Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 507: Meal Date with Li Shiqi

"Oh, Liu... Shuo?" Li Shiqi's large eyes widened as she stared at the young man standing in front of her, her face a picture of sheer confusion.This thoroughly depressed Liu Shuo. The worst part was that this wasn't even the first time Li Shiqi had failed to recognize him!

She had asked who he was before, and he had told her. It hadn't even been that many days, so how could she have forgotten him again?

Liu Shuo was going crazy. He frantically tried to explain, even bringing up his embarrassing high school moments as examples. Hearing his vivid recounting, Li Shiqi thought about it for a long while before finally getting a vague, fuzzy impression of him.

Zhou Yuwen, who had been listening from the sidelines, couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. He chimed in, telling Liu Shuo to drop it. Her mind was entirely focused on studying; she simply didn't have the time to remember irrelevant people, and it wasn't as if Liu Shuo was the only one she didn't recognize.

Liu Shuo remained unconvinced. "But bro," he protested, "she doesn't know me, but she recognizes you!"

Zhou Yuwen casually replied that this was perfectly normal.

"Can you even compare yourself to me?" This remark left Liu Shuo feeling utterly helpless. He argued that since he was following Zhou Yuwen around, he should at least be a familiar face!

Zhou Yuwen laughed at his complaint. Meanwhile, watching Liu Shuo's dramatic reaction, Li Shiqi couldn't help but feel that she had been a bit too insensitive, so she lowered her head and stayed silent.

Liu Shuo had wanted to say a few more words to her, but Li Shiqi was rather shy. She genuinely had no memory of him; from her perspective, they had only crossed paths a handful of times, making them practically strangers.

Zhou Yuwen told Liu Shuo to stop going crazy over such a trivial matter.

"Didn't you just say you were busy with something?" Zhou Yuwen asked.

Liu Shuo blinked in surprise. "Me? What do I have going on? Oh, right, yes, I have things to do!"

Barely catching on in time, he hastily made an excuse about having work to handle and hurried out of the office.

Once Liu Shuo left, the office suddenly fell quiet. Zhou Yuwen glanced at Li Shiqi, who was dressed in a simple, unassuming university student outfit, and curiously asked what brought her there.

"Oh, about that."

Li Shiqi pulled an envelope out of her shoulder bag. It was thick and hefty, clearly stuffed with cash. Driven by curiosity, Zhou Yuwen picked it up to gauge its weight.

It felt like there was a good fifty or sixty thousand inside.

Zhou Yuwen asked her what this was for.

Li Shiqi explained that it was the agency fee required for selling phone cards. She had noticed that everyone else had to pay a certain amount to act as an agent. She had initially contacted Gao Yang, but he had refused to accept her fee.

"I know you want to look out for me," she added, "but the money I've made from selling phone cards is already enough to cover my tuition fees and living expenses. Keeping the extra money with me won't do any good."

Li Shiqi spoke in a soft, sweet voice. She was, at her core, a good girl. Even with such a massive sum of money in her possession, her heart didn't stir with greed.

However, Zhou Yuwen finally understood why Liu Shuo had been going crazy earlier.

He had probably passed down the order to look after Li Shiqi.

Only to have her completely forget his name.

It was quite a helpless situation.

Since Li Shiqi had already made the trip to deliver it, Zhou Yuwen simply tossed the envelope into his drawer. He then smiled and asked how her business had been over the past month.

Li Shiqi cherished the opportunity for chatting with him. Like most other university students, she viewed Zhou Yuwen as an imposing boss figure, which naturally made her feel a bit restrained and cautious.

It was late September. Outside the window, the dense canopy of sycamore trees remained a vibrant, sun-blocking green, their reflections cast clearly against the building's all-glass facade. Whenever a breeze swept by, the broad sycamore leaves would tremble gently.

Zhou Yuwen sat relaxed at his desk while Li Shiqi stood before him, her voice quiet. Occasionally, when she spoke to him, the corners of her mouth would curve upward in a slight, subtle smile.

She mentioned that because it was the back-to-school season, a lot of students were buying phone cards.

"And thanks to your help, I've been acting as the sole agent for the entire Nanjing University campus. I've made quite a bit."

This lass had no scheming mind—or perhaps she just felt there was no need to play games in front of Zhou Yuwen. She straightforwardly told him that she had pocketed roughly thirty thousand over the past month.

Thirty thousand was already a massive sum. After all, the agency fee she had just handed over was fifty thousand. Moreover, as a young girl, it was impossible for her to personally manage the entire campus by herself; her best option was to subcontract the work out.

Li Shiqi attributed all her success to Zhou Yuwen's care and support, but Zhou Yuwen insisted it was the fruit of her own hard work.

