Livestream Matchmaking: My Intel Infinitely Refreshes

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Late-Night Matchmaking Streamer

A woman with an annual income of five million might save less than a hundred thousand a month. As soon as you hear that, you know she’s someone who has actually earned big money.

Once you have money, saving it naturally becomes harder.

Let alone giving any to a man.

In fact, there’s an unwritten rule in the matchmaking market: it’s assumed that a woman spends most of the money she earns on herself.

Those who don’t ask their man for money are already a rare breed.

The formal term for this is that ”the woman’s income lacks altruistic utility.”

A woman earning 8,000 a month and one earning 20,000 a month might save the same amount, and the former might even save more.

Don’t be fooled by this woman’s five-million-a-year income. The contribution she’d make to a family is nowhere near what that number suggests. For any man being set up with her, her high income is completely illusory.

Her husband would have a hard time enjoying the benefits of her high income. At most, he might get to share her house and car.

”Then I guess we won’t be able to make this work,” Zhang Zhe said with some regret. ”Honestly, I really suggest you try looking for someone in a higher bracket.”

”It’s easy to find someone in a lower bracket, but that wouldn’t be a good fit for you.”

”If you have a bad year and your income doesn’t cover your expenses, you’ll have a very hard time. It might even affect your career.”

”I understand. Thank you,” the woman said with a wry smile. ”But my situation... it’s a bit complicated.”

”To put it simply, I had botched plastic surgery.”

”So it’s really hard to find someone in a higher bracket.”

[So that’s why. No wonder.]

[Yeah, she’s doomed.]

[I get it. I don’t know why, but first-generation female entrepreneurs seem to love getting plastic surgery.]

[Honestly, rich people have gotten smart these days. What kind of idiot would go for a plastic surgery face?]

”I see,” Zhang Zhe said, not pressing the issue.

If she hadn’t mentioned it, he was originally planning to ask for a photo.

’Now that she’s said her face is messed up, I’d better not look. I don’t want to have nightmares.’

”You two really aren’t a good match,” Mrs. Xu said, offering a final summary. ”Young lady, you want to look down the ladder, but Xiaozhang isn’t actually looking to climb up, so your goals aren’t aligned.”

”So there’s nothing to be done.”

”However, you can send me a private message later and fill out a form. If someone suitable comes along in the future, I can make a recommendation.”

”Alright, thank you, Teacher Xu.”

The woman readily agreed and left the call.

Watching Mrs. Xu’s smiling face, Zhang Zhe suddenly realized something:

’The old woman probably knew from the start that it wouldn’t work out between them.’

’He wasn’t the type to be a kept man, you could tell at a glance;’

’and that woman wasn’t sincerely looking for a kept man either.’

’But Mrs. Xu never said a word, deliberately letting him and the woman go through their Q&A.’

’What was that all about?’

Zhang Zhe was a bit confused. ’The old woman seems way too nice. What’s she getting out of this?’

’Is she testing me?’

’Or just trying to pad her stream time?’

After two more matchmaking sessions with less-than-suitable women, Mrs. Xu said she was getting a little tired and paused the livestream to take a break.

During the break, the old woman finally revealed her purpose for deliberately giving Zhang Zhe the spotlight:

”Xiaozhang, how much does Ah Juan pay you a month?”

”!” Boss He was instantly on alert.

’What’s this? Why is she asking about Zhang Zhe’s salary?’

’Is this old woman playing dirty and trying to poach him?’

’That’s right, I think her son’s matchmaking agency is short-staffed, and Zhang Zhe seems talented.’

’Actually, she wasn’t completely sure if Zhang Zhe was talented, but the fact that Mrs. Xu was suddenly asking about him proved he was valuable!’

’And if he’s valuable, she couldn’t just let him go so easily.’

She quickly cut in before Zhang Zhe could answer:

”Xiaozhang’s base salary is ten thousand a month, plus commission.”

”He’s just started in the industry. Once he gets more familiar with the business, his salary will go up even more.”

”Oh, that salary isn’t low for Qing City,” Mrs. Xu nodded. ”So, Xiaozhang, are you free in the evenings after work?”

”The thing is, I have a lot of female clients who say they’re only free for consultations in the evening after they get off work. But with my health, my doctor told me not to stay up late.”

