Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 378: Brother, They... They Want to Acknowledge Me as Their Big Sister

Zhou Yuwen said he bought the house so Pan Min could stay there for a change of scenery. In reality, the Country Garden apartment was indeed bought for her, with Su Qing's name written on the deed, but the duplex villa was bought for himself.After all, his family's home was slated for demolition in two years, so he definitely needed to buy a place to live.

Although his family didn't lack properties in his previous life, the housing market in 2014 and 2016 were worlds apart. In this era, buying a house a year late meant working an extra ten years to afford it.

Therefore, if it needed to be bought, he would buy it.

By securing the property now, they could move right in when the demolition eventually happened.

It was already past three in the afternoon by the time he finished accompanying them through the paperwork. Even though today was New Year's Eve, the sales office was still bustling with activity. People were smashing golden eggs for prizes and setting off confetti poppers, their faces beaming with happy smiles.

In this era, everyone was truly full of hope for the future.

Su Qing and Pan Min were both over there smashing golden eggs, winning an LCD television and a refrigerator.

After wandering around until past four o'clock, Yang Lirong gave Zhou Yuwen a phone call, bluntly asking how much longer he planned to hang out with his girlfriend.

"Are you coming home for dinner or not?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that he would be done soon.

"I will head back immediately."

In truth, Pan Min had also prepared quite a few dishes at home today. Of course, no matter what, Zhou Yuwen couldn't possibly stay at Pan Min's place for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Zhou Yuwen took the call right in front of Pan Min and Su Qing.

So they naturally overheard a bit of what Yang Lirong said.

Once Zhou Yuwen hung up, Su Qing looked up at him pitifully. On such an important occasion as the New Year, she definitely did not want to be separated from him.

Pan Min, however, was very understanding and told Su Qing to let him go.

Not to mention that it was impossible for Zhou Yuwen to accompany Su Qing for the New Year's Eve dinner now; even after marriage, it would at most be Su Qing accompanying him to his family's home. It was absolutely unheard of for the groom to spend the New Year at the bride's family home.

But thinking about it now, with Zhou Yuwen having multiple partners, Su Qing would be able to accompany Pan Min for the New Year in the future. Looking at it this way, it actually took good care of Pan Min.

See? Polygamy had its perks.

And so, Su Qing wrapped her arms around Zhou Yuwen's neck, reluctant to part. Zhou Yuwen pinched her little cheeks, telling her to stay home and keep Aunt Pan good company.

It wasn't as if they were never going to see each other again. It was just passing the New Year; there was no need for such melodrama.

He drove them home first. By the time Zhou Yuwen returned to his own house, it was exactly five o'clock. Several relatives were already seated inside. Seeing him return, they clamored for him to take the children outside to light firecrackers.

Accompanied by the crackling sounds of firecrackers going off outside, the family's New Year's Eve dinner officially commenced. A group of the Zhou family's children babbled excitedly at the noisy display.

To be honest, this was Zhou Yuwen's first year eating at the main table.

Mostly because last year he was a senior in high school busy with studying, and in the years before that, he was too young. He had basically always eaten at the children's table with his younger cousins. The main table was for drinking, so he naturally couldn't join them.

But this year was different. He was in university now and had made quite a name for himself out in the world. Without him even needing to ask, a few of his uncles and aunts hollered for him to take a seat at the main table, insisting he had to drink a few extra glasses today.

At this, Yang Lirong waved her hands, arguing that he was still a child and shouldn't drink too much.

The visiting relatives were immediately displeased, countering with, what did being a child matter?

"When I was eighteen, I couldn't even scrape together fifty yuan! Yuwen is the most successful one among our younger generation!" Having had a bit to drink, his uncles by marriage started rambling.

And these words received eager agreement from many of the other relatives.

Zhou Yuwen naturally didn't care either way, but for Peng Xiaoyong, who had just returned from studying abroad, it inevitably made him feel uncomfortable.

He was already twenty-six. When he first returned, people had flocked to him, but because of Zhou Yuwen's existence, he was so quickly left out in the cold.

The relatives continuously toasted Zhou Yuwen and Zhou Guobin, praising them with remarks about how a strong father raises an exceptional son!

People still praised Peng Xiaoyong, of course. After all, being able to study abroad and return was quite impressive. However, compared to Zhou Yuwen, he really fell short.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't exactly tell him: 'Brother, you can't compare yourself to me, I have a cheat code.'

And so, no longer the center of attention, Peng Xiaoyong was left alone to drown his sorrows in silent drinking.

