Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 506: Li Shiqi

In his previous life and this current one, Zhou Yuwen attended the same university. The only difference was that in his previous life, his relationship with the school amounted to nothing more than paying tuition fees and spending four years there. He was just another face in the crowd. After graduating, he rarely ever mentioned the university.This life was completely different. The school was genuinely proud of Zhou Yuwen. Enrolling a student like him was akin to a blessing from the heavens. At just nineteen years old, he had already made a massive name for himself on Wall Street. How could the school not dedicate at least two glorious chapters to him in its otherwise unremarkable history museum?

He was, without a doubt, a distinguished alumnus.

Naturally, the school hadn't held back in asking for sponsorships. However, Zhou Yuwen always played it off with a laugh, claiming that his funds were currently tied up and promising to make a donation the moment his capital became available.

Well, since they couldn't get his money, Zhou Yuwen had to at least make a few public appearances to boost the university's reputation.

Thus, Zhou Yuwen was pushed onto the stage at the freshman opening ceremony. He looked down at the sea of youthful, green faces, all staring up at him with sheer admiration.

Feeling rather gratified, he stepped up to the podium, pulled the microphone closer, and gazed out at the audience.

Down below, several students were visibly thrilled. After all, Zhou Yuwen was a major boss worth hundreds of millions. Listening to a speech from someone like him would surely be incredibly beneficial, right?

However, they were thoroughly disappointed.

The very first thing Zhou Yuwen said was, "To be honest, on my way here, I had absolutely no idea what to talk about."

"Then, I had a brief chat with our Principal. The Principal told me to just keep it simple and chat with you all. Things like, what do I do in my daily life? Why have I achieved such great success?"

"So I thought about it and, well, mostly I just spend a lot of time dating."

"Whoa—"

An uproar swept through the audience. Wait, was this really the billionaire tycoon, their esteemed senior male student?

How could he speak so casually?

It made the crowd doubt if his rumored net worth was even real.

If Zhou Yuwen had given this speech after 2020, people probably would have accepted it. After all, in those later years, entertainment reigned supreme, and everything could be turned into a joke. Men and women dating would be treated as normally as eating and drinking, something that could be casually discussed in any setting.

But in this era, society was still somewhat conservative. At the very least, one couldn't be as utterly uninhibited as Zhou Yuwen.

As a result, furious whispers broke out across the crowd.

Some even murmured, "So it seems the rumors are entirely true?"

"Senior Zhou Yuwen really has dated a lot of girlfriends?"

Zhou Yuwen let them chatter amongst themselves. Once the murmuring died down, he restrained his smile and said, "Alright, I was just making a joke."

"What I mean is, university life shouldn't be so exhausting. People often ask me how I achieved such massive success, and I always answer: maintain a level head and keep a relaxed attitude."

"If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to be this exhausted. You all see me as highly successful now, but the truth is, it's incredibly tiring. There are endless meetings, and I have to make overseas calls late into the night. If I could choose, I would genuinely prefer to be an ordinary person."

"Truly, just be a perfectly normal university student. Don't constantly obsess over striving and grinding. Being happy is more important than anything else. Date a little more, interact with the opposite sex, and treat romance like a game of strategy. You'll find yourselves much happier."

Every word Zhou Yuwen spoke was deeply shocking to these newly enrolled freshmen. First, the wave of students who had idolized him felt completely stunned.

They had worshipped him because they assumed that anyone who could make so much money so quickly must be an exceptionally brilliant and highly disciplined young man.

But why...

Even the freshmen who previously had no interest in Zhou Yuwen were taken aback by his words.

Damn, this guy actually has some substance!

This speech was entirely improvised. If it had to have a core theme, it was simply: don't exhaust yourself every single day in university. Date when you should date, and go out and play when you should play.

As the old poem goes: 'Covet not the golden-threaded robe, but cherish the time of your youth.'

'Gather the blossoms while you may, lest you be left grasping at empty branches.'

This latter part of his speech deeply resonated with the university students, prompting a thunderous round of applause.

Zhou Yuwen originally thought this would just remain a simple campus speech. Who knew that someone would later upload it to the internet? Because his views completely contradicted those of many prominent industry titans, it sparked a fierce online debate.

Some even severely criticized him for lacking proper decency.

After all, this was supposedly the greatest of eras, where everyone was constantly preaching about the grind and hard work.

Every time Boss Ma gave a speech, he would inevitably bring up how he took the college entrance exam three times, how he scored single digits in math, how he wandered aimlessly overseas, and how he led his eighteen co-founders through the harsh, unforgiving streets of Jingcheng.

Brother Pony would talk about the countless nights he spent pretending to be a girl on QQ just to chat with users.

Brother Dong's story was even more tragic; he couldn't even scrape together enough money for his university tuition fees.

Yet, when it came to Zhou Yuwen...

He just told everyone to lie flat.

And even urged everyone to focus on dating.

