Chu Zhiye carried her luggage downstairs and looked back at the building.

He shook his head.

If he had known this would happen, he would never have moved in.

"In the end, it was greed that brought disaster."

Even so, Chu Zhi did not regret it.

We are born into this world to experience many things, good and bad, which is unavoidable.

Chu Zhi also dragged her luggage out of the residential area.

Upon arriving at the open space, I saw an elderly woman with missing teeth exercising early in the morning. She held a sword in her hand and slowly swung it, quite skillfully.

He stopped and watched for a few minutes, then slowly withdrew his gaze and leisurely left the Limin Lane community.

We took a taxi to a high-end residential area.

Apart from Limin Lane, there were no other residential communities with a lively atmosphere in the financial and business district of Shanghai, so he had no choice but to choose an upscale community.

I'm too lazy to be overly selective.

Let's just take it one day at a time.

The community security guard checked the rental agreement, then issued an access card and entered the individual's information...

After completing all the procedures, the community security guard saluted and said, "Please come in."

Thank you.

Chu Zhi then pulled her luggage into the residential area and arrived at her rented apartment.

This is an apartment of over 80 square meters, fully furnished, and ready to move in anytime.

What made Chu Zhi happy was that the house had a balcony that was neither too big nor too small, where the sunlight poured down freely.

In winter, sitting on the balcony, brewing hot tea, and basking in the sun is simply the epitome of comfort.

Chu Zhi put down his luggage and immediately began cleaning.

Although the house had already been cleaned, he has a slight obsession with cleanliness and still prefers to do these things himself as much as possible.

While cleaning, he suddenly noticed his neighbor's balcony, which resembled a rooftop garden. All sorts of flowers were vying for attention, including roses, daisies, and orchids, creating a dazzling display. Exquisite flowerpots were arranged in an orderly fashion, complementing the abundant flowers.

"My neighbor next door is quite a person of taste."

Chu Zhi smiled.

The neighbor must love flowers to have arranged their balcony like this.

... ...

Night falls and the city lights begin to twinkle.

To celebrate the move, Chu Zhi also prepared four dishes and a soup: steamed sea bass, garlic spinach, braised tofu, green pepper and preserved egg, and winter melon and pork rib soup.

He sat alone, chewing slowly and deliberately.

Suddenly, news came from Xu Man.

[Xu Man: Why did you delete me?]

[Chu Zhiye: In the foreseeable future, we probably won't cross paths, so I don't think there's any need to keep things to ourselves.]

As he studied abroad, he gradually began to reduce the number of friends around him to lessen social pressure, so he chose to delete friends he no longer saw.

That's all.

Xu Man: You're good.

The moonlight, like water, quietly spilled into the Limin Lane residential area, its soft glow seemingly finding its home, gently falling on a figure in the center of the room.

Xu Man, dressed in an elegant long dress, sat quietly with her knees drawn up to her chest, seemingly blending into the night.

Her face was exceptionally clear in the moonlight, her delicate features like those of a goddess in a classical oil painting. However, beneath this beauty lay a subtle, almost imperceptible, sense of loneliness.

Xu Man gazed at the night sky, her thoughts seemingly drifting to a very distant place.

... ...

The next day.

Chu Zhiye lived her life as usual, getting up to cook, eating, and then going to work.

Upon arriving at Founder Investment, one immediately sees Xu Man sitting at the front desk, her lips dry, as if she were about to burst open.

"Mr. Chu, this young lady is looking for you," the receptionist said.

Xu Man wanted to speak to Chu Zhi, but the latter smiled and gestured for her to follow him into the company.

The two walked into the company one after the other, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the company, leaving everyone with endless imagination until the office door closed.

"Hiss... Who is that pretty girl?"

"I don't know. I came to the company early this morning, sat at the front desk, and asked her what business she had. She only said she was looking for President Chu, and then remained silent."

"What do you think their relationship is?"

"Bao is her boyfriend. Besides, our CEO Chu is a scumbag. That girl was dumped. Look at her pitiful appearance, it's heartbreaking."

"I never imagined that our CEO Chu was a fox in a flowery coat."

