Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 618: Graduation

Qu Jing sought out Zhou Yuwen primarily to discuss the company's future development strategy. However, Zhou Yuwen merely skimmed through the proposal. Seeing no glaring issues, he tossed it right back to her and declared, "Don't ask me about this kind of thing. You can decide for yourself."Naturally, Qu Jing refused to make the decision herself. After a year of honing her skills abroad, her entire aura had undergone a massive transformation. She truly gave off the vibe of a strong woman devoted to her career. Paired with a fitted blazer and a miniskirt, her beautiful legs, which rivaled Zheng Yanyan's, were clad in black stockings. Stepping into the office in a pair of red-soled high heels, she looked mature and capable, despite barely being in her early twenties.

Yet, in front of Zhou Yuwen, she maintained an obediently submissive demeanor. "How could I dare make the decision myself?" she murmured softly. "When Master is away, Jingjing helps guard Master's career. But now that Master is here, Jingjing must obediently listen to everything Master says."

With those words, Qu Jing leaned forward from behind, draping herself over Zhou Yuwen's back.

Zhou Yuwen noted that there was actually little guidance he could offer regarding the online culture sector. It was an emerging industry, and as long as one stood at the forefront of a trend, even a pig could take flight.

Just look at the top streamers in their company. How many of them were genuinely educated?

They merely stumbled right into the forefront of a trend.

As for the company's management, as long as they grasped the crucial points and didn't go overboard, everything would be fine.

The online culture industry was still in a phase of savage, unchecked growth, making it easy to earn money even while lying down. Before 2015, if you casually wandered through some alleys, you might just stumble upon a few hidden beauties comparable to famous celebrities like Lin Zhiling. However, after 2015, that became absolutely impossible. With the rise of online culture, anyone with decent looks could just act cute and sweet in front of a camera and easily make twenty to thirty thousand yuan a month. Those with good luck could seamlessly undergo a transformation into massive top-tier streamers without any issues.

When the live streaming industry first took off, Zhou Yuwen's cultural media company held the absolute top position. Now, however, the number of live streaming companies was multiplying rapidly. Due to lax regulations, numerous new platforms and third-rate cultural media companies had suddenly cropped up overnight.

These newcomers operated in a gray area. It wasn't entirely criminal, but by pushing the boundaries with slightly explicit content, they were able to make a fortune.

Zhou Yuwen didn't care about this kind of money. But as the head of the cultural media company, Qu Jing certainly couldn't just sit idly by. She pointed out that while these borderline operations couldn't be brought out into the open, their combined profits were almost surpassing their own company.

Zhou Yuwen firmly stated that they couldn't just chase after every single penny of profit.

"You have to leave some scraps for others to eat," he added.

Hearing this, Qu Jing felt a bit disheartened, knowing full well how incredibly lucrative the gray market truly was.

Zhou Yuwen sighed and offered a compromise. "If you really want to pursue it, you can register a new company. But don't push it too far. Showing some thighs during regular broadcasts is the absolute limit. You absolutely must not touch anything beyond that."

Qu Jing's eyes lit up immediately. "Mhm! Got it! Sigh, it's not actually that I insist on fighting others for the scraps. It's just that making money is too fast for them. Our subordinate streamers work themselves to the bone for just a few hundred a day, while those people bring in tens of thousands daily. Master, we are a top-tier company after all. I refuse to accept being outdone like this."

Zhou Yuwen chuckled upon hearing her complaint, assuring her that companies like those were merely chasing quick cash.

"It won't last long," he remarked.

Despite his words, Zhou Yuwen wasn't opposed to Qu Jing setting up a subsidiary. The industry was experiencing savage growth anyway. They could secure the profits first, and as for those rule-breaking streamers, they could simply be banned without a second thought later down the line.

He stayed in Qu Jing's office for three hours, discussing plans to privately launch a few more platforms where the content restrictions could be relaxed just a little bit more.

Zhou Yuwen provided the core concepts, leaving the concrete implementation entirely in Qu Jing's capable hands.