Of course, it wasn't as if absolutely no one agreed with him.

For instance, Zhang Chaoyang from Jingcheng felt that this young man saw things incredibly clearly, even without having met him. What was the point of making endless amounts of money? Having enough to spend was perfectly fine.

Zhou Yuwen's mental state was a whole century ahead of the current generation of university students, though they still found it hard to accept right now. They even added a new line to a popular internet meme.

It went: "Boss Ma, who cares nothing for wealth; Liu Dongqiang, who knows not his wife's beauty; and Zhou Yuwen, who lies flat and embraces the slump."

At this time, Zhang Chaoyang was facing heavy criticism for wanting to sell Sohu. Some people felt sorry for him, noting that he was among the first wave of internet pioneers in the country. If he hadn't sold off his assets, he probably would have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the two Mas. Others claimed he had simply been forced out by competitors.

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen also received his fair share of criticism, with detractors accusing him of leading the youth astray.

Zhou Yuwen naturally refused to comment on such remarks. It wasn't until many years later, when all those hard-working entrepreneurs had faded into obscurity and society as a whole had entered an era of lying flat, that his speech from this day resurfaced. Cut into viral clips across major short video platforms, people finally realized that there was a very good reason why Zhou Yuwen was so phenomenal at making money.

The man had seen the future with absolute crystal clarity all along.

In that future era, all those who blindly slaved away and strived ended up buried in crippling debt.

When they finally returned to their hometowns for blind dates, the thirty-something women they met had ridiculously high standards. Experiences that others once enjoyed for the cost of a twenty-five-yuan cheap motel room now required a buyout of three to four hundred thousand yuan, with hefty, ongoing maintenance fees.

Had they known how things would turn out, they would have been much better off dating a few more times back in university.

Of course, it wasn't as if everyone completely ignored his advice.

At the very least, several exceptionally pretty girls found his speech incredibly fascinating.

They originally thought he was the aloof and unapproachable type of senior male student. They never expected him to be so down-to-earth, delivering witty remarks one after another on stage, prompting several beautiful junior female students to cover their mouths and giggle.

Some of the things he said up there indeed gave the girls in the audience a bit of an illusion—the feeling that Zhou Yuwen would actually be quite easy to woo.

He literally just told them to date more often, after all.

So, what would be the harm in dating them?

After Zhou Yuwen concluded his speech, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

By the time the school leaders took the stage, the atmosphere had grown somewhat awkward.

The leader took the microphone and stated, "Alright, let us first thank our alumnus, Zhou Yuwen, for that wonderful speech."

"However, while everyone loves the idea of lying flat and slacking off, we must still strive hard when necessary. After all, none of us here have three billion yuan in the bank."

The school leader's witty remark instantly grounded the crowd again, and everyone burst into laughter.

Once the freshman assembly concluded, everyone began to disperse.

Zhou Yuwen had planned to leave as well, but Shen Yu grabbed hold of him, insisting he sign the attendance sheet.

In the brief moment it took for him to lower his head and provide his signature, a whole swarm of junior female students had already surrounded him, begging to add him on WeChat.

Of course, it wasn't just the junior female students. Even though Zhou Yuwen had made it perfectly clear on stage that the current era was not conducive to blind striving and that they should lie flat if possible, these people simply refused to listen. They still swarmed him, hoping he would provide them with investment.

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen had no intention of investing in any of them.

He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

In truth, Zhou Yuwen's relaxed and effortless demeanor on stage had deeply attracted Yin Songyue. Feeling that he wasn't as unapproachable as she once thought, she mustered up her courage and wanted to come over and befriend him.

Honestly, Yin Songyue had never taken the initiative to ask a boy for his WeChat before.

She had never even entertained the thought of doing so in the past. But after seeing Zhou Yuwen, the urge suddenly blossomed in her mind.

She reasoned that if other boys could boldly ask for her WeChat, why couldn't she ask a boy she had a good impression of for his?

So, she stood on the fringes of the crowd surrounding him, gazing at Zhou Yuwen as he stood there like the center of attention, desperately gathering her courage.

Ultimately, Yin Songyue was quite confident. She felt that given her excellent qualities, Zhou Yuwen would definitely be willing to spend time with her.

Unfortunately, after holding her breath for a long time, she still couldn't bring herself to take that final step forward.

She told herself she would just wait until there were fewer people around before asking.

Or perhaps, since she was so exceptionally beautiful, Zhou Yuwen was bound to notice her anyway.

The problem was that Zhou Yuwen was swamped; he didn't have the time to notice her at all.

And so, once again, the two of them brushed past each other without connecting.

Reaching Zhou Yuwen's level of success meant that life was no longer as carefree as it used to be.

There were certain things he simply couldn't ignore, not because he wanted to do them, but because a whole crowd of people was constantly pushing him to act.

For example, the moment the Shared Bicycle Project successfully launched in Jinling, a swarm of investors rushed over with handfuls of cash, practically begging him to expand.

