Chapter 168 - 164: A Man of Depth
"Sis, did you really go on 50 blind dates?"
Once the woman joined the call, Zhang Zhe cut right to the chase. ’If it was even one short of 50, it would be fraud.’
"I’ve probably had even more than 50," the woman replied.
Her voice was clear and crisp, making her sound like a pampered young girl. "I had forty or fifty last year and another seventeen or eighteen this year, but I haven’t met anyone suitable."
"Impressive, impressive."
"Alright, why don’t you start by telling us a bit about yourself."
’Zhang Zhe felt like he’d hit the jackpot. This call was definitely going to be great material for a video.’
There’s usually a limit to how many blind dates friends and family can set you up on; it’s rare for them to find as many as fifty people.
’She must have used Matchmakers and dating agencies. The only question is, was she the one paying? Or was she just a shill, helping the Matchmakers earn their fees for free?’
"I’m from Leshan, but I work in Chengdu now."
"Born in ’97, 158 cm tall, 48 kilograms."
"As for looks, I’d say I’m a 6 out of 10. I have photos on my profile page; you can take a look."
"Are you really a 6? In that case, do you mind if I and the rest of the viewers take a look together?" Zhang Zhe didn’t believe he’d actually run into a 6/10 beauty, so he decided to tease her.
𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
To his surprise, she was very confident. "Go ahead. I think I’m a 6."
Since she’d given her permission, Zhang Zhe wasn’t about to hold back. He immediately logged into Xiaohongshu on his computer and conducted a live "house call."
He clicked open her account to take a look.
Whoa! This girl wasn’t kidding. In her photos, at least, she was definitely a 6/10.
[Why didn’t you mention something this important sooner?]
[Probably all-natural, but something about her face seems a little off.]
[She’s definitely had work done. Those apple cheeks don’t look natural.]
[She’s 28, but her skin is as smooth as an 18-year-old’s. Must be from skin booster injections, right?]
"Sis, you’ve had some work done on your face, haven’t you?"
"It’s pretty normal for women to get cosmetic procedures these days, isn’t it?" The woman’s reply was as confident as ever. "I work in the industry myself. I can say with confidence that 50% of the women in Chengdu have had work done."
"Oh, so you work in the cosmetic surgery industry," Zhang Zhe said, the pieces suddenly clicking into place.
’Then it made perfect sense why she’d failed at over 50 blind dates.’
’Her line of work didn’t exactly scream ’wife material’.’
The woman’s admission felt like a spoiler. The mystique around her vanished, and Zhang Zhe even found it a bit boring now.
"Your annual income must be pretty high, right?"
"Yes, I make around 500,000 a year after taxes." The woman wasn’t shy about it. "I’m a doctor’s assistant, but it’s basically a sales job. I know a lot of wealthy people through my family, so my sales figures are pretty high."
"Your family is well-off?" Zhang Zhe’s interest was slightly piqued. Most women in the cosmetic surgery industry came from rural families looking to make fast money.
’From a rich family and still working in this field? She must genuinely love the industry.’
"Yes, my family is an A8.2."
"How many children are in your family?"
"I’m an only child."
"An only daughter from an A8 family... why work in cosmetic surgery?" Zhang Zhe couldn’t understand it.
’This girl was different from the usual women in the cosmetic surgery business. It’s understandable for a girl from a rural family with no support in the big city to enter this field, since in other industries, she might only earn three or four thousand a month.’
’But she was the only daughter of an A8 family; she shouldn’t have been hurting for money.’
’Besides, she said she made most of her money by referring friends and family for procedures. Wasn’t that essentially just profiting off her own relatives?’
’An annual income of 500,000 meant she had convinced her friends and family to spend at least one million at the beauty clinic where she worked.’
’It was just like those people who used to sell face masks and lipstick on their Moments—they’d prey on their relatives first. That’s not business; that’s cashing in on your relationships.’
[She definitely couldn’t make it in any other industry.]
[She’s probably a huge spender, and her family couldn’t afford to support her anymore, so she had to go out and make her own money.]
[I feel like she’s the type of person who would trick her 50-year-old aunt into getting procedures.]
[One person can ruin an entire family. In the future, every woman associated with her will have had work done.]
"I’m in this industry because I believe it has a lot of growth potential. Just you watch—in the future, cosmetic procedures will be a basic necessity for every woman."
"The competition over physical appearance is just too intense these days."
"Maybe," Zhang Zhe said noncommittally. He wasn’t here to discuss business. "Given your family’s financial status, it shouldn’t be that hard for you to find a partner, even if your profession is a negative."
"Are you just too picky?"
"Yes, I admit I’m a big part of the problem." The woman was surprisingly honest. "I have... let’s say, a need for a certain spiritual connection, but at the same time, I also care about physical appearance."
"So you want to have your cake and eat it too, is that it?"
"What are your specific requirements?"
"I’ll start with the easy part: looks. I’d like a guy who’s a 6/10. As for height, since I’m on the shorter side, I’m hoping for someone 175 cm or taller to, you know, improve the gene pool."
"A 6-out-of-10 guy isn’t easy to find, you know. Does it count if he’s had work done?" Zhang Zhe asked with a smile. "You’re not going to demand that he be all-natural, are you?"
"..." The woman paused for a moment, unsure how to respond.
[Hahaha, find her a man-made husband and suddenly she’s not happy anymore.]
[She wants a tall, handsome guy to improve the gene pool, but she’s clearly punching above her weight.]
[Brother Zhang, you’re so wicked! You completely stumped her.]
"Sis, we can’t have double standards here. You can’t give yourself extra points for your procedures when you’re rating yourself, and then refuse to do the same for others."
"Someone who’s had surgery... I suppose I could accept that," the woman sighed, as if she had just made a monumental decision.
"Actually, looks aren’t even the most important thing."
"I think the most important thing is that a guy needs to have his own worldview, a certain amount of life experience, share my core values, and be able to communicate with me on a deep level."
"For a lot of people nowadays, dating is just about chatting, grabbing meals, and going shopping. I might ask for a little more than that. I need a man who can understand me deeply, not just superficially..."
[Medium-Value Intel]
[Your matchmaking target, Wei Lu, has encountered numerous superficial men seeking short-term flings due to her profession. As a result, she hopes for a partner on a higher spiritual plane whom she can look up to, and this partner must in turn be ’downwardly compatible.’ Host, while your breadth of knowledge meets her requirements, your height does not. Therefore, there is no need to struggle.]
Zhang Zhe’s expression darkened as he read the system’s intel. ’What’s so wrong with my height? It’s all because I messed around with an umbrella indoors as a kid, isn’t it?’
"Sis, asking a blind date to understand your soul is a bit much. Who has the time for that?"
"Any guy just looking for a fling would run for the hills the moment they met you. They’d think you were crazy."
Zhang Zhe now completely understood why this woman had failed at more than fifty blind dates.
’This was like going to a market to buy spinach, only for the vendor to insist you recite its primary nutritional components before he’d sell it to you.’
’How ridiculous is that?’
"I know I’m part of the problem, but after so many blind dates, I haven’t met a single man with any depth. I’m really at my wit’s end."
"No kidding. A man with any real depth would see that you work in the cosmetic surgery industry and wouldn’t even bother to meet you."
Zhang Zhe said bluntly:
"A man with that kind of depth, who’s looking for a soulmate and a lifelong partner, is going to prioritize a teacher or a writer. Failing that, he’ll at least look for someone highly educated."
"In short, he’d at least want to find someone who reads books regularly, right?"