Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 508: Transformation

No matter how you looked at it, Zhou Yuwen was now a major boss. He frequented high-end establishments and had taken Zheng Yanyan and the other girls, or his business partners, to eat Japanese cuisine and similar fine dining, easily dropping thousands of yuan on a single meal.However, to him, there was not much of a difference. It was all just eating, and it all carried that same cold, raw taste.

He was perfectly happy eating a meal that cost just over two hundred yuan.

What he did not know, though, was that this meal physically pained Li Shiqi. It cost four hundred yuan! Most importantly, she felt that Zhou Yuwen was incredibly wasteful. He would take two or three bites of a dish and then declare he was full.

"Do you still want to eat?" Zhou Yuwen asked, just as Li Shiqi was planning to eat a little more.

Her outstretched hand hovered in the air for a long moment before she finally pulled it back. "Oh, I am full too."

"Hmm, then, should we walk around a bit?"

Zhou Yuwen meant strolling through the shopping mall a little longer, which Li Shiqi felt was fine.

Stepping out of the private dining room, Li Shiqi took out her phone, ready to pay the bill.

To her surprise, the cashier informed her, "Pay the bill? It has already been paid."

Stunned, Li Shiqi could not help but look at Zhou Yuwen beside her. He smiled at her and said, "How could I actually let you pay?"

With that, Zhou Yuwen walked ahead.

To be honest, Li Shiqi did not feel touched at that moment. Instead, she deeply felt the massive chasm between them. It was as if no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to catch up to him.

After leaving the Japanese restaurant, the two wandered from the first floor up to the fourth. Golden Eagle was a rather famous urban complex in Jinling. The merchandise inside was comprehensive; whether one was looking for luxury goods or everyday household items, it had absolutely everything.

Li Shiqi found herself drawn to a wedding dress shop.

Displayed in the window was a gorgeous white off-the-shoulder wedding dress draped over a black mannequin. The long trailing skirt was covered entirely in sparkling embellishments.

Standing together outside the display window, Zhou Yuwen looked at the dress alongside her and asked if she liked it.

Li Shiqi nodded, but immediately shook her head.

Zhou Yuwen could not quite grasp what she meant.

Smiling, Li Shiqi explained, "For the current me, it feels like it is a bit too early to get married."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen let out a soft chuckle. "That is true. You do not even know who the groom will be."

Li Shiqi glanced at Zhou Yuwen, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her.

Zhou Yuwen asked if she wanted to try the wedding dress on.

"If you want to, I can reluctantly play the role of your groom."

Saying that, he reached out to pull Li Shiqi inside.

Li Shiqi was naturally flustered. How could someone try on clothes without intending to buy them?

Zhou Yuwen assured her that it was fine, insisting there was no harm in just trying it on.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Zhou Yuwen's phone rang.

Helpless, Zhou Yuwen had to let go of Li Shiqi to answer the phone call.

It was from Liu Dongqiang, and it was about his upcoming engagement to Zhang Tianze. Liu Dongqiang insisted that Zhou Yuwen absolutely had to attend, requesting his help and even asking him to be a groomsman when they got married.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen chuckled lightly and said, "It doesn't have to go that far, right?"

"Little brother, are you looking down on me?" Liu Dongqiang teased over the phone.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "How could I?"

The two of them chatted casually for a bit more. Liu Dongqiang informed Zhou Yuwen that the engagement ceremony would be next week and stressed that he must be there.

Zhou Yuwen promised he would definitely attend.

After he hung up, Li Shiqi looked at him curiously, asking who had called.

Zhou Yuwen told her it was Liu Dongqiang.

The name sounded incredibly familiar to Li Shiqi, but for a moment, she could not recall who it belonged to.

Zhou Yuwen clarified that he was the boss of JD.com.

"JD.com?"

Li Shiqi suddenly remembered, exclaiming, "Is it that guy in his forties who got together with the twenty-year-old Tsinghua school beauty?"

"Even you know about that?" Zhou Yuwen looked at her with new eyes.

This made Li Shiqi slightly disgruntled. She retorted that she was not just some clueless bookworm completely disconnected from the world.

Zhou Yuwen pointed out, "But you really were a bookworm back in high school."

"..."

High school was high school, and things were definitely different now. The affair between Liu Dongqiang and Sister Milk Tea had actually caused a massive sensation this year. Especially in Jinling, Sister Milk Tea's hometown, even more people naturally knew about it.

Truth be told, although Brother Dong was more than a worthy match for Sister Milk Tea, in the eyes of the public, the couple still seemed somewhat mismatched. Sister Milk Tea was, after all, a nationally recognized school beauty. Why would she seek out a man who was barely three years younger than her own father? What was she after?

Zhou Yuwen asked if Li Shiqi also thought that way.

Li Shiqi denied it, saying, "No."

"Really?" Zhou Yuwen pressed.

Li Shiqi pursed her lips and remained silent.

