Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 615: Return to China

"No, Xinyi, do not be impulsive!"Even though Zhou Yuwen told Jiang Xinyi that having a baby was not something that could be accomplished overnight, he was ultimately forced to oblige her once in the study room.

Now completely satisfied, Jiang Xinyi lay in Zhou Yuwen's arms. She asked if he had thought of a name for the child in Su Qing's belly.

Zhou Yuwen replied that he did not even know if it was a boy or a girl yet, so how could he know the name?

Jiang Xinyi then asked, "Have you thought of a name for our child, then?"

Zhou Yuwen felt even more helpless, pointing out that their child did not even exist yet, so what was the point of naming it?

Jiang Xinyi pondered for a moment and said, "If our child is a girl, let's call her Zhou Xiaoyu. What do you think of that name?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen laughed out loud. "Oh, so you want Shen Yu to be your daughter?"

That single remark made Jiang Xinyi quite unhappy, and she called Zhou Yuwen obnoxious.

"I am trying to have a serious conversation with you, and you just want to joke around?"

Zhou Yuwen insisted he was not joking.

"If you name her Zhou Xiaoyu, and you call out to Xiaoyu in the future, do you think Shen Yu will answer you or not? Besides, how do you know it will definitely be a daughter? What if it is a son?"

"Ugh!"

Zhou Yuwen's lack of cooperation made Jiang Xinyi very angry, to the point where she almost wanted to bite him. Zhou Yuwen casually pulled her into his arms, telling her not to overthink it.

"You cannot force things like having a child. Besides, if you really did get pregnant, I would not be able to be intimate with you for months. Could you handle that?"

"That is different,"

Jiang Xinyi said with complete seriousness.

Zhou Yuwen thought about it. True, Jiang Xinyi was already twenty-six. She probably was not in a rush herself, but the pressure from Liu Jing must be immense. Zhou Yuwen relented, "Alright, we have put in the effort for now. Shouldn't you let me get some actual work done in the study room?"

Jiang Xinyi stared at Zhou Yuwen for a long moment and gave a pout. She clearly wanted to be affectionate with him a little longer, but unfortunately, Zhou Yuwen was just too dense to catch on.

Left with no choice, Jiang Xinyi sighed, "I will let you off the hook for today, but we are continuing tomorrow."

"Ah? What? Continuing tomorrow?"

"Hmph!"

Seeing Zhou Yuwen grow anxious, Jiang Xinyi felt quite pleased and turned to leave.

Ever since Su Qing got pregnant, Zhou Yuwen felt he could no longer stay in the estate for long. Being ambushed by Jiang Xinyi in his free time was one thing, but sometimes he would even get cornered by Zheng Yanyan while trying to use the restroom.

Zheng Yanyan demanded of Zhou Yuwen, "Tell me, what did Jiang Xinyi do with you after I left that day?"

"Listen, older sister, I am using the restroom here. Do you think this is appropriate?" Zhou Yuwen said in exasperation.

Zheng Yanyan just glanced down, gave a pout, and replied, "What are you afraid of? It is not like I haven't seen it before."

Zhou Yuwen hurriedly shooed her out, telling her they could talk outside.

"Zhou Yuwen, I hate you!"

Although he managed to kick Zheng Yanyan out, she simply blocked him at the restroom door. She argued that since he gave Jiang Xinyi a turn, why wouldn't he give her one too?

"Jiang Xinyi wants a child, and I want a child too! You cannot show favoritism. Didn't you promise equal distribution of favor back then? Is this your idea of equal distribution of favor?"

"..."

The gun fired in youth.

It eventually struck right in the middle of his forehead.

Well, at this moment, Zhou Yuwen finally realized that some words could not just be spoken and forgotten.

It wasn't that Zhou Yuwen's body couldn't handle it, but being ambushed by these girls day in and day out meant he couldn't get any serious work done.

The most awkward part was when Liu Jing, dressed in a black, hollowed-out qipao, also knocked on his door late at night.

Granted, Liu Jing was a bit older, but she used to live in comfort and ease, loved beauty, and enjoyed buying clothes. Wearing a qipao and high heels was perfectly normal for her; she couldn't exactly start wearing drab, plain clothes just because Zhou Yuwen had acquired her family's assets.

However, seeking him out in the middle of the night left Zhou Yuwen dumbfounded.

Liu Jing held a bowl of freshly brewed soup. Without waiting for Zhou Yuwen's permission, she walked right into the study room. "Yuwen, you work so tirelessly every day. You absolutely must nourish yourself."

Zhou Yuwen took one look at the ingredients in the soup and was left speechless.

Since it would be impolite to speak his mind directly, he simply said, "Ah, alright. Thank you for the trouble, Aunt Jing."

