Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 498: Young CEO

Zhou Yuwen returned to China in early September, accompanied by Liu Dongqiang of JD.com and Sister Milk Tea.Going by the timeline, Zhang Tianze and Liu Dongqiang's relationship had only been exposed to the public in March of this year, and just a few months later, they would formally meet each other's parents and get married.

The couple had originally planned to return at the end of August, but because they wanted to travel with Zhou Yuwen, they simply waited until early September so they could all head back together.

Liu Dongqiang's current status was not yet at the extravagant level of affording a private jet, but booking out the entire first-class cabin was absolutely no problem for him.

There were only four people in the entire luxurious private cabin. Aside from Liu Dongqiang, Zhang Tianze, and Zhou Yuwen, the fourth person was Liu Dongqiang's assistant. He was a young man in his thirties who had previously worked in the government sector, so he was exceedingly thorough and meticulous when it came to serving his superiors.

The trip back to China was quite relaxing, filled with lively conversation and laughter along the way.

Zhou Yuwen finally understood why Liu Dongqiang had chosen Zhang Tianze as his wife. The emotional value she provided was truly remarkable. Her innocent and adorable demeanor as a young girl deeply satisfied a man's pride and ego.

During their direct flight from New York to Pudong, Liu Dongqiang asked Zhou Yuwen if he was heading back to Jinling.

"If so, we can travel together. We happen to be heading to Little Tian's house," he offered.

Zhou Yuwen had not expected his luck to be so good as to witness such a rare occasion. This was likely Liu Dongqiang's first time meeting Zhang Tianze's parents. Considering Liu Dongqiang was only about two years younger than her father, he would probably still have to respectfully address him as uncle upon meeting.

"No need," Zhou Yuwen replied. "My friends are coming to pick me up."

"Oh, you have someone picking you up?" Liu Dongqiang casually inquired.

Zhou Yuwen nodded. Returning from New York this time, he truly felt the gap between himself and those established billionaires. Even though he had made a substantial amount of money, he had ultimately been an ordinary person in his previous life, which made his approach to things somewhat small-minded. For instance, when he previously flew to New York, the most he did was book a single first-class ticket. The idea of chartering the entire cabin like Liu Dongqiang had never even crossed his mind.

Furthermore, Zhou Yuwen noticed that whether it was Liu Dongqiang or Boss Jia, they all traveled with a few bodyguards or assistants to varying degrees, whereas he was always solitary.

It seemed he needed to make some changes upon returning to China. After all, he was now a tycoon with a net worth of three billion yuan.

The group chatted as they walked out of the airport together. Two black Mercedes-Benz cars were waiting to pick up Liu Dongqiang. Another female assistant dressed in a black suit approached them, accompanied by three young men who looked like bodyguards.

Liu Dongqiang displayed quite the imposing presence at that moment. He asked Zhou Yuwen, "Are you sure you do not want to go together? Have your people arrived yet?"

Just as Liu Dongqiang finished speaking, a voice rang out from the distance, "Bro!"

A burly, broad-shouldered young man with slightly tanned skin under the sunlight ran over, wearing a hoodie and grinning from ear to ear.

Aside from Liu Shuo, there were three men following closely behind him. They wore olive green T-shirts and looked rather rustic, but possessed highly muscular builds.

Judging from their walking posture, it was obvious they had a military background. They were likely Zhou Yuwen's bodyguards, though their attire certainly left much to be desired.

Apart from them, there was also Tao Tian, dressed in a black office suit and a tight skirt.

Having not seen her for a few months, Tao Tian looked much more polished and mature. Her hair was pinned up elegantly. Below her tight skirt, her beautiful legs were accentuated by high heels and black stockings. Instead of standard pantyhose, her stockings reached two-thirds of the way up her thighs. Since Tao Tian's legs were slightly plump, the way the stockings dug slightly into her thighs created a highly sensual and captivating look.

