Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 470: Love is Infinite

Zheng Yanyan's eyes carried undisguised disdain. She did not say a word, yet Jiang Xinyi could tell exactly what she wanted to say just from that look.She was saying she was old.

Lacking charm.

Otherwise, why would Zhou Yuwen be unwilling to touch her after they had been dating for so long?

The worst part was that Jiang Xinyi truly had no way to refute this.

Jiang Xinyi was not the type to doubt herself, and she had plenty of confidence in her own looks. The problem was who she was being compared to.

Compared to an average person, she certainly had no issues.

However, Zheng Yanyan standing across from her was not only beautiful but also younger than her.

More importantly, she had just mentioned something about doing it eight times.

All these factors combined built up a stifling anger in Jiang Xinyi's chest, leaving her with nowhere to vent.

Seeing Jiang Xinyi in this state made Zheng Yanyan very happy. She felt that this could be considered venting a good deal of frustration on Su Qing's behalf.

Before Jiang Xinyi could think of a retort, Zheng Yanyan quickly added, "I cannot be bothered to argue with you, lest your mother comes looking for me again. Let me tell you, I am not like Su Qing. If your mother dared to offer me half a million, I would absolutely take it."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Jiang Xinyi frowned upon hearing this.

She genuinely knew nothing about this matter.

Zheng Yanyan just assumed she was playing dumb. Not wanting to waste any more breath on her, she pulled Lu Lin along to leave.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xinyi refused to let her leave. She shouted furiously, "Stop right there! Explain yourself clearly!"

Fortunately, she was held back by Tang Xinrou, Tao Tian, and a few other girls nearby.

Tang Xinrou had actually just been watching the drama unfold. She initially thought such intense catfights could only be seen abroad and had not expected domestic squabbles to be this fierce. Secretly amused, she maintained a supportive facade, holding Jiang Xinyi back and offering persuasion. "Older Sister, do not stoop to her level."

With that, Zheng Yanyan left first.

Jiang Xinyi shook off Tang Xinrou's grip and frowned. "What nonsense was she talking about! Look at that kind of person, she has absolutely no manners!"

Jiang Xinyi wanted to elicit empathy from the people around her, but unfortunately, only Tang Xinrou was willing to offer a few words of comfort. The others simply stood there watching the show, and the girl named Qu Jing was even bowing her head to hide a snicker.

Jiang Xinyi was already furious, so she angrily demanded, "What are you laughing at?"

Qu Jing looked confused. "Who? Me? Did I laugh? I was not laughing."

"You clearly just laughed," Jiang Xinyi insisted stubbornly.

Qu Jing replied, "Am I not even allowed to laugh? Should I cry instead?"

"Director Jiang, you are in charge of Finance, and I am in Human Resources. Out of respect, I call you Director Jiang, but this company does not bear the surname Jiang. Its surname is Zhou. President Zhou is the one who pays my salary."

Qu Jing was wearing a black suit jacket and a tight skirt, her legs clad in black stockings as she stood in high heels.

"You!"

"Director Jiang, I still have things to do. Outsiders might not know the truth and believe the media's nonsense that you are the woman behind President Zhou, but we are all veterans of Zhou Yuwen's company."

"When it comes to providing assistance, I believe the help we offer President Zhou is no less than yours."

Qu Jing fired off one sentence after another.

None of the girls present were older than Jiang Xinyi, yet each one had a sharper tongue than the last, infuriating Jiang Xinyi to no end.

After saying her piece, Qu Jing added, "I still have business in my office, so we will end this chat here, Director Jiang."

Without giving Jiang Xinyi a chance to respond, Qu Jing turned and walked away.

After Qu Jing left, Jiang Xinyi was seething and muttered a few complaints about Qu Jing not understanding the rules. Tao Tian offered some persuasion, explaining that this was simply Qu Jing's personality.

"Director Jiang, do not lower yourself to her level."

