Jiang Sifan brought Wen Wan to the shops outside campus.

He said to Wen Wan, "Come on, let’s try the first one."

In truth, they had no idea if any of the shop owners even knew about bookkeeping and tax filing services.

But it was a long shot. Still, since his upperclassmen had said the startup idea was feasible, Jiang Sifan was determined to see it through.

And so, the two of them entered the first shop.

Three minutes later, they came out of the shop and entered the second one.

The third...

「Meanwhile.」

Lu Fan returned to Yangcheng.

He walked into the flower shop, feigning a yawn.

When Jiang Yixia saw him, she remained silent. She knew he was up to some trick.

Sure enough, Lu Fan grinned. "Morning, Yixia."

"It’s almost noon. ’Morning,’ my foot," Jiang Yixia said calmly.

"Almost noon? I hadn’t noticed. No wonder I’m a little hungry." Lu Fan rubbed his stomach. "Yixia, is there anything to eat?"

Jiang Yixia replied, "Don’t you have pastries in your own shop?"

"I still prefer your cooking," Lu Fan said shamelessly.

This time, Jiang Yixia surprisingly didn’t snap back at him.

Instead, she put down the bouquet she was arranging and went into the back room.

She then emerged with a thermos, placed it on the table, and said, "Lean pork soup. Take it or leave it."

"Haha, I knew you were the best to me, Yixia." As he spoke, Lu Fan opened the thermos, took a sniff, and then began to drink. "Delicious," he sighed.

Jiang Yixia explained calmly, "Don’t get the wrong idea. This is because you helped Sifan. Consider this hot soup my way of thanking you. There won’t be any more in the future."

"Sifan is my son too. It’s only right that I help him," Lu Fan said with a smile.

Jiang Yixia looked at him, thought for a couple of seconds, and then asked, "You mean you didn’t tell him you were the one who pulled strings to get him out of trouble?"

Lu Fan shook his head. "No. Given our relationship right now, he wouldn’t believe me even if I told him."

"If you don’t tell him, how is your relationship supposed to improve?" Jiang Yixia said, exasperated.

"That’s why I told you last night," Lu Fan said confidently.

Only then did it dawn on Jiang Yixia.

’So this guy wanted me to tell our son.’

She rolled her eyes at him, then said, "Alright, drink up and get going."

"Oh, right. Sifan’s starting a business and will probably face a lot of rejection. You should give him a heads-up." Lu Fan, naturally, ignored Jiang Yixia’s urging and changed the topic.

Just as he’d expected, Jiang Yixia grew tense. "What do you mean, rejection? Is his business venture that difficult?"

"He might have been misled. It’s nothing serious, though. At worst, it’s just a waste of some time and a little startup money," Lu Fan explained.

Hearing this, Jiang Yixia looked at him suspiciously. "Exactly how much do you know? What else aren’t you telling me?"

"This pork soup is delicious. Tomorrow, I’m taking Silu to meet that teacher she idolizes. I wonder if her mom will treat me to another meal as a reward," Lu Fan said, testing the waters.

Jiang Yixia wanted to grind her teeth at his smug, irritating expression.

’This guy is just so infuriating! (〃＞皿＜)’

But in the end, she suppressed her annoyance and said, "Fine."

"Then it’s a deal. Don’t worry, when I take Silu to meet her design idol tomorrow, I’ll do everything I can to give her the best resources and connections," Lu Fan said cheerfully.

"And Sifan?"

"I’ll figure out another way to help Sifan, don’t worry. The kid is stubborn. Any help has to be done without him noticing," Lu Fan replied.

’Jiang Yixia knew that even though he could be flaky sometimes, he was very reliable when it came to getting things done.’

’Otherwise, she wouldn’t have fallen for him so hard back in the day.’

’Thinking about it now, she still didn’t know if that decision had been right or wrong.’

Seeing that Lu Fan had finished his soup, she said, "Alright, I have work to do. You can leave now."

"But we’re not done talking."

"I don’t want to talk to you. Go on, get out."

Before he left, however, Lu Fan pestered her until she gave him a bouquet of flowers.

He then returned to his pastry shop and placed the bouquet in the most prominent location.

When Jiang Yixia saw what he had done, she was at a loss for words.

’But that was just his personality, always coming up with some strange new antic.’

