Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 333: Love Can Never Escape the Fear of Loss

Tao Tian had originally wanted to kiss Zhou Yuwen goodbye, but Minmin suddenly appeared.Well, that ruined the moment.

She felt a sudden surge of guilt, having not yet figured out how to explain the situation to Minmin.

Minmin, however, was already complaining. "Tian Tian! Why are you only coming back now?"

"Did Zhou Yuwen buy all of these for you?"

Truth be told, Minmin could be considered a Little Goddess in her own right. Today, she wore a leather jacket paired with a black leather skirt, her slender legs wrapped in skin-tone tights and tucked into high boots. Her looks were certainly nothing to scoff at.

At this moment, however, she looked as if she had never seen the world, her eyes practically sparkling as she stared at the assorted bags in Tao Tian's hands.

Tao Tian was carrying a total of eight bags, large and small, emblazoned with Hermes and Gucci logos. One packaging box had shifted, revealing the women's handbag inside. That was a Louis Vuitton! Minmin had scrolled past it online—it cost twenty-six thousand yuan.

If the exposed one was already twenty-six thousand, the remaining packages had to be just as expensive, if not more, right?

Minmin stared, her eyes gleaming with envy.

Tao Tian noticed and said, "Oh, right, help me hold these for a second."

"Sure!"

These were luxury items that Minmin had never had the chance to touch before, so of course she was willing. After taking them, she stole a few glances and then played along with Tao Tian, exclaiming, "Wow! Tian Tian, Zhou Yuwen treats you so well! Have you two reconciled?"

"Uh..."

With Zhou Yuwen standing right there, Tao Tian was at a loss for words.

Zhou Yuwen was quite understanding. He chimed in, "You girls can chat when you get back to the dormitory. I'll get going first."

"Mhm." Tao Tian's initial murmur carried a look of reluctance in her eyes. She had wanted to share a tender goodbye with him, but with Minmin standing there, she was too embarrassed and ultimately just nodded along.

Her gaze lingered on Zhou Yuwen, intensely affectionate as if invisible threads connected them.

Zhou Yuwen merely offered her a smile before driving away.

After spending two days being completely lovey-dovey with Tao Tian, Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin had actually been looking for Zhou Yuwen the whole time. It just felt a bit weird to go look for them right after finishing such an intimate retreat.

Occasionally, one needed a day to just empty their mind.

Thus, Zhou Yuwen didn't seek out anyone tonight. He went to Zhonghai Garden to simply rest up as one person, telling Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin that he would visit them tomorrow.

Aside from them, Jiang Xinyi had also been constantly looking for him.

Currently, she and Zhou Yuwen were in a state that was just slightly more than friends.

This sort of limbo was the most maddening.

Especially for a girl like Jiang Xinyi, whose heart was just beginning to stir with affection.

If she didn't see Zhou Yuwen for a day, she had her mind full of him. She bombarded him with text messages daily, asking what he was doing.

Zhou Yuwen continuously replied that he was busy.

The first day, he had been busy negotiating with the people from Meituan.

The second day, he was busy with renovations.

Everything he said was the truth.

But Jiang Xinyi was still very unhappy. How could he possibly have so many things keeping him busy? Did he not even have the time to reply to a message?

Zhou Yuwen stated that it couldn't be helped.

"After all, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I have to work hard on my own."

Zhou Yuwen complained about his hardships to Jiang Xinyi.

Jiang Xinyi merely snorted, accusing him of making excuses.

"Making millions a month, I don't even earn as much as you do now." During the three-day New Year holiday, Jiang Xinyi hadn't gone anywhere; she had simply stayed holed up at home, chatting with Zhou Yuwen.

She had originally wanted to invite him out to have fun, but the problem was that he claimed to have no time.

Zhou Yuwen would send her some funny pictures in response.

The next day, Zhou Yuwen mentioned he was at the villa preparing for renovations.

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyi immediately planned to go find him.

Zhou Yuwen quickly said, "Don't come over. I'm just here to take a look, and I have to go somewhere else in a bit."

"Then where are you going?"

"Buying a house."

Zhou Yuwen informed her that he was buying three properties and even sent over pictures of the contracts for her to see.

Jiang Xinyi asked him what he needed so many houses for.

"Keeping money on me isn't of much use. Converting it into real estate offers a bit more peace of mind."

"What kind of logic is that?"

The two maintained contact throughout the day. By the time evening arrived, Jiang Xinyi couldn't hold back anymore; she simply missed him and wanted to ask him out, but he still refused to come out.

She simply decided to give him a video phone call.

By this time, Zhou Yuwen was already back at Zhonghai Garden.

After getting connected, Jiang Xinyi saw Zhou Yuwen's face and felt inexplicably much more at ease.

