Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 603: Two Families

"What nonsense are you talking about?! Haven't we been buying long this whole time?"Hearing her husband's words, Liu Jing simply could not believe her ears. This was a deal worth billions. Even if her husband had changed his strategy, shouldn't he have at least told her in advance?

Yet her husband sounded righteous and confident on the other end. "The situation was obviously wrong, so of course I had to hedge! Who could have expected it to turn out like this?"

By now, Liu Jing's face had gone completely pale. At first, she thought victory was firmly in her grasp. Who could have imagined that in just a few days, not only did she fail to make money, but she had lost over a billion?

A very ominous premonition suddenly washed over Liu Jing. She asked her husband if the opposing side had been buying long, considering how rapidly the market had risen these past few days.

Jiang Xinyi's father scoffed coldly. "Isn't it obvious? They have been standing against us from the very beginning."

"Jiang Liming! How can you be so righteous and confident? This is our life's work! Over a billion in assets, just gone like that? What on earth are you thinking?"

Liu Jing was already feeling frustrated, and her husband's nonchalant attitude—acting as if it had nothing to do with him—would be unbearable for any woman.

Jiang Liming, however, treated it as a matter of course.

"Why should I be angry?" he retorted. "I wasn't the one who caused this billion-dollar loss. You brought all of this upon us. I told you a long time ago to keep a low profile, keep a low profile, but you just wouldn't listen!"

"Do you even know who the other party is? He is someone who conquered Wall Street before he was twenty, known as the Dark Knight of the East. With that stupid head of yours, did you really think you could outplay him in a game of capital?"

"Well, look at us now! Over a billion in net worth, completely gone. You single-handedly caused this entire situation!"

Jiang Liming continued to blame Liu Jing, but she was entirely focused on staring at the computer screen. She realized their trade was still surging upwards in a straight line. For every point it rose, she was losing tens of millions. Panic gripped Liu Jing; this was her life's work, the dowry she had carefully saved for Jiang Xinyi.

Liu Jing had no time to be angry with Jiang Liming. She simply asked, "Then what should we do now? You have to think of something! We mortgaged all our assets. If we keep losing money like this, we won't even have a place to live!"

Jiang Liming sneered. "That is your problem. It has nothing to do with me."

"Liu Jing, I don't think I've done anything to wrong you. Let's get to divorce. I will bear the debt that belongs to my share. That's it."

"Jiang—"

Before Liu Jing could finish her sentence, Jiang Liming hung up the phone.

At that moment, Liu Jing felt as if the last ounce of strength had been drained from her body. She collapsed completely. Not only had billions of their fortune vanished into thin air in just a few days, but after decades of marriage, her husband could actually say such heartless words and pin all the blame squarely on her.

Hearing the commotion, Jiang Xinyi walked out, only to find her mother slumped on the floor. Startled, she rushed over to help her up and asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Liu Jing looked up, glancing at Jiang Xinyi, and said weakly, "We... we're finished."

Just yesterday, Jiang Xinyi was just like her mother, believing that their family would safely weather this crisis. She had even been worried about Zhou Yuwen. Only now did she realize that the one she should have been worrying about was her own family.

It was no secret that Jiang Xinyi's father, Jiang Liming, had other women on the outside. However, his abrupt demand for a divorce still caught Jiang Xinyi off guard.

In the past, he had been afraid of having to split their assets with her mother, but now, they had practically no assets left to divide.

If the futures market continued to move against them, they would lose everything and go bankrupt.

The most urgent matter at hand was that Zhou Yuwen was the only possible person who could save the Jiang family estate from total ruin.

As long as Zhou Yuwen stopped going against the Jiang family estate, the normal fluctuations of the futures market might not help them earn back much money, but it would at least allow the Jiang family estate to retain a fraction of their assets.

"Right! As long as Zhou Yuwen stops targeting us!"

Hearing her daughter's reasoning, Liu Jing, who had just been acting like a lost soul, suddenly snapped back to reality. If Zhou Yuwen withdrew his capital from the futures market, they could salvage at least four billion from the losses.

If that happened, perhaps her husband wouldn't divorce her after all.

The Jiang family estate could still be saved!

Understanding what was at stake, Jiang Xinyi dared not delay. She said, "I'll make a trip to Jingcheng right now. I will go find Zhou Yuwen myself!"

If this had been two days ago, they might have been able to clear things up over a phone call.

But the current situation was far beyond what could be resolved over the phone. The two families had long been locked in a bitter bloodbath in the futures market. Two days ago, when the Jiang family estate had the upper hand, they had shown no mercy.

And now, with Zhou Yuwen holding the advantage, Jiang Xinyi was going over there to beg him to be merciful.

It was clearly an impossible task. After all, Zhou Yuwen had invested real, hard-earned cash into this as well.

"It wasn't Yuwen's fault; it was all because of that girl named Su Qing. I believe Yuwen will understand us!"

At this moment, a hint of clarity returned to Liu Jing's eyes.

