Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 619: Youth Does Not End

The white BMW M4 convertible coupe might have been considered an entry-level sports car, but the moment it drove onto the campus, it still drew plenty of sideways glances. However, Chang Hao, sitting in the front passenger seat, didn't feel much of anything. He wondered, 'What did it feel like for Zhou Yuwen to drive a convertible like this four years ago, right at the start of our freshman year?'Ultimately, even if one tried to recreate the past, the carefree spirit of youth could never truly be recaptured.

Many things, once missed, were simply gone forever. Looking back on all his past actions, Chang Hao could only find himself ridiculous.

If he could do it all over again, he certainly wouldn't be as naive as he was during his freshman year.

The moment he walked into the classroom, a crowd gathered around him.

Li Qiang was the first to rush forward, immediately launching into a barrage of flattery. "Damn, look at you, Brother Hao! You're already driving a convertible!"

"Who was that beauty in the car? Don't tell me she's your girlfriend! Holy crap! Brother Hao, how did you manage to find such a gorgeous girlfriend!?"

Li Qiang immediately fired off a rapid string of questions.

Chang Hao was indeed much more mature than before. Faced with Li Qiang's blustering, he merely chuckled lightly and replied, "What are you talking about?"

"That's my cousin,"

"Ah, your cousin! I knew it!"

Li Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling an inexplicable sense of ease in his heart. Although the classroom windows were quite a distance from the coupe, he could still tell that the girl sitting in the driver's seat was very beautiful and elegant.

To be honest, throughout their four years at the university, Li Qiang had always looked down on Chang Hao a little.

He felt that aside from coming from a slightly better background, Chang Hao had nothing else going for him.

If Chang Hao had actually found a girlfriend as beautiful as a celestial fairy, Li Qiang really wouldn't have been able to accept it.

Hearing that she wasn't, he finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

When the others heard that the girl who arrived with Chang Hao wasn't his girlfriend, they also let out sighs of disappointment, murmuring things like, "Man, and here we thought she was your girl."

"Exactly!"

"Hey, Brother Hao, does your cousin have a boyfriend?"

But soon enough, someone started cracking jokes, prompting laughter from the rest of the group. Another person asked Chang Hao why he hadn't brought his girlfriend along.

They were just asking casually, but Chang Hao replied that she had some business to attend to and couldn't make it.

"Yeah, we are getting married in September. If you guys are free, you're welcome to attend our wedding." Chang Hao thought for a moment, deciding he should share the news.

"???" Everyone was taken aback.

Wait, seriously?

Chang Hao's pursuit of Zheng Yanyan during university had been a massive spectacle. And now, he was actually getting married?

Naturally, everyone became curious about the bride.

A few even couldn't resist glancing over their shoulders at Zhou Yuwen.

Zhao Yang couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Brother Hao, how did you meet my future sister-in-law?"

Chang Hao answered openly that they met on a blind date, pulling out his phone to show them a photo.

To be honest, the girl was quite pretty, but not top-tier stunning.

Having experienced a year of real-world struggles, everyone had grown more pragmatic. Their questions naturally shifted toward what the woman did for a living and what her family's background was.

Chang Hao replied calmly, explaining that her father ran a factory.

"None of that really matters, though. The main thing is that we get along well. Marriage doesn't have to follow all those messy rules."

"Oh, come on! The moment you mentioned her dad owns a factory, it became obvious you were just trying to take a shortcut in life, Brother Hao."

"Ooh, the dowry must be pretty substantial, right?"

"How much was the bride price?" Li Qiang asked.

Chang Hao glanced at Li Qiang and stated, "We don't really do that where we're from."

However, the dowry provided by her family was indeed quite generous.

Chang Hao couldn't completely hide his smugness as he added, "Her dad offered me a salary of twenty thousand to work as the deputy director at their factory, but I wasn't interested."

"Whoa!"

Hearing this, the crowd let out another collective sigh of amazement.

Zhao Yang looked at Li Qiang, who looked like he had just swallowed a bug. Finding it secretly amusing, he nudged him with his arm and teased, "Hey, Boss Qiang, why so quiet all of a sudden?"

"Piss off," Li Qiang muttered, his expression undeniably sour.

But nobody cared about his mood.

Chang Hao's arrival certainly livened up the classroom's atmosphere for a while, but things soon settled back down.

Chang Hao chatted with the group a bit longer before his gaze drifted past the crowd, eventually landing on Zhou Yuwen.

In the four years that had passed, Zhou Yuwen hadn't changed much at all.

Truth be told, there was a time when Chang Hao felt an inferiority complex around Zhou Yuwen. Even now, meeting again and looking at him, Chang Hao still felt a slight twinge of it.

Chang Hao silently gave himself a pep talk, reminding himself that he was about to get married. He had already let go of Zheng Yanyan.

