Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 361: I Must Join the Xuhuai Association!

It was obvious that his younger cousin was under quite a bit of pressure.His usually quiet and introverted cousin actually managed to find some joy on the dance machine.

Unfortunately, happy times were always fleeting. The dance machine only lasted for about five minutes per play, so Liu Yilin had only been dancing for a short while before the game abruptly ended.

The bright smile that had just graced Liu Yilin's face quickly faded.

She walked back to Zhou Yuwen's side, and he asked if she wanted to dance again.

Liu Yilin just blinked her eyes without saying a word.

This cousin of his was great in every way, except she was a bit too obedient.

Zhou Yuwen said, "Then let's do it one more time."

With that, he inserted a few more coins into the machine for her.

Instantly, a bright smile bloomed on her face once more.

Zhou Yuwen took Su Qing and Liu Yilin around the shopping mall until nine o'clock at night. Not only did they play on the dance machines in the arcade, but he also bought Liu Yilin two sets of new clothes. By the time they walked out, Liu Yilin was practically clinging to Zhou Yuwen, sweetly calling him brother with every other breath.

Zhou Yuwen told Liu Yilin to let him know if she ever ran into any trouble or unhappiness at school.

"You are my little sister, and I won't let anyone bully you." When Zhou Yuwen dropped Liu Yilin off at home, he reached out to pat her head with a warm smile.

This intimate little gesture made Liu Yilin blush slightly. She smiled shyly and said, "Thank you, brother!"

"Silly girl, what are you thanking me for?"

After Liu Yilin left, Zhou Yuwen got back into the car. Su Qing teased, "Oh my, what a deep bond between brother and sister."

Zhou Yuwen replied, "No way, are you really getting jealous over that?"

"Hmph, you have never patted my head like that."

Zhou Yuwen rolled his eyes and said, "You are hopeless!"

He had dropped Liu Yilin off first, so his next stop was taking Su Qing home.

Zhou Yuwen had originally planned to have Liu Shuo drive him home after dropping Su Qing off.

However, Su Qing was exceptionally clingy. She insisted on pulling Zhou Yuwen out of the car for a chat, begging him to take her to the class reunion tomorrow.

At first, Zhou Yuwen refused, but Su Qing acted incredibly humble and pitiful. She rubbed her small hands together and pleaded, "Pretty please?"

"I will dress up beautifully tomorrow and win you some face!"

"Sigh, haven't you won me enough face in the past?" Zhou Yuwen said.

"Oh come on, it is different now."

Seeing how badly Su Qing wanted to go, Zhou Yuwen relented in exasperation and said, "Alright then, I will pick you up tomorrow."

"Yay! You are the best, hubby!"

Su Qing was thrilled. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on Zhou Yuwen's cheek.

Then, playfully resembling a young girl, she skipped away.

Zhou Yuwen wiped his cheek and muttered to himself with a chuckle, "She is a grown woman, yet she still acts like a kid."

Turning around, he caught sight of Liu Shuo covering his mouth and snickering.

Zhou Yuwen shot him a glare.

He immediately stopped laughing.

On the drive back to Zhou Yuwen's house, Liu Shuo turned to him and said, "Brother, honestly, I think having Su Qing as my sister-in-law would be pretty nice."

"Listen to you getting picky. Just focus on managing your Lu Hui."

"Heh, I have already got that woman completely tamed. I have got to learn a thing or two from my big bro."

"What are you trying to learn?"

"Keeping the red flag standing at home while the colorful flags flutter outside! I need to do some proper dressing up for the class reunion tomorrow!"

By the time Liu Shuo dropped Zhou Yuwen off, it was almost ten o'clock. They did not chat much more, and Zhou Yuwen walked into the courtyard alone.

As a result, right as he stepped through the door, he ran straight into Peng Xiaoyong walking out.

Zhou Yuwen greeted Peng Xiaoyong, "Cousin, heading home?"

"Hmph!" Peng Xiaoyong let out a snort of disdain. Completely ignoring Zhou Yuwen, he walked away on his own.

Zhou Yuwen found this utterly baffling. What he did not know, however, was that when Peng Xiaoyong and Lu Wanting were taking a taxi back earlier today...

Lu Wanting had actually remarked that Zhou Yuwen looked super handsome when he was beating those guys up!

Furthermore, Lu Wanting had praised Zhou Yuwen's singing voice.

She kept going on and on about it, saying, "Your younger cousin is so excellent. He is handsome and sings well. He must be really popular with girls."

"Let me tell you, if I were still in middle school, I might have tried to pursue your cousin!"

No man could endure hearing something like that.

Because of this, Peng Xiaoyong immediately chose to retort, declaring that Zhou Yuwen was a nobody who just relied on his family's wealth, had no real skills or education, and spent every day mingling with a chaotic crowd of delinquents.

