Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 354: Falling in Love Again

"Living here?"Peng Xiaoyong sneered upon hearing this. "Why don't you let your girlfriend stay at your house then?"

His words carried a hint of aggression. He had likely misunderstood Zhou Yuwen. What he meant was probably that he and his girlfriend were very traditional; how could they live together before getting married?

Arranging for a girlfriend to stay somewhere else like this was the best solution.

Zhou Yuwen was momentarily speechless. 'They definitely want to come to my house,' he thought. 'The problem is that I don't want them to.'

When people do not see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much. Zhou Yuwen simply exchanged a brief greeting with Peng Xiaoyong.

Peng Xiaoyong quickly left.

In truth, his older cousin had not been like this when they were young. He did not know when Peng Xiaoyong had changed so drastically.

However, none of that had anything to do with him.

Outside the window, a bright moon hung in the cloudless sky. Looking up from the balcony, a few twinkling stars were still visible. Returning home to a night like this felt pretty good.

Zhou Yuwen leaned against the balcony and played on his phone for a while.

When Su Qing realized that Zhou Yuwen had some issues with her recent actions, she felt extremely uneasy and could not help but ask him to help her explain.

"Zhou Yuwen, why don't you tell your parents that you asked me to buy these gifts and that you told me to say those things?"

Zhou Yuwen was left utterly speechless. 'You really are ridiculous,' he thought.

"..."

He sent an ellipsis in reply.

Meanwhile, Su Qing, who was already in bed, frowned deeply and continued messaging him, "Come on, please?"

At that moment, Pan Min had just finished showering. She changed into an elegant cyan pajama set and combed her slightly wavy long hair. Seeing her daughter's distressed expression, she curiously asked what was wrong.

Su Qing had already given Pan Min a brief overview of her situation with Zhou Yuwen.

She did not mention the rebirth, of course, but simply recounted their love story.

It was nothing more than meeting in high school and officially getting together in university.

As a mother, Pan Min still worried that her daughter might be deceived. Rich young men like him were known for playing with girls' feelings.

Pan Min advised, "You're still young. You need to think twice before doing anything. How far has your relationship progressed?"

"Oh! Mom, I'm not as impulsive as you think!"

Su Qing did not know whether to laugh or cry. 'I've experienced rebirth, after all,' she thought. 'How could I not understand these things?'

"Sigh, Mom, you don't understand. Zhou Yuwen and I are destined to be together. Besides, he isn't some rich second generation. Don't assume he's like other men just because he has money. Let me tell you, Mom, he earned all of his money himself!"

"He earned it himself?"

"Of course! He even wrote a novel using me as the prototype!"

Su Qing was incredibly proud of this fact. Following Zhou Yuwen's example, she showed her mother the online article about him. Not only that, but she also revealed that Zhou Yuwen had started a company and claimed that she was currently partnering with him in the business.

A single successful project could bring in hundreds of thousands of yuan!

"Mom! When the time comes, you can quit your job! We'll bring you to Jinling to enjoy a life of luxury!" Su Qing declared sincerely. In her past life, despite working incredibly hard, moving her mother to Jinling had still been quite difficult.

But in this life, with Zhou Yuwen's abilities and her own, she could absolutely provide her mother with a happy and comfortable life.

In truth, what women wanted was very simple. At the very least, this was all Su Qing ever wanted.

After reading the article about Zhou Yuwen, Pan Min found herself looking at him in a new light. She asked curiously, "You said your boyfriend wrote this novel for you?"

"Mhm!"

Pan Min pointed out, "But the male protagonist in this novel seems to have more than one girlfriend. Could it be that he is also a playboy in real life?"

"Ugh, what are you thinking! Mom, how could that be? I'm the only one he loves!"

In their past life, meeting the parents had gone smoothly for both of them. Zhou Yuwen's parents felt that even though Su Qing came from a single-parent family, she was a beautiful and kind-hearted girl who could keep Zhou Yuwen in check.

Meanwhile, Pan Min had believed that Zhou Yuwen was an honest man who genuinely treated her daughter well.

Who could have predicted that after their rebirth, while everything else sailed smoothly, both sets of parents would develop entirely different opinions about them.

Su Qing felt incredibly anxious about the situation and poured out her frustrations to Pan Min.

Pan Min comforted her, telling her not to worry too much since it was only their first meeting.

"If the two of you truly love each other, I believe his parents will eventually respect his choice."