Tao Tian's overall outfit gave off a strong business vibe. She was now a senior, meaning she had officially stepped off the campus to become Zhou Yuwen's secretary. After Jiang Xinyi left, Tao Tian took over the majority of the company's workload, truly cementing her position as Zhou Yuwen's executive assistant.

Zhou Yuwen's side had also brought two cars: Tao Tian's Mercedes-Benz and Liu Shuo's Magotan. It did not look too shabby, considering they were still in the early stages of entrepreneurship.

The primary personnel lineup was quite impressive; in terms of presence, Tao Tian completely overshadowed Zhang Tianze.

If Liu Dongqiang had been given a free choice, he definitely would not have picked Zhang Tianze to be his wife. But he had no alternative, he had to consider the enterprise. The relationship between him and Sister Milk Tea had been an explosive topic this year, saving JD.com tens of millions in advertising fees.

Zhou Yuwen asked Liu Shuo why he had brought so many people to pick him up.

Liu Shuo replied, grinning broadly, "Bro, you are a billionaire now! I had to bring a few guys to protect your personal safety! Bro, from now on, Brother Wang and the others should just follow you directly!"

As Liu Shuo spoke, he gestured for the three men behind him to come closer.

Zhou Yuwen recognized these three men; they were the ones he had previously met at Zhao Jun's labor company. All of them were veterans who had struggled to find jobs after their discharge, and Zhou Yuwen had subsequently arranged for them to work as couriers in his express delivery company. Now that Xianlin Express had officially merged into the Cainiao Post Station system, there had been some personnel transfers. Liu Shuo happened to see these men and figured he might as well call them over to serve as Zhou Yuwen's bodyguards.

Having heard the news about Zhou Yuwen, these men harbored a deep, heartfelt admiration for him. When Liu Shuo mentioned having them work as Zhou Yuwen's bodyguards from now on, they were more than happy to oblige.

Zhou Yuwen glanced at them but did not rush to refuse. Instead, he first turned his head to greet Liu Dongqiang, letting him know that his ride had arrived.

"I will be taking off first then, Brother Dong."

"Oh, alright."

The two groups officially parted ways.

Zhou Yuwen and Tao Tian sat in the back seat of the Mercedes-Benz, while Liu Shuo drove in the front.

Then the three men followed behind, driving a Mercedes-Benz.

In truth, Zhou Yuwen had only notified Liu Shuo to pick him up this time, assuming that everyone else was on holiday.

However, once Tao Tian found out, she took the initiative and insisted on coming to pick him up.

Zhou Yuwen had told her, "There is no need. It is rare to have a summer break, so you should just go home and have a good time."

But Tao Tian had replied in a soft and sweet voice, "What holiday do I have left? Your ex-girlfriend has already submitted her resignation. I am the one person handling all the company's affairs, both big and small."

Jiang Xinyi had originally submitted her resignation application in the hopes of giving Zhou Yuwen a chance to ask her to stay. Who would have known that with Zhou Yuwen out of the office, Tao Tian would simply approve it on the spot.

Even though Jiang Xinyi felt somewhat reluctant afterward, she had already spoken the words, so she could only bite the bullet and follow through with her departure.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen rested his hand on Tao Tian's plump thigh wrapped in stockings, chuckling lightly as he noted that the capable always did more work.

"With you looking after the home base, I feel quite reassured."

Tao Tian felt a warm flutter in her heart upon hearing his words. Taking the opportunity, she handed the documents she had prepared over to Zhou Yuwen, explaining that these had been piling up over the past two months and still needed his signature.

And so, Zhou Yuwen began reviewing the documents in the car.

Zhou Yuwen and Liu Dongqiang had the same destination. Even though they hadn't explicitly agreed to travel together, they were still heading down the exact same route.

Liu Dongqiang chatted with his assistant for a while, expressing his feeling that Zhou Yuwen was far from ordinary.

