Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 360: Will Zhou Yuwen Attend Tomorrow's Class Reunion?

Liu Shuo parked outside and specifically waited for Peng Xiaoyong and the others for a while. It was only when Zhou Yuwen made a phone call that they found out the group had already left in a taxi.While driving, Liu Shuo could not help but mutter a few complaints about Peng Xiaoyong, remarking that the guy had absolutely no real ability but sure knew how to act incredibly pretentious.

"Serves him right getting beaten up."

"Why are you spouting nonsense with a kid right here?" Zhou Yuwen scolded.

The kid Zhou Yuwen referred to was Liu Yilin, who was sitting in the back seat.

At the moment, something was clearly weighing on Liu Yilin's mind. Deep unease was written all over her face. After all, that blonde delinquent, Zhao Rui, had made it perfectly clear earlier that this matter was far from over.

Liu Yilin still had to go to school for classes tomorrow, and she had no idea how Zhao Rui was going to torment her.

Zhou Yuwen asked if she was scared.

Liu Yilin shook her head without saying a word. While she did not exactly look terrified, her face was certainly brimming with worry.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Liu Shuo chimed in, "Hey! Don't be afraid, Cousin Yilin. With me and my brother around, no one will dare bully you. Damn it, the absolute nerve of them! Trying to mess with Brother Zhou's cousin. If this were in Xianlin, I would have wiped her off the map."

"So you are saying that once you step out of Xianlin, you lose your touch?" Zhou Yuwen teased.

"Of course not, Brother! Xuhuai is our hometown, so naturally I could handle it. The main issue is that we have no idea where that fat guy is from, and our cousin does not even know his name."

"Isn't there also that girl named Zhao Rui?" Zhou Yuwen pointed out.

"Ask around about her."

"Alright, I will look into it."

It was already approaching six in the evening. His younger cousin was the quiet type who kept things bottled up, making it difficult to read her exact mood. Zhou Yuwen asked if she was hungry.

"Let me take you out to grab something to eat."

"There is no need, Cousin. It is already getting dark, and I still need to go home and study," Liu Yilin replied obediently.

"It is almost the New Year, so you should relax a little," Zhou Yuwen insisted. "Come on, I am taking you to get some food."

Liu Yilin opened her mouth to protest, but Zhou Yuwen cut her off. "I will let Fourth Aunt know in a bit. It will be fine."

"Exactly, Yilin. Why don't you keep your sister-in-law company for a while?" Su Qing coordinated perfectly with Zhou Yuwen, resting a gentle hand on Liu Yilin's shoulder.

Liu Yilin thought about it for a moment before finally nodding.

The group found a nearby shopping mall, went inside, and ordered some food.

Zhou Yuwen had asked Liu Shuo to dig up information on the fat guy, but without even a name, it was naturally a tough task. As for Zhao Rui, she was just an ordinary delinquent girl.

Liu Shuo had indeed been a bit of a thug back in high school, but the crowd he used to hang out with had either gone off to college or left town for work. It was impossible for anyone to just be a street punk their entire life.

Left with no other options, Liu Shuo could only ask in his Xuhuai Association group chat if anyone knew a girl named Zhao Rui.

To his surprise, over a dozen people replied. Some claimed she was a side piece, while others said she was an ex-girlfriend.

Some even claimed she was just a little lackey.

Basically, there was a vast and confusing variety of answers.

Liu Shuo's social circle and that girl's world were practically miles apart. It was entirely impossible to get any solid leads.

Across the table, Su Qing was comforting Liu Yilin and helping her order food.

To be fair, this little cousin of his had quite a pitiful life.

Her father, Zhou Yuwen's Fourth Uncle, worked at the Tobacco Bureau. In his youth, he had been considered a top student. Unfortunately, he was too aloof and prideful, ultimately ending up as a casualty of office politics. He was later demoted to managing a small convenience store under the Tobacco Bureau. While it technically still counted as a government position, it offered zero extra perks or profitable opportunities, and he was completely responsible for covering his own expenses and losses.

Her father's derailed career meant he had very little voice or authority within the extended family, which in turn caused his daughter to grow up somewhat timid and submissive.

