Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 580: Please Date Me, Senior Zhou!

Tao Tian showed Zhou Yuwen a video of Yin Songyue dancing. She moved perfectly to the dynamic music, highlighting her genuinely impressive figure. Dressed in a loose hoodie with her long legs clad in black over-the-knee socks, she danced with remarkable skill and rhythm.The comment section below the video was blowing up, filled with people calling her the pure desire ceiling and a bunch of other messy praises.

Zhou Yuwen checked the backend data and noted that her follower count was indeed growing at a staggering rate. In just a few months, she had amassed over half a million followers. Considering that short videos were still in their infancy and Zhou Yuwen's Fun Campus was strictly limited to university students, reaching five hundred thousand followers proved that this little girl was truly gifted.

He watched a few more of her videos and realized that her content had only recently started going viral. While they were beautifully shot, they lacked a strong sense of pacing. It could only be attributed to the good timing of the current era; if placed a few years in the future, even with her looks, it would be difficult for her to become famous.

Tao Tian mentioned that Yin Songyue was pretty much the only active female student in the short video sphere who had not yet signed with them.

People from Kuaishou had already started reaching out to her.

"Think about it. The school is our home base. It was hard enough for our university to produce a top-tier creator. If she gets poached by someone else, it's going to look really bad for us," Tao Tian said. She stood beside Zhou Yuwen, wearing a hip-hugging skirt that proudly displayed her two big thunders.

Zhou Yuwen replied that it was nothing to be ashamed of. Were there really that few people who had been poached from them?

"How is that the same thing?" Tao Tian gave a charming display of blame.

Short videos were already on the rise. However, in the Jinling area, almost every moderately attractive female university student had already been signed by Zhou Yuwen. Those who dabbled in short videos without blowing up didn't think much of it. The issue primarily lay with the female students who graduated, started getting into short videos, and gained a little bit of traction online. When other media companies approached these girls to sign them, they suddenly realized they were already under contract.

Damn it! A fifty-thousand breach of contract penalty?

It wasn't an astronomical amount, but it wasn't a small sum either. In the rapidly developing streaming industry era between 2015 and 2018, fifty thousand was roughly two months' earnings. Gritting their teeth, they just paid it.

Dozens of female students had successively terminated their contracts with Zhou Yuwen. He had made over half a million just from the breach of contract penalties alone. Naturally, at this point, everyone began to realize how ruthless Zhou Yuwen's intentions were.

He had made everyone sign such an unequal contract years ago.

Future sisters must be careful!

For a time, the various school forums across Jinling were flooded with posts criticizing Zhou Yuwen. They called him sanctimonious, saying that he looked like someone full of a strong sense of justice, but in reality, he only knew how to deceive ignorant little girls.

They had only done part-time work there twice, yet they were tricked into signing such an unequal treaty.

The future sisters definitely need to dodge this trap! No matter what, you absolutely cannot sign this kind of contract.

In response, Zhou Yuwen's company quickly launched a public relations campaign.

There was nothing else to do. Zhou Yuwen's status across all the colleges and universities in Jinling was deeply rooted. Even though there were many critical posts, they posed no real threat, and Zhou Yuwen's own post was immediately pinned to the top as soon as it went up.

The content of the post was very simple. It stated that in response to the recent posts slandering their company, they were making a declaration. First, before having anyone sign these contracts, the company had no idea the short video industry would explode. The initial signings were purely to protect the students. The contract terms clearly stated it covered commercial activities. The fact that the rise of short videos magnified these commercial activities was something they had not anticipated.

Regarding this, we will make some rectifications to our future contracts.

The contract for part-time models would remain the same. However, we will separate short videos, streaming, and other online commercial activities. People can choose to only sign the first type of contract, or they can opt to sign the second type as well.

As everyone knows, the Fun Campus short video software is currently the third-largest short video platform in the country. If you sign with our company, we will definitely increase our traffic support for you. As for those who only sign the first contract, you are free to come and go as you please. Naturally, we would have no reason to support you with our traffic.

Finally, we declare once again that Xianlin Cultural Media Company is a legitimate and legal enterprise. This company aims to safeguard the interests of the student body within the Xianlin University Town. Having a breach of contract penalty in the signed agreements is also for your protection.

Once these new contract terms were released, the reactions were mixed. Since university students of this era were still relatively simple, and considering Zhou Yuwen's stellar reputation was on the line, the announcement made sense to them. Compared to those unscrupulous companies on the outside, Zhou Yuwen was at least one of their own.

There were rumors that many outside companies forced students to become explicit streamers after signing contracts.

There were also those that made them take out loans while holding their identity cards naked.

Honestly, each external case was worse than the last. Compared to them, Zhou Yuwen's company was undoubtedly safer.

That being said, hindering others from getting rich—no matter how good the intentions—would always draw criticism. This was especially true for the dozen or so female streamers who had been scouted by other companies and forced to pay the fifty-thousand penalty. They ruthlessly bashed Zhou Yuwen and his company online.

