Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 351: Zhou Yuwen's Million-Yuan Luxury Car

Sending this news to the family group chat saved Zhou Yuwen the trouble of explaining.By the time all the relatives looked up, a collective silence had fallen over their faces.

To be honest, those working in the government system had decent jobs and stable salaries regardless of the economy, but the only downside was the lack of opportunities to strike it rich. Even if there were such opportunities, not everyone had the courage to seize them.

Anyway, having lived two lives, Zhou Yuwen had never heard of any relative getting arrested for something like that.

Therefore, to them, three million yuan was undeniably a massive fortune.

And the news article stated it as clear as day.

One month, three million yuan!

"Did you really make three million?" The youngest uncle finally couldn't hold back, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Zhou Yuwen replied that it definitely wasn't a full three million.

"After taxes, it's a bit over 2.6 million yuan."

In the eyes of most people, there was practically no difference between 2.6 million and three million.

Instantly, Zhou Yuwen's family private dining room erupted.

"Brother! What did I tell you about little Wenwen! I knew he was going to be successful since he was a kid!"

"Three million! Sister-in-law, your family has struck gold! You wouldn't make three million in a lifetime of wages!"

The relatives began congratulating Zhou Yuwen's parents, their faces beaming with apparent joy for his success.

Yet the two people who should have been the happiest couldn't muster any joy at this moment.

Because it all felt so surreal.

But the news reported it with absolute clarity.

"So this car is real?" the youngest uncle asked in passing as he handed the X7 car keys back to Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen nodded, confirming it was real.

"That must have cost over a million, right?"

"Close enough, a little over one million yuan out the door!"

"I told you, little Wen is the most successful one in our family!" the youngest aunt couldn't help but exclaim.

However, she failed to notice that when she said this, Peng Xiaoyong's face fell, unable to maintain his composure.

But who was paying attention to Peng Xiaoyong right now?

Zhou Yuwen had made three million yuan in a single month!

Even if Peng Xiaoyong were permanently settled in America, he probably wouldn't make that much money.

Everyone was overflowing with curiosity about Zhou Yuwen's three million.

Was it three million just this once?

Or three million every single month?

"It has to be a one-time thing, how could he make three million every time?"

"Exactly, three million every time would be too terrifying."

"However, right now it's normal to make a little over one million a month." Before they could discuss it further, Zhou Yuwen spoke up again.

"One million a month?"

"More or less. At least, that's how it's been the past few months. It'll probably decrease later on."

"That's more than enough! Third Brother, Sister-in-law, you're going to enjoy a life of luxury!"

Upon learning how wealthy Zhou Yuwen had become, the relatives beamed with joy and showered his parents with congratulations. Someone asked, "Yuwen, what are you doing with all that money?"

"That's right, you've become a famous writer and didn't even tell us!"

"Brother! What kind of novels are you writing?"

Even his little cousin couldn't resist running over to ask him what he was writing.

Bombarded with questions, Zhou Yuwen didn't know how to respond to them all, so he just picked them at random. For instance, regarding how he spent the money, he explained that he put it into savings and wealth management products.

As soon as he said that, a relative chimed in, "Why put it in savings?"

"Exactly, the interest rates are too low! You should be buying a house! You're already studying in Jinling, why not buy another apartment there?"

"With your money, you could afford an apartment in Lan Ting!"

"Yeah, I already bought one," Zhou Yuwen said calmly.

"Huh?"

Zhou Yuwen explained that when his first royalty check came in, he had purchased a house in Lan Ting. With the renovations, it cost nearly two million yuan. He hadn't had quite enough cash on hand at the time, so he took out a small loan.

"Why take out a loan?! Buying a house is a huge deal, you should have told us! We could have just lent you the money!"

"Exactly!"

Hearing that Zhou Yuwen had actually bought a house, and one worth over two million yuan at that...

The eldest aunt felt her vision swim slightly.

It wasn't fair. Her son had finally achieved some success, so why did this nephew have to be so obscenely overpowered?

"Come on, Wenwen, we've been chatting all this time and you haven't even offered a toast to your youngest uncle."

"That's right, nor your fifth uncle."

Zhou Yuwen waved his hand, explaining that he couldn't drink because he had to drive his friends home later.

"Oh, that's completely understandable. Then let's substitute tea for wine, alright?"

"Sure, substituting tea for wine works."

Zhou Yuwen raised his teacup and shared a toast with his uncles.

It felt like ever since they discovered Zhou Yuwen was a famous writer, the atmosphere at the dinner table had become incredibly lively. They took turns peppering him with questions, even asking if he had any spare cash on hand.

Zhou Yuwen admitted he did, but he had started an entrepreneurial project with his classmates—a campus food delivery service, organizing students from impoverished families to handle the deliveries.

"Not bad, Yuwen! You truly embody the spirit of the Zhou family!"

One relative after another praised Zhou Yuwen to the high heavens.

Hearing that Zhou Yuwen had started a food delivery project...

