Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 283: Shen Youchu Does Not Exist in This World

Zhou Yuwen and Li Shiqi had not seen each other for about four months. During this period, Li Shiqi had reached out to Zhou Yuwen for a quick chat a few times, but every conversation consisted of only a sentence or two. They simply could not find much else to talk about.For example, back in November, Li Shiqi had taken the initiative to send Zhou Yuwen a text message: "The weather got colder, remember to wear more clothes."

Zhou Yuwen replied: "Alright, thank you."

And that was the end of it.

Life was not a novel. Aside from oneself, anyone could be the female lead, yet at the same time, it was entirely possible that no one was the female lead.

When the semester first started, Zhou Yuwen and Li Shiqi did indeed have the potential to become a couple.

Li Shiqi had a good impression of Zhou Yuwen.

At the time, Zhou Yuwen felt that dating a top student from Nanjing University like Li Shiqi would not be a bad choice.

However, Zheng Yanyan's subsequent pursuit was simply too passionate.

Zhou Yuwen could not resist.

After that, the fact that Zheng Yanyan and Zhou Yuwen were dating became something that people who did not care would ignore, but anyone who paid even a little attention would know about.

Not to mention, Zhou Yuwen had even changed his avatar to a couple's avatar at the time.

When Li Shiqi found out that Zhou Yuwen was in a relationship, she really did feel aches and pains in her heart.

But so what?

She did not have a family to act as her support. If she did not work hard, she did not even know if anyone would help pay her tuition fees next year.

But Zheng Yanyan was different.

Zheng Yanyan had once used Zhou Yuwen's WeChat to post on Moments for an official announcement.

Li Shiqi had seen it.

The girl in the photos was radiant; at first glance, anyone could tell she was a young lady from a rich family.

Rumor had it that she was even from Jingcheng.

Her suitors were countless.

Compared to Zheng Yanyan...

Li Shiqi did not know what strengths she had.

Because of this, she did not continue to contact Zhou Yuwen.

One thing could not be denied: when Zhou Yuwen suddenly appeared in that corner of her life in September, he brought a different kind of light, making her unable to resist holding a sliver of expectation for life.

But that was all.

During the months Zhou Yuwen was wrapped up in romance, Li Shiqi's life remained entirely unchanged. She was grateful to Zhou Yuwen for introducing her to a tutoring job, allowing her to easily earn what she needed for living expenses. This gave her more time to spend in the library, studying and acquiring more knowledge.

She always remembered Zhou Yuwen, but she only remembered him.

Even a few days ago, when the news about Zhou Yuwen suddenly became incredibly popular.

A heated discussion erupted in their high school class group chat. Many people said that Shen Xiaoyu, the character in Zhou Yuwen's novel, was modeled directly after Li Shiqi.

Even several of her university dormmates shared this belief.

The character of Shen Xiaoyu had too many unreasonable aspects, but if anyone were to ask who truly gave Zhou Yuwen his inspiration...

Zhao Yuan and the other girls unanimously agreed that it was absolutely Li Shiqi!

Zhou Yuwen had previously come over to pick up Li Shiqi, so Zhao Yuan was aware of his existence.

At the time, they had even gossiped with Li Shiqi, asking about her relationship with Zhou Yuwen.

However, Li Shiqi consistently stated: "It's just an ordinary friendship."

"How is this an ordinary friendship! Shiqi, he literally wrote you into his novel! And as the female lead, no less. That proves he absolutely cares about you!" Zhao Yuan exclaimed, blinking her eyes.

Hearing this, Li Shiqi only forced a smile. She did not say anything, simply lowering her head to look at a small bruise she had accidentally gotten while working part-time at the coffee shop today.

She did not feel any pain at the time, but only realized after returning that it had already formed a bruise.

No matter what kind of university it was, eighteen- and nineteen-year-old men and women were always inseparable from romance.

Li Shiqi's dormmates, much like girls in any other dormitory, would gossip about a certain handsome guy on campus and share amusing stories about themselves and their boyfriends.

