Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 550: Purchasing an Estate

Su Qing had not spent her past few months in the United States in vain. Her English had improved rapidly. During a professional exchange like this with Susan, she did not stutter or forget her words at all. She smoothly and casually expressed her design concepts in English without missing a beat. Susan gazed at Su Qing with her deep blue eyes, nodding from time to time as if completely captivated by her.In fact, Zhou Yuwen was also somewhat captivated by how serious Su Qing looked. She was fully engrossed when explaining her concepts, a faint smile occasionally lifting the corners of her mouth. It was the look of someone entirely devoted to doing what they truly loved.

The two women conversed for three long hours. During that time, Zhou Yuwen had the butler take him for a stroll outside. He discovered that the estate was truly massive. There was even a herd of horses galloping across the grassland, making him want to lasso one and take it for a ride.

Unfortunately, the butler had no idea how much this estate actually cost.

By the time he returned, Su Qing and Susan had finished their discussion. Susan looked at Zhou Yuwen with a sigh of admiration and said, "You have a remarkably brilliant partner. I honestly believe you do not need to go through all the trouble of hiring me to design for you, because your wife is completely capable of doing it herself."

She offered this generous praise right in front of Su Qing. Hearing this, Su Qing flushed slightly with embarrassment and glanced at Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen turned to Susan and said, "She still has a lot to learn. I sincerely hope you will come out of seclusion to mentor her. You do not need to worry about the salary; I can offer you a very generous compensation."

Even before coming here, Zhou Yuwen had asked Lu Wanting to thoroughly investigate this woman's background. He had also consulted a professional team to prepare an offer she absolutely could not refuse.

Zhou Yuwen handed Susan an envelope. Curiosity got the better of her, and she opened it. Upon seeing the figure written inside, she could not help but whisper, "Oh my God," covering her mouth with her hand. She said, "This price is truly flattering. I am overwhelmed."

However, Zhou Yuwen assured her she deserved every penny, as she would be Su Qing's teacher from now on.

Faced with Zhou Yuwen's irresistible hospitality and undeniable sincerity, Susan found it impossible to decline. She ultimately agreed to take Su Qing as her student and join Su Qing's studio as the chief designer for the headquarters building.

Since Susan needed time to pack her belongings and Zhou Yuwen wanted to enjoy the estate for a couple more days, the group ended up staying for three days. During this time, Su Qing officially began learning design under Susan's guidance.

One morning, before Zhou Yuwen and Su Qing had even gotten out of bed, they heard a sudden commotion outside. A maid could be heard whispering that the young lady had returned.

That was immediately followed by the loud, prolonged neighing of a horse.

Awakened by the neighing, Zhou Yuwen frowned slightly and walked over to the balcony.

Down below, he saw a slender woman dressed in riding attire perched high on horseback. Her boot-clad legs pressed firmly into the stirrups as she tried to calm the beast. Down on the ground, three or four farmhands from the estate were holding the horse down, expending a massive amount of effort before finally getting the animal to settle.

Then, the young woman, wearing something akin to a military uniform, dismounted. The estate's head butler hurried over to greet her, whispering a few words into her ear. He looked up at Zhou Yuwen on the balcony and pointed in his direction.

At that moment, the woman also looked up.

As their eyes met, Zhou Yuwen noticed she had a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes. Upon making eye contact, the woman flashed him a friendly smile. She had rather full lips, but they made her smile look exceptionally gorgeous.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Anne Hathaway."

The tall young woman was dressed in tight white riding breeches tucked into black boots, paired with a sleeveless shirt over a white chiffon undershirt.

Her smile was infectious as she looked at Zhou Yuwen. "Emma has already told me everything."

"You are taking Susan away, aren't you?"

Anne Hathaway was the true owner of this estate and a good friend of Susan's. When the two met, they shared a warm hug and exchanged cheek kisses.

Susan explained her future plans to Hathaway. As her friend, Hathaway was genuinely happy for her and insisted on hosting a farewell meal for them before they left.

The meal took place right there in the estate. Hathaway proved to be incredibly talkative, chatting non-stop at the dinner table. She started all the way back with the story of her great-great-grandfather.

Her great-great-grandfather had been a destitute Spanish aristocrat who sailed over on the Mayflower to the American continent. Back then, the land was barren and covered in wild, dense forests.

Relying solely on his hardworking hands, her great-great-grandfather built a home here, laying the foundation for their family.

