Chapter 277 - 275: The Injury Is Not Deep

Chapter 277: Chapter 275: The Injury Is Not Deep

"Jeez, you still want to continue with this?"

"Yeah."

"Why not?" the rich woman said with a serious expression. "He’s going on blind dates behind his patron’s back. That means he wants to get on the right path."

"They say admitting your mistakes and changing your ways is a great virtue. I think we should give him a chance."

"Teacher Zhang, what do you think?"

"I think... you have a point," Zhang Zhe said, nodding reluctantly.

’Actually, that handsome guy might not really want to get on the right path. If he did, he would’ve started saving money long ago, built up some capital, and escaped his patron’s control.’

’His situation is more like this: he wants to use his good looks to ’marry’ an honest girl in the last few years of his youth. As the saying goes, he’s trying to grab the tail end of his youth.’

’Maybe his sugar mommy patron isn’t in her prime anymore, or maybe she found a younger man in some sort of alternative male competition.’

’After all, plenty of male college students are looking to be kept these days. At over thirty, he doesn’t have much of an advantage anymore.’

’In short, he does intend to "come ashore," but he definitely hasn’t done it yet.’

"If you want to poach him, I’m afraid it won’t be easy." Zhang Zhe threw some cold water on her idea. "From what I can see, you’re just one of the fish he’s keeping on the line."

"He’s keeping *me* on the line?" The woman laughed in anger. "I’m the only daughter of an A9 family, and he’s just some kept man. *He’s* keeping *me* on the line?"

"You’re the only daughter of an A9 family, that’s true, but he could just go for an A9 herself," Zhang Zhe said with a smile. "Honestly, his ability to keep people on the line is no worse than yours."

"..." The rich woman thought for a moment, then nodded silently, admitting that Zhang Zhe had a point.

’Her biggest advantage over the other ’fish’ in his pond right now is her family’s wealth.’

’Given the guy’s level of professionalism, he’s probably already sensed she’s not just some run-of-the-mill A8.’

’That would explain why he’s keeping her on the line.’

’Otherwise, he would’ve blocked her long ago.’

"Teacher Zhang, how confident are you in this analysis?" the rich woman asked after some careful thought. "If you’re sure, I’ll go confront him directly."

"I’ll ask him who that old hag behind him is."

"If she’s not even on my level, I’ll just have him come with me."

"Well..." Zhang Zhe hesitated.

’If my prediction is wrong, I risk ruining my reputation.’

’At this moment, Zhang Zhe finally felt the difference between online and in-person consultations. He also understood why the old staff at the Zhuyin Marriage Agency would subconsciously add a disclaimer after everything they said.’

’They were probably spooked by low-probability events.’

’What if the handsome guy was just a normal guy here for a blind date? If the rich woman listened to Zhang Zhe, went to confront him, and ended up looking like a clown, wouldn’t she come back and cause trouble for his marriage agency?’

"If you let me meet him in person, I can increase my accuracy to 90%."

"No meeting," the rich woman shook her head. "He’s a very sensitive person. And you’re so handsome, it would be bad if he misunderstood our relationship."

"That’s true," Zhang Zhe nodded. ’This is the downside of being handsome—it’s too easy to be seen as a potential rival.’

"Then can you call him and ask him a few questions?"

Zhang Zhe took out a pen and paper.

"In a moment, I’ll write while you ask. Just ask a few random questions, and we can get the accuracy above 80%."

"That’s no problem."

"Teacher Zhang, are you free now? I can call and ask right away."

"Yes, go ahead and call him. I’ll start writing the questions now."

...

Two minutes later, the rich woman, who had been making small talk with the man on the phone, received a note from Zhang Zhe.

When she saw the question on it, her eyes widened as if she’d seen a ghost.

But Zhang Zhe was beside her, head down, writing. The SH-SH-SH sound of his pen on the paper was audible, and he seemed too busy to pay her any mind.

’Zhang Zhe really was busy. Not only was he thinking up questions, but he had also secretly used a dose of Stealing Love Powder on the rich woman.’

’He had to shell out for this one to go the high-end route.’

’By now, the rich woman’s senses were all drastically heightened. While on the phone, she should be able to accurately pick up on the slightest change in the man’s tone.’

’And the questions Zhang Zhe came up with were designed precisely to cause a change in the man’s emotions.’

