Livestream Matchmaking: My Intel Infinitely Refreshes

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Blind Date

”Lao Zhang, something’s happened! Your son has lost his mind!” On the other end of the line, Mrs. Zhang put the phone on speaker. ”Here, tell your dad. What is it you want to do?”

”I want to keep going on blind dates.”

”The more, the merrier!” Zhang Zhe’s reply was loud and confident.

Father Zhang, who had been lying on the sofa playing a tile-matching game, heard the commotion and bolted upright.

”Zhang Zhe, what’s gotten into you?”

”Don’t say things you don’t mean. Your mom wanted you to go on a date, but she never said you had to like the person. If it doesn’t work out, just come home and eat. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”

”I’m really fine, Dad. I’m serious...”

”Fine? If you’re fine, why did you go and insult Ms. Huang’s character?”

”I didn’t insult her. Think about it, if I really had, wouldn’t she have called the police?”

”That... actually makes sense.” The old couple exchanged a look and nodded to each other, both feeling that Zhang Zhe had a point.

Calling the police was perfectly normal these days. Even couples in love would call the cops on each other and get them locked up over a simple disagreement.

They were afraid Zhang Zhe wouldn’t be able to handle himself in the big city, which was why they’d insisted he come back and go on blind dates through proper channels. It was time-consuming and tedious, but if something went wrong, at least they’d know who to ask for favors and where to send gifts.

”So what was it about her that you didn’t like?”

”We’re not strangers, you can at least tell us that, can’t you? Otherwise, how are we supposed to help you find someone in the future?”

”There were... too many things I didn’t like.”

”Then give us an example.”

”Umm...”

Zhang Zhe knew he wouldn’t be able to get past his parents without a clear explanation.

He had to give them a reason they would both accept.

This was the annoying thing about blind dates. It was like being forced to watch a movie in school; even if you couldn’t get into it, you still had to write a report afterward.

Fortunately, the system had helped him figure things out.

”Her situation crossed one of my bottom lines,” Zhang Zhe said, being deliberately mysterious.

”What bottom line? Does it have to do with her former profession?” Father Zhang guessed.

”Impossible. The Huang Family has a very clean background; I checked it all thoroughly,” Mrs. Zhang said, full of conviction. ”Now I’m starting to suspect you really did insult her character.”

”No, no, no.”

”Dad, don’t you see? Mom has gone crazy in her desperation for a grandchild.”

”What did you just say, you brat?” Mrs. Zhang was instantly triggered. ”I just said you were crazy, and now you’re turning it back on me, is that it?”

”I have proof for what I’m saying. Dad, I bet you didn’t know the rich woman Mom set me up with has a son in high school,” Zhang Zhe said with grave seriousness. ”Think about it. Am I really cut out to be a stepfather?”

”If I go on a date with this woman, what will I look like in her son’s eyes?”

”Huh?” Father Zhang stood up in surprise. ”Really?”

”Her son is already in high school?”

”Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Mrs. Zhang said irritably. ”I checked everything thoroughly. Miss Huang only has a younger brother. She’s never been married, let alone had a son.”

”I asked all of her relatives about this stuff.”

”If she really had a son, I wouldn’t let Zhang Zhe be some guy’s replacement dad! It’s not like he’s been married before.”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhe gave a wry chuckle. ”Mom, are you sure it’s a younger brother?”

”Of course I’m sure. They both have the surname Huang. How could that be fake?”

”But a friend of mine told me that Huang Meimei took a break from her studies abroad midway through. She took a leave of absence for a full eight months because she was pregnant.”

”That timing is a little too convenient, don’t you think?”

”Whoa! If you put it that way, it’s really possible they’re not brother and sister...” Father Zhang interjected, speaking up for Zhang Zhe.

When it came to local women, middle-aged men had their own channels for gathering information. Father Zhang announced he was going to do some digging.

”Don’t you two worry yet. I’ll ask some of my contacts.”

”I’ll see if anyone has been on a date with this woman before.”

”She’s in her thirties. She’s definitely been on more than one blind date. Maybe someone else knows something we don’t.”

The ”investigation” Father Zhang mentioned involved asking around in the dozen or so fishing buddy group chats he was in.

As everyone knows, there’s nothing an angler can’t do—except catch fish.

Soon enough, in exchange for promising to hold a fishing spot for a month, Father Zhang got what seemed to be evidence of Huang Meimei having a child out of wedlock from a friend who had once been on a blind date with her.

By the time Zhang Zhe got home, the old couple had just finished sorting through the evidence and quickly brought their son up to speed...

...

”Dad, are you saying that the grandmother of this ’blind-dating veteran’ saw Huang Meimei doing her postpartum confinement at home through a crack in the door?”

