Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 525: Awkward Table Sharing at the Hot Pot Restaurant

Ever since discovering Zhou Yuwen's tangled and chaotic romantic entanglements with several girls, Shen Yu had initially intended to keep her distance. Truthfully, however, separating herself from Zhou Yuwen's social circle left her feeling rather bored. Besides, both Zheng Yanyan and Su Qing were too preoccupied with their own lives to even notice her deliberate withdrawal.Instead, Shen Yu could only reflect on how Su Qing had gone abroad to study, while Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin enjoyed absolute freedom, spending their days jetting off to Sanya for vacation or traveling to Xi'an City.

In reality, a university student's primary social circle centered around their dormitory. No matter how closely they mingled with outsiders, there was always an invisible wall keeping them at arm's length. Unless they shared bonds from high school, regular classmates would never be as intimate as roommates.

Therefore, after pulling away from Zheng Yanyan and the girls, Shen Yu considered branching out to make new friends. But to the rest of the campus, she would always be an outsider.

Now, however, Zhou Yuwen was personally inviting her out.

Shen Yu mulled it over briefly. 'I suppose I should go,' she thought. 'I am only attending as a friend, so it is not like I will be dragged into their romantic squabbles.' Making up her mind, she told Zhou Yuwen, "I should probably head back to my dormitory to change my clothes first."

After all, she was still dressed in her elegant hosting gown.

Zhou Yuwen assured her that it was absolutely no problem.

Thus, the group hung around to wait for Shen Yu to change.

Tonight's gathering was nothing more than a small, intimate get-together consisting of four people: Zhou Yuwen, Zheng Yanyan, Lu Lin, and Shen Yu.

While Shen Yu returned to her room, the remaining three lingered downstairs outside the dormitory building, chatting.

It was nearing nine o'clock, and the night sky featured a brilliantly clear moon against a smattering of sparse stars.

There was an old saying that the moon on the sixteenth of the lunar month was rounder than on the fifteenth. This did not necessarily pinpoint that exact day, but rather implied that around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was always exceptionally full. Just like tonight, the sky was entirely devoid of clouds, leaving only a perfect, luminous orb hanging high above.

A delicate fragrance of blooming osmanthus flowers drifted through the campus.

As they chatted, Zhou Yuwen and the girls inevitably caught themselves sighing over the profound changes of the past year.

Indeed, a whole year had slipped by in the blink of an eye, bringing with it an overwhelming tide of events. Originally, they had been a massive, lively crew containing both Zhou Yuwen's and Zheng Yanyan's entire dormitories.

Now, out of all the boys, Zhou Yuwen was the only one left standing.

And on the girls' side, Su Qing had journeyed far across the ocean to study abroad.

Zheng Yanyan was the one who initially breached the topic.

Speaking from the heart, she jutted out her lower lip and murmured about how she used to find her daily bickering with Su Qing incredibly annoying. Now that the other girl was gone, however, she actually missed her.

Lu Lin raised a brow. "Oh? Is that so?"

"I assumed you were missing Chang Hao."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Zheng Yanyan burst into giggles at the remark and chased after Lu Lin, playfully threatening to smack her. She retorted, "I have not even brought up the inside jokes about you and Li Qiang yet! How dare you make fun of me?"

"There is absolutely nothing going on between him and me," Lu Lin defended herself coolly.

"Ew, really? Then where has your precious Qiang run off to?"

Whether it was Chang Hao or Li Qiang, both names sounded entirely too distant now. Even Zhou Yuwen had to pause and search his memory for a brief moment before recalling, 'Oh right, those two are my roommates.'

It was not long before Shen Yu came back downstairs sporting a fresh outfit.

In the balmy summer night, Shen Yu wore a crisp white shirt paired with a grey pleated skirt. Her long, pale legs looked particularly dazzling beneath the dim evening lights.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," she apologized sweetly as she trotted out.

As she emerged from the dormitory building, Zhou Yuwen finally noticed that her long hair flowed in gentle, loose waves.

While she was hosting on stage earlier, she had pinned her hair up, so he had not paid much attention to it. Now, seeing the lush locks cascading over her shoulders, he casually asked, "Did you get a perm?"