Considering that the live streaming company's operations were expanding rapidly, Zhou Yuwen worried that Qu Jing wouldn't be able to handle it all alone. He asked if she needed him to find someone to help her out.

Qu Jing replied that she was managing fine for now, as she had Han Qian assisting her.

Nodding in approval, Zhou Yuwen said, "It's good that you have help. Invite Han Qian over to the house for dinner tonight."

"Okay," she agreed.

If there was one thing Zhou Yuwen's live streaming company had in abundance, it was gorgeous girls. Ninety percent of those beautiful girls dreamed of climbing into his bed, but Zhou Yuwen strove to maintain his moral integrity and rarely interacted with female streamers of that sort.

Of course, rarely interacting didn't mean never interacting at all.

For someone like Han Qian, a streamer with over ten million followers whom Zhou Yuwen had single-handedly elevated and kept relatively sheltered, it was practically a given that he would occasionally bestow his favor upon her.

After all, Zhou Yuwen was a massive boss now.

As he stepped out of Qu Jing's office, he barely took two steps before someone called out to stop him.

"Uh, Boss?"

Zhou Yuwen turned around and saw that it was Uu. Feeling somewhat curious, he asked, "Is there something you need?"

Uu was wearing a tight T-shirt that perfectly accentuated her figure. Paired with a pleated skirt, her thighs were exposed, while her calves were snugly wrapped in white socks.

Wearing an embarrassed expression, Uu explained, "Um, Boss, you see, my boyfriend has a somewhat eccentric personality. What he said earlier might have offended you, so I want to apologize on his behalf."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but smile faintly. "What is there to apologize for? He wasn't wrong, and I still rely on him for making money."

"No, no, no, Boss. He and I are just minor pawns under your command. Without you, we are absolutely nothing," she insisted.

Uu definitely knew how to navigate social dynamics. She blinked her large eyes, looking incredibly pitiful and helpless.

Unfortunately for her, Zhou Yuwen had zero interest in girls like this. He simply smiled and advised her not to carry any psychological burden, urging her to just focus on doing a good job with her streams.

Uu put on a deeply moved expression and praised, "Boss, you're such a good person."

"Boss, let's add each other's contact information. I noticed you sharing a lot of valuable insights with the other streamers just now. If there's anything I don't understand, I can ask you," Uu suggested, immediately raising her phone.

This Uu clearly had ulterior motives. Zhou Yuwen politely declined, stating that his private contact details were generally only known to his family members. He added that if she wanted to learn more, the company's internal website had plenty of manuals available.

"Let's leave it at that," he concluded.

With a dismissive wave, Zhou Yuwen walked away. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he strongly suspected that Uu had other designs on him. Not a single person in the live streaming business was simple.

He didn't add her contact information.

Meanwhile, Uu stared blankly at Zhou Yuwen's retreating back, looking completely crestfallen.

This brief encounter ended just like that, but somehow, word of it reached Xiao Lu's ears. Xiao Lu already lacked a sense of security because of Zhou Yuwen's handsome appearance, and this news only fueled his internal anxiety.

Coincidentally, another platform was attempting to poach Xiao Lu and promised they would cover his breach of contract penalty. Thrilled by such an effortless deal, Xiao Lu immediately grabbed his girlfriend and jumped ship.

Uu was naturally reluctant to go through all that trouble. She argued that their current company was the biggest industry leader, questioning why they absolutely had to leave.

In response, Xiao Lu retorted bluntly, "What's the matter? You're just after him because he's handsome, right?"

That single sentence rendered Uu completely speechless.

Ultimately, Uu followed Xiao Lu to the new platform, costing the other side a massive sum just to pay off the breach of contract penalty.

Xiao Lu was considered a major streamer, so his sudden departure naturally had an impact on the company. More than anything, it left Qu Jing absolutely furious.

Zhou Yuwen, however, reacted indifferently. He simply told her to ignore the situation and let him go.

"A blessing in disguise is hard to predict, is it not?" he mused.