"Mom, you can just set it down. I will drink it in a little while."

Instead, Liu Jing smoothly smoothed her skirt, sat down with her legs together and slightly slanted, and declared, "I will stay right here and watch you finish it before I leave."

"Uh, Mom, is that really necessary?"

Liu Jing was in her forties, practically the same age as Zhou Yuwen's own mother. After Zhou Yuwen got engaged to Jiang Xinyi, he started calling her Mom, which was entirely unobjectionable.

He still referred to Pan Min as Aunt Pan, but he had changed his form of address for Liu Jing.

Ever since he started calling her Mom, Liu Jing had truly begun treating his matters as if he were her own son.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen trying to dodge the issue now, Liu Jing naturally wouldn't allow it. She even pointed out, "Yuwen, Mom knows you have a strong constitution, but with so many confidantes around you right now, your body simply won't be able to keep up."

"You already call me Mom, so would I ever harm you? Be a good boy and drink it. This is a special prescription I begged a friend for. If you drink this, I guarantee you will have a son."

Zhou Yuwen hastily agreed, "Alright, alright, I will drink it in a bit."

"Mom, I am still busy here. I will drink it as soon as I am done. You can head out first."

Zhou Yuwen immediately began ushering Liu Jing out the door.

Liu Jing maintained an expression that clearly said she was only doing this for his own good.

"Mom, I know for a fact you mean well, but I am genuinely swamped right now," Zhou Yuwen insisted.

With that, regardless of whether Liu Jing agreed or not, he shut the door.

This left Liu Jing feeling quite exasperated.

"This child!"

Ultimately, Zhou Yuwen was reaping what he had sown. He originally thought that by gathering all the girls together, he could at least enjoy the bliss of having multiple wives. He never expected that he would end up being the unlucky one.

Looking at the pot of nourishing tonic soup, Zhou Yuwen felt completely helpless.

Not too long ago, Zhou Yuwen had been sharing a bed with these girls. Sometimes, even if they didn't do anything, just holding them while sleeping made him very happy.

But ever since Su Qing got pregnant, Zheng Yanyan started acting restless at night.

With Zheng Yanyan acting restless, Jiang Xinyi refused to be outdone.

In truth, Jiang Xinyi had initially rejected this kind of approach.

After all, she was a young lady from a wealthy family; she needed to maintain the reserved demeanor expected of her.

But the reality was, the crying child gets food.

Hearing Zheng Yanyan getting her fill over there in the dead of night every single time...

Ultimately, Jiang Xinyi cast aside her reserved demeanor.

The other girls were fine, neither fighting nor competing for his attention.

But Zhou Yuwen also had to consider their feelings.

Because of this, the one left exhausted was still Zhou Yuwen.

Lately, Zhou Yuwen had wised up and simply started resting in the study room. Late at night, taking advantage of the quiet, Zhou Yuwen thought he would carry the nourishing tonic soup Liu Jing gave him down to the kitchen and pour it out.

To his surprise, he discovered that in the first-floor kitchen...

...the lights were actually still on.

"Huh?"

Zhou Yuwen stepped closer for a better look.

In the faint sliver of light, he found Pan Min dressed in a simple gray tunic. She had her long hair pinned up, revealing a stretch of her snow-white, swan-like neck under the glow, brewing something unknown over the stove.

Zhou Yuwen was genuinely taken aback upon seeing her. "Aunt Pan?"

Pan Min was equally startled. Seeing it was him, she asked curiously, "It's so late. You haven't gone to sleep yet?"

"Uh, I..." Zhou Yuwen was still holding the nourishing tonic soup from Liu Jing.

For a moment, he had no idea where to hide it.

Spotting the pot of soup in his hands, Pan Min instantly understood the gist of the situation.

A faint smile involuntarily touched the corner of her mouth.

"I will just pretend I didn't see anything," she said.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen immediately let out a chuckle.

He hastily disposed of the contents of his pot.

Noticing that she was still cooking something, he asked with curiosity, "Aunt Pan, what are you making?"

Pan Min replied, "Su Qing has been dealing with a bit of internal heat lately. I figured I would brew her some extra mung bean soup, so that once I leave, she will still have enough to drink for a while."

Only then did Zhou Yuwen remember that Pan Min was supposedly returning to China.

Zhou Yuwen sighed and said, "That is true. Once you leave, who knows when Su Qing will be able to drink your homemade mung bean soup again."

Pan Min merely offered a gentle smile. "It can't be helped. Isn't that always how it is when a girl gets married?"

"Why not let Su Qing go back to China with you?" Zhou Yuwen suggested.

