Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 586: The Understanding Aunt Pan

When Liu Jing referred to Zhou Yuwen as her son-in-law, Pan Min's hand stiffened slightly as she poured the tea. However, she quickly recovered, responding with a calm, soft sound of acknowledgment.She smiled at Liu Jing. "I am Yuwen's Auntie. I came to Jinling to look for a job."

"How old are you, looking for a job now?"

Although Pan Min looked youthful, it was still evident that she was in her late thirties. Moreover, since she introduced herself as Zhou Yuwen's Auntie, Liu Jing felt rather perplexed. What kind of work could she possibly find at her age? Was it nothing more than helping out around the house, serving tea and water?

Hearing this, Pan Min simply nodded. She agreed that Liu Jing was right, adding that thanks to Yuwen's help, she was currently just helping out casually at his company.

Liu Jing nodded, showing her understanding.

When it came down to it, that boy Yuwen was truly capable. At such a young age, he had already built up such an impressive estate.

"Say, you are Yuwen's Auntie, are you his maternal aunt or...?" Liu Jing picked up her teacup, taking a delicate sip as she asked curiously.

Liu Jing felt quite relaxed in Zhou Yuwen's home. Her entire outfit radiated wealth and luxury, making it obvious at a glance that she was a rich, leisurely matriarch of a prominent family.

In contrast, Pan Min's attire was much more business-oriented. Chuckling at Liu Jing's question, she smoothed down her white hip-hugging skirt and sat on the sofa, explaining that they were not blood relatives.

"We just met by chance, Older Sister."

Pan Min did not know how exactly to address Liu Jing, so she opted for "Older Sister". She then curiously asked why Liu Jing called herself Zhou Yuwen's mother-in-law, mentioning that she had been in Jinling for quite a while now but had never seen Yuwen bring up anything about a girlfriend.

At Pan Min's words, Liu Jing's face flushed with slight embarrassment. Her status as a mother-in-law existed in name only; Jiang Xinyi and Zhou Yuwen had been broken up for who knew how long.

Naturally, Liu Jing was not about to confess all of this to Pan Min. She merely brushed it off, "You haven't been here long, so it's normal that you don't know."

"My daughter and Yuwen started dating two years ago. When Yuwen first bought this villa, my daughter was the one who handled the renovations. Here, let me show you a photo of them together."

Normally, Liu Jing would never be this talkative and accommodating.

But the guiltier she felt, the more desperate she was to prove herself.

She had photos of Jiang Xinyi and Zhou Yuwen together, which could not possibly be faked.

After looking at the pictures, Pan Min nodded continuously, agreeing that it indeed looked real.

"This must be your daughter. She looks absolutely beautiful."

Hearing Pan Min's generous praise, Liu Jing felt a surge of joy in her heart.

Observing Liu Jing's demeanor, Pan Min remarked, "Looking at how you are dressing up, I can tell you are no ordinary person. Are you a Jinling City local?"

Pan Min possessed her fair share of worldly experience and quickly struck up a lively conversation with Liu Jing. Since Liu Jing had nothing else to do but kill time—and considering Pan Min claimed to be Zhou Yuwen's Auntie, making their exact relationship ambiguous—being a bit friendly was definitely the right move.

She was still hoping that Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi could rekindle their old romance. If she could get Pan Min to help from the inside, things might go much smoother.

Thus, Liu Jing enthusiastically shared stories about Zhou Yuwen and Jiang Xinyi with Pan Min, taking the opportunity to casually mention her own family background, which ranked quite high in the entire Jinling City.

Pan Min sat there listening with a pleasant smile, though the more she heard, the more a profound bitterness welled up in her heart.

They chatted for an unknown amount of time, continuing right until Zhou Yuwen got off work and returned home. Opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of two beautiful, mature women sitting on the sofa, happily chatting away.

To be honest, seeing this scene gave Zhou Yuwen quite a start.

Liu Jing, on the other hand, was delighted to see Zhou Yuwen return. She hurriedly went to greet him, a bright smile on her face. "Yuwen, you are back?"

