Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 310: Jiang Xinyi - 250,000! Will You Sell?

Qu Jing was so busy showing off to Minmin that she was Zhou Yuwen's exclusive property that she forgot to explain the two letters 'dg' on the back. However, Qu Jing did not panic. She simply brushed away the hand Minmin had placed on her collar and said lightly, "That is not something you need to know.""Right, right, right. This is a little secret between you and Zhou Yuwen, belonging only to the two of you. Sigh, Qu Jing, I truly envy you."

Although she was deeply curious about the two letters 'dg' in her heart.

On the surface, however, Minmin continued to smile brightly at Qu Jing. In truth, she had come today simply to accompany Tao Tian to look around and build a closer relationship with Zhou Yuwen. But upon arriving, she saw just how well Qu Jing was doing for herself.

She could not help but feel a twinge of envy. She desperately wanted to know exactly why this Qu Jing was doing so remarkably well.

If it was just doing well at work, that would be acceptable.

But without any connections.

On what grounds would Zhou Yuwen even arrange a place for you to live?

Because they would be starting their internships next semester, Minmin and Tao Tian had actually been looking into the local rental market recently. A single room cost at least four to five hundred yuan, but those were in shared apartments where you had to share a single restroom, and they were usually north-facing rooms with no sunlight.

Both Minmin and Tao Tian were the kind of refined girls who absolutely could not live in such conditions. That meant they needed to rent a nicer apartment, which would cost eight or nine hundred yuan. However, even those had poor soundproofing and terrible property management, not to mention the lack of convenient living facilities nearby.

For girls like Tao Tian and Minmin, if they wanted a decent place to live, it would cost at least one thousand five hundred yuan to start.

But the problem was that their current internship salaries—even on the high end—were only around three thousand yuan a month. If they spent fifteen hundred on rent, how much would be left for living expenses?

Yet this Qu Jing, before even starting her internship, was already living in a three-bedroom apartment with a living room.

How could Minmin not envy her?

If it had been Tao Tian living there, it would have been one thing.

After all, Tao Tian's beauty was obvious to everyone.

But what did you, Qu Jing, amount to?

You, Qu Jing, look about the same as me. If you can live there, why can't I?

You simply climbed the ladder using your body. Hmph, what a shameless little bitch.

At this moment, Minmin was certainly doing everything she could to flatter Qu Jing, but her real motive was to find out exactly what kind of relationship Qu Jing had with Zhou Yuwen.

Minmin could be seen smiling radiantly at Qu Jing, even taking the initiative to stand behind her and massage her shoulders. As she massaged, she continuously offered words of praise.

She said things like, "We'll be starting our internships next semester, so Tian Tian and I went out to look around these past few days."

"The job market out there is truly terrible."

"The slightly higher-paying jobs are probably at the front desk, making about three thousand to three thousand five hundred a month."

"The problem is, working at the front desk offers no career prospects!"

"How could we possibly compare to you? You haven't even started your internship, yet you're already a company manager with your own independent office. Jingjing, tell me, why am I not as smart as you? All I do is mess around with Tian Tian every day."

Truth be told, Minmin's massage technique was quite decent. Or perhaps Qu Jing was just genuinely exhausted recently. Either way, having Minmin massage her for a while felt surprisingly comfortable.

Thus, she leaned back in her chair, crossing her beautiful legs clad in black stockings beneath her tight skirt. Accentuating them with her high heels, they appeared even more slender and well-proportioned.

Enjoying Minmin's massage, she listened to her words and let out a cold snort of disdain. "Now you know to regret it?"

"Yes, I truly regret it. Jingjing, can you give me a chance?"

Minmin was also wearing long boots. The main reason she refused to concede to Qu Jing was that she, too, had a pair of good-looking legs. She squatted in front of Qu Jing, acting like they were good sisters as she pleaded with her.

Qu Jing asked her what kind of chance she wanted.

Minmin's eyes sparkled as she spoke earnestly. "Next semester is the internship, but I still haven't found a suitable job. Jingjing, could you please help me? From now on, I will definitely listen to everything you say."

"You want to work at our company?" Qu Jing understood her implication.

Minmin nodded frantically, humming in agreement.

"Jingjing, we've been good sisters since our freshman year. I took a walk around outside just now, and you are so busy right now, with so many things to handle. Don't worry, once I come over, I will absolutely follow your lead in everything!"

Qu Jing looked at her squatting on the floor and asked, "Aren't you Tao Tian's good sister? If you just come over here like this, will Tao Tian be happy?"