Zhou Yuwen smiled at the camera, asking her why she had suddenly called so late at night.

"Nothing, I just haven't seen you for two days, so I wanted to see if you were dead yet."

Zhou Yuwen retorted that if she had nothing good to say, she could just stay quiet.

"Let me tell you, if it weren't for Aunt Jing's sake, I might really beat you up!" Zhou Yuwen warned the Jiang Xinyi on the screen.

At this moment, Jiang Xinyi was lounging in bed, completely bored out of her mind.

Hearing this, she grew indignant and challenged, "Try it, then! You might not even be able to beat me."

"You're far too confident," Zhou Yuwen replied with disdain.

Jiang Xinyi proudly stated that she was a black belt in Taekwondo.

Zhou Yuwen dismissed it, claiming it was all just a scam to fool people.

Jiang Xinyi was very annoyed and suggested they find a time to spar and test it out.

"Give it a rest."

After saying that, Zhou Yuwen set his phone aside, preparing to play a game for a bit.

"Zhou Yuwen, what are you doing?"

"Playing a game."

"What game?"

"Ah, you're so annoying. You even have to ask about me playing a game?" Zhou Yuwen blurted this out purely as a casual remark.

However, he didn't expect Jiang Xinyi to instantly fall silent.

It wasn't until Zhou Yuwen finished his match that he remembered he was still on a video call with her, and asked why she wasn't speaking.

"There's nothing to say."

Her expression was noticeably unhappy, but Zhou Yuwen didn't think too deeply about it.

After all, Jiang Xinyi wasn't his girlfriend. No matter how close they were now, they were ultimately still just friends. Naturally, Zhou Yuwen wasn't going to emotionally drain himself overthinking every little detail.

After stewing for a bit, Jiang Xinyi managed to recover her mood quite a bit on her own. She started telling him about what she had eaten today, how she had gone out for a stroll with her mother in the afternoon, and other trivial matters.

Zhou Yuwen casually chatted along for a bit.

Eventually, Jiang Xinyi felt she was clinging to him too much. Given that she had no official status, constantly pestering him felt quite awkward. Furthermore, she sensed that Zhou Yuwen was more focused on his game and had little interest in conversing with her.

After a few simple exchanges, she yawned, claiming she was tired and needed to be sleeping.

"Mhm."

With that, they ended the call.

Zhou Yuwen's cold demeanor left Jiang Xinyi feeling anxious, caught in a cycle of fearing loss.

Unable to hold back her feelings, she simply grabbed her pillow and headed over to Liu Jing's room.

Liu Jing had just finished her skincare routine. Seeing her daughter standing at the doorway, clutching a pillow with a gloomy expression, Liu Jing asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Unprompted, Jiang Xinyi plopped right down onto her mother's large bed, muttering, "This is all because of your terrible idea."

"I was doing perfectly fine, but you just had to insist that I seek out love. Now look what happened! My heart is constantly filled with this fear of loss every single day, while he doesn't seem to have those kinds of thoughts at all."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jing instantly knew her daughter was agonizing over Zhou Yuwen again.

Unable to suppress a chuckle, she replied, "What does this have to do with me? I've been telling you to be more proactive. You refuse to take the initiative and insist on maintaining this ambiguous relationship. You aren't his girlfriend, so why should he cater to your every whim? Do you think he's that Little You?"

Jiang Xinyi pondered for a moment before remarking that she felt You Changjin wasn't too bad either.

At the very least, he was at her beck and call.

Liu Jing said, "Then go back and continue dating that Changjin guy?"

"Forget it."

It was clearly impossible. The only thing about You Changjin that stood out in Jiang Xinyi's memory was his absolute obedience.

Jiang Xinyi couldn't help but wish she could transfer You Changjin's utter devotion onto Zhou Yuwen.

Hearing this, Liu Jing merely thought her daughter was indulging in wild fantasies.

She added, "If Zhou Yuwen were truly at your beck and call, you wouldn't feel this way about him anymore."

"Dating is always like this. Worrying about gains and losses is perfectly normal. You either need to be direct and say, 'Zhou Yuwen, I've got my eyes on you, be my boyfriend!' or you can just keep dragging your feet like this. Let me warn you though, Little Zhou is an excellent catch. If he really gets snatched away, it'll be too late for you to cry about it," Liu Jing advised, sitting down beside Jiang Xinyi.

Jiang Xinyi felt incredibly awkward hearing her mother's blunt words. "He just broke up. Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for me to just go up and say something like that?"

"Well, you decide for yourself. If you don't make a move, someone else definitely will."

For some unknown reason, Liu Jing seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching her daughter trapped by romantic woes.

And as for Jiang Xinyi, she was certainly going to be losing sleep tonight.

