Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 390: Return to Jinling

Zheng Yanyan stayed with Zhou Yuwen for nine days. During this time, Zhou Yuwen took her to play almost all over Xuhuai. Time gradually marched toward February 20th. The universities in Jinling slowly began their new semester, and the students who worked winter break jobs started getting their final paychecks. Jiang Xinyi, Tao Tian, and Qu Jing all returned to Jinling one after another.More than half the reason they returned to Jinling so early was because they wanted to see Zhou Yuwen as soon as possible. But upon returning, they discovered that he was not in the city. Based on the start date of the semester, he wouldn't be back until at least the 25th.

Jiang Xinyi and the others naturally refused to accept this.

Jiang Xinyi even felt that Zhou Yuwen was intentionally avoiding her.

Zhou Yuwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. "Why would I be avoiding you?" he asked.

"You just think I'm too old and are afraid I'll keep harassing you. Don't think I don't know," Jiang Xinyi snorted.

Zhou Yuwen told her she was overthinking things.

"If you aren't trying to avoid me, then why haven't you come back to Jinling yet?"

This question left Zhou Yuwen speechless. Aside from her, Qu Jing and Tao Tian took a softer approach, but they both expressed how much they missed him, each sending him a few photos.

Zhou Yuwen figured there was no need to wait until right before school started to go back. The 20th was close enough. Besides, having Zheng Yanyan stay at his house indefinitely wasn't exactly proper, so he might as well head back early.

And so, on the 21st, Zhou Yuwen embarked on the journey back to Jinling.

This time, only Zhou Yuwen, Zheng Yanyan, and Su Qing were making the trip back to Jinling together. Zhou Yuwen had called Li Shiqi earlier, only to find out she had already left a week ago.

Zhou Yuwen originally wanted to ask why she hadn't told him.

But on second thought, there was no need to pry, so he just let it be.

As for Liu Shuo, he was now a man who drove a Magotan. How could he possibly travel with Zhou Yuwen anymore? After confirming the return date, Liu Shuo had driven off in his Magotan a step ahead of them.

To be honest, Zhou Yuwen really wished Liu Shuo could have accompanied him for part of the journey.

That way, the two girls, Su Qing and Zheng Yanyan, might have restrained themselves a bit.

But looking at the current situation, that was clearly impossible.

The two girls had nearly pulled each other's hair out and started screaming over who got to sit in the front passenger seat.

In the beginning, right at the door of Zhou Yuwen's house with his parents watching, Zheng Yanyan honestly stayed in the back seat.

But barely two steps down the road, Zheng Yanyan started speaking up from the back, telling Su Qing to give up her spot because she wanted the front passenger seat.

Naturally, Su Qing pretended not to hear her.

Then the two of them started arguing.

In the end, it was Zhou Yuwen who had to assert his authority as the head of the household and tell them to stop fighting.

"Listen to me. Su Qing sits there first, and when we get to the rest area, you two can swap."

Zheng Yanyan was still unhappy after hearing this, looking at Zhou Yuwen pitifully.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't stand her gaze and said, "Sister, I accompanied you for nine days. If you aren't happy after these nine days, you should at least let someone else be happy for a bit."

"Exactly," Su Qing quickly chimed in.

"Hmph." Although reluctant, Zheng Yanyan agreed.

The drive from Xuhuai to Jinling was only a three-hour journey. If Zhou Yuwen sped up, there would be absolutely no need to stop at a rest area, but he did it for the sake of fairness.

Halfway there, they pulled into a rest area, and Zheng Yanyan immediately scrambled into the front passenger seat, eagerly announcing, "My turn! My turn!"

Zhou Yuwen really couldn't understand what was so incredibly appealing about the front passenger seat.

On the way back to Jinling, he also received a phone call from Zhu Hong. She greeted, "President Zhou, Happy New Year!"

"Ah, Sister Hong, isn't it a little late for New Year's greetings?"

"I sent you a message on New Year's Eve, don't tell me you forgot?" Zhu Hong gave a teasing laugh. Even though they were talking on the phone, Zhou Yuwen could almost picture her sly, vixen-like smile.

Zhou Yuwen replied that there was no way he would forget; of course, he remembered.

"What can I do for you, Sister Zhu?"