However, hearing her mother's words, Jiang Xinyi felt quite helpless. 'Does she really think it's still appropriate to affectionately call him Yuwen at a time like this?'

"I'm going with you, Xinyi!"

Liu Jing simply couldn't sit still anymore. Whether or not this massive family would fall apart rested entirely on a single word from Zhou Yuwen. How could Liu Jing dare to delay?

Although Jiang Xinyi repeatedly told Liu Jing not to panic and insisted that going by herself would be enough.

But Liu Jing insisted on going with Jiang Xinyi no matter what.

Left with no other choice, Jiang Xinyi booked the two earliest possible airplane tickets to Jingcheng.

Zhou Yuwen had stayed at Zheng Yanyan's house for a few days and met several of her relatives. Feeling somewhat unaccustomed to it, he booked a suite at a Hilton hotel near Zheng Yanyan's home.

The futures market had been performing well over the past couple of days. Zhou Yuwen had poured in real capital and earned a twenty percent return in just a few days. Of course, the vast majority of those profits consisted of the Jiang family estate's fortune.

Truth be told, the reason things had gone so smoothly this time was entirely due to Jiang Liming's cooperation. Otherwise, how could he have made nearly six billion in such a short period of time?

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen wasn't completely free from losses. At the very least, that four-billion contract was also executed with real money.

Regardless, Zhou Yuwen's net worth had skyrocketed once again. Most importantly, he would soon be able to take over all of the Jiang family estate's factories and real estate in Jinling.

In an excellent mood, Zhou Yuwen took Zheng Yanyan and her mother to a shopping mall.

Zheng Yanyan's mother was thirty-nine years old this year. Although she was older, being born in an international metropolis like Jingcheng and coming from a well-off family meant she was remarkably well-maintained. She could easily be considered a rather fashionable middle-aged woman. She was extremely satisfied with Zhou Yuwen as her son-in-law. Even though they had only spent a few days together, she was already constantly referring to him as 'our family's son-in-law.'

Zheng Yanyan's mother, Liu Yuerou, could be considered quite a charming woman. She had a personality somewhat similar to Zheng Yanyan's; they both loved shopping and buying clothes.

So, they were thrilled to be out with Zhou Yuwen, who bought them all sorts of clothes.

In return, they pulled Zhou Yuwen in for group photos, happily posting them to their Moments.

The salesperson in charge of selling the clothes was also very good with words, sweet-talking Zheng Yanyan's mother by saying it looked like an older sister taking her younger brother and sister out shopping.

This naturally delighted Mother Zheng to no end.

Right as Zhou Yuwen was accompanying the two women to buy clothes, Jiang Xinyi made a phone call to him.

Zhou Yuwen knew that Jiang Xinyi would call him sooner or later, but he never expected that Jiang Xinyi and Liu Jing had already arrived in Jingcheng.

This genuinely took Zhou Yuwen by surprise.

Jiang Xinyi asked very directly, "Where are you right now?" "Ahem, Xinyi, it's a bit inconvenient for me right now. Why don't you and Aunt Jing head to the hotel first? I'll come find you once I'm done here."

"What could possibly be so inconvenient for you? My family is about to lose everything!"

As she said those words, Jiang Xinyi couldn't hold back her tears. During the flight, Liu Jing had been neurotically worrying about gains and losses, constantly muttering to herself while gripping Jiang Xinyi's hand.

Liu Jing had confessed that she had known for a long time that Jiang Xinyi's father had other women on the outside.

She also knew that he had always wanted to divorce her.

The only reason he hadn't done so earlier was out of fear that he would have to split their assets.

But look at them now—their entire family fortune had been lost.

Jiang Liming no longer had any lingering worries tying him down.

"Your dad is definitely going to divorce me."

"Honestly, divorcing him isn't the worst part. The worst part is the hardship it brings to you, Xinyi. I originally intended to leave everything to you. But now, it's all gone."

Saying this, Liu Jing couldn't help but cry out loud again.

At a time like this, Jiang Xinyi had no choice but to stay strong. But truth be told, having lived her entire life as a pampered rich young lady, how could she possibly endure such a sudden and devastating series of events?

Therefore, when she finally got through to Zhou Yuwen on the phone, she couldn't keep her emotions in check.

She asked Zhou Yuwen where he was, insisting that she was coming to find him right this instant.

Hearing the unyielding determination in Jiang Xinyi's voice, Zhou Yuwen fell silent for a moment before saying, "Then come straight to Guomao. I'm shopping with Yan Yan and her mother. Let me know before you get here, and I'll come out to pick you up."

Before Zhou Yuwen could even finish speaking, Jiang Xinyi had already hung up.

Because their trip was so abrupt, they hadn't brought a driver or any staff, so they had to hail a private car on short notice.

On the way to Guomao, Liu Jing asked Jiang Xinyi what Zhou Yuwen was doing there.

Jiang Xinyi stayed silent for a moment before deciding not to hide it from Liu Jing. She stated frankly, "He is shopping with Zheng Yanyan and her mother."

