Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 440: A Decent Ending

Jiang Xinyi and You Changjin truly had nothing left to say to each other, but there were some things that still needed to be made clear.Take You Changjin right now, for example, who was seemingly casually teasing the relationship between Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi.

However, Jiang Xinyi spoke to him with a hint of caution.

"Changjin, about me and Zhou Yuwen..."

"I know you might not be able to accept it right away, but I hope you can understand."

"After all, when it comes to feelings..."

"...it isn't something anyone can just control."

Jiang Xinyi said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

You Changjin's forced, relaxed smile stiffened. "So you mean..."

"Everything is..."

"...true?"

He tried to find a different answer in her expression, but Jiang Xinyi only looked ashamed at first, and then resolute.

Her shame was not directed at You Changjin.

Rather, she was six years older than Zhou Yuwen, around the same age as You Changjin. Yet here was You Changjin, currently Zhou Yuwen's teacher, while she was dating Zhou Yuwen. It was undeniably a bit strange.

As an older woman taking on a younger boyfriend, whether it was guilt or shyness, it definitely felt awkward.

You Changjin looked disappointed upon hearing this, yet still unwilling to give up, he could not help but ask, "Is there some hidden difficulty you can't talk about...?"

"For instance, I know your mother has always liked Yuwen."

"He is young and talented; any parent would like him, but..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Xinyi interrupted, "It isn't because of my mother. It's me..."

With those words, the last shred of You Changjin's fantasy was shattered.

Jiang Xinyi's demeanor now suggested she had figured everything out. Even that initial hint of shame had vanished from her face. She said, "Actually, a while ago, I thought about the time we were dating..."

Hearing her say this, a sliver of hope involuntarily sparked in You Changjin's heart again, but Jiang Xinyi continued with a sense of relief, "Thinking about it carefully, the two of us weren't really dating back then."

"Rather than dating, I feel we were more like friends. More accurately, you were like an older brother who was always taking care of me."

Jiang Xinyi smiled and continued, "Really, Changjin. I am incredibly grateful for your company during that time. It was your presence that made me understand the difference between friendship and love. It turns out that matters of the heart truly cannot be forced. For example, when I am with Zhou Yuwen, I feel something completely different."

"How should I describe that feeling? It's like..."

As she spoke, she seemed to be relishing the memory. You Changjin, however, felt his heart turn to ashes at this moment. He murmured, "It's like you want to stay by their side every single moment."

"You care about their every frown and smile. Even after parting ways, you still think of them when going to sleep at night."

"Yes!" Jiang Xinyi enthusiastically agreed the moment he finished. She asked in pleasant surprise, "How did you know exactly how it feels, Changjin? Do you have someone you like too?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the way You Changjin was looking at her, and she suddenly realized she had misspoken.

He stared at her, his eyes dead and devoid of hope, not saying a word.

Being stared at like that made her momentarily at a loss. Unable to bear making eye contact, she lowered her head and said, "Well, the reason I came to find you today was actually to make things clear. Because, after all, you are Zhou Yuwen's counselor. I was worried that my relationship with him might cause unnecessary misunderstandings between you two..."

"I understand."

You Changjin suddenly agreed before she could even finish her sentence.

His voice seemed to tremble, prompting Jiang Xinyi to look up at him.

When their eyes met, she found an indescribable despair etched across his face. Startled, she wanted to say something.

But before she could speak, he stammered, "Um, Xinyi... I, I still have some things to do. I should, I should probably get going."

"You... you don't need to worry. No matter what happens between you and Yuwen, he is still my student. I..."

You Changjin suddenly fell into a state of frantic busyness. He looked around wildly, seemingly trying to find something to do, but after searching for a long time, he found absolutely nothing to busy himself with.

He just kept repeating that he was fine.

Suddenly remembering something, he hastily pulled the keys to his electric bicycle from his pocket and said, "Oh right, I need to head back to the university. I haven't written my report yet. So, Xinyi, if there's nothing else, I'm going back. You should go back inside too."

Flustered and clumsy, he hurriedly got on his electric bicycle.

While trying to start it, he waved for Jiang Xinyi to go back in.

He insisted she must have many things to attend to and shouldn't waste time out here.

Seeing that something was seriously wrong with his state of mind, she asked with concern, "Changjin, are you sure you're okay?"

"N-no, I'm fine. I have to go back to the university," he replied.

"Are you absolutely sure?" she pressed.

"Of course. I am completely fine."

"But you haven't even unlocked your electric bicycle yet."

