Teacher.
Gu Zhaoping had done many things in her past, including pushing others to a dead end—even if those others included her own siblings and relatives.
Having clawed her way out of a truly powerful and aristocratic family, Gu Zhaoping was long accustomed to having no extra sentiment for relatives.
Her younger brother had once altered the former patriarch’s will and tried to take her to court. |
In response, she diluted others’ shares by issuing new stock, formed marriage alliances to win over shareholders, launched public opinion campaigns, and pressured through audits and lawsuits to force the other party to give up their inheritance rights.
There was nothing she hadn’t done—and nothing she hadn’t endured.
When she first arrived in this world and looked at Gu Zhaoye, she had the patience of someone watching a preschooler.
But sometimes, Gu Zhaoye was so dumb that she felt an itch to teach him a lesson herself.
Liang Zhiwei and Chu Yanze were both dumbfounded as they listened.
Watching Gu Zhaoping walk away, their eyes filled with admiration.
How could those people be so stupid as to look down on Sister Zhaoping?
She graduated from a world-renowned university, held dual degrees in business and law, was the eldest daughter of a wealthy family, and had always been someone who held power and played by her own rules.
How could anyone really think she was useless?
Chu Yanze was just about to follow when he suddenly remembered that strange look in Su Yubai’s eyes.
He felt a flicker of wariness, unsure what to make of this person.
Those who observed others were also easily noticed in return.
He had instinctively been repelled at first—but then, a thought struck him: remembering the male models Sister Zhaoping used to be around, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of uncertainty.
An actor…
Could Su Yubai have been one of the men she had some past connection with?
It wouldn’t be hard for her to get close to young men in the entertainment industry.
Chu Yanze’s steps paused slightly.
After a moment of reflection, he realized he had no personal connection to Su Yubai.
He was a musician, while Su Yubai wasn’t even a TV actor.
He had apparently become famous for a role in a film—playing a character who was the idealized “first love” that died young in a school setting, and even won an award for it as a newcomer.
That character really did resemble him.
It was said that Su Yubai was talented, hardworking, cultured, and overall had a great reputation.
People even said he had a good personality.
Not just a pretty face.
What a shame.
Though they weren’t in the same field, Su Yubai’s career path mirrored his own—someone who rocketed to fame as a rookie.
That made Chu Yanze feel a bit of a crisis, like he had encountered his rival.
When this thought struck him, Chu Yanze couldn’t help but laugh.
Turns out, the real competition wasn’t between their restaurants—it was him.
He looked back and saw Su Yubai, carrying boxes and chatting with his teammates, wearing a blue striped shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow.
He had a side part, a high nose with a slight bump, and deep-set eyes.
With a smile on his lips and a gentle temperament, his eyes held a trace of melancholy—this must be what people meant when they said Su Yubai had a tragic, idealized “first love” aura.
But to Chu Yanze, it just looked like eyelid ptosis.
Not charming at all.
He turned his head and quickly caught up to Sister Zhaoping, walking beside her to go inspect the restaurant.
At the same time, Su Yubai also glanced back.
After catching up, Chu Yanze seemed to say something to Gu Zhaoping.
She turned her head and responded generously.
Su Yubai just smiled softly at the scene.
He had a very gentle personality and a low personal presence.
He wasn’t the competitive type.
He could sense Chu Yanze’s hostility but had no intention of confronting him.
Anyone who could stand beside Sister Zhaoping must have her approval.
He had no right to be hostile.
If he did his part well, maybe one day she would look at him again.
The production team arranged for a car to take them to the town where they’d run their business.
But the vehicle was small, and after loading their props and ingredients, there wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit.
Gu Zhaoping gave it a glance and said:
“Take my car.”
The two of them paused in surprise, then quickly dropped what they were carrying and trotted after her to the parking lot.
So generous!
Mao Xinci had been waiting by the car.
When she saw them approaching, she immediately noticed and opened the car door, wearing white gloves and politely inviting them in.
Liang Zhiwei and Chu Yanze were a little cautious getting into the car—they knew how much it cost.
When they got in, their movements were respectful and careful.
Once seated, they even pressed their hands together in thanks to the driver.
The car was a stretch vehicle that could fit seven passengers, and even after they got in, it felt spacious.
Mao Xinci gave them a brief smile.
Then she put her smile away, got in the driver’s seat, fastened her seatbelt, and skillfully reversed the car out of the space.
Because of the car’s length, this spot was tough to maneuver, and Liang Zhiwei had been worried it might be hard.
But the driver’s movements were practiced—after a few turns of the wheel, they were out.
They were even the first group to leave the filming location.
Throughout the trip, Mao Xinci was completely silent.
She just calmly followed the GPS set by the production team, driving forward quietly.
Liang Zhiwei couldn’t help but praise, “Driver-sis, your driving is amazing!”
Mao Xinci didn’t respond, but the assistant Xiao Zhao turned back and smiled at her kindly, which made Liang Zhiwei feel flattered.
At first, when she joined the show, she had felt immense pressure toward Gu Zhaoping—having heard all the legends, she was worried that Gu Zhaoping would see her as a troublemaker.
She had even prepared herself to bravely explain that she and Gu Zhaoye had never truly been involved, and that it was all over now—no entanglements.