Zhou Yuwen first shot a glance at Pan Min, who followed behind with a placid expression, before looking at Liu Jing in utter confusion. "Aunt Jing, what brings you here?"

Liu Jing replied, "Didn't I send you a message on WeChat?"

"A friend gifted me some hairy crabs. Since it's just Xinyi and me at home, we couldn't possibly finish them all, so I brought some over for you."

Only then did Zhou Yuwen check his WeChat messages. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Oh, my apologies. I haven't been using WeChat much lately, so I didn't see it."

"Looking at the time, you sent this around two in the afternoon. You have been waiting here for three hours." As Zhou Yuwen said this, he was subtly probing the situation. He kept observing Pan Min from the corner of his eye, but her expression remained completely tranquil from start to finish.

Liu Jing looked genuinely surprised. "Has it been three hours already? I didn't feel it at all. Your Aunt Pan and I were having such a lovely time chatting that I completely lost track of time."

As she spoke, Liu Jing affectionately pulled on Pan Min's arm.

Meanwhile, Pan Min simply maintained her polite smile.

"You two have already met?" Zhou Yuwen asked.

"Yes, we've acquainted ourselves. Yuwen, I originally thought you might be struggling living as one person, and I even considered asking you to move in with us. But seeing that your Aunt Pan is here to take care of you, I can finally rest easy," Liu Jing declared.

Throughout the entire exchange, Liu Jing did almost all the talking. Zhou Yuwen barely spoke, and Pan Min did not utter a single word.

After a few more brief exchanges, Liu Jing realized she really had stayed at Zhou Yuwen's place for quite a while. Noticing it was almost six o'clock, she mentioned that she had a dinner gathering to attend shortly.

She reminded them to steam the hairy crabs quickly while they were still fresh.

"Yuwen, you previously promised to come over to my house for a meal, but you never showed up. You really need to give me a specific date this time," Liu Jing insisted.

Zhou Yuwen let out an "oh" as if he had just remembered, explaining that he had been entirely too busy lately and simply could not find the time.

"I've just finished up with my recent tasks, Aunt Jing. I will take some time to visit your home soon."

"Then you'd better make it quick," Liu Jing urged.

"Our Xinyi is about to graduate as a postgraduate student."

"That fast?"

Thinking about it, Zhou Yuwen realized it did seem fast. When he was in his freshman year, Jiang Xinyi was in her first year of graduate school. Now, he was almost finishing his sophomore year.

Liu Jing wrapped things up, leaving Zhou Yuwen with a few final instructions before finally departing.

Once Liu Jing left, only Zhou Yuwen and Pan Min remained in the villa. The atmosphere instantly turned dead quiet, and Zhou Yuwen felt a wave of guilty apprehension wash over him.

Ultimately, it was Pan Min who broke the silence, acting as if absolutely nothing had happened. She inspected the hairy crabs and noted, "These crabs look incredibly fresh."

"Are these authentic hairy crabs?"

Pan Min asked with a smile, then inquired if Zhou Yuwen would like to have them for dinner tonight.

Zhou Yuwen agreed, saying that sounded fine.

With that, Pan Min carried the crabs toward the kitchen. Pausing to undo her pinned-up hair and tie it back into a practical ponytail, she added, "Oh right, I need to go change my clothes first."

"I originally planned to visit the company this afternoon, but Older Sister Jing showed up so suddenly that I never got the chance."

Pan Min spoke with gentle warmth.

"Aunt Pan,"

Zhou Yuwen called out her name.

"Hmm?"

Pan Min turned around, looking at him with genuine curiosity.

Zhou Yuwen hesitated, unable to bring himself to voice his probing questions. "It's nothing," he finally muttered.

Pan Min gave a soft smile, turning gracefully to head upstairs.

Upstairs, she changed into a light green base sweater paired with white, tight-fitting jeans, a combination that perfectly accentuated her tall and slender figure.

