Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 436: Lu Lin Coordinating the Overall Situation

To be honest, when he first heard the people around him saying that he and Jiang Xinyi were a match made in heaven, Zhou Yuwen was quite bewildered.Zhou Yuwen admitted that things were indeed a bit ambiguous between him and Jiang Xinyi, but it hadn't gone past that point. He figured that since Liu Jing and her family were people of great self-cultivation, they wouldn't be in such a rush.

Today, Zhou Yuwen had originally planned to properly thank Liu Jing in front of everyone for all her help. But listening to what these people were saying, he suddenly found himself at a complete loss for words.

Most importantly, someone actually said to Liu Jing, "I really envy you, Sister Jing, finding such an exceptional son-in-law!"

"This future son-in-law of yours is a highly sought-after figure in the Jinling business world right now!"

Yet, Liu Jing simply stood there with a placid expression. "This is all thanks to everyone's help."

"..."

Liu Jing had actually accepted the compliment. He then glanced at Jiang Xinyi beside him.

Well, Jiang Xinyi had actually lowered her head in shyness.

What... what in the world was going on?

"Come, Yuwen, let me introduce you. This is Uncle Liu, the vice president of the Jinling Chamber of Commerce." Although Liu Jing was already in her forties, she took excellent care of herself and exuded an elegant aura as she urged Zhou Yuwen to greet the people around them.

To be honest, Zhou Yuwen really disliked this feeling of being socially hijacked. However, Liu Jing and her daughter had indeed helped him a great deal. Moreover, his relationship with Jiang Xinyi was truly hard to define.

After all, when Jiang Xinyi had pressed herself against him, he hadn't refused.

Even the clothes he was wearing right now were bought by her. If he suddenly declared, "Sorry, Sister Xinyi and I are just friends," it wouldn't just be a massive slap in the face to the mother and daughter; it would also make him look completely ungrateful and entirely in the wrong.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Zhou Yuwen could only maintain a polite demeanor and greet everyone.

Of course, by this time, Zhou Yuwen had already noticed several specific people.

For example, Zheng Yanyan and Qu Jing, who had rushed over.

On the other side, there was You Changjin, who had finally spotted Zhou Yuwen and wanted to come over to say hello.

When they heard Liu Jing's introduction, they all froze.

You Changjin was the most miserable of them all.

His whole purpose in coming over was to use his connection with Zhou Yuwen to rub shoulders and familiarize himself with the university's management.

And the university's management had been invited by Liu Jing.

Naturally, they were also standing right next to Zhou Yuwen at this moment.

That was why You Changjin had tried to approach. But before he could even get close, he heard Liu Jing introducing Zhou Yuwen as her future son-in-law, asking everyone to look after him.

You Changjin's mental state completely collapsed!

Hadn't they agreed that he had no interest in her?!

Besides, look at the massive age gap between you two!

The most important thing was that, under these circumstances, Zhou Yuwen actually gently wrapped his arm around Jiang Xinyi's slender waist and said with a smile, "Not at all, I am still just a novice. I will have to rely on all of you uncles and aunties to look after me in the future."

Such a polite and refined display immediately earned him a good impression from many of the guests.

However, at this moment, You Changjin felt nothing but heartache.

Zheng Yanyan felt utterly heartbroken.

It wasn't just Zheng Yanyan; the other girls trailing behind her also froze when they heard this declaration.

Just moments ago, they had been arguing until their faces turned red over who was Zhou Yuwen's actual girlfriend.

And now, Zhou Yuwen's performance clearly conveyed one undeniable point: 'This is my real girlfriend.'

Wait, isn't this the teacher's wife?

What the hell are you doing?!

Zheng Yanyan suffered an emotional breakdown. She had originally thought that it was fine to tolerate Lu Lin, since at the very least, she herself was the main girlfriend. But with this sudden development, exactly how many women did Zhou Yuwen have?

Qu Jing's entire dormitory?

Her own dormitory?

And now this Jiang Xinyi too!?

Zheng Yanyan's eyes turned red...