"I've never been too familiar with the situation over at Nanjing University," Zhou Yuwen said sincerely. "So, the fact that you managed to swallow up your school's market proves you have real ability."

Li Shiqi simply smiled at his praise. Zhou Yuwen wasn't wrong, though. Initially, the phone card business at Nanjing University had been handed over to a certain department head in the Student Union.

After Li Shiqi secured the agency rights, that department head had tried to play dirty tricks, but she had managed to defuse every single one of them. Furthermore, her current academic knowledge was exceptionally strong. A female professor at the school, who was around seventy years old, was very fond of her and showed clear intentions of taking her on as a final, direct disciple. Because of this, the professor had also provided her with a lot of help in her daily life.

Coming to Zhou Yuwen's company today wasn't just about delivering the money; she also wanted to thank him in person.

However, Zhou Yuwen teasingly pointed out that if she really wanted to express her gratitude, merely saying the words seemed a bit lacking in sincerity.

"Then... I treat you to a meal?"

Li Shiqi blurted out the offer, looking as though she had prepared it well in advance.

It made sense. This meal had been delayed for a whole year; it was high time they finally had it.

Zhou Yuwen agreed, saying he happened to be free after getting off work today.

"Wait here for me for a bit. You can take a tour around the company while you're at it."

Li Shiqi had no objections, though staying in his office did feel rather awkward. Now that his career was fully on track, Zhou Yuwen had endless company matters to attend to every single day.

People were constantly walking in, asking him for his signature.

Sitting on the sofa in the reception area waiting for him, Li Shiqi felt entirely out of place in the grand, luxurious office. Whenever someone came in for a signature and noticed a young girl sitting there, they couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

Those curious stares naturally made her feel even smaller and more helpless.

She could only lower her head.

Sigh. In truth, many of those young women were around the same age as her, but they were polished corporate professionals, while she was still dressed in simple jeans and sneakers, looking like any ordinary young girl.

The sharp contrast inevitably stirred up a quiet sense of inferiority.

After what felt like ages, it was finally time to get off work.

Zhou Yuwen signed the last document for Tang Yurou. She opened her mouth to add something else, but Zhou Yuwen held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm officially off the clock, alright? I need some private time too," he said with a smile, grabbing his suit jacket.

"I say, brother-in-law," Tang Yurou countered, "is this how a boss acts? Your colleagues haven't even clocked out yet!"

"Isn't the whole point of working hard and making money so that I don't have to be tied down like the rest of you?" Zhou Yuwen chuckled.

Well, she couldn't exactly argue with that logic.

Still, Tang Yurou pressed, "So if you're leaving, does that mean we can leave too?"

"Isn't that how it should be? Alright, stop trying to hustle me. Can't you see I have a guest? Hey, Shiqi, can I order whatever I want today?" Zhou Yuwen asked with a smile as he slipped his arms into his clothes.

"Huh? Yes."

Li Shiqi, who had been keeping her head down this whole time, hadn't expected him to suddenly address her.

She immediately nodded in agreement.

"Perfect. I'm definitely going to feast on your dime today. How about we get Japanese food?"

Although Li Shiqi had never actually eaten Japanese cuisine before, she nodded firmly and agreed.

"Let's go, then," Zhou Yuwen said.

Tang Yurou trailed behind them as they left the office. On their way out, she couldn't resist teasing him, claiming that she wanted Japanese food too.

Zhou Yuwen retorted, telling her to spend her own money to buy it!

Because it was quitting time, a portion of the staff had to stay behind for overtime work, while the rest were packing up to leave.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the elevators.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen approach, everyone immediately cleared a path and took the initiative to greet him. Some called him "Boss," while others respectfully addressed him as "President Zhou." He responded with brief nods.

The elevator pinged open just as he arrived.

It was completely empty inside.

Zhou Yuwen walked straight in, bringing Li Shiqi with him.

At first, Li Shiqi assumed everyone else would pile in after them. But to her surprise, she and Zhou Yuwen were the only ones in the elevator car.

Feeling a bit awkward, she politely asked the crowd, "Aren't you all coming down?"

A girl wearing glasses offered her a friendly smile. "You two go ahead. We'll wait for the next one."

Li Shiqi felt a genuine jolt of astonishment. She had thought that even though he was the boss now, he was still young and wouldn't care for such rigid, formal etiquette.

But to her surprise, Zhou Yuwen just stood in the back, not saying a single word to invite them in.

The elevator doors slowly slid shut.

Zhou Yuwen stood slightly behind her. As the elevator descended, a heavy silence filled the air. Li Shiqi kept her head bowed, burning with curiosity about what he was thinking or doing back there.