Originally, Jiang Xinyi had wanted to gather the company's management for a lecture. But looking at the situation now, that would be very difficult. Not only did Qu Jing refuse to submit to Jiang Xinyi, but even Chen Wan, who rarely spoke in the company, left without a word after Qu Jing's departure.

Only Tao Tian seemed somewhat cooperative.

However, it was still far too early to consider her a trusted confidant.

After Jiang Xinyi returned to her office, her face was livid. One after another, none of them took her seriously.

Jiang Xinyi could not even help but ask Tang Xinrou, "Am I very old?"

Hearing this, Tang Xinrou let out a wry smile and said, "Older Sister, how could you be old? You are youthful and radiant right now, at the most beautiful age for women. You are only twenty-five!"

Jiang Xinyi looked in the mirror. The reflection of herself was indeed beautiful. Truth be told, Jiang Xinyi felt there was no difference between how she looked now and when she was eighteen.

Tang Xinrou said, "Older Sister, it is not that you are not pretty."

"It depends on who you are comparing yourself with. If you compare yourself to me, you are definitely prettier. But those girls out there are only eighteen or nineteen. How can we compare with them?"

Listening to Tang Xinrou's words made Jiang Xinyi's chest feel even more constricted.

Jiang Xinyi stated that she had originally thought Su Qing was just a crazy woman and that driving her away would solve everything.

She had never expected that these females would be more difficult to deal with than the last.

"And that Qu Jing, what is her background anyway!" Jiang Xinyi gritted her teeth in anger.

Tang Xinrou had actually thoroughly investigated everyone in the company recently.

"Chen Wan is the president of the Student Union and is also on Su Qing's side. She is very close to Su Qing."

"So, since you and Su Qing do not get along, Chen Wan will definitely give you the cold shoulder."

"As for that Qu Jing, it seems she has always liked Brother-in-Law. Back then, for his sake, she even specifically backstabbed Tao Tian. Although she did not end up dating Brother-in-Law later on, she was still recruited into the company by him."

"Older Sister, if you want to touch Qu Jing, you really cannot. Everyone in the company knows that Qu Jing is Zhou Yuwen's loyal fan. Some people even say behind her back that Qu Jing is just Zhou Yuwen's dog; she will do whatever he tells her to do."

Tang Xinrou offered this extra bit of insight.

Jiang Xinyi had indeed been lost in thought just now, but upon hearing Tang Xinrou's words, she felt a trace of dissatisfaction. "What nonsense are you talking about! This is Zhou Yuwen's company. As long as it is good for him, why would I want to remove her?"

Tang Xinrou let out an 'oh' at this and smiled, saying, "Then I misspoke."

Jiang Xinyi frowned, lost in her own thoughts.

After staying at the company for a little longer, Jiang Xinyi realized she had genuinely wanted to be the woman behind Zhou Yuwen, dedicating herself to helping him run his business well.

But when she truly tried to lend a hand, she discovered that Zhou Yuwen's company did not need her at all. She could only manage her own little territory of Finance. Moreover, because there had been so much financing recently, Zhou Yuwen was personally handling all the major financial matters.

In other words, the current Jiang Xinyi was little more than a glorified errand runner.

On the other hand, Tao Tian, Qu Jing, and Chen Wan all had their own clear division of labor.

Especially Qu Jing, who was dubbed the obedient dog under Zhou Yuwen's command. Because Zhou Yuwen had recently started developing a short video App, she had already begun training those pretty girls. She was genuinely managing the Cultural Media Company single-handedly.

Tang Xinrou finished reporting all these matters to Jiang Xinyi one by one.

Jiang Xinyi, however, appeared absent-minded.

Tang Xinrou asked, "Older Sister, are you listening?"

Jiang Xinyi turned her head and asked instead, "Xinrou, if a boy likes you, would he be able to hold himself back from touching you?"

"Uh."

Hearing this, a blush crept onto Tang Xinrou's face. She said, "I am not too sure about that either. After all, I do not have a boy I like."

