Saying Goodbye to the Past

The next morning, Su Yang got up and had breakfast after his mother, Chen Liping, urged him to.

Around ten, he said goodbye to his parents and drove away.

Not long after leaving the residential compound, Su Yang stopped in front of a convenience store to buy a bottle of water for the road.

As soon as he entered the store, a familiar figure appeared in his line of sight.

"Lu Yun?" Su Yang called out when he saw Lu Yun standing sideways at the checkout, paying for her things. She was carrying a white backpack, wearing her hair in a ponytail, and dressed in tight jeans.

Hearing his voice, Lu Yun immediately turned around. Her eyes widened. "Su Yang? What are you doing here?"

Su Yang rubbed his nose and smiled. "I'm from Yang City. Didn't you know?"

Although Lu Yun and Su Yang had both attended high school in Yang City, they had barely spoken back then, so she had never known exactly where Su Yang was from.

She paused, then looked at Su Yang and smiled. "I thought you were from Haicheng."

Su Yang grinned. "No, I grew up in Yang City. By the way, why are you back too?"

"Oh, it's the weekend, so I came home for a couple of days. I'm about to take a taxi to the high-speed rail station and head back to Haicheng."

Su Yang's eyes lit up. "You're going back?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"What a coincidence. I'm going back to Haicheng too. Then don't take the high-speed rail. I'll give you a ride."

"But..." Lu Yun hesitated before continuing, "I've already bought a ticket."

"What does that matter? Just refund it. Besides, driving alone is boring. You can come with me, and we can chat on the way."

"Um, all right." Hearing that, Lu Yun lowered her head shyly, and her pretty face unconsciously flushed.

Looking at Lu Yun's reddening face, Su Yang thought, This girl really blushes easily.

"All right, then hurry up and refund your ticket. Wait for me while you're at it. I'm going to buy a bottle of water."

As he spoke, he went into the store and took two bottles of mineral water.

After paying, Su Yang handed one bottle to Lu Yun. The two walked to the roadside, where he took out his car keys and pressed the button.

The headlights of the Aston Martin flashed.

Looking at the handsome black SUV before her, Lu Yun asked in confusion, "You... changed cars again?"

"Uh, yeah. I just bought it. Come on, let's get in."

Su Yang walked to the front passenger door and opened it, courteously letting Lu Yun get in first.

Then he went around to the driver's seat and sat down.

"Buckle up. We're heading out!"

Looking at the luxurious interior of the Aston Martin, Lu Yun asked, "Su Yang, what kind of car is this?"

"An Aston Martin DBX. What do you think? Do you like it?"

Lu Yun nodded. "Your car looks great, but it must be very expensive, right?"

Su Yang smiled. "A little over three hundred."

"Three..." Lu Yun smiled awkwardly. "Over three hundred thousand?"

"Three million."

"Uh, then forget I asked. I also want to buy a car in a while. It'll be more convenient when I go home."

Su Yang nodded. "That makes sense. Haicheng is one or two hundred kilometers from Yang City, so having a car would make going home more convenient."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"What's your approximate budget? I can help you look around."

Lu Yun thought for a moment and said, "Around one hundred and fifty thousand."

"One hundred and fifty thousand?"

"Yeah. I'm only a sales clerk, so I don't have much money. Don't laugh at me."

Su Yang shook his head and smiled faintly. "What are you talking about? Do I look like that kind of person? I make friends for reasons other than money."

I go by looks, Su Yang silently added in his mind.

Lu Yun stuck out her tongue and smiled. "I'm just teasing you. Can you recommend a car around one hundred and fifty thousand?"

Su Yang pretended to ponder. In reality, he was considering whether he should simply give Lu Yun a car.

However, he quickly dismissed the idea.

A girl like Lu Yun clearly had a strong sense of self-respect. She was not materialistic.

If he directly gave Lu Yun a car, she might see it as charity.

Besides, they had not reached that point yet. At most, they were ordinary friends.

Giving her a car right away might have the opposite effect and even scare her off.

Su Yang thought, Forget it. I can't do that yet. I'll think about it later.

As he drove, he said, "For one hundred and fifty thousand, it depends on whether you want a sedan or an SUV. For a sedan, you could look at domestic brands. Some joint ventures from second-tier brands are also pretty good."

"I prefer SUVs."

"Actually, I wouldn't recommend an SUV at that price. For one thing, there aren't many choices. For another, SUVs in that price range don't offer very good value for money."

"Sedans are more suitable for women, and there are quite a lot of sedans around one hundred and fifty thousand."

As he spoke, Su Yang glanced at Lu Yun and continued, "Do you want an electric car or a gasoline car?"

"A gasoline car," Lu Yun answered without hesitation.

Su Yang was somewhat surprised by her answer. Very few girls liked gasoline cars these days. He had not expected Lu Yun to want one.

"Do you have a favorite brand?"

Lu Yun thought for a moment. "I don't really know much about cars, and I don't have any particular favorite brand."

"After I get back, I'll pick out a few models and send them to you. If you see one you like and want to test-drive it, tell me. I'll take you there so you don't get cheated."