"No, this is absolutely not true!" However, these words actually came from Su Qing.

At this moment, Su Qing was arguably even more unhinged than Zheng Yanyan.

The only reason Su Qing had been constantly yielding to Zhou Yuwen was because she believed that as long as she had a place in his heart, as long as he was still willing to let her be his primary wife.

Then nothing else mattered.

Whether it was Zheng Yanyan or Lu Lin.

In Su Qing's eyes, they were all minor characters completely incapable of competing with her.

But Jiang Xinyi?

Looking at Jiang Xinyi, who was currently surrounded by people like a moon among stars—not only did she have a dignified and prosperous beauty, but she was undeniably far more presentable for high-class occasions like this.

Su Qing felt genuine agony, and the reason for her pain was the realization that she could not compare to Jiang Xinyi.

Therefore, Su Qing refused to believe it. Her immediate impulse was to charge over and cause a massive scene at the banquet.

"No! This is absolutely not true!"

Fortunately, at this crucial moment, Lu Lin directly yanked her back. With sharp, piercing eyes, Lu Lin demanded, "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Tears were already shining in Su Qing's eyes as she snapped, "Let go of me! I'm going to go over there and demand an explanation from him!"

"Have you even considered the consequences of doing that?"

In truth, when Zhou Yuwen implicitly acknowledged Jiang Xinyi as his girlfriend, the person who had the calmest reaction was probably Lu Lin. She had personally seen how Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi interacted at the company.

Others might say that it was impossible for the two of them to be together. Setting aside their complex relationship, with such a large age gap, how could it be possible?

But Lu Lin understood Zhou Yuwen. She felt that with his deeply egocentric personality, he was genuinely somewhat like a tyrant—operating on the logic that absolutely no one was off-limits as long as they weren't blood relatives.

Of course, phrasing it like that might be an exaggeration.

However, having spent so much time with Zhou Yuwen, Lu Lin could see that whatever he did, he possessed an elusive foresight. Everything unfolded exactly according to his plan.

An ordinary university student writing novels to earn millions, and starting a company to earn tens of millions. Moreover, he could write songs and play the piano?

Could it really be that university students like this were just a dime a dozen?

Therefore, Lu Lin had never even considered trying to be Zhou Yuwen's main girlfriend. She saw the reality clearer than anyone else. She had noticed Jiang Xinyi a long time ago. Setting aside age and status...

Jiang Xinyi was undeniably the most suitable partner for Zhou Yuwen.

When Lu Lin had brought up Shen Yu a few days ago, she was implying that Shen Yu was likely the one most capable of tolerating the presence of other women.

It was just a shame that Zheng Yanyan hadn't listened to a word of it.

The consequences?

How could the current Su Qing possibly consider the consequences? She had gone completely insane. It wasn't as if she hadn't caused a scene at an occasion like this before.

Before her rebirth, she had openly caused a massive scene at someone else's wedding without a second thought. What did a gathering like this matter?

Su Qing was absolutely determined to confront Zhou Yuwen and demand a clear answer. What exactly did he mean by all this?

Exactly how many women was he planning to keep?

Weren't the ones he already had enough?!

'You aren't lacking in ability, so must you really stoop to becoming a live-in son-in-law for a rich young miss?'

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen was still over there, talking and laughing cheerfully with the crowd.

Then, someone mentioned having seen Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi play a four-handed piano duet before.

They remarked that the two of them felt genuinely perfect for each other.

"I wonder if we'll have the opportunity to hear it with our own ears today?"

Liu Jing chuckled lightly and said, "That couldn't be simpler."

She then turned her head to look at Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi, asking for their opinion.

Zhou Yuwen had no objections, simply glancing toward Jiang Xinyi.

At this moment, Jiang Xinyi fully embodied the grace of a wealthy, well-bred lady. She merely offered a smile with pursed lips, indicating that she was fine with whatever.

Thus, the group moved toward another living room.

Seeing that Zhou Yuwen was about to leave, Su Qing immediately grew anxious and tried to charge out.