"Sigh, what good sisters." Minmin looked slightly embarrassed and spoke softly. "It's not like you don't know. I am, at most, just her sidekick. Now, I just want to be your sidekick, okay? Sister Jingjing!"

Minmin said this while gently shaking Qu Jing's arm.

Looking at Minmin's display, Qu Jing could not help but laugh. To be honest, she quite enjoyed the feeling of being flattered by Minmin. After all, they had lived together for three years. Furthermore, although Qu Jing was currently living very well under Zhou Yuwen's protection, she also needed her own trusted confidant, and Minmin was a perfect fit.

Most importantly, having lived with her for three years, Qu Jing understood Minmin perfectly. This Minmin was even more shameless than she was.

Thus, she declared, "I can't make the decision on this matter, but I will talk to the boss about it."

Minmin immediately beamed with joy. "Then it's a done deal! If you open your mouth, how could Zhou Yuwen possibly refuse to give you face? I saw it clearly just now—Zhou Yuwen absolutely dotes on you! Hehehe!"

Qu Jing reprimanded her, "Don't speak nonsense. Our boss has a girlfriend."

"So what if he has a girlfriend? Even with a girlfriend, he still can't escape our Sister Jingjing's charms!"

"It sounds like you've said this exact thing to Tao Tian before, haven't you?" Qu Jing found the phrasing distinctly familiar.

"Uh!"

Minmin suddenly froze in embarrassment.

Qu Jing still maintained a degree of vigilance. She told Minmin to go out first, saying that she would find a way to help with her situation.

Minmin naturally thanked her profusely, but just as she was about to leave, there was still one more thing she wanted Qu Jing's help with.

Qu Jing asked her what it was.

She mentioned that since the school allowed students to move out for internships next semester, they could live off-campus.

"Jingjing, living alone in a three-bedroom apartment must be quite lonely for one person..."

"No."

Before Minmin could even finish, Qu Jing outright rejected her.

Minmin really did not want to give up this chance for a free ride. She pleaded, "Sister Jing, renting a place outside is truly expensive. If it comes down to it, I can just pay rent to you, alright?"

"I can also help with the housework."

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that it's inconvenient."

Seeing Minmin relentlessly clinging to the idea, Qu Jing stated it plainly.

"Inconvenient?" Minmin was puzzled.

Qu Jing rolled her eyes at her. She genuinely wanted to cultivate Minmin into her own subordinate. Furthermore, she did not feel that being with Zhou Yuwen was anything to be ashamed of; on the contrary, she felt a sense of glory in it.

After all, the man that Tao Tian couldn't conquer had been claimed by her, Qu Jing.

Therefore, noticing Minmin's suspicious gaze.

Qu Jing straightened her alluring posture and said nonchalantly, "My boss comes over to stay sometimes, so it wouldn't be convenient for you to be there."

"???" Minmin was utterly stunned upon hearing this.

"Zhou Yuwen goes over to stay?" Minmin asked.

Qu Jing remained expressionless as she countered, "Do you have any other questions?"

"N-no, none. It's just... doesn't Zhou Yuwen have a girlfriend?" Minmin asked weakly.

Qu Jing chuckled softly. "I'm not Tao Tian. I don't have that much arrogance. For an excellent man like my boss, even if he only gives me a tiny bit of love, I am willing to sacrifice everything for him. I'm not afraid of you telling Tao Tian, either. You can look down on me all you want. I am quite satisfied with my current life anyway. What? Is there anything else you want to say?"

After saying this, Qu Jing actually felt a sudden pang of heartache.

Combined with her current outfit, she truly looked exactly like a little mistress.

Minmin hurriedly shook her head and assured her, "No, no. Jingjing, I deeply admire you. You're right, Tian Tian just doesn't know how to appreciate a good thing. With a man like Zhou Yuwen, who is so handsome, being with him means we won't suffer any losses, right? It's much better than being kept by some old man outside. Jingjing, I think you made the right choice."

"What does this have to do with you? It's 'I,' not 'we'!" Qu Jing quickly corrected her.

"Right, right, right! Ah, it was just a slip of the tongue! No wonder Zhou Yuwen dotes on you so much. So that's how it is!" Minmin put on an expression of complete understanding.

Suddenly recalling something, she added, "I read on the forums yesterday that it seems Zhou Yuwen and Zheng Yanyan broke up a long time ago."

"Then you don't even count as the other woman. Who knows, you might even get promoted to the official position! That's why you're so smart. Tao Tian is just stupid; all she knows how to do is make a scene. Look at where that got her. My goodness, Jingjing, you are truly brilliant! Zhou Yuwen has three or four companies now, and he's so good at making money. If you become Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, wouldn't you be the boss's wife!"

