Chapter 246 - 244: Here to Argue

Chapter 246: Chapter 244: Here to Argue

[What if that guy actually ends up with that professional?]

"He actually ends up with her? Then we should congratulate him. Ah Dashi found his one true love."

"It’s not just that he’s repressed. He has a bit of a white knight complex. He was always destined to stumble over something like this."

"If this guy lived in ancient times, he’d be the type to cry and beg to buy a courtesan her freedom from a brothel."

Times may change, but when it comes to men’s tastes and preferences in relationships, some traditions die hard.

The most obvious one is trying to convince a "fallen woman" to change her ways. For hundreds, even thousands of years, there have always been men willing to do this.

[This guy can’t even get a date in real life. What makes him think a Healer from the platform would fall for him?]

"Someone’s asking why that guy thought the woman was a good match."

"The reason is very simple," Zhang Zhe answered the chat’s question. "He didn’t think she was a good match from the start. He only started thinking that way after she video-called him without any makeup on."

"The ’no makeup’ part is key."

The guy was still on the call earlier, so Zhang Zhe couldn’t be too direct.

To put it bluntly, it was because the woman on the call had no makeup on and looked disheveled. It made him feel like he was good enough for her.

If she had been one of those women from a KTV lounge—all made-up, mature, and alluring—the guy on the call might have felt physical desire, but he definitely wouldn’t have thought about possessing her.

[Brother Zhang is thinking the same thing I am. That guy from before was actually a bit insecure.]

[Men who’ve never been in a relationship tend to think that women without makeup are innocent.]

[Honestly, paying for a bit of fun is fine, but it’s not worth it to get emotionally invested.]

The big spenders in the stream were all critical of Ah Dashi. They all knew the market and understood that a woman who’ll show you what she has for 660 yuan has nothing to do with sincerity. At most, you could call her dedicated to her job.

And there was a slight suspicion she was artificially inflating the price.

"Let me make something clear: that last guy wasn’t a plant I hired."

"I couldn’t make up a plot this ridiculous."

While Zhang Zhe was chatting with his viewers, he glanced at his DMs.

The guy from before was actually still sending him private messages.

He glanced at the content. The guy was asking:

"Brother Zhang, why doesn’t anyone have faith in a love like mine?"

What a cringey question. Zhang Zhe almost lost his composure.

He thought for a moment, then replied, "Bro, maybe you’re not the one who’s wrong. Maybe it’s the world."

"Don’t worry about all that. Just go to Lin’an and prove your love."

...

While Zhang Zhe was replying to the private message, a new caller was already waiting.

This time, it was a woman.

She was very proactive, introducing herself right away:

"I was born in ’02. I’m from Hedong, 176 cm tall, weigh 60 kg, and have a bachelor’s degree in fine arts."

"I currently work at a private company."

"My annual income is between 50,000 and 60,000 yuan."

"As for my looks, Teacher, you can check my account. I have makeup-free selfies posted there."

Normally, with Xia Yi sitting next to him, Zhang Zhe wouldn’t proactively check a female guest’s account.

But when a guest requested it like this, Miss Xia would thoughtfully click on the person’s profile picture for him and even give her own rating.

Her scores were always on the high side, though, so they weren’t very reliable.

The chat comments were a bit more realistic.

[Looks like a skinny version of Ning Jing. A 4 at most.]

[It’s true she’s not wearing makeup, but the beauty filter is so strong her own mother probably wouldn’t recognize her.]

[She’s pretty tall.]

[Her photo style... all I can say is it fits my stereotype of an art student.]

[My take: trying too hard.]

This girl was born in ’02, only twenty-one years old, and she was already in a rush to get her "marriage positioning" done.

But after Zhang Zhe looked at her profile, he thought it wasn’t too early after all. She had one of those faces that naturally looked older. She probably looked 28 when she was 18, and would still look the same when she actually turned 28.

If she entered the matchmaking market, people would definitely question her real age.

However, Xia Yi said it was because her makeup style was a bit dated and that her natural features were actually quite good.

"Sis, I can give your looks a 4.5, but because you’re a bit too tall, I’ll have to deduct 0.5 points, bringing your final score to a 4."

"Is that score okay with you?"

"It is. I’m definitely considered tall for a woman. I’m 1.8 meters tall in heels. A lot of guys feel insecure when they meet me."

"Yeah, when guys are looking for a partner, they generally prefer someone 5 to 10 centimeters shorter than them," Zhang Zhe nodded, feeling that the conversation was going smoothly.

"What about your family’s financial situation?"

"My family has a lot of fixed assets. Back when real estate was at its peak, we were at an A8 level. It’s depreciated now, so we’re probably around an A7.8."

"It only dropped by 20%?" Zhang Zhe was slightly surprised.

If you calculated from the absolute peak, when property values were highest between 2018 and 2021, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a 50% depreciation compared to current prices.

"Right. It’s because our family’s properties are in very good locations."

"My parents poured all the money they earned into real estate. If property prices go up again in the future, our family’s assets could be even higher."

"Okay, you can stop daydreaming."

"Can you tell me about your flaws?"

"Excluding the conditions we’ve already discussed." Zhang Zhe pointed to the notes he’d just jotted down on the whiteboard. "For example, your personality, special talents, background, or connections. Any of those will do."

"Let’s focus on personality."

[You can tell from her voice she’s got a bad temper.]

[I get the feeling she’s had work done.]

[Brother Zhang, why don’t you ask her if she plays around a lot?]

[A guy who’s okay with her being an art student probably doesn’t care about her past anyway.]

"My personality is great."

"As for flaws... well, I do have some. Like right now, some people in the stream are spreading rumors, saying I photoshop my pictures, that I’ve had plastic surgery, or that my looks are only a 3.5..."

"I can’t really stand them."

’I see. You care a bit too much about what other people think.’ This was a flaw Zhang Zhe could understand. Pretty girls often had a bit of a temper.

"I don’t actually care how they rate me. What I can’t accept is them slandering people."

"I have never had plastic surgery." The woman said she didn’t care, but she suddenly launched into a direct explanation. "My face is all-natural. I haven’t even had double eyelid surgery."

"To those people saying they’ll eat something if I haven’t had surgery, I suggest you stop trying to score a free meal. I just haven’t had any..."

This was the first time Zhang Zhe had encountered someone who started arguing with the chat over something so minor.

’Being mistaken for having had plastic surgery... that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?’

’From a guy’s perspective, it’s like when you’re playing a game and someone accuses you of cheating. If you aren’t cheating and they call you a hacker, you should just say thank you.’

’It’s a recognition of your skill.’

’By the same logic, if you haven’t had surgery and someone says you must have to be so beautiful, aren’t they just complimenting you in a roundabout way?’

Zhang Zhe thought for a moment and decided to write down his evaluation:

This woman’s personality was "super sensitive" and "argumentative."

But just as he raised his pen, he heard the woman on the call say in a shrill voice:

"This ’EveningGlow’ person, you’re really something else. The host already said I’m a 4, and you’re still over there saying, ’To be honest, she’s a 3 at best.’"

"And you’re a woman, too."

"Are you jealous of me or something?"

"I mean, what score are you? And you’re here giving harsh critiques of others?"

Zhang Zhe listened to a couple of lines, then quickly moved his head out of the camera’s view and burst out laughing.

’Right now, he definitely couldn’t write down "super sensitive" or anything like that. If he did, this woman would probably redirect all her anger onto him, the host.’