Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 446: The Bustling World

"Sixty million?"When Lu Wanting spoke those words, everyone present could hardly believe their ears.

Every single syllable seemed to drip with impossibility.

"Baidu?"

"Sixty million?"

Wasn't Baidu a search engine company? Why would they suddenly dive into the food delivery business? And where did this sixty million come from?

Everyone knew that a valuation of forty million was already artificially inflated. Now, suddenly tossing out sixty million meant this was a guaranteed money-losing venture. What exactly were they after?

"Are you kidding me?"

While Zhu Hong was still frozen in shock, Lu Youcai could no longer sit still on the sofa. He sprang to his feet, glaring intently at Lu Wanting. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Uh."

Lu Wanting was a little startled by his fierce glare.

Fortunately, Zhu Hong recovered her wits and spoke with calm composure. "Don't panic. Take your time and explain the entire sequence of events from beginning to end. Are you talking about the actual Baidu?"

Although Zhu Hong appeared composed, it was clear she still harbored deep doubts about this news.

Unfortunately for them, it was the absolute truth. Not only had Zhou Yuwen sold his food delivery company, but he had also dragged a massive titan into the food delivery industry. On the very day Zhou Yuwen signed the contract with Baidu's business division, Baidu officially announced its entry into the food delivery sector. Acting with overwhelming ambition, their opening move was a staggering ten-billion-yuan subsidy campaign!

Paying sixty million to Zhou Yuwen was undoubtedly a premium, but for Baidu, it served as a perfect springboard. At the very least, they would not have to scramble around like headless flies, wondering where to enter the market.

Zhou Yuwen's foresight was truly unobjectionable.

That day, representatives from Baidu had sought out Zhou Yuwen to discuss a potential partnership.

Zhou Yuwen had been incredibly straightforward. "I know you plan to pour money into entering the food delivery market. But rather than fighting over a mature market with established players, you would be better off starting small and solidifying a specialized niche."

"Take Baidu, for example. You have deep roots and massive resources. If you focus exclusively on campus food delivery, you could easily dominate colleges and universities nationwide in a short amount of time. Once you achieve that, you can advance to attack or retreat to defend."

"In the internet market, whoever wins the university students wins the world. In this era, most working professionals who have already graduated have firmly established their consumer habits, whereas the habits of university students are still being cultivated."

"If you get them accustomed to using your application during their university years, wouldn't they continue using it in all the office buildings once they enter the workforce?"

Zhou Yuwen's few words were not quite enough to make the business division's eyes instantly light up with enlightenment, but upon careful consideration, they realized it was an excellent strategy.

Zhou Yuwen had then added, "In ancient times, a king paid a thousand pieces of gold for the bones of a legendary steed. The bones themselves certainly were not worth a thousand gold pieces, but the act immediately broadcasted his attitude to the world."

"Right now, you want to break into the food delivery industry. Merely outbidding competitors by a few million won't make much of a splash."

"But if you suddenly raise the stakes by tens of millions."

"All the attention will instantly be fixed on you. By then, everyone will know that your CEO, Mr. Li, deeply cares about university student entrepreneurship. Follow that up by signing a few financial aid contracts with various colleges and universities, and the gates of every campus will swing wide open for you. Wouldn't your food delivery service conquer the entire country in a matter of minutes?"

Zhou Yuwen and Guan Zi had spoken deeply despite their brief acquaintance. Although they only met for about ten minutes, he said everything that needed to be said. This was primarily because Zhou Yuwen was keenly aware of Baidu's unyielding determination to enter the food delivery market.

Guan Zi had worn an expression of deep, careful consideration before replying, "Mr. Zhou, I cannot give you an answer right now. I need to return and consult with CEO Li for his opinion."

"Of course, take your time."

After heading back for two or three days, the people at Baidu likely agonized over the decision for quite a while.

Ultimately, they settled on a valuation of sixty million. They would make a one-time payment of fifty-four million yuan to Zhou Yuwen, while the remaining six million would be converted into a ten percent equity stake for him. In exchange, he would serve as the brand ambassador and honorary consultant for Baidu Delivery, assisting with their promotional campaigns.