Fun Campus had officially launched its short video section this September. Focusing primarily on high-quality, premium content, the target demographic was university students, and the platform had initiated multiple subsidy campaigns for top-tier videos.

Essentially, as long as a creator had brilliant ideas and genuine talent, they could register on Fun Campus as a video creator. The most popular videos each month were rewarded with creator funds ranging from one thousand to one hundred thousand yuan.

Aside from all of that, his property management and security companies had officially launched, but they currently had zero clients.

Liu Shuo had fully assembled his security team, but unable to find any business, he could only come to Zhou Yuwen to complain.

Zhou Yuwen's response was blunt: no matter how much you complain to me, I can't just magically conjure up clients for you.

"This is the kind of thing you have to go out and hustle for yourself."

"Hey, bro, don't you know that Sister Milk Tea?" Liu Shuo asked, grinning broadly.

Zhou Yuwen was a little surprised. "You actually know about Sister Milk Tea?"

"Heh, who doesn't?" Liu Shuo bared his teeth in a smile.

Zhou Yuwen asked him what he was getting at.

Liu Shuo told him that Sister Milk Tea's family was supposedly in the real estate business.

"Bro, since you're so close with her, could you see about throwing a little business our way?"

Zhou Yuwen pondered this. Zhang Tianze's family was indeed in real estate, but their business was relatively localized—how much volume could they really offer? Besides, as just the daughter, Zhang Tianze might not even have a say in the matter.

But then again, Liu Dongqiang and Sister Milk Tea's engagement banquet was coming up soon, and they had extended an invitation to him.

Originally, Zhou Yuwen hadn't planned on attending. But thinking about it now, their banquet would likely be filled with prominent local businessmen from Jinling. It might actually be worth dropping by to take a look.

So, he agreed to Liu Shuo's suggestion, promising to keep an eye out for opportunities.

Liu Shuo immediately rushed over, shamelessly offering to give Zhou Yuwen a massage.

He even added, "I knew it."

"My bro is the most capable guy in the world!"

"Get lost! If you used this kind of sweet talk on women, do you really think you'd still be single?"

"Ugh! Women are nothing but trouble!"

While Liu Shuo was busy fawning over Zhou Yuwen in the office, a knock came from the door.

Zhou Yuwen called out for them to enter.

Tang Yurou, dressed in sharp professional attire and clicking her high heels, walked in. "Brother-in-Law, there's someone outside looking for you. She says she's your high school classmate, named Li Shiqi. She's quite a pure and innocent-looking girl."

"What is she doing here?"

Not only was Zhou Yuwen surprised, but even Liu Shuo craned his neck in sheer curiosity.

Zhou Yuwen told Tang Yurou to bring her in.

Zhou Yuwen's company was heavily skewed towards female employees. Moreover, most of these girls were highly fashion-conscious and conventionally attractive. As a result, the entire office was a sea of high heels and tight skirts, with the occasional flash of black pantyhose.

For the pure and innocent university student Li Shiqi, this was her very first time stepping into such an environment, and she instantly felt a wave of profound intimidation.

After entering their sophomore year, most girls underwent a fundamental transformation compared to their freshman days. Not only did they learn how to apply makeup and dye their hair, but their fashion sense also matured significantly. For instance, girls like Zheng Yanyan were already experimenting with hip-hugging skirts and off-the-shoulder tops.

However, the sophomore Li Shiqi still looked exactly like a pristine, well-behaved schoolgirl.

It wasn't that she didn't want to dress up; she simply didn't have the money for it.

The total cost of her entire outfit—shirt and pants combined—probably didn't exceed three hundred yuan. Sporting a simple ponytail, a girl like her entering Zhou Yuwen's flashy company would naturally feel a deep sense of inferiority.

Especially when she was being escorted by a wealthy rich girl like Tang Yurou.

Tang Yurou had an excellent figure, knew exactly how to style herself, and was draped head-to-toe in designer brands. As she led the way, her hips swayed with every confident step.

Watching from behind, Li Shiqi couldn't help but think to herself, 'I probably won't ever be able to wear clothes like that in this lifetime.'

"Brother-in-Law, I've brought your classmate in."

Tang Yurou called Zhou Yuwen "Brother-in-Law" as she pushed the door open and entered.

Zhou Yuwen nodded. "You can step out now."

With that, Tang Yurou left the room.

"Class Monitor! You look exactly the same as you did in high school. You haven't changed a bit!" Before Zhou Yuwen could even open his mouth, Liu Shuo couldn't help but jump out and exclaim happily. He and Li Shiqi hadn't seen each other in nearly half a year.

Li Shiqi looked up at Liu Shuo for a long moment, staring blankly before she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, but you are..."

"???" Liu Shuo was instantly dumbfounded.

"Wait, I'm Liu Shuo! Class Monitor, you seriously don't recognize me!??"