Lu Wanting piqued with interest. She told Zhou Yuwen that her company was also launching a food delivery business in Jinling.

Zhou Yuwen asked, "Wait, doesn't Meituan focus on group buying?"

"No, food delivery is our new division. It was just finalized last month."

"Oh," Zhou Yuwen replied. "Then I'll have to rely on you to look out for me, Sister-in-law."

Lu Wanting giggled at his words. "That's easy to say! I'll definitely take care of you in the future!"

They chatted like this for a while longer until everyone had finished eating.

The middle-aged folks at the table were actually quite curious about Zhou Yuwen's so-called million-yuan luxury car. They had seen such vehicles from afar, but had never genuinely observed one up close. They might never even get the chance to sit in one in their entire lives.

So, everyone wanted to go down and see Zhou Yuwen's luxury car.

Meanwhile, the younger female cousins' eyes sparkled after learning that Zhou Yuwen's BMW was worth a million. They kept pestering him, begging him to take them for a spin.

Zhou Yuwen kept insisting they do it another day.

At this point, his youngest uncle pondered for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we all go down together and check out Yuwen's car?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We're mostly done eating anyway, it's a good time to take a walk."

Having reached a consensus, everyone headed downstairs to see exactly what Zhou Yuwen's million-yuan luxury car looked like.

In truth, it didn't look vastly different from other cars.

It was nothing more than four wheels, though it was indeed larger than an average SUV.

Its sleek black body exuded a premium, textured feel.

As the swarm of relatives approached, Zhou Yuwen clicked the remote control. The headlights of the black steel beast flashed to life, looking genuinely imposing and incredibly cool.

The women weren't actually very interested in this sort of thing.

However, a few of his uncles couldn't help but click their tongues in awe, asking Zhou Yuwen, "This is your car, huh?"

Zhou Yuwen nodded and confirmed.

He then opened the car doors, allowing his uncles to inspect the interior.

As they conducted a comprehensive inspection of the luxury car, the uncles continually remarked on how successful Yuwen had become. Standing behind them, Zhou Yuwen merely listened without offering any comment.

His eldest aunt came over to badger Zhou Yuwen, saying, "I knew you were going to be the most successful one since you were little, Yuwen."

"Your older cousin just got back and hasn't bought a car yet. Why don't you let him drive yours for a few days?" she suggested.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "I don't have a problem with it, but you should ask Cousin Xiaoyong if he even wants to."

Peng Xiaoyong hadn't crowded around the car like the uncles. Instead, he was standing at the back next to his mother. When Zhou Yuwen said this, he looked at Peng Xiaoyong with a smile.

Peng Xiaoyong shook his head without a second thought. "The county town is only so big, there's no need to drive."

His eldest aunt couldn't help but interject, "It would be nice to drive your cousin's car and take Wanting out for a spin."

"No need, we'll just take a taxi!"

Peng Xiaoyong's family might have been going through a rough patch financially, but he still had his pride. Regardless, he truly had no intention of taking advantage of Zhou Yuwen's family, even though he arguably already had in the past.

Once everyone had their fill of admiring the car, the gathering naturally dispersed.

In truth, everyone still felt a bit unsatisfied, eager for more. After all, Zhou Yuwen was now giving off the aura of someone who brought great honor to his ancestors.

Someone suggested finding a teahouse to chat a bit more.

When this was proposed, a few of the uncles actually cast inquiring glances toward Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen said, "Uh, I'm fine with it, but I probably need to take my friends home first."

Since it was already 8:00 PM, grabbing dinner together was fine, but there was really no need to drag Liu Shuo and the others along to a teahouse.

Everyone expressed their understanding, telling him, "Then hurry and take your friends home, Yuwen. We'll go on ahead and get tea."

And so, the plan was settled.

As the group began to scatter, it was evident that Zhou Yuwen's relatives weren't exactly ignorant hillbillies. While they were naturally curious about his million-yuan luxury car, they weren't so starstruck that they couldn't walk, nor were they about to start clinging to him like leeches.

A portion of his relatives genuinely felt happy for his success.

The relatives invited Zhou Yuwen's parents to join them for tea.

However, Zhou Guobin clearly had something he wanted to say to Zhou Yuwen. He walked up to his son and opened his mouth to speak, but right at that moment, another relative called out to him.

Left with no other choice, he figured he would just have to talk to Zhou Yuwen once they got home.

Ever since his son had returned from out of town this time, even though he was still the same person, Zhou Guobin and his wife couldn't shake the feeling that a slight sense of unfamiliarity now clung to him.

Take right now, for example. They had just spent two hours together.

Yet they hadn't even had a single opportunity to properly speak with him.

It felt like the son standing before them was no longer quite their own.

But how could he not be their son?

The only explanation was that their child had simply grown up while living away from home.

He had even become a writer.

After bidding farewell to his parents and relatives, Zhou Yuwen drove off to take Su Qing and Liu Shuo back to their respective homes.

This time, Liu Shuo sat in the back, while Su Qing took the passenger seat.