Shen Yu merely pursed her lips at the question, flashing him a helpless look.

Zhou Yuwen was bewildered by her reaction.

Zheng Yanyan, however, snorted with laughter. "Hubby, are you seriously just noticing this? She got her hair permed at the end of last semester."

"Seriously? How come I do not remember that at all?" Zhou Yuwen looked completely blank.

Shen Yu sighed, sounding even more exasperated. "Alas, you can barely keep track of your own girlfriends. How could you possibly have the spare mental capacity to remember me?"

Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin erupted into giggles at her jab. Flustered and mildly embarrassed by the teasing, Zhou Yuwen quickly suggested they hurry up and go grab some food.

With that, he took the lead and started marching ahead.

Zheng Yanyan hollered from behind him, "Hubby, what are you running for? Are you scared of a little teasing?"

Zhou Yuwen replied without turning around, "Could you please refrain from calling me that on school grounds?"

"I will call you whatever I want! Hubby, hubby!"

For a man with the soul of a thirty-something uncle, being repeatedly branded as 'hubby' by Zheng Yanyan in such a public setting left him feeling rather sheepish.

Following closely behind, Shen Yu listened to their playful bickering and smiled softly.

'Perhaps interacting with them like this is actually quite nice,' she thought. 'There is no need to deliberately avoid them.'

A little past nine o'clock was precisely when evening self-study sessions wrapped up, meaning there were countless students flooding out of the canteen. As the Vice President of the Student Union, Shen Yu possessed a high degree of notoriety on campus. Within moments, several people passing by had already stopped to greet her.

Zheng Yanyan sparked even more hushed whispers and gossip among the crowd.

"That is the head of the Arts Department, Zheng Yanyan."

"She looks way prettier in person than in her pictures!"

"I heard she is the absolute only sophomore in our university to ever snag a department head position!"

Zheng Yanyan still retained her old habit of being an absolute show-off. Whenever she caught wind of people talking about her, she would lift her chin high, strutting like a proud peacock.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Zhou Yuwen also spotted a few familiar faces. For instance, Liu Yue and her boyfriend casually strolled past, their hands tightly intertwined.

This took Zhou Yuwen by surprise. 'Did they not have a massive falling out?' he wondered.

'How did they manage to reconcile so quickly?'

Once they stepped off the campus, the dense crowds of students thinned out significantly. The group weighed several dining options before ultimately settling on the newly opened Haidilao Hotpot situated right across from the school.

According to Zheng Yanyan, even though Haidilao was a bit pricier, their unparalleled service more than made up for it.

"Right, Hubby?" Zheng Yanyan asked with a beaming smile.

"We will go wherever you want to go," Zhou Yuwen replied indifferently.

Viewed through the lens of 2014, Haidilao's service truly did develop a distinctive style that dominated the entire hot pot market. Relying purely on this legendary hospitality, they continually expanded their market share, eventually achieving nationwide fame. Honestly speaking, however, the catering industry would undergo immense transformations over the next decade. At the very least, when it came to hot pot, a handful of rival brands would step up to offer equally exceptional service. Viewed from that future perspective, Haidilao actually possessed a rather mediocre cost-performance ratio.

The precise moment they arrived at the hot pot restaurant's entrance, several servers swarmed over to greet them, apologetically informing the group that the establishment was currently packed and they would need to wait in line to dine.

"Please take a seat over here for a moment. We offer complimentary snacks and drinks for waiting guests," one server offered politely.

"We also have sets for Chinese chess, Chinese checkers, and Gomoku over here."

"Furthermore, we offer complimentary manicures. Would any of the ladies be interested?"

This comprehensive, all-inclusive service struck a deep chord with these young university students. At a glance, practically everyone waiting outside in line was a student from the nearby campuses. Politely declining the immediate pampering, the group found an empty booth in the waiting area and sat down.

Shen Yu turned to Zheng Yanyan, her curiosity piqued. "Do you not love getting manicures?"

"Why not go and give it a try?"

Zheng Yanyan explained that the manicures provided here were unattractive, mostly because they relied on the cheapest available materials.

