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Chapter 253 Typical Symptoms

Zhang Zhe was disappointed that the girl did not appear in the live stream.

This is practically a perfect example of PUA (Pick-Up Artist) tactics.

Imagine the man's daily life:

He worked diligently like an ox at work, but after get off work, he discovered that the money he earned was actually thanks to his girlfriend.

That was truly a devastating blow.

Did the man not contribute anything? Not necessarily. At least for now, he has largely satisfied the woman's desire for control.

He provided all the emotional value.

It's just that girls don't always ask for emotional support in the same way, so it's not as obvious.

“As you said, without you, your boyfriend would be living a miserable life right now,” Zhang Zhexian continued, following the woman’s words. “Then why did he bring up breaking up?”

"Didn't you say he knows how important you are to him?"

"Is he tired of living?"

“I find it strange too.” The woman frowned, her face full of wrinkles: “In my opinion, he sometimes has difficulty taking care of himself.”

“His quality of life will definitely plummet if he leaves me.”

"But I'm different. I'm never short of suitors."

"?"

Zhang Zhe's expression instantly became very confused.

A girl who has no shortage of suitors, whose boyfriend broke up with her, shouldn't she move on to someone better?

Why does he seem to want to win her back while also seeking revenge? He acts like he's deeply in love.

Is it because they're comfortable with the current one and don't want to change people?

That can't be that weird, can it?

Zhang Zhe looked at the girl's face. She had an average appearance, scoring 3 out of 10, and her figure didn't show anything special. She wore thin-rimmed glasses, which created a subtle contrast.

If a girl like this is more outgoing, she will definitely have suitors.

But the problem is, she and her boyfriend have been together for four years, so are there still so many people trying to steal her away?
"Who are these people pursuing you?" Zhang Zhe asked疑惑地问道, "Friends you know from outside, or your colleagues? Classmates?"

"Many of them are my colleagues, some were introduced by colleagues, and they are no worse than my boyfriend..."

"Wait a minute!" Zhang Zhe interrupted the other person.

This woman let slip what she meant by "introduced by a colleague"?
What kind of colleague would introduce potential partners to a girl who already has a boyfriend?

That's a colleague, not a member of the XX hobby group. Normally, no one in the company would do something so outrageous in public.

Therefore, there is only one explanation:
"You've been with your boyfriend for four years, and your colleagues are still introducing you to other people? Have you never publicly acknowledged your relationship?"

The girl paused for a moment.

Under Zhang Zhe's intense gaze, he finally admitted, "Yes, I didn't make it public."

So your colleagues all assume you're single?

"Yes."

"I can't announce it before we're sure we're getting married." The girl has her own theory: "Brother Zhang, you should know that publicly announcing a relationship on social media can affect your career."

“Especially since I’m a woman, once I’ve made my boyfriend public, my boss will start to consider my marriage and having children. Many opportunities that would have been given to me might have been given to others.”

“…” Zhang Zhe smiled.

People really laugh when they are speechless.

A girl has been out of college for less than four years. Which boss would target her just because she has a boyfriend? Are you paranoid?

He heard Xia Yi beside him take a deep breath, clearly also trying to compose herself.

Noticing the expressions on the two people's faces, the girl added another explanation:
"I have to make it clear that I'm not looking for a better option while still using a less desirable one."

“Every guy who expresses interest in me, or who explicitly pursues me, I tell my boyfriend about the situation.”

"Moreover, I did this not to highlight how outstanding I am, but to make him understand why no one has pursued him all these years?"

"Why is it that over the years, I still have people pursuing me every now and then?"

"Why do his colleagues and even his boss think that he's amazing for finding a girlfriend like me?"

"Phew—" Zhang Zhe let out a long sigh of relief. "Just listening to you talk makes me feel so much pressure being with you." "How did your boyfriend manage to keep going?"

"He also said he was under a lot of pressure." The girl nodded. "But I think, shouldn't guys be more motivated when they're under more pressure?"

"..."

"Would you mind telling me why you and your boyfriend broke up?"

“He felt he couldn’t meet my expectations and wasn’t willing to work hard, so he wanted to escape.” The girl frowned, showing a somewhat disgusted expression: “I didn’t expect that in four years, he hadn’t made any progress at all.”

"Brother Zhang, to be honest, with my qualifications, I can easily find someone better than him."

“My boyfriend himself admits this.”

"But I've never done it..."

"Because you think he has potential, you think that as long as he works hard according to your requirements, you can live a better life together, right?" Zhang Zhe finished the girl's sentence.

The other person nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Brother Zhang, what you said is exactly what I was thinking."

"How did you guess that?"

"Is there even a need to guess?" Zhang Zhe chuckled dismissively. "This kind of PUA rhetoric was already being used five years ago."

"I didn't manipulate him..."

The girl reacted quickly and tried to explain.

But what she says is not important.

Zhang Zhe looked at Xia Yi: "Little assistant, what do you think?"

"I think we should let that boy go," Xia Yi said with some sympathy. "It's been four years, and he still has the courage to break free from this deep-seated PUA. That's already quite remarkable."

“Just as I thought.” Zhang Zhe nodded.

He explained PUA very clearly in the live stream, but this was the first time he had ever seen such an exaggerated PUA case.

This girl's boyfriend has an incredibly high tolerance for stress.

He foolishly went public with his relationship, only to find out his girlfriend never officially confirmed it.

Moreover, every now and then he also has to face pressure from comparisons with other men who are pursuing his girlfriend.

“Brother Zhang, I really didn’t use PUA on him.”

"I did it for his own good."

The girl was still explaining, but her words were the same old thing, without any originality.

Zhang Zhe listened silently, then asked her in return:
Do you know about NPD?

"I know, narcissistic personality disorder."

Do you think you are?

“I’m not.” The girl shook her head. “I’m definitely not NPD.”

“No, you definitely are.” Zhang Zhe said seriously, “I’m a professional, and I can tell you very clearly that what you’re exhibiting right now is NPD.”

“NPD has a habit of constantly belittling those around them, taking credit for others’ achievements, being addicted to self-aggrandizement, and excessively exaggerating their own excellence…”

"If you could easily find someone better than your current boyfriend, you wouldn't even be struggling with whether or not to break up."

“But I’ve dedicated four whole years to him!” the girl emphasized. “In those four years, I helped him grow from a student to the outstanding employee he is today…”

Zhang Zhe didn't answer directly, but instead looked at the NPD characteristics on his phone and explained her behavior directly:
“NPD will exaggerate their own efforts and claim the success of those around them as their own…”

"But without me, my boyfriend would never be like this now!" the girl exclaimed.

Zhang Zhe continued calmly, "NPD often says things like, 'If it weren't for my help, you wouldn't have made it at all,' or 'Thanks to the connections I have,' which makes people feel suffocated and gradually lose their sense of self-worth..."

"Brother Zhang, we can't communicate like this."

The girl couldn't hold back any longer and stood up abruptly.

“I initially thought you were very objective, but you keep calling me a PUA and then an NPD, which I find very unprofessional.”

“It’s alright, you can think of it that way.” Zhang Zhe stood up and said with a smile, “I’ll say it again.”

"If you want to prove you're not narcissistic, then break up with your boyfriend and find someone better than him to prove what you're saying is true!"

"You can't...find it, can you?"

(End of this chapter)