Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 343: Jiang Xinyi's Confession

After chatting with Jiang Xinyi.Lu Lin had also finished her shower and came out. Wearing a pinkish bathrobe, she gathered her hair as she walked over, lifted the blanket, and lay down beside Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen casually pulled her into his arms and asked, "Didn't Yanyan ask about you coming out tonight?"

"She is staying in the dormitory tonight," Lu Lin replied casually.

Zhou Yuwen was quite surprised. "With her and Su Qing's relationship, can she even fall asleep in the dormitory?"

"What does it matter? They have always been like that, and they won't actually fight."

When Lu Lin said this, she showed quite a bit of disdain.

The relationship between Zheng Yanyan and Su Qing was indeed poor; they had even physically fought several times. But to say their relationship was truly terrible right now wouldn't be entirely accurate. Su Qing would sometimes make sarcastic remarks at Zheng Yanyan, and Zheng Yanyan would retort right back. Every time the other party was snubbed, they felt delighted.

However, their conflict seemed to stop there. As for actually throwing punches, that was no longer going to happen.

Perhaps it was because things were just too busy on campus at the end of the semester, so Zheng Yanyan couldn't be bothered to return to the big flat and simply stayed in the dormitory. During dinner, Zheng Yanyan had quietly confided in Lu Lin that sometimes she actually enjoyed bickering with Su Qing.

"I just love the way she can't stand me but can't lay a finger on me!" Zheng Yanyan had giggled.

So far, Zheng Yanyan held the upper hand because, even though she wasn't Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, she had openly declared that she had slept with him!

"Zhou Yuwen said his first time was given to me!" Zheng Yanyan had declared with her chin held high.

"You!"

Those words were indeed enough to suffocate Su Qing with frustration, because Su Qing's greatest regret in this life was not taking Zhou Yuwen's first time.

Therefore, Zheng Yanyan no longer feared Su Qing and even took the initiative to return to the dormitory for a stroll.

Su Qing sneered and said, "What are you even back here for? Aren't you living perfectly well at Zhou Yuwen's house?"

"Hmph, I paid my fees, and I have my bed here. Why wouldn't I come back?"

In short, the two of them could be considered a bickering couple, which was actually quite amusing.

Zhou Yuwen also laughed upon hearing Lu Lin's recount, saying somewhat speechlessly, "I am not a girl, why are they so hung up on my first time?"

Lu Lin asked, "What did you expect?"

"Are boys the only ones allowed to care about it, but us girls aren't?" Lu Lin said with a smile on her face.

Zhou Yuwen understood her underlying meaning and said, "You sound quite happy saying that. Let me think, who did I give my first time to again?"

With that, Zhou Yuwen started tickling Lu Lin. Unable to hold back, she burst into laughter, though she still stubbornly tried to suppress it, saying, "How would I know who you gave your first time to?"

"You don't know? Who was it that slept with me when I was moving?" Zhou Yuwen said while rolling Lu Lin over beneath him.

Lu Lin rolled her eyes and said, "I forgot."

"Forgot? Then let me help you remember."

As he spoke, Zhou Yuwen began to playfully wrestle with her, while Lu Lin kept giggling continuously.

Zhou Yuwen remarked that he never expected his first time to be so precious, yet he had actually given her money back then.

"Thinking about it now, it was a massive loss. You should be the one paying me. Pay up." Zhou Yuwen stretched out his hand.

Lu Lin chuckled and swatted his hand away, saying, "I have no money!"

"Hmph!"

The two of them continued chatting and playing around like this. Speaking of recent work matters, things were indeed quite busy, and even Lu Lin was helping Zhou Yuwen process human resources information.

Lu Lin frequently interacted with Lu Hui. When bringing her up, Lu Lin felt somewhat displeased. In her own words, "Damn it, that female acts like a complete idiot."

Zhou Yuwen liked listening to the way Lu Lin cursed.