"I normally head to the Golden Eagle Shopping Center to get my nails done. There is a specific shop there with an incredibly high standard. Hey, Shen Yu, if you ever want to get your nails done, I will take you with me!" Zheng Yanyan offered with a cheerful grin.

Upon hearing that she would have to travel all the way to the Golden Eagle Shopping Center just for a simple manicure, Shen Yu frantically waved her hands in refusal. "Forget it."

"The round trip wastes too much time. Just riding the subway would eat up two hours." "Why would we take the subway? I will drive you there myself!" Zheng Yanyan blinked her big eyes innocently.

Shen Yu offered a wry smile at the suggestion. Sure enough, the fundamental essence of their lifestyles was entirely incompatible.

The group had braced themselves for a lengthy wait, but surprisingly, after only a few moments, a server hurried over with an apologetic smile to thank them for their patience.

"We happen to have a private room that just opened up. However, it is an eight-to-ten person table, and there is another party of five currently waiting. Would you folks mind sharing the room with them?"

Before Zhou Yuwen or the girls could formulate an answer, the server hastily added, "Our private room is equipped with two separate hotpot stoves, so you will be dining completely apart from their party."

Zheng Yanyan threw a glance back at Zhou Yuwen, silently asking for his opinion on the arrangement.

Personally, Zhou Yuwen could not care less either way. However, considering he was escorting three little beauties, sharing a space with complete strangers felt somewhat awkward. He briefly considered suggesting they simply find another restaurant.

But when he lifted his gaze to inspect the other waiting party, he was startled to discover that the group consisted of Li Shiqi and her friends.

"Hey! Shiqi, look! It is your boyfriend!"

Li Shiqi's outspoken roommate, Wang Meng, had managed to spot the tall, striking figure of Zhou Yuwen standing out like a crane among a flock of chickens from a mile away, and she immediately shrieked in excitement.

That single, deafening shout instantly humiliated Li Shiqi, prompting her to shrink her neck down into her collar like a frightened turtle.

Truth be told, she had already noticed Zhou Yuwen's presence earlier.

She had originally intended to simply turn around and sneak away to avoid him.

Who could have ever predicted that her roommate would possess such eagle-like vision and a piercingly loud voice?

For Li Shiqi, crossing paths with Zhou Yuwen again was an incredibly dreadful ordeal. After all, the fact that she had been posing as his girlfriend over the past few days had practically become public knowledge across the campus.

To make matters worse, Zhou Yuwen had not attempted to contact her even once during this entire period.

She was absolutely certain that he was furious with her.

She figured that he would want absolutely nothing to do with her for the rest of his life.

These past few days had been nothing short of pure torment for the young girl.

Because her reputation had suddenly skyrocketed, whenever she worked at the Student Union, older senior male students and senior sisters would warmly greet her, only to casually drop comments like, "Well, your boyfriend is Zhou Yuwen, after all!"

Faced with such probing remarks, all she could manage was an awkward smile, neither strictly denying nor outright confirming the rumors.

In reality, whenever she hid under her covers at night, she found herself secretly checking Zhou Yuwen's Moments countless times, absolutely terrified that the feed would suddenly display the dreaded blank line indicating a significant development—that he had completely deleted her.

Thankfully, she had survived the past two days without being blocked.

Though she also could not rule out the distinct possibility that Zhou Yuwen simply never touched his WeChat.

To begin with, she and Zhou Yuwen were not even a real couple.

Yet here was Wang Meng, screeching at the top of her lungs right in front of him, loudly blabbering about boyfriends and girlfriends.

"Hi, Zhou Yuwen! I never imagined we would be sharing a table with your group. We were just worrying about getting seated with some creepy weirdos, but if it is you guys, there is absolutely zero problem! Right, Shiqi?" Wang Meng winked wildly at the girl beside her before violently shoving Li Shiqi directly in front of Zhou Yuwen.

At this moment, Li Shiqi's face was burning a violent shade of scarlet, and she dared not even lift her head to meet his gaze.

This was the ultimate scene of public embarrassment.

If she possessed the ability to dig holes, she would not hesitate to instantly carve out a three-bedroom apartment deep underground and eagerly dive inside to hide forever.