Why should he still be intimidated by Zhou Yuwen?

With that thought, Chang Hao walked over to Zhou Yuwen, smiled at him, and said, "You have to come to my wedding!"

"Definitely."

Zhou Yuwen nodded at Chang Hao. He didn't harbor any ill will toward him; he just felt a bit nostalgic.

He remembered that in his past life, Chang Hao had been hung up on Zheng Yanyan for the longest time, only getting married around the time Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing were getting divorced. But in this new life, because Zhou Yuwen had won Zheng Yanyan over, Chang Hao was getting married right after graduation.

Thinking about it this way, Zhou Yuwen felt he had actually done Chang Hao a favor.

After all, Chang Hao and Zheng Yanyan were never destined to be together anyway. Chang Hao and Zhou Yuwen didn't really have much to talk about. After Zhou Yuwen agreed to come, Chang Hao was completely rendered speechless, struggling to find words. After a long pause, he finally couldn't hold back anymore. "Yanyan and the others are here too, right?"

"Uh, I don't mean anything by it, just asking. Since I'm getting married, I thought..."

Before Zhou Yuwen could even respond, Chang Hao was already scrambling to explain himself.

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen didn't overthink it. He simply said, "She's here. She should be out on the sports field taking graduation photos."

"Oh," Chang Hao murmured, surprised by how straightforward Zhou Yuwen was.

Fine, no matter how composed he tried to act earlier, his facade still cracked a little in the end.

Seeing Chang Hao looking somewhat unnatural, Zhou Yuwen asked, "Are you hoping to invite her to your wedding?"

Looking as if his mind had just been read, Chang Hao finally nodded.

Zhou Yuwen said, "If you want to invite her, just go find her on the sports field."

"Uh."

Chang Hao hadn't expected Zhou Yuwen to be so magnanimous. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. "Is that really okay?"

Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Why wouldn't it be? If you want to go, then go."

At this moment, Chang Hao felt genuinely moved.

"Thank you!" Chang Hao said from the bottom of his heart. He was truly grateful to Zhou Yuwen.

He told Zhou Yuwen that he merely wanted to put a perfect end to his youth.

Zhou Yuwen nodded in understanding.

With that, Chang Hao turned and headed for the sports field.

He felt that Zheng Yanyan had made the right choice in picking Zhou Yuwen. After all, Zhou Yuwen was truly excellent.

If Zheng Yanyan could live happily, what else was there for him to say?

All he needed to do now was stand naturally in front of Zheng Yanyan, tell her he was getting married, and invite her to his wedding.

He had to be confident and generous when he delivered the news to her.

With this thought in mind, Chang Hao involuntarily picked up his pace, soon arriving at the lush green sports field.

It was graduation season, and the field was filled with female students taking photos. Some wore bachelor's gowns, while others wore JK uniforms paired with white stockings.

Every little clique seemed to have its own matching outfits.

Chang Hao searched the area for a long time but couldn't catch a glimpse of Zheng Yanyan.

Chang Hao was considered a fairly well-known guy around the school. After arriving at the field, he bumped into quite a few acquaintances, who all greeted him warmly.

However, Chang Hao had no mind to reply to them right now. Human psychology was truly a strange thing. Initially, he had been constantly reminding himself to stay calm and stand before Zheng Yanyan with a serene demeanor.

But because he still couldn't find her, he started to grow anxious.

Just as he finished completing a lap around the field without any luck, he began to wonder if she wasn't on the field at all.

Right at that moment, he heard someone call out, "Yanyan."

"?"

Chang Hao quickly turned his head and realized it was Shen Yu calling out to someone taking photos.

Although Zheng Yanyan was facing away from him, Chang Hao still recognized her back at a single glance.

A smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth. He steadied his breathing and walked toward her, step by step.

Finally, he stopped when he was about seven or eight paces away from her.

After straightening himself up one last time, Chang Hao finally called out her name, "Zheng Yanyan."

"?"

When Zheng Yanyan turned around, Chang Hao kept a steady smile on his face. She was still just as beautiful as ever, with her pitch-black hair and expressive eyes.

This was the embodiment of his youth.

But...

The moment he got a clear look at her...

The smile on Chang Hao's face froze entirely.

Her face was still the exact same face.

However, his gaze locked onto her stomach, which, despite being draped in a loose bachelor's gown, was noticeably swelling outward.

"Chang Hao?" Zheng Yanyan looked at him with clear surprise.

"You..."

Chang Hao stared at her in sheer disbelief, stammering the word "You..." for a long time.

"You're pregnant?" After blurting out that sentence, for some unknown reason, Chang Hao felt like a balloon that had been suddenly punctured. Every single thing he had planned to say, in this very moment...

...was utterly defeated by Zheng Yanyan's slightly swelling belly.