Even while eating, she did not dare order anything too expensive, constantly worrying that her cousin would think she was being impolite.

Thankfully, Su Qing ordered a whole bunch of delicious food for her and smiled warmly, telling her not to be afraid.

"Your cousin has plenty of money, so put your mind at ease. From now on, your cousin will look out for you. Once you graduate, come find us in Jinling, alright?" Su Qing blinked at her with immense tenderness.

Liu Yilin nodded, half-understanding. She felt that this sister-in-law her cousin had found was incredibly gentle—at the very least, far better than that foreign one.

While Liu Shuo and Zhou Yuwen went to the restroom, Liu Yilin quietly told Su Qing that she thought Su Qing was much prettier than Lu Wanting.

Hearing this, Su Qing burst into a light giggle. She told Liu Yilin, "Your older cousin's girlfriend and I simply have completely different styles. You cannot really say that I am prettier than her."

"But, Sister Su Qing, I really think Cousin Yuwen is so much handsomer than Cousin Xiaoyong," Liu Yilin admitted, her cheeks flushing red.

Feeling a little mischievous, Su Qing decided to tease her. "Then do you like your Cousin Yuwen?"

"No, no, not like that!" Liu Yilin quickly waved her hands in denial, blushing furiously. She wondered how Sister Su Qing could ask such a thing. 'My cousin and I are relatives! Would that not be completely inappropriate?'

Su Qing immediately feigned anger upon hearing this. "Oh! I meant the kind of affection between family members. Yilin, you do not like your cousin?"

"No, no, that is not what I meant!" Liu Yilin frantically waved her hands again.

"So you do like your cousin?" Su Qing pressed.

"I like... I think Cousin Yuwen is so handsome. Especially the way he protected me just now," Liu Yilin murmured, her face burning red.

Su Qing chuckled softly. "I like your Cousin Yuwen, too."

Meanwhile, Liu Shuo had asked around the group chat but came up completely empty-handed. "Brother, I will ask around again at the gathering tomorrow. Several of my bros used to run the streets here back in the day; they should know who that fat guy is."

"I suppose that is all we can do for now," Zhou Yuwen agreed.

"Right, are you coming to the gathering then, Brother?"

"I probably will not go. Isn't tomorrow our class reunion?" Zhou Yuwen replied.

"Huh?" Liu Shuo froze.

"What class reunion?"

"The one Luo Jialiang mentioned. What, did he not contact you?" Zhou Yuwen asked, mildly curious.

"Fuck!"

Just hearing that name infuriated Liu Shuo. He cursed under his breath, "That fucking pretty boy!?"

Luo Jialiang was essentially the male equivalent of a two-faced hypocrite. He was not very well-liked among the guys, but he was quite popular with the girls. He had decent looks, a slim build, and wore a pair of small glasses. Back in high school, he had even been the class monitor for a while. Though he underperformed on his college entrance exams, he still managed to get into a first-tier university in northern Anhui.

He had always looked down on Liu Shuo during high school. Guys like him lived by the strict belief that all pursuits were lowly, and only academic study was noble. In his eyes, Liu Shuo was nothing more than useless trash not worth befriending!

The moment Liu Shuo realized he was the only one excluded from tomorrow's class reunion, his blood boiled. He loudly declared that Luo Jialiang had done it on purpose!

"It is possible he just forgot," Zhou Yuwen suggested calmly. "Give it a bit more time."

"How the hell could he forget?! It is definitely intentional. Damn it, I need to get to the bottom of this!"

Grumbling furiously, Liu Shuo snatched up his phone.

Zhou Yuwen ignored his outburst.

Stepping out of the restroom with him, Zhou Yuwen washed his hands, returned to their seats, and asked Su Qing, "Have you finished ordering?"

"All done! We ordered a ton of dishes, so it is going to cost you quite a bit of money. Do you mind?" Su Qing leaned affectionately against Zhou Yuwen, her tone dripping with sweetness.

She specifically said this for Liu Yilin's benefit, prompting Zhou Yuwen to show his stance so the younger girl would not feel guilty about the expense.

Right on cue, Zhou Yuwen showed zero hesitation. He smiled and said, "Spend away. I would not care even if you wanted to buy the entire restaurant."