But to her surprise, Gu Zhaoping never asked a single question about it, didn’t seem to care at all about Gu Zhaoye’s romantic life, barely spoke with her, and certainly didn’t act like the rumors, clashing directly with Ruan Nian.
Even their few interactions were all provoked by Ruan Nian.
Liang Zhiwei found it strange—how had things changed so much?
Who would’ve thought they’d end up on the same team so harmoniously, even sitting in Gu Zhaoping’s car?
The once untouchable Gu Zhaoping had now become “Sister Zhaoping.”
And the man who should’ve been the center of their conflict—Gu Zhaoye—was completely absent from their conversations.
He had become a total outsider, uninvolved in their relationship.
No one cared.
After a few more interactions, Liang Zhiwei realized that Sister Zhaoping genuinely didn’t care at all about Gu Zhaoye’s life or death.
So… all those rumors from before were…?
They were headed to a commercial town not far from the estate.
There weren’t many restaurant brands there, so their chances in the competition were still good—at least there was a large potential market.
Their store was right off the main street—a very prominent location.
Once Liang Zhiwei saw the storefront, she instantly understood why the rent was so high—it was totally worth it!
The shop was mostly renovated already.
It was bright, with light warm tones.
The kitchen was brand new and spotless.
Liang Zhiwei’s eyes lit up—this was exactly what she had imagined her dream restaurant would look like!
“Sister Zhaoping, your decision was absolutely right. This restaurant is gorgeous!”
Liang Zhiwei said excitedly.
She immediately started unpacking the kitchenware, cleaning and disinfecting everything carefully, and neatly organizing it in the kitchen.
She worked with great seriousness, not finding the basic chores troublesome at all, and never once acting like she deserved any celebrity privilege or special treatment.
Chu Yanze was also very sharp in following along.
He often cooked when he lived alone, so he was quite skilled at handling these things.
Having gone through the previous decisions, they were already completely following Gu Zhaoping’s instructions.
Now, they were even more obedient, believing that Zhaoping Jie was their direction forward.
“Zhaoping Jie, what kind of restaurant are we planning to open?”
Gu Zhaoping slowly walked around the restaurant, observing carefully before saying, “Sichuan-style light meals.”
Chu Yanze froze for a moment while scooping fish, not expecting that his input would be considered.
Did Zhaoping Jie also take his strengths into account?
Gu Zhaoping continued, “I checked on a mobile app just now, and there are many high-end office buildings around here. The main consumer group consists of employees from large companies. There are many gyms nearby, as well as boxing, martial arts, and dance studios. In places with high fitness demand, there’s also a greater demand for healthy eating.”
“There are a few healthy and light meal restaurants around here, but the reviews are mediocre, no ups or downs. The market for light meal restaurants with unique flavors is still quite large.”
“Having to work while controlling a healthy diet is already tough, but if the food isn’t good, it really feels like a punishment for the whole day.”
Liang Zhiwei and Chu Yanze both felt more and more convinced.
This was Liang Zhiwei’s strength—nutritional pairing!
“I could even design meal sets based on muscle gain, fat loss, or simply healthy eating needs!”
Liang Zhiwei’s eyes lit up. Zhaoping Jie didn’t overlook anyone, not leaving her to handle everything on her own, and Chu Yanze was also assigned a task.
Their team quickly decided and then began discussing the menu and preparing ingredients to start operations tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the other two teams had just arrived at this commercial town, and upon seeing the prominent storefront, Group 3 felt a bit envious.
But when they saw the mobile stall assigned to them by the production team, they felt the disparity was huge and started to complain.
This became their source of laughter, but Li Xunxi’s group felt differently.
Seeing the prominent, large store, their faces didn’t look good.
They tried to comfort themselves, but nothing seemed to work.
Looking on the bright side, they could only think it was fortunate that they hadn’t chosen the mobile stall, which would leave them exposed to the wind and rain with no place to rest.
The profit would be low, and recovering costs would be difficult.
If they were to recover costs, who knew how exhausting it would be?
Group 3 was busy setting up their stall, and when they saw the vehicle with Li Xunxi’s group passing by, they couldn’t help but glance back, saying, “Their shop seems really far away.”
Others agreed, “Yeah, it’s in such a remote location, it would be troublesome to get there.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t want to eat there. It’ll probably be hard for them to break even.”
A few people shook their heads and kept setting up their stalls enthusiastically.
Li Xunxi’s group had no idea.
They watched as their vehicle drove to the foot of a building, and when they got out of the car, Li Xunxi frowned.
The building didn’t look upscale at all, and it even seemed quite old.
Once inside, they realized there weren’t many elevators, so they’d have to wait quite a while to get up.
The people waiting for the elevator were office workers from nearby companies, all lined up in an orderly fashion.
Everyone noticed a group of people storming in.
The woman leading the group was impeccably dressed, with perfect makeup, wearing a coat, arms crossed as she walked in, followed by a bunch of photographers carrying equipment.
She frowned and looked around, then loudly remarked, “The environment here is too poor, do you know how to make do with this?”
The others were confused.
What did she mean?
They were waiting in line calmly, and suddenly, she was being rude.