Chapter 269 - 267: Sorting

Chapter 269: Chapter 267: Sorting

"You all might want to take some notes. I see that a lot of the female students here brought notebooks but haven’t even opened them."

"If you’re really that worried about wasting ink, you can open the notes app on your phone."

"I’m going to list a few points to consider for marriage. Jot them down, and think about how you would rank them in order of importance."

Zhang Zhe’s suggestion might have only been meaningful to those who looked forward to marriage, but judging by the stir in the audience, more than half of the students, both male and female, took action.

’Evidently, even with marriage rates in steady decline and everyone badmouthing the institution, these young students were still interested.’

’It’s just that most of them would, for a variety of reasons, quickly lose that interest within a few years of graduation.’

"Alright, I’ll start with the first major point: ’hard conditions.’"

"The term ’hard conditions’ simply refers to the quantifiable attributes of a man or woman at the moment of evaluation."

"Common examples include: family background. Any of you who’ve watched matchmaking videos online might know that terms like ’A7’ or ’A8’ are now used to classify family assets."

"In the same category, you have: height, weight, age, education level, looks, parents’ occupations, whether they have siblings, the location of their family’s real estate, as well as personal income and debt."

"These are all hard conditions."

"When you’re just dating, most people don’t think about these things. But more and more people are discovering that when it comes to marriage, you can’t afford *not* to."

Zhang Zhe cleared his throat.

’He was quite satisfied to see a number of the young women in the audience scribbling furiously in their notebooks.’

"Next up is the second point: plans for the future."

"This one should be easy to understand. Any of you who dated in high school only to break up after starting college have probably already experienced this."

"If it’s already like that for dating, wouldn’t it be doubly true for marriage?"

"Right now in my industry, we typically focus on a few key questions: Where will you settle down in the future? What are the arrangements for taking care of your parents? Do you want children? How many? And so on."

"And right after that is the third point: core values."

"I probably don’t need to elaborate on this one, do I?"

"If a couple’s core values are too different—be it their outlook on life, their spending habits, or even their fundamental ideas about family—they’ll eventually go their separate ways, even if they force themselves to stay together."

"Alright, so let’s just stick with these three points for now."

"Would anyone like to volunteer and help us rank these three points in order of importance?"

Zhang Zhe gestured invitingly to the students in the audience.

He swept his gesture from left to right, from the front row to the back. After he’d gestured to the entire room, a flurry of hands suddenly shot up within seconds.

’It wasn’t that they were being uncooperative; Zhang Zhe had just thrown a lot of information at them, and they were still processing it!’

"You, in the second-to-last row. The guy in the floral shirt who looks a bit like Ah Nu. Go ahead."

"Ahem." The young man stood up and straightened his clothes first. "Before I start, I just want to say, I do not look like Ah Nu. My hair’s just flat because of how I slept on it last night."

"Regarding the points you just brought up, sir, I think the one that should carry the most weight is core values."

"If a couple’s core values are too different, they’ll never be happy together, even if they try to make it work."

"Next, I think, are their plans for the future. Marriage is a long-term commitment, so if their plans don’t align, they’ll also end up going their separate ways."

"And in last place would be the ’hard conditions’..."

"Mm-hmm." Zhang Zhe nodded after the student finished. "It seems you place a high value on the spiritual side of things."

"Does anyone have a different take?"

At this, half of the people who had raised their hands put them down. Of those who kept their hands up, well over half were female.

Zhang Zhe picked one at random.

"I think the ’hard conditions’ are without a doubt the most important."

The young woman stood up and spoke with resounding conviction:

"If two people come from similar family backgrounds and have received similar educations, then their core values, future plans, and many other similar aspects won’t be that different."

"And even if there are differences, they can likely be overcome."

"Conversely, the ’hard conditions’ are the most difficult things to change. Especially your family of origin—that’s something you can’t change your entire life."