It was hilarious, so he burst into laughter and asked why she was insulting her.

Lu Lin explained that the woman was just too awkward and inefficient with her work. Things that could be explained in a single sentence were always twisted into a convoluted mess.

When people came over to ask questions, Lu Hui clearly knew the answers, yet she would still say, "This isn't under my jurisdiction. I'll give you a phone number; why don't you call her?"

Furthermore, she loved taking petty advantages and always spoke in a passive-aggressive tone.

Regardless, Lu Lin did not like that woman at all.

She said, "I really have no idea what Liu Shuo is thinking, getting together with that kind of woman."

Zhou Yuwen reasoned, "Well, she is older."

"She might know more tricks than you."

"Have you tasted them?"

"Nonsense, I have absolutely nothing to do with her. Don't speak blindly," Zhou Yuwen said, lightly pinching Lu Lin.

Lu Lin giggled and noted, "You're quite nervous."

Zhou Yuwen stated that while Lu Hui indeed had many issues, Liu Shuo just happened to like her.

"It seems she isn't going back for the winter break. I'm just worried something might go wrong at the company side."

Seeing the concern on Zhou Yuwen's face, Lu Lin offered, "If you're not at ease with her, why don't I just stay here over the New Year?"

"Stay here? Aren't you going home?"

Lu Lin replied that it didn't matter.

She then looked at Zhou Yuwen, wrapping her arms around his and guiding his hand to stroke her leg in a half-joking manner. "You are my family!"

Zhou Yuwen's mouth twitched, and he said, "Oh my, hearing you say that really takes some getting used to."

"So annoying~"

Lu Lin rolled her eyes at him.

Despite having been with Lu Lin for so long, Zhou Yuwen still didn't know the specific details of her family situation. However, judging from how she initially came to him to borrow money, he sensed that her family background probably wasn't very good.

Thus, Zhou Yuwen didn't press for details.

When Lu Lin offered to stay in Jinling, he simply stroked her thigh and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Lu Lin replied that it didn't matter if the secondary wife had to work a bit harder.

Zhou Yuwen gave a wry smile. "What kind of talk is that?"

Although Lu Lin didn't show overt excitement, truthfully, as Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, she was quite happy to see his business expanding more and more.

She was someone without any grand ambitions and was highly satisfied with her current life.

If things could stay like this forever, it would be perfect.

At night, she curled up like a cat in Zhou Yuwen's embrace.

And so the night passed.

When the next morning arrived, Zhou Yuwen drove to the company.

Just as he parked his car, he ran into Jiang Xinyi.

Jiang Xinyi had nothing nice to say upon seeing him, immediately firing off, "Oh, President Zhou, you're here so early. I figured you were living it up last night and wouldn't show up until this afternoon!"

Zhou Yuwen was completely baffled and asked what she was talking about.

Jiang Xinyi snorted and called him a scummy man.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't understand why she kept calling him scummy, so he simply retorted, "As long as I don't act scummy toward you, that's enough."

Following him up the stairs, Jiang Xinyi shot back, "Even if you wanted to act scummy toward me, I wouldn't give you the chance!"

The two of them naturally fell into bickering.

Jiang Xinyi then asked him what kind of assistant he had found for her.

Zhou Yuwen assured her, "You will absolutely love her. She is hardworking, has a strong capacity for studying, and she's even an alumna of yours."

"Alumna?"

Right before stepping into the office, she heard the word "alumna."

The silhouette of a particular girl suddenly surfaced in Jiang Xinyi's mind.

Her eyebrows instinctively knit together.

She was just about to ask if it was Li Shiqi.

Upon entering the company, however, she discovered Li Shiqi was already standing obediently off to the side.

In that instant, Jiang Xinyi felt as if a heavy stone was blocking her heart, causing her an unbearable sense of discomfort.

"You're here so early." Seeing Li Shiqi, Zhou Yuwen was somewhat surprised. Normal working hours began at nine, and it was only eight-twenty. Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi had always been in the habit of arriving early.