Naturally, they would also occasionally tease Li Shiqi about Zhou Yuwen.

It was just that none of this had anything to do with Li Shiqi.

None of it belonged to her.

She was not like them.

These little princesses at home only needed to make a phone call and act cute when they were out of cash, and they could easily get pocket money.

During the holidays, they would always buy new clothes, and on the weekends, they would discuss where to eat and check-in.

But Li Shiqi had none of that.

She knew these things did not belong to her. Her sole belief was to focus on studying, graduate with excellent grades, and completely break free from her original family.

Her entire life was like a taut guitar string; she did not dare to slack off for a single moment. On a regular basis, she would go to the library and stay there until it closed before heading back to the dormitory.

It was not that her relationship with her dormmates was poor. They were very considerate of her feelings.

However, a difference was still a difference.

Li Shiqi did not want her dormmates to have to accommodate her when discussing certain topics.

Nor did she want to be the party pooper.

After the news of Zhou Yuwen writing novels broke out, Li Shiqi did download this novel to read. To support Zhou Yuwen, she even specifically registered an account to purchase a full subscription to the book.

But to be honest, Li Shiqi found the novel hard to get into.

Everyone said that the character Shen Xiaoyu was based on Li Shiqi.

But Li Shiqi understood that this was nothing more than their imagination.

She and Shen Xiaoyu were fundamentally different, and it was impossible for her to ever become Shen Xiaoyu. In fact, from Li Shiqi's perspective, this character took things too much for granted.

Of course, perhaps girls from the mountainous regions truly were pure and simple, holding onto traditional mindsets—namely, that a girl just needed to find a reliable man for dependence.

Li Shiqi harbored no such thoughts.

Her family situation was different from Shen Xiaoyu's. Although Shen Xiaoyu's family was poor, she had a simple growth environment.

Meanwhile, Li Shiqi was born in a big city.

She lived a life of having to live under someone else's roof.

She was accustomed to the vicissitudes of human nature.

Everyone claimed she was very similar to Shen Xiaoyu.

But that was merely what other people thought.

Naturally, she did have a good impression of Zhou Yuwen. Upon seeing Zhou Yuwen looking young and flourishing during his exclusive interview, Li Shiqi's heart stirred.

She had known for a long time that Zhou Yuwen was a highly capable boy.

The current news only proved that her thoughts had been correct.

But as for feeling joy or happiness...

Li Shiqi felt none of that.

No matter how excellent Zhou Yuwen was, it had no direct connection to her.

Furthermore, the more excellent Zhou Yuwen became...

The further the distance between her and this boy grew.

On the day Zhou Yuwen accepted the exclusive interview, Tao Tian had sent a text message over to congratulate him.

Actually, that night, Li Shiqi had also held her phone and opened Zhou Yuwen's chat window.

She felt hesitation for a long time.

In the end, she failed to send those two words: "Congratulations."

Li Shiqi could not imagine how they were supposed to interact with each other.

Not to mention, he already had a girlfriend.

Why should she try to find a sense of presence?

It went back to that same saying: there was no need for people from different worlds to intersect.

It was just that fate loved to play jokes on people.

Li Shiqi had already decided to treat Zhou Yuwen as a dream in her ordinary life, allowing him to fade from memory as time passed.

Yet, right at this moment.

The two of them coincidentally met again on this random day.

Zhao Yuan excitedly waved her hand continuously toward Li Shiqi, who was guarding the stall.

It seemed she wanted to use Li Shiqi to strengthen her relationship with this young writer. Meanwhile, over where the lights were dim...

Zhou Yuwen also noticed this former high school classmate. She was still the same old Li Shiqi. Compared to other girls, she did not have many beautiful clothes.

But even in such a simple outfit, she gave off a uniquely different feeling.

A pale gray piece of autumn wear served as her outerwear.

A light blue piece of summer wear served as her inner shirt.