'That is exactly the problem,' Su Qing thought. 'We do truly love each other, but the difference in this second playthrough is that there are so many seductive little tramps competing with me for him!'

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen was currently chatting with those very girls Su Qing was complaining about.

While driving on the expressway today, he had been out of touch for an entire day. Everyone from Zheng Yanyan to Jiang Xinyi had sent him messages. Zheng Yanyan had been back in Jingcheng for about five days now. She gave him daily updates, sending various videos of her shopping trips, followed by a sticker of a puppy wagging its tail to fish for praise.

It was not just her; Tao Tian, Qu Jing, and Lu Lin all reached out to chat with him to varying degrees, and Zhou Yuwen responded to each of them one by one.

But the person who sent the most messages was undoubtedly Jiang Xinyi.

It was important to note that Jiang Xinyi was still in a phase where she had not fully secured Zhou Yuwen. If he replied even a little late, she would become plagued by anxiety.

She bombarded him with questions.

"Are you still not home?"

"Why is it taking so late?"

"Zhou Yuwen, are you intentionally ignoring me?"

"Zhou Yuwen, I miss you."

Looking at the relentless bombardment of messages.

Zhou Yuwen led with an ellipsis.

The moment his reply went through, Jiang Xinyi messaged back instantly.

[Hmph!]

First came a sticker.

Then she wrote, "So you do know how to reply! I thought you had vanished off the face of the earth!"

Zhou Yuwen explained that he had been driving all day, and then had dinner with his parents and relatives, which delayed him.

To his surprise, as soon as he sent that, Jiang Xinyi initiated a video call.

Caught off guard, Zhou Yuwen still tapped the button and connected the call.

On the screen, Jiang Xinyi was wearing a pale yellow shirt over a white tank top, lying comfortably on her bed.

She blinked at Zhou Yuwen through the video. "You made it home?"

"Yeah, I'm in my room."

"So this is your room? It looks quite spacious!" Jiang Xinyi remarked.

Zhou Yuwen replied that it was just a self-built house and could not compare to her massive villa.

"Tch, listen to you, as if you don't own a big villa yourself."

Zhou Yuwen chuckled.

Jiang Xinyi asked him to pan the camera around so she could take a tour of his room.

Zhou Yuwen obligingly rotated his phone, showing her the posters on his wall and the various books in his bookcase.

Though he was only giving a simple room tour, their conversation flowed with exceptional ease. Whenever Zhou Yuwen recounted a funny story from his high school days, Jiang Xinyi would let out a soft laugh.

Zhou Yuwen leaned against the headboard as they chatted, visibly exhausted. Jiang Xinyi asked if he was really that tired.

Zhou Yuwen scoffed mildly, "Try sitting in a car for an entire day and see how you feel."

Jiang Xinyi giggled softly. Looking away from the phone's camera, she murmured, "Zhou Yuwen."

"Hmm?" he hummed in response.

Jiang Xinyi whispered, "I miss you..."

Even though she had already sent it via text earlier.

Words on a screen could never compare to hearing it spoken aloud.

After confessing, a flush of shyness crept over Jiang Xinyi.

When Zhou Yuwen failed to reply for a long while, her curiosity won out, and she peeked at the screen.

"Zzz..."

To her utter disbelief, Zhou Yuwen had fallen asleep at some point!

What an idiot!

Jiang Xinyi angrily puffed her cheeks. But then again, looking closely, Zhou Yuwen actually looked quite adorable when he was asleep.

So, she continued lying prone on the bed, quietly watching the sleeping Zhou Yuwen on her screen.

Inexplicably, a sudden sourness pricked at her nose.

The thought that he was home and she might not see him for half a month made her feel an urge to cry.

Perhaps, this was what love felt like.

Cradling her phone, she continued to watch him until, without realizing it, she slowly drifted off to sleep as well.

Zhou Yuwen did not snore, but he had a steady, peaceful breathing rhythm.

The two of them fell asleep with the video call still connected. Even though they were hundreds of miles apart, to Jiang Xinyi, it felt as though he was right beside her.

If only Zhou Yuwen could truly be by her side right now...

Zhou Yuwen must have been truly exhausted the night before, for he slept straight through until nine o'clock the next morning.

Self-built houses had many perks, but the one major flaw was the poor soundproofing, especially in a house like his where multiple tenants lived together.

The first rays of sunlight spilled through the window into his room.