But Li Shiqi was actually here earlier than both of them.

Li Shiqi was still wearing the same white crew-neck wool sweater from the night before, paired with faded, washed-out jeans. She stood there looking somewhat reserved, yet also slightly bewildered.

Zhou Yuwen noticed that the office was exceptionally clean today; the floor had been given a thorough cleaning, and the windows had been opened to let in fresh air.

Several desks that hadn't been tidied up yesterday were also neatly organized.

He noticed a broom behind Li Shiqi that hadn't been put away in time.

Zhou Yuwen asked, "Did you clean all this?"

Li Shiqi nodded.

Zhou Yuwen said, "You actually didn't need to do all this."

"We usually just have an auntie from the campus come over to clean."

Li Shiqi shook her head, saying it was no problem.

"I had nothing to do while sitting here, so I just tidied up a bit."

Zhou Yuwen was very pleased, but he noticed that his Sister Xinyi remained entirely silent. He then asked, "Sister Xinyi, what do you think of the assistant I found for you? Do you like her?"

"Oh."

The normally polite Jiang Xinyi was acting inexplicably rude today. "You're saying this new part-time student you hired is her?"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Yes, your junior from Nanjing University. Her work ability goes without saying. Li Shiqi, is it alright if Sister Xinyi guides you? Just listen to whatever she tells you."

Li Shiqi was very polite, following Zhou Yuwen's lead to greet her as "Sister Xinyi."

As the saying goes, one cannot slap a smiling face. Although Jiang Xinyi was feeling irritable, there was no need to pick a fight with Li Shiqi, so she could only give a perfunctory response, saying, "Alright."

Work was tense right now, leaving no time to dwell on romantic feelings.

Moreover, Jiang Xinyi genuinely needed the manpower.

Just checking the procurement invoices alone would keep them busy for quite a while.

Jiang Xinyi figured since Li Shiqi was already here, she might as well use her.

It wasn't like she was some stingy person.

After interacting with her, she had to admit Li Shiqi was indeed clever.

She belonged to the classic archetype of an oriental beauty.

Appearing delicate on the outside, she possessed a resilient core. She was decisive in her work and never hesitated to ask questions when faced with something she didn't know. While teaching Li Shiqi what to do, Jiang Xinyi accidentally glanced up at her.

At that moment, the nine o'clock sun shone perfectly through the window.

A few stray strands of hair on Li Shiqi's forehead caught the sunlight, turning a brilliant golden hue.

Even the skin on Li Shiqi's face seemed almost translucent.

Her lively eyes stared intently at the spreadsheet Jiang Xinyi was holding, eager to hear her continue explaining.

Realizing that Jiang Xinyi had stopped speaking.

She looked up curiously.

And blinked.

"Ahem!"

Jiang Xinyi flushed red and lowered her head, thinking to herself, 'How am I supposed to compete with her?'

'Childhood sweethearts from high school.'

'The perfect age.'

'Excellent at studying too.'

'Most importantly, beautiful.'

While working, Jiang Xinyi stared at Li Shiqi for quite a while, watching her bustle about.

She watched her enter Zhou Yuwen's office.

Looking at the spreadsheet Li Shiqi had made, Zhou Yuwen praised her highly, saying, "Not bad at all, Li Shiqi!"

"If I had known you were this capable, I would have brought you to the company much earlier."

"Not at all. I still have a lot of studying to do. It's all because Sister Xinyi taught me well," Li Shiqi replied modestly.

"Her?"

Zhou Yuwen looked up and threw a glance at Jiang Xinyi outside.

Feeling guilty, Jiang Xinyi pretended she wasn't eavesdropping.

Zhou Yuwen remarked, "She's just average."

Hiss~

Jiang Xinyi clenched her little fists tightly.

And so, Li Shiqi joined Zhou Yuwen's company. Because the daily workload was so dizzyingly heavy, even though Jiang Xinyi felt displeased with Zhou Yuwen.

