Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 349: The Arrogant Older Cousin

"Hello! I'm An Ni, it's very nice to meet you!"She had clearly grown up receiving a Western education, lacking the typical reserve of domestic girls. Her greeting was open and generous. Then again, Zhou Yuwen remembered hearing that his older cousin had dated someone while studying abroad, but in his original timeline, it had only been a rumor. He had never actually met her. Yet in this timeline, they had somehow crossed paths.

However, the butterfly effect was a subtle thing. Zhou Yuwen was already used to it and did not overthink the situation. He simply smiled and greeted her politely as his cousin-in-law.

Hearing this, the surrounding elders chuckled along, and Lu Wanting showed no signs of resistance to the title.

Lu Wanting had grown up in Singapore, but her parents were originally from the Minnan region. As a result, even though she was a tall girl, she was an absolute sweetheart. She had large eyes and fair skin. Although she wore skin-tone tights above her knee-high boots, it was still obvious that her thighs were delightfully plump and shapely.

Peng Xiaoyong had originally planned to use the New Year holiday to bring his girlfriend home and properly show off.

He had never expected that Zhou Yuwen would also bring a girlfriend home. For a moment, he felt quite displeased.

After all, Peng Xiaoyong was twenty-six years old this year; it was only natural for him to bring a partner home. But Zhou Yuwen was only a freshman in university, and his girlfriend did not look inferior to his own in the slightest.

As for their personalities.

To be honest, Peng Xiaoyong actually preferred the subtle modesty of domestic girls. He was a bit of a chauvinist and could not stand seeing his girlfriend laughing and joking with other boys.

An Ni, on the other hand, was a girl with very few boundaries. After just two sentences, she was already acting completely familiar with Zhou Yuwen.

As for Su Qing, having already cleared this game of life once and currently playing on her second playthrough, handling this kind of situation was naturally a walk in the park.

One of the elders asked, "Yuwen, haven't you only been studying for one semester? How did you end up bringing a girlfriend back so soon?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that it was not like that.

"We are just high school classmates, studying at the same university. Mom, Dad, let me introduce you. This is Su Qing."

With that said, Zhou Yuwen introduced Su Qing to his parents and relatives.

Su Qing was absolutely the type of girl that parents and elders adored—obedient and sensible. As soon as Zhou Yuwen finished introducing her, she greeted everyone one by one. She could even accurately identify Zhou Guobin and Chen Juan among the crowd of relatives, adding that she often heard Yuwen mention his uncle and auntie.

"Uncle, Auntie, these are the gifts I bought for you in Jinling."

"Uncle, I heard from Yuwen that you enjoy a drink. This is a bottle of red wine I specially picked out for you. I hope you like it."

"Auntie, I know you have a bad back, so I bought these health supplements for you."

Su Qing was charming and clever. Although she did not speak much, everyone paused in surprise when she brought out the gifts. Even Zhou Yuwen was stunned. 'Hold on, sister, are you trying to speedrun this?'

A hint of smugness flashed in Su Qing's eyes as she looked at Zhou Yuwen. 'Are you kidding me? It is my second playthrough, I am not stupid.'

Zhou Yuwen's father, Zhou Guobin, gazed at the red wine from his favorite brand, then glanced at the exceptionally elegant girl standing before him. He nodded. Even if he was completely satisfied, he would never say it out loud. Instead, he simply offered a flat, "How thoughtful of you."

On the other hand, Zhou Yuwen's mother, Chen Juan, joyfully accepted her gift and exclaimed, "Oh my, you spent far too much. You students do not have much money, how could we let you go to such expense?"

"Tell Auntie how much you spent, and I will reimburse you."

"It is nothing, Auntie, as long as you like it! I was originally planning to give these to you when I formally visited, but I did not expect Zhou Yuwen to drag me over for dinner today. I was not fully prepared at all," Su Qing playfully stuck out her tongue as she spoke.

Chen Juan was extremely pleased with Su Qing. After just a few sentences, she was holding Su Qing's hand affectionately, treating her just like her own daughter.

At this moment, a sarcastic voice rose from the crowd. "Sigh, it turns out our country's daughters are the most sensible after all, knowing to buy gifts for their elders."

That comment, without a doubt, came from the eldest aunt.

To be honest, the eldest aunt was not very satisfied with her son's girlfriend.

In her eyes, her son was the most excellent.

And what about Lu Wanting?

She spoke in a whiny, overly sweet tone and lacked basic manners.

She really could not understand it. With so many girls chasing after her son, why did he have to choose a woman like this?

Just look at what a wonderful girlfriend Yuwen had found.

The eldest aunt's words made the atmosphere rather awkward.

Fortunately, everyone was already used to her behavior and did not take it to heart. They smoothed things over with a few quick words and suggested that they all take their seats at the table.

Thus, everyone gathered around the table and sat down.

With Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing joining them, the group was complete.

Oh right, there was also Liu Shuo.

Zhou Yuwen had introduced him as well, explaining that he was a friend who had traveled back together with them and was joining the dinner gathering.

Naturally, this was not a problem at all; it was just a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks.

Liu Shuo was well aware that almost everyone in Zhou Yuwen's family worked within the government system. Knowing his place, he remained honest and quiet, barely uttering a word.

Once seated, the biggest difference at this gathering was the addition of two new members.

Everyone had originally thought that only Peng Xiaoyong would be bringing a girlfriend back.

Who could have expected that Zhou Yuwen would also bring a girlfriend home?

This was quite a novelty. In everyone's eyes, Zhou Yuwen had only just started university.

Even though Zhou Yuwen repeatedly emphasized that they were just ordinary friends.

But everyone understood the unspoken truth. Who brings just an ordinary friend to a family dinner?