A cacophony of noises from outside already echoed in his ears.

Zhou Yuwen blearily opened his eyes and checked his phone, only to find the battery completely dead.

He recalled the video call with Jiang Xinyi from the previous night.

The first thing he did was plug his phone into the charger.

Then, he stepped out onto the balcony and pushed open the windows.

During the New Year period, very few tenants remained in the rental units. The racket from earlier was just his mother washing clothes in the courtyard.

Zhou Yuwen noticed Lu Wanting standing nearby, watching his mother wash clothes. She was wearing a loose crewneck hoodie and fleece-lined nude stockings, and the two would occasionally exchange a few words.

Lu Wanting suggested to Yang Lirong, "Auntie, you should upgrade to a front-loading washing machine, the kind with a built-in dryer."

Yang Lirong dismissed the idea, saying there was no need since the old washing machine still worked perfectly fine.

"Oh!" Lu Wanting nodded thoughtfully.

At that moment, she spotted Zhou Yuwen on the second floor and immediately waved at him with a bright smile. "Hi! Good morning, cousin!"

Zhou Yuwen nodded back.

His mother caught sight of him and shouted for him to hurry up, wash his face, and come down for breakfast.

Ah, this was hometown life. It lacked the bustling prosperity of a modern metropolis, but it offered its own tranquil joy. Grabbing his toothbrush and a mug, he headed to the courtyard spigot, filled the mug with water, and squatted there to brush his teeth.

He hadn't lived like this in a long time. In another two years, once the old family property was demolished, this kind of life would become nothing more than a memory.

While Zhou Yuwen was brushing his teeth, to his surprise, Lu Wanting suddenly scurried over to brush hers alongside him. He wasn't sure if she just found it amusing or had some other reason.

Zhou Yuwen asked her if she hadn't brushed her teeth yet.

Lu Wanting beamed and replied, "Nope! I just woke up too!"

"Oh," Zhou Yuwen nodded.

They mumbled a few words to each other, though their speech was somewhat slurred around their toothbrushes.

Zhou Yuwen asked since Lu Wanting had already joined Meituan, did she know whose assistant she was going to be?

"I think it's an iron lady named Zhu Hong! But I haven't met her yet. I hear she's pretty difficult to get along with," Lu Wanting replied.

Zhou Yuwen nodded. 'Yeah, she definitely is difficult to get along with.'

"But I think she'll probably like someone with your personality," Zhou Yuwen noted.

"Really?" Lu Wanting's voice was a bit muffled as she spoke, holding a mouthful of water before spitting it out.

With foam still at the corner of her mouth, she smiled. "Then I'll take your word for it!"

"Don't mention it." Watching her rinse, Zhou Yuwen remarked, "In our country, that's not how we rinse our mouths, you know?"

Lu Wanting looked curious. "Then how should I do it?"

Zhou Yuwen said, "Watch this."

Saying that, he took a large gulp of water and tilted his head back.

He began gargling loudly, the water bubbling in his throat: "Gurgle, gurgle."

Then he lowered his head and spat it all out with a "Pfft."

Lu Wanting watched with wide eyes. Seeing the sheer volume he spat out, she could not help but burst into laughter.

Zhou Yuwen said, "See that? That's how you rinse your mouth."

"Ugh, that's so embarrassing!"

Girls from Singapore actually possessed a bit of a Taiwanese accent, and Lu Wanting was no exception. Although she thought Zhou Yuwen's demonstration was hilarious, the idea of doing it herself felt inexplicably strange.

Zhou Yuwen goaded her, "Give it a try. It's not like there are any strangers around."

"Can I really!" Persuaded by his encouragement, Lu Wanting felt her heart stir with excitement.

Zhou Yuwen assured her she absolutely could.

And so, Lu Wanting tilted her head back and took a large gulp of water.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

She spat it all out.

Zhou Yuwen grinned. "How was it? Pretty fun, right?"

"It really is!" Lu Wanting chirped happily.

Then, the two of them proceeded to gurgle together.

Right after that, Zhou Yuwen was dragged aside by his mother. She pinched and smacked him, scolding him for teaching the poor girl bad habits.

"What kind of nonsense are you teaching her! Aren't you worried your cousin will come back and give you an earful?"

Zhou Yuwen laughed. "My cousin sure is lucky. I wonder where he managed to abduct such a silly girl from?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, his mother pinched him two more times.

Zhou Yuwen merely let out a cheeky chuckle.