Having slipped into these casual home clothes, she looked significantly more comfortable. She bustled about the kitchen, preparing to cook the crabs for Zhou Yuwen.

It was already six o'clock in the evening. The setting sun outside cast a golden glow through the window, illuminating Pan Min as she stood there chopping scallions, ginger, and garlic. Her figure seemed bathed in an elegant interplay of light and shadow.

She continued chopping the ingredients with calm precision.

Zhou Yuwen wrestled with himself for a long time before he finally broke down and asked, "Aunt Pan, what exactly did Auntie Liu Jing talk to you about earlier?"

Pan Min kept her rhythm steady on the cutting board. Hearing his question, she simply smiled. "Oh, nothing much."

"Just that she is your future mother-in-law."

A jolt went through Zhou Yuwen, and he quickly pleaded, "Aunt Pan, please listen to me."

"I know."

Before Zhou Yuwen could even finish, Pan Min cut him off directly.

"?" Zhou Yuwen stared in confusion, only to hear Pan Min continue, "Actually, I had heard about this girl Jiang Xinyi quite early on."

"You knew?" Zhou Yuwen was taken aback.

Pan Min nodded. "Of course I did."

"Wasn't she the reason Su Qing went abroad back then?" Pan Min asked softly.

A heavy wave of awkwardness washed over Zhou Yuwen, forcing him to lower his head.

He had no idea how to explain it. From Pan Min's perspective, Zhou Yuwen was supposed to have been dating her daughter since his freshman year. Now, a wild Jiang Xinyi had suddenly entered the picture.

It truly was an impossible situation to clarify.

Just as Zhou Yuwen was frantically trying to figure out how to steer the topic back to safety, Pan Min suddenly let out a sharp gasp by the cutting board.

Zhou Yuwen immediately rushed over to her side.

"What happened?"

It turned out Pan Min had accidentally nicked her finger. A small drop of crimson blood seeped from her index finger. Seeing this, Zhou Yuwen grew anxious and instinctively grasped her hand.

Driven by panic, he couldn't help but chide her, "How could you be so careless?"

Because of this tiny wound, the two of them were suddenly standing incredibly close.

Looking at Zhou Yuwen's intensely worried expression, Pan Min found it somewhat amusing. She gave a light chuckle and assured him she was fine.

"It's just a tiny scratch. Step back a bit, let me get these crabs in the pot first."

"Your hand is bleeding, forget about the crabs!" Zhou Yuwen insisted.

"We need to treat this immediately, or it might get infected."

He spoke firmly to Pan Min.

Pan Min kept insisting that such a minor injury was no big deal, but Zhou Yuwen refused to listen to reason. Left with no choice, she let him drag her over to the sofa and sit her down.

Zhou Yuwen then hurried off to find the first-aid kit.

Watching him rummage through the cabinets like a man on a mission, Pan Min could not suppress an amused smile.

"Found it."

Zhou Yuwen's method of treating the wound was relatively professional, mainly because he was exceptionally meticulous. He gently dabbed iodophor onto Pan Min's finger bit by bit before carefully applying the ointment. Looking at the young man who was taking care of her so earnestly, Pan Min found the entire situation fascinatingly endearing.

It had been a very long time since anyone had pampered her like a little girl.

So, Pan Min quietly told him, "Yuwen, did you know? Even if I didn't understand the full story behind this Jiang Xinyi situation, I still wouldn't blame you."

"?"

Zhou Yuwen snapped his head up in astonishment, only to see Pan Min's face just inches away. Her eyes were brimming with pure tenderness as she whispered, "A young man as excellent as you..."

"Truthfully, our Qingqing is not worthy of you."

"Aunt Pan, please, you must never say that."

Before Zhou Yuwen could finish, Pan Min shook her head. She was significantly older and possessed a clear understanding of her own daughter's personality. Meanwhile, her interactions with Zhou Yuwen—from his initial help with buying a house and a car, all the way to arranging her current job—spoke volumes.

Since arriving in Jinling, Pan Min had come to understand Zhou Yuwen even better.