Zhu Hong was toying with a fountain pen in her office. She said, "It's like this. I was wondering when President Zhou might be free. I'd like to invite you to discuss the matter regarding Xianlin Delivery in person."

Zhou Yuwen noted that Sister Zhu really had a knack for timing.

"I just returned to Jinling today. I'll be free for the next week."

"That's wonderful!"

Zhu Hong chuckled softly and asked if Zhou Yuwen knew how to play golf.

The weather had been very nice lately, and the corporate group had just given her two complimentary golf passes. If President Zhou was interested, they could go together.

"I've actually never played golf before," Zhou Yuwen admitted. "In that case, I'll leave the arrangements to you, Sister Zhu."

"Alright."

Hanging up the phone, Zhu Hong pressed the call bell for her assistant.

Soon, a girl wearing white high heels and a light green office uniform walked in. Her skirt fell just above the knee—not too short—and her top was a matching blazer. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, giving her a sharp and capable look.

Wearing light makeup, she looked completely different from how she did during the New Year. Lu Wanting's face now exuded a professional sharpness. "Sister, you called for me?"

"Take this to Finance and have them sign it." Zhu Hong wore bright red lipstick, making her smile look exceptionally confident and stunning. Sitting upright in her boss's chair, she handed the document to Lu Wanting.

"Okay."

Zhu Hong hadn't planned on saying anything else, but after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "By the way, Wanting, are you free this week?"

Lu Wanting was curious. "Is it for work?"

Zhu Hong replied that it probably counted as such.

"There's a social engagement this week with a young boss. I figured that having young people around would make communication easier. Oh, right, do you know how to play golf?" Zhu Hong recalled that Lu Wanting was from Singapore and her father was a small business owner, so she should have had some exposure to these things.

Lu Wanting nodded, saying she knew a little.

"Great. Then you'll come with me."

"Understood!"

With that settled, Lu Wanting took the document and left.

Back on Zhou Yuwen's end, he had just hung up the phone when Zheng Yanyan, sitting in the front passenger seat, asked eagerly, "Zhou Yuwen, are you going golfing this week?"

"Yes."

"Can you take me with you? I've never played golf before!" Zheng Yanyan immediately pleaded in a coquettish tone.

Su Qing couldn't help but let out a cold laugh upon hearing this. "Zhou Yuwen is going for work. What would he take you for? To embarrass him?"

"What's that supposed to mean! If I get all dressed up and look pretty, wouldn't that make Zhou Yuwen look good!" Zheng Yanyan retorted with a frown.

Su Qing looked even more disdainful at that remark.

Zheng Yanyan could only turn to Zhou Yuwen, looking at him pitifully.

Zhou Yuwen rubbed her leg and said, "Give it a rest for a bit."

"I haven't even played golf myself. If you want to go, just book a session. You and Su Qing can go together and learn from her; you might actually need the skill in the future."

Hearing that Zhou Yuwen was unwilling to take her, Zheng Yanyan felt quite disappointed. "I won't go with her. If I go, I'll go with Linlin."

"You say that as if I'd want to go with you!" Su Qing was completely exasperated.

And just like that, the two of them started arguing all over again.

Zhou Yuwen felt helpless. Amidst their constant bickering, the three hours passed, and they finally arrived in Jinling.

Since school hadn't officially started yet and Shen Yu hadn't arrived, it wasn't appropriate to leave Su Qing alone at the university. Therefore, Zhou Yuwen brought them all to his big flat.

Zhou Yuwen's big flat happened to have three bedrooms. Lu Lin had been staying there, and after tidying up the remaining bedroom, there was more than enough room for four people to stay.

The only awkward part was that Zhou Yuwen didn't know who he was supposed to sleep with at night.

By February, Xuhuai was already bright and sunny. Arriving in Jinling, the temperature felt even warmer. Perhaps because it was a big city, the girls here were also more open.

Several people wearing short skirts and shorts could already be seen on the streets.

When they reached the door of his home, Lu Lin came down to greet them. She appeared quite casual, wearing a flannel pajamas and looking bleary-eyed as if she had just woken up.

Zheng Yanyan found it amusing to see Lu Lin like this. "Goodness, Linlin, why do you look like that! You aren't dressed up at all," she said.

