Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 591: It's Not What You Think

Zhou Yuwen fell silent for a moment.Looking at the girl crying through tear-filled eyes, he truly did not know what to say.

Finally, cupping Jiang Xinyi's cheek, he let out a sigh and asked, "Why do this to yourself, Xinyi? You actually have better future prospects."

Jiang Xinyi's eyes were already red from crying. She reached up to cover the hand cradling her face and said, "I don't want any better future prospects. All I know is that I can't leave you."

Truthfully, she did not want to be this submissive either. She had wanted to keep fighting with him.

But the moment Zhou Yuwen turned away earlier, her entire heart had plunged into panic. They had been having a conflict for nearly a year now, and she did not even know how she had survived it.

She had spent countless days and nights washing her face with tears.

On endless nights, she had fantasized about exactly what she would do.

She had wanted to make Zhou Yuwen look at her with new eyes, making him come back crying and begging for her forgiveness.

Yet no matter how many methods she tried, he remained completely unbothered, acting as if nothing concerned him at all.

In the end, she was the only one truly suffering.

Jiang Xinyi really did not want to continue like this anymore.

If he had other women, then he had other women.

As long as he held a place for her in his heart, she could accept it, no matter what.

With that thought in mind, she hugged Zhou Yuwen's waist tightly.

Zhou Yuwen stood in silence for a long time, but ultimately said nothing more and bent down to embrace her.

It started with the two of them kissing, and ended with Jiang Xinyi falling back onto the large bed.

Zhou Yuwen naturally pressed down over her.

While they were kissing, his hands slipped up smoothly beneath the shirt hem of her base shirt.

A corner of the base shirt was lifted, revealing a stretch of snow-white skin along her slender waist.

"Mmh."

It had been a long time since Jiang Xinyi had been intimate with Zhou Yuwen, and she felt a ticklish sensation the moment his hands touched her.

Her small face flushed crimson. Closing her eyes, she surrendered herself completely to whatever he wanted to do.

They continued kissing for a while before Zhou Yuwen helped slide off her jeans.

Jiang Xinyi cooperated eagerly.

Her long legs lifted high.

Everything was simple and natural. Though they had not been intimate in a long time, they still had past experience together. The prelude flowed smoothly, and soon enough, their clothes were shed without a shred of regret.

They devoted themselves entirely to one another, consumed by passion.

Throughout the process, Zhou Yuwen gently stroked Jiang Xinyi's head.

He even brushed aside the stray hairs clinging to her forehead.

Meanwhile, the blush on Jiang Xinyi's face never faded as she lightly bit her lower lip.

In the end, their hands locked tightly together.

Her snow-white feet rested firmly against Zhou Yuwen's shoulders.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Out in the corridor, You Changjin found a corner to crouch down in, staring at the tightly shut door. It wasn't that he specifically wanted to wait there; he was just conflicted.

Conflicted over whether he should knock on the door and explain everything clearly to Jiang Xinyi.

He wanted to tell her that there was truly nothing going on between him and Liu Yue.

Yet he could not muster up the courage.

So, he could only stay crouched in front of the door, endlessly agonizing over it.

And while he agonized outside, Jiang Xinyi and Zhou Yuwen went through the motions once, twice, three times, before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, just as the sun rose.

It was past eight in the morning, but Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi had yet to wake up.

After all, they had been busy all night. Both still carried the lingering traces of their passion. Zhou Yuwen had his face buried against Jiang Xinyi's chest, sleeping soundly.

Jiang Xinyi was also enjoying a rare, sweet slumber.

However, right at that moment, her phone suddenly began to ring. The volume grew louder with each trill, piercing through the quiet.

Dazed, Jiang Xinyi picked up the phone and glanced at it.

Seeing the caller ID flash her mother's name, she jolted completely awake.

'I'm doomed! I completely forgot to call Mom last night!'

Now, Liu Jing was calling her directly via video call.

'What do I do now?!'

Panic set in. The relentless ringing also woke Zhou Yuwen, who dazedly asked her what she was doing.

"Why aren't you answering the phone?"

"It's my Mom..."

Jiang Xinyi showed Zhou Yuwen her phone, looking entirely out of her depth.

Zhou Yuwen muttered an, "Oh."

"Then answer it."

"It's a video call..."

She gestured for him to look at the state they were both in. Only then did Zhou Yuwen fully snap out of his grogginess, realizing it probably wasn't the most appropriate time to take a call.

"Then just hang up, won't you?"

"No, I can't do that."

Jiang Xinyi shook her head frantically. She explained that she made a video call with Liu Jing every single night. Since she had missed last night's call, if she refused to turn on her camera today, Liu Jing would definitely get suspicious.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Panic was written all over her face.

