Chapter 114: Taking Over the Matchmaking Agency

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Taking Over the Matchmaking Agency

The next morning, Zhang Zhe let Boss He know he had to run some errands and wouldn’t be streaming.

His appointment with Mrs. Xu was at ten o’clock.

When Boss He heard Zhang Zhe was going to see Mrs. Xu, her tone was a bit puzzled.

"Xiaozhang, are you sure you want to go see Teacher Xu now?"

"Did she forget to pay you? Why don’t I just give you the wages on her behalf? It’s no trouble at all."

"It’s not about money," Zhang Zhe explained. "It’s about the stream."

"Well, I can’t help you with that then."

"When you go, don’t show up empty-handed. Bring some gifts; it will make a better impression."

"Understood." After Zhang Zhe hung up, he felt that was a bit strange.

’It sounds like something happened at Teacher Xu’s house.’

But he glanced at the chat history with Mrs. Xu on his phone. She had replied with a voice message:

"Xiaozhang, you’re coming? In that case, just come straight to the matchmaking agency."

"You still remember the address, don’t you?"

"Don’t bring anything when you come. I already have more fruit and snacks than I can possibly eat."

Her voice was as benevolent as ever, and there was no background noise. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

However, Zhang Zhe still took Teacher He’s advice. He didn’t go empty-handed; both of his hands were filled with bags.

When he arrived at Mrs. Xu’s matchmaking agency and stood outside the door, Zhang Zhe suddenly realized Teacher He might have been right.

He didn’t know who did it, but someone had thrown black paint all over the agency’s red sign, making it look like it was smeared with the black dog blood used to ward off evil in ancient times.

The words on the sign were completely illegible.

’Only someone trying to ruin the business would do something like this.’

’Who could hold such a grudge?’

The matchmaking profiles that had been taped to the glass were torn to shreds, as if a dog had gnawed on them.

In a corner by the agency’s entrance sat two chairs, smashed to pieces...

If the agency’s front door hadn’t been open with the lights on inside, any passerby would have assumed the place had been vacated.

’Is this still because of what Mrs. Xu’s granddaughter did?’

Feeling doubtful, Zhang Zhe knocked on the agency’s door.

"Who is it?" A middle-aged woman in a blue-and-white striped hospital gown poked her head out of the room. When she saw it was Zhang Zhe, she was pleasantly surprised. "Xiaozhang, you’re here."

"Master, Zhang Zhe is here."

"Teacher Wang?" Zhang Zhe hadn’t expected to see her here; he had been planning to talk to her about the matchmaking corner in the park at the end of the month. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m here to keep my master company." Teacher Wang pointed to herself. "I’m a patient. It’s safer here; no one dares to cause a scene."

"If anyone starts trouble, I’ll just lie down on the floor."

"Come on, hurry in and have a seat. I’ll get you some water."

"No need, I just had some on the way here," Zhang Zhe said as he politely declined, placing the gifts he was carrying on the table.

He felt much more at ease after stepping inside.

Although the matchmaking agency looked wrecked from the outside, the furnishings inside were still normal, albeit much sparser than the last time he’d visited.

’They must have cleared out all the broken things,’ he figured.

Mrs. Xu was just as he remembered, sitting in her wheelchair in front of her livestreaming setup.

She was looking in the direction Zhang Zhe had entered. The moment their eyes met, a benevolent smile spread across her face.

"Xiaozhang, you’ve come."

"Yes, I’m here." Zhang Zhe pulled a chair over to sit beside her. "Teacher Xu, you look as full of spirit as ever."

"No, wait, you’re looking younger and younger."

"Hehehe." Mrs. Xu beamed, unable to stop smiling. "My, we haven’t seen each other in a while, and you’ve gotten so sweet with your words."

"It seems working as a Matchmaker has taught you how to butter people up."

"Hahaha, I learned from the best, all the seniors..."

In reality, seeing Teacher Wang there, and looking at the expression on Mrs. Xu’s face, Zhang Zhe had already guessed that something had indeed gone wrong at Teacher Xu’s home recently.

’What a shame for the family.’

It was a difficult topic to broach. It’s a common story with wealthy families: they want an easier life for their children, so they send them to study abroad. That way, they don’t have to get caught up in the intense competition back home, and they get to see the world.

But the price for seeing the world can sometimes be enormous...

Mrs. Xu could never have imagined her granddaughter would return from studying abroad only to trash the family matchmaking agency.

Zhang Zhe didn’t know the specifics of the conflict, but it wasn’t his place to ask. He could only chat with the old woman and try to cheer her up.

They made small talk for over half an hour, during which Mrs. Xu’s praise for Zhang Zhe was nonstop.

One moment, she’d say he was talented;

the next, that he had good, solid values;

and the next, she’d be trying to set him up with someone.

Thankfully, Zhang Zhe had a picture of Xia Yi, otherwise the old woman would have gotten on the phone and had her nephew bring a girl over for a blind date on the spot.

When their casual chat wound down, and seeing that the old woman was getting a little tired, Zhang Zhe quickly explained the purpose of his visit.

"I came over today, Teacher Xu, because I wanted to discuss something with you."

"From now on, I was thinking I could stream for you every other day, because I’m planning to start my own account and stream on Xiaohongshu."

"You’re planning to go solo already?" Being younger, Teacher Wang was quick on the uptake and immediately understood what Zhang Zhe was getting at. "Isn’t it a bit too soon?"

"Why don’t you wait until after we’ve checked out the matchmaking corner in person?"

"I’m worried your mentality might change after you’ve dealt with those older ’leftover women’."

"Thank you, Teacher Wang. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine." Zhang Zhe looked at Mrs. Xu and said with great sincerity, "Teacher Xu, I have to thank you for trusting me, for putting your stream in my hands."

"I haven’t let you down. The stream has been doing better and better."

"I don’t need the salary. My idea is, I’ll stream for you one day, and for myself the next. That way, I can slowly funnel some of the traffic from your account over to my own."

"A lot of people watch streams at night out of habit, and I want to leverage that inertia to redirect the flow of viewers."

"Since I’ll be piggybacking off your traffic, it wouldn’t be right for me to take a salary."

Zhang Zhe had thought it through clearly. The money was irrelevant; the most important thing was to ensure a smooth transition for the "Brother Zhang of Qing City" brand.

In his current situation, he wasn’t established enough to just go solo.

If he just posted a declaration like, "Fam, I’ve made a huge decision," the audience’s first reaction would probably be:

’Dude, who even are you?’

So, a gradual transition of traffic was the best approach.

Of course, this would inevitably harm the existing traffic to Mrs. Xu’s account. And if someone else were to take over the evening stream slot in the future, they would become Zhang Zhe’s competitor.

But good news often comes when you least expect it.

"Xiaozhang, you’re truly a sincere young man."

"Actually, even if you hadn’t come to find me, I was planning to look for you in a couple of days." Mrs. Xu’s smile was a little strained. "That Xiaohongshu account of mine... I probably won’t be needing it anymore."

"And I don’t plan on keeping this matchmaking agency open, either."

"Huh?" Zhang Zhe was utterly shocked.

Teacher Wang, standing nearby, gave a simple explanation.

"My master is just tired of it all. She’s preparing to go back to her hometown in the countryside and enjoy her retirement. As the old saying goes, ’Never be a middleman, a guarantor, or a matchmaker, and your family will prosper for three generations.’ Xiaozhang, you’re still young. When you’re older, you’ll understand the wisdom in those old words."

"She asked me to come over to discuss what to do with the streaming accounts on several platforms."

"And also what to do about you."

"This works out perfectly. You’ve delivered yourself right to our doorstep."