"Take me, for example. My parents are both university professors. I’ll most likely marry a man whose parents are also intellectuals. Even if one of us loves music and the other loves literature, our good upbringing and education will ensure we respect each other and treat one another with courtesy."

"But let’s say I married a man from a rural family, whose mother-in-law only has an elementary school education. She might secretly sell my collection of rare, out-of-print books as scrap paper."

"In a situation like that, it doesn’t matter how well your core values align... it just won’t work."

When the young woman finished, Zhang Zhe gave a barely perceptible nod. "Your initial points were well-made, but you shouldn’t have slipped your personal biases in at the end."

"This student has realized a key point: marriage isn’t just about two people. The families behind both partners get involved, too."

"So, the path of least resistance is to find someone from a similar background."

"Alright, our time is about up, so I won’t call on a third student to share their thoughts. If you’re interested, you can all continue this discussion amongst yourselves later."

"What I can tell you is this: in the matchmaking industry, those three points I mentioned are considered one by one, in the exact order I presented them."

"’Hard conditions’ come first. Core values and other ’spiritual’ aspects come last."

"Why? Because I’m a Matchmaker. When we arrange matches, we can only guarantee a baseline."

"Are core values important? Of course they are. But those things can be faked, and it’s very hard to see through the act. We can’t guarantee something we can’t even verify."

Zhang Zhe spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

’He was telling the truth. Even he could only barely guarantee a baseline for that third point when he used the various items provided by his ’system’.’

He had clearly explained the difference between dating and arranged matchmaking.

Seizing the moment, Zhang Zhe moved on to the main theme of his lecture:

"Some of you might be asking, ’Hey, Professor, you’ve been talking this whole time, but I don’t feel like any of this is actually helpful to me.’"

"’In the end, don’t we still have to go to Matchmakers like you to guarantee that baseline? Are you just here drumming up business?’"

"Not at all," Zhang Zhe said, unable to hold back a chuckle. "I’m not hurting for the piddling amount of business you could give me."

"Besides earning my speaker’s fee, I came here for another reason. It’s because I believe that the third point I mentioned—the one about core values—is something that Matchmakers have a very hard time discerning."

"But here at school, isn’t it much easier for all of you to figure that out?"

"After all, from what I can see, most of you wear your hearts on your sleeves. You might be able to put on an act for a little while, but can you really keep it up for four whole years of college?"

"So maybe... this scoring system for marriage is something you can use, too?"

"Alright, that’s all I have to say. Thank you."

Zhang Zhe’s speech came to an abrupt end.

’He did this intentionally, of course. The goal was to give everyone some space to think.’

’If you applied these three criteria—things usually reserved for evaluating a marriage partner—to your relationships in college, it might seem a bit calculating. But for your future marriage, it would be purely beneficial, with no downsides whatsoever.’

’Even if you were initially driven by hormones and didn’t think about it so pragmatically, when you face a major life decision—like grad school entrance exams, direct admission to a master’s program, finding a job, or entering public service—and it conflicts with your relationship, evaluating the relationship through the lens of marriage would surely be of great benefit.’

’After he finished, Zhang Zhe didn’t wait for applause and started heading backstage. That’s how the really great speeches always went, right? The star of the show leaves the stage, and only then does the belated, thunderous applause erupt, some people even rising to their feet for a standing ovation.’

’But Zhang Zhe seemed to have forgotten that he hadn’t just come to give a speech. Someone was hoping he’d do something else, too.’

So, just as he was about to turn away, a young woman in the audience suddenly stood up.

"Professor, please wait."

"I’d like to ask you a question."

Zhang Zhe turned back, a puzzled look on his face. The other students in the audience also looked on curiously at the young woman who had stood up.

"What’s your question? I was just about to wrap things up."

"Professor, there are still twenty minutes left before the event ends." The young woman gave a subtle smile, then said in a clear voice, "I’m a senior, and I’m about to graduate. I’ve never been in a relationship, and I was hoping I could get a consultation from you about my marriage prospects. Would that be possible?"