Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 452: A Son's Joy

Zhou Yuwen ultimately followed Zhou Guobin into the study room. Jiang Xinyi had wanted to stop Zhou Yuwen for a moment, but he held her back. Facing Zhou Guobin's stern expression, Zhou Yuwen looked completely relaxed. "It is rare for my dad to see me. He definitely has something to say," he remarked.After saying that, Zhou Yuwen led Zhou Guobin into the study room.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xinyi hesitated to speak behind them. It was not until Zhou Yuwen closed the study room door that she let out a helpless sigh, turning her head to glance at Tao Tian and the other girls standing behind her.

The girls all averted their gazes, avoiding eye contact with Jiang Xinyi.

Because Zhou Guobin had reprimanded Zhou Yuwen, Jiang Xinyi's expression had indeed turned somewhat ugly, but she eventually softened it. She turned to Yang Lijuan and forced a smile. "Auntie, what would you like to eat? Shall we take you out for a meal later?"

Yang Lijuan let out a soft sound of acknowledgment. The aggressiveness Jiang Xinyi had displayed earlier had certainly left a deep impression on her. "Your uncle and I can just eat something casual," Yang Lijuan replied. "I see you have everything here. There should be ingredients in the refrigerator, right?"

"There are. There is also a shopping mall nearby. Auntie Yang, how about I make a few hometown dishes for you later?" Su Qing quickly chimed in.

Hearing this, Yang Lijuan could not help but laugh. "It is rare for us to travel out here, and you just want us to eat hometown dishes?"

"Uh!" Su Qing realized her suggestion sounded a bit off upon hearing that.

However, compared to Jiang Xinyi, Yang Lijuan's attitude toward Su Qing was clearly much better. She asked Su Qing to take her to the refrigerator to take a look first, then noted that they were running low on ingredients.

Then she suggested, "Why do you not accompany me to the shopping mall? I will see about making a few hometown dishes for you all, and let you girls have a taste."

Yang Lijuan directed these words to Zheng Yanyan and the others standing behind them.

Zheng Yanyan quickly agreed, "Sounds great! I love the spicy diced chicken Auntie Yang makes the most. It is perfectly numbing and spicy! Extremely delicious. And what was that other meat dish called again?"

"Thousand-cut pork?"

"Yes, yes, yes, thousand-cut pork! And the pan-fried pancakes!" Zheng Yanyan had visited Xuhuai once during the New Year and had a deep impression of Xuhuai's cuisine. She quickly grabbed Lu Lin and added, "Linlin, let me tell you, Auntie Yang's cooking is incredibly delicious. I have craved it several times since I came back!"

Although these words seemed directed at Lu Lin, they perfectly flattered Yang Lijuan.

Hearing how much others loved her cooking naturally made Yang Lijuan happy. She commented that neither the father nor the son at home would eat the dishes she made.

"How could that be? They truly do not realize how blessed they are! Auntie, how about this: you teach me all the dishes you make! I will cook them in the future!" Zheng Yanyan hurried over and took Yang Lijuan's hand.

At this moment, Tao Tian also smiled and said, "Then Auntie, you should properly teach us how to cook later. You can also taste our cooking while you are at it."

Honestly, in the beginning, seeing so many women around Zhou Yuwen had made Yang Lijuan somewhat displeased. She did not want her son to be a philanderer who left broken hearts everywhere. But when she saw one beautiful girl after another surrounding her and showering her with compliments...

Well, Yang Lijuan finally understood a man's joy.

Who could refuse this?

Yang Lijuan still could not close her mouth from smiling. With Zheng Yanyan on her left arm and Su Qing on her right, she happily agreed, "Good, good, good, we will go to the market together. Let us go buy groceries!"

"But, Auntie, I have already booked a restaurant!" Jiang Xinyi immediately protested, seeing that Yang Lijuan was about to be dragged out the door by these women.

Yang Lijuan finally turned back to look at Jiang Xinyi. She smiled warmly and said, "Xinyi, Yuwen and his father are talking, and it will probably take a while. Going out to eat would just waste too much time traveling back and forth. I think it is better to just eat at home. You can also taste Auntie's cooking."

"Auntie, she is a rich young lady. She might not be used to the food from poor places like ours," Su Qing mocked passive-aggressively.

Jiang Xinyi immediately furrowed her brows.

'This woman...'

'What kind of manners were those?'

At this point, Yang Lijuan also understood why Zhou Yuwen had not said a single word when the women were arguing earlier.

He genuinely just did not want to speak...

Jiang Xinyi opened her mouth to retort, but Yang Lijuan stopped Su Qing in time, chuckling. "Alright, alright, say a little less, both of you. Xinyi, Su Qing is from our hometown after all, and I have known her for a long time. Let us just share a meal together. What do you think?"

