Chapter 276 - 274: An Opportunity to Poach?

Chapter 276: Chapter 274: An Opportunity to Poach?

"Could it be an issue with his... personal performance?"

Zhang Zhe didn’t spell it out. He just made a slightly limp-wristed gesture and asked suggestively,

"Have you noticed him making any little gestures like this?"

"No, no." The wealthy woman shook her head frantically. "You’re actually quite charming when you do that, Teacher Zhang. If you were a bottom, you’d definitely have a lot of men chasing you."

"..."

"Just kidding, haha. But I can guarantee you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with my friend’s sexual orientation," the wealthy woman insisted.

She said she has a gay best friend who already vetted the guy and confirmed he isn’t gay. Otherwise, she would have introduced them long ago.

’That’s strange...’ Zhang Zhe murmured. ’Is he a romance scammer? Or just a manufactured "successful" persona? Both seem possible.’

"I can’t figure it out either." The wealthy woman sighed. She told Zhang Zhe, "On my previous dates, it was usually the guy sending some really cringey messages, and then I’d just block them."

"So when I met someone different like him, I really cherished it. But now I just can’t figure out what his deal is..."

"I understand. That’s a normal mindset to have when you’re dating. There’s nothing wrong with it." Zhang Zhe nodded encouragingly. "It really is hard to meet a normal person through matchmaking these days. You should definitely cherish it when you do."

"How about this: do you have the profile information he used for the blind date? If so, can I take a look?"

"Yes, yes, I do." The woman agreed quickly. She had come prepared, having taken a photo of the man’s profile at the agency.

Taking the phone and seeing the man’s profile, Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but chuckle.

’Isn’t this a form from the Zhuyin Marriage Agency?’

Zhang Zhe quickly asked the wealthy woman which Matchmaker had handled her case. After confirming it wasn’t one of his rivals, his attitude toward the profile became much more serious.

Since he wasn’t introduced by a Matchmaker from Teacher Zhou’s faction, the man’s profile had a certain degree of credibility.

The Zhuyin Marriage Agency did have some standards, after all.

Zhang Zhe had seen enough profiles from marriage agencies to have a pretty good idea of how things worked.

’If there’s something wrong with this guy, there must be a clue hidden in his personal profile somewhere...’

"This guy started working before he even finished high school. Did he tell you what he did for work at the very beginning?"

"He told me he started out in the family business," the wealthy woman recalled. "His family is very open-minded. They figured if their son wasn’t learning anything in school, he might as well enter the workforce early and learn how to be a person."

"I don’t think that was a good thing, though. He’s clearly a bit lacking in the intellectual department, but for the sake of that handsome face, I decided I didn’t care."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhe glanced up at the infatuated rich woman.

He didn’t see the dazed, drooling expression he’d imagined. The woman actually looked like a normal person at that moment.

’How much of what she’s saying is actually true... only she knows.’

"Does he know you’re from an A9 family?" Zhang Zhe continued to ask. "If he knew you were rich beforehand, he might be playing the long game to catch a big fish."

"No, I listed myself as coming from a normal A8 family at the agency."

"I’m not trying to deceive anyone," the wealthy woman explained. "My personal assets are only at the A8 level. It’s only when you include my family’s that it reaches A9, though all of it will eventually be mine anyway."

"In any case, he’s definitely not after my money."

"He’s known me for several months and hasn’t spent a single penny of my money. Whenever I give him a gift, he gives one back that’s double the price."

"What’s the most expensive gift you’ve given him?"

"A tri-fold phone," the wealthy woman answered. "But he immediately gave me an LV bag in return. It’s not top-of-the-line or anything, but it was definitely several times more expensive than my phone."

"Now that’s a little strange." Zhang Zhe frowned unconsciously as he looked at the man’s profile.

It made sense for the wealthy woman to give him a phone. To her, that little bit of money was no different than a normal person buying their partner a piece of candy.

But the man was being a bit *too* generous.

A man in his early thirties, in the foreign trade business, with an annual income of around 400,000, who’s currently dating with the intention of getting married... spending tens of thousands a month on rent is one thing, but giving a blind date a gift worth tens of thousands at the drop of a hat?

To a poor person like Zhang Zhe, this kind of spending habit seemed very wrong.

It would be one thing if he was genuinely in love with this wealthy woman. But they’d known each other for months without advancing the relationship, and he was even deliberately avoiding physical intimacy. He was still giving her gifts worth tens of thousands under these circumstances?

Normally, only a rich second-generation heir from an A9 family would act like this. Why was a middle-aged man from an A8-level family who was still a working stiff trying to play in that league?

Zhang Zhe’s head snapped up. He looked at the woman. "I have a wild idea. What if... what if this man’s main source of income isn’t his own job?"

"What do you mean?" The wealthy woman didn’t understand. "Is he a thief?"

"Something like that."

"Think about it. A man who’s top-tier in height, looks, and income, and on top of that, isn’t lecherous. You could even call him a ’good man,’ right?"

"So why would he need to go on blind dates?"

"Is there a problem with that?" the wealthy woman retorted. "Going on blind dates isn’t an issue, is it? Maybe people like us just don’t have many opportunities to meet the opposite sex in our daily lives."

Hearing the defensive, slightly sour tone in her voice, Zhang Zhe knew she was taking it personally.

She thought Zhang Zhe was implying, ’Who that’s a decent person goes on blind dates?’ and had a knee-jerk reaction.

"Look, sis, you’ve hit on exactly what I was trying to say."

"Why go on blind dates? There must be a specific reason why he doesn’t have the chance for deep connections with the opposite sex in his work or personal life."

"Normally, a guy as handsome as him would have plenty of women throwing themselves at him. It wouldn’t even be surprising if people asked for his WeChat on the street, right?"

"Not surprising at all," the wealthy woman said confidently. "If I saw him on the street, I’d ask for his WeChat too."

"So what’s the reason he isn’t enjoying the ’getting asked for his WeChat’ treatment?"

"Because he doesn’t usually walk anywhere?"

"Smart!" Zhang Zhe gave her a thumbs-up. "Or maybe, when he *does* walk, there’s someone with him. Like his female boss, for example..."

"Huh?" The wealthy woman looked shocked. She shot up from her seat instinctively, nearly ripping her qipao.

She quickly sat back down, clutching the fabric on her right thigh. Seeing that Zhang Zhe’s eyes hadn’t strayed, she quickly got back on topic.

"Teacher Zhang, are you saying... he’s a kept man?"

"That’s what it looks like right now. And there’s a high probability it’s his boss at his company," Zhang Zhe analyzed. "That LV bag? He was probably regifting it. He might have just grabbed it from the other woman’s house."

"Oh, my god." The wealthy woman felt her scalp tingle. "Now that you put it that way, it’s starting to make sense."

"The bag he gave me wasn’t the latest model, it’s true, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. After all, we’re not in a first-tier city, so new arrivals are slower here."

"If the stuff was actually bought by the rich woman backing him, then it all makes sense! It means his taste isn’t that bad after all. I misunderstood him."

"?" Zhang Zhe blinked, feeling as if he were listening to an alien.

’This woman’s train of thought is completely off the rails!’

"Teacher Zhang, how sure are you about this? If he really is a kept man, do you think I have a chance to poach him?"