Ideal Partner
Lao Li stared at the number on the screen, his brows furrowed like a twisted rope.
"9."
The latest version of DeepSeek, claiming to calculate the number of ideal partners for each person worldwide through big data analysis and deep learning. Lao Li's number was 9, which meant that among the more than 7 billion people in the world, there were only 9 soulmates who perfectly matched him.
"Is this thing accurate?" Lao Li muttered, lighting a cigarette. He is 45 years old, divorced, and has a daughter in high school. He hasn't looked for a partner since his wife divorced him three years ago. It's not that he doesn't want to, it's just that he finds it troublesome, blind dates, getting to know each other, running in, just thinking about it gives him a headache.
The emergence of DeepSeek was like a beam of light shining into Lao Li's gloomy life. If he could really find one of those 9 people, wouldn't it save him all the trouble?
Lao Li began to frantically search for information about DeepSeek on the Internet. He discovered that this software had sparked a global "love-seeking frenzy." People were showing off their numbers, some hundreds, some thousands, and those with single digits like Lao Li were rare.
The "Single Digit Club" was born, and the members mocked themselves as "endangered species", encouraged each other, and shared their experiences of finding ideal partners. Lao Li also joined. He met a woman named "Xiao Ya" in the group. Her number was 3.
Xiao Ya is 10 years younger than Lao Li and is a programmer at an Internet company. She has a cheerful personality and speaks humorously, and she gets along well with Lao Li. The two exchanged photos. Lao Li thought Xiao Ya was quite beautiful, and Xiao Ya also thought Lao Li was mature and stable, very charming.
"Why don't we meet?" Lao Li asked tentatively.
"Okay!" Xiao Ya readily agreed.
The meeting place was set at a coffee shop. Lao Li arrived half an hour early. He nervously straightened his clothes, his heart pounding.
Xiao Ya appeared on time. She was wearing a white dress, with long hair draped over her shoulders, and a sweet smile. Lao Li felt that she was even more beautiful than in the photo.
The two chatted happily, from work to life, from hobbies to life ideals. Lao Li felt that he seemed to have found a long-lost soul resonance.
"You are really my ideal partner," Lao Li said affectionately.
Xiao Ya's smile froze.
"What's wrong?" Lao Li's heart sank.
"Actually..." Xiao Ya hesitated for a moment and said, "I... I have a boyfriend."
Lao Li was stunned.
"Then why did you meet me?"
"I..." Xiao Ya lowered her head, "I just wanted to see what the ideal partner DeepSeek matched me with was like."
Lao Li's heart felt like it was being squeezed hard by an invisible hand.
"So... how do you feel?" he asked with a wry smile.
"You're very good," Xiao Ya said, "but..."
"But what?"
"But, my boyfriend, his number is 1."
Lao Li was silent. He suddenly felt like a clown, being fooled by a number.
He silently got up and left the coffee shop. Walking on the way home, Lao Li looked up at the sky. The night sky was full of stars, but he felt like he had been abandoned by the entire universe.
Back home, Lao Li turned on the computer and uninstalled DeepSeek. He suddenly remembered what his daughter had said to him: "Dad, how can you rely on software to find a partner? You have to feel it with your heart."
Lao Li smiled, a little bitterly, but also a little relieved. He took out his mobile phone and sent a WeChat message to his daughter: "Honey, what do you want to eat tomorrow? Dad will cook for you."
The next day, Lao Li got up early and went to the market to buy his daughter's favorite dishes. He was busy in the kitchen, and the sunlight shone through the window, spilling on him, warm.
He suddenly felt that this was also very good. At least, he still had his daughter, and he still had his life. As for those so-called "ideal partners," let them go with the wind.
As for DeepSeek?
That was just an absurd game about numbers. If you take it seriously, you lose.