"Why bother dressing up? There are no outsiders here," Lu Lin said, yawning.

Zheng Yanyan covered her mouth, giggling. "Honestly, Zhou Yuwen has seen you in every possible state!" "So what? He only has eyes for you, not me." As Lu Lin said this, she shot a glance at Zhou Yuwen.

This was exactly what Zheng Yanyan loved to hear. Zhou Yuwen also cast a glance at Lu Lin, thinking to himself, 'You're definitely implying something else.'

But no matter how resentful she acted, it was useless. Everyone was standing right there; it wasn't like he could just pull her into his arms and coax her.

Zhou Yuwen mentioned that there were some local specialties brought from home in the trunk.

"Lu Lin, help us carry them."

The trunk contained some hometown dishes and clothes prepared by Zhou Yuwen's mother. Zhou Yuwen had felt there was no need to bring so much, but his mother had forcefully stuffed everything into the back.

Zhou Yuwen figured it didn't take any extra effort, so he went ahead and brought it along.

Surprisingly, Zheng Yanyan really loved eating a particular specialty from Zhou Yuwen's hometown known as jianbing—savory pancakes.

She felt that the jianbing wrapped around small fish and chili peppers from Zhou Yuwen's home was especially delicious.

Now, she specifically grabbed Lu Lin's hand and said, "Oh, right, Linlin, let me tell you, when I went to Zhou Yuwen's house this time, I ate a dish that was incredibly delicious! Once we go upstairs, I'll let you try some. Seriously, the jianbing with chili and small fish is amazing!"

"How amazing is it?"

"Let's just say you've definitely never tasted anything so good! Zhou Yuwen's mom cooked it for us herself!"

"You even met your future mother-in-law?"

"So annoying!"

This was exactly why people said Lu Lin was good with words. With just a few short sentences, she managed to make Zheng Yanyan's face flush red, leaving her looking absolutely delighted.

Zhou Yuwen's family had packed quite a lot for him, and when combined with Su Qing and Zheng Yanyan's luggage, the four of them were burdened with bags big and small.

The moment they walked through the door, Zheng Yanyan immediately felt right at home. She threw herself onto the sofa, proclaiming, "We're home!"

It felt like Zheng Yanyan was even more attached to this place than she was to her actual home in Jingcheng!

After all, this place was luxuriously furnished and boasted an incredible scenic view.

Living here was genuinely comfortable.

Watching her let all her pretenses drop, Su Qing felt a surge of secret disdain. She started by putting the pickled vegetables prepared by Yang Lirong and her mother into the refrigerator.

Lu Lin also went over to help.

At this point, Zheng Yanyan realized she had laid down a bit too early. She quickly put on her slippers and went over to offer her help as well.

Since Lu Lin had been living alone at home, her eating habits had been highly irregular, and she was actually feeling a little hungry.

With Zheng Yanyan highly recommending Zhou Yuwen's mother's chili and small fish, Lu Lin rolled one up to try. Honestly, it really hit the spot!

Zheng Yanyan and Su Qing also gathered around the dining table, and the three girls began chatting as they ate.

Lu Lin remarked, "You two sure know how to enjoy yourselves, eating good food behind my back."

But Zheng Yanyan replied, "You should just be glad you have something to eat. Think about Shen Yu—she doesn't get to eat any of this. Let's take a picture and send it to her. Zhou Yuwen, do you want some?"

At that moment, Zhou Yuwen was on the phone sitting on the sofa. Hearing this, he said, "You guys eat first, don't worry about me."

Before the winter holiday started, Zhou Yuwen had organized four thousand students to do part-time work at the factory. With so many people, accidents were inevitable. Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen had purchased insurance in advance, but the necessary matters still needed to be handled.

He had previously instructed Liu Shuo to handle things beforehand. Now that he was in Jinling, Zhou Yuwen gave Liu Shuo a call to ask how the situation was going.

On the phone, Liu Shuo said, "It's already sorted, bro. Are you in Jinling?"

"Yeah, I just arrived."

"Oh, gotcha. Sister Xinyi, Sister Hui, and I just left the factory. It was nothing major," Liu Shuo replied.

Zhou Yuwen said that was good.

"Where are you all right now? How about I come find you?" Zhou Yuwen asked.