"Zheng Yanyan?"

Liu Jing vaguely remembered a girl by that name. After thinking for a moment, a sudden realization hit her. "Is she also involved with Yuwen?"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Jiang Xinyi merely gave a slight nod.

Liu Jing originally wanted to say something, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut.

They had come here to beg for a favor. She no longer had the capital to display any arrogance. If she were to anger Zhou Yuwen, she might be doomed to fall into the ranks of the common people for the rest of her life, or perhaps sink even lower.

By the time Jiang Xinyi and her mother arrived at Guomao, Zhou Yuwen was almost done shopping anyway. The main reason was that Zheng Yanyan's mother had remarked that there wasn't much worth looking at in Guomao, and she wanted to take Zhou Yuwen and Zheng Yanyan somewhere else to continue browsing.

Zhou Yuwen thought to himself, 'Xinyi and Aunt Jing are almost here. I can't possibly tell them to change locations again, can I?'

Just as he was thinking this, Jiang Xinyi's phone call came through, informing him that they had arrived.

"What floor are you on?" she asked.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Just wait for me at the west entrance. I'll be right down."

"We've already come inside," Jiang Xinyi answered.

Right at that moment, Mother Zheng, having finished buying clothes, walked over with Zheng Yanyan and called out to Zhou Yuwen, "Yuwen, what are you doing standing around here? Let's go, Auntie is taking you out for a meal."

Zhou Yuwen found himself caught in a dilemma. "Uh, Auntie, why don't you and Yan Yan go ahead first? Something suddenly came up on my end that I need to handle."

"Something came up? What kind of business could you possibly have in Jingcheng?" Mother Zheng blinked, smiling.

"Well..."

Just at that moment.

"Zhou Yuwen."

Jiang Xinyi, who had been pulling her mother along, bumped right into Zhou Yuwen.

And just like that, Jiang Xinyi and her mother unexpectedly came face-to-face with Zheng Yanyan and her mother.

Zhou Yuwen thought to himself, 'This is going to be a disaster.'

Sure enough, upon noticing an elegant beauty like Jiang Xinyi calling out Zhou Yuwen's name, Mother Zheng immediately cast a highly suspicious gaze over the two newcomers, assessing them carefully.

However, Jiang Xinyi and Liu Jing didn't even pay attention to Zheng Yanyan and her mother. They had come to find Zhou Yuwen to discuss matters of immense importance. The moment Liu Jing laid eyes on Zhou Yuwen, she rushed forward and grabbed his hand. Before she could even speak, her eyes already contained a thousand words of desperation.

"Yuwen, this time it's entirely my fault! You have to save our family. Even if you don't do it for my sake, you have to consider the years Xinyi has spent with you!" Liu Jing was on the verge of tears as she pleaded.

Zhou Yuwen quickly told Liu Jing to stop talking like that.

"Aunt Jing, I know what happened. It's fine. Right now, everything is within a controllable range."

Zhou Yuwen comforted Liu Jing, telling her that he would book a hotel for them first, and they could sit down and talk things through slowly once they settled in.

But how could Liu Jing possibly wait? Millions were evaporating in the futures market with every passing minute!

Just as Liu Jing was anxiously pouring out her bitter distress to Zhou Yuwen, pulling on him and begging to find a place to clear things up...

Zheng Yanyan's mother suddenly chimed in with a cold question. "Yuwen, who are these two great beauties? You seem to have a very close relationship with them. Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Only at this point did Liu Jing finally notice Zheng Yanyan and her mother standing to the side.

Coming from a well-off family in Jingcheng, Zheng Yanyan's mother was definitely not lacking in the looks department. As for her clothes, they were all recent designer brand purchases made by Zhou Yuwen. Compared to Jiang Xinyi and her mother, who had rushed over from Jinling in a panic, her aura wasn't the least bit inferior.

For any family, a young man with Zhou Yuwen's qualifications was a rare catch that could only be found by luck, not sought after. But for any normal family, watching their son-in-law display such an intimate relationship with other females would inevitably prompt them to speak up and issue a gentle reminder.

At the very least, Zhou Yuwen needed to explain who these two women were.

And this was precisely what gave Zhou Yuwen the biggest headache. Neither Liu Jing nor Zheng Yanyan and her mother were the type of people who could be easily fooled.

At this moment, Zheng Yanyan was also panicking fiercely. She knew very well that although her family lived in Jingcheng, their family background couldn't even begin to compare with theirs. If Zhou Yuwen really had to choose, he would probably throw her under the bus just to save face for that damn woman, Liu Jing.

So she hurriedly grabbed her mother and said, "Mom! This is Yuwen's work business. Let's not get involved!"

But who would have known that Mother Zheng also had a stubborn temper. She stated bluntly, "Work? What kind of work requires people to run all the way from Jinling to Jingcheng during the New Year? Yuwen, although our family might not have a lot of money, we are still a decent, respectable household. You acting like this... you have to give us an explanation, right?"