Zhou Yuwen, on the other hand, slept quite well today.

Ever since his rebirth, it seemed like there had been a female keeping him company every single day. He suddenly realized that spending the night alone as one person was actually quite nice.

Late at night, he could finally take the time to think about his own affairs.

He had bought three properties today, spending another five million yuan.

A month ago, his net worth had surpassed forty million yuan. In December, another four million yuan rolled in, and combined with a ten percent return from his stocks, it meant he had made eight million yuan in the month of December alone.

Even after purchasing these three houses, not only did it not negatively impact his finances, but he actually still had forty-three million yuan left.

Zhou Yuwen mused that he still needed to continue spending money.

Money wouldn't magically multiply just by sitting in his hands; he had to spend it in order to be making money.

Meanwhile, back in the girls' dormitory. Looking at one luxurious and beautiful bag after another...

And the various colored hip-hugging skirts and backless cocktail dresses.

Minmin genuinely couldn't take her eyes off them.

The Givenchy bodycon dress that Tao Tian had worn earlier was now draped over Minmin's body.

Minmin stood in front of the mirror, turning back and forth to admire how she looked in the dress. Her figure was decent, though the chest area was perhaps a bit too loose.

Everything else was fine.

"This dress must be at least twelve thousand yuan, right? Tian Tian, Zhou Yuwen treats you so well. Have you two really reconciled?" Minmin asked, still observing her reflection in the mirror.

Faced with Minmin's questioning, Tao Tian wasn't sure what to say. After a moment of hesitation, she finally admitted, "Actually, not quite yet."

"It was mostly because I accompanied him to a social engagement. He said the clothes I was wearing looked too cheap, so he bought these for me..."

"Zhou Yuwen really is wealthy. I heard those people want to buy his company. Hey, Tian Tian, do you know how much money they plan to offer him?"

Minmin asked, eager for gossip.

She was incredibly curious about exactly how much money Zhou Yuwen had. After all, the gifts he had bought for Tao Tian today alone were worth over a hundred thousand yuan.

The news had reported that Zhou Yuwen had millions of yuan on hand.

But Minmin felt that it had to be far more than just millions.

He must have been making money again.

Seeing the curiosity in Minmin's eyes, Tao Tian replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but the other party offered ten million yuan, and he turned it down."

"How much!? Ten million!?"

Minmin almost fainted from shock. She calculated aloud how many days she would have to stand at her promotion gig to earn that much.

People always liked to draw comparisons to their own work. Minmin exclaimed that at her current rate, standing around in high heels all day only earned her four hundred yuan. A hundred days would be forty thousand, and a whole year would yield at most one and a half million. It would take seven years!

"Even if I worked myself to the bone standing for seven years, I wouldn't make that much money! But the problem is I can't possibly stand for seven years. Graduation is right around the corner, and then I'll be making a measly three thousand a month. Sigh, it really feels so hopeless and distant!"

"Zhou Yuwen treats you so wonderfully. Just these few items of clothing add up to tens of thousands. Sigh, why can't I ever meet someone like him?"

Minmin continued her muttering from the side.

Tao Tian merely listened, at most offering a couple of polite chuckles.

She said, "Oh right, why don't you pick two pieces?"

"Are you serious?" Minmin could hardly believe her ears.

Tao Tian nodded with a smile, saying, "I have to carry the bags, but you can choose some of these small accessories."

"..."

Minmin had thought Tao Tian was being incredibly generous, but it turned out she was only letting her pick out some jewelry worth one or two thousand yuan.

Deep down, she felt somewhat dissatisfied.

However, free stuff was free stuff.

As she took the items, she didn't forget to offer some flattery, saying, "Tian Tian, you aren't even Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend yet, and he's already treating you this well."

"If you truly become his girlfriend, he'll definitely treat you even better."

"You have to work a little harder and try to squeeze Qu Jing out of the picture," Minmin cheered her on.

Tao Tian certainly wasn't in a rush now. She merely chuckled and said, "We'll see."

"I actually quite like the way things are right now. Zhou Yuwen is single, and so am I. We can take our time and let things develop naturally."

"You can't afford to take it slow! Tian Tian, we're all about to start our internships. Have you thought about where you're going to live during that time?" Minmin pressed.

"..."

These words left Tao Tian momentarily stumped on how to respond.

Observing Minmin's anxious expression, Tao Tian thought for a second before replying, "Mhm, I haven't decided yet."

"That's exactly why you need to hurry! Think about it—Zhou Yuwen even bought a three-bedroom apartment to house Qu Jing. For someone like you, shouldn't he buy a big flat to keep you in? Tian Tian, you have to seize the opportunity! I'm still waiting to bask in your glory!" Minmin looked as though she was itching to take her place.