Zhou Yuwen, on the other hand, appeared entirely calm. He said it probably wouldn't be a big deal.

"It's not like the two of us are doing anything shameful. Why don't you just answer it?"

By now, quite some time had passed. Liu Jing's video call timed out and disconnected, but barely two seconds later, it started ringing again.

Jiang Xinyi scratched her long hair, feeling a massive headache coming on.

Zhou Yuwen watched her agonize over the situation.

He suggested, "Why don't you just try answering?"

Jiang Xinyi replied, "I can't."

"If my mom sees me like this, I'll never be able to show my face again."

Saying so, she hesitated for a long moment before asking, "What if I go into the restroom to answer it?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that it was up to her.

Feeling like it was her only desperate option, she gritted her teeth, quickly threw on some clothes, and dashed into the restroom.

Zhou Yuwen truly felt that it didn't matter either way.

He watched as she haphazardly pulled on a white shirt—one that seemed to belong to him. With the oversized shirt draped over her and her long legs fully exposed, she actually looked quite stunning.

It was a pity he didn't get a better look before she scurried into the restroom.

By now, five minutes had already slipped by.

Liu Jing had relentlessly called five or six times in a row.

Fortunately, on the sixth attempt, Jiang Xinyi finally connected the call.

Feigning sleepiness, she mumbled, "Hello? Mom, what's going on? It's so early."

Frowning, Liu Jing immediately demanded, "Why are you only picking up now?"

Before Jiang Xinyi could even form a response.

Liu Jing followed up with a suspicious question, "Where are you?"

"Oh, I came by the school last night, and since it got too late, I didn't go back. I just stayed at a nearby hotel for the night."

She lied smoothly.

Hearing this, Liu Jing sensed something was off. Studying her daughter's guilty expression, she pressed, "Are you there alone?"

"Of course, who else would be here?"

Liu Jing obviously did not believe her. She couldn't shake the feeling that her daughter was acting strange.

Eager to gloss over the issue, Jiang Xinyi hurried to say, "Ah, I'm using the restroom. I'll talk to you later."

"Hold on a minute."

Just as she was about to hang up, Liu Jing quickly stopped her.

Liu Jing asked, "Are you done using the restroom?"

"Why?"

"When you're done, take the camera outside and give me a tour."

"Mom, I'm almost twenty-seven years old! Why are you acting like a warden doing room inspections?" Jiang Xinyi huffed indignantly.

But Liu Jing remained dead serious. "Don't play games with me. Are you checking into a hotel with someone?"

"Are you in the university town right now? Tell me you haven't given in to degeneracy and gone running back to that brat surnamed You!"

Liu Jing had immediately leaped to the most unacceptable conclusion.

"Mom, what are you talking about?!"

Hearing that, Jiang Xinyi immediately grew anxious.

No matter how far she might fall into degeneracy, there was absolutely no way she would ever go checking into a hotel with You Changjin.

However, once that thought took root in Liu Jing's mind, she began to panic.

"No, something's not right," she insisted.

"You are definitely hiding something from me. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken you this long to answer the phone. Get up right now and walk me around the room!"

Jiang Xinyi pushed back, "There is absolutely no universe where I would be checking into a hotel with You Changjin."

"We decided to break up ages ago!"

"Just show me around the room first."

Liu Jing was stubbornly unrelenting. She said, "Xinyi, let me tell you, don't you dare mess around. The Jiang Family Estate maintains very strict values. Since you have already been intimate with Yuwen, you need to focus on developing your relationship with him and see if there is any chance to salvage things. Even if there isn't, you absolutely cannot surrender to degeneracy by going back to that guy surnamed You."

"You are already Yuwen's woman. If you sleep with anyone else, he will never want you again, do you understand?"

Fearful that her daughter did not grasp the severity of the situation, Liu Jing wanted to make it unequivocally clear.

Jiang Xinyi was so infuriated by her words that tears pricked at her eyes.

'Just what kind of person does Mom think I am?' she wondered.

'How could I ever be that sort of woman?'

Just as she was completely at a loss for how to explain things to her mother.

The restroom door suddenly swung open.

Jiang Xinyi jumped in fright.

Zhou Yuwen had not overheard their conversation. He simply felt that since he and Jiang Xinyi had already made things clear between them, they needed to confront whatever came their way.

He couldn't just leave her to bear the brunt of it all alone.

Therefore, before Jiang Xinyi could even react.

Zhou Yuwen took the phone and greeted Liu Jing, "Auntie, please don't give Xinyi a hard time. She was with me last night."

Liu Jing had been wearing a stern and solemn expression.