"Hehe, see! Yilin, I told you your cousin would not mind. When you look for a boyfriend, you have to find someone just like him." Su Qing rested one arm lazily over the back of the adjacent bench, her relaxed posture looking rather charming and playful.

Liu Yilin deeply envied the dynamic between Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing. To her, this felt like what true romance was supposed to be—a feeling she certainly had never gotten from watching her older cousin, Xiaoyong.

"Damn it! That bastard Luo Jialiang really didn't invite me!" Liu Shuo fumed angrily.

Su Qing looked over at Liu Shuo in confusion.

"You figured it out?" Zhou Yuwen asked.

"Yeah, I asked around. That son of a bitch. I am going to confront him right now!" Liu Shuo grunted, immediately looking down to furiously type a message to Luo Jialiang.

Su Qing blinked and asked, "What happened?"

Zhou Yuwen explained that Liu Shuo had not been informed about tomorrow's class reunion.

"Is it that tall, skinny guy who wears small glasses?" Su Qing asked.

Zhou Yuwen feigned surprise. "Not bad, you actually still remember him? Did you have a secret crush on him or something?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!?" Su Qing immediately pouted and lightly smacked Zhou Yuwen's arm. "I was the class monitor for our class, so I used to see him in the teachers' office! I remember, back then he told your homeroom teacher exactly who in your class had brought their phones. Was that not the same afternoon your class had that sudden surprise phone inspection?"

"???" Liu Shuo froze for a moment before absolutely losing his mind. "Fuck! Brother, I knew it! I knew there was a reason they randomly checked our phones that afternoon! Damn it! That absolute son of a bitch Luo Jialiang!"

"Stop swearing in front of my sister," Zhou Yuwen reprimanded with a frown.

Liu Shuo quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, but then immediately protested, "No, Brother, this guy was a freaking snitch! This is not over!"

"That was an eternity ago. Did you ask him about the reunion?" Zhou Yuwen said dismissively.

"I asked. He said he 'forgot' to inform me. Heh, claimed he thought I was not home for the holidays. Just you wait and see how I deal with this punk!" Liu Shuo scoffed.

Zhou Yuwen asked what exactly he planned to do.

Staring intensely at his phone, Liu Shuo revealed, "I know exactly where they are holding the class reunion. Tomorrow, the Xuhuai Association's gathering will be right next door to them. He loves showing off so much? Let's see how well he shows off then."

"What is the point of showing off like that?" Zhou Yuwen sighed.

"Just watch!"

"Boring."

Zhou Yuwen gave his final evaluation of the petty revenge plan. Right at that moment, Su Qing leaned her soft body against his, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a flirtatious, electrifying look.

Zhou Yuwen asked what she was trying to do.

"Are you going to the class reunion tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

Su Qing instantly pouted her lips.

"You were not in our class, so why would you go?" Zhou Yuwen retorted.

"But I know all your classmates!" Su Qing continued whining sweetly.

Zhou Yuwen bluntly pointed out that they were still not her classmates.

"Ahhhh, I want to go! Pleeeease, let me go!"

Su Qing coaxed Zhou Yuwen, arguing that if she went and publicly acknowledged she was his girlfriend, it would definitely give him plenty of face and make him look incredibly good.

"I will even do my full makeup routine tomorrow, alright!?"

Zhou Yuwen deadpanned, asking who in their right mind brought a girlfriend to a class reunion.

"Do you think I don't know what class reunions are really for? You guys just go there to pick up girls."

Su Qing became immediately unhappy upon making that point, her resolve to attend solidifying even further.

However, Zhou Yuwen firmly continued to refuse.

And so, Su Qing persistently kept fussing at him.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuo was busy contacting people for tomorrow's gathering at a hotel. He also needed to call the hotel to reserve a private dining room. The Xuhuai Association had over a hundred people showing up tomorrow, so Liu Shuo figured he might as well just book a small banquet hall with seven or eight tables!

At the table, Liu Yilin was the only one actually focusing on her food. Or rather, she was not taking her meal too seriously either, as she was entirely distracted by watching Su Qing and Zhou Yuwen flaunt their affection. Su Qing just would not stop pestering Zhou Yuwen about going to the class reunion.

