Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 392: A Little Commercial Embellishment

Li Qiang was actually unwilling to eat with Zhou Yuwen and the others, which surprised Zhou Yuwen quite a bit.But right now, Zhou Yuwen had serious business to attend to. He was just being polite, and seeing Li Qiang's reluctance, he did not insist. He simply stated that they would go inside to get to work.

With that, he ushered the group inside.

Li Qiang stood outside, looking completely dry and dull. Taking advantage of the moment others turned their backs, he secretly glanced at Lu Hui.

At that very moment, Liu Shuo had his arm wrapped around Lu Hui's slender waist.

Being stared at by Li Qiang made Lu Hui visibly uncomfortable. She gave a little twist of her waist, trying to break free from Liu Shuo's grip.

However, Liu Shuo had always been a boisterous and rough character. Had she stayed still, it might have been fine, but her struggling only prompted him to hold her even tighter.

Li Qiang watched helplessly as Liu Shuo embraced his goddess and led her into the office. He could not understand it—when did Sister Hui become Liu Shuo's girlfriend?

Furthermore, how could Liu Shuo treat Sister Hui like that!?

'Sister Hui was forced, right?'

'This must be Liu Shuo bullying Sister Hui!'

Feeling deeply indignant, Li Qiang found an empty spot to sit down, pulled out his phone, and began frantically sending messages to Lu Hui.

"Are you there? Sister Hui?"

"What is going on here?"

"Did he force you!?"

"Sister Hui, say something!"

At this moment, Li Qiang was worried to death.

Lu Hui naturally saw the messages, but the problem was that everyone was right there. How could she possibly find a chance to reply to him?

Later, having finally found an opening, Lu Hui stealthily fired off a reply to Li Qiang:

"It is exactly what you saw!"

"I am indeed Liu Shuo's girlfriend."

"Enough, let us leave it at that. Let us pretend we never met. You will find a better girl."

"No!!!!!!"

At that moment, Li Qiang completely exploded. He felt an intense urge to cry. He had finally found a girl who perfectly matched his desires and who did not despise him.

Yet, he never expected it to die a sudden death for such a reason.

Li Qiang was unwilling to accept this. He firmly believed that Lu Hui must have some hidden difficulties for being with Liu Shuo. She could not possibly like Liu Shuo; the one she truly liked must be him!

Back in the office, Zhou Yuwen and the others busied themselves for a while. They processed the files of the students who had encountered accidents during their winter holiday part-time jobs. Then, Jiang Xinyi and Lu Hui presented the financial statements for Zhou Yuwen to review.

Before the winter holiday, the plan was to earn six million yuan this month. However, because they had purchased bedding and insurance, the final revenue came out to four million yuan. Furthermore, a large number of factories had not yet settled their final payments, stating they would wait until March to do so.

Zhou Yuwen felt this was not an issue. He would just use his own money to settle the students' wages first and give a bit extra to the students who had accidents. Regardless, they were still making money.

"Everyone has worked hard recently. Pick a place for tonight; it's my treat," Zhou Yuwen announced.

Jiang Xinyi chimed in to ask, "Just the few of us?"

She meant that Lu Lin and the other students who had worked part-time should also be invited.

But Zhou Yuwen explained that they would just have a small gathering this time, saving the big celebration for when everyone returned at the start of the semester.

Jiang Xinyi gave a little pout and shot Zhou Yuwen a reproachful glare.

It was not that she was truly trying to secure benefits for others; it was simply a little girl's temper, wanting to exchange a few more words with him.

Zhou Yuwen could understand that.

After all, they had been chatting passionately online, and she had already made it abundantly clear: 'Zhou Yuwen, I like you! I must win your heart!'

Yet, the moment they met in person, Zhou Yuwen treated her like a total stranger.

The four of them discussed it briefly and eventually found a nearby hot pot restaurant to eat at.

During the meal, their conversation revolved entirely around the winter holiday part-time work. This time, the workforce consisted not only of students studying in Jinling but also some from Southern Jiangsu and out-of-province universities.

Once their part-time jobs concluded, all these students would join the Xuhuai Association. Zhou Yuwen instructed Liu Shuo to thoroughly win over this batch of students. They could use them as a foundation to expand into their respective universities, much like the courier stations from the previous semester, allowing the Xuhuai Association to take root and flourish in the Southern Jiangsu region.

Swishing his food in the boiling broth, Liu Shuo replied, "Bro, that's going to be a bit difficult. It's the second semester now, and people have already contracted the businesses for the term. No one is talking about transferring ownership right now."

Zhou Yuwen realized he was right. Things like courier stations were usually handed over at the end of the semester when senior male students graduated and transferred them to their juniors. The current timing was awkwardly stuck in the middle.

"Then let's just open a food delivery station near them."

