Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 434: The First Confrontation Between the Two Dormitories

Melodic piano music played from the speakers. Throughout the three-story villa, from the courtyard to the living room and up to the second-floor terrace, elegantly dressed men and women could be seen chatting and laughing everywhere.Initially, Zhou Yuwen only wanted to host a simple housewarming party. He probably just intended to invite a few close friends over for a casual gathering. However, after Liu Jing took charge, the nature of the event completely changed. Now, the entire villa felt more like a commercial salon. People who originally had no plans to attend made a point to come just to network with certain big shots, bringing along substantial gifts.

There were even some professional gold-diggers who showed up uninvited, hoping to snag a wealthy target at the party.

It was a microcosm of society with all sorts of people. There were students like Liu Yue, who, witnessing such a scene for the first time, felt as though they had stepped into another world. Looking at the dazzling array of delicious food, she was practically drooling with craving. She wanted to taste the foie gras and try the caviar—these were high-end dishes she had only ever seen on television.

There were also lower-level employees like Peng Xiaoyong, who came hoping to build connections. To be honest, upon entering Zhou Yuwen's villa, Peng Xiaoyong was genuinely stunned.

He had already been shocked to learn that Zhou Yuwen bought a villa, but he had assumed a housewarming party would be a modest affair. He never imagined it would be such a grand gathering.

Furthermore, everyone coming and going seemed to be business elites. Peng Xiaoyong not only spotted his own boss, Gao Bide, but also recognized quite a few other executives he had seen around his company.

Peng Xiaoyong was intensely curious. Just how exactly did Zhou Yuwen manage to get to know all these people?

"Isn't that your boss, Mr. Peter? Aren't you going over to say hello?" Lu Wanting asked, holding a glass of champagne. She used to attend these kinds of parties frequently when she was abroad. Back then, she often thought about how wonderful it would be if she owned a massive villa like this and could throw parties every day.

She originally thought only people overseas knew how to party this hard, but to her surprise, things were just as lively domestically.

Sigh, Peng Xiaoyong's younger male cousin was truly a capable man. A boy as handsome and competent as him would actually be extremely popular with girls abroad. Lu Wanting could not even imagine how crazy her sisters would go if she introduced Zhou Yuwen to them.

Peng Xiaoyong had actually been debating whether or not to greet Gao Bide. Hearing Lu Wanting's words, he found himself at a loss for what to say.

Noticing Peng Xiaoyong's hesitation, Lu Wanting encouraged him, "Go say hi. Since we are already here."

Thus, after a moment of hesitation, Peng Xiaoyong finally decided to go.

He rarely attended such banquets, so naturally, he did not own a proper tailored suit. He was simply wearing his ordinary work suit. After all, he had not expected Zhou Yuwen's party to be this extravagant.

However, someone as dense as Peng Xiaoyong would not feel embarrassed over his attire. Holding a glass of champagne, he made his way over to greet his boss.

In truth, as he approached Gao Bide, Peng Xiaoyong felt a bit nervous. But when he made eye contact with Gao Bide and saw the man flash a friendly smile, Peng Xiaoyong thought, 'He remembers me,' and eagerly returned the smile.

Who knew that just as Peng Xiaoyong opened his mouth to speak, Gao Bide would say, "Hello, could you fetch me a glass of champagne, please?"

"?" The smile on Peng Xiaoyong's face stiffened.

As it turned out, Gao Bide had absolutely no recollection of having a top student who returned from studying abroad in his company. He merely assumed this young man in a plain black suit was one of the waiters, and he immediately went back to chatting and laughing with the people beside him.

Seeing Peng Xiaoyong frozen in place without moving, Gao Bide let out a curious "Hmm?"

Peng Xiaoyong did not say a word. He simply turned around to get Gao Bide a glass of champagne.

Lu Wanting did not pay attention to what Peng Xiaoyong was doing and had instead gone over to chat with Su Qing.

Su Qing and Shen Yu, who had just arrived, quickly met up with Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin.