When Lu Yun heard that he would personally take her, she immediately smiled shyly. "Okay, thank you, Su Yang."

"No need to be so polite. It's nothing."

The two of them chatted about this and that along the way, while Su Yang deliberately drove a little slower.

It took them more than two hours to pass through the Haicheng toll station.

After chatting all the way, the two had grown a little closer.

Lu Yun especially noticed that no matter what she talked about, Su Yang could always carry on the conversation. Talking with him felt easy. He never asked invasive questions, and he had an excellent sense of boundaries.

That made her feel very relaxed around Su Yang. Without realizing it, her favorable impression of him had risen slightly again.

After entering the urban area, Su Yang asked Lu Yun where she lived, then drove her to her doorstep.

After getting out, Lu Yun's lips curled up into a cute, grateful smile. "Thank you, Su Yang. Sorry for the trouble today."

"No need to be so polite. Go on home. I'm leaving!"

Su Yang was about to leave. Just as the car started, Lu Yun suddenly remembered something and waved from behind the car.

"Su Yang, wait!" she shouted while jogging toward the car.

"What is it?" Seeing Lu Yun waving in his rearview mirror, Su Yang stopped the car again.

Lu Yun came to the window and said with a flushed face, "I suddenly remembered that I said I would treat you to a meal."

After saying that, her face reddened even more.

Looking at the shy and alluring Lu Yun, Su Yang was momentarily stunned.

"Su Yang?" Lu Yun called when she saw his reaction.

Su Yang shook his head and came back to himself. "Uh, what did you just say?"

"I said I'd treat you to a meal."

Only then did Su Yang remember that they had indeed discussed it before, though he had long since forgotten.

"Oh, that. I probably don't have time today. I still have to move later."

"Move?" Lu Yun froze.

"Yeah. I bought a place, and I can move in today. I have to go tidy things up later."

Lu Yun looked up at Su Yang blankly, then smiled brightly. "Then how about I treat you another day when you're free?"

"Tomorrow. I'm free tomorrow, so I'll treat you."

"No, no, you can't. We agreed that I would treat you. How about tomorrow after I get off work?"

"Okay, no problem. I'll come find you then."

"All right. Drive carefully on the way."

"Okay~ I'm leaving. Go on home." After saying that, Su Yang drove away.

Lu Yun stood by the roadside, watching the car gradually disappear at the end of the road. Her mood was complicated, and her cheeks were flushed.

Thinking that she would be having dinner alone with Su Yang tomorrow, she immediately grew shy.

Su Yang had no idea what Lu Yun was thinking.

If this had happened to his old self, he would have pushed aside everything else without hesitation to have dinner with Lu Yun.

However, after being tempered by the system over the past few days, his state of mind had changed drastically.

His former self had been somewhat of a bootlicker. He basically never refused a beautiful woman, let alone a meal with a stunning beauty like Lu Yun.

But over the past few days, the system had casually given him hundreds of thousands or even millions at a time. Without realizing it, money had gradually erased his bootlicker aura.

His current principle was simply not to take the initiative and not to refuse.

To put it plainly, the old Su Yang had lacked confidence. He felt he was not good enough for beautiful, sweet-smelling girls, so he wanted to move them in other ways.

But most girls would not get together with someone just because they were moved. Girls liked someone because they were attracted to him.

In most cases, the more proactive a man was, the more easily he made a woman feel annoyed.

So chasing was useless. Chasing only turned a man into a humble bootlicker. Trying to move someone was useless too. It only filled his phone with sad love songs before he tortured himself half to death.

Su Yang understood these principles very clearly now. Although Lu Yun stirred his heart, no matter how moved he was, he had to hold himself back and take things slowly. In any case, he was not in a hurry.

He stopped thinking about it. After driving for a while, he took out his phone and called Gu Xiaoman.

"Hello, big sis, what are you doing?"

On the other end, Gu Xiaoman rolled her eyes. "Working. What else would I be doing?"

Su Yang really wanted to say, "Quit right now. I'll support you from now on!"

But he only thought about saying it. If she actually took him seriously, how could he continue living so freely?

"Oh, right. Your place has already been cleaned. You can move in anytime."

"That's exactly what I was waiting to hear. I'll go home and pack my things now, then come over later."

After hanging up, Su Yang drove toward his rented apartment.

Half an hour later, Su Yang returned to the rented apartment and dug out the suitcase he had not used in a long time, its surface covered in dust.

Looking around the place where he had lived for more than a year, he felt a little emotional.

However, the feeling lasted only a moment. After all, most of his memories from living there had been of poverty and hardship.

There was nothing worth feeling sentimental about in those memories. Was he supposed to reminisce about the impoverished days of his past?

Su Yang was not a sentimental person. He quickly packed the new clothes he had bought into the suitcase, leaving behind all the other clothes except his underwear.

Those clothes represented Su Yang saying goodbye to the past.

Now that he had said goodbye, there was no need to see them again.

Su Yang picked up the suitcase, opened the door, and walked out without looking back.