Chapter 187 - 185: You Should Have Mentioned Your Background Sooner
Never in his wildest dreams did Zhang Zhe expect to meet a girl like this at a matchmaking event.
The new girl’s face was chubby—so chubby, in fact, that the fat on her cheeks cast distinct shadows on either side of her nose.
At a conservative estimate, she weighed 155 pounds.
Her hair was a mess. It looked like she hadn’t even combed it before leaving the house—just grabbed it, tied it up, and didn’t bother with a mirror.
She was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt with a pair of navy blue pants. If she had a string of keys hanging from her waist, she’d look just like one of Zhang Zhe’s uncles from the countryside. In a word, completely frumpy.
The girl’s brow was furrowed, her expression a mask of utter distress. The impression she gave was this:
She’d just been released after seven days in detention, grabbed a shared bike to ride over, had a wheel fly off halfway, sending her and the bike tumbling into the bushes, and after crawling out and plucking a dead leaf from her hair, she had sat down in front of Zhang Zhe.
’How can someone look so down on their luck?’
Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. Any guy here would take one look at this girl and immediately move on, not sparing her a second glance.
A number tag was stuck to the girl’s chest: 121.
’Wait a second.’ Zhang Zhe looked again. It really was number 121.
There were only 120 people in this event; he was 100% sure of that.
’Where did this person with connections come from?’
"Miss, why do you have that number?" Zhang Zhe asked, pointing to his own chest. "Is there a story behind it?"
"I think a girl who was supposed to be at the event got kicked out, so I’m a last-minute replacement. Otherwise, they’d be short on numbers."
"Oh, I see." Zhang Zhe was at a loss for words.
He had just watched that arrogant girl get escorted away right in front of him. In fact, he’d even had a hand in it.
So, it was only fitting that this "hard-luck lady" ended up with him. Poetic justice, he supposed.
"What should I call you?"
"Me?" The girl pointed at herself. "My surname is Li."
"Alright, Ms. Li. Why don’t you head to the restroom over there and freshen up a bit?"
"The way you look right now... I don’t think any of the men here will approach you."
[What’s he mean? Is the girl really ugly?]
[Let me see, let me see!]
[I’m gonna riot if you don’t show us!]
[I don’t need to see the pretty ones, but I’m definitely interested in the ugly ones!]
The viewers in the live stream were indeed kicking up a fuss. Zhang Zhe saw the bullet comments, but there was no way he could just film the girl’s face.
’As she is now, her looks are a 1.5 out of 10 at best. But if she cleaned herself up, she could maybe hit a 2.’
"No thanks. I’m not in the mood right now."
"Sigh..."
The woman sighed, touching a hand to her forehead.
"Mr. Matchmaker, how about you analyze my situation for me?"
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"There’s no need. You’re not even serious about being here, so there’s no point in me analyzing anything for you." Zhang Zhe shook his head, not wanting to deal with her.
He had already tried to be nice, but she couldn’t even be bothered to fix her appearance. She clearly wasn’t making an effort.
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
The woman herself didn’t seem to want to get married, and Zhang Zhe didn’t have the time to waste on her. He’d rather spend the time eavesdropping on the gossip from the girls at the next table.
"Fine, don’t analyze. I’ll just tell you about myself, and if you think there’s a problem with anything I say, Matchmaker, just shake your head. A little hint is all I need."
"Thanks."
The woman’s tone was filled with a sense of decay that matched her miserable-looking face perfectly.
She didn’t wait for Zhang Zhe’s reply and just started talking on her own.
"To be honest, I don’t want to be here. I’ve never even been in a relationship. How am I supposed to marry someone through a blind date when I don’t even know who to marry?"
"But my dad gave me an ultimatum. If I don’t get married this year, he’s going to disown me."
"Your dad’s that hardcore?" Zhang Zhe looked up abruptly. "There are only a few months left in the year, and your goal is to get married this year? When your dad said that, was he drinking on an empty stomach? Not even a single peanut?"
[Do parents like that still exist?]
[Then you’d better seize this opportunity, sister! Let Brother Zhang introduce you to someone, even though his matchmaking pool is notoriously bad.]
[So tragic. Even the sound of her voice is tragic.]
The live stream audience could sense the woman’s misery from her voice alone, but Zhang Zhe was getting hit with the double whammy of sight and sound. In his eyes, this woman was on the verge of being driven mad by her family’s pressure to get married.
Zhang Zhe sighed internally. ’Forget it, life’s not easy for anyone. No wonder she’s in this state, having to fill in at a matchmaking event. She must be desperate.’
He thought for a moment, then discreetly pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her, saying comfortingly:
"Don’t rush into marriage. And don’t take what your parents say too much to heart. Even if they really do disown you, once you’re married, you can always mend the relationship."
"Just think of it as rekindling your friendship streak on QQ."
"It’s not the same." The woman took the business card, glanced at it, and then stared at Zhang Zhe’s face. "Matchmaker Zhang, if I pay you, can you get me married off?"
"Just call me Brother Zhang. ’Matchmaker Zhang’ makes me sound like a relative of Zhang Guolao." Zhang Zhe chuckled. "If you pay me, I can find you a male model. Finding a husband, though, is a bit more difficult."
"Let’s take this one step at a time. First, tell me about your situation. I’ll see what kind of person we can find for you."
"Okay." The woman let out a long breath and slowly began to introduce herself. "My parents are both in the system. One has a senior professional title, the other is a deputy division chief."
"?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhe was filled with a sense of awe.
’Whoa, sister, why didn’t you lead with the fact that you’re so well-connected?’
[Holy shit, Brother Zhang, you’ve changed. Are all your clients at this level now?]
[Awesome, awesome! ’He only associates with the elite,’ that’s you they’re talking about, right?]
[This woman has to be lying, right? With her background, why would she need a blind date? Shouldn’t there be a line of guys fighting to be her family’s son-in-law?]
The Qing City where Zhang Zhe lived was only a prefecture-level city. The top official in the city was a department-level director, and there was a popular saying that a senior professional title was equivalent to a director-level leader.
While not a direct one-to-one comparison, it was enough to show the weight a "senior professional title" carried.
And this girl’s family didn’t just have one senior professional title—they also had a deputy division chief. In Qing City, her family’s standing should be significantly higher than even Xia Yi’s.
’How could a family like that raise a daughter like this?’
Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but size up the girl in front of him again. Her facial features weren’t bad, he had to admit, but even if she lost weight, she’d be a 3 out of 10 at best.
’How did they raise her? Being overweight is one thing, but she’s also a bit dark-skinned. She doesn’t have that fair and chubby look of a wealthy family’s child, the kind that’s considered cute and auspicious.’
’Looks like her family was too strict with her.’
That, at least, was easy to understand. Her parents were prominent figures in the city. They must have constantly compared her to the children of other families, especially those of colleagues’ children who were the same age.
With so many people making comparisons, someone was bound to be the "lesser" one. The resulting pressure could very well lead to this.
Hearing her story, Zhang Zhe also understood why her father would resort to threatening to disown her to force her into marriage.
’His daughter was already not "outstanding" enough. If she couldn’t even get married, wouldn’t that just give people more to gossip about?’
A senior professional and a deputy division chief might not be able to afford that kind of loss of face.
"With your background, hasn’t your family tried to set you up with anyone?" Zhang Zhe asked curiously.
"Not yet. My parents are pulling strings for me right now. They’re forcing me to marry..."
As the girl spoke, her gaze suddenly shifted, looking somewhere behind Zhang Zhe.