"But I think, when men and women date, it surely cannot just rely on talk, right? Older Sister, did Brother-in-Law really not touch you last night?" Jiang Xinyi had originally wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat with Tang Xinrou, but who knew Tang Xinrou would suddenly start asking for gossip.

Truthfully, bringing up last night's events left a very bitter taste in Jiang Xinyi's mouth.

It deeply bothered her that Zhou Yuwen had not touched her.

Tang Xinrou wore a thoroughly gossipy expression.

Jiang Xinyi could only give a vague response, saying she had gotten drunk last night and could not remember clearly.

But obviously, such words could not fool Tang Xinrou.

A faint smile was already playing at the corner of Tang Xinrou's mouth.

"What are you laughing at?" Jiang Xinyi asked with a straight face.

"Am I?" Jiang Xinyi felt incredibly stifled. She casually tossed the document she had just requested from Tao Tian over to Tang Xinrou, ordering her to organize it before returning it to her.

"I am going home first," Jiang Xinyi said as she stood up to leave.

"Do not go, Older Sister. With so many documents, how can I finish reading them all?" Tang Xinrou whined bitterly.

Jiang Xinyi simply scoffed, indicating that it was her problem to deal with.

"Work hard, and I will give you a raise once you finish," Jiang Xinyi said, playfully blinking her eyes at her.

Still, Tang Xinrou felt deeply helpless.

Sigh.

The reason Jiang Xinyi left early was that she truly could not stand staying there for another second. After returning home, she stared at herself in the mirror, thoroughly frustrated. Why was Zhou Yuwen so unwilling to touch her?

'Am I really that old?'

'Definitely not.'

'Then is it because I usually do not focus on dressing up?'

Thinking about it this way, it made sense.

Those eighteen- or nineteen-year-old little lasses were always either baring their midriffs or showing off their legs.

Meanwhile, she was wearing jeans paired with a shirt every single day. If she were Zhou Yuwen, she wouldn't be interested either.

'Should I perhaps change things up a bit?'

The moment this thought took root, Jiang Xinyi could no longer restrain herself. She began applying makeup and dressing up; she was determined to show Zhou Yuwen a different side of her.

Over at the auditorium, Zhou Yuwen had been busy all afternoon. He practiced the guitar for a while, but he never actually sang the lyrics to reveal what song it was.

Shen Yu had always admired Zhou Yuwen's talents, so she would pay attention to him from time to time. She noticed that the melody he was playing had a very slow rhythm and carried a hint of sorrow.

Shen Yu asked Zhou Yuwen why he was not singing the lyrics.

Zhou Yuwen smiled and replied, "If I sing it out now, won't you already know everything by the time the evening gala arrives?"

Shen Yu laughed at this. Normally, performers were required to sing out loud during practice, but Zhou Yuwen was granted special privileges.

She asked Zhou Yuwen what genre the song belonged to, noting that it sounded rather sad.

Zhou Yuwen replied that it was a folk song.

"A folk song?" Shen Yu was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it is a folk song."

Folk music was a very niche genre, but Shen Yu actually quite liked it. Her absolute favorite track was called "Accompany Me to Hoh Xil to See the Sea."

Shen Yu was particularly fond of these types of songs that carried a slightly artistic and literary vibe.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen let out a chuckle. The creator of that song was none other than the multi-hyphenate Teacher Da Bing.

Every generation had its own unique characteristics.

The 1980s were a time of intellectual scarcity, followed by a surge in the popularity of arts and literature, leading many people to adopt the persona of a cultured, artistic youth.

Da Bing had managed to ride the coattails of that trend early on. Surrounded by a group of people singing his praises, he ended up getting lost in the act himself, attaching all sorts of titles to his name. Back then, there genuinely was a crowd who thought Da Bing was incredibly impressive, capable of so many things, and believed his writing was exceptionally gentle.

However, the boomerang of time ultimately swung back and hit him.

