Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 496: Returning Next Week

It was not that Peng Xiaoyong did not want to speak; he simply did not know what to say. He had finally managed to organize his thoughts, but Lu Wanting had already hung up the phone call on her end.For a moment, a wave of powerlessness washed over him. Peng Xiaoyong initially thought about calling her back to explain himself, but on second thought, he felt there was no need.

After Lu Wanting finished the phone call, she suddenly realized that Zhou Yuwen was standing right behind her.

This genuinely gave her a start. When she woke up this morning, she had deliberately gone to the living room to make this call behind Zhou Yuwen's back. Now, here he was, standing casually behind her.

She heard Zhou Yuwen ask with a smile, "Done talking?"

Sensing that he had probably heard everything, Lu Wanting decided not to hide it anymore and gave a straightforward nod.

Zhou Yuwen simply chuckled. He walked over, pulled her into an embrace, and said, "I couldn't tell. For a girl like you, you can be quite ruthless."

After saying that, Zhou Yuwen gently took Lu Wanting's earlobe between his lips.

"Mmh."

Lu Wanting closed her eyes, allowing Zhou Yuwen to kiss her.

From this moment on, Lu Wanting had absolutely no relationship left with Peng Xiaoyong. She was wholeheartedly committed to being Zhou Yuwen's lover.

While holding her in his arms, Zhou Yuwen mentioned that he actually felt quite guilty toward her.

"I always feel like I stole you away from my cousin. You won't regret this later, will you?" Zhou Yuwen asked as he embraced her. These words were not just a casual remark.

In truth, even if Lu Wanting did not choose Peng Xiaoyong, she had plenty of other, better options. There was really no need for her to settle for being just one of his many women.

Sensing the sincerity in his voice, Lu Wanting lifted her head and offered him a soft smile. "If you truly feel guilty about me, then spend more time with me while you're still here. Once you leave this time, who knows when we'll see each other again."

As she spoke, her arms around Zhou Yuwen's waist involuntarily tightened.

Zhou Yuwen thought about it and realized he had nothing planned for the next few days anyway. He decided to take Lu Wanting on a cross-country road trip across the United States. The two of them set off from New York, making their way to San Francisco and then all the way to Hawaii for a three-week vacation. Over those three weeks, he took her to dine at the most expensive restaurants in the world, strolled through the most glamorous neighborhoods, skied together, watched the auroras, and went surfing and diving in Hawaii. He provided her with all the emotional value she could ever want in a romance. During this time, Lu Wanting suggested that they take some photos together.

Zhou Yuwen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed.

And so, on the snowy mountains of North America, wearing matching ski suits, Lu Wanting happily held the camera and snapped photos of the two of them. Later, in the sweltering heat of Hawaii, dressed in a bikini, she leaned against Zhou Yuwen, looking as sweet as could be.

Truth be told, although Lu Wanting looked quite slender, she looked fantastic in a bikini, carrying curves in all the right places.

Happy days were always fleeting.

Zhou Yuwen's original plan was to stay in New York for a month. However, too many unforeseen events had disrupted his rhythm midway. In the blink of an eye, it was already late August. At this rate, he would not be able to return to China before September.

During his travels with Lu Wanting, Liu Dongqiang had called him multiple times to check in. The last time they spoke, Liu Dongqiang mentioned that he was hosting a gathering in New York, and all the attendees were fellow compatriots currently in the city.

This included Shen Ya from Vipshop, the CEO of Yiche.com, and President Jia, who stated he would be returning to China the very next day.

Liu Dongqiang's implication was that these men were all his close friends.

"They are also very interested in you, and they're hoping to take this opportunity to get to know you," Liu Dongqiang said with a hearty laugh over the phone call.

Over these past three weeks, with Vipshop's stock price soaring higher and higher, those few men were far from the only ones wanting to meet Zhou Yuwen.

Recently, Vipshop's stock had been rising at an almost abnormal rate. It had started feeling off three weeks ago when it suddenly surged by forty percent. Furthermore, Zhou Yuwen's involvement had drawn the attention of people who had previously paid no mind to Vipshop.

Take Liu Jing back in China, for example.

At the time, Liu Jing's thoughts were very simple. Since Zhou Yuwen had wronged her daughter, she definitely wanted to make him experience the harsh vicissitudes of human nature. She intended to use her social connections to blacklist him. Unfortunately for her, reality did not align with her beautiful imagination; she turned around only to discover that Zhou Yuwen's net worth had already surpassed a billion yuan!

At this point, Liu Jing's mood was anything but calm, yet she forced herself to put on a brave front. She comforted herself with the thought that Zhou Yuwen just had good luck. Stocks were notoriously volatile things—what goes up today could crash down tomorrow.

'How could this kid possibly have such good luck?' she thought.

From that day onward, Liu Jing began keeping a close eye on Vipshop.

