Chapter 232: New Reward

“Advising people to get divorced?” Mother Xia chuckled. “Don’t you run a matchmaking agency? Why are you trying to steal business from divorce lawyers?”

“Well… it’s mainly because there’s a demand for it in the market,” Zhang Zhe explained. “Auntie, think about it. If someone comes to me for a consultation before they get divorced, doesn’t that prove they still believe in marriage?”

“They want to see ahead of time if they’ll be able to get remarried after the divorce.”

“So of course I have to respect clients like that. They’re basically repeat customers.”

“Haha, if what you say is true, your matchmaking agency will never be short on business.”

Mother Xia nodded. Her doubts were mostly resolved. Knowing that Zhang Zhe wasn’t a conventional Matchmaker actually made her feel a little relieved.

Being a Matchmaker was never considered a very reputable profession. Although you could earn a lot of money and gain recognition if you were good at it, you were meddling in people’s marital affairs, which carried significant risks.

The major life events for a Huaxia person were basically school, finding a job, getting married, having children, and retirement. Marriage was extremely important, and if something went wrong, some people would genuinely risk their lives for revenge.

Before she came, Mother Xia had been a little worried.

But after arriving at Zhang Zhe’s matchmaking agency and seeing his private messages, she realized her daughter’s partner wasn’t an ordinary Matchmaker.

It was probably more accurate to think of him as a streamer who focused on topics of love and marriage.

Being a streamer wasn’t exactly a great profession either, but the risks were low. The worst that could happen was starving to death, not having people show up at your door to diss you.

‘When combined with a lifelong trade like being a Matchmaker, did it somehow compensate for the weaknesses of both?’

Mother Xia decided to observe him a little longer.

She planned to go back and spend some time finding Zhang Zhe’s high school teachers to ask what he was really like as a kid.

“Yiyi, we’re done talking.”

“You can come out now. Aren’t you tired of eavesdropping with your ear to the door?”

“Mom—” Xia Yi pushed the door open and said petulantly, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. This door has no soundproofing at all; I could hear everything from my seat.”

“You’re done talking? Should I take you home then?”

“Mhm, just call a cab for me.” Mother Xia declined Zhang Zhe’s invitation to “have lunch together,” insisting on going back to eat at the school cafeteria.

Seeing that Xia Yi had no intention of trying to persuade her, Zhang Zhe could only let them go.

After seeing Mother Xia off in the car, Xia Yi stood at the entrance of the matchmaking agency, gazing in the direction her mother had left. Suddenly, she let out a “PFFT” of laughter.

She patted Zhang Zhe.

“You’re not actually afraid of getting bad karma from matchmaking, so you decided to advise people on divorce to neutralize it, are you?”

“How could that be? You actually believed that?”

“I actually thought it was possible.”

“To be honest, I’d never actually thought about that until yesterday.” Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but laugh too. “But I don’t think a Matchmaker like me needs to worry about that sort of thing.”

“Because the number of couples I’ve successfully set up is few and far between—you could count them on one hand. I’ve probably persuaded more people to break up or get divorced.”

“Who says?” Xia Yi shook her head. “You’re amazing.”

“Do you remember Lanlan? She and her blind date have already met each other’s parents.”

“If all goes well, they’ll be married before the year is out.”

“She said it’s all because you helped her analyze the situation. Otherwise, her coworkers would have already instigated her into blocking the guy.”

“Who is she with? That guy from last time who insisted on going Dutch?”

“That’s right.” Xia Yi nodded. “Don’t be fooled by the guy liking to go Dutch. His mother is incredibly generous. At their very first meeting, she gave Lanlan a gold bracelet as an engagement gift.”

“I heard from our colleagues that the bracelet alone was worth half a year of Lanlan’s salary.”

“…” Zhang Zhe was speechless for a moment. “Well, that is generous. Her return on investment is a bit high.”

Who would have thought that while the guy was sticking to his principles of going Dutch, his own mother would come along and immediately throw all her trump cards on the table?

‘Lanlan must be thrilled now,’ Zhang Zhe thought. ‘Women can be good at deceiving themselves. Once they get a taste of something really sweet, they’ll convince themselves all the bitterness they endured before was just a test.’

“So Lanlan told me you’re a really good Matchmaker. She also said she wants to treat you to a meal after she gets married.”

“A meal isn’t necessary. If she really wants to show her gratitude, she can spend twenty yuan on a silk banner for me.” Zhang Zhe looked at Xia Yi and said, “I’m not short on a meal or two, but I’m definitely short on banners.”

“Okay, I’ll give her a call and tell her while we’re having lunch later. If she doesn’t believe me, you can be there to confirm it.”

“Sure. I’ll pick up a few nails on my way back to hang the banner.”

The news from Xia Yi was the second-best piece of good news Zhang Zhe had received all day.

The best news, of course, was meeting Mother Xia and finally completing this stage of the system’s mission.

During his lunch break, while Xia Yi was asleep, he took a good look at the system’s message:

[Congratulations, Host, for completing the current mission stage. Your blind date partner approves of you and has introduced you to her parents.]

[Reward Obtained: 500 Happiness Points]

[New Item Unlocked: Stealing Love Powder]

[Redemption Cost: 50 Points]

[Item Description: Legend says the most skilled flower-pickers steal not bodies, but hearts. Stealing Love Powder is a pill meticulously developed by a certain predecessor in the field. When used, it can amplify all the user’s senses, doubling their sensations for a short period. (Due to legal risks, it is recommended for use only between married couples.)]

[Redemption Limit: Unlimited]

After reading it, Zhang Zhe was silent for a full three seconds.

All he could say was that it was indeed a very useful pill. The person who developed it was really something else.

Zhang Zhe even thought of a brilliant use for it in an instant.

‘Cure frigidity? No, no, no, that’s just small-time stuff.’

‘If this thing were used on a master interrogator who understood micro-expressions, enhancing their perceptive abilities, they’d instantly transform into a superhuman-level master detective.’

The only shame was that its effect only lasted for 15 minutes. Perhaps the predecessor who developed the pill had limited abilities himself, and 15 minutes was already him performing far beyond his usual capacity.

Zhang Zhe glanced at his balance:

[Current Happiness Points Balance: 788]

‘That’s so many, I can’t even spend it all.’

Without much thought, he first exchanged some points for a Body Building Pill and used it on Xia Yi while she was sleeping. If she felt any changes in her body when she woke up, Zhang Zhe could just explain that he had secretly cleansed her meridians and marrow.

As for the remaining pills, they weren’t suitable for use just yet. Even if he were to use them, he would have to wait until their relationship had progressed further.

Fortunately, the system’s next mission was also very simple:

[A good marriage requires the approval of both sets of parents. Please continue to advance the relationship, Host, by introducing your blind date partner to your parents and earning their heartfelt approval of her.]

[Completing this mission stage will grant a reward of 500 Happiness Points and unlock a new item.]

Even if the system hadn’t required it, Zhang Zhe’s next step was to take Xia Yi home anyway.

As for getting his parents to approve of Xia Yi, that would be all too easy. Zhang Zhe suspected his parents had already investigated the Xia Family’s background and Xia Yi’s entire life story pretty thoroughly.