In reality, the dynamic between Zheng Yanyan and Shen Yu should have been a bit awkward at this point. However, Zheng Yanyan herself did not feel it. In her mind, she probably still thought of Shen Yu as someone who treated her well, considering her a good sister.

Therefore, she greeted Shen Yu generously, "Shen Yu! You made it!"

Meanwhile, it was obvious that Shen Yu was keeping her distance from Zheng Yanyan. She merely offered a faint smile in response.

At that moment, Su Qing spoke up. "Oh, since you are all here, let me introduce you. This is the person I mentioned in the group chat earlier, my newly acquainted friend from Singapore."

Hearing this, the expression on Zheng Yanyan's face noticeably shifted as she looked at Lu Wanting. "Oh! You are Zhou Yuwen's cousin-in-law, right!?"

"?" Lu Wanting was taken aback, thinking to herself, 'Didn't I explain this clearly already?'

But Zheng Yanyan was incredibly enthusiastic. She first adjusted her posture and straightened her clothes, then confidently introduced herself, "Hello, cousin-in-law! I am Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, Zheng Yanyan!"

"Huh?" Lu Wanting paused, reflexively glancing at Su Qing.

Wait a minute, Lu Wanting still had not figured out the whole situation with Tao Tian earlier, and now another girlfriend had popped out of nowhere?

Meeting Lu Wanting's questioning gaze, Su Qing simply gave a flat, indifferent reply, "Ex-girlfriend."

"Oh, oh." Lu Wanting finally understood.

"What do you mean ex-girlfriend? I am his current girlfriend. You are the ex-girlfriend, alright!" Zheng Yanyan retorted, clearly displeased.

"Stop causing trouble, or Zhou Yuwen will dump you again," Su Qing warned.

Zheng Yanyan was never a match for Su Qing to begin with. Over the past few days, her massive conflict with Zhou Yuwen had become a dark stain on her record, and Su Qing was bound to use it to lecture her.

Hearing those words, Zheng Yanyan immediately got emotional. What did she mean Zhou Yuwen would dump her!?

When did Zhou Yuwen ever say he did not want her? Zhou Yuwen was the one who did not want Su Qing!

"What nonsense are you spouting? Linlin, tell her right now that Zhou Yuwen hasn't dumped me!"

Zheng Yanyan flared up in an instant.

Su Qing, completely unfazed, just smiled. She linked arms with Lu Wanting and suggested they go look around elsewhere.

With that said, Su Qing turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Yanyan blocked her path.

Zheng Yanyan demanded, "Don't you dare leave. You explain yourself right now!"

During this sudden tug-of-war, someone else was accidentally bumped into.

It was Minmin, who was working as an etiquette hostess in a uniform qipao.

"Ah!"

Minmin had originally planned to grab some food and find a quiet corner to eat. Instead, because of Zheng Yanyan's sudden shove, everything she was carrying clattered to the floor.

Minmin felt incredibly frustrated. It had taken a lot of effort to sneak some snacks while hiding from Qu Jing. Was that so much to ask?

But then she saw who had bumped into her.

Fine, she could not afford to offend this person. Lowering her head, she muttered an apology.

She prepared to slip away.

However, Zheng Yanyan felt this girl looked somewhat familiar. After pondering for a moment, she snapped, "Wait a second!"

Zheng Yanyan finally remembered who this girl was.

"You are that busty Tao Tian's roommate. What are you doing here?" Zheng Yanyan had a very deep impression of Tao Tian's roommates and immediately recognized Minmin.

Even though she did not work at Zhou Yuwen's company, she was familiar with its rules. Logically, Minmin should be doing her internship now. How could she possibly be here working part-time?

Moreover, what was a girl dressed in a server's qipao doing carrying so much food? Where did she think she was going?

Zheng Yanyan immediately put on the airs of a hostess and began interrogating Minmin.

"I..."

'I'm doomed,' Minmin thought. Why did she have to run into this crazy woman? She was momentarily speechless.

Zheng Yanyan, however, refused to let it go. Back then, Tao Tian was the only woman who had ever made her suffer a loss. If she did not exact her revenge, how could she call herself Zhou Yuwen's primary girlfriend?

