Chapter 178 - 176: The Socially Awkward Girl
The first thing the man in the suit said after sitting down made Zhang Zhe’s eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
"Teacher Zhang, I learned about you from Xia Yi. My dad and Uncle Xia were childhood friends."
"?" Zhang Zhe instantly had a bold idea. "You’re not going to tell me some story about being childhood sweethearts, are you?"
"Childhood friends, yes, but I have someone else in mind for the ’sweetheart’ part." The young man smiled. "My surname is Lu. You can just call me Xiaolu. When I was little, my family lived right next door to Uncle Xia."
"A while ago, my dad must have had a screw loose. He tried to play matchmaker and set me up on a blind date with Sister Xia Yi. Thank god for you."
"What about me?" Zhang Zhe suddenly had a very good feeling about this.
"Because you’re dating Sister Xia Yi. She told me."
"After I found out, I told my dad, and he immediately approved a special fund of 100,000 yuan for me to go out and find a date right away."
"Told me to ’catch up to Sister Xia Yi’."
"And if I don’t find someone, I don’t have to go back."
"When I heard that, I thought, ’There’s a deal this good?’ I immediately took the money and went traveling. I’m currently preparing to tour the whole country."
"..." The guy’s eccentricity was a bit beyond what Zhang Zhe had imagined.
’It sounds like his family is pretty rich. Not many parents are wealthy enough to give a 100,000-yuan budget for matchmaking.’
’They must really want their son to get married, huh?’
’It was a bit of a shame. This guy probably planned to blow all the money on having fun, with no intention of giving a single cent to a matchmaking agency or a Matchmaker, and certainly not to any of his dates.’
’He was a lot like that other guy who took his betrothal gift money and went traveling everywhere.’
"Isn’t today’s event for people in the system? Are you?" Zhang Zhe asked curiously.
"I’m not, but my classmate is. Hehe, I’m here in his place."
"So are you here to find a date for him, or for yourself?"
"Neither." Xiaolu shook his head. "I’m here to take pictures and check in. It’s a hundred-person matchmaking event. If I say I spent 5,000 yuan just to successfully register, that should sound plausible, right?"
"Oh, I get it. You’re here to fake your results."
Zhang Zhe gave a knowing smile. Father Lu was basically an angel investor, and Xiaolu was trying to convince that investor that he was genuinely working hard. Only then could he secure more funding.
As for why Xiaolu had sought him out...
The young man was very honest and came right out with it. He wanted Zhang Zhe’s help to see if there were any similar events in Qing City recently, or even in the neighboring counties and cities.
He wanted to "check in" at each and every one.
"You’re really just looking for free, internal events, right?"
"Exactly. You hit the nail on the head, bro." Xiaolu nodded repeatedly. "Things are different now. Any event that charges money isn’t worth going to."
"My classmate went to one of those events for people in the system before. Guys had to pay, girls got in free. In the end, there were eighty women and he was the only guy."
"All those women were judging him from head to toe. It gave him a complex, and it took him a long time to get over it."
"1 against 80? He’s a true warrior, then." Zhang Zhe looked impressed. ’The resilience of people in the system really is on another level.’
"Have you been to the free matchmaking corners?"
"I have. The matchmaking corner was the first place I went."
"I don’t know if it’s because my qualifications are too good, but when I went, I was immediately surrounded by aunties. I couldn’t move an inch."
"So many of them wanted to add me on WeChat, but when I saw their daughters’ qualifications—nurses, teachers, lawyers, and so on—I got scared just looking."
"Hahaha, that’s how it is. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t be so desperate to marry their daughters off." Zhang Zhe laughed and nodded.
"Alright, I’ll take a look for you."
’Zhang Zhe didn’t know this kid well; there was really no need to bother with him.’
’But for one, he figured if he and Xia Yi ended up together, he’d inevitably have to deal with the Lu family during holidays. Building a connection now wouldn’t hurt.’
’And for another, Xiaolu’s reminder made Zhang Zhe suddenly realize that as the owner of a marriage agency, he should have a certain understanding of his own little shop’s business in the market.’
’The most profitable part of the business was probably hosting large-scale matchmaking events.’
Before he got kicked out of the group chat, Zhang Zhe quickly checked how many event flowcharts had been uploaded recently.
"At the end of this month, right after our matchmaking conference, there’s an event called ’Date at Dusk’ at the city’s central stadium."
"Bro, let’s skip that one, okay?" Xiaolu looked troubled. "I’m afraid I’ll run into my grandpa there."
"No problem. At the same time, there’s a mixer specifically for divorcees, right in the square next to the citizen’s activity center."
"And it’s free for people under 30."
"I can do that one." Xiaolu nodded beside him.
"You can?" Zhang Zhe shot him a sideways glance. ’If I’m not mistaken, this kid should be slightly younger than Xia Yi, maybe around 26.’
’Divorced at this age? He certainly has the spirit of Chancellor Cao.’
"Yeah, really. I think as long as the person is good, it doesn’t matter if they’re divorced or not."
"Well then, you can go to all of these events..."
Zhang Zhe pointed out a few decent events for Xiaolu while browsing the files in the group chat.
’Go on, go on. Go be a warm body, go stuff yourself with cake and fruit.’
Beside him, Xiaolu was so happy he almost started spinning in circles.
While the two were deep in conversation, a girl with a pink "Guest 51" tag on her chest cautiously walked up to them.
"Hello? Excuse me, are you two guys here for the matchmaking today?"
Zhang Zhe immediately looked up.
"I’m not."
"But he is."
"He’s male guest number 38. I’m a Matchmaker. Would you two like to get to know each other? I can help you."
"No, no, no, I think I left the gas on at home, sorry!" Xiaolu shook his head, gave a very clumsy excuse, and bolted without a single tell.
The girl’s ears instantly turned red, as if someone had added a special effect.
"He really does have something he needs to do," Zhang Zhe said, quickly trying to console the girl. "Why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit? The handshake session is still half an hour away."
"Mm, thank you."
The girl’s voice was half as loud as before, like the buzzing of a mosquito. It had the vibe of "one moment of initiative in exchange for a lifetime of introversion."
After sitting down, she changed the subject. "Are you a Matchmaker?"
"That’s right. I’m a Matchmaker from Zhuyin Marriage Agency."
"Oh, I’ve been to your agency. It’s so expensive."
"It is a bit pricey, which is why I usually recommend people go to Mei Man Marriage Agency." Zhang Zhe quickly pulled out a business card and gave it to her. "This one’s cheaper. Only 99."
"That is pretty cheap." The girl nodded, looking at the card. She took out her phone and slipped Zhang Zhe’s card into her phone case.
After a second’s pause, she probably didn’t know what else to say and took the card back out.
Zhang Zhe watched this unfold in silence.
’This girl had social anxiety written all over her face. Xiaolu was a real piece of work. The girl was a little chubby, sure, but he ran off way too fast.’
"I just realized." The girl looked at the card, then looked up at Zhang Zhe and suddenly smiled. "This marriage agency is yours, right?"
"Are you the Teacher Zhang written on here?"
"That’s right, you found me out." Zhang Zhe nodded.
Hearing his answer, the girl’s eyes suddenly lit up. "So, can I sign up for a membership for 99 yuan right now?"