But the moment she saw Zhou Yuwen, she froze. A pleasant surprise quickly washed over her features as she exclaimed, "Yuwen, it's you? So the two of you were together last night?"

Nodding, Zhou Yuwen replied, "That's right, Auntie."

"Xinyi and I visited the school last night, and since it got too late, we just stayed somewhere nearby."

"Oh, oh! So Xinyi was really with you all night?"

Liu Jing nodded repeatedly, all traces of worry entirely wiped from her face. She looked deeply relieved as she said, "If she's with you, then Auntie can rest easy."

"Auntie was just telling her earlier that she needs to spend more time getting close to you."

Zhou Yuwen nodded, mentioning that he had heard a bit of that.

Seeing his easygoing demeanor, Liu Jing eagerly asked, "Does this mean the two of you have gotten back together?"

Zhou Yuwen nodded and confirmed it, adding, "Once I take some time, I'll come visit you, Auntie."

Liu Jing waved it off, "Why wait to take some time later?"

"Just come over with Xinyi right now. I'll have Auntie Chen make you both breakfast. Give the phone back to Xinyi, let me talk to her."

"Well..."

Jiang Xinyi knew her mother had always liked Zhou Yuwen, but she had never expected her to change her tune quite this fast.

Zhou Yuwen handed the phone back to her.

Feeling utterly helpless, Jiang Xinyi heard Liu Jing scold her angrily, "You wretched lass, if you were with Yuwen, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Jiang Xinyi was rendered speechless.

Liu Jing ordered her to bring Zhou Yuwen back to the estate for breakfast.

She simply stammered, unsure of what to say.

It wasn't until Liu Jing grew displeased and snapped, asking if she heard her.

That Jiang Xinyi reluctantly mumbled her agreement.

She then shot a glance at Zhou Yuwen.

He just shrugged, looking entirely indifferent.

Resigned, Jiang Xinyi said, "Alright, we'll pack up and head over."

"Mom, I'm hanging up now."

"Why are you hanging up?"

"Ugh, it's just really inconvenient! We're still on a video call, and we need to get dressed and brush our teeth," she couldn't help but complain to her mother.

Liu Jing brushed it off. "Then get dressed. It's not like I'm disturbing you."

Driven to her wits' end, Jiang Xinyi insisted, "I'm hanging up. I'm seriously hanging up."

Without waiting for permission, she terminated the call.

"Hey!"

Seeing that her daughter had actually dared to hang up on her, Liu Jing bristled slightly, muttering, "That damn lass."

Back in the hotel, an exhausted Jiang Xinyi collapsed into Zhou Yuwen's arms. Resting her head against his chest, she groaned, "I am truly speechless when it comes to my mom."

Zhou Yuwen chuckled and replied, "It's nothing, really. Knowing you're with me gives her peace of mind."

Puffing her cheeks in annoyance, she retorted, "The main issue is that, for some reason, I feel like my mom has become your total simp!"

Noticing her jealous demeanor, he smiled and asked, "Is that such a bad thing?"

"Of course it's a bad thing!"

She huffed in exasperation, before asking, "So what do we do now? Are we really going to my place for breakfast?"

Zhou Yuwen nodded, casually remarking that it didn't bother him.

For some inexplicable reason, hearing that he was willing to go to her home left her deeply moved.

Looking up at him, she voluntarily reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Placing a kiss squarely on his lips, she whispered, "Thank you."

Zhou Yuwen simply offered a faint smile. "Don't mention it."

With that, the two gathered their belongings, grabbed the room card, and prepared to check out.

Yet the moment they opened the door, they found You Changjin standing guard right outside.

His sudden appearance caught them both completely off guard.

"Teacher You?" Zhou Yuwen said, holding Jiang Xinyi's small hand and instinctively shielding her behind him as he gave the man a strange look.

You Changjin looked to be in rough shape. After spending a sleepless night outside, he hadn't changed clothes, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and he gave off a distinctly disheveled vibe.

When he saw the door open, he had rushed forward, only realizing how abrupt he was being when he saw their startled reactions.

He stared at Jiang Xinyi as she ducked behind Zhou Yuwen.

She refused to even look at him. After all, witnessing what had happened last night would destroy anyone's good impression of a person.

Catching the look in her eyes, he couldn't help but inwardly curse that it was over.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Teacher You, is there something you need?" Zhou Yuwen asked calmly.

"Yuwen..." Looking from Zhou Yuwen to Jiang Xinyi, You Changjin ultimately deflated like a punctured balloon. "No, it's nothing."

The moment the words left his mouth, regret set in. Finally, he blurted out, "Yuwen, actually, last night was because Liu Yue went through a bad breakup and went missing for an entire day and night. I came over to look for her. It's not what you think."