Chapter 230 - 228: Mother Xia Arrives

Chapter 230: Chapter 228: Mother Xia Arrives

Zhang Zhe looked at the intel Xia Yi had given him and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’She really thinks far ahead.’

Now that he had the intel, Zhang Zhe knew he had to be thoroughly prepared to face Mother Xia.

Getting Mother Xia’s approval would basically secure him the position of the Xia Family’s son-in-law.

After much thought, Zhang Zhe went to Teacher Tony for a whole new look.

The results were pretty good. In his mother’s words:

"You look much more mature than before. You finally have the look of a proper adult. That’s the way to be. This way, her family can feel at ease entrusting their daughter to you."

The next morning, Zhang Zhe brought the snacks and fruit his parents had prepared and tidied up his matchmaking office nicely.

When it was almost 10 o’clock, Xia Yi sent a message saying they had arrived.

Zhang Zhe hurried out to greet them.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Xia Yi waving at him, with Mother Xia standing beside her, wearing a very warm smile.

"Auntie, welcome, welcome."

Zhang Zhe hurried forward to meet them in just a few strides.

"I’ve always heard from Xia Yi that she has a mother who’s even more beautiful than she is. Today, I finally get to meet you in person."

"So you’re Zhang Zhe? Zhang... Zhe..." Mother Xia sounded out the name and smiled faintly. "Actually, we’ve met before."

"Huh?" Xia Yi and Zhang Zhe both looked confused.

Mother Xia explained, "One year, during the high school chemistry competition—the one held at Shida First Affiliated Middle School for the exam—you won second prize in the province, right?"

"I was a proctor back then."

"What a coincidence!" Xia Yi looked pleasantly surprised. She turned to look at Zhang Zhe, then back at her mother, and smiled happily.

"So you were the one proctoring the exam! We’re truly fated to meet." Zhang Zhe quickly followed Mother Xia’s lead.

In truth, he couldn’t clearly remember something that happened almost ten years ago. He didn’t even recall if the proctor was male or female. All he remembered was that winning first prize in the province would have qualified him for independent university admissions.

He hadn’t expected Xia Yi’s mother to remember such a thing. Perhaps that was a special talent teachers possessed.

After the pleasantries, Zhang Zhe sat with the mother and daughter from the Xia Family in the living room, and they talked for a very long time.

Mother Xia started with Zhang Zhe’s high school days, talking about everything from his second year of high school to the college entrance exams, then from university to his career, all the way to him founding his own matchmaking office.

Even a background check from Tencent wouldn’t be as detailed as her questions.

Of course, Mother Xia knew that asking questions this way was a bit forward, so she also took the opportunity to talk about Xia Yi’s situation.

She basically sorted out the life trajectories of this young man and woman for every single one of the past ten years.

It was only then that Zhang Zhe and Xia Yi discovered they had actually crossed paths before. On his way to the internet cafe after school during his senior year of high school, Zhang Zhe had likely run into Xia Yi on her way home more than once.

"Qing City is really too small. The zoo, the amusement park, the children’s park—you two must have been to all of them. You’ve probably run into each other more than once."

Xia Yi’s mother looked at Zhang Zhe and her own daughter, her face full of smiles.

"After our chat today, we can say we know each other through and through."

"Zhang Zhe, is there anything else you want to ask?"

"I..." Zhang Zhe really wanted to ask directly, ’Auntie, do you think I have a chance?’ But being so direct during their first meeting seemed a bit rash.

"I’ve booked a restaurant. It’s about time, so why don’t we head to lunch now?"

"I won’t go. I have to go to the school to grade papers later." Mother Xia waved her hand, declining. "I told Xia Yi this beforehand, she probably forgot to tell you."

"You two can go eat by yourselves later. Just treat it as a date."

"If you don’t have any more questions, I actually have a few things I’d like to ask your opinion on."

"Okay, Auntie, please ask." Zhang Zhe nodded. Xia Yi had warned him before she came that her parents had been plotting in their living room for a long time and had surely prepared a lot of questions.

"No rush." Mother Xia smiled and pointed to the inner room of the matchmaking office. "Yiyi, why don’t you go inside for a bit? I’d like to talk to Zhang Zhe alone."

"Why should I? I don’t want to." Xia Yi shook her head.

"I’m telling you to go in because I’m afraid it’ll be awkward for you and Zhang Zhe later." Mother Xia shot her daughter a look. "If you go in and want to eavesdrop, just press your ear to the door. I’m not stopping you."

"..." Xia Yi looked at Zhang Zhe, then at the door to the workroom, and nodded reluctantly.

Only after she had closed the door did Mother Xia begin to speak.

"First question. Zhang Zhe, you and Xia Yi aren’t young anymore. Have you considered how you plan to live if you get together?"

"Will you buy your own apartment? Or will you live with your parents?"

"I would find an apartment somewhere midway between our two families’ homes," Zhang Zhe answered flawlessly. "That way, it would be convenient to visit either family."

"That’s not ideal." Mother Xia shook her head. "You should either buy another apartment in your family’s residential community or just buy one next to our place. You must be close to one set of parents."

"If you aren’t close to either side, you two will have no one to help you with your daily life."

"Selfishly, of course, I hope you and Xia Yi will live closer to us."

"I understand." Zhang Zhe nodded. "After all, Xia Yi is an only daughter. But I’m an only son, too, and my parents..."

"No, no, no, you don’t understand." Mother Xia shook her head, interrupting Zhang Zhe. "Do you think Xia Yi’s father and I want her to live closer because we can’t bear to be apart from her?"

"Not at all. We’ve been looking forward to her getting married for a long time. Besides, your family lives close by, too. If we really missed our daughter, it’s only a little over a ten-minute drive to see you."

"We’re actually worried that the two of you won’t manage your life together well."

"I’m not afraid to say it, you might even laugh, but this daughter of mine... she probably has more faults than you can imagine. Her father and I might have spoiled her a bit."

"If we were nearby, we could still help out a little..."

Mother Xia’s meaning was clear. She wasn’t reluctant to part with her daughter; she was afraid Zhang Zhe would have overly high expectations for Xia Yi, only to discover after marriage that his new wife wasn’t a domestic goddess, which could lead to conflict.

If they lived near the Xia Family, Mother Xia, as the "reinforcement," could swoop in to save the day at any time.

If nothing else, helping her daughter and son-in-law with meals, and later with childcare, would be quite convenient for her.

Zhang Zhe was used to seeing women on his livestreams who had "no family support." Suddenly encountering a mother like Mother Xia, who was so considerate of her daughter, was truly surprising.

"Auntie, I don’t think that’s a problem. Now that you’ve told me this today, I have a clear understanding."

"The kind of situation you mentioned, where I’d get annoyed with Xia Yi and start conflicts because she’s not good at housework, will absolutely never happen."

"And let me be frank with you. For a Matchmaker like me, once the business is fully established, I’ll actually be spending a lot of time at home. When things get too busy, we’ll definitely hire a housekeeper."

"Alright then."

"It’s actually a bit early to be discussing this now. When the time comes for us to meet your parents, we can discuss it in more detail."

Mother Xia nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Speaking of your job, I happen to have a question for you about your work: Do you plan to be a Matchmaker for the rest of your life?"

"You should know that Xia Yi’s father’s work is somewhat related to civil affairs, so I’ve picked up a thing or two about the current marriage and relationship landscape."

"Fewer and fewer people are getting married these days. As a Matchmaker, will you be able to support yourself in the future? You’ve gone out on your own to start a business—have you really thought it all through?"