Minmin fired off a barrage of words, but Qu Jing remained relatively rational. Qu Jing stated that whether she became the boss's wife or not was beside the point for now.

"I'm not Tao Tian. I don't harbor such massive ambitions. Just being able to stay by the boss's side is enough to leave me fully satisfied. You don't need to kiss up to me, either. We are roommates, after all. As long as you treat me with sincerity, I will not treat you poorly."

"Yes, yes, yes! Rest assured, Jingjing! From now on, we two are the best of sisters! I will absolutely never betray you!" Minmin promised.

"Hmph!"

Words were just words, but since Qu Jing had not agreed to let Minmin live in the little love nest she shared with Zhou Yuwen, it meant Minmin would still have to live in the dormitory with Tao Tian.

The two of them would be seeing each other constantly, day in and day out.

Coupled with the fact that Minmin was incredibly jealous of Qu Jing's current life, how could she possibly not tell Tao Tian?

She would likely even grit her teeth and say to Tao Tian, "Sigh, Tian Tian! It's all because you were too arrogant back then!"

"Now look what happened! Qu Jing swooped in and reaped all the benefits!"

"Did you know? Qu Jing is basically being directly kept by Zhou Yuwen now!"

"Did you know? Just one piece of her jewelry costs over eight thousand yuan, and it's from Gucci!"

"It's that choker she wears on her neck, it even has an exclusive custom engraving on it. The front says 'zyw'!"

"And the back says 'dg'."

"What does 'dg' mean anyway?"

Lying in their dormitory beds at night, the two of them would undoubtedly obsess over these details.

When Tao Tian heard that the choker was a gift from Zhou Yuwen, she would definitely be puzzled: "A choker? Do you mean the collar Qu Jing wears on her neck? It does look nice, but isn't that something you put on a dog? Why would Zhou Yuwen give her that?"

"Sigh, never mind why he gave her that. The point is, you can tell Zhou Yuwen genuinely dotes on Qu Jing. This Qu Jing might not seem like much normally, but she's surprisingly clever when it counts. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have..."

"Sigh, let's not talk about me. Tian Tian, I truly feel sorry for you. Look at Qu Jing today. Shouldn't everything she has today rightfully belong to you?"

"I was just chatting with her and wanted to say that since we're starting our internships next semester, it's a waste for her to live alone in a three-bedroom apartment. We might as well live together. But her? She actually claimed that Zhou Yuwen goes over to stay occasionally."

"What did she mean by that?"

"Wasn't she implying that Zhou Yuwen goes over to sleep with her?"

"Such a slut, a total slut," Minmin muttered, her teeth grinding with jealousy.

Damn it, how did Qu Jing end up being so smart?

If she had known this would happen, she would have sought out Zhou Yuwen a long time ago.

With Zheng Yanyan seemingly on the verge of breaking up with Zhou Yuwen.

Didn't that mean Qu Jing genuinely had a chance to become his official girlfriend?

"If she really becomes Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, Tian Tian, I will truly feel terrible for you!" Minmin was not one to suffer alone; if she was going to be miserable, she wanted company in her misery.

Listening to the earlier remarks, Tao Tian honestly did not feel much of anything.

Until that last sentence.

Zheng Yanyan and Zhou Yuwen breaking up.

Qu Jing potentially becoming the official girlfriend.

That sentence shattered Tao Tian's emotional defenses instantly. Lying in bed, she felt deeply dejected, realizing that if Qu Jing truly became Zhou Yuwen's girlfriend, she would have suffered an absolute loss.

As the end of the semester approached, the university barely had any classes. The professors merely highlighted some key points and left the students to review on their own.

During this period, due to the numerous external events, Zhou Yuwen spent almost all his time working at Pioneer Park.

Jiang Xinyi held two tickets to a piano performance in her hands. She had agonized over it for an entire day, yet had ultimately failed to give them away.

She had originally planned to wait until Zhou Yuwen returned to give them to him.

However, the moment Zhou Yuwen returned and entered his office, he started making phone calls. Even if Jiang Xinyi wanted to give them to him, she had to wait until he finished his calls.

So she sat at her workstation, gazing longingly toward his office.

Her eyes remained fixated on Zhou Yuwen, who was still on the phone inside his office.

'Who is he calling?' she wondered.

'How has it been half an hour and it's still not over?'

It was still a phone call from that media company from earlier.

That morning, they had offered to spend one million yuan to sign Zhou Yuwen as an artist.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Yuwen had rejected them.

Consequently, as noon approached, they called Zhou Yuwen once again.