A beautiful neck was slightly exposed.

She was without makeup, yet she did not lose any of her radiance.

She was naturally beautiful, naturally ornate.

"Hurry over!" Zhao Yuan beckoned excitedly to Li Shiqi.

When Li Shiqi saw Zhou Yuwen, she actually hesitated for a moment.

But ultimately, she shifted her steps and walked over.

Under the dim yellow streetlights, her hair was tied up in a simple ponytail.

Li Shiqi did not actually have much expression on her face. Her dormmate Zhao Yuan, on the other hand, was overjoyed. Before Li Shiqi could even step in front of Zhou Yuwen, Zhao Yuan had already impatiently pulled her two steps forward.

"Shiqi, look quickly! Who is this? Isn't this your high school classmate?"

"Zhou Yuwen, our Shiqi mentions you in the dormitory all the time!" Zhao Yuan laughed.

Li Shiqi's expression shifted slightly, but she refrained from saying anything.

Zhou Yuwen glanced at Li Shiqi. She was indeed very pretty, but wearing such thin layers in December seemed a bit too light. He and Li Shiqi had not contacted each other for a long time. After a brief pause, he asked, "Are you organizing a student club activity?"

Li Shiqi nodded. "We brought things we don't use in the dormitory over for the charity sale."

"Huh, our university has this kind of event? Why didn't I know about it?" Jiang Xinyi chimed in from the side, looking as though she was just hearing about it for the first time.

Zhou Yuwen rolled his eyes. "Big sis, you're a postgraduate student, and you don't even participate in student clubs. How would you know?"

Jiang Xinyi retorted, "Are postgraduate students not people too?!"

Zhou Yuwen told her that getting into a postgraduate program meant she was here for studying, not for playing around.

"Hey!"

'Does that mean students pursuing a bachelor's degree are just here to play?' Jiang Xinyi wanted to argue back.

But before she could speak, Zhao Yuan asked curiously, "Zhou Yuwen! Who is this older sister? Is she your girlfriend?"

Actually, while Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi were chatting, Li Shiqi had been quietly observing the woman standing next to him. Jiang Xinyi possessed an innate elegance and nobility—a kind of grace that allowed her to speak freely in any situation without needing to care to other people's feelings.

Li Shiqi lacked this kind of aura. Her background meant that she spent most of her time silently listening.

Even if someone else took over the conversation, Li Shiqi would never think of fighting to get it back.

While Li Shiqi had this kind of personality, her dormmate Zhao Yuan certainly did not.

In truth, Li Shiqi's dormmates knew a little bit about the situation between Zhou Yuwen and Zheng Yanyan.

Operating on the principle of siding with family over reason, Li Shiqi's dormmates obviously disapproved of Zheng Yanyan, feeling that this female was far too dramatic and pretentious.

Moreover, they felt that Zhou Yuwen clearly liked Li Shiqi more.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have based a character on her.

They could only say that Li Shiqi did not know how to take the initiative and seize opportunities.

Once, while joking around in the dormitory, Zhao Yuan had remarked, "Shiqi, if I were you, I'd have stopped being a freshman on campus a long time ago."

"Then what would you be doing?" another dormmate had asked.

"I'd be at home recovering from childbirth!"

"Hahaha!"

The dormmates burst into a fit of laughter.

In Zhao Yuan's eyes, Li Shiqi was exactly like the Shen Xiaoyu portrayed in the novel—never fighting, never snatching.

Therefore, she absolutely had to lend Li Shiqi a helping hand.

Jiang Xinyi could sense that Zhao Yuan's question seemed to carry a hint of hostility toward her.

"Oh, this is my older sister. I haven't introduced you guys yet,"

Zhou Yuwen said. Hearing Zhao Yuan's words made him realize he had been neglecting them, so he took the initiative to introduce them.

He stated that Jiang Xinyi was his older sister.

"This is my high school classmate, Li Shiqi. She was the first in class," Zhou Yuwen explained.