From Jiang Xinyi's perspective, Zhou Yuwen's mother was also being a bit unreasonable. This was not something a mother should say. She cast a displeased glance at Yang Lijuan and took a long moment before nodding.

"Alright, Auntie. You and Uncle are the guests, so you have the final say."

Tao Tian and Lu Lin simply watched the drama unfold from the background. The two seemed to have formed a tacit understanding, instinctively exchanging glances whenever something like this happened.

'His parents came to visit their own son's house, and you hit them with, you are the guests?'

'What kind of remark was that?'

After the two made eye contact, they both caught the faint smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths.

It seemed Jiang Xinyi was getting a bit anxious. Furthermore, Yang Lijuan had been in the workforce for over twenty years; there was no way she would miss the underlying meaning in Jiang Xinyi's words.

However, Yang Lijuan did not say anything else. Judging from her dressing up, Jiang Xinyi indeed exuded an air of nobility. Moreover, Su Qing had just mentioned that Jiang Xinyi was Zhou Yuwen's investor, so it was inevitable she would place herself on such a high pedestal. Yang Lijuan would not lower herself to argue with her; at most, she would pretend she had not understood.

She then led the girls out to buy groceries.

Seeing that Yang Lijuan was determined to cook the meal herself, Jiang Xinyi felt a bit helpless, but ultimately tagged along anyway.

As for the study room.

The study room featured a 3.2-meter high ceiling, making it feel almost as large as a regular living room. The decor was quite modern, boasting an entire wall of bookshelves filled with a wide variety of books.

Additionally, there was a small terrace. Sitting on the terrace offered a view of the outside garden.

After leading Zhou Guobin inside, Zhou Yuwen casually sat down in the executive boss chair and smiled. "How about it, Dad? My study room is not bad, right? Is it much better than yours?"

Zhou Guobin looked at his son's nonchalant expression, his stern face not relaxing in the slightest. "Who told you to sit down?" he asked in dissatisfaction.

Zhou Yuwen chuckled. "Alright, Dad, the soundproofing in this study room is quite good. My dad is not the type to get angry easily. Come sit, Dad. Do you want me to brew you a cup of tea?"

Zhou Guobin was somewhat speechless at his son. "You are sitting there?" he asked.

Zhou Yuwen immediately stood up with a grin, hurrying over to pull his father into the main seat. "Right, right, right, my dad should be the one sitting here. How is it? This chair cost me over ten thousand yuan. Is it comfortable?"

Zhou Guobin was truly speechless at this son of his. When Zhou Guobin was angry, he prided himself on hiding his emotions. Suddenly throwing a massive tantrum like he did earlier was completely out of character for him.

But given the situation at that time, what if Zhou Guobin had not spoken up like that?

How else was he supposed to defuse the standoff between the ex-girlfriend and the current girlfriend?

To say he was faking it would not be entirely accurate either. Seeing his son's indifferent expression had genuinely annoyed Zhou Guobin, which was why he had openly reprimanded him.

Even now, Zhou Yuwen was grinning cheekily at him.

-

He still refused to give Zhou Yuwen a pleasant expression. He simply could not understand what was going through this son's head.

Were things not perfectly fine with Little Su during the New Year?

Even though she came from a single-parent family, her mother Pan Min was a teacher at the No. 2 High School. They had a clean and respectable background.

Zhou Yuwen sat on the desk, listening to Zhou Guobin's rambling. A smile could not help but form at the corner of his mouth. "Oh? Not bad, Dad. You even know that Auntie Pan Min works at the No. 2 High School? It seems you really do care about me, huh?"

This single sentence immediately choked Zhou Guobin, leaving him completely speechless.

You are his only son.

You brought a girlfriend home?

How could Zhou Guobin possibly not ask around?

Especially since the other party came from a single-parent family.

What if there was something wrong with the girl's parents?

After all, Zhou Guobin worked in that field; he was bound to ask his friends about it. Honestly, if they really had to talk about social status...

In his previous life, Zhou Yuwen was more than a perfect match for Su Qing.

Then why did Su Qing later feel that Zhou Yuwen was not worthy of her?

That was because they had encountered virtually no obstacles from dating all the way to marriage.

They just met the parents, Zhou Yuwen's parents were very satisfied with Su Qing, and the matter was settled just like that?

But what they did not know was...

Zhou Yuwen's parents had thoroughly investigated Su Qing long beforehand.

"I merely asked a friend at the Education Bureau in passing." He had clearly gone out of his way to ask, yet Zhou Guobin played it off as a casual inquiry.

However, Zhou Yuwen understood.

He had lived too foolishly in his previous life. When he really sat down and thought about it...

Truly, anyone who believed their life was effortless merely had their parents carrying the heavy burden for them in the background. He just had not thought deeply about it before.

Now, he understood.

Zhou Yuwen looked again at the father sitting in front of him. He patted his father's shoulder and expressed, "You have worked hard too, Old Zhou."