Viewed from the perspective of later generations, several of Da Bing's books were undeniably pretentious and contrived. He aggressively filtered his readership, writing exclusively for a very specific subset of people.

And as it happened, someone of Shen Yu's age was the exact target audience for Da Bing.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen smile, Shen Yu asked if he knew of Da Bing.

Zhou Yuwen nodded and said, "I have read a few of his books."

"You have actually read his books?" Shen Yu was even more surprised. She felt that Zhou Yuwen and Da Bing were completely different types of people; it was shocking that Zhou Yuwen had read his work.

Zhou Yuwen nodded and replied, "Books by these best-selling authors should just be treated as a way to kill time. You just flip through them casually. They don't have much substance. This is especially true for books written by media personalities. Their channels are already established; they gain a portion of their fanbase from television programs, and then use those fans to rake in cash. There is no need for you to get too deeply invested in them."

Shen Yu argued that even so, since these people were capable of publishing books, it proved they possessed some extraordinary traits.

Zhou Yuwen remained noncommittal to this point.

During the period of 2014 and 2015, although web novels were already the general trend, they still could not heavily influence mainstream literary circles.

The cultural mainstream of this era was heavily dominated by the published readings of media personalities.

Therefore, bestsellers were just meant for a quick glance.

There really was no need to take them too seriously.

As a pseudo-artistic young woman, Shen Yu had naturally read all these currently popular contemporary books. However, seeing that Zhou Yuwen showed utter disdain for them, her curiosity was piqued. She asked, "Then what kind of books do you consider to actually have value?"

Zhou Yuwen pondered for a moment before saying, "If fifty years after a writer passes away, his works are still brought up by others from time to time, then his creations are at least worth taking a look at."

Shen Yu thought about it and asked, "Can you give a specific example?"

"Fitzgerald is worth reading."

"Fitzgerald?"

"Yes."

Zhou Yuwen had originally been practicing the guitar, but before he knew it, he was discussing literature with Shen Yu. Holding his guitar, the two of them chatted for an unknown amount of time.

It got to the point where Shen Yu completely forgot that Zhou Yuwen was a scummy man and found herself drawn to him once again.

When Zhou Yuwen talked about literature, it felt as though he was an entirely different person.

Just as Shen Yu was deeply engrossed, she suddenly recalled the various romantic scandals surrounding Zhou Yuwen and couldn't help but sigh. She said, "If your private life was not such a mess, I would genuinely be very happy to be friends with you."

Zhou Yuwen chuckled and replied, "Then you should just forget about it."

"First of all, my private life is not a mess."

"I am simply passionate, but I am not indiscriminate."

Zhou Yuwen spoke these words with utmost seriousness.

Shen Yu asked, "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is."

"Because I am passionate, I will take responsibility for every single one of my relationships."

"And by taking responsibility, do you mean just giving them money?"

"No," Zhou Yuwen firmly rejected the notion.

Before Shen Yu could continue questioning him, Zhou Yuwen said, "I give them love."

Shen Yu laughed; she thought Zhou Yuwen was spouting pure nonsense.

But at that moment, Zhou Yuwen suddenly asked Shen Yu, "Have you ever loved?"

Zhou Yuwen stared directly at Shen Yu, making her momentarily afraid to meet his gaze.

Of course she had loved. She had held a strong good impression of Zhou Yuwen.

"I... I do not know."

"Then you have never loved," Zhou Yuwen declared.

Shen Yu disagreed with this statement; she possessed genuine emotions.

Zhou Yuwen continued, "The reason you just laughed was that you felt I could not possibly give them love. You believe that a human heart is limited and can only love one person."

"But when you truly fall in love with someone, you will discover that your love for them is mirrored by their love for you."

"Love is inherently infinite. Therefore, no matter how many pieces it is divided into, doesn't it ultimately remain infinite?"

After Zhou Yuwen finished speaking, Shen Yu was stunned, staring at the man before her in disbelief.