#176 Mistress Deterrence Specialist 小三劝退师

Hello everyone! Welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!

Recently, I came across a new profession in the news: the “Mistress Deterrence Specialist.” In Chinese, the term “小三” (xiǎosān) refers to a “third party,” which means someone involved in an affair. For example, if two people are married, but the husband has a boyfriend or girlfriend outside the marriage, that person is the third party, often called “小三” (xiǎosān). “劝退” (quàntuì) means to persuade someone not to do something. So, what does a “Mistress Deterrence Specialist” do? Of course, they persuade mistresses not to continue being mistresses. But why does such a job exist? What does the work of a “Mistress Deterrence Specialist” involve? Today, let’s have a chat about it!

Actually, “Mistress Deterrence Specialist” isn’t the real name of this profession. These people are actually psychological counsellors. In China, there is a psychological counsellor named Wang Zhenxi, who might be one of the earliest “Mistress Deterrence Specialists.” Many years ago, a young woman sought out Wang Zhenxi. This woman said that she had met a man, and after being with him for some time, discovered that he was actually married. She was very upset to find herself in the role of a mistress, but she also didn’t want to break up with the man, which caused her great distress. Wang Zhenxi provided her with psychological counselling for a long time and even took her on blind dates. Eventually, the woman decided to break up with the man and found a new boyfriend.

Wang Zhenxi explained that many people become a third party in someone else’s relationship because they have many issues of their own. For example, perhaps their parents treated them poorly when they were young, making them very unhappy. Or maybe they don’t know what kind of person they really like. Wang Zhenxi has helped many people resolve their psychological issues. Once these issues are resolved, they no longer want to be mistresses. Wang Zhenxi has also encountered many couples with relationship problems. “Couple” refers to a husband and wife. These couples are either constantly arguing or giving each other the cold shoulder. After a while, many husbands end up seeking out a mistress. Wang Zhenxi has also helped many of these couples with relationship problems by resolving their psychological issues. Wang Zhenxi often says that the mistress is not the cause of the couple’s relationship problems but the result. Once these couples’ issues are resolved, the mistress disappears.

Some people believe this profession is very meaningful because it helps many couples with relationship problems. However, others think this profession is useless because if a husband or wife has found a mistress, they should definitely get divorced and not stay together.

Alright, let’s review the vocabulary and expressions we learned today:

• “小三” (xiǎosān) refers to the third party in a relationship, also known as an affair. For example, she divorced her husband last month because he had a mistress.

• “劝退” (quàntuì) means to persuade someone not to do something. For example, I was planning to travel to China this month, but my friend said it’s particularly hot in China during the summer, which persuaded me not to go. I think I’ll wait until autumn.

• “心理咨询师” (xīnlǐ zīxún shī) is a profession that involves providing psychological counselling to help people resolve their psychological issues.

What do you think about the profession of a “Mistress Deterrence Specialist”? Do you think it’s a meaningful job? Feel free to leave us a comment and share your thoughts!