Chapter 235 - 233: Accepting Shortcomings

Chapter 235: Chapter 233: Accepting Shortcomings

"I’m definitely looking for marriage," the woman said with a serious nod. "But I don’t want to be a kept woman."

"No one said anything about being kept."

"This is a matchmaking livestream. We’re talking about marriage here."

"But those rich guys..." The woman trailed off, as if she were afraid Zhang Zhe would stop analyzing her situation if she spoke her mind.

"It’s fine. Go on. What about those rich guys?"

"I feel like they’re just looking for a woman to have some fun with. As soon as I turn them down, they immediately start chasing other girls."

"What do you expect? You turn them down, and you want them to pester you relentlessly? Get on their knees and beg?"

"Or maybe they should swear off marriage for life, just waiting for you to have a change of heart?"

Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but laugh. This woman’s mindset was typical. ’She assumes a man’s intentions aren’t pure from the start, then uses everything she observes later to try and prove herself right.’

’Women like this are usually a bit insecure and tend to overthink things.’

"Well, no, but it just feels... a little off." The woman shook her head, her tone wavering.

"I don’t see anything wrong with them. A lot of men just want to find a beautiful wife once they get rich, especially guys who’ve made a sudden fortune in the last year or two."

"They aren’t necessarily bad people. So far, I’ve only seen men like that get scammed by women to the point of jumping off a building; I’ve never seen a woman come forward and accuse them of being scumbags."

[These guys are usually pretty generous. Once a woman takes their money, it’s hard for her to complain.]

[My boss is a perfect example. He made twenty million in one year and ended up with a flight attendant. I just don’t get it.]

[These guys are usually male chauvinists. They don’t have high standards for a woman, but she absolutely *must* be beautiful.]

[Basically, she should find a first-generation rich guy who’s obsessed with looks.]

"But..." The woman’s eyes darted about as she tried to think of a way to refute Zhang Zhe.

It was obvious that she had met—and rejected—the exact type of man Zhang Zhe was describing.

So now she had to justify her decision, otherwise she would look like a complete idiot.

"But if I marry a man like that, the marriage might not last very long, right? When I get old, he’ll probably just find someone younger."

"Men are very faithful—they’re always into eighteen-year-olds." Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but chuckle, but then he glanced at Xia Yi and quickly added, "But liking someone doesn’t mean you have to marry them."

"He fell for you because of your looks. If you get married and he still ends up leaving you for the same reason, it just means that besides your appearance, you had nothing else to make him want to stay."

"If that’s really the case, then to be honest, not even a god could save you."

"..." The woman pressed her lips together. Zhang Zhe had clearly hit a nerve.

Zhang Zhe was being blunt.

The woman’s advantage was definitely her looks. Whether it was natural or thanks to makeup didn’t matter. The fact that men were willing to pursue her meant her looks had market value.

What she needed to do now was to sift through her suitors, find the ones who were actually interested in marriage, and get to know them, instead of just rejecting everyone out of hand.

"Listen up, sis."

"All the other ladies in the stream can listen in, too."

"If you’re someone with high dating potential but low marriage potential—meaning you’re beautiful, have a great body, or are good at charming men, but your family background is terrible..."

"Your best bet is to pick the most suitable candidate from the men already pursuing you, one who’s actually willing to marry you. Because with them, you at least have a chance of hitting the jackpot."

"If you go the formal matchmaking route, the best guy you get matched with probably won’t even compare to the men already pursuing you."

"Of course, some smart aleck is bound to ask, ’What if none of the guys pursuing me are suitable for marriage? What if they all just want to get me into bed?’"

"At that point, I think you need to take a good, long look in the mirror and ask yourself if maybe the problem is you."

Perhaps Zhang Zhe’s tone was a little too stinging, because the woman on the call immediately tried to explain herself:

"I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me. Among the guys chasing me, there are some who want to get married, but... I just find them so boring."

"I’m not actually that materialistic. I come from an ordinary family, so it’s not like I have to find a rich guy."