She even turned to Lu Lin and complained, "Linlin, she was the one who bullied me last time!"

Lu Lin glanced at Minmin. She remembered the rule stating that interning students were not allowed to take on part-time gigs. Therefore, she asked with some dissatisfaction, "Who let you in?" "I let her in."

Fortunately, Qu Jing had been keeping an eye on Minmin, worried she might cause trouble. Seeing Minmin surrounded by the girls from Zheng Yanyan's dormitory, Qu Jing frowned slightly and quickly walked over.

Qu Jing was dressed in a black uniform tight skirt, black stockings, and high heels. Her expressionless face gave her the aura of an aloof, powerful career woman.

In fact, having trained in Zhou Yuwen's company for so long, Qu Jing had indeed earned the title of an Iron Lady. After all, she was the woman most fiercely loyal to Zhou Yuwen. For his sake, she had ruthlessly squeezed the contracts of quite a few female workers.

At this moment, even facing Zheng Yanyan and her group, Qu Jing did not panic in the slightest.

Qu Jing was not a woman prone to being jealous, but she felt a sense of injustice for Zhou Yuwen. She genuinely believed that a woman like Zheng Yanyan was simply not worthy of him.

How overwhelmingly talented and extraordinarily capable was Zhou Yuwen?

And what was so great about Zheng Yanyan? Aside from being a little pretty, all she knew how to do was throw unreasonable tantrums.

She actually wanted to make a scene at the banquet just now?

What on earth was going through her head?

Qu Jing hurried over.

"You?" Zheng Yanyan's face filled with even more displeasure upon seeing Qu Jing. This was the same woman who had bluntly asked her who the real bitch was back then. To think she had actually been heavily promoted by Zhou Yuwen afterwards—Zheng Yanyan was instantly annoyed.

Qu Jing, however, was very direct. She stated calmly, "We didn't have enough artists from the company, so I called Minmin over temporarily to help out. Sister Lin, there shouldn't be a problem with that, right?"

Lu Lin was a year younger than Qu Jing and rarely made public appearances for the company, but her position was prominent. Furthermore, Qu Jing had been reprimanded by Lu Lin before, which was why she always respectfully referred to her as Sister Lin.

Seeing that Qu Jing had stepped in, Lu Lin figured it was just a trivial matter and did not intend to press the issue further.

However, Zheng Yanyan interjected, "What do you mean you didn't have enough people? I am the vice-president of the Arts Department, for crying out loud. Do you think I wouldn't know if you had people doing part-time work?"

"A friend just told me that the selection process this time was exceptionally strict. Even with her great qualifications, she was still cut. What? Were they cut just so you could use your position for personal gain? Just to let your friends sneak in?" Zheng Yanyan asked with a sarcastic sneer.

Qu Jing truly despised Zheng Yanyan's unreasonable and pestering personality, so she simply replied, "We have our own selection standards."

Around this time, Tao Tian, wearing a milk-white dress, suddenly realized her two close sisters were out of sight, only to spot them facing off against Zheng Yanyan's dormitory.

She instantly panicked a little and rushed over to ask, "What happened?"

"Sweetie!"

At this point, Minmin was genuinely starting to panic. Mainly because she had indeed been caught causing trouble. Minmin knew very well that the women standing opposite her were all Zhou Yuwen's women. She was completely screwed.

Although she was moved by Qu Jing protecting her, they were still vastly outnumbered and outgunned.

But Tao Tian's arrival finally gave Minmin someone to rely on.

After understanding the situation and seeing Zheng Yanyan scowling coldly, Tao Tian smiled gently and said, "I'm sorry about this, Yan Yan. It's just that Minmin had nothing to do today, so we thought we would bring her along to have some fun. Bumping into you just now really wasn't intentional."

"Today is Zhou Yuwen's housewarming party, and there are prominent figures walking all around. Shall we both just take a step back? What do you think, Linlin?" Tao Tian asked, turning to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin nodded and gave Zheng Yanyan a slight tug. "Let's just drop it, alright?"