"At this rate, Third Brother might be holding a grandchild by next year," one of the aunts remarked to Zhou Yuwen's father.

Zhou Guobin shook his head. He had not drunk much yet, but alcohol easily rushed to his face, which was already sporting a red flush. He replied, "The kid is still young, studying is what matters most. Right now, our main focus should be on Xiaoyong."

In truth, Zhou Guobin was a little unhappy about Zhou Yuwen suddenly bringing a girl back. He felt his son's actions were far too abrupt. Even though Su Qing had performed excellently, Zhou Guobin still felt awkward about this girl who had appeared out of nowhere. He only hoped that everyone would stop discussing his family's affairs and steer the topic back toward Peng Xiaoyong.

"Xiaoyong and Wanting are graduating this year. The next step is to consider employment. Do you have any plans?" Zhou Guobin had wanted to mention an opening at City Hall for Peng Xiaoyong to fill, and if Lu Wanting decided to stay, she could find a job here too.

Naturally, Peng Xiaoyong would definitely look down on such a position. He pushed up his glasses and stated, "Uncle, as for employment, Wanting and I have already made our own arrangements."

Zhou Guobin asked Peng Xiaoyong what he had in mind. Since this was a family dinner gathering, he spoke openly, adopting an elder's tone to educate Peng Xiaoyong. His general point was that since Xiaoyong had just returned from abroad, he might not fully understand the domestic situation. However, he needed to realize that no matter the country, everything ultimately revolved around politics.

"Your mother and I have already discussed the matter of your employment."

"Uncle,"

Before Zhou Guobin could finish, Peng Xiaoyong had already interrupted him.

Peng Xiaoyong was twenty-six years old this year and had spent the last two years abroad; naturally, he had his own ideas. Pushing up his glasses, he gave off the distinct aura of an elite. He declared that society had changed and becoming a government official was no longer the only option. Rather than staying in their hometown, he preferred to venture out and make a name for himself alongside Wanting.

"Wanting is a foreigner, after all. It is impossible for her to stay here indefinitely. We have our own plans," Peng Xiaoyong said casually.

Zhou Guobin had intended to educate his nephew, only to have the door slammed in his face.

If this were the office, who would dare speak to him like that?

But this was his own home.

Zhou Guobin could only respond with a muted, "Oh."

Having starved all day, Zhou Yuwen could not care less about these matters. He simply focused on eating silently.

Su Qing, on the other hand, saw her future father-in-law getting retorted and felt she ought to do something. Beneath the table, she tugged at the hem of Zhou Yuwen's shirt, signaling him to say a few words.

'What is there to say?' Zhou Yuwen thought.

'He insisted on meddling in other people's business; getting retorted serves him right.'

'Learning a little lesson now will do him good in the future.'

Sure enough, their conversation inevitably circled back to the topic of employment.

The other relatives asked Peng Xiaoyong if he already had something specific in mind.

Peng Xiaoyong nodded and said, "Wanting has already been hired by the Meituan Group, and I have received several offers in Jinling as well. We plan to head over right after the New Year."

"Pfft!"

Liu Shuo, who had been keeping his head down to drink his soup, could not hold back a sudden snort. He nearly burst out laughing. From the moment Peng Xiaoyong had started conversing with Zhou Guobin, Liu Shuo had felt that this guy was ridiculously full of himself. Daring to speak to Uncle Zhou like that—did he have no idea who Uncle Zhou was?

Before he could even wrap his head around that.

What did Peng Xiaoyong just say? His girlfriend was joining Meituan?

No way.

"Cough! Cough!" Liu Shuo nearly choked on his soup.

Everyone turned to look at him. Zhou Yuwen asked, "What are you doing?"

Liu Shuo chuckled awkwardly and replied, "Nothing, brother, I just drank too fast and choked."

With that settled, the group shifted their attention back to the conversation.

In 2014, the Meituan Group was still a company that had only recently entered the public eye. Many of the elders were unfamiliar with it, but a few of the younger generation had heard of it, noting that it was a highly impressive corporation.

"It is like that new buffet restaurant that just opened in our city. If you pay normally it costs forty-nine, but on Meituan it only takes thirty-six!"

"That cheap!?"

Hearing this, several of the aunts immediately grew interested.

Peng Xiaoyong explained that Meituan was a company already primed for an IPO, with a valuation long surpassing ten billion. Its potential was massive.

"Wanting applied for the position of Special Assistant to the President of Meituan's Jinling Branch. She is currently still in her probation period, but her salary is around six thousand a month."

Mentioning random company names left little impression on the crowd.

But hearing that an internship salary was six thousand left everyone astonished. Were wages in the outside world really that high nowadays?

There was simply no comparison. The job Zhou Guobin had wanted to introduce at City Hall only paid two thousand five hundred a month right now. How could that possibly compete?

Pushing up his glasses, Peng Xiaoyong stated, "Actually, we had better options abroad, but Wanting really likes our country, so we decided to come back."

"So, you two are heading to Jinling after the New Year?" Zhou Guobin asked.

"Yes, we plan to go take a look at Jinling first."

Zhou Yuwen's mother chimed in, "If you are going to Jinling, Yuwen might be able to help out. You can look him up when you get there."

"Let us forget about that, Auntie. Cousin is just a university student, what kind of help could he possibly offer? Once we get to Jinling, we have to find jobs, rent an apartment, and settle down. We definitely will not have time to show him around and play."

Peng Xiaoyong had always excelled in his studies since childhood, but his personality was undoubtedly flawed. Furthermore, he had never liked getting involved in family matters to begin with. Now that he had finally finished his studies and returned, how could he not act a little arrogant?