Alright, it seemed she shared those exact thoughts. She finally added, "But I never expected you to actually know him. He is a very powerful man."

Zhou Yuwen remarked, "I don't seem too bad myself."

Well, thinking about it like that, it was actually true.

As the two of them continued strolling through the shopping mall and chatting, the atmosphere between them became much more natural.

For the engagement banquet next week, Liu Dongqiang's intention was to introduce a few friends to him. Since they were all bringing their families, he suggested Zhou Yuwen also bring along his female companion.

Zhou Yuwen had replied, "My girlfriend is in the United States."

"You know that."

Hearing this, Liu Dongqiang could not help but chuckle. "Little brother, it's fine if you say that to others, but what is the point of telling me that? Are you seriously lacking in women?"

Zhou Yuwen shot back, "How am I not lacking? Why don't you have sister-in-law introduce a couple to me then?"

Liu Dongqiang readily agreed, saying that his fiancée happened to have a few younger cousins coming over that day, and he would introduce them to him.

"Who knows, we might even end up as brothers-in-law!"

Liu Dongqiang spoke very naturally, not minding the age gap between himself and Zhou Yuwen in the slightest.

Zhou Yuwen could only reply that they would talk about it when the time came.

He truly did not lack female companions. It just so happened that he was with Li Shiqi right now. Plus, seeing that Li Shiqi seemed quite interested in the gatherings of these big shots, he wanted to take her along to broaden her horizons.

As expected, Li Shiqi felt a surge of expectation upon hearing this, but a moment of hesitation overtook her as she asked, "Is that appropriate?"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Why wouldn't it be appropriate?"

"Do you not want to go?"

"It's not that..."

Naturally, that was not the case. It was just that Li Shiqi felt a bit awkward. She felt like a university student who had never seen the world, and worried that her presence might humiliate Zhou Yuwen.

She glanced down at her pair of canvas shoes that cost less than a hundred yuan.

Against the magnificent floors of the luxurious shopping mall, they looked exceptionally glaring. She could not help but try to shrink her feet back into her jeans, but obviously, they could not be hidden.

Seeing through Li Shiqi's worries, Zhou Yuwen observed, "Hmm, it seems you really don't have clothes suitable for such an occasion."

Li Shiqi's expression dimmed even further at his words.

She wanted to say something, but Zhou Yuwen smoothly followed up with, "It just so happens we can buy an outfit right now."

With that, he took Li Shiqi by the hand and led her in and out of clothing store after clothing store.

While they were eating earlier, Zhou Yuwen had chatted with Li Shiqi about her planning for the future.

Li Shiqi had mentioned that she had not yet thought about what exactly to do, but she wanted to stand on a larger stage.

She wanted to be like Zhou Yuwen, full of youthful vigor and soaring high. Although the current Li Shiqi could not achieve his level of greatness yet.

She would absolutely treat Zhou Yuwen as her goal, slowly inching closer to his heights.

Zhou Yuwen told her that if that was the case, she truly had a lot of studying to do.

Before Li Shiqi could react, Zhou Yuwen had already picked out a mountain of clothes and shoved them all straight into her arms, telling her to try them on one by one.

In Zhou Yuwen's words, this event was an excellent opportunity for upward social mobility. But the prerequisite was that if she wanted to blend in with them, she must have her own battle robe.

"Take these clothes inside and try every single one."

Thus, Li Shiqi was forced to begin the process of trying on garment after garment.

There were all sorts of styles—some sexy, some cute.

Like that off-the-shoulder mini dress.

And backless mermaid gowns.

These were things Li Shiqi had never worn before in her entire life.

So, when she put them on, it was inevitable that she felt somewhat embarrassed, even clutching her chest in sheer shyness.

Indeed, if girls wanted to undergo a transformation, relying on a single piece of clothing was impossible. They also needed posture, the right hairstyle, and to cultivate their own aura.

Therefore, Zhou Yuwen dragged Li Shiqi all over the shopping mall. After trying on a few outfits, he found a hair salon and enlisted a stylist to do her hair.

Before entering the salon, Li Shiqi looked exactly like an innocent university student dressed in exceedingly rustic attire. But once inside, Zhou Yuwen pressed her down into the chair.

Li Shiqi tried to stand back up.

Only for Zhou Yuwen to firmly press her back down.

He declared, "It is about time you made a change."

As he spoke, Zhou Yuwen ran his fingers through Li Shiqi's pitch-black hair, hooking his finger under her hair tie and pulling it off. Her hair was incredibly smooth and silky.

The moment the tie came loose, a cascade of jet-black hair fell down like a waterfall of dark silk.

Zhou Yuwen had a brief communication with the stylist and settled on the direction of Li Shiqi's transformation.

The two had arrived around six o'clock. Dinner had not taken much time, but the hair styling, clothes shopping, and everything else added up. By the time everything was finished, it was nearly ten o'clock.

The shopping mall was also about to close.

Of course, Zhou Yuwen's time spent waiting was not in vain.

