Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 373: Actually, Your Cousin and I Are Just Ordinary Friends

Lu Wanting's father was a businessman, and her family was indeed quite wealthy. Buying a Mercedes-Benz or something similar was no problem for them. In fact, when she spoke with her father on the phone the other day, even though he said he would not buy a car in the mainland, if Lu Wanting insisted on staying in Jinling, her graduation gift would definitely be a BBA at the very least.However, receiving something from a father was entirely different from receiving it from a boyfriend.

This was not a matter of money.

Rather, it was a manifestation of whether a boyfriend truly loved you.

Actually, ever since their first meeting, Lu Wanting had been observing how Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing interacted. From the smallest details, it was obvious that Zhou Yuwen truly saw Su Qing as his other half.

The two of them shared a bond where they were deeply intertwined in each other's lives. Buying a new car this time seemed like a casual affair, but it was also a profound display of Zhou Yuwen's trust in Su Qing.

Lu Wanting had interacted with quite a few people abroad. Setting Peng Xiaoyong aside, even her other male classmates who appeared generous were actually quite petty and calculating. Some of her friends had boyfriends abroad, and even after moving into cohabitation, they still had to go Dutch.

From this perspective, Zhou Yuwen's love for Su Qing was exceptionally rare and precious.

It was a Mercedes-Benz after all, and the interior trim was truly beautiful.

Furthermore, it was a brand-new car.

Lu Wanting sat in the front passenger seat, fiddling with the various functions inside the vehicle. She mentioned that if she asked her dad to buy one, he would likely do so.

"However, I still envy you so much. You found a boyfriend who dotes on you and loves you this deeply."

Hearing this, Su Qing felt a little embarrassed. As she drove, she replied, "Well, Zhou Yuwen and I have a special situation. From the moment we got together, we were certain that we were the one for each other. We will definitely get married in the future, so what is his is mine, and what is mine is his. This is our unspoken understanding."

"Hearing you say that makes me envy you even more," Lu Wanting said.

Su Qing kept her eyes on the road ahead, but the corners of her mouth could not help but curl into a smile. "You and Brother Xiaoyong will be like this in the future too. You are about to start working in Jinling soon. With your combined abilities, having your own little family in two or three years should be a given."

Since Su Qing repeatedly brought up her and Peng Xiaoyong, Lu Wanting felt some hesitation. She felt that Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing both had good character, and since she was all alone in the country with no friends, she might run into them again when she returned to Jinling. Keeping them in the dark like this did not seem right.

Thinking of this, Lu Wanting spoke up. "Hey, Su Qing, I am going to tell you a secret, but you have to keep it between us."

"What is it?" Su Qing absolutely loved gossip.

Truthfully, she also hoped to become friends with Lu Wanting. After all, Lu Wanting had experience studying abroad, so her way of thinking and habits were indeed different from ordinary people. Conversing more with Lu Wanting would allow her to learn many things she previously did not know.

Over the past few days, Su Qing had even been chatting in her roommate chat group about this very topic, bragging that she had made a new friend from Singapore and going on about how amazing she was.

When Shen Yu heard that the person was a foreigner, she grew slightly interested and exchanged a few messages with Su Qing.

However, when Zheng Yanyan saw the chat logs in the group, she sneered with disdain, claiming that Su Qing only knew how to show off.

"To put it simply, you just worship foreign things and fawn on foreigners."

"It is the 21st century. Please open your eyes and look at the world, @Zheng Yanyan."

Zheng Yanyan: "(Pout)"

Girls always had a bit of vanity and longed for what they called high-quality social interactions.

Not to mention, Lu Wanting was also Zhou Yuwen's cousin's partner.

Su Qing was absolutely certain she would marry Zhou Yuwen in the future.

Did that not mean her relationship with Lu Wanting would make them sisters-in-law?

Getting a little closer would only be a good thing.

And now, Lu Wanting wanted to share a secret with her. Did this not prove she genuinely considered her a friend?

Su Qing immediately put on an expression of intense interest.

Lu Wanting hesitated slightly. "Actually..."

"What is it?"

"Peng Xiaoyong and I are just classmates."

"Huh???"

Su Qing was genuinely stunned. Wait, what did that mean?

Lu Wanting explained in her Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent, stating that Peng Xiaoyong was indeed pursuing her.

"Our relationship is not too bad, but I just lack those kinds of feelings for him. There is no spark, you know?"

"I know what you mean."

Su Qing kept driving, but her heart swelled with the secret thrill of eavesdropping on someone else's confidential matters.

She simply could not wait to share this news with Zhou Yuwen.

She had mentioned this to Zhou Yuwen previously.

She had felt that Lu Wanting and Peng Xiaoyong did not act like a real couple at all.

Moreover, she clearly remembered from her previous life that Peng Xiaoyong never had this girlfriend.

Why had this girlfriend suddenly popped up in this life?

Now, listening to Lu Wanting's explanation, everything suddenly became clear.

Lu Wanting explained that she actually had no intention of building her career in Jinling.

"It is just that our company's strategy underwent some adjustments at the end of the year. They said they were short-staffed in Jinling, which is why they assigned me here."