As a traditional aristocrat, Hathaway carried a natural sense of superiority, yet she still came across as exceptionally polite. While cutting into her steak, she recounted the rise and fall of her family's history.

After generations of prosperity and decline, this single estate was all that remained.

In truth, Hathaway's tale was practically identical to that of any traditional aristocratic family in America. Zhou Yuwen ate his steak and listened idly to her stories. Su Qing, however, hung onto every word. She had been struck by Hathaway's beauty the moment they met and genuinely wanted to be friends with her. Hearing about her family's forlorn decline, Su Qing casually asked, "Then why don't you get married, Miss Hathaway?"

"Get married?" Hathaway laughed at the suggestion. She picked up her wine glass, took a sip, and casually remarked, "Aha, now that is an interesting idea."

"I suppose I will give it some serious thought."

Seeing that their conversation was wrapping up, Zhou Yuwen finally spoke up and asked, "How much does an estate like this cost nowadays?"

Hathaway chuckled. "This estate cannot be measured with money."

Switching to fluent English, Zhou Yuwen clarified, "What I mean is, for an estate of this size, roughly how many US dollars would it cost?"

Initially, Hathaway assumed he was just asking out of casual curiosity. But seeing his serious expression, she gave him a closer look and genuinely pondered the question.

"Well, I am not entirely familiar with the current market. However, my neighbor just so happens to be looking to sell his estate. It is about thirty-two acres and he is asking for fifteen million US dollars, haha."

Thirty-two acres was roughly a million and a half square feet, making it about a third of the size of a small county town.

Hearing that someone was conveniently selling their estate, Zhou Yuwen's interest was piqued. He asked if it had been sold yet.

"No, but it seems that most of the interested buyers are from the East like you. The guy wants a full cash transaction, so the majority of people only drop by to take a look," Hathaway said with a shrug.

Fifteen million US dollars was around one hundred and twenty million yuan. Zhou Yuwen did not find the price to be overly expensive, so he asked Hathaway if she could help introduce him.

He mentioned that he was looking to purchase an estate for himself.

"And if I could become neighbors with such a beautiful lady like you, that would be absolutely perfect."

Hearing this, Hathaway leaned forward. She tilted her head with deep interest, studying Zhou Yuwen closely before asking with a smirk, "May I ask how old you are, boy?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that he was turning twenty soon.

Hathaway dramatically gasped. "Oh, in that case, you should really be calling me Auntie. I am already thirty years old."

As she spoke, Hathaway held up three fingers and gave him a playful wink.

Su Qing covered her mouth and giggled. She shot Zhou Yuwen a knowing look, which clearly meant: 'That is what you get for flirting with everyone.'

Zhou Yuwen simply chuckled in response and said, "Well then, Miss Auntie, could you be so kind as to introduce me?"

"Of course. But if this deal goes through, I will require a finder's fee of zero point zero five percent. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Hathaway asked.

Zhou Yuwen thought to himself that this truly was a capitalist society—money was a prerequisite no matter where you went.

"Naturally. You deserve it."

And so, it was settled. Su Qing and Susan returned to New York early to begin their work, while Zhou Yuwen stayed behind to discuss the details of buying the estate with Hathaway. This location was situated near Boston, the capital of Massachusetts in the United States. In Boston, there were brokerage companies that specialized in trading estates. In fact, Hathaway's neighbor had already listed his estate on the market, but if Zhou Yuwen went through a brokerage company, he would still have to pay a hefty processing fee.

Therefore, having Hathaway help bridge the gap saved both parties a lot of trouble. After waiting for about two days, they finally met Hathaway's neighbor, Brown.

Brown took the two of them on a tour. The property was indeed massive, but compared to Hathaway's pristine estate, it was glaringly obvious that this place had been neglected for a long time.

The truth was that Brown now lived long-term in Europe. He never would have returned if Hathaway had not called him.

The estate's overall resources included a vineyard, a winery, a castle, an underground winery, a flower house, several lakeside cabins, a metasequoia forest, and a dense grove of American birch trees.

Brown had inherited this estate from his maternal uncle, who had no children. In reality, he had not spoken to his uncle in twenty years. When a lawyer suddenly contacted him a year ago to inform him of the inheritance, he had been just as shocked as anyone else.

He was just an ordinary office worker. By inheriting this estate, he might not even be able to afford the inheritance tax. Because of this, he desperately wanted to sell the property as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he would be forced to pay a hefty maintenance fee year after year.