She did not show it.

This lasted until the evening.

Zhou Yuwen had ordered four thousand sets of bedding from Jiang Xinyi's uncle.

Since Jiang Xinyi's uncle wanted to treat Zhou Yuwen to a meal, he naturally brought Jiang Xinyi along.

Although Jiang Xinyi attended, she didn't offer Zhou Yuwen a single smile the entire time.

Third Uncle Jiang, however, was a straightforward man. He really liked Zhou Yuwen and praised him as a man of striking talent.

Hearing this from the side, Jiang Xinyi couldn't help but chuckle mockingly and said, "Third Uncle, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. As the saying goes, you may know a person's face, but you don't know their heart."

"Uh!"

When Jiang Xinyi said this, it wasn't just Zhou Yuwen who felt awkward.

Her third uncle also felt embarrassed, wondering if this young couple was having a conflict, or if he had said something wrong.

Whatever the case, Third Uncle Jiang simply burst into hearty laughter first and said, "Yuwen, my niece just has this kind of temper. When you two are together in the future, you must accommodate her more, okay?"

Zhou Yuwen was very embarrassed and stole a quick glance at Jiang Xinyi.

He thought to himself, 'How did I anger my little princess again?'

The hotel where Third Uncle Jiang treated them to dinner was huge. Despite sitting at a large round table, there were only three of them. Jiang Xinyi sat there looking utterly indifferent, pouting her lips and swinging her legs.

The contract had actually been signed long ago. In truth, given Third Uncle Jiang's status, there was no need for him to specifically host a dinner over a four-thousand-order deal. But since he happened to be in Jinling, wasn't this the perfect chance to meet the good son-in-law his sister-in-law kept praising?

Third Uncle Jiang was actually quite satisfied with Zhou Yuwen; he just didn't know what had gotten into his niece.

When going to the restroom, Third Uncle Jiang even pulled Zhou Yuwen aside to apologize to him, explaining that Xinyi had been like this since childhood and was thoroughly spoiled.

"Nephew, please don't mind her. Women just need to be coaxed. If you coax Xinyi well, it's good for you, me, and everyone else. Plus, my sister-in-law will be happy too, right?"

It felt a bit strange when Third Uncle Jiang said this.

But it also made sense.

Zhou Yuwen simply murmured his agreement.

After returning to the private room, Zhou Yuwen noticed that Jiang Xinyi's face was flushed red. She had actually downed a small carafe of Wuliangye all by herself.

Her face was as red as an apple. To come out for dinner today, Jiang Xinyi had applied some makeup and adorned her ears with diamond earrings. Right now, complementing her flushed red little face, she looked exceptionally beautiful.

Zhou Yuwen sat back in his seat and asked quietly, "Why are you drinking alone?"

"Why do you care?" Jiang Xinyi was probably drunk.

Or perhaps she was using the alcohol to vent her frustrations. Like a bundle of dynamite, she was ready to blow up at the slightest spark.

Zhou Yuwen had no other option and simply remained silent.

It couldn't be helped; the temper of a wealthy young lady was just that unpredictable.

After the meal, Zhou Yuwen drove Jiang Xinyi home.

When Jiang Xinyi first came out, she was wearing her overcoat. Later, her body grew hot from drinking, so she placed her clothes in the back of the car.

Underneath, she was wearing a brown Tod's knit top paired with a black half-skirt, along with a tiny LV bag in a pink color scheme.

Before spending time with Zhou Yuwen, she rarely wore short skirts. But after interacting with him, she clearly began to favor these leg-baring outfits.

However, Jiang Xinyi's legs were quite nice—long and slender beneath the half-skirt. On her feet, she wore pink sneakers.

Zhou Yuwen behaved himself, driving from the driver's seat.

Jiang Xinyi, however, was not behaving. Due to the alcohol, a blush still lingered on her cheeks.