"Besides..." The woman hesitated before continuing, "If someone from my kind of background marries a rich man, he’ll always be wary of me. There’s no point in a relationship like that."

[He’s giving you money and you still have this many demands?]

[This is why pretty girls are so high-maintenance. They’ve all been spoiled by rich guys.]

[It’s true, pretty girls get treated so much better. The bonus guys get for being handsome can’t even compare.]

[If some prodigal heir wants you, that’s his business. His parents might not be so willing.]

"Got it." Zhang Zhe understood. The woman meant that a rich man had wanted to marry her in the past, but he was too stingy.

Or perhaps, just as they were about to discuss getting married, the man found out about her family background and started wanting to "rationally plan" their pre- and post-nuptial assets, which wounded her pride.

"So you’d rather find a normal guy, someone you can date and eventually marry, right?"

"Yes, exactly. A lifelong partner around my own age."

"That... comes down to luck. It all depends on whether fate decides to smile on you." As he spoke, Zhang Zhe suddenly turned his head and glanced at Xia Yi.

At that same moment, she happened to look back at him.

Their eyes met, and the air instantly grew thick with romantic tension.

"So how am I supposed to try my luck?" the woman on the call asked, her timing a bit off. "I’m willing to put in the effort, but I just want to find a normal guy to marry."

Hearing the woman’s question, Xia Yi quickly shot Zhang Zhe a look, signaling him to focus.

Work was the priority.

Zhang Zhe could only look back at the camera with a sigh. "Sis, I’m a Matchmaker. I can’t really give you much personal experience when it comes to the whole dating-to-marriage pipeline."

"I can only tell you this: if you want to find the kind of man with substance you’re looking for through matchmaking, you have to accept that he’ll have shortcomings."

"For example, 5’7" and 187 pounds."

"Huh?" The revulsion was plain on the woman’s face. "Does he have to be fat?"

"Not necessarily," Zhang Zhe said with a nod. "He could also be a little shorter or a little uglier."

"Five-foot-five? Or maybe he looks like Huang Bo."

"Can’t... can’t he just be normal?"

"It’d be a stretch." Zhang Zhe shook his head. "A guy from a family with A7.5 or nearly A8-level assets would only choose to be matched with you, let alone marry you, for one reason: he wants someone beautiful, but his own qualifications aren’t good enough to get one without compromise."

"To put it bluntly, he’s the type who is irrationally obsessed with looks."

"Some of these guys are even graduates of top-tier universities. The only reason they’re still single is because they refuse to date a chubby girl or an older ’leftover woman.’"

"For them, you’re an excellent choice."

Thinking about it the other way, consider a man from an ordinary family, around thirty years old, with no outstanding strengths, who still insists he will only date beautiful women.

If he wants to find a partner, he has to accept that the woman might have shortcomings in her family background.

Does the fact that the woman’s father has been to prison count as a shortcoming? It’s definitely a major one. But some men, upon seeing her face, might just grit their teeth and accept it.

As for their future children’s prospects in passing the civil service exam’s background check, they can worry about that after they have kids. For now, daddy needs to get his own life sorted out first.

The kids can suffer a little; Dad’s happiness comes first.

[Damn, so just because I only date pretty girls, I have to settle for someone with a background like that?]

[If the girl from my last blind date was this attractive, I definitely would’ve kept seeing her.]

[Being beautiful really means you can get away with anything.]

[So a gorgeous girl like this is someone a fat shut-in like me could actually date?]

"Then can I have requirements for the guy’s family background?" the woman asked after thinking for a moment. "As for him being fat, as long as he’s not fat as a pig, I can tolerate it. All that matters is that he has good character and treats me well."

"I guarantee he’ll treat you well, you can rest assured of that."

"But as for family background, you’d better not get your hopes up." Zhang Zhe doused her expectations with cold water. "If a guy’s family has A8-level assets or more, he can easily ’marry down’ and find a beautiful girl from a vocational college whose family is still better off than yours."

"Just find a looks-obsessed guy whose family owns a house or two. Honestly, if a guy like that becomes smitten with you, I can’t even imagine how you’ll have him wrapped around your little finger."