After I Let Go, She Regretted It Deeply

Chapter 10: Don’t Bother Me:

“There’s no need to come looking for me. Find a place to stay on your own. Let me know where you want to meet. After three o’clock, I’ll be busy and won’t have time. Any time before that, you decide.”

“You’re making me find a place to stay by myself?” Lin Muyao sounded angry.

I thought, what else? Did you expect to stay at my house? What bad luck that would be.

“Yes.”

“Song Shiyue, what’s wrong with you? Have you really become so heartless? Do you not care about me at all? I came all the way from Beijing to North City, and you’re telling me to stay somewhere on my own? Are you even a man?”

“Did I ask you to come?” I sat up, her accusations grating on my nerves. She had ruined my good mood first thing in the morning, and now she had the audacity to blame me?

“Did I ask you to come to North City to look for me? Do you expect me to personally pick you up and serve you like before?”

I was beyond irritated. If Lin Muyao decided to turn around and fly back to Beijing, I’d be more than happy. I didn’t want to deal with her.

“You! Shiyue, I came because I want to talk things through with you. I want to save the relationship we worked so hard to build. Why must you be so cold to me? Was there no real love between us at all?”

“Don’t talk to me about love. I don’t care anymore. I have things to do. I’m hanging up.”

I had no patience for her repetitive emotional tactics.

The only reason I agreed to meet her one last time was to finally rid myself of her. Otherwise, no matter what tricks she pulled, she wouldn’t have gotten to see me.

After calming myself down, I got out of bed and went to wash up, thinking about today’s blind date while I brushed my teeth.

Just the thought of it made me uneasy.

I had no idea how I was supposed to go on a formal blind date with Gu Nianchu. We had grown up together—practically childhood siblings. The idea of dating her felt awkward.

But since Grandpa had already arranged everything, I couldn’t just stand her up.

I grabbed the suit that the butler had prepared and put it on. For important occasions, I should at least dress properly.

When I went downstairs, Grandpa looked pleasantly surprised.

“My grandson looks so handsome! Dressed like this, you’ll have young ladies falling for you left and right.”

“Grandpa, stop teasing me. Nianchu and I grew up together. I’ve always seen her as a little sister.”

“What brother and sister? Men and women are meant to be together. You should be developing your relationship, not overthinking things. Now, eat your breakfast and don’t be late this afternoon. Don’t make the young lady wait.”

“Alright, alright.”

I raised my hands in surrender.

At this point, I suspected that Grandpa had been planning this all along. He had probably already set his sights on Gu Nianchu as my future wife, and the so-called “selection process” had just been for show.

In the afternoon, I arrived half an hour early, but to my surprise, Gu Nianchu was already there.

“Nianchu? You’re early.”

She turned to look at me, her cheeks flushing slightly as if she hadn’t expected me to come early either. A little embarrassed, she smiled. “I didn’t have anything to do this afternoon, and I happened to be nearby, so I came over first.”

I nodded and sat down.

We looked at each other, and for a moment, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

“Ahem… It’s been a long time,” I said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, the last time we saw each other, I was still a teenager. Time flies. You’ve been in Beijing all these years. I even heard you got married, but you never told me.”

I hadn’t expected her to know about my marriage.

I thought Grandpa might have conveniently left that part out to make a better impression.

But if she knew I had been married, why was she still willing to go on this blind date?

Gu Nianchu was beautiful, from a well-off family, and highly accomplished.

She must have had plenty of suitors.

Why would she want to date a divorced man like me?

I didn’t want her to think I was still hung up on the past, so I gave a simple explanation.

“Yes. But that’s all in the past. Coming back to North City means starting over.”

Gu Nianchu curled her lips into a small smile, as if none of it bothered her.

“Who you were with and what happened before—it’s all your own business. I don’t care. The past is the past, and now is now. I make a clear distinction between the two. The reason I’m sitting here today is because of who you are.”

“Nianchu…”

“Brother Shiyue, I know you’re not too thrilled about this blind date.”

“I’m not against it,” I said quickly, worried she might feel hurt if she knew my real thoughts.

“Really? Then why don’t we just make Grandpa happy and get engaged?”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

I looked at her, hesitating to respond.

“Relax, I’m just messing with you…”

“Shiyue? Is that really you?”

Before she could finish her sentence, we were interrupted.

Gu Nianchu and I both turned to see Lin Muyao standing there, staring at me in disbelief.

Her gaze then shifted to Gu Nianchu, and her expression turned sour with obvious discontent.

I clicked my tongue in irritation.

How did I end up running into her here?

Then again, the Golden Luxury Hotel’s restaurant was well-known in North City. It wasn’t surprising she would come here after landing.

Lin Muyao quickly approached in her high heels.

I instinctively stood up and positioned myself in front of Gu Nianchu, frowning at Lin Muyao.

She wasn’t expecting that.

She stopped in her tracks, her face full of confusion.

“You think I’ll hurt her?” She pointed at Gu Nianchu, looking at me incredulously.

I remained silent, my eyes darkening.

“Say something! Why won’t you talk? Are you feeling guilty? You didn’t expect me to show up, did you?”

Lin Muyao looked like a jealous wife catching her husband cheating, which only made me more disgusted.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Lin Muyao. I’m meeting someone openly. Why should I feel guilty? Not everyone is like you and Zhang Wangchuan.”

“So you still hold a grudge against Wangchuan, and now you’re just using some random woman to get back at me? Shiyue, how many times do I have to explain? There’s nothing between me and Wangchuan! Even if I hurt you, you can’t just go meet another woman so soon.”

“Stop being childish, okay? I was on a plane all night. I’m exhausted. Come back with me and rest. Stop wasting time with irrelevant people.”

As she spoke, she reached for my hand and lightly traced circles on my palm—something she always did when she was trying to act coy.

Before I could shake her off, Gu Nianchu spoke up.

“Brother Shiyue, since you’re busy, I’ll head out first. We can meet up another time since you’ll be in North City for a while.”

“Meet up? No need for that,” Lin Muyao cut in, her tone hostile. “My husband will be living in Beijing with me. Who told you he’d be staying in North City? Or are you just hoping he’ll stay here with you?”

She glared at Gu Nianchu, her eyes full of provocation.

“Ah… But Brother Shiyue told me he was single. Aren’t you two divorced? I believe that means he’s free to see whoever he wants, right?”

Gu Nianchu met Lin Muyao’s gaze without a trace of fear.

Her voice was calm, but her confidence was undeniable.

That kind of innate elegance—Lin Muyao could never have it.