Of course, during this time, Jiang Xinyi was still wandering around the house, utterly lost in thought over Zhou Yuwen. Every day, she drifted aimlessly through her home in a white dress, completely lacking the energy to even go outside. Occasionally, though, she couldn't help but wonder: 'What is Zhou Yuwen doing right now?'

Then, one time when she went downstairs to get a drink of water, she discovered her mother staring at the stock market, grinding her teeth in frustration.

Curious, Jiang Xinyi asked, "Mom, when did you start playing the stock market?"

Looking at her daughter's innocent and naive expression, Liu Jing felt truly miserable.

Perhaps she simply cared too much.

Watching Zhou Yuwen making money was somehow more painful to her than losing money herself. She replied, "I'm not playing the stock market. The one playing it is your ex-boyfriend."

"?" Jiang Xinyi froze in surprise.

Thus, Liu Jing told Jiang Xinyi all about Zhou Yuwen heading to the United States to trade stocks.

"He went abroad?"

Hearing this news, Jiang Xinyi was briefly lost in thought. Liu Jing was talking about how popular Zhou Yuwen was now, and how he had single-handedly acquired two percent of Vipshop's shares on Wall Street.

But all Jiang Xinyi heard was that Zhou Yuwen had gone abroad.

She was aware that Su Qing had gone abroad to study. At the time, she assumed that with Su Qing out of the country, she would no longer have any rivals.

Yet, the final outcome was that Zhou Yuwen had followed her abroad.

'In his heart...'

'Is Su Qing really always going to be more important than me?'

'Could it be that my reaction that night was too extreme, and that drove him to look for Su Qing?'

'If only back then...'

The more Jiang Xinyi thought about it, the more she regretted her thoughts and actions from that day.

Meanwhile, what tormented Liu Jing was just how much making money Zhou Yuwen had been doing these past few days. When Vipshop's stock initially rose, he had already made a hundred million dollars. Now, three weeks had passed, and Vipshop had not undergone the strategic adjustments she had anticipated. Instead, it continued its triumphant advance. In just half a month, its valuation had broken through twenty billion dollars.

The two percent stake Zhou Yuwen held was now worth four hundred million dollars. In other words, during the time he was traveling with Lu Wanting, his net worth had multiplied once again, soaring to three point two billion yuan—a full three-fold increase.

Domestic media had already whipped themselves into a frenzy, declaring Zhou Yuwen the youngest billionaire in history.

The year 2014 was supposed to be a time when the internet saw a hundred flowers bloom. Countless people were discussing startups and O2O business models. Yet, Zhou Yuwen stood completely apart. While many young domestic entrepreneurs were traveling everywhere for roadshows, hoping to secure some capital from major investors to build their fortunes, Zhou Yuwen was on the other side of the ocean, simply moving his fingers as fortune after fortune rolled in. Jiang Xinyi's family possessed a combined asset value of about six to seven billion yuan, so Liu Jing's previous haughty attitude was entirely justified. After all, there were very few families like hers in the entire country.

Countless people could only dream of ever becoming a son-in-law to their family.

Yet Zhou Yuwen, possessing such incredible good luck, actually failed to cherish it.

This would displease anyone. In her heart, Liu Jing thought, 'This Zhou Yuwen will definitely regret this sooner or later!'

But who could have imagined that Zhou Yuwen felt no regret whatsoever?

Instead, Liu Jing found a faint trace of regret creeping into her own heart...

'That's over three billion yuan,' she thought.

'If Zhou Yuwen were still dating Xinyi, our family's power could break the ten-billion mark. That's an entirely different echelon of society.'

'Sigh. Thinking about it now, my daughter really was a bit too impulsive back then.'

'If she were to go look for Zhou Yuwen now, would there still be a chance?'

Liu Jing told Jiang Xinyi everything Zhou Yuwen had been up to abroad. Her original intention was to subtly persuade her daughter, wondering if she should try to salvage this relationship.

What she did not expect was that Jiang Xinyi's feelings for Zhou Yuwen were far deeper than Liu Jing had imagined. From the moment she mentioned Zhou Yuwen going abroad, Jiang Xinyi's mind was no longer present in the conversation. Her head was filled entirely with the thought that Zhou Yuwen considered Su Qing more important than her.

Thinking about this, her nose couldn't help but sting as tears threatened to fall.

Seeing Jiang Xinyi remaining silent, Liu Jing thought it over and couldn't resist saying, "Honestly, you two don't have any major conflicts. It's really just about that girl..."

"It is perfectly normal for men to put on a show and play around outside. Even your dad..."

Liu Jing was just about to continue when she heard Jiang Xinyi state coldly, "I will never go looking for him on my own initiative."

"?" Liu Jing paused in shock and looked up at her daughter.

She saw that her daughter's expression was exceptionally serious, and to her surprise, she was crying.

Jiang Xinyi reached up to wipe away tears. She said, "I did nothing wrong in this matter. It's been two months, and he hasn't sent me a single message. He doesn't like me at all."