Tao Tian only offered a calm smile. "Mhm, we'll see. There's no rush."

Minmin wanted to say something more.

But Tao Tian cut her off, saying, "Alright, let's stop talking."

"I'm a bit tired. Tomorrow, come accompany me for a stroll through the furniture mall."

"The furniture mall? What are we going there for?"

"It's a secret for now!"

Tao Tian's mysterious demeanor left Minmin utterly perplexed.

Could it be that Zhou Yuwen was going to buy a house for her as well?

That couldn't be possible, right?

That night, after the lights in the dorm went out, Tao Tian curled up with her phone, typing away with a rhythmic tap-tap-tap.

"I miss you."

It was just three simple words, yet they were filled with genuine affection.

She truly did miss him.

Having been meticulously pampered by him for two whole days, she had constantly been held in his embrace.

Now that her ample curves weren't being caressed by his hands, Tao Tian felt a profound sense of emptiness.

Thankfully, this time Zhou Yuwen replied in seconds.

He first sent an ellipsis.

Then he followed up with, "Didn't we just separate? Missing me this quickly?"

"I still miss you regardless," she replied unreasonably.

Zhou Yuwen surrendered with an "Alright."

"Then why don't you fly over and let me give you a hug?"

In response, Tao Tian sent a kissing emoji.

Zhou Yuwen affectionately poked Tao Tian's avatar.

Just through a few brief exchanges, Tao Tian's dependence on him was plainly evident. Even while simply chatting with him, she couldn't help but feel a sweet sense of bliss.

Minmin, unable to sleep in the dead of night, could occasionally hear Tao Tian giggling softly from her bed.

She vaguely sensed something.

Tao Tian was definitely hiding something from her.

Zhou Yuwen woke up very early the next day.

He had slept alone last night and slumbered incredibly soundly.

He got up at six to go for a jog. After running until past seven, he found a breakfast stall to eat at.

At eight o'clock, he bought plenty of fried dough sticks and soy milk before heading over to Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin's place.

The two girls hadn't slept at all the night before, pulling an all-nighter to play video games.

When Zhou Yuwen walked in, he found them in the gaming room, dressed only in skimpy camisoles and panties. Zheng Yanyan was even picking at her toes.

Spotting him, she was startled and shrieked, "Ah!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming back!?"

"Why would I need to announce returning to my own home?" Zhou Yuwen countered.

"Lin Lin is still in her panties!" Zheng Yanyan exclaimed.

That was what she said, but perhaps because they were too exhausted, or maybe because everyone was already used to it, they didn't actually make a big fuss out of it.

Lu Lin even brushed it off, saying it didn't matter.

"It's not like it's his first time seeing it anyway."

"Exactly. It's no different from the shorts you usually wear. I brought breakfast. Tidy up a bit and come eat,"

Zhou Yuwen said.

These past three days, it had just been the two sisters at home. Zhou Yuwen had suggested they travel somewhere, but they hadn't gone.

In Zheng Yanyan's words, it was too freezing outside, and it was much more comfortable staying indoors.

Their attire had also become quite casual.

Zheng Yanyan had a set of pajamas draped over her shoulders, hanging open.

Underneath, she at least had the sense to wear a bra that matched her red Calvin Klein underwear.

Meanwhile, Lu Lin wore a small camisole paired with white, pure cotton panties.

In reality, this pure cotton material was somewhat see-through.

However, Zhou Yuwen couldn't just keep casting glances at her.

Both of them belonged to the tall and slender type.

Lu Lin had also slipped on a pair of white, pure cotton mid-calf socks.

While Zhou Yuwen stepped out to prep the food, Zheng Yanyan told Lu Lin to put on some pants.

Lu Lin was probably too tired from pulling an all-nighter. She couldn't be bothered and said it didn't matter, noting, "Your boyfriend already got a good look anyway."

"How can you be like that!" Zheng Yanyan was naturally displeased.

But Lu Lin flat-out refused to put them on, leaving Zheng Yanyan helpless.

They went about eating their breakfast and doing their own things as usual.

As for today, Tao Tian and Minmin didn't need to work their part-time jobs.

So, bright and early in the morning, Tao Tian brought Minmin to Zhonghai Garden.

Minmin asked curiously, "Why did you bring me here?"

"You'll see when we get there," Tao Tian replied.

And so, they took the elevator up to the 19th floor.

Unlocking the door revealed a fully finished three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. They hadn't bought furniture yet, but the previous owner had maintained the place exceptionally well. With its exquisite solid wood flooring, the space looked incredibly bright and spacious.

Minmin remained stunned even after walking through the door, only snapping back to reality when Tao Tian smiled and asked, "How is it? Do you like it?"

"Wait, Tian Tian, what is this?"

Tao Tian smiled without saying a word.