Chapter 98: The Opportunist Arrives

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: The Opportunist Arrives

If a colleague sets you up with someone and the guy isn’t taking the initiative, the woman should just ask him directly if he wants to keep seeing her.

It’s just a text message. Doesn’t even take twenty seconds.

But a gold digger’s mind works differently. Her first thought was to just go and seduce him.

If the guy could resist in a situation like that, then she’d know for sure it was a lost cause.

Telling a woman to cover up is the ultimate negation of her allure.

If the guy couldn’t resist, then she would have successfully secured her position.

But there was a third possibility: the guy was just pretending. He was waiting for her to take the bait, and once he got what he wanted, he’d kick her to the curb.

"It’s no use asking him. His family situation won’t allow him to be honest with someone he’s been set up with. He doesn’t trust me that much."

"I think you’re right, Teacher Zhang. I should confirm first."

"I’ll ask him out tonight."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, that was not my suggestion! I didn’t—I did not encourage you to do something like that," Zhang Zhe quickly denied.

’If this woman gets tricked into sleeping with the guy and then comes back to my stream to pin the blame on me, it’s going to get ugly.’

"Don’t worry, host, I get it." The woman chuckled knowingly. "Thanks, Teacher Zhang. Just wait for my good news."

"I’ll be back later to send you gifts."

"I don’t want your gifts..." Zhang Zhe was still speaking, but she had already disconnected.

Hahaha, that woman is so unlikable.

This host is hilarious.

You don’t think she’ll actually manage to bag a rich guy, do you?

The main thing is she’s only after his money and status. No Matchmaker would want to deal with a woman like that.

The viewers in the stream had a good impression of Zhang Zhe, so they were starting to see all Matchmakers through rose-colored glasses, assuming they only liked dealing with normal people.

This was a complete misunderstanding.

At the very least, not all the Matchmakers at the Zhuyin Marriage Agency were like that.

When Zhang Zhe finished his stream at noon, Jiang Qi—the one who had introduced him to the woman with the Ph.D.—was waiting for him, blocking the entrance to the conference room.

Before Zhang Zhe could even open his mouth, she immediately challenged him.

"Teacher Zhang, that teacher from Chengdu who called in this morning... I don’t think you gave her the right advice, did you?"

"Not right? What was wrong with it?"

"That man has a son. He’s divorced and still has custody, which means that boy is the apple of his eye," Jiang Qi said, her expression a mixture of frustration and disappointment. "If that teacher wants to marry him, she should obviously be starting with his son."

"What does a kid know? He’s just going to like whoever is nice to him, right?"

"Once the son accepts her as his stepmother, the man will accept her too, even if he knows she’s only in it for his money."

"That idiot actually thought about sleeping with him. If a rich, handsome guy wants to find a woman, he can find one 24/7, non-stop."

"I really don’t know what she was thinking."

"..."

He had to admit, Jiang Qi had a point.

It was an indirect approach, a strategy of winning over the family first.

There was nothing wrong with the method itself. It was how many people bribed their bosses at work. If the boss found it inconvenient to accept cash, you’d just give his father a couple bottles of fine liquor, gift his wife a jadeite bracelet, or pay for his daughter’s spot in an overseas summer camp.

Zhang Zhe had thought of this at the time, too.

But he never would have considered saying it out loud.

The reason was simple: the man’s son was likely a minor, and the depths a gold digger would sink to were unimaginable. If he actually taught her to go after the son, there was no telling what she might do.

"That teacher isn’t very old, and neither is the guy she’s being set up with, so his son must be quite young too," Zhang Zhe countered. "I think it’s best to leave the kid out of it."

Jiang Qi hadn’t expected Zhang Zhe to not only reject her suggestion but to actively argue against it.

She snorted, her tone immediately becoming condescending.

"Teacher Zhang, you still have far too little experience in matchmaking."

"That woman is clearly out of his league. If she doesn’t resort to some tricks, why on earth would a man like that choose her to be his wife?"

"When I heard you on the stream telling her to seduce the guy, I thought you might actually have a brain in your head."