They claimed that everything in the statement was high-sounding but empty. When it actually came to traffic support, there was none to be found; they just treat you like a piglet.

Tao Tian relayed all the recent online remarks to Zhou Yuwen.

Then, she laid out her plan.

Tao Tian believed that Yin Songyue had a genuinely solid foundation and could be signed and built up as an iconic figure. After all, she would essentially be cultivated by their company, which would at least help attract others.

"Otherwise, our company really hasn't produced many internet celebrities."

Zhou Yuwen remarked that cultivating an internet celebrity was incredibly simple.

"But if you want to sign her, we can give it a try," Zhou Yuwen added, taking another look at Yin Songyue's videos.

"I already tried. It's no use," Tao Tian replied.

Zhou Yuwen asked what they planned to do now.

Tao Tian looked at Zhou Yuwen with a smiling expression but remained silent. After a long pause, she spoke in a charming tone, "I heard that this junior female student has had a secret crush on you all along."

"A crush on me? You're joking. I don't even know her," Zhou Yuwen said.

"How could you not know her? You two have met. Don't you remember?"

Zhou Yuwen thought about it for a moment, but he truly had no recollection. Even with Tao Tian's reminder, he only retained the vaguest of impressions.

It wasn't until Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin chimed in from the side with a few more descriptions that Zhou Yuwen finally let out an exclamation of realization. Still, he refused to believe that she secretly harbored feelings for him.

Tao Tian, however, pointed out that the entire school knew about it.

"So now, we can only trouble you to use a honey trap."

Saying that, Tao Tian blinked playfully.

Zhou Yuwen chuckled lightly, brushing it off as a joke.

"A honey trap, really."

"Oh, come on! For the sake of our career, just make a small sacrifice!" Tao Tian started acting coquettishly.

Right at that moment, someone suddenly knocked on the office door.

The previously flirtatious Tao Tian hurriedly put some distance between herself and Zhou Yuwen. "Come in," Zhou Yuwen called out.

Pan Min walked in wearing a white office lady suit. Seeing an office entirely filled with young girls, Pan Min—as Su Qing's mother—couldn't help but harbor some reservations about Zhou Yuwen in her heart.

Of course, these reservations could only remain unspoken. After all, she couldn't just suspect Zhou Yuwen without cause, right?

"Is there something you need, Aunt Pan?" Zhou Yuwen asked her calmly.

"Oh, there's a document here that requires your signature."

Zhou Yuwen glanced at it and saw it was for wedding planning expenses. As he provided his signature, he turned to Tao Tian beside him and instructed, "In the future, for any contracts from Aunt Pan that are under five hundred thousand, just have finance reimburse them directly. There's no need for me to sign off on them anymore."

"Understood, Boss!" Tao Tian immediately agreed.

Zhou Yuwen handed the signed contract back to Pan Min. She casually asked him, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll pick up some food when I get off work later."

"Uh,"

Pan Min clearly intended to send a message to the flocking of beautiful women in the office, indicating that Zhou Yuwen was a family man.

Hearing this, Tao Tian couldn't help but snicker, feeling that this auntie was being a bit narrow-minded.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "I have a dinner scheduled with some partners at the Grand Metropark Hotel tonight. You should just eat by yourself, Aunt Pan."

"You're eating out again?" Pan Min was somewhat disappointed. She gave Zhou Yuwen a resentful look and muttered, "You eat out five days a week."

Pan Min's pointed look made Zhou Yuwen too embarrassed to meet her eyes.

At that moment, Zheng Yanyan swooped in to save the day. "Hey, Aunt Pan, if Zhou Yuwen isn't going to eat with you, Linlin and I will keep you company!"

"Huh?" Aunt Pan was taken aback.

Pan Min knew that Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin were Su Qing's roommates. She just hadn't expected Zheng Yanyan to say that, and she wanted to clarify that that wasn't what she meant. Zheng Yanyan's words made it sound as if she was desperately begging Zhou Yuwen to eat with her.

But Zheng Yanyan didn't give her a chance to explain. "It's fine, it's fine, Aunt Pan! We've always had a great relationship with Su Qing. She even told us that she was worried you'd feel lonely as one person in Jinling, so she specifically asked us to spend more time with you."

"I wasn't..."

This time, Zhou Yuwen interjected, "Aunt Pan, I actually think this is a great idea."

Pan Min looked at Zhou Yuwen curiously.

Zhou Yuwen continued, "You're bored by yourself in Jinling anyway, Aunt Pan. You might as well let Linlin and Yanyan keep you company. They share a sister-like affection with Su Qing, so you can just treat them the same way you treat her."

"Exactly!"

"I didn't..."

"Aunt Pan, don't tell me you think Linlin and I aren't good enough? Or do you only want Zhou Yuwen to keep you company?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

That single sentence immediately made Pan Min blush. Naturally, she didn't mean it like that. She explained that she was just worried it wasn't healthy for Zhou Yuwen to constantly eat out alone.