Left with no other choice, Zhou Yuwen could only increase his capital investment, using his own funds to lease a commercial storefront and set up a food delivery station for them.

"You got it!" This was a major step in expanding the Xuhuai Association, and Liu Shuo was absolutely uncompromising when it came to that.

However, mentioning the food delivery station reminded Liu Shuo of something else.

Several brothers under him had reported that people from Meituan had approached them, offering double the commission they were currently making.

"I asked around privately, and some have already agreed."

Liu Shuo's expression darkened as he spoke. He felt that these people were truly two-faced. Damn it, the Xuhuai Association had treated them so well, providing them with clothes and even preparing electric bicycles for them.

Yet they turned their backs at the drop of a hat.

Where was the brotherhood?

"In all my life, the thing I fucking hate the most is betrayal!" Reaching a point of sheer agitation, Liu Shuo slammed his hand hard on the table.

The loud smack startled Lu Hui, who was playing on her phone next to him.

Patting her chest, Lu Hui complained, "What are you doing, making such a fuss? You scared me."

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, baby. I just got worked up. Tell me, aren't these guys absolute trash? Damn it, when they had no money, I busted my ass taking care of them. Now that there's money to be made, they just run off the second someone offers them a bit more. How are they any different from dogs? Even a dog knows to bark for its master. They're worse than dogs!"

Liu Shuo cursed vehemently right in front of Lu Hui.

His swearing made Lu Hui feel quite uncomfortable, and she could not help but remark, "People naturally chase benefits and avoid harm. If the other side offered double the commission, I would leave too."

"What did you just say?"

Hearing this, Liu Shuo's expression instantly changed, looking as if he were about to strike her. Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen intervened, "Alright, tone it down. Lu Hui is right."

"No, bro." Liu Shuo wanted to argue.

But Zhou Yuwen bluntly stated that in modern society, there was no such thing as brotherhood.

"We are a legitimate company. Stop trying to guilt-trip them with brotherhood. If the competitors are offering more money, then we just need to match it."

"Bro, double the pay? That's too expensive!"

Zhou Yuwen truly had not anticipated Meituan being so aggressive as to immediately offer double the commission. Such an operation was definitely a money-losing venture; they were clearly planning to squeeze him out of the market in a short time.

But Zhou Yuwen was not someone to be trifled with either. After a moment of thought, he declared, "We will raise our commission rates too."

"Huh?" Liu Shuo was reluctant. He felt that raising their commissions would be tantamount to admitting defeat. He and his older brother had managed the Xianlin district for so long; how could they lose to an outsider?

Besides, he was technically an operator of Xianlin Delivery. He knew full well that this food delivery business was not inherently profitable. If they raised commission prices further, it would turn into burning money.

Zhou Yuwen explained that they had no other choice. The opponent had come in intending to crush them completely. If they did not counterattack, their riders would simply run off once they saw the competitor's increasingly high commissions.

"All we can do now is engage them in a price war. Also, you need to issue a notice stating that anyone who becomes a Meituan rider will automatically withdraw from the Xuhuai Association, and they will lose all priority for future part-time opportunities with us."

"That's brilliant!" Liu Shuo felt they did not even need to raise commissions; they should just directly kick those traitors out of the association to teach them the price of betrayal.

But Zhou Yuwen emphasized that to drive Meituan away, increasing the commission was an absolute necessity.

"Furthermore, our delivery territory needs to expand." Before the winter holiday, Zhou Yuwen had, at most, occupied the Xianlin area. Their delivery operations in Jiangning and Pukou accounted for less than half the market.

At that time, Meituan had only just arrived in Jinling.

But now, Meituan had been there for nearly two months. Their strategy was fully deployed; they had not only established delivery points in all major universities but also conquered numerous office buildings.

Ele.me had entered the Jinling market one step behind Meituan, but they were equally deep-pocketed and ready to throw money around. Within a single month, both companies had each seized twenty percent of Jinling's food delivery market, entering a state of high-stakes hostility.

Meanwhile, in the context of the entire Jinling market, Zhou Yuwen's food delivery company probably held less than a five percent market share. It was no wonder that neither of the two giants took him seriously.

Analyzing the current situation, Zhou Yuwen realized this food delivery war was a clash of titans. Even if he wanted to join the fray, he lacked the sheer scale. He might as well focus entirely on locking down the student market.

By increasing the riders' commissions and rapidly rolling out operations in Jiangning and Pukou, Zhou Yuwen aimed to dominate the entire university student market in Jinling in the shortest possible time. Only by doing so could he eventually sell the company for a good price.

Over hot pot, Zhou Yuwen began laying out his battle plans and delegating tasks.

