Chapter 159: Doing Hui Zi a Favor
Zhang Zhe now enjoyed a high status in the bachelors’ blind date group chat.
Everyone knew he didn’t have a large pool of female candidates, but his knack for reading people was second to none. He could spot just about any red flag a woman might try to hide.
The group admin, Old Bai, had privately discussed this in detail with the guys, and the conclusion they reached was:
Brother Zhang had probably played the field far more than he let on; with that kind of experience, he naturally knew the score.
Many in the group were first-generation entrepreneurs or second-generation rich kids who were kept on a tight leash by their families. They spent most of their time working or studying. They might have yearned to play the field, but in reality, they weren’t players.
Some were even genuine romantics.
In contrast, Zhang Zhe’s life story left much more to the imagination. A programmer switching careers to become a matchmaker? The leap was almost as big as changing genders. Who would dare to do that without some serious confidence?
So, Brother Zhang must have played the field hard back in Shencheng City. Only that experience could explain how he so quickly gained a foothold in the matchmaking world, a field dominated by the Lao Deng.
This was also why, whenever the guys in the group had a potential blind date, they would ask Zhang Zhe to check her out.
They’d even ask him to "appraise" them before things got serious enough for marriage talks.
Old Bai told the guys, "You’re going to have to bother Brother Zhang eventually anyway, so the sooner the better. You don’t want to be all set to get married only for Brother Zhang to suddenly tell you that your fiancée has three moles on her waist, right?"
That made sense to everyone.
Qing City was only so big, and Brother Zhang had sized up countless people. Maybe he could help weed out those bad women who had worked in red-light districts and were now trying to go legit.
Zhang Zhe was currently unaware of these rumors.
But even if he did know, he would just go along with it.
In any case, the moment he saw Hui Zi, he thought, ’The God of Wealth has arrived.’
’If it attracts a God of Wealth, there’s no need to dispel the rumors.’
"And what is your last name, Miss Lulu?" Zhang Zhe smiled politely at the young woman behind Hui Zi and asked.
"My last name is Xu."
"Ms. Xu, is it? A pleasure to meet you."
"Come, let’s talk inside." Zhang Zhe invited the two clients into the room.
’According to the usual script, I should put them in separate rooms with a one-way mirror in between...’
But the room hadn’t been renovated like that yet; for now, it was just an ordinary meeting room.
After some brief small talk, since he was among friends, Hui Zi couldn’t be bothered to put on an act. He left the woman behind and pulled Zhang Zhe into a small room.
"Bro, I came this time to ask you to help me figure out if we’re a good match."
"Wasn’t she introduced by your mother’s friend? In terms of well-matched families, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
"That’s true, but she fits my criteria a little too perfectly." Hui Zi said with a serious look on his face. "It’s weird."
"She’s not from Qing City. She’s here helping her family open a new branch. Her family is in the fast-food chain business, and their business happens to overlap with my family’s."
"Doesn’t your family run esports hotels? You started selling fast food too?"
"Actually, my family started out with internet cafes," Hui Zi explained. "You know, the kind with a huge, open floor, with a dozen or so rows of computers, twenty seats per row. Back then, my family realized that gaming addicts were the biggest consumers of fast food."
"Instant noodles are fine once or twice, but you can’t live on them. You still need a proper meal of white rice."
"So our current esports hotels also have a food-ordering service."
"Huh? Wait a minute, your family’s place... was it the one by the old computer city?" Zhang Zhe suddenly remembered. He used to be a gaming addict back in the day, too.
"Yeah, you’ve been there, Brother Zhang?"
"Hahaha," Zhang Zhe laughed. "Brother Hui, your family is partly to blame for me not getting into Tsinghua University. Back then, the setup at your internet cafe was just too good. In my second year of high school, I had to go there every Saturday for an afternoon of pure gaming bliss."
"If I had spent all that time studying, I would’ve been a shoo-in for Tsinghua."
"..." Hui Zi scratched his head and gave a slightly awkward laugh. The family’s first pot of gold did indeed have some shady aspects to it.
Back then, the police weren’t very strict about regulating internet cafes. Many of them would secretly install two operating systems so people could get online without an ID card. Everyone was doing it.
"Brother Zhang, then maybe we’ve even met before."
"I used to work part-time as an attendant there."
"Doesn’t ring a bell." Zhang Zhe shook his head. "Let’s get back to your blind date. She’s waiting outside."
"It’s fine, she has a really great personality." Hui Zi explained with a smile, "Xu Lu’s family wasn’t always rich. They started with just a small fast-food joint. Their business only took off after their place was demolished and they got a big payout."
"So when she was a kid, she’d work as a waitress in the shop after school."
"You know how it is. The city next to ours is a bit less developed than here, and the people there generally have shorter tempers. So when she was helping out in middle school, serving food, she got hassled by customers a lot."
"Sometimes she’d even get yelled at by her own family."
"She must have cried in secret countless times."
"As a result, her personality has become incredibly well-tempered."
"I see." Zhang Zhe nodded. ’It’s pretty rare for a girl not to go wild after her family struck it rich. For her to hold onto her good personality from before is impressive.’
’Usually, striking it rich after a hard life leads to retaliatory indulgence.’
’Some even indulge so much they become poor again overnight.’
’To be able to stay true to yourself like that... that’s very remarkable.’
"Does this girl have any shortcomings?" Zhang Zhe asked.
"Does only having a junior college degree count? Her education is a bit low."
"What does your mother say?"
"My mom doesn’t really care. Her only requirement for a girl is that she’s sensible. The more sensible, the better. It doesn’t even matter if she can read or write."
"Even an illiterate one is fine? Your mom really sets the bar low."
"In that case, her education isn’t a shortcoming. As for her height and all that, I took a look just now. She should be about 5’3", right?"
"Right, 5’4" to be exact."
"And at 108 pounds, she isn’t fat."
"She’s also pretty good-looking. I’d give her a 5."
"Nah, a 4 at most. But as long as you like her, that’s what matters." Zhang Zhe observed the expression on Hui Zi’s face and realized he wasn’t as into Xu Lu as one might think.
There was little excitement in his voice; instead, he sounded relieved, like a man who was finally off the hook.
’He really just wants to get married, and fast.’
’Best to have a kid at light speed, too. That would solve everything once and for all.’
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Zhang Zhe thought for a moment. Seeing as Hui Zi had always been a supporter, he decided to help him out, considering it a good deed.
"Brother Hui, I just recently learned a new trick."
"It can help you get a quick, clear picture of marriage."
"Hold on a sec, I’ll go get something."
After speaking, Zhang Zhe immediately went to rummage through his drawer. Inside was a small package that he hadn’t gotten around to opening yet.
Grabbing a pair of scissors, he opened it in a flash. Inside, wrapped in bubble wrap, was a golden pocket watch.
Zhang Zhe held up the pocket watch and gently swung it back and forth in front of Hui Zi’s eyes.
"What’s this?" Hui Zi asked, confused. "Hypnosis?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhe nodded. "A little trick to awaken your subconscious."
"In a moment, I’m going to try to hypnotize you."
"You need to describe what you see to me."
"Based on my mentor’s experience, people usually see the person they most want to marry right now."