"Sigh, forget it. If you girls want to come over, then come. The more, the merrier."

In the end, Pan Min finally yielded.

Zheng Yanyan happily cheered in agreement, saying that they would go grocery shopping with Aunt Pan as soon as they got off work.

The girls followed Pan Min out of the office just like that. Zheng Yanyan really clung onto Pan Min, leaving the older woman feeling somewhat helpless.

After they left, only Zhou Yuwen and Tao Tian remained in the room, sharing a knowing smile.

Zhou Yuwen remarked that he never expected Yanyan to actually be able to handle Aunt Pan.

Tao Tian chuckled as well. "She didn't handle Aunt Pan."

"She simply saw right through Aunt Pan's intentions."

"Hmm?" Zhou Yuwen was intrigued.

But Tao Tian merely smiled.

Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin were going to Pan Min's villa for dinner tonight.

That left Zhou Yuwen as one person with nowhere to go, and it just so happened that Tao Tian was also flying solo.

So, Zhou Yuwen reached out, pulling Tao Tian closer, and said that since Qu Jing was gone, he would spend some quality time with her tonight.

Tao Tian gave a pout and retorted, "Who asked you to keep me company?"

"Oh? If you don't let me keep you company, who else is going to?"

Zhou Yuwen wrapped an arm around Tao Tian's slender waist and performed a wall-slam, trapping her in the corner of the office as he asked.

"Fine. Do me a favor, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied tonight!"

Tao Tian rested her slender hands on Zhou Yuwen's shoulders, blinking playfully with a bright smile.

Zhou Yuwen asked, "What kind of task could possibly stump the great Manager Tao?"

"Hehe, a honey trap!" Tao Tian smiled slyly.

Zhou Yuwen immediately pursed his lips. "Do we have to? Are we really doing this?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"..."

And just like that, after getting off work, Zhou Yuwen accompanied Tao Tian back to the school to find Yin Songyue.

It happened to be the time when several departments in the school were undergoing their transition of leadership.

Back then, Yin Songyue was part of the Arts Department. Later, because she couldn't get along with Zheng Yanyan, she quit the Arts Department. She coasted through the school for a semester before joining the New Media Club the following term.

Beautiful girls were popular everywhere they went. In just one short semester, she had already become the Vice President of the New Media Club.

When Zhou Yuwen and Tao Tian arrived, Yin Songyue was in the middle of a Student Union meeting.

Tao Tian led Zhou Yuwen straight to the meeting room.

The meeting was being chaired by Shen Yu, who was quite surprised to see Zhou Yuwen walk in.

Glancing around, Zhou Yuwen noticed there were quite a few familiar faces here.

"Old Zhou!? Long time no see!" Li Qiang was thrilled to see him.

Zhou Yuwen was also a bit surprised and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, I've become the Head of External Relations Department!" Li Qiang said with smug satisfaction.

This genuinely surprised Zhou Yuwen. He remembered that in his previous life, Li Qiang had only peaked as a vice minister. To think he had actually progressed further in this life. Zhou Yuwen nodded approvingly.

"Hehe." Li Qiang beamed with happiness.

Seeing her man arrive, Shen Yu asked Zhou Yuwen gently if there was something he needed.

Zhou Yuwen looked over at Tao Tian. Tao Tian smiled and said, "President Shen, we're here today to borrow someone from you. Student Yin Songyue, could we have a chat?"

Tao Tian directed her gaze at Yin Songyue, who was sitting in her seat.

Seeing that it was Zhou Yuwen who wanted to speak with Yin Songyue, Shen Yu said, "Songyue, go ahead and step outside to talk with them. This is Senior Male Student Zhou Yuwen; I shouldn't need to introduce him, right?"

Although Zhou Yuwen had shown up in person, he naturally wasn't going to say much.

Tao Tian did basically all the talking. She said, "Student Yin Songyue, we believe you are incredibly talented and belong on a much larger stage. Why don't you join our Xianlin Cultural Media Company? We'll make you into a top-tier internet celebrity."

Yin Songyue didn't look at Tao Tian; instead, she gazed directly at Zhou Yuwen and asked, "Is this Senior Zhou Yuwen's intention?"

Tao Tian smiled and replied, "The entirety of Xianlin Cultural Media is President Zhou's enterprise. How could it not be his intention?"

Seeing that Yin Songyue was still staring fixedly at him, Zhou Yuwen nodded and gave an affirmative sound.

Yin Songyue was thrilled. She smiled shyly and said, "Actually, I really want to join Xianlin Cultural Media too, but I have one tiny request."

"What kind of request?" Tao Tian asked.

"I..."

"I want to date Senior Zhou Yuwen for a day."

"Just one day is enough."

Yin Songyue held up a single finger, speaking adorably.