Chapter 7: Fortunately, It Was a Near Miss...

Inside the car, neither Gu Yao nor Lu Zheng spoke.

Gu Yao had not returned to Ningcheng for a long time and was no longer familiar with many parts of the city. When Lu Zheng pulled the car over in front of a wonton shop located below a residential building, she felt a bit puzzled. Seeing Lu Zheng unbuckle his seatbelt, she could finally no longer hold back:

"Is the vehicle management office here?"

Lu Zheng’s hand paused, and he turned to look at Gu Yao. Amused by her line of reasoning, he couldn't help but chuckle. The corners of his lips curled slightly, and his refined brows relaxed, softening his sharp features. His tone was patient:

"No."

As he spoke, he reached toward Gu Yao’s side. Seeing this, Gu Yao immediately tensed up, dodging instinctively. Seeing her reaction, Lu Zheng’s hand stopped. The smile on his face froze, and he looked up at Gu Yao. However, he soon lowered his gaze; though his expression had soured, he continued to reach for her seatbelt buckle.

The belt clicked open. Gu Yao felt a wave of embarrassment.

Lu Zheng opened the car door and stepped out, his tone colder than before: "Eat breakfast first. We'll go after."

Gu Yao was stunned. On the other side, Lu Zheng had already exited the vehicle. The man took long strides, circling to her side in a few steps. He opened her door and stood there, looking at her in a way that brooked no refusal.

Still feeling guilty for her earlier misunderstanding, Gu Yao had no choice but to get out. She stood by the car, looking up at the small storefront of the wonton shop, then shifted her gaze to the man's straight back. The young master of the Lu family, the most prestigious of all the elite families in Ningcheng, was actually here to eat at such a roadside breakfast joint. His bespoke handmade suit, with its intricate stitching visible to the naked eye, was clearly of immense value. Yet, here he was, standing in the cramped, oily shop, letting the fumes cling to him. At this moment, Lu Zheng seemed completely at odds with his surroundings.

The shop owner was a kind, middle-aged man, thin and tall. He looked somewhat familiar, and he seemed quite close to Lu Zheng. Upon seeing Lu Zheng enter, he greeted him warmly:

"Hey, little Lu, you're here! The usual?"

He only noticed Gu Yao behind Lu Zheng after he finished speaking. He was about to greet her when his eyes paused. Seeming to recall something, he pointed at her:

"Are you... that young girl who used to come here often back in high school?"

A flash of inspiration crossed Gu Yao’s mind, and she vaguely remembered something, though it remained unclear. She looked at Lu Zheng, then at the owner, and couldn't help but ask:

"You know me?"

To her surprise, the owner laughed heartily: "Haha! You don't remember me? I used to run a wonton stall outside the side gate of Hongzhi High School. I opened this shop later!"

Listening to this, Gu Yao hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, a chubby figure flashed through her mind, and she felt a pleasant surprise: "Uncle, it's you! You opened a shop?"

Seeing that Gu Yao had recognized him, the owner beamed: "That’s right! I had surgery a couple of years ago and lost over a hundred pounds, which is why you didn't recognize me."

Gu Yao realized. The owner grew somewhat sentimental: "My, how the years have flown. You were the one who brought little Lu to my stall back then!"

"Come to think of it, you scared the life out of me the first time you came. Little Lu was covered in blood, and when I looked, the poor boy had such a deep gash on his arm..."

Hearing this, the surprise in Gu Yao’s eyes suddenly stiffened. She remembered that incident, too. Back in high school, Lu Zheng was a prominent figure in the school. But under the spotlight, there were always discordant voices. Chen Zixu, a young master from the Chen family in the next class, was constantly at odds with Lu Zheng. That day, during the school’s inter-class basketball tournament, Chen Zixu had lost to Lu Zheng and was already in a foul mood.

It just so happened that Gu Yao had bad luck; while heading downstairs after school, she accidentally bumped into him. Chen Zixu knew that Gu Yao was the little follower who always trailed behind Lu Zheng and was highly valued by him. Bearing a grudge against the person through their association, he shoved Gu Yao. She lost her footing and tumbled down two steps.

Lu Zheng happened to witness this. Fueled by youthful impulse, he charged over alone and fought all three of Chen Zixu’s cohorts. Of course, he didn't come out unscathed; his elbow was badly gashed by the steps, which scared Gu Yao into tears. In the end, it was Lu Zheng who was injured, and it was also Lu Zheng who spent his time comforting her.

At that time, Gu Yao felt that she had almost fallen in love with him. Fortunately, it was only "almost"...

Her thoughts returned to the present. The owner was smiling, asking what she wanted to eat. With her mind still in turmoil, Gu Yao absentmindedly ordered a bowl of wontons. The owner nodded with a chuckle and turned into the kitchen. Lu Zheng had already sat at a nearby table, using a tissue to wipe a surface that was already clean.

Gu Yao watched him, suddenly feeling that she couldn't see through him at all. A wonton stall from outside their school—even after it moved, he, a wealthy young master, still insisted on coming to eat here. This behavior was completely at odds with the arrogance in his tone when he spoke to her earlier.

Two bowls of wontons were served quickly. They were steaming hot, with thin slices of fresh cilantro and a few dried shrimp floating in the clear broth. It smelled delicious. The taste was exactly the same as it had been in high school; nothing had changed.

Both of them ate in silence. The owner, having finished his tasks, sat on a chair by the door, slowly peeling garlic while a twenty-year-old Spring Festival Gala sketch played on his phone, filling the room with noise. For a moment, the atmosphere seemed almost harmonious.

That was until the vibration of a phone shattered the peace. Lu Zheng glanced at his screen; it was a call from his mother, Qin Keyun. He pressed the answer button, and faint voices spilled from the receiver.

Gu Yao was still eating. She didn't intentionally eavesdrop on Lu Zheng’s conversation, but she inadvertently caught a few sensitive words leaking from the phone:

"Liu family... Liu Yuan... likes... age... try it out..."

Gu Yao’s delicate brows twitched. Liu Yuan—the daughter of the Liu family, the one who had liked Lu Zheng since high school. Back then, rumors were everywhere that Liu Yuan was pursuing him. At the time, the Lu and Liu families had just begun collaborating, so for a while, Lu Zheng and Liu Yuan frequently crossed paths at various family banquets, and they gradually grew familiar with one another. Aside from Gu Yao, Liu Yuan had become the second girl in school who could hold a conversation with him.

It seemed that after all these years, Liu Yuan’s persistence had finally moved the Lu family—and perhaps, it had moved Lu Zheng as well...

Suddenly, she lost her appetite. Gu Yao looked at the four remaining wontons in her bowl, stirred them with her spoon, took a sip of the broth, and set the spoon down. Her actions caught the attention of the man across from her.

He looked straight at her with his dark eyes, his gaze fixed on her face, while he replied to Qin Keyun:

"Mom, I don't like her. Don't play matchmaker; you're just adding to the chaos and wasting her time."

"I have things to do. I'm hanging up."

With that, Lu Zheng cut the call. His gaze never left Gu Yao’s face. However, to his disappointment, there was no significant change in her expression after he finished speaking.