With that, the two considered it a formal greeting.

Jiang Xinyi cast a glance at Li Shiqi. She couldn't help but sigh mentally, 'This Zhou Yuwen sure is lucky. Every girl around him is prettier than the last.' Yet, the Li Shiqi standing before her gave Jiang Xinyi a feeling that she could not fully see through.

Their four eyes met, and Jiang Xinyi intended to say hello to Li Shiqi.

In fact, Jiang Xinyi had already opened her mouth to speak.

And Jiang Xinyi could sense that Li Shiqi seemed to realize she was about to talk, but Li Shiqi showed no intention to join in. Instead, she simply shifted her gaze toward Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen was speaking at the time, so there was nothing inherently wrong with Li Shiqi looking at him.

But it just gave Jiang Xinyi a very peculiar feeling.

Zhou Yuwen gave them a brief introduction.

Zhao Yuan asked, "Hey, Zhou Yuwen, why are you at our university? Could it be that you came here to look for Shiqi?"

Zhou Yuwen said he had not.

"My sister is a postgraduate student at Nanjing University. I was just dropping her off."

"Oh, so this older sister is a postgraduate student at our school! Doesn't that make her our Senior Sister?" Zhao Yuan blinked happily.

Jiang Xinyi offered a reserved hum of acknowledgment.

"By the way, Senior Sister, our student club is organizing a charity sale. Do you want to support us a bit?" Zhao Yuan asked with a wide grin.

Before Jiang Xinyi could reply, Zhao Yuan continued, "All the proceeds from our sales this time will be donated to children in mountainous regions so they can buy winter clothes!"

Looking at Zhao Yuan's enthusiastic demeanor, Jiang Xinyi said, "Alright then, what are you selling?"

"Senior Sister, come with me! I'll introduce you to our goods!"

Saying this, Zhao Yuan grabbed Jiang Xinyi without letting her argue, heading toward her own stall with an uncharacteristic level of friendliness.

Jiang Xinyi knew exactly what Zhao Yuan was up to. She shot a look at Zhou Yuwen, then glanced at Li Shiqi standing nearby.

After thinking about it, she decided to let it go.

'This Great-Aunt has a kind heart!'

'I'll lend you a hand again, you little brat!'

After Jiang Xinyi was dragged away by Zhao Yuan, only Zhou Yuwen and Li Shiqi were left behind.

Truthfully, Zhou Yuwen didn't know what to chat about with Li Shiqi either, so he asked, "How is that tutoring part-time job going? Are you still doing it?"

"Mhm, the child I tutor is on winter holiday now. Their family went to Hawaii," Li Shiqi answered.

"Oh."

Having finished this topic, Zhou Yuwen had nothing else to say. He racked his brain for a long time, considering talking about the charity sale.

But before he could, Li Shiqi suddenly asked, "That female... she isn't really your sister, is she?"

"?" Zhou Yuwen lifted his head. Looking into Li Shiqi's bright, clear eyes, he asked, "How could you tell?"

Li Shiqi replied, "I don't remember you having a sister."

"..." Zhou Yuwen momentarily didn't know how to respond, but his expression had already confirmed that Li Shiqi was right.

"Your girlfriend?" Li Shiqi probed again.

"No," Zhou Yuwen denied it.

He glanced over at Jiang Xinyi, who was picking out items at the stall.

Zhou Yuwen told Li Shiqi that she was just an older sister he had met at the university.

"I've been thinking about buying a house recently, so I had her accompany me to look around," Zhou Yuwen explained. This was the only way to say it, as mentioning things like she was a teacher's ex-girlfriend or that she had a channel to help him buy a villa was entirely unnecessary.

Even with just this explanation...

To Li Shiqi, it was still quite a niche explanation.

Buying a house.

"Oh."

It was understandable, though.

He had made so much money from writing novels.

If she were in his shoes, she would probably choose to buy a house too.

"I read your novel," Li Shiqi said.