This was especially true after joining the planning company.

Su Qing frequently boasted that she had founded this planning company single-handedly.

But no one knows a daughter better than her mother. Didn't she know exactly what Su Qing was truly capable of?

There was only one logical conclusion: Zhou Yuwen was the one pulling all the strings.

The only reason Su Qing still strutted around with such boundless confidence was because Zhou Yuwen had been endlessly indulging her.

Having spent so much time at the company, was it possible that Pan Min hadn't heard a single whisper of gossip?

But what did it matter even if she had? It didn't change reality.

Pan Min softly assured Zhou Yuwen, "Auntie believes you are a good child. Actually, my request is quite simple."

"I just hope you won't let our Qingqing down, alright?"

Pan Min asked with a gentle tone.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen fell into a heavy silence. Gazing at the woman bathed in the rosy light of the setting sun, the image of his mother-in-law from his previous life seamlessly overlapped with the woman sitting before him now.

Inexplicably, an overwhelming wave of nostalgia for Pan Min washed over him.

Because in his previous life, Pan Min had treated him incredibly well, doting on him as if he were her own flesh and blood.

That was precisely why Zhou Yuwen had been so willing to continuously accommodate Su Qing.

And now, across two lifetimes...

Pan Min was still the exact same Pan Min. She remained ever so gentle, always possessing the remarkable ability to stay rational before passing any judgment.

"Aunt Pan."

Overcome with emotion, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but lean forward and firmly embraced Pan Min.

Pan Min stiffened in surprise for a brief second.

But looking down at the young man who had thrown himself into her arms, she couldn't help but smile affectionately. Gently patting his head, she chided, "Alright now, stop fooling around. We will be a laughingstock if anyone sees us."

Zhou Yuwen was genuinely deeply moved at that moment. He nodded and declared to her with absolute solemnity, "Aunt Pan, you can rest assured. In this lifetime, I will never betray you or Su Qing."

Hearing this, Pan Min smiled. "Good. Auntie believes you."

"However, I really must get back to cooking our dinner now."

"Aunt Pan, just stay seated. Let me do it."

"I am not that fragile."

"Listen to me, stay seated."

Zhou Yuwen gently pressed Pan Min back down, his tone firm and earnest.

Seeing the unwavering resolve in his eyes, Pan Min yielded with a helpless smile. "Alright then."

Truth be told, Zhou Yuwen had fully expected a meeting between Pan Min and Liu Jing to resemble a comet colliding with the earth. After all, Su Qing and Jiang Xinyi had shared massive conflicts in the past.

He never imagined that Pan Min would handle the situation with such silent, nourishing grace. Even when Liu Jing boldly declared herself his mother-in-law, Pan Min neither lost her temper nor made a scene. Instead, she smoothly pivoted, claiming to simply be one of Zhou Yuwen's aunties, and even managed to coax Liu Jing into a wonderful mood.

No matter the time or circumstance, Aunt Pan was always the one who understood Zhou Yuwen the best.

As he cooked in the kitchen, Zhou Yuwen occasionally glanced toward the sofa at Pan Min. Not yet forty, she remained radiantly beautiful. Catching him looking her way, she offered him a warm, bright smile.

Zhou Yuwen steamed a few hairy crabs and cooked a pot of rice.

That evening, they shared a meal together. Over dinner, Zhou Yuwen asked for the specific details of her conversation with Liu Jing.

Pan Min gave him a brief summary, explaining that she felt Zhou Yuwen choosing Jiang Xinyi was entirely unobjectionable. After all, her family's wealth and status were plain to see.

"The fact that you were willing to separate from Jiang Xinyi for Su Qing's sake already brings me great comfort," Pan Min declared gently.

Zhou Yuwen shook his head, stating that the situation was entirely different and that he was certainly not lacking money.

"But if I were to choose Xinyi, I would inevitably end up feeling incredibly exhausted."

"That is true," Pan Min mused thoughtfully, before offering a soft smile.