She opened her mouth to scream, but Lu Lin quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Lu Lin shot a displeased glare at Tao Tian and the others. "What are you all doing just standing there watching?! Restrain her already! Do you really want to ruin the entire banquet?!"

Truthfully, Qu Jing was still a bit dazed at this moment.

But Tao Tian suddenly realized something, let out an "Oh," and hastily urged Qu Jing to help hold Su Qing back.

In this way, Su Qing was successfully restrained. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that under such circumstances, these girls would actually gang up to deal with her.

Su Qing desperately pried away the hand Lu Lin had clamped over her mouth. She glared resentfully at Zheng Yanyan, who was still standing there in a stupor. "Zheng Yanyan, why the hell are you just standing there?!"

"Your boyfriend is about to run off with someone else! Why are you just standing there?!" "Hurry up and help me!"

"Huh?"

Ever since a few moments ago, Zheng Yanyan had been in a completely disassociated state. Hearing Su Qing's shouts, she couldn't help but blink in confusion.

Just as Su Qing was furiously demanding that Zheng Yanyan help her.

Zheng Yanyan took another look at Lu Lin, who was wholly focused on blocking Su Qing.

She suddenly snapped awake to the reality of the situation. "No, I can't help you."

"?" Su Qing froze.

Zheng Yanyan said, "Su Qing, you can't cause a scene like this. You will ruin Zhou Yuwen. I cannot help you."

"Are you an idiot?!"

Su Qing was so infuriated that she was on the verge of tears. Usually, Zheng Yanyan seemed quite clever.

How could she be so utterly useless at such a crucial moment?!

In truth, back when Zheng Yanyan's eyes had first turned red, she had been genuinely angry.

But when she looked over and saw Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi talking and laughing cheerfully, completely surrounded by a group of immaculately dressed, successful figures while effortlessly conversing with them, she suddenly felt that the two of them were a perfect match.

Especially Zhou Yuwen. He rarely wore formal suits, but the way he looked in formal attire truly made him seem as if he were glowing. He was so handsome.

Liu Jing, the older woman who seemed to be Jiang Xinyi's mother, held Zhou Yuwen in extremely high esteem. She had just declared that the future would undoubtedly belong to these young people.

And that business ventures should be handed over to these youths to manage.

Zheng Yanyan wasn't entirely clear on what Jiang Xinyi's family did for a living, but she was still a good judge of character. One look was all it took to know that this girl belonged to an entirely different social class than she did.

She fought with Su Qing, she fought with Tao Tian, she fought with all the other women.

That was because Zheng Yanyan possessed enough self-confidence. She felt that none of those women could compare to her, so it was only a matter of course that she would end up with Zhou Yuwen.

But Jiang Xinyi...

Gazing at this woman dripping in jewels and an aura of refinement...

Zheng Yanyan couldn't help but feel an urge to retreat.

And at this moment, Su Qing's sudden tantrum, combined with Lu Lin's absolute steadfastness...

Made Zheng Yanyan instantly awaken to the fact that causing a scene right now was absolutely out of the question.

The last time she had caused trouble involving Lu Lin, Zhou Yuwen had nearly broken up with her.

If she threw a tantrum now, Zhou Yuwen would definitely be furious.

Moreover, what kind of occasion was this?

How could she possibly cause a scene at a time like this?

It was fine to make a fuss in private, but right now, it was absolutely forbidden.

"Su Qing, everyone here today is a prominent and respectable figure in Jinling. If we cause a scene now, we'll just make ourselves a laughingstock. We are all our hubby's women, we need to think about what's best for him!" Zheng Yanyan had fully figured it out and even began trying to persuade Su Qing.

Hearing this, Su Qing was utterly speechless. She snapped, "Are you out of your mind?! Where is your backbone?!"

By this time, Zhou Yuwen had already escorted Jiang Xinyi by the waist over to the piano in the grand hall.

The two sat down together in front of the piano.

Seeing the main stars of the banquet preparing to play the piano, many people gathered around, and someone even took the lead in applauding.