It couldn't be said that Elder Aunt's family was entirely to blame for not fitting in. Mostly, it was because Elder Aunt had married into the wrong household. Their family's trajectory did not align with the interests of these relatives, so naturally, they couldn't find common ground to chat about.

After downing a few simple glasses of liquor and fulfilling his basic etiquette, Peng Xiaoyong was the first to leave the table. Compared to these hypocritical relatives who only knew how to exchange toasts, he would much rather accompany Lu Wanting.

At this moment, Lu Wanting was eating happily at the children's table outside.

Seeing Peng Xiaoyong come out, she was quite surprised. "How come you're out so soon?"

"It's boring inside. I figured I'd finish eating early and come out to keep you company." Emboldened by the few glasses of alcohol he had consumed, Peng Xiaoyong spoke directly to Lu Wanting.

Hearing this, Lu Wanting just smiled brightly. The adults' drinking table and the children's table were only separated by a single room. Through the slightly ajar door, she could see Zhou Yuwen being egged on by everyone to drink.

"Your younger cousin seems to be quite popular!" Lu Wanting observed.

Peng Xiaoyong pouted in disdain, replying that it wasn't popularity. It was because his uncle held some authority here, and their relatives had always liked to orbit around them.

"Now that my cousin has made big money out there, they're naturally even more eager to suck up to him."

"Small towns are all like this—boring and hypocritical."

Peng Xiaoyong voiced his true inner thoughts.

Lu Wanting simply chuckled softly, not offering any further comment.

Harboring too much pent-up frustration in his heart, Peng Xiaoyong grabbed a bench, sat down beside Lu Wanting, and continued to ramble on about his own affairs.

"Wanting, do you know, when I graduated from university, I originally wanted to go out and work. But my mom wouldn't let me. She said I was the only highly educated person among our relatives, so I had to keep studying to stand out and achieve greatness."

Peng Xiaoyong lamented that he had missed out on too much, but now he had finally graduated.

"Wanting, just you wait and see. Three years. In less than three years, I will definitely carve out my own world. I want to make all those who look down on me take a good hard look!"

Lu Wanting had been listening as Peng Xiaoyong spoke, but when he brazenly reached out to hold her hand, she smoothly and inconspicuously dodged it. Her evasion was perfectly disguised by a sudden distraction: "Oh, your cousin came out?"

Peng Xiaoyong turned around, only to see Zhou Yuwen looking completely intoxicated, waving his hand at the relatives pulling at him from behind, insisting he couldn't drink anymore, he really couldn't.

"Uncles, please let me go. You all keep drinking, enjoy yourselves!"

After saying that, Zhou Yuwen helped pull the door shut.

Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

Alcohol really wasn't something to be overindulged in. Even if one could hold their liquor, they couldn't just let themselves be force-fed like that.

He glanced at the children's table where people were still eating and drinking, and then caught sight of Lu Wanting watching him from over there.

Peng Xiaoyong was lying prone on the table, the skin beneath his eyes flushed red, looking equally drunk.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but laugh. He walked over, sat down, and teased, "Cousin, did you get drunk and come out here to dodge the alcohol too?"

Peng Xiaoyong pushed up his glasses and remained silent. The younger cousins, however, were thrilled to see Zhou Yuwen approach. The youngest boy threw himself right into Zhou Yuwen's arms. "Cousin!"

"Good boy," Zhou Yuwen praised affectionately.

The little cousin was only about five or six years old. He dangled a red envelope in front of Zhou Yuwen.

"How pretty," Zhou Yuwen commented.

"Who gave you the red envelope?"

"Auntie gave it to me!" the little boy declared proudly.

Zhou Yuwen peeked inside and saw three hundred yuan. "I'm so envious," he quipped.

"I didn't even get a red envelope."

Peng Xiaoyong grumbled, "How old are you already, still asking for red envelopes?"

"I just turned eighteen," Zhou Yuwen shot back.

Lu Wanting let out a soft snort of laughter. "What, do they stop giving them out once you pass eighteen around here?" she asked.

"Not exactly."

In fact, the relatives had wanted to give him one, saying that as long as he wasn't married, he should keep receiving them.

But Zhou Yuwen wasn't after those few measly bucks anymore, so he had declined.

He snacked on some fruit at the children's table and then asked Liu Yilin to scoop him a bowl of chicken soup.

Other than Zhou Yuwen and Peng Xiaoyong, Liu Yilin was the oldest girl at the table. But her personality was very shy and introverted. She was just wearing a blue First High School uniform, paired with slightly flared black jeans and white shoes.

She sat there quietly and obediently.

Two younger cousins were roughhousing right next to her.

Every now and then, they would bump into Liu Yilin.

But she would merely furrow her brows, not saying a single word of complaint.