"?" You Changjin froze.

He followed her gesture to the locked wheel. Only then did he notice, hurriedly hopping off to unlock it.

"Oh, I... right."

At this moment, the awkwardness was so suffocating he didn't know what else to say.

Sensing his extreme discomfort, she offered, "Then I'll head inside first?"

"Yeah, okay. You go in."

And so, despite her lingering worry, Jiang Xinyi walked away first.

Truthfully, once she left, his state returned to something resembling normal.

However, an inexplicable heaviness continued to weigh down his heart.

He didn't know how to shake off this crushing sorrow.

Back inside the villa, Jiang Xinyi let out a sigh of relief as she watched his forlorn figure ride away on his electric bicycle. She hadn't expected her words to strike such a devastating blow to him.

She felt that they had been broken up for quite a while now. Logically speaking, he should have moved on ages ago.

Not long after You Changjin left...

Zhou Yuwen had also finished chatting with his new acquaintance, Guan Zi from the Baidu Business Division. The two walked downstairs, laughing and talking cheerfully, seemingly having had a very pleasant conversation.

He escorted Guan Zi downstairs, and the two shook hands.

"So, Mr. Zhou, here is to a pleasant cooperation?" she said with a smile.

"Of course. An incredibly pleasant cooperation."

Zhou Yuwen replied with a smile.

Since Guan Zi was not from the Jinling business circle, many people noticed her presence but only thought of her as a stunningly beautiful young woman. They had no idea what kind of relationship she had with Zhou Yuwen.

To be honest, many people present were deeply envious of Zhou Yuwen at this moment. 'It is so good to be young,' they thought. Not only did he have a fiancée who resembled a wealthy rich young lady, but he was also surrounded by a flock of beautiful women.

It was worth noting that for this party, Zhou Yuwen had hired quite a few university school beauties and class beauties to work as waitresses. Some of the big bosses in the business circle might be wealthy, but they certainly didn't have Zhou Yuwen's channels to casually gather so many gorgeous female university students.

Their envy of him was entirely genuine.

Jiang Xinyi and Guan Zi crossed paths, and Guan Zi offered a polite, subtle smile.

Jiang Xinyi returned the smile.

Once she approached Zhou Yuwen, she asked, "What did Baidu want with you?"

He chuckled. "Hmm. Trade secrets."

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyi could not help but give Zhou Yuwen a big eye roll. She reached out to pinch the soft flesh at his waist, jokingly saying, "So there are secrets between you and me now, huh?"

Naturally, he playfully messed around with her in return, but jokes aside, Zhou Yuwen still kept his lips sealed.

In the end, he bantered and teased, telling her that if she begged him and called him older brother, he might consider telling her.

Jiang Xinyi rolled her eyes again at his antics, declaring that his skin was itching for a beating and he was just asking for it.

The banquet had started in the morning, and it wasn't until four in the afternoon that most of the coming-and-going guests had departed. Those who remained were the university students working part-time, along with a few people who thought they were close to Zhou Yuwen but hadn't managed to get a word in earlier. They were trying to use this final stretch to speak with him.

Nearby, Tao Tian asked Zhou Yuwen for instructions, wondering if she should let the part-time students get off work first.

He nodded. "Let them leave first."

And so, another batch of people gradually trickled out.

Noting that he had been busy all day without eating a thing, Jiang Xinyi brought him a bowl of abalone and seafood porridge. Zhou Yuwen disregarded his image and scarfed down a few large bites.

Liu Shuo's people had already entered the venue and begun the cleanup process.

Liu Shuo himself came over to greet them.

"Zhou Yuwen! We're heading off too!"

At this time, Liu Yue was holding Gu Yaoyao's arm with one hand while waving at him with the other.

"Oh," Zhou Yuwen acknowledged them, turning to Gu Yaoyao. "How was the food? I was too busy earlier and couldn't properly host you guys."

"The food was fantastic! You are seriously getting more and more impressive, Zhou Yuwen. I heard earlier that everyone here is a big boss! I truly admire you!" Liu Yue said, giving him a thumbs-up.

He merely smiled. "As long as you enjoyed the food. Are you planning to head back to the university now?"

"Yeah. We originally wanted to leave with Counselor You, but we searched all over and couldn't find him," Liu Yue replied.

Zhou Yuwen thought about it. He seemed to have caught a glimpse of You Changjin earlier, but because there were too many people, he didn't remember where the counselor had gone. He simply said, "Counselor You has probably already left."

