Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 562: Another New Daughter-in-Law

For Li Shiqi, this could be considered her very first time meeting her prospective in-laws. Given her upbringing, to tell the truth, she felt a bit inferior. If she were just spending time alone with Zhou Yuwen, it would certainly be fine, but now that he was formally introducing her to his family, she felt somewhat anxious, terrified that Yang Lirong would not be able to accept her.At the exact moment she heard her son mention buying bedding for Li Shiqi, Yang Lirong truly froze. She took another look at Li Shiqi, then glanced back at her son, a highly complicated expression crossing her face.

Witnessing this complicated reaction, Li Shiqi's heart inevitably plummeted to rock bottom. She interpreted it as obvious disapproval. In reality, however, Yang Lirong's internal thought was completely different: 'What a lovely girl. How did she end up being ruined by my son too?!'

Yang Lirong knew her own son well. Setting aside Su Qing from before, there was Zheng Yanyan after her, one after another, not to mention that Jiang Xinyi. A whole group of women had nearly broken into a physical fight over her son, and now, here was Li Shiqi today. Her face was thoroughly etched with worry, and with good reason.

She wanted to know if the young girl standing right in front of her was aware of her son's extensive romantic history.

Seeing Yang Lirong's complex expression, Zhou Yuwen knew exactly what she was thinking. He promptly handed over all the newly purchased bedding to Li Shiqi, telling her to head back to the room and make the bed first, as he wanted to have a private chat with his mother.

"Oh," Li Shiqi replied nervously. Carrying large and small bags, she looked even more awkward and flustered as she walked past Yang Lirong.

Yang Lirong kept her brows furrowed until Li Shiqi was far enough away.

Only then did she pull her son aside and ask somewhat angrily just what on earth was going on this time.

"I see you never learn from your mistakes. Have you forgotten what happened last time in Jinling? If Su Qing and Yan Yan find out about this, let us see how they spare you." The combat power of Su Qing and Zheng Yanyan remained fresh in Yang Lirong's memory. She simply could not understand it; her son already had so many girlfriends, why did he insist on finding yet another?

Furthermore, he brought every single one of them home! What exactly was going through his head?

Zhou Yuwen explained that Yan Yan and Su Qing already knew about Li Shiqi.

"They know about her?!" This revelation shocked Yang Lirong even more. She felt that young people nowadays played far too wildly. Even if he was her own son, he should not behave like this!

Zhou Yuwen sighed. "Mom, can you please not let your imagination run wild? Nothing really happened last time in Jinling anyway. Su Qing and Yan Yan are both my ex-girlfriends now, and who knows how long it has been since Jiang Xinyi and I broke up."

"Do not try to fool me. You have not made a clean break with a single one of those ex-girlfriends of yours!" Yang Lirong certainly understood her son.

Zhou Yuwen kept insisting, "Mom, you do not understand. Li Shiqi is different from them."

"How is she different?" Yang Lirong scoffed coldly.

So, Zhou Yuwen explained Li Shiqi's family background to his mother. The general gist was that her mother had remarried, and in that household, she did not even have a proper room. From childhood to adulthood, she had never even eaten a single full meal. Since she was following him now, he absolutely could not let her feel wronged!

Zhou Yuwen exaggerated slightly while recounting Li Shiqi's history, but it was largely accurate. In short, after hearing all this, Yang Lirong could not help but nod and murmur that if this was truly the case, it was only right for her to come to their house for the New Year.

Zhou Yuwen nodded. "It is entirely appropriate. Not only is Li Shiqi my girlfriend right now, but she is also my assistant. Both logically and emotionally, I should take good care of her."

Hearing this, Yang Lirong showed a trace of disdain. "I do not care who you want to take care of, but if you want to take care of someone, you must do so consistently. You cannot look after this one today and that one tomorrow. Your father has had plenty of flaws throughout his life, but there is one thing he has done exceptionally well: at the very least, he is upright and honorable toward me and this family. You should learn a thing or two from your father."

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Am I not learning right now?"

"Alright, Mom, I will stop talking to you for now. I am going to check on how Li Shiqi is doing packing up."

With that, Zhou Yuwen waved his hand and went upstairs to find Li Shiqi.

Thinking for a moment from behind, Yang Lirong called out, "Hey, do not forget to call her down for dinner tonight."

Zhou Yuwen assured her, "Do not worry about that, I will not forget."

Zhou Yuwen then headed to the rented room on the second floor. He had originally thought Li Shiqi would be busy packing up, but to his surprise, she was just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen enter, she stood up. Before she could even utter a word, a mist of tears gathered in her eyes, and she immediately embraced him.