"How so?"

"They're really good at it."

"Scumbag!"

A girl touched her chin and said, "Her makeup is so unique. How can she create such a pitiful look?"

Everyone around was staring at the girl, their eyes filled with speechlessness.

Is it possible that they are genuinely pitiful?

... ...

Upon entering the office, Chu Zhi poured a glass of water and handed it to Xu Man, who took it and took a small sip.

Then Chu Zhiye spoke up: "Is there something you need?"

"I..." Xu Man wanted to question Chu Zhiye about why he left so heartlessly yesterday, but the words she said changed suddenly. "I came here today specifically to thank you for helping me."

"No need, it's a small matter."

"No, I should thank them. I owe them something, and I must repay them," Xu Man said stubbornly.

Chu Zhiye looked at the other person and said, "You've already paid back. That bowl of braised pork ribs was the best I've ever eaten. That's enough to pay back."

Xu Man bit her lip, hesitated for about ten seconds, and said, "If you like, I can do it for you for the rest of my life."

"No, thank you."

Xu Man's heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, shattering instantly like glass.

Her usually radiant features were now obscured by a faint shadow, and her already pale face turned deathly white.

“Alright!” Xu Man said with great determination, “Since that’s the case, let’s each go our own way.”

After saying that, Xu Man turned and left.

Bang!

A loud banging on the door drew the attention of everyone at Fangzheng Investment. They saw Xu Man leave with a heavy expression and disappear into the elevator.

Everyone's eyes lit up with gossip, and they were about to start chatting.

Chu Zhiye stood at the door and said, "Stop gossiping and get back to work."

His voice was soft, but it intimidated everyone in the company. They quickly buried themselves in their work and didn't even dare to glance at him privately.

Chu Zhi then received a message from Xu Hui, asking what was wrong between the two of them.

He truthfully told Xu Man about his current relationship and no longer hid anything.

... ...

In a large, single-level apartment.

Xu Hui stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his brows furrowed.

Only then did he realize that he had been tricked by his own daughter.

Zhuo Danqin reacted strongly: "I saw that there was something fishy about them a long time ago. So it turns out they were fake, trying to steal your money, Lao Xu."

"This is a serious fraud! It must not be tolerated."

Xu Mingcheng echoed, "Hey, we've all been fooled by them."

He reacted the most strongly.

If the fraud hadn't occurred, the entire company would have belonged to him, instead of being given a portion to Xu Man.

Zhuo Danqin picked up her phone and called Xu Man to find out what was going on, but unfortunately no one answered.

Zhuo Danqin couldn't swallow this insult any longer: "No, I have to go and reason with Chu Zhiye."

"Yes, we demand an explanation."

Immediately afterwards, Zhuo Danqin and her son Xu Mingcheng left home to find Chu Zhiye.

Xu Hui stayed at home, his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed as if they were towering mountains.

He never expected things to turn out this way.

... ...

Xu Man drove for a long time and arrived at a self-built rural house on the outskirts of Shanghai.

At this moment, there is a courtyard inside the self-built house, and a middle-aged woman in the courtyard is making 'clucking' sounds. Then a group of chicks run over.

A middle-aged woman scatters rice, and the chicks eat the food.

"Xiaoman, what brings you here?" The middle-aged woman was Xu Man's biological mother, and she was somewhat surprised to see her daughter.

Xu Man entered the courtyard, hugged her mother tightly, and then burst into tears, her voice high-pitched.

The middle-aged woman was initially surprised by her daughter's behavior, but gradually, she gently patted her daughter's back, silently comforting her.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Man's sobs gradually subsided and eventually stopped.

The middle-aged woman led Xu Man into the house, into the bedroom, took off her daughter's coat, and Xu Man crawled into bed, clutching the blanket tightly.

The middle-aged woman turned and went to the kitchen, made a bowl of sweet soup, and fed it to her daughter spoonful by spoonful.

After finishing the bowl of sugar water, Xu Man's voice was hoarse: "Mom, I was wrong."

The middle-aged woman hugged Xu Man: "Manman, you did nothing wrong. You will always be my daughter, the best daughter in the world."

... ...