They started off with a fawning tone, saying, "President Zhou, we are truly sorry for not properly researching your background."

"We never imagined President Zhou was so talented. Not only can you write songs, but your skill in writing novels is also so impressive."

"Since President Zhou has no intention of becoming an artist, we were wondering if the copyright for your song is up for sale?"

Seeing that the other party wanted to discuss copyright, Zhou Yuwen asked, "How much are you planning to spend to buy the copyright for my song?"

The other party rambled on for a long time, the general gist being that for unknown composers, they usually offered between three thousand and five thousand yuan.

"Of course, President Zhou, you are different."

"We can see that you are a highly talented individual, so we plan to offer thirty thousand yuan to purchase the copyright to your song."

Zhou Yuwen could not help but chuckle when he heard this. He asked, "Do you think I lack thirty thousand yuan?"

"President Zhou, you certainly do not lack thirty thousand yuan. However, I believe that for a composer, an original song is like their own child. Would President Zhou truly be willing to let the melody you created gather dust in obscurity?"

Zhou Yuwen had argued with the other party for half an hour, and in the end, they were still only offering thirty thousand yuan.

Taking advantage of the time, Zhou Yuwen had checked the song's popularity online.

He found that the forums across the entire University Town were flooded with posts discussing his song.

Zhou Yuwen knew that the song had gone viral. However, if he were to sell the melody alone, the other party's offer of thirty thousand yuan was barely acceptable.

The problem was that Zhou Yuwen did not want to sell.

Jiang Xinyi had waited outside for a very long time.

Realizing that he still had not hung up the phone, she grew impatient. She casually grabbed a document to bring inside for his signature, intending to take the opportunity to see exactly which shameless woman was pestering him.

Constantly clinging to Zhou Yuwen.

Yet the moment she stepped inside, she heard Zhou Yuwen state, "I appreciate your admiration, but I truly have no intention of selling the copyright. We'll leave it at that. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll hang up now."

With that, Zhou Yuwen prepared to end the call.

"Wait, President Zhou, don't be in such a hurry to hang up! How about fifty thousand! Eighty thousand is negotiable too! President Zhou!"

Before the person could finish speaking, Zhou Yuwen hung up the phone.

Looking at Jiang Xinyi, who had already entered the room, he inquired, "Is there something you need?"

Jiang Xinyi replied, "Oh, this document needs your signature."

She handed the document to Zhou Yuwen and then asked casually, "Whose call was that just now?"

Zhou Yuwen briefly glanced at it and realized it was an unimportant document. He remarked that for this type of document in the future, simply stamping it with the official seal would suffice.

Then he answered her question, "It was a media company. Because the song I sang yesterday was pretty good, they want to buy my copyright."

"Oh, for how much?" Jiang Xinyi took the document back, asking offhandedly.

"Thirty thousand."

"Thirty thousand? That little?!" Jiang Xinyi's voice was quite loud, startling Zhou Yuwen. Zhou Yuwen said, "Sis, is it really necessary to be so loud?"

"Aren't they just trying to trap people? Did you sell it?" Jiang Xinyi frowned, terrified that Zhou Yuwen had sold the song's copyright.

Zhou Yuwen replied that he hadn't.

"I don't lack that little bit of money, how could I possibly sell it?" Zhou Yuwen said.

Jiang Xinyi breathed a sigh of relief and urged, "You absolutely must not sell it. Your song is so good; selling it for thirty thousand would be such a pity! If you really want to sell it, why not sell it to me?"

"Sell it to you?" Zhou Yuwen's interest was piqued. He asked, "Then how much do you plan to offer me?"

Jiang Xinyi pondered for a moment. She actually had her own little secret stash of funds, accumulated from money given to her by relatives as she grew up, as well as the New Year's money her parents usually gave her. When she was young, Liu Jing always told her that she would keep this money safe for her and give it to her when she grew up.

But when she grew up, her mother changed her tune, saying she would give it to her when she got married.

What kind of mother did that?

Jiang Xinyi roughly estimated that the savings she had stashed with her mother amounted to about 250,000 yuan.

So she asked, "How about 200,000?"

Zhou Yuwen scoffed softly. For this song, 200,000 yuan was actually quite a substantial amount.

However, by the same token, Zhou Yuwen did not lack 200,000 yuan either.

Seeing that Zhou Yuwen's heart wasn't stirred, Jiang Xinyi gritted her teeth. "250,000 then, surely that will do? I only have 250,000 yuan to my name. If you're willing to sell, I will pay 250,000 to buy it!"

"Do you really like this song that much?" Zhou Yuwen inquired.