Grinning in the backseat, Liu Shuo said, "Bro, that was so satisfying back there."

"Did you see your cousin's face? It went completely dark!"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Do you really care that much about my cousin?"

"It's just funny! Wouldn't you agree, Sister-in-law?" Liu Shuo even directed a comment at Su Qing.

Covering her mouth to hide a smile, Su Qing said, "Hm, Zhou Yuwen, I remember your cousin, but why don't I have any impression of his girlfriend at all?"

"I have no idea," Zhou Yuwen replied. "Who cares? It's not like they're guaranteed to end up together."

Grinning widely from the back, Liu Shuo added, "Bro, right now they only know you write novels. Once your cousin and his girlfriend head to Jinling in the future and find out that even Meituan is begging to work with you, I bet he'll be too ashamed to even look you in the eye."

"Why would you say that? Why would my cousin be too ashamed to see me?"

"Hehe."

"Your house is this way, right?" Zhou Yuwen turned the car into a villa district.

Liu Shuo glanced out the window. "Uh, pretty much, I don't really remember either."

Zhou Yuwen teased, "I really envy you, living in a grand villa."

Liu Shuo pouted in disdain. "What's there to envy? It's not like it's my house."

"I'm going to rely on my own abilities!"

Throughout this past semester, Liu Shuo had indeed been a tremendous help to Zhou Yuwen. Aside from the occasional allowance Zhou Yuwen would slip him for living expenses, at the end of the term, Zhou Yuwen had transferred nearly 200,000 yuan to Liu Shuo's account.

Liu Shuo had been utterly shocked when he saw the sum, tears even welling up in his eyes as he stammered, "Bro, this is...!"

Zhou Yuwen had simply told him, "Just take it. You earned every penny of it."

"No way, bro, I didn't even do that much to help!"

Liu Shuo wasn't just being modest; he genuinely felt like he hadn't contributed much. He mostly just shuttled people around. Sometimes, he felt he wasn't even as useful as Lu Hui. At least Lu Hui had her own experience when it came to handling matters, whereas Liu Shuo had absolutely nothing.

Yet Zhou Yuwen hadn't given massive payouts to anyone else—he had singled out Liu Shuo to receive 200,000 yuan.

Such a massive windfall would make anyone feel a bit anxious.

Zhou Yuwen had made his reasoning crystal clear: "No matter how capable they are, they aren't my brother."

"You're not the same as them."

Those few simple words had caused Liu Shuo's eyes to instantly redden.

He was suddenly choked with sobs. "Bro..."

Zhou Yuwen patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, enough with the melodrama."

"I didn't just give you this money for nothing. You aren't getting any younger. Take this cash, ask your dad to chip in a bit more, and buy a house in Jinling. The housing prices there are bound to skyrocket in the future."

Nodding, Liu Shuo had agreed.

But when it came to men, before they owned a car, they rarely had any desire to buy a house.

From the very beginning, Liu Shuo had always dreamed of buying a car, but his pockets had always been too light.

Now that Zhou Yuwen had given him 200,000 yuan, compared to buying a house, what he really desperately wanted was to buy a car.

So, after hesitating for a long while, he finally confessed his true thoughts to Zhou Yuwen.

Seeing how adamant he was about it...

Zhou Yuwen relented, "Alright, fine. I gave you the money, so you can buy whatever you want with it."

Overjoyed by this response, Liu Shuo showered him with gratitude, repeatedly saying, "Thank you! Thanks, Bro! Bro, you're so good to me!"

Zhou Yuwen then asked if he had his eye on any particular model. "With a bit over 200,000, you can't afford a Benz, BMW, or Audi. How about I pitch in a little more for you?"

"No need, no need, Bro! I've already figured out exactly what car I'm going to buy!"

"What car?"

"A Magotan! How about that?!" Liu Shuo grinned as he proudly declared his choice.

"Why do you want to buy that?"

Zhou Yuwen couldn't fathom why Liu Shuo would choose a Magotan, but if he liked it, then so be it. 200,000 yuan was just enough to cover it.

Liu Shuo wanted to take advantage of the winter holiday and have Zhou Yuwen accompany him to go car shopping.

Zhou Yuwen agreed, saying they could go check it out together when they had the time.

Just as they finished this conversation, Zhou Yuwen's car glided to a halt in front of Liu Shuo's family villa.

Liu Shuo stepped out of the vehicle.

After dropping off Liu Shuo and seeing him off...

Zhou Yuwen glanced over at Su Qing in the passenger seat. She had been continuously batting her eyelashes at him, giving off a rather flirtatious vibe.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhou Yuwen asked with a hint of dissatisfaction, before adding, "Spit it out, where is your house?"

Su Qing burst into giggles. Leaning over, she boldly looped an arm around Zhou Yuwen's shoulders and teased, "Have you actually forgotten where your mother-in-law's house is?"

"Don't talk nonsense," he retorted. "I don't have a mother-in-law."