Seeing that Zhang Zhe was ignoring her, the rich woman had no choice but to read from the note:

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. My cat can do a backflip. Do you want to come over tonight and see?"

"Why aren’t you saying anything? You don’t believe me? You know I wouldn’t lie to you."

As the rich woman spoke, she suddenly hit the mute button and tapped Zhang Zhe.

"Teacher Zhang, listen, listen! I think I can hear a woman humming on his end."

"It’s fine, you just listen." Zhang Zhe shook his head with a smile.

’He hadn’t used the powder on himself, so he couldn’t be sure he’d hear it clearly. No point in wasting his time.’

"Okay, I’ll keep going then."

"Quick, think of a way to help me test him."

"OK, right away." Zhang Zhe’s expression showed he understood, and he immediately passed her a second piece of paper.

The rich woman didn’t think, just read it aloud.

By the time she was halfway through and realized something was off, it was too awkward to stop, so she had to finish it in one go:

"You keep rejecting me like this. What are you afraid of, that I’m going to eat you alive?"

"Or is it because you’re covered in traces of another woman and you’re afraid I’ll find out? Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you."

After she finished reading, the rich woman was about to give Zhang Zhe a piece of her mind. She felt this Matchmaker was trying to sabotage her.

But the sounds coming from the phone made her freeze, as if someone had hit a pause button.

"I didn’t mean anything by it."

"If that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do."

"Fine, fine, fine. If you think it’s my fault, then it’s my fault..."

A moment later, she put down her phone with a pained expression. Zhang Zhe had just finished writing the third question, but the call ended before she even had a chance to look at it.

"Teacher Zhang, do you know what I just heard?"

"You don’t have to tell me. It’s better if you just keep things like this to yourself." Zhang Zhe shook his head. He wasn’t curious. He was just disappointed that he hadn’t gotten to use all the questions he had so carefully designed.

’He had originally planned to have her say that her A8 status was fake, that she was actually from just a regular A7 family, to test the man’s reaction.’

’To see if he’d feign surprise or be genuinely surprised.’

"Why don’t you want to know?" the rich woman asked with a frown. "You already know, don’t you?"

"Teacher Zhang, your expression has already given you away."

"..." Zhang Zhe nodded helplessly. "I do have a rough idea, yes."

’Right now, the rich woman’s hyper-sensitive perception was still active, so she easily caught Zhang Zhe’s micro-expressions.’

’His acting wasn’t convincing, so he might as well just tell the truth:’

"Did you hear another woman call him something? Was it ’hubby’ or ’darling’?"

"A woman called him ’hubby.’ It was from far away, probably from the balcony," the rich woman nodded. "Her voice sounds a little familiar. I think I’ve heard it before when I called him. He said it was the boss’s wife, the one who handles the company’s finances."

"He was deliberately trying to pick a fight with me just now. It was obviously to change the subject and get me emotional, so I wouldn’t hear anything else..."

"Then it all adds up," Zhang Zhe nodded. "Anyway, that’s the situation. The rest is up to you."

"Mm."

"Teacher Zhang, do you have a room here? I’d like to be alone for a bit to clear my head."

"Yes, yes, we do." Zhang Zhe was just wondering how to get the rich woman through the period where the Stealing Love Powder was active without any lasting side effects.

’And now she wants to be alone? That’s perfect.’

"You seem happy, Teacher Zhang? I said I need to be alone for a bit. What’s there for you to be happy about?"

"I’m happy because I charge by the hour. The longer you stay, the more money I make."

"Here, this way, please."

Under the rich woman’s suspicious gaze, Zhang Zhe steeled himself and led her to a small reception room. He then quickly went out and grabbed Old Bai, who was smoking, telling him not to go in for now.

"Figured it out?" Old Bai tossed his cigarette butt and asked with a grin. "How’d it go? Who was the one with the problem?"

"The guy hasn’t ’come ashore’ yet," Zhang Zhe explained simply, and Old Bai understood everything.

"Holy shit, for real? 666, I’ve learned something new today."

"So, let’s go? We can talk to her about the fee. Time to get you paid."

"Not so fast. Ms. Li needs to cool down right now," Zhang Zhe said, holding Old Bai back. "We need to give her some time, at least ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Old Bai smiled and nodded. "She bounces back pretty quick, then. Looks like she wasn’t hurt too badly."