Jiang Xinyi's voice drifted over from the other end of the line: "We're heading back to the office now, so why don't you head over to the office?"

"Alright."

When Zhou Yuwen mentioned he was heading out, the three girls eating together all shot him a glance. Seeing him hang up the phone, Su Qing asked, "Zhou Yuwen, are you going out?"

Zhou Yuwen nodded. "There's a situation at the company, I need to go take a look."

Lu Lin asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Zhou Yuwen said there was no need; it wasn't a major issue anyway.

"It's just about those students who got injured at the factory. I just need to show my face," Zhou Yuwen explained, reassuring Lu Lin so she could relax.

Lu Lin looked at Zhou Yuwen with a hesitant expression, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

Seeing that she had something to say, Zhou Yuwen suggested, "How about this, walk me downstairs."

"Alright!"

Zheng Yanyan and Su Qing weren't completely unreasonable and bossy. At the moment, they saw each other as thorns in their sides, but they were remarkably tolerant of the other girls.

Take the present moment, for instance—neither of them felt that anything was amiss about Lu Lin following Zhou Yuwen downstairs.

Once the two of them stepped out the door, Zhou Yuwen asked Lu Lin what it was she wanted to tell him.

Lu Lin said that a few days ago, when she went to the canteen to eat, she had seen Lu Hui and Li Qiang having a meal together.

"The two of them were eating together?" Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen felt a bit surprised. In his mind, they were from two completely different worlds. How could they possibly be together?

Taking a massive step back, Zhou Yuwen felt that Lu Hui shouldn't even be interested in Li Qiang.

Lu Lin replied, "I don't know about that, but from the looks of it, they seemed pretty close."

While chatting, the two of them walked out into the underground parking garage.

Zhou Yuwen asked, "So you're saying Lu Hui might be cheating on Liu Shuo?"

"I couldn't tell you. I'm just letting you know because it felt a bit weird."

"Alright, I understand."

They walked over to his car. Zhou Yuwen unlocked it, and the headlights flashed twice.

This was as far as Lu Lin was seeing Zhou Yuwen off.

He looked at Lu Lin standing before him, still dressed in her pajamas.

Zhou Yuwen embraced Lu Lin and said, "You've worked hard lately."

Lu Lin pouted. "Is that all?"

Holding Lu Lin in his arms in front of the car, Zhou Yuwen laughed and asked, "Well, what else do you want? Want to head into the back seat?"

Zhou Yuwen was just joking, but Lu Lin looked as though she was genuinely considering it. "Sure, I don't mind," she said.

Zhou Yuwen told her to stop messing around.

"There are security cameras everywhere."

"Hmph." Lu Lin pursed her lips.

Zhou Yuwen kissed her affectionately and said, "Alright, I know you're a good girl."

"I'll definitely make it up to you once I'm done with work. But I can't right now, I have things to do. Be good."

After sharing another hug, Lu Lin said, "Fine, go do what you need to do."

With that, Zhou Yuwen got into his car and drove away.

Regarding the matter between Li Qiang and Lu Hui, the truth was that the two of them hadn't actually slept together.

After all, Lu Hui was no longer a naive little girl. Even if she felt Li Qiang was a decent guy, she wouldn't just give herself to him so easily. Young men were all the same—once they obtained something effortlessly, they would fail to cherish it.

After entering the hotel that day, Lu Hui had genuinely acted out of care for Li Qiang. She even helped him tidy up his bed, remarking, "You boys are all the same. You've only been here for a little while, and look at the mess you've made."

At the time, Li Qiang was still standing by the door. He watched Lu Hui from behind as she bent over to straighten the bed. Her hip-hugging skirt was stretched taut and perfectly round over her buttocks, and beneath the skirt extended a pair of beautiful legs clad in nude stockings.

Seeing this, Li Qiang felt his mouth go completely dry.

Unable to control himself any longer, he stepped right up and embraced Lu Hui tightly from behind.

Lu Hui struggled slightly and said in a sweet, delicate voice, "What are you doing~"

Li Qiang felt dizzy and flushed. Swallowing hard, he stammered, "S-Sister Hui, I... I don't know what I'm doing either! I... I miss you!"

With those words, he tackled Lu Hui onto the bed.

And began to kiss and grope her.