Chapter Five: Regret is the most incurable ailment of the heart in this world.

Out of consideration for Shu Nuan’s roommate, Gu Yao did not stay.

She used makeup remover to cleanse Shu Nuan’s face, asked the young roommate to keep an eye on her, and left her own phone number before stepping out of the room.

Once outside, she saw that only Lu Zheng remained in the hallway.

Noticing the movement at the door, Lu Zheng turned his head. Seeing Gu Yao emerge, he reached out to press the elevator’s "down" button.

The two stepped into the elevator, and the floor indicator began to descend slowly.

In the silence, Lu Zheng suddenly spoke:

"I’ll have someone get a new car for you tomorrow as compensation. You can transfer the title of your old one to me."

Gu Yao was stunned for a moment before she understood what he meant.

Since it was compensation, she felt no psychological burden; after all, the car she had damaged had only been on the road for its first day.

"Alright."

Gu Yao nodded in agreement.

No sooner had she finished speaking than a phone with a QR code already pulled up was held out in front of her:

"Add me on WeChat. It’ll be easier to notify you about the paperwork."

Gu Yao’s gaze paused on the phone!

She stared for two seconds before reluctantly taking out her own phone.

Scan.

Add.

The friend request was accepted quickly. She only caught a fleeting glimpse of his profile picture—it seemed to be a seaside landscape.

She didn't pay it any mind and let her phone screen go dark, waiting for the elevator to reach the ground floor.

Lu Zheng stood behind her, watching the woman’s straight back.

She was wearing a long, black dress with wide straps today. The material was high-quality, and every seam perfectly outlined the curves of her body.

With her slender waist, shapely hips, narrow shoulders, and full chest, dark hair cascading over her delicate neck, the black fabric made her skin appear dazzlingly fair.

The elevator doors opened, and a gust of cool wind blew in, cooling the restless heat in Lu Zheng’s chest.

The two walked out of the apartment building one after the other.

Gu Yao immediately spotted the black Maybach parked quietly outside. Ming Lang was not there.

The man behind her stepped forward, his low voice sounding above her:

"Assistant Ming’s shift has ended. I’ll drive you."

Gu Yao stopped in her tracks. The night breeze brought with it a hint of cedarwood scent from the man.

She refused:

"No need, thank you, Mr. Lu. We aren't going in the same direction. I’ll hail a cab myself."

The person beside her did not respond.

Gu Yao stepped down the final stair and heard the "click" of a lighter being pressed behind her. A breeze blew past, and the scent of nicotine drifted faintly toward her.

She did not look back and did not stop walking.

Soon, heavy footsteps sounded behind her once more, accompanied by the lingering smell of nicotine.

Lu Zheng’s voice became slightly muffled, but his words reached her ears with perfect clarity:

"Yao Yao... I am sorry about what happened when we were younger. Those words... they weren't what I truly meant."

Gu Yao’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt!

The man’s words were so sudden that she had to slowly, carefully ruminate over them in her mind.

Yet, once she finished and understood what he meant, an uncontrollable bitterness rose in her chest!

Regret is the most difficult ailment in the world to cure.

Gu Yao had always regretted getting too close to Lu Zheng back then.

Lu Zheng was not at fault.

Whether it was Lu Zheng, or those classmates and so-called friends, their disdain and contempt for her were, in truth, her own fault for being too naive and too presumptuous.

Gu Yao quickly pulled herself together. She quietly took a breath and continued walking.

With every step, her voice remained soft:

"It doesn’t matter. I was ignorant back then, too. Mr. Lu, there is no need to dwell on it for all these years."

The woman’s voice was both gentle and cold, like a wild goose leaving no trace; it brushed against Lu Zheng’s heart but left nothing behind.

His jaw tightened. A second later, the cigarette fell to the ground, and he extinguished it with his heel.

His polished black leather shoes took large strides, and he reached out to pull the cold-backed woman to a stop.

"Gu Yao."

Held back by Lu Zheng, Gu Yao turned around, looking at him with calm eyes.

Meeting that gaze, which lacked even a ripple of emotion, Lu Zheng suddenly felt panicked.

It was a panic even greater than when he had learned she was leaving and realized he couldn't stop her.

He tightened his grip on Gu Yao’s arm, his rugged features showing a vulnerability that contradicted his assertive nature:

"Just call me Lu Zheng. 'Mr. Lu' sounds too distant. If Aunt Han hears it, she will worry."

After saying this, he kept his eyes fixed on Gu Yao’s face, hiding his nervousness deep within his dark pupils.

Gu Yao frowned slightly.

She knew that what Lu Zheng said made sense.

Although Han Yuncai knew that Gu Yao had once cried bitterly because of Lu Zheng years ago—and had even followed her to Haicheng because of it—she did not know the specifics of what had happened between them.

In the years that followed, every time Lu Zheng visited the elderly woman in Haicheng, Gu Yao was either at school or away traveling; the two rarely crossed paths.

Han Yuncai had never witnessed Gu Yao’s coldness toward Lu Zheng and assumed they had long since moved past those unpleasantries.

Even if they were a bit like strangers, they shouldn't be completely estranged.

Furthermore, since she was an employee of the Lu family, if she or others discovered that Gu Yao, the nanny’s daughter, was still holding onto grudges against her employer, it would indeed be detrimental to Han Yuncai’s work.

Thinking of this, Gu Yao pursed her lips.

It was just a form of address; it didn't really matter.

But she didn't quite understand why Lu Zheng was always fixated on how she addressed him.

Was it to highlight his magnanimity as a person of higher status toward an ordinary person like her?

Did calling him by his name make things seem more intimate?

"I understand."

Gu Yao pulled her arm away from his grip and took a step back, her demeanor distant:

"I will be mindful of it in the future. Goodbye."

With that, she turned and headed straight toward the side gate of the residential complex without looking back.

Lu Zheng stood behind her, making no attempt to follow.

He knew that Gu Yao had always possessed her own pride.

That was why she could not tolerate even the slightest bit of condescension from others.

And he, of all people, had said those things at the very time she was living most cautiously due to her circumstances.

In the end, it was he who had driven her away.

The evening breeze blew gently, yet Lu Zheng felt a chill that cut to the bone.

But it was fine.

She had left him behind for so many years; he was used to it.

Besides, it was his own doing.

He deserved it!

The following two days were relatively peaceful for Gu Yao.

On the weekend, she and Chen Pingan went to look at the three shop locations they had shortlisted.

In the end, they settled on a three-story shop not far from the Ningcheng Small Commodity Wholesale City.

The shop had three floors, totaling over four hundred square meters. The rent was over four hundred thousand a year, and Gu Yao provided two-thirds of the capital.

During her years in university and graduate school, Gu Yao hadn't spent all her time studying.

She had started a food blog, and over the years, as her fan base grew, the various advertisements she took on allowed her to save up a significant amount of startup capital.

In addition to that, there were school scholarships and prize money from photography competitions.

Although the current Gu Yao wasn't a multi-millionaire, she was certainly a millionaire.

This was the source of the confidence that allowed her to start her own business.

Once the lease was signed, Gu Yao felt a brief moment of relief, but the very next day, the pressure returned.

The rent was already paid; every day of delay was a waste of money.

Renovations, stocking goods, expanding the market, and applying for business licenses—every single task could not be delayed!