"Jeez, by that logic, if a woman set her sights on a married man, would you teach her how to be a homewrecker?" Zhang Zhe said with a frown.

He suddenly realized he might have just found one of the legendary "pro-woman" Matchmakers.

Most Matchmakers on Xiaohongshu were of the "pro-man" variety.

This was because the demands from the online female contingent—the so-called "sisters"—were often absurdly high. Any Matchmaker who was even remotely pragmatic couldn’t possibly support their unreasonable requests.

And not supporting these "sisters" meant being on the opposing side.

Their opposition was, of course, Chinese men.

Therefore, any normal Matchmaker was, by default, "pro-man."

However, the spending power of these women was undeniable. They were the prime targets of romance scams for a reason—they either had money or were willing to borrow money to spend.

And so, the "pro-woman" Matchmaker came into being.

They specialized in catering to this exact clientele.

Of course, just as playing like a troll in a video game means you should be prepared to have your entire family cursed out, being a "pro-woman" Matchmaker meant giving up any chance of being a normal person.

Just like Jiang Qi.

She shot back at Zhang Zhe without a hint of shame, "That’s right. What about it?"

"Is being a homewrecker that shameful? Why don’t you take a look at Miss Zong the Elder’s younger siblings? Is there a single one of them who has to worry about their livelihood for the rest of their lives?"

"They will definitely thank their mother for making the right choice."

"..."

"So, what’s your point?" Zhang Zhe asked impatiently. "Did you come all this way just to show off how low you can sink?"

"I’m not that bored."

"I’m looking for you because..." Jiang Qi let out a sly little laugh. "In the future, when you get clients like that teacher who called in today—clients you don’t know how to handle—you should refer them to me."

"Professional matters should be left to the professionals."

"I’ll help her figure something out."

"Besides, when people call the stream for a consultation, they’re counting on the Zhuyin Marriage Agency brand. You just gave her some half-baked idea and sent her on her way."

"Isn’t that a waste of a potential client?"

"???" Zhang Zhe was utterly speechless.

’Just what you’d expect from a Matchmaker who caters to those "entitled princesses."’

’Her thinking was just like her clients’—the whole world revolved around her, and she wanted a piece of any pie she saw.’

’Before I started streaming, I never saw her trying to find clients on the stream, did I?’

’Oh, right. That’s because there was no one there.’

’Now that people are actually calling in, she wants to swoop in and reap the rewards?’

Zhang Zhe leaned against the door, crossing his arms and asking bluntly,

"Do you have no shame?"

"Let me ask you, Boss He told you to help find a match for me. Why did you charge that woman money?"

"I don’t even charge for calls on my stream, and you’re out here demanding payment?"

"Hey, Teacher Zhang, don’t misunderstand." Jiang Qi had her excuse ready. "This is how our agency has always charged."

"Even the Tang Monk had to pay a price to obtain the sacred scriptures. How could finding a man who meets all her requirements at a marriage agency possibly be free?"

"Charging her 500 was the standard price. The fact that you were her date was purely a coincidence. I was just filtering through our database of male members according to her requirements, and you happened to be the one selected."

"You’re not the one paying, so of course you get set up with whomever we introduce to you."

"If you’re not satisfied with my introductions, you can always pay to choose for yourself."

"Heh." Zhang Zhe let out a cold laugh. She really lived up to her title as a Golden Matchmaker; her ability to twist words was on another level.

For a moment, he couldn’t think of a comeback.

The only way to break the stalemate was to go directly to Boss He and have his own profile deleted from the agency’s system.

He wouldn’t let someone like Jiang Qi use him to make money.

Besides, he didn’t need anyone to set him up on offline dates anymore.

He was already busy enough arranging dates with Xia Yi.

However, saying this out loud would make him seem like he was backing down, so Zhang Zhe just smiled.

"You’re not a normal person, so I’m not going to argue with you."

"I’m going to see Boss He later. You’re going to spit that 500 yuan back out and return it to the Ph.D. woman. If you think you’re going to use me to boost your sales numbers, you can dream on."

"I can give back the 500. That’s chump change," Jiang Qi said, completely shameless. "As long as you’re willing to share the clients from your livestream, that is."