"There is no need. The environment here is better, and she wants to stay. Besides, it isn't as if she has no one to look after her here."

As she spoke, Pan Min tidied up the freshly cooked porridge.

She noticed that Zhou Yuwen showed no intention of leaving.

After a moment of thought, Pan Min told him, "I am at ease leaving Su Qing in your care. You shouldn't feel like she is a burden, either. I know you are a good kid."

Hearing those words made Zhou Yuwen feel somewhat ashamed.

In his past life, Su Qing truly had let him down in certain respects.

Yet Pan Min had always been an excellent mother-in-law to him.

Whether it was in this life or the previous one.

But what he was doing now...

Zhou Yuwen pondered for a second and said, "Aunt Pan, you don't need to comfort me."

"To be honest, I feel like I have really wronged both you and your daughter..."

Pan Min shook her head. "You don't need to think that way. I actually think everything is quite alright. Look at you now—not only do you have a group of good girls who love you, but you also have a mother-in-law to brew soup for you."

"Aunt Pan, you're..." Zhou Yuwen felt that Pan Min was starting to be sarcastic with him.

Sure enough, Pan Min herself let out a laugh.

She said, "Alright, I will stop joking around. I genuinely believe that everything is fine on Su Qing's end and she doesn't need me to look after her. Furthermore, I want to take advantage of the time I have left to do the things I actually enjoy. Neither you nor Su Qing should feel like this is a burden. You both should be happy for me."

Zhou Yuwen initially wanted to say a few words about honoring and providing for her, but Pan Min saw things more clearly than anyone else. She wasn't used to living on the estate, even with Liu Jing there to keep her company.

Ultimately, she and Liu Jing were entirely different types of people.

Pan Min asked Zhou Yuwen why he hadn't gone back to rest yet at such a late hour.

Zhou Yuwen sighed and laid out all his current troubles to her.

Listening to him, Pan Min found the whole situation rather hilarious.

"Aunt Pan, you're laughing at me," Zhou Yuwen protested. "Can't you think of an idea to help me out?"

"I definitely cannot help you there. You aren't a girl, so you wouldn't understand. Once a woman reaches a certain age, she will inevitably want a child. However, this also proves that they sincerely want to be with you. Otherwise, why would they want to bear your children?"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Of course I know that, it's just that I don't think there is any rush. The way they chase after me every single day..."

Before Zhou Yuwen could finish his sentence.

A shadow suddenly appeared at the top of the distant staircase.

"Zhou Yuwen?"

In the shadow, the silhouette of Zheng Yanyan's thighs was stretched out long by the light. Once she got a clear look at Zhou Yuwen, she asked with great curiosity, "Zhou Yuwen, what are you doing here? I just went to look for you in the study room but couldn't find you."

"Do you know what time it is? Why aren't you resting yet? Oh, Aunt Pan is here too?"

As Zheng Yanyan drew closer and noticed Pan Min, she simply grabbed Zhou Yuwen's arm, sat down right beside him, and curiously asked, "Zhou Yuwen, what are you and Aunt Pan talking about?"

Zhou Yuwen told her, "You should just go back to sleep. I am going to chat with Aunt Pan for a little while longer."

"I don't want to! I want to listen too."

"..."

Zheng Yanyan acted coquettishly for a good while, even adding, "Even if you won't listen to me..."

"...when Jiang Xinyi comes down here in a minute, won't you still have to go back anyway?"

Hearing that, Zhou Yuwen realized her logic was completely flawless.

So he agreed, "Alright, alright. You go upstairs first, and I will be right up."

"Hehe, that's a good boy!"

Overjoyed, Zheng Yanyan planted a kiss on Zhou Yuwen's cheek.

Then, she leaned in and whispered softly, "I learned a new posture today. I will show it to you in a bit."

"..."

Only after Zheng Yanyan had retreated upstairs did Pan Min finally fail to hold back a burst of laughter.

Zhou Yuwen let out a heavy sigh and muttered, "Ugh, Aunt Pan, please stop making fun of me."

Covering her mouth, Pan Min replied, "I am not making fun of you. Isn't this exactly what you chose for yourself? It's not like you can do what I am doing and run back to China, can you?"

Upon hearing those words, Zhou Yuwen's eyes involuntarily lit up.

A few days later, Su Qing, Lu Wanting, and several of the other girls escorted Pan Min to the airport.

Su Qing was rather annoyed, complaining, "Once I get back, I am definitely going to give Zhou Yuwen a piece of my mind! Returning to China is such an important event for you, and he didn't even bother to come see you off."

Pan Min soothingly replied, "Yuwen is busy with work, you all need to be understanding. Seeing me off isn't a big deal anyway. Alright, you girls should head back now. I need to board my flight."