Chapter 243 - 241: Waiting for the Other Party to Take the Initiative

Chapter 243: Chapter 241: Waiting for the Other Party to Take the Initiative

"My friend, the requirements you’re listing... they’re practically a portrait of a scumbag."

Zhang Zhe raised an eyebrow and asked,

"You’ve dated before, so you should know that any guy who meets all these criteria inherently has the potential to be a scumbag."

Although, in the "impossible triangle" of men, you usually need "handsome" and "rich" to get "scumbag."

But in reality, a single guy with a good build and looks, who understands women, can find common ground with most girls, and is still on the market... the odds of him being a master player are just too high.

"Honestly, in your situation, I’d suggest you play it safe. You’d be better off finding a normal, average guy from a stable family, someone with a government job."

"If you go for a scumbag, I’m afraid you’ll be eaten alive."

"Actually..." The woman trailed off and then suddenly laughed. "I don’t really care if he’s a scumbag. What if I’m an even bigger one?"

"Huh?" Zhang Zhe never would have thought someone would give that kind of answer during a matchmaking consultation.

Take that girl, Sakura, from before. She felt that scumbags really "got" her and wanted to gamble on finding one who was ready to settle down. That, at least, was somewhat understandable.

But this woman... she wanted to find a scumbag just to compete over who was worse...

"Are you really here for matchmaking?"

"In our country, marriage is generally for the long haul. We even have a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period for divorces. It’s not something where you can just switch partners every day."

"I know that, Brother Zhang. What I mean is, it’s fine even if he’s a scumbag, because I’m quite a handful myself."

"I’ve dated several guys before—the kind everyone considered scumbags, but I stayed with them anyway."

"And in the end..." The woman couldn’t help but laugh. "I was the one who screwed them over."

[And you’re proud of that?]

[Wow, this woman’s values are completely messed up.]

[I actually get her. She means that if a guy tries to screw her over, she’ll do it right back to him. Who’s afraid of who?]

[Someone like this shouldn’t be looking for a serious match. She should just go find guys to play around with on her own.]

"So, can I understand it this way? In your past relationships, you were the one who fell out of love first. As soon as you didn’t like the person anymore, you moved on immediately."

"Yes, yes, exactly! That’s it, Brother Zhang."

"So if you don’t like them, you won’t even consider them, no matter how good their prospects are?"

"Not necessarily. If it’s a rich heir in the A9 or A10 asset class, I could give it a try."

"Well..." Zhang Zhe said, stroking his chin. "In that case, you can just pretend you didn’t hear my earlier advice."

Zhang Zhe had originally planned to advise her to find a reliable, down-to-earth guy with a strong sense of family. That way, after getting married, she could quickly establish a new, stable home.

This would have been an excellent option for a woman whose parents had passed away, as it would have helped fill the void and provide that familial warmth.

But after hearing the woman’s response, Zhang Zhe changed his mind.

In her case, if she found a simple, honest man... that poor guy would be in for a world of hurt.

"Just find someone you like. A scumbag is fine, too."

"Huh?" The woman cried out in surprise at his suggestion. "Brother Zhang, are you serious?"

[What, so you can go and ruin some poor, honest guy instead?]

[To be honest, a scumbag and a scumgirl should just cancel each other out.]

[Scumbags wouldn’t want her either. When a scumbag wants to get married, he’s definitely going to look for a naive girl.]

[I love the host’s ’fight fire with fire’ approach.]

"I’ve consulted with other Matchmakers before, and they all advised me to find an honest man so I’d have someone to depend on for the rest of my life."

"And while what you’re saying is definitely the answer I want to hear, Brother Zhang, I can’t help but feel it’s not very sound advice."

"It’s perfectly sound. There’s nothing unsound about it," Zhang Zhe said, waving his hand dismissively. "You’re a ’scumgirl’ yourself, so why would you be prejudiced against scumbags?"

"If you reject them and think they’re unreliable for marriage, aren’t you just rejecting yourself?"

"I guess... you have a point." As she spoke, the woman seemed a little embarrassed and tried to justify herself. "Actually, I wouldn’t say I’m a scumgirl. Breaking up when you’re not compatible is pretty normal, isn’t it?"

"I just feel like sometimes I don’t want to move the relationship forward, so I figure it’s better to just end it."

"But if I could find a man who really understands me and is completely devoted, I’m sure I could be a good wife and mother too."

"Haha, I’m sure you could."

"But scumbags are the same way. They’re also looking for a home for their souls. Just look at someone like Lv Ziqiao—didn’t he end up with Chen Meijia in the end?"

After saying this, Zhang Zhe just smiled without further explanation.

The idea of a "scumgirl" settling down with a simple, honest man is a well-known trope. Zhang Zhe didn’t believe for a second that this woman was unaware of it.

She clearly didn’t want that.

She didn’t have any pressure from her parents, and although her relatives had talked her into wanting to get married, her ideas were still rather idealistic.

To put it bluntly, she just wanted to find someone she liked. And conveniently, her past dating history showed that she liked the kind of scumbags who knew how to charm women.

So, a scumbag it is.

The woman had clearly taken his words to heart, but she wasn’t stupid.

"Brother Zhang, I understand what you’re saying, but I think there’s still a difference between marriage and just dating."

"I have no problem dating a scumbag, but when it comes to marriage, I don’t know how to choose."

[Just find one you want to marry. For you, getting taken for a ride would be a blessing in disguise.]

[Aren’t you the one who’s not afraid of scumbags? Don’t tell me you can’t even tell if they’re being sincere or not.]

[Hahaha, I love watching these stories where villains get what they deserve.]

[It’s fine. It’s pretty normal for a scumgirl to get married a few times anyway.]

The live comments were almost all mocking her. It couldn’t be helped. When it came to the dynamic between a "scumgirl" and an "honest man," most people naturally sympathized with the honest man.

Even if someone could sympathize with her, seeing the flood of aggressive comments, they wouldn’t dare to speak up.

"That part is actually simple. Just focus on two things," Zhang Zhe said, holding up two fingers. "First, think carefully about whether you actually want to marry the man you’re currently dating."

"Second, give him a little hint—just a hint—and then wait for him to be the one to move things toward marriage."

"Is it that simple?" the woman asked incredulously. "Shouldn’t I also be considering things like his family’s financial situation?"

"You should consider those things, but they aren’t the most important. Let’s be honest, you wouldn’t consider marrying a man from a poor family background anyway, would you?"

"Hahaha, that’s true," the woman admitted freely.

"I get what you mean now, Brother Zhang. First, I need to be sure about my own desire to get married. If I want to marry him, it means I genuinely like him."

"And if I hint that I want to get married and he doesn’t run for the hills, but instead actively moves things forward, then it means he genuinely likes me too."

"That would prove the scumbag wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Because these days, the risks of marriage are higher for men than for women. If he’s still willing to marry me, his sense of family responsibility must be solid."

"Yes, in theory, that’s correct. But there’s one thing," Zhang Zhe reminded her. "Your parents probably left you a bit of an inheritance, right?"

"That’s right. About ten million in assets."

"You need to protect those assets as best you can, to make sure a man doesn’t marry you just for your money."

"I know. Don’t worry, Brother Zhang. Given my profession, if I were to get married, I could find out everything I need to know about his situation."

"It would be very hard to fool me."