Two months after Zhou Yuwen returned to the country, Zheng Yanyan hopped on an airplane and flew straight back to find him. Shortly after, Jiang Xinyi returned as well.

Unfortunately, they came back a step too late.

Because during those two months, Tao Tian had gotten pregnant.

When the news broke, both Zheng Yanyan and Jiang Xinyi were furious.

On what grounds was this fair?

One after another, everyone else was getting pregnant, yet there was never a turn for them, right?

Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen took an open-minded approach. He told them that if they wanted to get pregnant, they would just have to rely on their own individual capabilities.

Since Tao Tian was pregnant, Zhou Yuwen conveniently spent all his free time intimately entangled with Zheng Yanyan and Jiang Xinyi.

At first, Jiang Xinyi struggled psychologically with the idea of sharing the intimate moments simultaneously alongside Zheng Yanyan.

However, watching Zheng Yanyan take such aggressive initiative slowly wore down her resistance.

Before long, Jiang Xinyi cast all her remaining reservations aside.

Eventually, the two of them became pregnant one after the other.

By the time graduation season rolled around in May 2016, Zheng Yanyan's belly had grown noticeably rounder, making her graduation gown quite difficult to wear.

Senior year had flown by in the blink of an eye; it was merely a short span of a single year.

Yet, the classmates had undergone massive transformations. Some remained stuck in place, still completely feeling like clueless students. Others, however, had used that single year to mature completely into full-fledged adults.

Seeing Zheng Yanyan with a prominent baby bump, her classmates stared in absolute shock. "Good heavens, Yan Yan, how are you pregnant?!"

"What's the big deal? Su Qing has already given birth!" Zheng Yanyan nonchalantly replied.

"Huh? Su Qing gave birth? When did that happen? Isn't she overseas?"

When Zhou Yuwen stepped into his cohort's classroom once more, despite having already lived through this life once before, he found himself overwhelmed by a flood of deep emotion and nostalgia.

The sun shone brightly that day. Outside the window, the sycamore tree was lush and heavy with foliage. Its branches desperately stretched outward, reaching all the way to the sill before reluctantly pressing and deforming against the glass pane.

In the span of a year, Li Qiang hadn't changed in the slightest. Wearing a suit that was one size too large, he maintained a carefree, slouching posture while bragging that he had started a business and was now a boss.

Their cohort had only four girls in total.

Lin Xue had successfully become a postgraduate student, and Ma Tian had gotten married.

Li Jing felt completely confused, having absolutely no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

Noticing that only three girls had shown up, Li Qiang curiously asked why Liu Yue wasn't there.

At this, Li Jing suddenly grew animated. "Do you not know?"

"Know what?"

Li Jing revealed that Teacher You had resigned.

"He got together with Liu Yue, and the two of them moved back to his hometown in Northern Anhui together."

"Holy crap! Are you serious?!"

The news dropped like an unexpected bomb, leaving every student in the cohort staring in absolute shock.

Li Qiang changed the subject curiously. "Hey! Where is our cohort's Jingcheng Native? Why isn't he here yet!"

Zhao Yang pointed out the window and exclaimed, "He's right there!"

Outside, on the asphalt road shaded by the sycamore trees, a white BMW M4 slowly pulled up and parked by the curb.

They saw that the driver was an incredibly stylish-looking girl wearing sunglasses.

And sitting in the passenger seat was none other than Chang Hao.

"As expected of our Brother Hao, he actually managed to hook a 'fair, rich, and beautiful' catch!" Zhao Yang marveled.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Naturally unwilling to believe it, Li Qiang shoved Zhao Yang aside, insisting on getting a clearer look.

Sure enough, the person who stepped out of the flashy car was indeed Chang Hao.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" For some baffling reason, Li Qiang felt as utterly disgusted as if he had just swallowed a fly. No matter how badass Zhou Yuwen became, he never felt even a flicker of jealousy.

But what he simply couldn't understand was, how did Chang Hao suddenly become so badass too?