"I didn't have anything else going on at the time, so I figured I might as well go home with Peng Xiaoyong to take a look and experience the festive atmosphere of New Year."

"He asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend, saying it would make things more convenient."

"I saw how sincere he was, and since my sudden decision to visit would definitely cause him trouble, I decided to do him a favor."

Lu Wanting laid out the entire situation.

Su Qing pondered this. If that were the case, then everything made perfect sense.

She had previously discussed with Zhou Yuwen that Lu Wanting's existence was likely part of a butterfly effect.

Now, all the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Zhou Yuwen established a food delivery company in Jinling.

This increased the difficulty of Meituan's outward expansion.

Then, Zhu Hong sent an application to the head office.

The head office then dispatched Lu Wanting—who originally should have been in Jingcheng—to Jinling.

Through this sheer coincidence, she ended up at Zhou Yuwen's home.

Life truly was a wondrous thing.

"Su Qing, are you listening?" Lu Wanting asked, growing a bit worried when Su Qing remained silent.

"Oh, I am. Sorry, my mind wandered for a moment," Su Qing replied.

"You scared me to death."

Lu Wanting patted her chest and pouted, "I thought you were mad at me."

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Su Qing asked in confusion.

Lu Wanting said, "Because I lied to you. I feel terrible about it. Actually, when I agreed to Peng Xiaoyong's request, I considered this, but he assured me that he wouldn't have much contact with you all in the future, so I treated it as just doing him a favor."

"He mentioned that his family was pressing him hard, constantly forcing him to go on blind dates, which was why he asked me to help him out. But after interacting with you and Yuwen, I found you both really interesting and genuinely wanted to become friends with you, which is why I decided to tell you the truth."

Su Qing nodded. "Brother Xiaoyong is twenty-six now. His family has every right to be anxious."

"Yeah, so you must keep this a secret for me!"

"Of course, don't worry, Sister Wanting. I won't even tell Zhou Yuwen!" Su Qing promised.

Lu Wanting gave Su Qing a thumbs-up. "You are the most reliable!"

By the time Zhou Yuwen and the others drove back, it was already past five in the evening, and the sky had grown dark.

Zhou Yuwen drove Peng Xiaoyong and Lu Wanting home first.

Afterward, he conveniently parked the car right outside his own house.

Zhou Yuwen then hopped into the front passenger seat of Su Qing's car.

Hearing the commotion, his mother came out and asked Zhou Yuwen why he was heading out again.

"It's almost time for dinner. You should eat before you leave."

"No thanks, Mom. My classmates and I still have things to take care of. You guys go ahead and eat."

With that said, Su Qing drove Zhou Yuwen away.

Peng Xiaoyong's mother, who was Zhou Yuwen's Elder Aunt, had spent the entire afternoon at Zhou Yuwen's house. Since Peng Xiaoyong would eventually return from looking at cars, and Elder Aunt had nothing else to do, she stayed behind to chat with Mother Zhou while waiting for her son. As a result, when she stepped outside, she spotted Su Qing driving a white Mercedes-Benz.

Her eyes remained glued to the vehicle.

With a hint of jealousy, she said to Mother Zhou, Yang Lirong, "Lirong, this is why everyone says you are blessed with good fortune. Yuwen is so sensible, and he even brought you such a wonderful daughter-in-law. Just look at her! She's so young, yet she's already driving a Mercedes-Benz. It shows her family must be quite well-off."

Actually, Yang Lirong had also noticed Su Qing behind the wheel. Deep down, she was quite satisfied with the girl. She smiled and replied, "The children have their own ideas. To be honest, I don't care much about these material things."

"It is still better to have it than not."

Peng Xiaoyong's mother muttered, thinking to herself, 'If only Lu Wanting drove a Mercedes-Benz too.'

Peng Xiaoyong knew his mother far too well. Her words were a direct comparison between Lu Wanting and Su Qing.

Ever since returning from the car dealership, Peng Xiaoyong had been in a foul mood.

Listening to their conversation, he finally could not hold back any longer. He turned to Yang Lirong and asked, "Auntie, is the little white car my cousin's girlfriend is driving pretty?"

"It is very pretty. Did she just buy it?" Yang Lirong asked.

"Yeah, my cousin just bought it for her."

"???"

Yang Lirong froze in shock.

The expression on Peng Xiaoyong's mother's face immediately turned peculiar. "My goodness! How could Yuwen do such a thing? He hasn't even thought of buying a car for his own mother, and how long has he even known that woman?"

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen had just gotten into the car.

Su Qing could not wait to start blabbing to Zhou Yuwen about Lu Wanting's situation.

Filled with excitement, she babbled, "Well, well, well? What did I tell you? I knew their behavior didn't resemble a normal couple at all. I noticed it several times. Whenever they sat in the car, Brother Xiaoyong deliberately kept his distance from Sister Wanting."

Zhou Yuwen, listening from the front passenger seat, could not help but remark, "So, you promised her you wouldn't tell anyone, yet here you are blurting it out?"