After saying that, Jiang Xinyi turned around and returned to her room.

Liu Jing wanted to say something more to her daughter but failed to stop her.

Back in her room, Jiang Xinyi used her computer to browse the news about Zhou Yuwen, seeing headlines touting him as the youngest billionaire.

The media reports featured a variety of accompanying photos. There were pictures of Zhou Yuwen in a sharp suit, exuding youth and brilliance, and even shots of him at the stock exchange on Wall Street, looking incredibly confident as if the world was at his fingertips.

Jiang Xinyi sat there, shedding tears as she gazed at the photos of Zhou Yuwen glowing on the screen.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, it was as if a realization suddenly dawned on Jiang Xinyi.

She shed her decadent state, stood up, and proceeded to wipe away tears.

By dinnertime that evening, Liu Jing had already prepared herself mentally. Given Zhou Yuwen's current achievements, she felt that him being entangled with that girl surnamed Su was trivial; even if he truly kept Su Qing as a mistress on the side, Liu Jing felt it was acceptable. The problem now was how to guide and counsel her daughter.

But before she could even speak.

She heard Jiang Xinyi say very earnestly, "Mom! Let's turn our family business into a publicly traded company."

"Huh?" Liu Jing was caught off guard.

However, Jiang Xinyi was extraordinarily serious.

She had made up her mind. Since Zhou Yuwen was working so hard, what right did she have to sit around wasting time? She was going to become just as excellent as he was. When their company went public, Zhou Yuwen would have to notice her, and she would make him regret losing her!

At this moment, Zhou Yuwen remained unaware that a few simple news articles about him had completely transformed the outlook of a wealthy daughter who had been determined to just let herself rot. Not only was she now aiming to work in her family's enterprise, but she even wanted to single-handedly build a publicly traded company.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen had been invited to attend Liu Dongqiang's private gathering.

This party was held at Liu Dongqiang's villa in New York. The villa had clearly been meticulously renovated. Although it was a private gathering, it was, after all, an assembly of top-tier businessmen. Some Caucasian partners who maintained cooperative relationships with these men had also been invited.

Because of this, they had invited some international students studying abroad to volunteer, serving as translators and waitstaff under the guise of letting them see the world and expand their horizons.

In fact, it was exactly at this kind of gathering that Zhang Tianze had first met Liu Dongqiang.

By the time Zhou Yuwen arrived with Lu Wanting, the banquet had already begun.

Liu Dongqiang was currently leading Zhang Tianze around, chatting and laughing merrily with a mix of acquaintances and strangers. His Mandarin still carried the rigid accent of Northern Jiangsu, but no one pointed this out; they simply listened with polite smiles.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen approach, Liu Dongqiang offered an enthusiastic greeting. "Brother, you made it."

He pulled Zhou Yuwen over to introduce him, saying, "This is the man I've been telling you all so much about."

"My little brother from my hometown. He's incredibly capable." Zhou Yuwen and Liu Dongqiang's families lived quite close to each other. To show their closeness, Liu Dongqiang simply claimed they hailed from the exact same place.

The people chatting with Liu Dongqiang had indeed heard Zhou Yuwen's name quite often over the past few days. Upon seeing the man himself, their very first thought was: 'He really is young.'

'This little brother is seriously young.'

This time, the main people Liu Dongqiang wanted to introduce to Zhou Yuwen were Li Qingguo and his wife, who had just arrived in New York as husband and wife.

At this time, Dangdang.com was developing quite well. Riding the favorable winds of e-commerce in this era, Dangdang.com's stock price had also recently increased by thirty percent. The couple had not yet had their falling out and appeared to be getting along quite harmoniously.

Li Qingguo was a man who enjoyed his liquor. Holding up his wine glass, he immediately wanted to toast with Zhou Yuwen.

However, he was stopped by his wife, who shot him a reproachful look and reminded him that his health was poor, so he needed to cut back on the drinking.

The crowd erupted into laughter upon hearing this, and Li Qingguo laughed right along with them. Making a playful spectacle of himself, he bowed dramatically to his wife and said, "As you command, my lady wife!"

Naturally, the crowd laughed even harder at his antics.

Using his Northern Jiangsu-accented Mandarin, Liu Dongqiang remarked, "Qingguo really does love his wife."

"Well, of course! Who wouldn't love their one and only wife?"

Besides them, there was also President Jia, who had not yet returned to China.

President Jia sported the standard programmer's outfit: a black T-shirt paired with jeans. He was a tall man who didn't speak much. In truth, he and Liu Dongqiang had not interacted very much.

The reason he came this time was simply because he heard that Zhou Yuwen, the young stock market god, would be in attendance.

President Jia very much wanted to meet this young prodigy for himself.

On top of that, he was currently short on capital and was hoping this young stock market god could invest a sum in his venture.