This left Zhou Yuwen baffled. Gently stroking her waist, he asked, "What is wrong?"

Li Shiqi asked what Yang Lirong had said to him.

"Does Auntie dislike me?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen could not help but laugh for a moment. He asked Li Shiqi why she would think such a thing. Li Shiqi replied that even if his mother disliked her, she could completely understand it.

"After all, your mother has met Su Qing, Zheng Yanyan, and the others. Just tell her that I am the one pestering you. I know you have other girlfriends, but that is fine. I am perfectly willing to follow you regardless."

Li Shiqi blurted out everything in one breath.

Zhou Yuwen held her hands, looking at her incredibly earnest face, her eyes still glimmering with unshed tears. Just moments ago in the room, Li Shiqi had thought it all through. She felt certain that Zhou Yuwen's parents would never agree to them being together. But that was fine. As long as she was perfectly willing to be his secret lover, she assumed they would not make things too difficult for her.

The two sat on the edge of the bed. Zhou Yuwen reached out to gently wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, telling her, "I told her that you are my girlfriend."

"Ah."

Li Shiqi instantly froze, then quickly said with profound anxiety, "How could you say that? Your mother must be furious. Your uncle and auntie are people of high status and face/reputation, but I..."

Zhou Yuwen told Li Shiqi not to belittle herself so much. "They might have a decent face/reputation, but it is not like you are unpresentable. You are so beautiful, and you are an excellent top student at Jinling University. My mom actually just told me that a girl as excellent as you being willing to take a secondhand, worthless person like me means I must have stumbled into some incredibly good luck from my past life!"

"She also told me to cherish you properly."

Zhou Yuwen spoke the absolute truth. Hearing this, Li Shiqi both cried and laughed. As she wiped her tears away, she grumbled softly, feeling wronged about him bringing up the top student title.

"You definitely did not tell them about my family background, otherwise they would surely disapprove."

Zhou Yuwen replied, "How could I not mention your family background?"

"It is precisely because I told her that my mom told me to treat you well. She even said you should stay here with peace of mind, no matter how long you want to live here, and she warned me never to let you down!"

The more Li Shiqi listened, the more she felt that Zhou Yuwen was definitely just trying to coax her into being happy.

However, seeing the completely sincere look on his face, she could not help but believe him just a little bit.

Thus, she asked uncertainly, "Really?"

"Of course it is true. How could I ever lie to you?" Zhou Yuwen said.

"When I was coming upstairs just now, my mom even reminded me to invite you down for dinner tonight. I thought to myself, well, of course! You are staying here alone. If you do not come down and eat with us, who else are you going to eat with? Especially during the New Year."

Zhou Yuwen spoke while wrapping his arms around her. Listening to his words, Li Shiqi naturally allowed herself to be embraced by him. However, despite everything he said bringing her immense joy, she still did not dare to fully believe it. She was terrified that once she accepted this beautiful fantasy, she would meet his parents and discover it was not true at all. If that happened, she would be even more heartbroken.

After all, having grown up in such an environment, she was bound to be incredibly cautious in everything she did.

Zhou Yuwen simply told her not to worry. Once it was time to eat, she would see for herself. He stayed with her in the small single room until dinner time.

The Zhou family had dinner a bit late today, mainly because Zhou Guobin had some matters to attend to at his workplace and returned home somewhat delayed.

By the time Yang Lirong called Zhou Yuwen down for dinner, Zhou Guobin was already seated at the dining table.

Zhou Yuwen led Li Shiqi downstairs by her small hand. Her eyes were slightly red, a clear sign that she had recently been crying.

After arriving in the dining room, Zhou Yuwen acted completely naturally, but Li Shiqi was extremely reserved, making absolutely sure to respectfully greet them as Uncle and Auntie.

Having learned about Li Shiqi's family circumstances, Yang Lirong actually felt quite sympathetic toward her. This was certainly not the first time she had heard about her son's philandering ways, so this time, she only hoped it would be the very last. Therefore, she said warmly to Li Shiqi, "Quick, take a seat. I did not know what you like to eat, so I just casually made a few dishes. See if they suit your appetite."

Seeing that Yang Lirong was still busy in the kitchen, Li Shiqi immediately asked if there was anything she could help with.

Yang Lirong quickly waved her hands and said, "No need, just sit down."

Zhou Yuwen also pulled Li Shiqi gently, urging her to take a seat.

He added, "We did not invite you to our home to make you do chores. Just sit here and relax."