Hearing this, Su Qing smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, come on, Hubby! It is not like you are an outsider!"

Zhou Yuwen countered, "I am not, but he is."

With that, he glanced toward the back seat, where Liu Shuo was grinning widely. "Hehe, bro! Don't worry, I didn't hear a single thing!"

"Get lost. Like hell you didn't hear."

Liu Shuo continued to laugh happily. "I was wondering how someone as beautiful as Lu Wanting could fall for a bookworm like Peng Xiaoyong. Now that I think about it, everything adds up! Hehe!"

"Is that what you call my cousin?"

"Hey, bro, you are my brother. He isn't. Let me tell you, that nerd—if we were out and about, I wouldn't even give him the time of day," Liu Shuo declared.

Zhou Yuwen scoffed, telling him to knock it off.

Su Qing continued to chatter away about the gossip until Zhou Yuwen told her to drop it, reminding her that it wasn't anything spectacular anyway.

"So, where are we heading now?"

"Let's take Liu Shuo home first."

Liu Shuo's Magotan wouldn't be ready for pickup until after the New Year, so they had to drive him home. After dropping him off, Su Qing gave her mother a phone call, asking where she was.

Pan Min's voice was frigid. It seemed she was still maintaining her stern demeanor.

The mother and daughter were quite an interesting pair. Listening to their communication, they didn't sound like mother and daughter at all.

Pan Min simply answered, "Hello?"

Followed by Su Qing's blunt, "Where are you?"

"At school."

"Oh, what time do you get off work?"

The two of them exchanged a few words. Today was the final day of supplementary classes. The homeroom teacher only had to supervise the evening self-study for an hour, which meant school ended at half past six.

After that, the seven-day holiday would begin.

Su Qing informed her that she would drop by the school shortly to grab dinner with her.

Upon hearing this, Pan Min's attitude softened slightly, and she agreed.

With their plans set, Su Qing made a U-turn and headed toward the school.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Zhou Yuwen continued to caress Su Qing's beautiful legs as he remarked, "Is that really how you speak to your mother?"

"Well, she speaks to me the exact same way," Su Qing retorted, pouting.

Zhou Yuwen sighed, pointing out that as the daughter, she should be a little more accommodating.

"Hmph, I absolutely won't."

Zhou Yuwen was left speechless.

Ten minutes later, the small Mercedes-Benz pulled up to the entrance of City No. 2 High School.

The evening lights had just begun to flicker on.

Since it was the winter holiday, the school gate appeared rather desolate. The dim yellow glow of the streetlights illuminated both sides of the road, and only the occasional student could be seen exiting the school after finishing their supplementary classes.

From a distance, Su Qing noticed a middle-aged man actually grappling and pulling at her mother right outside the school gates.

Instantly, the expression on Su Qing's face hardened.

Without a second thought, she floored the accelerator and sped the newly-bought Mercedes-Benz straight toward them.

The area outside the school gate was quite expansive. Parking was strictly prohibited during regular hours, but right now, the space was empty.

The school's Vice Principal Li Yan was in his forties. Sporting gold-rimmed glasses, he looked quite refined and scholarly. He had been divorced from his wife for many years and had been living completely alone ever since.

He and Pan Min were not exactly grappling. Rather, before classes had even ended, he had stationed himself outside Pan Min's classroom. He had told her, "Teacher Pan, a friend from my hometown sent me two boxes of cured sausages. I figured I would never be able to finish them by myself, so I brought some over for you."

Naturally, Pan Min understood Li Yan's underlying intentions, so she politely declined.

However, Li Yan refused to give up, insisting that he genuinely could not finish them.

"Teacher Pan, surely you know how it is for me. If I feed myself, the whole family is full. My child doesn't even live with me. It's rare for your daughter to come back and visit, so why don't you take these back and let her have a taste?"

"Our salaries as teachers aren't that high to begin with. It can't be easy for you, raising a child all by yourself."

"If you ever face any difficulties in life, you must be sure to tell me, Teacher Pan."

Li Yan stuck to Pan Min with clingy persistence.

Pan Min firmly stated that she didn't need them and mentioned that her daughter would be arriving to pick her up soon.

"We are going out to eat, so it would be inconvenient to carry these around."

"Oh, your daughter is coming? Then I ought to stay and meet her."

And so, he had trailed after her all the way to the main gate.

Pan Min was thoroughly annoyed by the ceaseless pestering.

Witnessing this scene, Su Qing drove the car straight toward them.

She charged forward aggressively.

This gave Li Yan a tremendous fright.

Li Yan was a Vice Principal, after all. He was used to throwing his weight around at the school. He immediately barked, "How are you driving?! Can't you see this is the school gate?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Su Qing stepped out from the driver's seat and called out, "Mom!"

Pan Min had actually been startled as well, but upon realizing it was her own daughter, she let out a sigh of relief.

She chided Su Qing, asking what she was doing driving like that.

"You completely startled Principal Li."

Li Yan's face was initially flushed with rage, but the moment he heard it was Pan Min's daughter, his expression instantly shifted into a beaming smile. "Ah, so you are Su Qing? You've grown so big already!"