Seeing that Zhou Yuwen wasn't speaking, she just sat there humming a song.

After humming for a while, she suddenly called him a scummy man, accusing him of going back on his word and being boring.

Zhou Yuwen found this utterly baffling and asked, "What's wrong now?"

Jiang Xinyi replied that nothing was wrong.

"I'm happy, so I just want to say it. Is that not allowed?"

"..."

"As long as you're happy."

After that, Zhou Yuwen stopped talking, but Jiang Xinyi continued to mumble bizarre things to herself.

"Just average. I helped you so much. When you need someone, you call them capable, but when you don't need them anymore, you call them 'just average.'" Jiang Xinyi muttered with a pout.

By now, Zhou Yuwen had already parked the car in front of Jiang Xinyi's door. He understood the meaning behind her words.

He couldn't help but let out a wry smile and said, "Sister, I was just coaxing her playfully. How could you take it seriously? It's the little girl's first job, and she needs encouragement."

"Oh, so she's a little girl, which means I'm old, right?"

"I never said that."

"I know you think I'm too old. I'm an old woman," Jiang Xinyi mumbled.

Hearing this left Zhou Yuwen even more speechless. "No, Sister Xinyi, could you please not act like this? I'm scared."

"Hmph!"

Jiang Xinyi's hmph was filled with misery. She really might have been drunk; she had consumed an unknown number of glasses back at the hotel and had just been warmed by the heater in the car for a while.

Now, her cheeks were entirely red.

Leaning heavily against the window of the passenger seat, she stared blankly at Zhou Yuwen and mumbled, "You don't understand me at all."

Zhou Yuwen gave a wry smile and said, "Understand what?"

"Sister, if you don't say it, how can I understand?"

"Hmph, true understanding requires no words."

"If you say it, won't I understand?"

"If I spell everything out, what's the point?"

Zhou Yuwen didn't know what had gotten into Jiang Xinyi, but when she said this, she actually started feeling wronged, tilting her head to gaze out the window.

For a moment, Zhou Yuwen felt a bit irritated. He truly didn't know how to coax girls.

The only reason his tolerance for Jiang Xinyi was so high was that she had indeed helped him out a great deal.

If Jiang Xinyi were Zhou Yuwen's woman, he certainly wouldn't bother coaxing her, but wasn't their current relationship just that of friends?

So, Zhou Yuwen only remained speechless for a moment before patiently asking, "Look, I'm not a fortune teller. How am I supposed to know what you mean?"

"I don't mean anything." Jiang Xinyi kept her head turned toward the window.

Getting genuinely fed up, Zhou Yuwen said, "Fine, then this is pointless."

"Oh! So you think I'm pointless now, is that it?!" Jiang Xinyi cried out.

"No, Jiang Xinyi, are you crazy?"

Zhou Yuwen felt that Jiang Xinyi was just making a scene out of nothing, being completely unreasonable, right?

"?"

Hearing Zhou Yuwen's words, Jiang Xinyi froze for a moment. Her nose stung, and her eyes instantly turned red.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Yuwen's heart softened again. He looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with her, and said, "Sister Xinyi, what exactly is wrong with you today? You've been acting inexplicably weird the whole time. If you have something to say, can't you just say it directly? Why must you play riddles with me?"

"You know that what I hate the most is this kind of inexplicable guessing game."

"Do you really not know what I mean?!" When Jiang Xinyi said this, her voice was already choked with sobs.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "If you don't say it, how would I know?"

"I thought you knew!"

"But I don't know."

"Fine, then I'll tell you right now!"

"Then say it!"

"Zhou Yuwen, I like you! When I see you treating other girls well, I'm unhappy! I get jealous! I just want you to be good to me and me alone!" Jiang Xinyi stared dead at Zhou Yuwen, who was looking straight ahead, emphasizing each word clearly.

As she said these words, tears were already streaming down her cheeks.