Hearing this, Yang Lirong felt a flash of irritation again. 'This brat! Are you implying I was born to be your servant?!'

Zhou Yuwen's father, Zhou Guobin, had actually been sitting at the dining table for quite a while. He did not participate in the conversation between the other three. When Li Shiqi respectfully greeted him, he simply responded by nodding.

It was not until the entire family sat down to eat that Zhou Guobin looked at his son and finally spoke. He remarked that Zhou Yuwen's behavior during lunch had been somewhat too impolite.

"Impolite? How was it impolite?" Zhou Yuwen asked in utter bewilderment.

Zhou Guobin explained, "Your older cousins and uncles probably did genuinely need your help with something."

"But they are relatives after all. You really did not need to reject them so completely and cleanly."

Zhou Yuwen countered, "I never said I would not help them. I found them jobs at the logistics park, but they complained it was too tiring and refused to do it. Whose fault is that?"

"And then there were a few of your father's colleagues," Zhou Guobin sighed.

In truth, Zhou Guobin could understand the situation with the relatives. The main issue was his colleagues, who were all primary and deputy heads of critical departments in the city. When they showed up uninvited to a meal, everyone knew exactly what their intentions were.

Zhou Guobin would never interfere with his son's methods, nor did he want his own position to cause any unnecessary trouble for his son's career.

However, Zhou Guobin firmly believed that the way Zhou Yuwen had communicated with those colleagues was highly problematic.

One had to understand that they represented the county's powerful departments. Even if he intended to refuse them, he should have done so far more tactfully.

"I never said I would not agree to their proposals," Zhou Yuwen stated.

He explained that Director Chang from the Merchants Bureau actually made a lot of sense, and he himself had entertained similar thoughts about an investment. However, at noon, he truly had pressing matters to attend to.

"How about this, Dad: why don't you take some time to invite your colleague out? We can grab some tea and discuss those previous ideas in much greater detail."

Zhou Yuwen knew that an investment in his hometown was an issue he could not flee from. He only hoped to maximize the benefits for both himself and others. Besides, the lunchtime drinking banquet had been entirely too chaotic; it simply was not the right environment for discussing serious business.

Hearing this, Zhou Guobin let out a cold snort. "Oh, so now you know you need to discuss things in detail? It is too late for that!"

"Too late?"

In reality, it was not too late at all. After all, this was an era driven by economic growth; what local official would not desperately want someone to come and deliver funds? The only reason Zhou Guobin said this was because he wanted to use the incident to educate his son. He needed his son to understand that no matter how progressive his thinking was, or how brilliant his talents were, the domestic environment was fundamentally governed by bureaucratic authority. This mindset meant that officials always reigned supreme. Simply claiming to be busy at noon and completely disregarding their face/reputation was unacceptable.

And after brushing them off, he expected to arrange a detailed discussion on his own terms?

Why should they give him face?

Did his vast wealth actually matter to them?

He might think he did not need their help right now, but could he guarantee he would never need their connections in the future?

"Fortunately, your Uncle Chang is not the type to hold petty grudges," Zhou Guobin finally remarked after delivering his long lecture.

The only reason they overlooked the slight was because his father held a modicum of status in this small county town. Otherwise, why would they care if he was a multi-millionaire?

He needed to absorb this lesson.

"After the New Year, all the county's public institutions will be holding a gala at the county cultural palace. When the time comes, you will attend it with me," Zhou Guobin instructed.

Yang Lirong asked, "Is it not a bit against the rules for you to bring your son to a county gala?"

Although it was billed for the entire county's public institutions, not just anyone could attend. It was meant to be a time for officials and citizens to celebrate together, meaning the county's top leaders and their deputies would be present. After that, each department would only select a handful of people to attend. If one had good luck and managed to form positive connections with the highest leaders, they would be held in high regard upon returning to their own departments.

Yang Lirong rarely attended galas like this. It was not that she was forbidden to go, but rather she found it unnecessary. A department only received a few slots, so it was always better to leave them for the younger staff who actively sought advancement.

By bringing his son to an event like this, Zhou Guobin risked drawing severe criticism from others.

Zhou Guobin, however, cast a dissatisfied glance at Yang Lirong. "Do you think I would act so out of line?"

"This was Old Chang's idea. Furthermore, a few of the higher-ups also wish to meet Yuwen," Zhou Guobin stated calmly.

Hearing this, Yang Lirong finally understood.

Oh, so that was how it was.

"Then why did you spout all that nonsense just now?!" Yang Lirong exclaimed, utterly speechless.

Zhou Guobin retorted, "I am educating my son; why are you interrupting?"