This was followed by a polite ripple of applause.

"Huh? Isn't that Teacher You's girlfriend? Why is she sitting with Zhou Yuwen?" Liu Yue asked in deep curiosity, turning around to search for You Changjin's figure.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find him.

After the polite applause subsided, Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi placed their hands on the black and white keys.

Zhou Yuwen led the opening. At the beginning of this piano piece, the rhythm was very slow, with each key pressed individually. It sounded incredibly soothing, and the gathered guests all fell completely silent.

Then, after Zhou Yuwen finished playing the prelude, Jiang Xinyi's accompaniment followed smoothly, the two of them coordinating with seamless chemistry.

"Oh! Canon!"

Someone recognized the piece, their eyes lighting up in delight.

Truthfully, showing off their piano skills during the banquet was something Liu Jing had suggested early on. Naturally, both Jiang Xinyi and Zhou Yuwen had initially refused. However, Liu Jing had that classic parental urge to show off her kids. She insisted on it, saying she wanted everyone to see how overflowing with talent he was.

If this had been his own mother, Zhou Yuwen would have definitely refused point-blank.

But he and Liu Jing weren't quite familiar enough to be completely casual with one another, so he merely adopted an indifferent attitude. This particular piece, Canon, was randomly chosen by Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi, and they had only practiced it twice.

Despite this, they played it with extreme fluency.

Zhou Yuwen possessed extraordinary talent, to the point where Jiang Xinyi could barely keep up with his pace.

From the soothing tempo at the start to the rapid rhythm near the end.

More and more people gathered around.

Many people were whispering among themselves, commenting on how perfectly suited the two were for each other.

Simply a match made in heaven.

And the more they said these things...

The more red-eyed with jealousy Su Qing became.

Tao Tian and Qu Jing, and even Minmin, were all pulling back on Su Qing.

According to Lu Lin's instructions, they needed to drag her away quickly; they absolutely could not let her ruin this banquet.

Tao Tian couldn't help but shoot Lu Lin a deeply meaningful glance.

She had never imagined that the most formidable person in Zheng Yanyan's dormitory would actually turn out to be this Lu Lin.

"Su Qing, you should just leave for now," even Zheng Yanyan was helping Lu Lin try to persuade her.

"Why the hell should I leave?! Do you people have any dignity left?! We've all been played for fools by Zhou Yuwen!" Su Qing yelled, her eyes bloodshot.

The harder they pulled on Su Qing, the more violently she struggled.

At this moment, everyone's attention had been drawn over to listen to the piano performance.

The entire grand hall was filled with the sound of the piano, the melodious tune easily masking the noise of Su Qing's outburst.

Su Qing thrashed wildly, bearing her fangs and brandishing her claws as she was dragged away, screaming, "Zhou Yuwen! Zhou Yuwen, you treacherous bastard!"

"Zhou Yuwen, you heartless scumbag!"

These two lines were completely drowned out by the music and went unheard by the crowd.

Dragged all the way to the door, Su Qing clamped her hands tightly onto the doorframe.

"Let go of me! You bitches! You're all a bunch of bitches!"

"Hurry up and let go of me!"

"Slap!"

Just as Su Qing was gnashing her teeth in rage, thrashing around uncontrollably...

Lu Lin, utterly annoyed by the noise, delivered a sharp slap directly across her face.

The sudden strike instantly stunned everyone into silence.

Su Qing was the most dumbfounded of all. She stared at Lu Lin in utter disbelief. "You... you hit me?"

"Are you quite finished? What exactly is it that you want?"

"What right do you have to cause a scene here? What are you even to Zhou Yuwen?"

"Zhou Yuwen made things perfectly clear to you a long time ago. A breakup is a breakup. You can't even compare to Yanyan, so what right do you have to call Zhou Yuwen a heartless scumbag?"

"And what right do you have to call him a treacherous bastard?"

"So what exactly are you throwing a tantrum for?" Lu Lin demanded with deep displeasure.