According to Liu Dongqiang's veteran bodyguards, those men around Zhou Yuwen were all highly skilled experts who had come out of the military. How could an ordinary person possibly hire them as bodyguards?

Because of this, Liu Dongqiang became increasingly convinced that there had to be powerful figures backing Zhou Yuwen, prompting him to purposefully cultivate a relationship with him. As they were nearing Jinling from Pudong, Liu Dongqiang gave Zhou Yuwen another phone call.

The gist of it was that since they were almost in Jinling, why not pick a place to have a meal together?

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Brother Dong, I truly have quite a few things to take care of on my end. Once I finish, I still need to make a trip back to my hometown in Xuhuai. Let us do it next time; next time, it will be my treat."

"Oh, I see," Liu Dongqiang said, feeling disappointed.

The two motorcades went their separate ways after entering the city limits. At this time, Zhou Yuwen's domestic companies did not really have any major pressing issues. His most crucial venture, Xianlin Delivery, had already been sold, and the remaining businesses were mostly part-time companies dedicated to helping organize students.

The Shared Bicycle Project, however, was advancing in an orderly and systematic manner.

There had been a slight hiccup previously due to Jiang Xinyi's involvement, but a venture like the Shared Bicycle Project was part of the general trend. Even without Jiang Xinyi, it would merely delay the progress by a little bit.

Taking advantage of the summer break, Zhou Yuwen's shared bicycles were now scattered all over the colleges and universities across Jinling.

With the core business operations resolved, all that remained was the messy pile of affairs Liu Shuo was organizing.

The composition of Liu Shuo's group was somewhat complicated. While the Xuhuai Association sounded massive, it actually only had a little over a thousand core members. These thousand members were scattered across various vocational colleges, large and small, in Jinling. Their academic qualifications might be slightly lacking, but they were all passionate, hot-blooded youths just like Liu Shuo.

The issue Liu Shuo was reporting to Zhou Yuwen this time was that it was currently graduation season. Some of their people had already graduated and started looking for jobs, but Liu Shuo did not want to let them leave.

Liu Shuo insisted that they were all their own people, and their loyalty was unquestionable. If they were allowed to scatter and leave, their bonds would inevitably fade within a few years.

Fortunately, there were only about two hundred members graduating this year.

Zhou Yuwen figured he could help get them settled; at the very least, he could ensure they wouldn't have to work too exhaustingly.

In this day and age, doing practically anything was a way of making money.

And so, Zhou Yuwen told Liu Shuo that they could establish a property management company, as well as a security services company.

After all, hadn't Liu Shuo just been wanting to arrange bodyguards for him?

"Brother Wang and the others all come from a military background, so they have a solid foundation. I also managed to see some new things during my trip to New York. Let us do this: I will spend some money to hire a few trainers from abroad, and you select a few capable men. We will give them proper, systematic training," Zhou Yuwen suggested.

"That sounds fantastic! Bro, you really went abroad and saw the world," Liu Shuo said, grinning.

Zhou Yuwen merely smiled upon hearing those words.

After returning from the airport, he was in no rush to head home and instead went straight to the company.

A year ago, this company had been nothing more than a small studio primarily made up of university students. A year later, its scale had grown to fifty employees, and they had just recently expanded again two months prior.

Once Zhou Yuwen appeared in the office, employee after employee took the initiative to greet him warmly.

They addressed him respectfully as President Zhou, or affectionately as Brother Zhou.

Zhou Yuwen was actually somewhat surprised to see Tang Yurou standing there holding a folder.

Approaching her, he asked, "You are still here?"

Tang Yurou paused for a moment upon hearing this before grasping his meaning. She could not help but laugh as she replied, "Brother-in-law, if I am not here, where else would I go?"

Zhou Yuwen found her words amusing, thinking to himself, 'Since I have already broken up with Jiang Xinyi, there is no reason for her to call me brother-in-law anymore.'