Her trembling fingers nervously clutched the hem of her clothing, terrified that Zhou Yuwen would instantly shatter her clumsy lie.

To her profound shock, Zhou Yuwen merely threw her a brief glance and casually asked, "Having dinner with your roommates?"

"?"

Li Shiqi could hardly believe her ears. He had not exposed her after all. She carefully peeked up to observe him.

Only to find that his expression was as utterly placid and normal as ever.

"Mhm," Li Shiqi replied, nodding meekly.

"Since we all know each other, let's just share the room," Zhou Yuwen declared evenly.

"Yay! We get to dine with a highly successful man! How exciting!" Wang Meng cheered with a radiant smile, prompting the other students trailing behind Li Shiqi to burst into amused laughter.

Li Shiqi's group comprised three girls and two boys, all of whom were core pillars of the Student Union.

The vast majority of the freshman welcome parties were concentrated on this specific day. Once the events wrapped up, groups of friends inevitably gathered for a celebratory meal. Usually, Li Shiqi strictly avoided participating in such social dinners.

This year, however, everyone firmly 'knew' she was Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend. Hoping to network and butter her up over dinner, they had relentlessly insisted that she tag along.

Thus, this wonderfully bizarre dining party was officially established.

Naturally, Zheng Yanyan completely refused to offer Li Shiqi a single pleasant look throughout the entire ordeal.

In fact, the exact second Li Shiqi entered her field of vision, her expression had instantly frosted over.

She had nearly opened her mouth on multiple occasions to furiously demand exactly when this random Li Shiqi had become Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend.

But Lu Lin had swiftly intercepted her every single time.

Shooting her a firm warning glance, Lu Lin continuously signaled for her to keep her mouth firmly shut.

This left Zheng Yanyan feeling exceptionally disgruntled.

However, the absolute main source of her burning irritation was Li Shiqi's overly familiar roommate, Wang Meng.

The girl acted as if they were all lifelong best friends throughout the entire encounter.

She even shamelessly joked, "Zhou Yuwen, you somehow managed to quietly swoop in and steal the absolute most beautiful girl in our dormitory without anyone noticing. Are you not going to show some proper appreciation by treating us to a meal or something?"

Her remark was incredibly abrupt and wildly inappropriate.

Listening to this nonsense, Li Shiqi felt as though she were desperately tap-dancing on the razor-sharp edge of a blade.

Her status as his girlfriend was a complete fabrication to begin with.

And now they were demanding that Zhou Yuwen treat them to dinner?

Yet, Zhou Yuwen casually obliged. "In that case, I will take care of the bill tonight."

"Uh, I was only joking!" Wang Meng hurriedly backpedaled with an awkward chuckle.

Zhou Yuwen smoothly assured her that it was not a problem at all.

This graciousness made Wang Meng feel mildly guilty, but she quickly masked it with thick flattery. "Oh my, I really do envy you, Shiqi, finding such a handsome and overly generous boyfriend! Hey, what are you backing away for? You need to sit right next to your man!"

Upon entering the private room, Li Shiqi desperately wanted to slink away and bury herself in a quiet corner seat. Right now, she wanted nothing more than for everyone to completely forget she existed, praying to be entirely ignored.

The obvious problem was, was that even possible?

Just as she attempted to flee the scene, Wang Meng grabbed her by the arm and forcefully shoved her into the empty seat directly beside Zhou Yuwen.

"Excuse me, could you make a little room so they can sit together?" Zheng Yanyan was just about to take the prime seat next to Zhou Yuwen, but Wang Meng aggressively nudged her out of the way. Wang Meng then shamelessly winked at Zheng Yanyan, her expression clearly broadcasting, 'You understand, right?'

'Understand my foot!'

A ferocious, fiery rage burned viciously in Zheng Yanyan's chest.

Lu Lin hastily grabbed Zheng Yanyan's arm and dragged her away. "Just sit over here."

Zheng Yanyan shot Lu Lin a deeply resentful, murderous glare.

Lu Lin calmly patted her shoulder. "Did you not want to eat hot pot? Just focus on your meal."