After getting her hair done, they went to pick out clothes, and she changed into a pair of high heels.

Once everything was settled, Zhou Yuwen checked the time. It was a quarter past ten.

"Is she still not done?" Zhou Yuwen asked the nearby shop assistant.

"Done, all done!"

The assistant who had been inside helping Li Shiqi try on clothes answered hurriedly. Then, the fitting room curtain was swept open.

Zhou Yuwen looked up to see Li Shiqi stepping out, her long hair cascading in wavy curls, dressed in a stunning red gown. In that magical instant, it almost felt as if a familiar background track had automatically started playing in the surroundings.

It seemed the assistant had given Li Shiqi some simple makeup and applied lipstick. Li Shiqi could certainly feel this radical rebirth herself; even before laying eyes on Zhou Yuwen, the corners of her mouth could not stop curling into a delighted smile.

She did not even dare to look at Zhou Yuwen.

Her large, dark eyes sparkled brightly. It took a long while before she mustered the courage to glance up at Zhou Yuwen, only to find him staring intensely at her. This made Li Shiqi feel even more shy.

The shop assistant was also exceedingly satisfied with Li Shiqi's styling, remarking that if she had not taken the time to help this little sister with her makeup, they would have been out much earlier.

"But this little sister is simply too beautiful. I just couldn't resist! Boss, are you satisfied?" the assistant asked proudly.

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Satisfied. Very satisfied."

And so, Zhou Yuwen happily paid the bill and left, holding Li Shiqi's hand.

Because it was already getting quite late, Zhou Yuwen did not linger to walk around with Li Shiqi after exiting the shopping mall. Instead, they drove straight back to the school.

After a little dressing up, Li Shiqi truly gave off the impression of a lotus emerging from clear water—natural and completely unadorned. How to describe it? She looked very much like a pure and sweet celebrity that Zhou Yuwen quite liked.

Zhou Yuwen drove Li Shiqi all the way to her dormitory downstairs. After turning off the engine, he kept his gaze fixed on her.

Li Shiqi was stared at until she felt deeply bashful, keeping her head lowered where she sat.

Zhou Yuwen said, "Truly beautiful. I knew you were beautiful, but I never imagined you could be this stunning."

Li Shiqi's face flushed crimson as she modestly replied, "No, I just put on a little makeup."

Zhou Yuwen chuckled, noting that others could not achieve this kind of effect just with makeup.

"Just wear this exact outfit that day," Zhou Yuwen added.

Li Shiqi nodded, asking Zhou Yuwen how much he had spent today so she could pay him back some other time.

Zhou Yuwen waved it off, saying it was unnecessary.

"I am making you accompany me to their engagement banquet, so this is only proper. Just make sure to perform well when the time comes. It is getting late, you should go back to the dormitory," Zhou Yuwen instructed.

"Oh, okay..."

Li Shiqi was still very well-behaved, obediently stepping out of the car.

After getting out, she did not rush back into the dormitory. Instead, she stood by the side of the road, waiting until Zhou Yuwen turned the car around and left.

Only then did she unhurriedly make her way back, stepping in her newly bought white high heels.

To be completely honest, she was not very good at walking in high heels and could only take slow, careful steps.

When Li Shiqi returned to the dormitory, her roommates were not sleeping yet.

As she walked in, one of her roommates just briefly glanced up. Thinking the newcomer looked vaguely familiar, she blurted out, "Who are you looking for?"

It was only after the words left her mouth that the roommate sensed something was off.

She abruptly snapped her head back up. Seeing Li Shiqi again, she froze in sheer shock. "Holy shit! Shiqi!?"

This loud exclamation startled the other two roommates, who instantly whipped their heads up.

This was Li Shiqi's first major transformation. Especially having her beautiful, pitch-black long hair permed into wavy curls, her aura was clearly entirely different now.

Every single roommate was dumbfounded before they all immediately crowded around her.

They simply could not believe this was their actual roommate.

How did she suddenly become so exquisitely beautiful?

"Weren't you out looking for Zhou Yuwen?"

"Are you two dating now?"

Hearing this, Li Shiqi hastily shook her head. "No, no, that's not it..."

"Zhou Yuwen asked me to accompany him to Zhang Tianze's wedding, and then he said my dressing up was too rustic, so that's why..." Li Shiqi stammered with her head bowed.

"Wait, whose wedding? Sister Milk Tea's?"

Her roommates could not believe their ears. That was a huge celebrity in all of Jinling. Was she joking?

Li Shiqi nodded weakly. Yes, there was no mistake.

"Damn it, Shiqi, you've really made it! From now on, you'll be rubbing shoulders with high society!"

The group of roommates instantly burned with sheer envy, even bluntly stating that if she showed up dressed like this, Zhou Yuwen would definitely fall for her.

"Anyway, you have had a crush on him for so long, you might as well seize this chance and conquer him right there!"

"That's not happening, don't talk nonsense..."