Hearing Zhou Yuwen's request, Liu Yilin obediently stood up and served him a bowl of chicken soup.

Zhou Yuwen sighed nostalgically, "My little cousin has blossomed into a young woman. Next year in university, you'll be able to start dating."

Liu Yilin was completely flustered by his words. Her small face instantly flushed crimson. With a touch of embarrassed shyness, she murmured, "My mom says I'm not allowed to date in university."

"Don't listen to Fourth Aunt's nonsense. If you don't date in university, you'll be left with blind dates after you graduate. And the guys you meet on blind dates are one weirder than the next. Wait, no, that's not right. Even the most unreliable blind date is still more reliable than university guys."

"Forget it, just come to Jinling to study. I'll find someone for you when the time comes." After rambling for a bit, Zhou Yuwen put himself in Liu Yilin's shoes. He felt that such an obedient and sweet girl was bound to get taken advantage of no matter what kind of guy she ended up with. It would be best to keep her close by his side so he could properly protect her.

Listening to Zhou Yuwen's contradictory statements, Lu Wanting couldn't hold back a chuckle. She parroted his words, "University guys are unreliable."

"Then what about Susu finding you? Do you count as reliable?"

"I'm different," Zhou Yuwen stated frankly. "I am an exception."

"Tsk."

As an older cousin, Peng Xiaoyong was still relatively responsible. He asked Liu Yilin if those people had caused her any trouble since that incident at the KTV.

Liu Yilin shook her head and quietly replied that they hadn't.

Peng Xiaoyong nodded. "If those people come looking for you again, tell your teacher. If your teacher can't handle it, have Fourth Aunt go to the school."

Having said that, Peng Xiaoyong turned back to Lu Wanting, lecturing, "The domestic education system still has many flaws and loopholes."

"The apathy of parents, and the indifference of schools."

"These are the primary reasons students suffer from bullying."

Zhou Yuwen lowered his head and sipped his chicken soup, offering no opinion on the topic. He merely thought to himself, 'What does this have to do with being domestic or foreign? Foreign school bullying is no less prevalent than it is here.'

Riding the wave of this topic, Peng Xiaoyong expounded on his own views, theorizing on how reforms should be made and mutual supervision implemented to rectify the situation.

Lu Wanting listened and nodded. Zhou Yuwen felt that it made some sense, but unfortunately, putting it into practice would be far too difficult.

You couldn't cover the entire world in a soft carpet, so your only option was to put on a good pair of shoes.

Zhou Yuwen's philosophy was very simple: as long as the people close to him weren't harmed, nothing else mattered.

Liu Yilin wasn't paying attention to Peng Xiaoyong's blabbering either.

She peeked at Zhou Yuwen drinking his chicken soup, hesitated for a moment, and finally murmured, "Brother, actually... Zhao Rui came looking for me once afterward."

"Who is Zhao Rui?" Zhou Yuwen asked, curious.

Hearing this, even Liu Yilin couldn't help but laugh softly.

She explained that it was the female with the dyed hair who had hit her in the KTV.

"Oh, her."

Zhou Yuwen cast his mind back; his impression of her was very faint. "What did she want with you?"

Thinking back to the scene in the canteen at the time, Liu Yilin found it rather amusing.

Just then, Peng Xiaoyong and Lu Wanting also lifted their heads in curiosity, wanting to know what the girl had approached Liu Yilin for.

Peng Xiaoyong even asked, "Did she threaten you again?"

Liu Yilin hurriedly waved her hands, insisting, "No, no."

"Then what was it?"

With a red face, Liu Yilin mumbled sheepishly, "They... they said they wanted to follow me from now on. They want me to be their big sister..."

"Huh?" Lu Wanting burst out laughing upon hearing this. The plot twist was so sharp she hadn't managed to process it for a second.

Peng Xiaoyong adjusted his glasses and furrowed his brows, asking what she meant by that.

Liu Yilin stole a glance at Zhou Yuwen. With a hint of pride mixed with slight distress in her voice, she explained, "They go around school every day now saying that my cousin is a triad boss with thousands of men under him. So, they want me to act as their big sister."

Liu Yilin kept her eyes fixed on Zhou Yuwen as she said this. Meanwhile, Lu Wanting and Peng Xiaoyong, unaware of the full context, simply assumed it was just silly kids making things up.

Liu Yilin then added to Zhou Yuwen, "Zhao Rui even asked me for your WeChat, brother. She said she wants to add you and treat you to a meal!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth in amusement. He chuckled and declared, "I'm a triad boss with thousands of men. Do I look like I have time to eat with her? Honestly."