Hathaway quietly informed Zhou Yuwen that the estate had ceased production a long time ago. However, he could hire local farmers from the surrounding area to help rebuild it. Old Brown's winemaking skills had been famous throughout Boston, meaning Zhou Yuwen could resume producing his own wine once he bought the property.

Even after an entire day, Zhou Yuwen had not managed to tour the whole estate. He could only ask to hold off on a decision and continue looking around a bit more.

Brown, however, urged Zhou Yuwen to make a decision quickly, as he needed to return to work.

Zhou Yuwen nodded in acknowledgment.

That evening, Zhou Yuwen made a phone call to Lu Wanting to ask if it would be difficult to withdraw twenty million US dollars from the company right now.

Lu Wanting asked what he needed it for.

He frankly told her he wanted to buy an estate.

"Buy an estate? Why?" Lu Wanting was completely baffled.

"I want to do some farming," Zhou Yuwen replied matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, Lu Wanting laughed and asked, "Then when do you need the money by?"

"You can start processing the transfer tomorrow," he instructed.

"Understood."

The next day, Brown continued to lead Zhou Yuwen deeper into the estate.

Down by the lake, Zhou Yuwen spotted a herd of wild bison lowering their heads to drink. There were about thirty of them, both large and small. Hathaway actually recognized the largest bison of the bunch, mentioning that it used to be raised by Old Brown. It seemed they had been released into the wild and had fully feralized.

Aside from that, they also spotted a herd of wild horses not too far away. They were galloping freely along the lakeside, numbering close to twenty.

Hathaway told Zhou Yuwen that this particular herd of wild horses had likely migrated here from somewhere else.

According to the laws of Massachusetts, any wild animals that entered private property belonged solely to the landowner.

Therefore, if Zhou Yuwen purchased this estate, the entire herd of wild horses would become his personal property.

Of course, that was on the condition that he hired cowboys to tame them first.

"How about it? Is your heart stirred yet?" Hathaway asked with a smile.

Zhou Yuwen nodded expressionlessly and turned to Brown. "I will consider it if you can lower the price a little more."

Brown shrugged nonchalantly. "If I had to do that, I might as well just sell it directly to a corporation."

Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Zhou Yuwen simply nodded. "If that is the case, then so be it. I will take it for fifteen million dollars."

"A pleasure doing business with you." Brown let out a sigh of relief and shook Zhou Yuwen's hand.

And just like that, Zhou Yuwen finally owned a massive plot of land to call his own.

Hathaway never expected to make a small fortune just by returning home this time. Thoroughly delighted, she treated Zhou Yuwen to drinks that evening, playfully calling him a generous man from the East.

She leaned in and asked if he came from a mysterious family from the East.

"You are so young, yet incredibly wealthy."

In the dead of night, her wine-stained lips glistened under the moonlight. The two of them were chatting on the balcony when she reached out, casually hooking a finger around Zhou Yuwen's collar.

Zhou Yuwen played along, claiming that he hailed from an Eastern family of wizards.

"Wizards?" Hathaway echoed, clearly amused.

He solemnly declared, "Our family specializes in prophecies."

"In fact, my purpose for coming here was not to find Susan at all. A prophecy told me that this very land holds boundless, unimaginable wealth."

Hathaway burst into a fit of giggles. "How fascinating, boy from the East. I would also love to know what kind of wealth lies hidden here."

Just as Zhou Yuwen was about to continue spinning his tall tales, his phone suddenly rang.

Seeing that it was Lu Wanting calling, he answered it.

"Hello! Darling!" Zheng Yanyan's eager voice blasted through the receiver.

It was so loud it nearly deafened him.

Zhou Yuwen pulled the phone away slightly and asked, "Why is it you? Where is Sister Wanting?"

The phone was then handed over to Lu Wanting. It turned out that as soon as Zheng Yanyan found out he had bought an estate, she started clamoring to go see him. In her mind, if it was Zhou Yuwen's estate, didn't that make it her estate too?

The mere thought of it filled her with excitement. She couldn't wait to run around the estate, taking pictures to post on her Moments.

Hearing Zheng Yanyan's unbridled excitement over the phone, Zhou Yuwen figured she wasn't the only one; the other girls were probably just as curious. He turned his attention back to Lu Wanting and asked if she wanted to come over and visit.

"Me? I don't mind either way," Lu Wanting replied, still as shy and reserved as ever.

"Then go ask if the others want to come," Zhou Yuwen said warmly. "If they do, all of you can fly over tomorrow."