"Just you wait and see. People like him will suffer big losses sooner or later!"

Of course, Zhou Yuwen was completely unaware of all this.

He simply watched his cousin march off in a sullen mood.

When he looked up, he noticed that Lu Wanting had appeared in the second-floor corridor at some point. She waved down at him, "Hi! Yuwen, you are back!"

Zhou Yuwen gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.

Lu Wanting said, "You were super handsome today!"

Zhou Yuwen smiled at her, offered a brief thanks, and then entered his room.

After taking a shower, he spent some time chatting with Jiang Xinyi and Zheng Yanyan.

Zheng Yanyan was a bit clingy today. It was obvious that she was genuinely missing him.

She practically insisted on starting a video call with him.

So, during the video chat, she let Zhou Yuwen watch as she massaged her chest for a while.

Watching this stirred up some desires in Zhou Yuwen, and he commented that Zheng Yanyan was acting out of lust.

Zheng Yanyan giggled coquettishly and admitted that she was indeed feeling lustful.

"Hubby, I miss you."

"If you miss me, then come find me, and I will give you plenty of love."

"Really?" Zheng Yanyan raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Yuwen said it was just a joke.

"Tch."

The two of them continued chatting for a little longer before finally going to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, feeling completely refreshed since he hadn't touched any women for a few days, his morning vigor finally settled down. But while he was washing up, Lu Wanting walked by wearing a nightgown with a massive neckline, exposing half of her cleavage. When she leaned over to brush her teeth, Zhou Yuwen got a clear view of everything, instantly stirring up his desires once again.

When she lifted her head, she blinked innocently and asked what Zhou Yuwen was looking at.

Zhou Yuwen casually replied that it was nothing.

At ten o'clock sharp, Su Qing arrived right on time to hang out with Zhou Yuwen.

With nothing else to do, the three of them gathered in Lu Wanting's room for a few rounds of Fight the Landlord.

Su Qing played while leaning snugly against Zhou Yuwen's embrace.

Meanwhile, Lu Wanting sat cross-legged, displaying her long, slender legs.

Thanks to the air conditioner running in the house, Lu Wanting was only wearing a single nightgown.

In fact, Zhou Yuwen noticed that the nightgown was literally the only thing she had on.

From certain angles, the contours of her figure were clearly outlined against the fabric. Girls from overseas were indeed much more open. The main thing was that these girls wore clothes that hid their figures quite well; looking at her fully dressed, one wouldn't think she was very well-endowed, but when the fabric pressed against her skin, the volume was shockingly apparent.

She hugged a pillow out of boredom, frowning as she pondered over her cards. Her crossed jade-like legs were adorned in a pair of white thigh-high stockings.

Blinking her eyes in deep thought, she muttered, "Hmm, how am I going to beat you two?"

To be completely honest, at that moment, Zhou Yuwen definitely started having certain thoughts about Lu Wanting. It might have been due to his recent lack of physical intimacy with women. Left with no other choice, he could only stroke Su Qing in his arms to quench his thirst.

Sigh, even Zhou Yuwen had begun to experience a downgrade in his consumption habits.

Around noon, seeing that it was about time, Zhou Yuwen prepared to take Su Qing to the class reunion.

Hearing that the two were heading out, Lu Wanting wanted to tag along as well.

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen turned her down, pointing out that bringing a girlfriend to a class reunion was already an exception, so how could he possibly bring his cousin's girlfriend?

"Ugh, you are so annoying, Zhou Yuwen!" Lu Wanting pouted.

Zhou Yuwen just smiled back at her.

In the end, he had no intention of taking her. He drove his million-yuan luxury car, taking Su Qing straight to the designated restaurant.

Yueman Pavilion was a restaurant with quite a bit of history in Zhou Yuwen's hometown. Although the dishes there were on the expensive side, the ambiance was excellent. Typically, people working in the government sector loved to host banquets here.

The fact that Luo Jialiang could book this place for the class reunion proved that the guy was doing pretty well for himself.

No, it was more likely that his parents were doing pretty well.

Liu Shuo and the others had scheduled the gathering for around four in the afternoon. Therefore, Yueman Pavilion was mostly empty at the moment. However, in a small tavern right next door, a group of people had already gathered to drink and chat.

One of them happened to be the fat guy Zhou Yuwen had beaten up the night before.

Looking at him today, his face had swollen to a ridiculous size, puffing up so much that it practically squished his eyes shut.

This fat guy was named Jin Kai, a notorious delinquent at the vocational high school. While gaming at an internet cafe, he had met a major gangster named Sun Bo.

This major gangster had dropped out of school early to mess around on the streets and usually kept a minion or two by his side.