At the same time, Tao Tian also pulled Qu Jing and Minmin, preparing to leave.

The problem was that Qu Jing had the type of personality that refused to bow down. She simply could not stand Zheng Yanyan's domineering and arrogant attitude. What exactly did she have to be so smug about? Did she not realize how much trouble she had already caused Zhou Yuwen?

"So what if we brought someone over? Look at them, aren't they dragging any random stray cat or dog in here too?" Qu Jing muttered under her breath.

Clearly, she was very displeased about Zheng Yanyan bringing extra people to the banquet.

However, Qu Jing was merely venting, and her voice was exceedingly soft.

After Tao Tian tugged at her a couple of times, she intended to turn around and walk away.

On the other side, Lu Lin was also pulling Zheng Yanyan, likewise intending to end the confrontation right there.

As luck would have it, Zheng Yanyan caught wind of Qu Jing's remark.

Zheng Yanyan, naturally not someone willing to swallow an insult, instantly bristled. "Hold on, what do you mean by that, you woman dressing up like a cheap escort?"

"?" Qu Jing froze, whipping her head around in anger.

Tao Tian immediately held her back.

Qu Jing was wearing black stockings, a tight skirt, and high heels.

In Zheng Yanyan's eyes, didn't that make her look exactly like a hostess club girl?

Zheng Yanyan snapped directly, "Is who I bring in any of your business?"

"Take a look at your status, and then look at mine! I am Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend! And you lot? Zhou Yuwen is just kind-hearted enough to throw you a bone so you can eat. How can you still not tell who's actually in charge around here?"

"If we were in the old society, wouldn't every single one of you have to address me as the matriarch?"

Zheng Yanyan had recently been binge-watching a historical harem drama, and she instantly applied the tropes, her voice even carrying a hint of a Beijing accent.

"What did you just say?!" Qu Jing was furious upon hearing this.

At this point, Tao Tian was still trying to block Qu Jing, but Qu Jing furrowed her brows and could not help but shout angrily, "You? A matriarch? With your looks, you're a foot-warming maid at best!"

"A foot-warming maid?" Zheng Yanyan was stunned. She turned to Lu Lin and gasped, "She called me a foot-warming maid!?"

Lu Lin rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, 'Would it kill you to talk a little less?'

But Zheng Yanyan flatly refused to back down. She yelled, "Even as a foot-warming maid, I'm still better than you! You are nothing but Zhou Yuwen's bitch, and not just you! Aren't all of you just Zhou Yuwen's dogs?!"

Qu Jing had almost been dragged away by Tao Tian, but upon hearing those words, Tao Tian's expression instantly shifted. She could not help but shoot Zheng Yanyan a cold, scowling look.

That single look was enough to give Zheng Yanyan a severe fright.

Ever since Tao Tian went through that previous incident, she had indeed matured significantly. However, one had to remember that she used to be quite a formidable figure back in the day.

Originally, Tao Tian had wanted to keep the peace and smooth things over.

But now it was a full-blown confrontation between the two dormitories. If she blindly backed down, that wouldn't do either.

Tao Tian knew that she and Qu Jing were firmly bound together, and besides, Zheng Yanyan's words were simply too vile.

Startled by Tao Tian, Zheng Yanyan shrank behind Lu Lin, unable to stop herself from stammering, "What are you staring at me for? Don't you forget what happened before—"

Seeing Zheng Yanyan act like this, Tao Tian did not utter any harsh threats. She simply said, "Enough is enough, Yan Yan. The words you just used were far too dirty. Even if Yuwen found out, he would be very displeased."

"?" Zheng Yanyan frowned, thinking, 'Who are you to lecture me?'

But before Zheng Yanyan could speak, Tao Tian continued to declare, "We are all Yuwen's women. None of us is any nobler than the other. Stop using terms like cats or dogs from now on."

"???"

After Tao Tian finished speaking, everyone was completely stunned.

Literally everyone.

Including Shen Yu.

And Lu Wanting.

As well as...

"What? What did you just say?" Su Qing, who had merely been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, was left utterly bewildered by the statement.