Yet, Zhou Yuwen simply refused to yield.

After finishing their meal, the four of them strolled aimlessly around the shopping mall.

Liu Shuo trailed behind, busy on a phone call.

Su Qing clung tightly to Zhou Yuwen's arm, her whole body practically glued to his as she relentlessly badgered him with, "Please, is it a yes?"

"If you bring me, I promise I will be incredibly obedient."

Zhou Yuwen replied that no amount of obedience would change his mind.

Zhou Yuwen originally wanted to buy Liu Yilin a few new sets of clothes, but noticing her eyes constantly drifting toward the arcade across the way, he asked, "Do you want to go play in there?"

Liu Yilin shook her head, insisting she did not.

However, the longing look in her eyes as she stared at the arcade betrayed her words.

"Let's go to the arcade and play for a bit then," Zhou Yuwen decided.

"?" Liu Yilin was caught entirely off guard.

Zhou Yuwen led the group into the arcade. Seeing that Liu Shuo was still wrapped up in his phone call, he sent Su Qing to the front desk to buy some game tokens.

Su Qing asked how many she should buy.

"Just buy about a hundred yuan's worth?"

Hearing this, Liu Yilin laughed outright. "Cousin, that is way too much!"

Zhou Yuwen brushed it off. "It is fine, your sister-in-law is treating you, right? Sister-in-law?"

Hearing the title, the corners of Su Qing's mouth lifted into a proud smile. "Of course!"

Once the two girls headed deeper into the arcade, Zhou Yuwen finally asked Liu Shuo, "You still have not finalized the plans?"

"The hotel doesn't have enough private rooms, so I am making them string some together," Liu Shuo replied.

"If it doesn't work out, just have everyone eat in the main dining hall," Zhou Yuwen suggested.

"You have way too many people coming. Naturally, private rooms are not going to be enough."

"Got it, Brother."

"I will head inside first then."

"Yeah."

By the time Zhou Yuwen walked over, Su Qing and Liu Yilin were each holding a small basket completely brimming with game tokens, seemingly unsure of what to play. Seeing Zhou Yuwen approach, the two girls immediately clustered around him.

"Hubby, look!"

"This many?"

"They are running a promotion! A hundred yuan gets you two hundred and twenty tokens!" Su Qing boasted, puffing her chest out a bit proudly.

"You grabbed so many, there is no way you will be able to use them all," Zhou Yuwen commented.

"But you were the one who told me to buy a hundred yuan's worth!" Su Qing protested.

"..."

Zhou Yuwen escorted the two girls around the arcade, asking Liu Yilin what she wanted to play. She replied that she didn't know.

Despite her words, her eyes stayed stubbornly fixed on the dance machine.

Zhou Yuwen asked if she liked playing the dance machine.

Liu Yilin shook her head.

"Go on, dance a bit for your cousin to see," Zhou Yuwen encouraged.

Liu Yilin offered a shy, embarrassed smile.

She hesitated right up until Zhou Yuwen fed the tokens into the slot and practically shoved her onto the dance platform.

Even then, Liu Yilin still looked incredibly self-conscious.

But the moment the music started pumping...

Good heavens, she completely nailed the routine.

Perhaps because Zhou Yuwen was standing there cheering her on, his normally introverted cousin suddenly burst with radiant, lively energy the second she was on the machine.

Not bad at all.

Shortly after, another girl stepped onto the adjacent pad. Watching the two girls synchronize their frantic dance moves was surprisingly pleasant on the eyes.

Outside, Liu Shuo finally wrapped up his lengthy series of phone calls and finalized the arrangements.

Just then, someone unexpectedly sent him a friend request.

Li Shiqi?

Liu Shuo felt deeply flattered but equally confused. Why in the world was Li Shiqi adding him?

After a brief moment of hesitation, he accepted the friend request.

"Are you there?" Li Shiqi's message popped up.

"Yeah, I am here, Study Committeeman. What is up? (Grinning teeth emoji)" Liu Shuo replied.

Li Shiqi seemed to hesitate slightly before asking, "For the class reunion tomorrow..."

"...is Zhou Yuwen going?"