Zhou Yuwen was completely indifferent to these extra terms. Even though Baidu Delivery would eventually fail to gain a dominant foothold, it would not lose money either. Baidu's original intention in entering the food delivery market was to form a "three-way stand-off." Who could have predicted that Meituan would act without honor, directly ditching their old backers to defect to a new master, leaving Baidu in a highly awkward position.

Later, when the food delivery business could no longer be sustained, they would be forced to sell it off. Thus, the ten percent equity stake Zhou Yuwen held was a guaranteed, risk-free profit.

In truth, if Zhou Yuwen truly wanted to continue in this food delivery industry, he possessed the capability to do so.

The main issue was that the food delivery sector was rife with controversy. The relentless algorithms deprived the riders of any time to rest. Even worse, the basic rights and interests of the riders could not be guaranteed.

Of course, Zhou Yuwen was no bleeding-heart saint, nor did he harbor any grand delusions of speaking out on their behalf.

However, Zhou Yuwen definitely had more of a conscience than those ruthless capitalists. As long as he kept his own hands clean of certain unsavory practices, he could maintain his peace of mind. As for everything else, it simply was not his problem to manage.

Even before Zhou Yuwen sold his food delivery company, the business circles in Jinling had been buzzing with gossip.

People were saying that this young man surnamed Zhou genuinely had some impressive skills, managing to earn thirty million yuan at the mere age of nineteen.

Now that the real news was made public, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

Sorry, it wasn't thirty million. It was sixty million.

This young man surnamed Zhou didn't just have some impressive skills—he was overwhelmingly capable!

Liu Jing had truly struck gold with this absolute treasure!

No wonder she was always bustling about, helping him left and right. People couldn't fathom how she had managed to snatch up a gem like Zhou Yuwen.

When Liu Jing next sat down to play cards with Sun Juan and the other ladies, their comments inevitably took on a passive-aggressive edge. They remarked that Liu Jing was truly blessed to have found such a splendid son-in-law, claiming that the rest of them were practically dying of envy.

"Sister Jing," Sun Juan chirped, "tell me, when are you going to help our Xinrou find a young man as excellent as your Yuwen?"

"What capability do I have?" Liu Jing replied mildly. "It's all thanks to Jiang Xinyi's sharp eye for picking Yuwen."

"Is that so? Then how come I heard that Xinyi had another boyfriend before Yuwen?"

"Huh?" Liu Jing jerked her head up.

Regarding the fact that Zhou Yuwen's company had sold for sixty million, Liu Jing was completely in the dark. She had assumed that thirty million was the absolute ceiling for the sale. Furthermore, everyone was tunnel-visioned on buyers like Meituan or Ele.me; no one had even considered Baidu. Let alone Liu Jing being unaware...

Even Jiang Xinyi hadn't received a single whisper of the news.

As a result, Jiang Xinyi was currently fuming. In the office, she trailed openly behind Zhou Yuwen, buzzing around him like a petulant little girl, incessantly pestering him about why he hadn't told her.

"How was I supposed to tell you?" Zhou Yuwen sighed. "We signed a strict non-disclosure agreement, alright?"

And so, right there in a corner of the office, with other people standing nearby, Jiang Xinyi aggressively wall-slammed Zhou Yuwen. "Even with a non-disclosure agreement, couldn't you have at least told me?!"

A girl who seemed to belong to the cultural media company next door witnessed the scene. Looking visibly awkward, she hastily slipped away.

Zhou Yuwen also felt a twinge of embarrassment. Once the girl was gone, he couldn't help but peel Jiang Xinyi's hand off the wall. Smoothing out his clothes, he muttered, "Could you please pay a little attention to your image while in the office? Grabbing and tugging at me like this—what kind of propriety is that?"

But to his surprise, Jiang Xinyi caught him off guard by throwing her arms directly around him.

"You are my own boyfriend. Can't I do whatever I want with you? Is that not allowed?"