After some thought, she decided she would tell Jiang Sifan everything Lu Fan had done that night.

Jiang Yixia still very much hoped the father and son could reconcile.

As for Lu Fan, on his way out, he asked Jiali, who was standing nearby, "Have you contacted our partners?"

"Yes, they’ve been contacted." Jiali nodded. "All companies and storefronts that partner with us and require flower petals or bouquets must source them from the boss’s wife."

"Good." Lu Fan nodded. "Tell them not to reveal our company’s involvement. She might guess I’m the one who arranged it, but it’s best if we’re not found out."

"Yes, Boss."

Lu Fan’s company was now involved in various fields, spanning all trades and industries.

And quite a few of them required real flowers for decoration.

So Lu Fan had Jiali put out the word: any company that was part of the group’s supply chain and needed flowers could procure them from Jiang Yixia.

It might seem like he was strong-arming them, but that’s just how the world worked.

Might makes right.

Seeing that it was about time, Lu Fan said, "Alright, let’s head back to Jinling."

"Yes, Boss."

...

Over the course of the afternoon, Jiang Sifan and Wen Wan visited more than ten shops.

But when they pitched their bookkeeping and tax filing service, most of the owners simply waved them off.

This left the newly invigorated Jiang Sifan feeling rather dejected.

He looked at Wen Wan and said, "Looks like this isn’t so easy after all."

But to his surprise, Wen Wan said, "It’s okay. Let’s keep at it. Maybe the next shop owner will say yes."

Jiang Sifan saw the beads of sweat on Wen Wan’s forehead and didn’t have the heart to make her keep going.

So he said, "Why don’t we head back and rest for a while? We can come out again this afternoon or tonight."

"Okay." Wen Wan, of course, had no objection.

She always followed the class president’s lead.

On the way back, Jiang Sifan’s mind was heavy with worry.

Before he started, his upperclassman had said this venture was a guaranteed success.

But after asking a whole round of shop owners, not a single one was interested in bookkeeping and tax services.

’Did I get the direction wrong?’

Just as he was lost in thought, a figure appeared before him.

Jiang Sifan looked up to see a tear-streaked Huang Hui.

His expression turned cold, and he immediately turned to leave.

But Huang Hui immediately grabbed him, crying her eyes out. "Sifan, baby, I was wrong! It was my vanity. It’s all my fault."

"There’s nothing between us anymore. Please leave me alone," Jiang Sifan said coldly.

"You’re the only one who can put in a good word for me with the student counselor! The school gave me a demerit, and if my parents find out, they’ll kill me!" Huang Hui sobbed.

But Jiang Sifan’s heart didn’t soften in the slightest. "You should have thought of the consequences before you acted. Stop pestering me. You got a demerit because of your own flawed character."

With that, he violently shook his arm, breaking free from Huang Hui’s grip.

"Sifan! Sifan! I was wrong!! SOB SOB SOB..."

Huang Hui even fell to her knees, begging for Jiang Sifan’s forgiveness.

But Jiang Sifan, like a true sigma male, walked into his dorm without a single glance back.

He left only a crowd of male students gawking at the drama.

As soon as he got back to his dorm, he received a call from Jiang Yixia.

"Hey, Mom," Jiang Sifan answered, taking a sip of water.

Jiang Yixia started cautiously. "Are... are you feeling any better today?"

Although Jiang Sifan was still quietly aching over the breakup—he was a person, not an animal, with real feelings and emotions—he couldn’t possibly admit it. Instead, he put on a brave front. "I’m fine, Mom."

"That’s good... that’s good." Jiang Yixia hesitated.

Sensing she wanted to say more, Jiang Sifan asked, "Mom, is there something you want to say?"

"It’s just... Lulu told me you’re still very resentful toward your father, but I don’t want to lie to you. The truth is, after you went to the police station yesterday, it was your father who pulled some strings so they’d go easy on you..." Jiang Yixia said, testing the waters.

When Jiang Sifan heard this, he was stunned into silence.

He hung up only after Jiang Yixia explained everything.

’So, there was no sympathetic police officer, no settlement reached through understanding.’

’Instead, it was my own father who pulled strings behind the scenes, making a big problem small and a small problem disappear.’

Jiang Sifan recalled how harshly he had treated him that night and felt a pang of guilt...