”I’ve been looking for someone to help me stream in the evenings.”

”Huh?” Boss He realized she’d made a fool of herself and quickly tried to recover. ”Teacher Xu, wasn’t your apprentice helping you stream before?”

”She said she couldn’t stand some of the idiotic girls. Last week she made an appointment with the psychiatry department at the municipal hospital. The doctor said she has some kind of PTSD... anyway, she’s got some issues.”

”She’s about to start treatment.”

”Oh.” A smile almost broke out on Boss He’s face. Now she could ask Zhang Zhe without worry. ”Xiaozhang, would you be willing to help out?”

”This job sounds very interesting.”

When Boss He said ”interesting,” she meant the kind of interesting that would drive a person insane.

”I’ll pay you a salary, too,” Mrs. Xu tempted him from the side. ”Six thousand a month, from 9 PM to midnight every day.”

”You can stream from home by yourself in the evenings.”

Afraid that Zhang Zhe was genuinely tempted, Boss He tried to dissuade him. ”Teacher Wang was such a good Matchmaker, wasn’t she? I remember she became your apprentice back in ’12, right?”

”Thirteen years in the business, and these people still drove her to a mental breakdown.”

”The pressure on us Matchmakers is really intense these days, isn’t it?”

”It’s not actually that bad...” Mrs. Xu briefly explained what kind of people had overwhelmed her apprentice, Teacher Wang.

Zhang Zhe listened carefully.

Finally, he smiled, relieved.

’So it’s just some weirdos with warped values and no clue about marriage?’

’It’s perfectly normal for a traditional Matchmaker to feel stressed dealing with people like that.’

’It all comes down to the problem with their way of thinking, just like I thought before.’

Zhang Zhe was confident. ’If I were the one facing these people, I wouldn’t feel any psychological pressure at all.’

’And then there’s the number of female viewers in Mrs. Xu’s livestream.’

’At least ten matchmaking sessions a night!’

’I have to take this gig!’

”Teacher Xu, you think highly of me. What reason would I have to refuse?”

”I have to take this job.”

”But, let me be clear upfront, and Boss He can be my witness:

If people start calling out your livestream account and flaming you because of things I say, there’s not much I can do, and I won’t take responsibility for it.”

Zhang Zhe laid out the ugly truth from the start.

’As a man with normal values, if he streamed on Xiaohongshu and *didn’t* get called out, it would be an insult to his gender.’

’It was just a matter of when it would happen and how bad the flaming would be.’

After hearing Zhang Zhe’s words, Mrs. Xu replied in a relaxed tone, ”Don’t worry. You can just post a disclaimer.”

”’The host’s advice is for reference only. If you can’t accept it, just treat it like a fart.’”

”Hahaha, alright then.”

”Since you don’t have a problem with it, I’ll take the job. Should we look up a contract template online and sign it?”

”No need to go through all that trouble. I already have a template prepared.”

Mrs. Xu took a pre-written contract from her drawer.

She had started scouting candidates two weeks ago, but it wasn’t until Zhang Zhe showed up at her door that she finally had a clear choice.

Zhang Zhe was the right person for the job.

The young man had his own ideas, his social skills were good, and he had the backing of He Juan’s matchmaking agency, so she didn’t have to worry about him causing any trouble.

As they were leaving, the old woman grabbed Boss He’s hand and thanked her profusely.

To her face, Boss He said there was no need for thanks, but the moment she walked out the door, her expression soured.

’She had just done a good deed and helped someone out, so why couldn’t she feel happy about it?’

...

Zhang Zhe paid no mind to any of that.

He didn’t even bother asking Boss He when the ten-thousand-a-month salary had been added to his benefits; it wasn’t payday yet, anyway.

His top priority right now was to hand the files Mrs. Xu had given him to his parents and let them study them.

It was a thick stack of files on ten different women—enough to keep his parents busy for a week.

As for Zhang Zhe, he was going to use this free time to go all-in on his career.

The next evening, he converted the guest bedroom in his house into a temporary streaming studio.

Then he locked the door from the inside.

”Phew...” He took a deep breath.

”Here we go. Time to face my baptism by the ’sisters’!”