Jiang Xinyi was genuinely thrilled for Zhou Yuwen about his company selling for sixty million. Moreover, she found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with him, immensely proud to have a boyfriend who was so incredibly capable.

Zhou Yuwen, however, shot back, "What boyfriend? Please don't go spreading nonsense."

"I call you my boyfriend all the time, yet you won't let me kiss you or touch you. What kind of boyfriend is that?"

"Come on, how long have we even been dating?"

"The length of time doesn't change anything."

Zhou Yuwen skillfully steered the topic away from business and onto their relationship as a man and a woman. He firmly refused to engage in any physical entanglement with Jiang Xinyi inside the office, using the lofty excuse that it would set a bad example.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xinyi couldn't care less about the office environment; she continued trailing cheerfully behind him.

Zhou Yuwen warned her, "You are going to be incredibly busy for the foreseeable future."

The company address definitely had to be relocated. The few classrooms approved by the university were clearly no longer sufficient. Although the food delivery company had been sold to Baidu, Baidu was currently completely blind when it came to the food delivery market. They essentially knew nothing about operations.

Therefore, Zhou Yuwen still needed to help Baidu manage the company for a few more months.

Of course, precisely because Baidu was fumbling in the dark, it meant that Xianlin Delivery's current management team would remain unchanged. Naturally, Zhou Yuwen would not serve as the permanent manager for Baidu Delivery.

However, it was highly likely that Liu Shuo would stay with Baidu Delivery for a long time, and his position there certainly wouldn't be low.

There was also another matter to consider. Following this acquisition of Xianlin Delivery.

Zhou Yuwen received a lump sum of fifty-four million yuan.

And Liu Shuo had secured a dividend of 1.2 million yuan.

The impact of this news was arguably even greater than the shockwaves caused by Zhou Yuwen receiving fifty million.

Because Zhou Yuwen had already laid the groundwork with his past successes, even though he made a fortune, others didn't feel overly jealous. Deep down, they simply felt that Zhou Yuwen was cut from a different cloth than the rest of them.

But when it came to Liu Shuo.

The students from his vocational college might admire him, but when everyone else heard the news, their brows instantly furrowed in disdain.

Wasn't he that hulking brute who was completely devoid of brains?

That dark-skinned wild boar who trailed behind Zhou Yuwen every day, constantly calling him 'Brother'?

Damn it, Zhou Yuwen actually gave him 1.2 million?

What the hell was he even worth?

He was completely brainless, and he had even cuckolded that idiot Li Qiang.

Fuck, that was 1.2 million!

Countless people practically ground their teeth in raging envy at the thought. A sum of 1.2 million could accomplish so many things, yet they never imagined it would fall into the lap of someone like Liu Shuo.

Never mind the others.

Even Chang Hao felt completely baffled when he caught wind of the news.

Strangely enough, the initial conflict between Chang Hao and Liu Shuo had been sparked by Zhou Yuwen.

Yet Chang Hao did not blame Zhou Yuwen; he solely harbored a grudge against Liu Shuo. His impression of Liu Shuo was simply that he was Zhou Yuwen's loyal lapdog!

But now, this very lapdog had suddenly raked in 1.2 million in one go!?

Chang Hao wasn't like Jiang Chao and his clique, who cursed and complained, whining about what skills Liu Shuo even possessed.

However, from the bottom of his heart, Chang Hao deeply looked down on Liu Shuo, firmly believing he was nothing more than a lackey.

Still, lying awake in the dead of night thinking about Liu Shuo making 1.2 million was truly agonizing.

The most agonizing part of all was a sudden realization that hit Chang Hao.

If the rest of their dormitory had just maintained a good relationship with Zhou Yuwen back then, they might have also earned a piece of the pie. Even if it wasn't over a million, pocketing hundreds of thousands would have been enough to let them brag for a very long time.

Chang Hao wasn't the only one harboring such thoughts. When Li Qiang learned of the news, his heart burned with more intense envy than anyone else!

After all, that was his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend.

Every single day, for the sake of Lu Hui, Li Qiang ate cheap, eight-or-nine-yuan worker's meals and performed the most exhausting physical labor, merely scraping by on a hundred and fifty yuan a day.