While washing up in the courtyard, he suddenly heard Su Qing's voice. It sounded like she was calling his name from the alley, likely just outside the front gate.

So, Zhou Yuwen stood up and went to open the door.

Pushing the heavy gate open, he found Su Qing standing right there.

Upon seeing him, Su Qing's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "Zhou Yuwen! I almost couldn't find the place!"

She technically knew where his house was, but it had been so long since she last visited that the exact location had slipped her mind.

As soon as he opened the door, Su Qing stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

Hearing the commotion, his mother came over to check. She had originally intended to call Zhou Yuwen for breakfast, but was momentarily stunned to see Su Qing. Quickly recovering, she smiled and greeted her, "Little Su, you're here so early?"

Su Qing politely replied with a "Hello, Auntie."

"Have you had breakfast yet, Little Su?"

"I've already eaten, Auntie."

"Well, why not join us for a little more?"

Yang Lirong merely exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Su Qing before heading back into the house.

This left Su Qing feeling incredibly uneasy. She hurried after Zhou Yuwen, gripping his arm tightly, and whispered, "Why do I get the feeling that your mom doesn't really like me? Is it because of what happened yesterday?"

Zhou Yuwen told her she was overthinking it.

"My mom has always been like this. You're on your second playthrough, for crying out loud. Can't you just think back?"

"No."

Su Qing shook her head and argued, "Mom wasn't like this before. Tell me..."

Suddenly, a wildly absurd thought crossed her mind. She asked in a hushed tone, "Tell me, is it possible that Mom has also been reborn like us? What if she has, Zhou Yuwen? If she knows that you and I got divorced, she'll definitely..."

At that thought, Su Qing grew incredibly anxious.

This piqued Zhou Yuwen's amusement. He chuckled and said, "What are you talking about? If my mom really experienced rebirth, she would have divorced my dad a long time ago."

"Ah?" Su Qing was momentarily stumped.

Zhou Yuwen continued, "Meaning, it's impossible. But speaking of which, Little Su, since when did you become so insecure? I recall in our past life, you famously declared that if people didn't approve, we could just break up!"

Being mocked by Zhou Yuwen again, Su Qing's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. "Times have changed! I was young and foolish back then," she retorted.

"So you're old now?"

"Hmph, you're the old one."

After a few more lighthearted jabs, the two of them headed into the dining room to eat.

There were only two days left until the Lunar New Year.

Zhou Guobin only had an eight-day holiday, running from New Year's Eve to the seventh day of the new year.

Therefore, Zhou Guobin still had to work today and had left the house early.

Zhou Yuwen asked his mother why she wasn't at work today.

Yang Lirong, who was ladling out porridge for him, replied that things were quiet at the office.

"Besides, don't I need to stay home and wait on you, my little lord?"

Zhou Yuwen waved his hands in mock panic, insisting he couldn't possibly bear such an honor.

Su Qing acted exceptionally obedient while in Zhou Yuwen's home. When Yang Lirong handed her a bowl of porridge, she offered a sweet smile and chirped, "Thank you, Auntie."

Aside from Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing, Lu Wanting was also eating breakfast with them.

Su Qing was actually quite curious about Lu Wanting. After all, this character had never appeared in her past life, and she was a foreigner to boot.

Lu Wanting, possessing a very outgoing personality, noticed Su Qing constantly sneaking glances at her. She openly waved and greeted Su Qing with a cheerful "Hello."

Then, she asked Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing what fun activities there were around here during the New Year.

Su Qing thought about it for a moment and admitted that there wasn't much.

"Mostly just carnival games, like ring toss and shooting balloons with toy guns."

"Ring toss?"

Lu Wanting seemed somewhat interested, so Su Qing explained the game to her in detail.

Throughout breakfast, it was mostly just the two girls talking.

Zhou Yuwen simply ate his food while scrolling through his phone.

When he unlocked his phone, he saw that Jiang Xinyi hadn't sent him any new messages.

Instead, bright and early, Liu Shuo had sent him two messages: "Bro! What are you doing? (Grin)"

Zhou Yuwen replied with a question mark.

Liu Shuo asked what Zhou Yuwen's plans were for today.

"Haven't decided yet. What do you have in mind?"

"Wanna go to the internet cafe?"

"Have some ambition. Are you still a kid?"

"(Grin) Reliving our youth."

Zhou Yuwen ignored him. After another moment, Liu Shuo finally admitted that he was just bored at home.