Lu Hui was clearly absent-minded. Liu Shuo's mission was straightforward: merge the food delivery stations with the Xuhuai Association. With the association's personnel serving as the foundation, Zhou Yuwen's university-focused delivery service would undoubtedly expand faster than the two Cross-River Dragons.

Next, Jiang Xinyi helped Zhou Yuwen calculate just how much money they would lose if they raised their prices to match the two major delivery conglomerates.

Jiang Xinyi stated that it would cost at least five million yuan.

"That much!?" Even though he had seen his fair share of big money lately, hearing this figure still gave Liu Shuo a fright. That was a five-million-yuan loss!

"Bro, is this really necessary?" Liu Shuo asked.

Keeping his head down as he swished a slice of lamb in the broth, Zhou Yuwen replied that he had no other choice.

"Since they have made their move, I absolutely have to meet their challenge."

"If we lose, then we lose the five million, and we'll just consider this winter holiday a waste of effort. But if we win, that five million will be charged to someone else's account. Enough talk, let's eat."

After discussing work for a while longer, Zhou Yuwen urged everyone to focus on their food.

Yet, as they ate, he noticed that Jiang Xinyi had been staring at him the entire time.

It made Zhou Yuwen feel somewhat self-conscious. Touching his face, he asked, "Is there something on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?"

Smiling, Jiang Xinyi shook her head. "No,"

"I just want to look at you. Is that not allowed?"

Hearing this, Liu Shuo immediately covered his mouth and chuckled. "Sister Xinyi, you haven't fallen for my bro, have you? You used to date his teacher! If something really happened between the two of you, wouldn't my bro be deceiving his master and destroying his ancestors?"

Zhou Yuwen furrowed his brows at those words. "Do you even know how to speak properly?"

"If you are not good with words, keep your mouth shut. He was just a university counselor; how is that deceiving a master and destroying ancestors? You've been reading too many web novels!"

"Oh, right, so it doesn't count as deceiving the master, huh!"

"Just eat your food!"

"Hehe!"

By the time they finished their hot pot, it was only a little past eight.

The late February night still carried a biting chill.

Eating inside the restaurant had felt warm and steamy, but the moment they stepped out into the crisp air, the cold wind instantly painted Jiang Xinyi's delicate cheeks red.

Liu Shuo drove off first in his newly purchased Magotan.

This left only Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi.

Jiang Xinyi trailed behind Zhou Yuwen, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on him. For every step he took, she matched it.

Arriving at his car, Zhou Yuwen scratched his cheek and offered, "Well then, I'll drop you home first."

Jiang Xinyi quickly hurried to his side. "Oh!"

"I thought you had completely forgotten about me!"

Zhou Yuwen replied, asking how that could be possible.

"It is just that you kept staring at me, which made me feel awkward."

"Awkward? What is there to be awkward about!?"

Jiang Xinyi asked.

For a moment, Zhou Yuwen was left speechless. Generally speaking, Jiang Xinyi was not a particularly extroverted girl, but when she did act boldly, it was honestly quite intimidating.

Zhou Yuwen hastily urged her to get in the car, deciding it was best to just take her home first.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Jiang Xinyi talked to Zhou Yuwen endlessly. She said things like, "Zhou Yuwen, my winter holiday was incredibly exciting, you know?"

"My mom, my grandma, and I—our whole family went to Hawaii together, and we even visited Los Angeles. Did you know? It is incredibly beautiful over there, and the ocean is so blue!"

Keeping his eyes on the road, Zhou Yuwen nodded and acknowledged her words.

"You sent me photos before, I saw them."

"So, was I pretty?" Jiang Xinyi suddenly asked.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Of course you were pretty."

"If I was pretty, why won't you even lift your head to look at me?" Jiang Xinyi pressed.

Zhou Yuwen pointed out that he was busy driving.

Pursing her bright red lips, she muttered, "You barely looked at me while we were eating, either."

"..."

"That was because there were a lot of people around during the meal."

"Hmph, hypocrite." Jiang Xinyi gave a little pout. She then abruptly threw another question his way, asking whether she looked prettier wearing a bikini or how she looked right now.

Zhou Yuwen diplomatically replied that she looked pretty in both.

"Then do you prefer me in a bikini, or in my casual clothes?"

"..."

The drive lasted thirty minutes, and Jiang Xinyi chattered continuously for the entire thirty minutes.

They finally arrived at her doorstep.

Looking as if she had just noticed, Jiang Xinyi remarked, "We reached home so quickly, I didn't even realize it."

Zhou Yuwen quipped, "Your mind is clearly still stuck in Hawaii."

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyi rolled her eyes at him.

The car came to a complete stop.

Yet, Jiang Xinyi showed no intention of getting out.

Zhou Yuwen remained silent as well.

The two of them just sat there quietly in the car.

For a long time, A very long time.