Meanwhile, that bastard Liu Shuo had effortlessly pocketed 1.2 million in a single stroke.

The more he thought about it, the more tasteless the steamed bun in his hand became.

'Why didn't I think to get closer to Zhou Yuwen back then?' he wondered bitterly.

'I should have shamelessly attached myself to him from the start.'

'Damn it, if only I could experience rebirth and return to the first day of university.'

'If I went back to the first day, I would absolutely cling tightly to Zhou Yuwen's thighs.'

'By then, the one pocketing the 1.2 million wouldn't be Liu Shuo—it would be me!'

The more he dwelled on it, the more utterly depressed he grew.

Li Qiang genuinely wanted to write a novel titled: Rebirth: Returning to University to Cling to My Roommate's Thighs!

Because of this news, Li Qiang had been in a foul mood the entire day, obsessing over what right Liu Shuo had to achieve such success.

'He's a brainless idiot. Couldn't anyone else do his job?' he thought.

When he returned to his rented room that evening, he brought food back for Lu Hui, but his expression was distinctly unpleasant.

Men were often like this. Before getting the girl, they were incredibly accommodating and obedient, but once they had her, little bursts of temper would inevitably start showing.

The last time, Li Qiang had finished taking a shower, only to emerge and find that Lu Hui had disappeared.

On that occasion, it had indeed been Liu Shuo seeking out Lu Hui.

The moment Lu Hui saw Liu Shuo approaching, she naturally discarded all other concerns.

Unfazed by the prospect of becoming a laughingstock, she only desired to return to her previous life. She deliberately squeezed out a few tears in front of Liu Shuo and pleaded, "Shuo, I truly know I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?"

Liu Shuo simply replied, "Then let me see your sincerity."

Sincerity? She certainly had plenty of that. It wasn't as if they hadn't done it before.

That time, Lu Hui serviced Liu Shuo until he was incredibly comfortable.

Liu Shuo was highly satisfied.

He tossed eight hundred yuan onto the bedside table, grabbed his pants, and left.

Lu Hui had been happily fantasizing that after this encounter, they could go back to the way things were.

Who could have imagined that Liu Shuo would pull such a stunt on her?

Lu Hui's face turned green with humiliation. Without even bothering to put her clothes on, she shot up and grabbed Liu Shuo, demanding angrily, "Liu Shuo, what is the meaning of this!? What do you take me for!?"

"What the fuck do you think I take you for?"

Liu Shuo violently shoved Lu Hui aside. Sneering coldly, he declared, "Lu Hui, don't assume I'm completely fucking blind! I know you've already started cohabitating with that bastard surnamed Li. So what do you think I take you for? I won't hide the truth from you—I did this intentionally. Ha! Watching that idiot happily carrying his food into the apartment building, I deliberately called you out here just to spite him."

"If you had any backbone, you wouldn't have come out to meet me, would you?"

"Whose fault is it that you came crawling?"

"Here's eight hundred yuan. Take it or leave it," Liu Shuo scoffed coldly, throwing the eight hundred yuan onto the floor.

Her eyes bloodshot, Lu Hui gritted her teeth and spat, "Liu Shuo! You bastard!"

Screaming, she lunged at him, ready to fight for her life.

But Liu Shuo merely shoved her roughly back onto the bed. "Fuck off! I supported you for so long, and I'm even paying you to sleep with you once. I've treated you more than fairly. Fuck, you really don't know what's good for you!"

After throwing those words at her, Liu Shuo turned and walked out, leaving Lu Hui entirely alone on the bed, frantically wiping her tears away.

It wasn't until eleven o'clock that night.

Lu Hui returned to her residence, looking utterly haggard.

By that time, Li Qiang was still waiting there for her.

Seeing Li Qiang still standing there waiting, Lu Hui froze for a second before asking in confusion, "Why are you still here?"

"I..." Li Qiang looked at the haggard Lu Hui and managed a strained smile. He murmured, "You didn't eat before you left. I was afraid you'd be hungry."