned to Zhang Zhe, his face full of anticipation.

"Brother Zhang, what’s the verdict?"

"There is no verdict." Zhang Zhe pursed his lips. "First, let me ask you: do you need love in a marriage?"

"Love? Brother Zhang, don’t mess with me. What’s love got to do with a guy like me?"

"What about your last one? Wasn’t that love?" Zhang Zhe didn’t name names, but Hui Zi would definitely understand. His last girlfriend, the one who was trans—that had to be true love.

"Counting her, I’ve only run into two in all my years."

Hui Zi didn’t mind talking about it with Zhang Zhe. He knew Zhang Zhe wasn’t like Old Bai; he wasn’t bringing up the ex to make fun of him.

"Love is too much of a luxury, and it fades over time. I doubt my parents even have any love between them anymore. After so many years of marriage, I bet it’s all just familial affection."

"So, I’m starting to think that ’partnership marriage’ you mentioned before is more reliable."

"You’ve changed your tune pretty quickly." Zhang Zhe was starting to see Hui Zi in a new light.

"Don’t praise me, Brother Zhang. Just tell me, what did she say to you? Who did Xu Lu see?"

"She said she saw you."

"Really?" Hui Zi let out a smug chuckle. "See? I’m not so bad after all."

"But she was lying."

"???"

"She’s a terrible liar. It was written all over her face. If you don’t believe me, go test her yourself." Zhang Zhe, worried Hui Zi was still holding onto false hope, suggested he verify it on his own.

But after hearing this, Hui Zi just slumped into a chair and sighed heavily. "SIGH! Why is getting married so damn hard!"

"My family’s already rich, and it’s still this hard for me to get married. How the hell do all those poor guys manage to tie the knot?"

"It’s just survivorship bias," Zhang Zhe consoled him. "There are a lot more poor guys out there. Twenty percent of them is still a bigger number than all the rich guys combined."

"So what do I do now?" Hui Zi threw up his hands. "If I marry her, I risk becoming Wu Dalang. If I don’t, it’s back to the endless blind dates."

"That’s something you have to decide for yourself." This time, Zhang Zhe didn’t offer any advice.

He didn’t know the full extent of the potential business partnership between the Jin and Xu families that this marriage could forge. ’If it could really bring in hundreds of millions, or even more...’

’Frankly, in that case, he should just marry her.’

’It’s not like rich couples playing around on the side is a rare thing, is it?’

"I’ll decide for myself...

"I can’t figure it out." After a two-second pause, Hui Zi clutched his head. "Brother Zhang, help me think this through. If I marry Xu Lu, what’s the worst-case scenario?"

"You said it yourself, didn’t you? You’d be the next Wu Dalang."

"Right."

"So if you were me, what would you do?"

"If I were you, I’d hire someone to do a thorough background check on Xu Lu. I’d map out her entire social circle, from elementary school to the present. Then, I’d analyze who her Ximen Qing might be."

"What if this Ximen Qing is already out of the picture? Right?"

"You have a real gift for comforting people, Brother Zhang," Hui Zi said with a nod. He understood what Zhang Zhe was getting at.

It was a common trope in literature: the beautiful peasant girl, forced to marry a rich old landlord, would first give herself completely to her true love, like a martyr marching to her doom.

But now, Hui Zi was the rich old landlord.

And Xu Lu was possibly the poor country girl being forced into marriage.

That made for a pretty awkward dynamic.

The gist of Zhang Zhe’s advice was to find out just how far things had gone with the girl. The last thing a rich landlord wants is to marry a "treasure" who’s already bearing fruit for her first love.

After all, Hui Zi was already 34. What was a little more of a delay? At this stage, it was better to be safe than sorry.