However, he did not say much else. Zhou Yuwen simply led Tao Tian and Liu Shuo into his office to continue their meeting.

At this moment, Tao Tian provided a brief update on Tang Yurou's situation.

Her situation was essentially that there was no situation.

"After Sister Xinyi resigned, I thought she would leave as well. Who would have known she wouldn't say a word about it? Plus, our company is indeed quite short-staffed right now," Tao Tian explained.

Zhou Yuwen nodded in understanding.

Having just returned to the company, he was slightly exhausted, but a meeting was necessary regardless. Since Jiang Xinyi was gone, the finance department would have to be covered by Tang Yurou for the time being.

Tao Tian went out to notify everyone about the meeting, and the supervisors from various departments trickled into the office.

Aside from Liu Shuo, the rest were all young women, such as Tang Yurou from finance, Qu Jing from the cultural media company, and Chen Wan from the planning company.

During the two months Zhou Yuwen was absent, the company had remained profitable, but numerous issues had cropped up. At the very least, logistical support had become highly unreliable. Previously, Jiang Xinyi had managed all of it single-handedly. Now that she was gone, Tang Yurou simply could not shoulder the burden of all the logistics on her own.

The same went for Chen Wan's planning department. In the past, all the planning initiatives had been sourced externally by Su Qing. Chen Wan was nothing more than a recently graduated university student; she simply could not manage everything by herself.

Zhou Yuwen did not have the time to painstakingly groom trusted confidants right now. The only option was to use headhunters to find a few qualified management professionals from outside. At best, he could have these new recruits shadow the current staff and undergo a gradual probationary period.

This task, naturally, would still have to be handled by Tao Tian.

Tao Tian nodded to indicate she understood, promptly jotting it down in her notebook.

It was only then that Zhou Yuwen noticed Tao Tian had a small black notebook in her hand, having retrieved it at some point. Sweeping his gaze across the room, he saw that several other people were also holding little notebooks.

Liu Shuo was the only one who had come completely unprepared.

That made things quite awkward for him.

With Tang Yurou currently in charge of finance, Zhou Yuwen informed her that in a few days, a sum of twenty million yuan would be transferred over from New York.

"You and Tao Tian need to coordinate on this and purchase a few good vehicles for the company. Get one commercial van, and then buy two G-Wagons," he directed.

"Buy G-Wagons?" As soon as Zhou Yuwen finished speaking, Liu Shuo could not resist interjecting.

He instantly perked up. A G-Wagon cost two million yuan each, and Zhou Yuwen wanted to buy two of them?

The others were also incredibly baffled. Had Zhou Yuwen truly struck it rich?

However, Zhou Yuwen did not offer any elaborate explanations. He merely told them to follow his instructions and select the vehicles; he would sign off on the purchase once they were chosen.

Aside from buying cars, the finance department also needed to coordinate with Liu Shuo to supply the necessary capital for launching the property management and security companies.

"Oh right, before that, Liu Shuo, you should draw an advance on some funds and get Brother Wang and his men some new clothes."

Zhou Yuwen originally intended to leave Liu Shuo in charge of this, but after considering Liu Shuo's questionable sense of aesthetics, he immediately turned back to Tao Tian and said, "Actually, you should take care of this."

"I recall Brother Wang's group has five men in total. Let all of them join the security company. Since they do not have pressing duties at the moment, they can just stick by my side. Go buy them some decent outfits."

This practically meant assigning them as Zhou Yuwen's full-time bodyguards.

During the meeting, everyone could plainly sense that Zhou Yuwen placed a tremendous amount of trust in Tao Tian.

It seemed Tao Tian had finally weathered the storm to see the sunshine. After things had gotten so ugly between her and Zhou Yuwen in the past, no one expected that her bitter hardships would eventually bear such sweet fruit.

"Understood," Tao Tian replied to Zhou Yuwen's instructions with a dazzlingly sweet smile.