"Alright, then we're off too!"

After saying that, Liu Yue waved at him one last time.

The two of them then departed.

Out in the courtyard, Jiang Xinyi was still keeping her mother company, chatting with several wealthy-looking high-society ladies. Inside, Qu Jing and a few others were tidying up the house.

It was then that Peng Xiaoyong walked over, bringing Lu Wanting along.

Zhou Yuwen maintained the same polite attitude with everyone. He said to Peng Xiaoyong, "Sorry, cousin. I haven't been able to entertain you properly today. Are you leaving now?"

Peng Xiaoyong shook his head and said it was fine.

After a moment of hesitation, he still managed to utter, "Thank you."

After saying those words, Peng Xiaoyong felt as though he could no longer stand up straight. He hurried away.

Feeling a bit puzzled, Zhou Yuwen looked over at Lu Wanting.

Lu Wanting quietly explained to him that because of the few words Zhou Yuwen had said to Gao Bide earlier, the executive was now acting extremely friendly toward Peng Xiaoyong.

The sheer contrast before and after was likely too jarring for Peng Xiaoyong to accept easily, making him truly and thoroughly recognize the extent of Zhou Yuwen's power.

Although he was reluctant, he had ultimately offered his thanks.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen found it inwardly amusing. He said to Lu Wanting, "My cousin is good in every way, except he's a bit too stubborn and rigid. Sister-in-law, you should try to persuade him more."

Hearing him call her that, Lu Wanting got slightly annoyed and wanted to retort.

But Zhou Yuwen interjected, "I know, I know, you aren't right now. But just because you aren't now doesn't mean you won't be in the future, right, Sister-in-law?"

Zhou Yuwen already had enough women around him, so he genuinely had no intention of sparking anything with Lu Wanting. Furthermore, she had initially interacted with him under the guise of being his sister-in-law, so tossing the title around playfully a few times was completely unobjectionable.

However, Lu Wanting was very displeased. "President Zhou, instead of having the time to worry about other people's relationship issues, wouldn't it be better to reflect on your own?"

"What relationship issues do I have?" Zhou Yuwen knew that Lu Wanting had met both Su Qing and Tao Tian, but he had thick enough skin to feel that juggling two women was no big deal.

She let out a dry laugh. "Oh, you don't have any relationship issues at all."

"Sigh. The most extreme thing I saw abroad was one man with seven wives. But look at you—you're only nineteen, and you already have eight wives!"

This startled him. "What do you mean, eight wives? Don't just spout nonsense."

Lu Wanting sighed. Having returned from abroad, her mindset was much more open than most people in the country. Therefore, what had transpired earlier was merely mind-blowing to her, but not entirely unacceptable.

She simply marveled at what exactly made Zhou Yuwen so unique that countless women were deeply infatuated with him.

Counting on his fingers, he was quite certain he didn't have eight wives.

But Lu Wanting chuckled, saying, "President Zhou, there is no need to explain these things to me."

"After all, I'm currently an executive assistant. I know plenty of things going around in these circles, and my lips are sealed tight. I just think that you are genuinely being a bit too harsh on Su Qing. She is a good girl."

The more she spoke, the more confused he became.

However, she refused to clarify further. She just offered a polite smile. "Well, I'll be taking my leave then."

With that, she waved at him and turned to leave.

Zhou Yuwen grew increasingly perplexed, thinking, 'Just what did Su Qing say to my sister-in-law this time?' He turned around, wanting to find Su Qing to get a clear answer.

Only then did he realize that after searching the whole area, he couldn't find a trace of her anywhere.

Spotting Tao Tian, who was preparing to take out the trash, he stopped her. "Hey, have you seen Su Qing?"

"Oh." At the mention of Su Qing, a strange glint flashed through Tao Tian's eyes.

Just as she was about to answer...

From out in the courtyard, Jiang Xinyi suddenly called out, "Zhou Yuwen!"

He turned his head.

"My mom wants you to come out here for a second," Jiang Xinyi told him.

So, he pivoted and walked outside.

By now, almost all of Liu Jing's friends had left, leaving only a few close acquaintances still lingering and chatting.

The moment he stepped out, these friends fixed their gazes on him, wearing smiles filled with sheer admiration.

He approached and asked, "Aunt Jing, did you need me for something?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you that your aunties and I are going to play cards in a bit. I'm leaving Xinyi in your hands. You must ensure she gets home safely," Liu Jing said with a warm smile.

He nodded. "Of course. That won't be a problem."