Livestream Matchmaking: My Intel Infinitely Refreshes

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Don’t You Have to Fight for Your Own Happiness?

Lanlan was actually a pretty good catch.

Whenever she was out with Xia Yi, her looks and demeanor made her seem like a supporting character.

But the moment she took off her sun jacket, the roles of main character and sidekick were instantly reversed.

A girl like that, even with a rather average job as a preschool teacher, would never have a shortage of men fawning over her on the marriage market.

You just had to think about all the simps in online games to understand.

If a girl just talked in a cutesy voice, she’d have no shortage of simps. And if she had a killer body and a pretty face in real life, guys would be lining up to chase her.

Even if many of them were just lusting after her body, regardless of their motives, there would always be someone simping for her.

And yet a girl with all that going for her met a guy on a blind date and was willing to go Dutch on everything from start to finish...

”Just how great is this guy?” Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but ask. ”If you marry him, will you be set for the rest of your life?”

”He’s well-off, but it’s not as dramatic as you make it sound.”

”He’s two years older than me, born in ’98. He works at a state-owned enterprise with an annual income of about 180,000. Both his parents have stable government jobs, so that part is definitely a big plus.”

”And you?” Zhang Zhe gestured for her to continue. ”What about your family?”

”I...” The woman hesitated.

She glanced at Xia Yi and only continued after receiving an encouraging look.

”I’m a preschool teacher, as you know.”

”I don’t have a permanent position; I’m just on a contract. But I’m studying for the civil service exam to get one, and Yiyi can vouch for that.”

”I can vouch for her!” Xia Yi raised her hand like a student. ”She’s been studying really hard for her exams.”

”Is she really working that hard?” Zhang Zhe shook his head. ”I have my doubts, but go on.”

’Someone genuinely studying for a major exam doesn’t have time for romance, unless they’re some kind of genius to begin with.’

’Zhang Zhe didn’t know the specifics of her situation, but he remembered a senior he met while studying in the library. Both the senior and his girlfriend had been prepping for exams.’

’The senior bought his girlfriend breakfast every day, fetched hot water for her, and saved her a seat.’

’A year later, the senior was studying to retake the exam, while his girlfriend had gone off to grad school far away. Then one night, on his way back to the dorm, Zhang Zhe saw the senior crying under a tree. He found out the girlfriend had gotten a new boyfriend at her new school.’

’For this girl, ”studying for the exam” was probably just her current ’status’—a status that could just as easily be ”losing weight,” ”saving for a house,” or ”learning a new language.”’

’She could refresh that status whenever she wanted.’

”My family’s situation is decent. My dad runs a construction crew with about a dozen guys. They mostly take on projects in the next city over.”

”My mom does accounting for a clothing company. It’s a very stable job.”

”Then there’s a pretty big gap between your families’ financial situations.” ’Zhang Zhe knew the local salary levels well. Unless her dad’s construction crew was a real cash cow, her entire family’s income was probably on par with what the guy made by himself.’

’But given the current economy, anyone in construction knew that a contractor was lucky if they didn’t have to take out loans just to pay their workers.’

”Just based on our family backgrounds, I admit there’s a gap between us.”

”So when he suggested we go Dutch, I agreed. I didn’t want him to think I was just trying to take advantage of him.”

”But since it’s always like this, I’m starting to feel insecure.”

The woman looked troubled. She had enough sense not to think about taking advantage of the guy during a blind date.

This actually surprised Zhang Zhe a little.

Because the girl hadn’t held back at all when ordering earlier, picking several expensive main courses.

It was only because Xia Yi had treated him to an expensive meal last time that Zhang Zhe was now returning the favor with a generous budget. An average guy couldn’t have afforded her ordering so extravagantly.

”Haven’t you asked the Matchmaker to find out what he thinks?” Zhang Zhe asked, the question doubling as a suggestion.

”I asked. The Matchmaker said he likes me and wants to keep seeing me.”

”Then keep seeing him,” Zhang Zhe said, confused. ”Are you two eating so well that you can’t even afford your half anymore?”

”That’s not it.”

”If that’s not it, then I really don’t get you.”

”You’re not looking for a simp, are you? This is a blind date, not a whirlwind romance,” Zhang Zhe said, genuinely trying to help her analyze the situation. ”You have to understand, in today’s dating scene, if a guy insists on going Dutch all the time, it makes one thing clear: either he’s not in a hurry to get married, or he has plenty of other options.”

”Which one do you think he is?”

”Probably the latter,” the girl said, biting her lower lip.

”See? You know it yourself.”

”A guy with his credentials in this town will never be short on potential dates. He doesn’t think you’re worth making a special effort for, so he’s just treating this as making a new friend.”

”I can tell you this for a fact: apart from guys like Brother AA who are basically conducting a social experiment, when a normal guy meets a girl he’s genuinely into, after dating for a while, he will absolutely be willing to invest.”

”Even if you go Dutch at the beginning, eventually he’ll start insisting on paying.”

”It can’t be helped. That’s just how a guy’s parents and everyone around him have raised him since he was a kid.”

Though the speaker was careless, the listener was not.

When Zhang Zhe said this, Xia Yi could barely hide her smile. After all, Zhang Zhe was the one paying for everything today.

’Doesn’t that mean...’

”Huh? Then why are you telling me to keep seeing him?” the girl asked, confused. ”Didn’t you just say he’d spend money on me if he liked me?”

”Right. But he might just be a passive type.”

”He might be thinking the same thing you are. That dude might also be wondering, ’Does she even like me? How come she never spends any money on me?’”

”Have you ever given him a gift? Even a small one?”

”No.” The woman shook her head.

”Then he probably thinks you don’t like him, either.”

Zhang Zhe shrugged. Sometimes analyzing this kind of problem was just that simple.

’The girl thinks that if the guy doesn’t even give her a gift, he must not like her. But by that logic, since she’s never given him a gift, doesn’t that mean she doesn’t like him either?’

’In the end, it all came down to who should take the initiative.’

’In a normal relationship, it’s usually the one doing the chasing who takes the initiative.’

’But what about a blind date, where all the cards are laid on the table?’

’Obviously, the one with the weaker hand has to be the one to make a move.’

”Of course I like him! Who else would agree to go Dutch with him? Honestly, dating like this... I feel like everyone’s laughing at me. Other girls get picked up and dropped off by their dates, but I have to take a taxi by myself.” The woman sounded very aggrieved.

Beside her, Xia Yi’s expression was quite serious.

She knew her colleague was right; people at the kindergarten had indeed made fun of the girl for it.

Zhang Zhe had no time for the girl’s feelings. He wasn’t here to be her therapist.

”The reality is, you’re the one in the weaker position.”

”He’s basically the best you’re going to get on the blind-dating scene. And let me put myself in his shoes for a second: if you hadn’t agreed to go Dutch, he probably would have ended things with you a long time ago.”

”Why are guys like this nowadays?”

”I’m the girl! You expect me to make the first move?”

”Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you have to fight for your own happiness?” Zhang Zhe shot back. ”So why aren’t you fighting for it now? Are you just going to wait for some guy to come and worship you?”

”Don’t even dream about it. It’s not going to happen.”