"How about I come over and hang out with you, bro?"

Zhou Yuwen texted back that he didn't mind.

"Su Qing is at my house right now. If you want to come, we can all go for a stroll later."

"Alright! Be right there!"

Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing were like an old married couple, so it wasn't strictly necessary for them to spend every moment in their own private world.

After breakfast, Su Qing and Lu Wanting were still chatting away endlessly.

Zhou Yuwen, completely uninterested in their conversation, headed back to his room alone.

Seeing him leave, Su Qing naturally followed right behind.

Zhou Yuwen lay on his bed, playing on his phone.

It wasn't long before Su Qing slipped into the room.

Zhou Yuwen shot her a brief glance before returning his attention to his screen.

After closing the door, Su Qing smiled and crawled onto his bed. "What are you playing? Why are you ignoring me?"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "You two looked like you were having such a great time talking, I didn't have the heart to interrupt."

"So annoying. I came here looking for you, not her."

Su Qing was wearing a white crewneck sweater paired with tight dark blue jeans. The denim hugged her curvy hips perfectly, creating quite an alluring silhouette.

Zhou Yuwen was currently half-lying on the bed, propped up against two pillows.

Su Qing immediately pressed herself against him, sprawling lazily across his chest while playfully biting his neck a couple of times.

Zhou Yuwen told her to stop messing around.

She whispered to him that she thought Lu Wanting had a really nice personality.

"I just can't figure out why she would fall for a guy like your cousin."

Zhou Yuwen glanced down at the girl in his arms and asked, "Why? What's wrong with my cousin?"

"It's not that there's anything terribly wrong with him, it just feels like such a pity,"

Su Qing chuckled while resting comfortably against him.

Since her rebirth, Su Qing had indeed kept up a strict fitness routine. Even though she was currently bundled up in thick winter clothes, her body still felt amazing against his. The sight of her delicate, tender little feet peeking out from the cuffs of her jeans was especially captivating.

She simply lay there, leaning fully into Zhou Yuwen's embrace.

Zhou Yuwen countered, asking what was so pitiful about it.

"It's called 'different strokes for different folks.'"

Because Zhou Yuwen kept staring at his phone, entirely unwilling to spare her even a single glance, Su Qing grew visibly frustrated. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her. "Hey, Zhou Yuwen, tell me, do you think this future sister-in-law of yours is a rented girlfriend?"

"What?"

"You know, the thing everyone talks about online. Renting a girlfriend to take home for the New Year. When I was chatting with Lu Wanting earlier, things felt weird whenever your cousin was brought up. It really doesn't feel like they're a real couple."

Zhou Yuwen just wanted to play on his phone, but Su Qing refused to let him. With no other choice, he looked at her and replied, "I don't know anything about that. Why do you care so much about other people's business anyway? Big sis, please, just let me read my novel for a bit, okay?"

"No reading."

Zhou Yuwen tried to turn his head away, but Su Qing pinched his chin, forcing him to maintain eye contact with her.

Zhou Yuwen asked her what she wanted.

Pouting her lips, Su Qing complained, "At school, all you ever do is accompany your precious Zheng Yanyan. We finally came back home; can't you spend some time with me?"

Zhou Yuwen sighed. "Fine, I'll spend time with you. What do you want to do?"

"Hehe!"

Su Qing giggled foolishly. She proactively reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling even deeper into his embrace. In a lazy, contented voice, she murmured, "Zhou Yuwen, it's been so long since we laid in the same bed together. This feeling... it's really comfortable."

"Sigh... It's not like we haven't shared a bed before,"

Zhou Yuwen lay down completely flat, staring up at the ceiling.

Displeased, Su Qing pouted her lips once more. "Do you really hate looking at me that much? Why are you acting so cold towards me?"

"I'm not. It's just that we already feel like an old married couple, so there's no need for all of that."

"Even old married couples need to be intimate sometimes! Besides, ever since our rebirth, you've only touched me once, and even that was only halfway!" Speaking of this, Su Qing felt incredibly dejected.

Zhou Yuwen asked, "Then tell me, what should we do?"

"What should we do?"

Su Qing thought for a moment, lowered her head, and proactively kissed Zhou Yuwen's lips.

The first kiss was a light peck before pulling back. She told him, "I say, we should date all over again."

With those words, Su Qing captured his lips once more.

This time, it was a long, deep kiss.