In Jin Kai's eyes, Sun Bo was basically a supreme boss.

Today's dinner gathering was organized by Sun Bo. Sun Bo claimed he was going to introduce him to a big shot, a brother he used to run the streets with!

But upon meeting, Sun Bo saw that Jin Kai's entire face was swollen and couldn't help but ask, "Hey Jin Kai! What the hell happened to you?"

"Don't even bring it up, Brother Bo. I ran into a fucking idiot, damn it!"

Jin Kai hadn't planned on telling his boss about this. After all, a man should settle his own scores. He had already prepared to bring some guys to block Liu Yilin at the school gates this afternoon. Even if he had to track Zhou Yuwen all the way to his house, he was going to cripple him.

However, since Sun Bo had asked, Jin Kai simply sighed and recounted the whole incident.

Sun Bo slammed his hand on the table. "Damn it, someone beat up my brother? Why didn't you tell me last night!"

"Ugh, how was I supposed to know he was that tough!"

"Alright, Kaizi, I'm definitely taking charge of this! We'll go together later!" Sun Bo declared.

Hearing this, Jin Kai felt deeply moved. He said, "Brother Bo! You are like my own flesh and blood. I knew sticking with you was the right choice!"

"What kind of talk is that! Let me tell you, the person I invited today has a massive background. We need to be on our best behavior while eating with him later. If we have good luck, we might even get to join that mysterious organization and become truly formidable!"

"Huh? What organization?" Jin Kai was taken aback.

"That sounds great!" Jin Kai immediately grew excited upon hearing this. "Brother, you treat me so well!"

"Of course! We are brothers, we share our blessings and endure our hardships together!"

Just as they were chatting, two people walked into the tavern.

The first man was rather lean, with dead-fish eyes and a completely expressionless face.

He looked slightly dazed, unsure if he had found the right private room.

That was until Sun Bo spotted him, and his eyes instantly lit up. "Brother Stone!"

Xie Lei raised his head to glance at Sun Bo, his face remaining entirely blank.

Sun Bo's attitude, on the other hand, was incredibly enthusiastic. He hurriedly welcomed Xie Lei to the dining table. "Brother Stone, it has been so long since we last saw each other. We absolutely have to drink to our hearts' content today!"

Xie Lei replied, "Let's skip the alcohol. I have a gathering with the Xuhuai Association later, and who knows how much I will have to drink then. I'll pass on the booze for this meal; some soda will be fine."

"Right, right, right! Kaizi, hurry downstairs and grab some drinks!" Sun Bo ordered.

"Oh, right away!"

Jin Kai hastily stood up and headed downstairs.

This was his first time seeing his boss act so subserviently. He figured the man sitting across from them must be an absolute big shot.

When he returned upstairs after buying the beverages...

...he heard Xie Lei lecturing Sun Bo. "How old are you now?! Why are you still messing around on the streets? Our Xuhuai Association is a legitimate organization."

"The core mission of the Xuhuai Association is to help out our brothers who are away from home. It is not some dark, shady syndicate like you are imagining."

"We stand for the preservation of justice!"

"Do you think just anyone can get into the Xuhuai Association?"

"To join the Xuhuai Association, you need at least a junior college diploma. Do you have one?"

Jin Kai stood in the background, listening in sheer bewilderment. 'Since when did running the streets require an academic diploma?'

Sun Bo nodded repeatedly, saying, "Brother, you are absolutely right. I was just young and foolish back then. If I had known better, I would have gone to Jinling with you to study at a junior college. Sigh, now I am out here and cannot even find a decent job, just drifting aimlessly! I even tried working out of town for a while, but those factories are complete scams! They were deducting my pay before I even earned anything."

"Hmph." Xie Lei let out a cold laugh and asked, "When you were working out of town, how much were you making?"

"Three thousand five hundred!"

"At our Xuhuai Association, just doing a winter break job earns you six thousand yuan!"

"That high!?" Sun Bo was incredibly shocked.

Xie Lei boasted that this was actually on the lower end. "The Xuhuai Association secures employment for every single one of our members. For the more advanced positions, there are even subsidies. You can easily pull in seven or eight thousand yuan!"

"Those factories out there are practically filled with members of our Xuhuai Association right now!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Kai and Sun Bo instantly felt that the influence of the Xuhuai Association was simply overwhelmingly massive.

Sun Bo's attitude toward Xie Lei grew even more respectful. He quickly ordered Jin Kai to pour the drinks.

Jin Kai also treated Xie Lei with extreme caution and reverence.

'A job that pays eight thousand a month?'

'If I could go out and earn a salary like that, even my parents back home would hold me in high regard.'

Thinking up to this point, Jin Kai made up his mind. 'I absolutely must join the Xuhuai Association!'