”That’s the story,” Father Zhang nodded. ”But he wasn’t entirely sure either.”

”He only said he saw her with a towel wrapped around her head. It’s possible she just had a fever, or maybe she was saying ’Allahu Akbar’.”

”But nobody was willing to take a gamble on something like that, so he never followed up.”

”People can be so treacherous.” Mrs. Zhang spat lightly in disgust. She had wanted to add Huang Meimei back on WeChat to confront her.

Unfortunately, it seemed she’d been blocked everywhere; even her phone calls wouldn’t go through.

”It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s not like I lost anything. Just think of it as an eye-opening experience.” Afraid his family would get worked up over such a small matter, Zhang Zhe quickly made his position clear. ”And I’m not going to lose faith because of this.”

”I’m still going to keep going on blind dates.”

”Alright then.” Mrs. Zhang readily agreed. ”I’ll have the Matchmaker arrange something right away.”

”A Matchmaker?” Zhang Zhe was slightly surprised. ”Do those still exist? I thought that was just a thing in the countryside.”

”Of course. Wherever there are people, there are matchmakers.”

”Just you wait. As long as you cooperate, there are plenty of girls willing to go on dates. You graduated from a prestigious university, after all. In a small place like ours, that’s still considered very impressive.”

”That’s right,” Father Zhang said with great pride. ”My son has always been outstanding. These days, exceptional people get married later in life. Take your time, and don’t you dare settle for less.”

His parents backing each other up like that made Zhang Zhe blush a little.

’Prestigious university, my foot.’ A degree from a Project 211 university was nothing in Shencheng City. Sometimes, that qualification wasn’t even enough to pass the initial screening at the big tech firms.

Besides, his intentions for these blind dates weren’t exactly pure. He wasn’t really trying to settle the great matter of marriage; he just wanted to earn more rewards from the system.

So, Zhang Zhe felt a little embarrassed.

But the moment he remembered he had already earned a beginner’s Body Building Pill, which could help his parents strengthen their bodies and maybe even indirectly prolong their lives, that embarrassment vanished immediately.

Considering the potentially large number of blind dates he would be going on, Zhang Zhe took the initiative to ask for the Matchmaker’s contact information to save his parents the trouble.

The reason he gave was: he would communicate his requirements directly to the Matchmaker to avoid any misunderstandings.

His family, of course, agreed.

...

That afternoon, after lunch, Zhang Zhe started a chat with the Matchmaker on WeChat.

”Hello, I’m a Matchmaker from the Yuelao Matchmaking Office. You can call me Wang Po.”

”Hello, Wang Po. I’m Zhang Zhe.”

”Good afternoon, Mr. Zhang. I’ve reviewed your basic information. I have a preference form for blind dates here, please fill it out.”

”We will review it within 48 hours and recommend a potential match for you at an appropriate time.”

”When is this ’appropriate time’? Is there any chance this month?”

”This month is definitely too late. We need to match the conditions of both the man and the woman. You should fill out the form first. The sooner you fill it out, the sooner you get in the queue.”

’There’s a queue?’

Zhang Zhe realized he had misjudged the current blind-dating scene.

’Didn’t they say the marriage rate is dropping every year?’

’How are there still so many people going on blind dates?’

Since the Matchmaker had some free time, Zhang Zhe engaged her in a slightly more in-depth conversation.

She told him:

The blind-dating market in small counties or prefecture-level cities hadn’t shrunk; on the contrary, it was growing year by year.

Because more and more people were reaching marriageable age while fewer and fewer were actually getting married, a large number of young and middle-aged men and women were piling up in the dating market.

It was a bit like the flood of recent college graduates into the job market.

”Mr. Zhang, rest assured, the current ratio of registered men to women here is about 1 to 18. An outstanding young man like you will definitely be able to find a suitable marriage partner.”

”There’s really no need to rush.”

”If you’re in a hurry to find your other half, we also offer a premium membership service. For just 16,998 yuan, you can enjoy our ’One-on-One Matchmaker’ service...”

Zhang Zhe didn’t hear a word the Matchmaker said.

His mom had already paid the damn registration fee. Besides, he wasn’t here to get married, so there was no need to upgrade the service.

Zhang Zhe thought for a moment, then told the Matchmaker:

”I’m not going to fill out this form.”

”I have no requirements for my date. Just hurry up and arrange one for me!”

”Huh?” The Matchmaker was incredulous. ”Are you saying you have no requirements whatsoever?”

”That’s right. Is that a problem?”

”Er... In my twenty years in this business, this is the first time I’ve ever encountered a situation like yours.”