Zhou Guobin raised an eyebrow. "What did you just call me?"

Zhou Yuwen grinned broadly. "Dad!"

Zhou Yuwen's current achievements truly brought Zhou Guobin comfort, so during their interactions, he naturally dropped his authoritative airs a bit.

However, he still had to ask what exactly was going on with the situation just now.

"I have never questioned you about much since you were young, but I also know you are an opinionated boy. When you brought Little Su home, I thought you had settled down. Yet, from what I gathered just now, you dated Little Zheng for barely two months, and then you got involved with this..."

Zhou Guobin thought of Jiang Xinyi.

He remarked, "She is indeed a bit older."

Hearing his father's words, Zhou Yuwen merely lowered his head in silence.

Zhou Guobin emphasized that their family was clean and honorable.

"Take me, or your various relatives. Your eldest aunt's life might be a bit tough, but she never thought about divorce or anything like that. Our family is upright and respectable. You are only this young, and you already..."

"Dad, am I not still unmarried?"

Before Zhou Guobin could finish, Zhou Yuwen interrupted him. Zhou Yuwen argued that times were different now. Before getting married, he naturally needed to date a few more to see who was the most suitable.

Zhou Guobin told him to stop twisting concepts.

"Did I ever say you could not date? The issue is that you cannot date one person while looking at another. You were dating Little Zheng, yet still maintained contact with Little Su, and then later met that Jiang girl?"

Zhou Yuwen just smiled and said nothing.

"In our era, dating and breaking up was also perfectly normal. But we never dated one person while keeping in touch with the last. We made clean breaks."

Zhou Yuwen countered, "Oh? So how many did you have before my mom?"

He had been keeping a straight face while lecturing his son, but upon hearing this, he was instantly left speechless. Just as he prepared to launch into a long lecture, Zhou Yuwen burst into laughter and said, "Alright, Dad. I am grown up now. I know my limits."

Saying that, Zhou Yuwen stood up and walked to the window. Looking as though he had a hidden difficulty, he explained that there were some things his father did not fully understand.

"My involvement with Jiang Xinyi was truly an accident."

"That day, I had an appointment with several companies like Baidu to discuss potential collaborations. In the end, Xinyi's mother insisted on publicly announcing me as Xinyi's boyfriend."

"At the time, we were surrounded by prominent and influential figures. I could not exactly refuse outright, which was why the media started writing all sorts of nonsense."

Hearing Zhou Yuwen's explanation, Zhou Guobin understood. Zhou Guobin mused, "That Little Jiang indeed feels quite extraordinary."

"Extraordinary how?" Zhou Yuwen wanted to hear Zhou Guobin's evaluation of Jiang Xinyi.

Zhou Guobin replied, "She is not someone an ordinary family like ours can handle."

Zhou Yuwen nodded at this, but then added, "But your son is not ordinary."

Seeing how confident Zhou Yuwen was, Zhou Guobin felt somewhat helpless. The old saying goes, "The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind"—meaning young people should not be too arrogant.

Still, everyone goes through a phase of youthful arrogance.

Zhou Guobin's approach to raising his son had always leaned toward letting him be. Calling Zhou Yuwen in just now was simply to prevent the situation outside from becoming too awkward.

Zhou Guobin's implication was that since he was older now and had his own ideas, he could no longer control him.

But he still needed to find someone truly suitable for him.

"I think the Little Su and Little Zheng outside are actually quite nice. Also..." Zhou Guobin thought of Tao Tian, but did not quite know how to bring her up.

Zhou Yuwen smiled and asked who else.

Zhou Guobin knew his son definitely had something going on with that Tao Tian, but since Zhou Yuwen had not brought it up, Zhou Guobin could not bring himself to actively gossip about his son's love life.

Especially while looking at Zhou Yuwen's teasing half-smile.

Zhou Guobin claimed it was just those two.

"That Little Jiang is actually alright too, but her temper is a bit big. If you were to marry her, your mother would definitely suffer grievances," Zhou Guobin evaluated.

Zhou Yuwen laughed and countered, "What does this have to do with my mom? Besides, if my mom suffers grievances, would you not suffer them too?"

Zhou Guobin took it as a matter of course. "She and I would not have much interaction anyway."

Zhou Yuwen asked again, "Then my mom has to have interaction?"

Zhou Guobin ignored Zhou Yuwen. A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would definitely have interactions. A father-in-law could turn a blind eye, but a mother-in-law simply could not.

Zhou Guobin was fundamentally uninterested in these matters. He did feel that his son's romantic life was a bit messy, but he was not particularly shocked either. As a matter of course, as long as he knew how to manage it, that was enough.

Some people might say that Zhou Yuwen's situation was explosive.

However, when Zhou Guobin investigated certain cases, the romance and entanglements between unmarried men and women were basically nothing to write home about.

Things like housing mistresses in the same residential area were all too common.