Zhao Yu couldn't register a single word of what the people outside were saying.
The past resurfaced before her eyes again, and her mind was also pulled to a far away place. When she returned to her senses, Xu Chengyan had already opened the door and entered.
When the lights were turned back on, her expression once again took on a pleased and bright smile.
Changing back into his clothes in front of her, Xu Chengyan said, "We're going to the fifth floor, you should leave by yourself."
Zhao Yu smiled and said, "Mr. Xu rest assured, I will not deliberately run into the future Mrs. Xu."
Xu Chengyan laughed. "Even if you do, there will be no harm done."
To be precise, there will be no harm done to him, because his relationship with Zhuang Yiqing will not change because of it. However, it could very well bring a lot of harm on Zhao Yu depending on whether or not Zhuang Yiqing will take any actions to teach Zhao Yu a lesson. And that, was not his problem.
Waiting until there were no more people outside, Zhao Yu left the fitting room.
To avoid being accidentally discovered by Zhuang Yiqing, she also wore a mask.
The smell of semen was still on her body, along with the white marks on the skirt. She first made her way to the bathroom to clean herself, and wash the clothes on her chest and wait for it to dry.
After a period of time, Zhao Yu came out of the bathroom and looked down through the circular glass wall in the middle. There, she saw Xu Chengyan and Zhuang Yiqing entering the elevator one after another.
"That Miss Zhuang's wedding dress is really beautiful, I really like it."
"They have so much money just piling up. It would only be a wonder if the dress wasn't beautiful. I heard that their family is in the jewelry business. No wonder they have such good diamonds. Ordinary people like us can't even afford this kind of wedding dress even if we didn't eat or drink our whole lives. Tsk tsk. It's nice to have money."
Zhao Yu couldn't help but sneer in her heart as she listened to the whispers of the two shop assistants.
Indeed, it was nice to have money. You can trample on the dignity of others, even their lives, effortlessly with a stomp of the foot.
The weather is getting hotter so the air conditioner in the store was turned on.
Feeling the cold breeze, she was chilled inside and out. Her limbs got even weaker. She could only drag her jellied legs, step by step towards the sofa and sat down slowly.
Zhao Yu had thought that after three years, she would definitely be able to stay calm when seeing someone she hated, but unfortunately, she overestimated herself.
Her hatred, her pain, her regret, at this moment, all rushed forth violently, mercilessly overwhelming all her senses, making her almost collapsed to the ground.
Sitting in that position for so long, a clerk came over and politely asked if she needed help.
She shook her head. "No, thank you."
Very soon after the clerk left, another pair of shiny leather shoes appeared in front of her. She said exhausted, "I'll just sit for a while, I don't need help."
"Everything ok?"
It was Shanglu's voice.
She raised her head and looked at him in surprise. "Why are you here?"
After asking, she realized and answered herself. "Choosing a wedding gown?"
"Yeah." Shang Lu responded lightly, and asked her back, "Why are you here?"
Only then did Zhao Yu remember that she was still wearing a mask, so she was surprised he was able to recognize her.
"Wandering around. Although I can't afford anything here, it's not bad to go window shopping."
Shang Lu asked, "Xue Ziang hasn't come yet?"
Zhao Yu was puzzled, why did he bring up Xue Ziang again?
Shang Lu explained, "I heard them say that you made an appointment with your boyfriend. You waited here for a long time, but he never came."
Zhao Yu reacted to this news. When she got to the store, she pretended to pick out a wedding dress, casually saying her boyfriend was coming too, so she would walk around by herself, without anyone following her to take care of her.
As a result, the gossiping clerks didn't realize that she snuck into the fitting room to find Xu Chengyan for a rendevous, instead, even made up a big story about her boyfriend standing her up on the appointment or even abandoning her.
Zhao Yu was too lazy to explain and was about to leave, but her legs were still weak and she stumbled as soon as she stood up.
Shang Lu caught her in time. "I will send you back."
Zhao Yu shook his head and stretched out his hand to push away.
When she came out from the first floor, she realized that it had rained outside for some time.
She really hated the rain.
Staring blankly at the gray sky for a long time, she remembered that she drove there.
When she turned around to go back to the elevator, she found Shang Lu standing behind her. Who knew how long he had been standing there.
Zhao Yu laughed. "Did Mr. Shang come by himself, or is he with his prospective fiancee? Aren't you scared you'll offend Miss Zheng?"
Shang Lu took off his suit jacket and put it on her, held her arm and walked towards the elevator. "I will send you back."
He had driven himself and parked the car on B1.
Zhao Yu had already taken off his mask. Warm in his coat, she sat in the passenger seat and silently watched the car drive out of the basement and slowly into the rain.
The raindrops got bigger and bigger, pitter pattering on the glass, like bursting crystal flowers made of water, one after another, flowing down.
Looking at pedestrians who occasionally run by in the rain, Zhao Yu suddenly chuckled. "It seems that the day we first met, it was raining like this."
When the car stopped at a red light intersection, Shang Lu put his hands on the steering wheel and looked forward calmly. "The rain that day was heavier than it is now."
"You still remember?"
"I remember, I will never forget it in this lifetime."
"Me too."
Because for both of them, that was the day they hit rock bottom.
She had just recovered from a serious illness; her clothes thin, face pale, and she was so weak that she could have been washed away by the heavy rain at any moment.
He was covered with wounds; his leg bones broken, and the blood from his body stained all the water near him.
That day, one walking dead met another walking dead.
Zhao Yu hugged herself tightly, burying her whole body in his large coat and sniffled. She wanted to cry, but had no more tears.
It seemed that she couldn't cry anymore except when she was acting as someone else.
After a long time, Shang Lu said, "Tang Xi."
Zhao Yu looked at him and smiled. "My name is Zhao Yu, did you forget? It was you who found someone to help change my name. The old name is no more. Tang Xi is dead."
Shang Lu looked straight at her. "Doesn't matter what you are called. Let bygones be bygones."
Zhao Yu continued to smile. "What about you? Can you let bygones be bygones?"
Shanglu fell silent.
Instead of sending her to her apartment, he took her to his villa.
Before entering the door, Zhao Yu leaned against the wall and looked at him with a smile. "Aren't you afraid my relationship with you will be discovered?"
"So what if it's discovered?" He opened the lock with his fingerprints and led her in.
"The bathroom is on the second floor. Go take a hot bath first."
He walked in front of her, leading the way and suddenly his right leg faltered as he walked upstairs, his body tilted to the side, almost falling over.
This time, it was Zhao Yu who held him in time and asked, "Does it hurt again?"
He smiled indifferently: "It's always like this on rainy days, I'm used to it."
After a pause, he asked her. "What about you? Do you have any symptoms?"
Zhao Yu bared her hands. "I'm very lucky, there were no side effects from the surgery."
Looking at her calm, smiling face, Shang Lu moved his lips, but after pausing a while, he said nothing, and continued to take her upstairs.