Honestly, watching him handle matters all afternoon, she had only seen his earnest dedication. He commanded the room, effortlessly directing every issue, making it seem like he understood absolutely everything. That version of him was incredibly handsome, the exact type of ambitious young man she admired. Yet, in the split second she stepped into this elevator, she acutely felt the weight of social class.

Li Shiqi couldn't help but wonder—didn't he find this strange?

Wouldn't it be better for a boss to be more approachable and down-to-earth?

Pondering this, she repeatedly found herself wanting to glance back, eager to see if he was also dwelling on what had just happened.

But unexpectedly, a sudden snort of laughter broke the silence.

Giving her the perfect excuse, she turned around openly to see what he was doing.

Only to discover that he was actually scrolling through short videos on Fun Campus.

Seeing her look over, he casually tilted his phone screen toward her. "Hey, look at this. Isn't this our high school classmate? I remember her being pretty average back then, but now she has thirty thousand followers."

Li Shiqi peered at the video. A pale-skinned girl was adjusting her tube top on screen. The face was incredibly familiar, but Li Shiqi simply couldn't place it.

"Oh, you probably can't recognize her. She's heavily filtered," Zhou Yuwen noted, reading the confused expression on her face.

Li Shiqi lowered her head, remaining quiet. She realized she had truly missed out on so much; she couldn't even recognize the vast majority of her high school classmates anymore.

Back then, her only thought was to dedicate herself entirely to studying, to escape that small county town, and to carve out a fresh start.

She never imagined that her old classmates would one day become topics of casual conversation.

"Do you think he'll be angry?"

After holding it in for a long time, she finally blurted out that question.

"Who?" Zhou Yuwen didn't catch her drift.

"I mean..."

Her eyes shimmered, tainted with a hint of embarrassment.

It finally clicked for him. "Oh, you mean Liu Shuo? No, he won't be. He's a good guy. Besides, you can't be blamed for this; you barely ever saw him in the first place."

Arriving at the underground parking garage, Zhou Yuwen pulled out a remote control and clicked it twice. A white Cayenne with two frog-like headlights immediately flashed twice in response.

Back during the new car procurement phase, he had bought several models he personally liked for the company, casually driving whichever one caught his fancy on any given day. When he was broke, buying a car would have brought him immense joy. Now that he was wealthy, the thrill simply wasn't the same.

Pulling open the Cayenne's passenger door, he gestured for Li Shiqi to get in.

To his surprise, Li Shiqi actually recognized the brand.

She asked him if it was a Porsche.

"You know about this car?" Zhou Yuwen asked with a smile as he pulled out of the spot.

She nodded, explaining that when she was tutoring, the child's mother drove the exact same vehicle.

"She told me this car costs two million."

"Oh," Zhou Yuwen replied smoothly. "Then her car is a bit more expensive than mine."

"How much was this one?"

"Around 1.5 million."

Hearing that number, Li Shiqi could only sigh helplessly.

Zhou Yuwen asked why she had suddenly gone quiet.

"It feels like they cost about the same," she murmured.

"That's a difference of half a million."

"Alright, then."

The topic had officially hit her blind spot, leaving her to endure the dry and dull conversation.

Although they were getting Japanese food, they didn't go anywhere excessively pricey. They simply headed to the Golden Eagle shopping center and picked a restaurant where the average cost per person was roughly two hundred.

Showing an easy familiarity, Zhou Yuwen asked for a private room.

Then, he began to order.

Two hundred per head was, for Zhou Yuwen, as cheap as it could possibly get.

But what he had completely overlooked was that the girl sitting across from him had never been to a restaurant like this in her life. Staring at the prices on the menu...

Li Shiqi could only sit in stunned silence.

After he had finished picking out the dishes, he asked if she wanted to add anything else.

She quickly shook her head, insisting that it wasn't necessary.

Once the waiter left, Zhou Yuwen mentioned to her that this place was actually quite affordable, costing only a little over two hundred.

"Whenever you gather with friends, you can come here."

Li Shiqi nodded silently. Beneath the table, she sneakily checked her Alipay balance. It showed 603.81 yuan. That should be enough, right?

It was true she had made thirty thousand from the phone cards. But after paying her tuition fees, she still needed to buy specialized textbooks. Furthermore, since she was a sophomore this year, she desperately needed to purchase a laptop computer.

When she added up all those miscellaneous expenses and factored the remaining amount into her monthly living budget, she really didn't have much spare cash left.

Only a wealthy person like Zhou Yuwen—someone born with a golden spoon in his mouth—could be so detached from the struggles of the common folk. He genuinely believed that two hundred a person was "not much," only caring about whether the food tasted good or not.