A luxury car was parked on the side of a street in a rundown old city alley.
A young boy who happened to be getting out of school spotted the flying goddess emblem on the car and shouted in excitement, "Holy shit! A Rolls-Royce Phantom! That's so cool! Even cooler than a Xiaomi SU7!"
His shout drew the gazes of the people nearby.
Although this was Jinling, a first-tier metropolis, a luxury car of this caliber appearing in a suburban area was enough to make pedestrians on the street do a double take.
But the people inside the car seemed accustomed to this sort of attention.
"Boss, these are the development plans for this old district. Please take a look."
Inside the car, a capable-looking female assistant with short hair handed the plans to the middle-aged man before her.
Lu Fan took the plans, and after a brief glance, he said, "Jiali, I'll leave this area in your hands."
"Of course, Boss." The assistant, Jiali, said considerately, "Boss, for a small matter like planning for this old district, you could have just left it to me and Chen He. There was no need for you to make the trip in person."
Lu Fan smiled and looked out the window at the expanse of old, tile-roofed buildings. Fragments of memories from twenty years ago suddenly surfaced. "It's fine. I wanted to see these old houses again, to reminisce a little."
Although he was over forty, time hadn't etched many signs of hardship onto Lu Fan's face. Instead, it had cultivated the steady, composed aura unique to a successful man.
Nearly six feet tall, his habit of working out year-round kept his physique trim and upright. With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, he had shed the lanky awkwardness of his youth for the sharp, defined lines of a mature man.
His custom-tailored suit fit him perfectly without a single crease. On the wrist peeking out from his cuff, he wore a discreet Patek Philippe, its face carrying an understated, not flashy, sheen.
His hair was meticulously styled, jet-black with a few barely noticeable strands of silver that only added to his masculine charm.
Just by sitting there, his composed demeanor alone was enough for anyone to see at a glance that he was an extraordinary man.
Just then, a light rain began to fall from the sky.
Lu Fan raised his hand to check the time, then said to Chen He in the driver's seat, "Chen He, let's go."
"Yes, Boss."
Chen He, in the driver's seat, immediately started the car, preparing to leave.
Before they left, Lu Fan lowered the window, intending to take one last look at the place where he had once lived.
But as his gaze swept forward, he noticed a young girl in a light blue dress up ahead, struggling to push her bicycle.
The rain had soaked her hair, and a few strands clung to her pale cheeks.
This particular stretch of the alley happened to be an incline, so she couldn't bother to wipe the rain from her face, simply gritting her teeth and inching forward one step at a time.
Chen He, growing a bit impatient, tapped the horn to urge her along.
The girl heard the sound and glanced back, her eyes showing a hint of apology and guilt.
But the moment Lu Fan's gaze fell upon her face, his breath caught.
The girl's eyes, with their slightly upturned corners, held a sort of charming, natural innocence.
Her delicate nose and thin, pursed lips were exquisitely lovely, and even soaked by the rain, her natural beauty was impossible to hide.
This face... it was the spitting image of the woman etched deep in his memory, the one who had been a source of guilt for him for more than a decade!
She was the spitting image of that woman in her youth!!
Jiang Yixia!
That name had lain dormant in his heart for so long, he had almost believed he'd forgotten it.
Forgotten how she looked at eighteen, smiling at him from the gate of the electronics factory in her faded floral dress.
Forgotten the warmth of them huddled together in a ten-square-meter rented room, sharing a single bowl of instant noodles.
And forgotten the finality in her red-rimmed eyes as she'd said, word for word, "Lu Fan, I will never forgive you."
In his entire life, The Only One he had wronged was Jiang Yixia.
Lu Fan immediately opened the car door. Seeing this, his assistant, Jiali, grabbed an umbrella to follow.
But he took the umbrella from her and said, "Jiali, the two of you don't need to come."
"Okay, Boss."
At that moment, the girl was still struggling with her bicycle, worried she was holding up the car behind her.
"Young lady, do you need some help?"
Hearing his voice, the girl looked up. She was visibly stunned for a moment upon seeing the well-dressed Lu Fan, then shook her head, a bit flustered. "No, thank you, sir. I can manage."
Her voice was clear and gentle, like a mountain spring, and it struck Lu Fan's heart with such force that his fingertips tingled.
'So alike.'
Even the gentle cadence of her voice was exactly the same as Jiang Yixia's all those years ago.
Lu Fan ignored her refusal, walked straight over, and took hold of the back of the bicycle seat.
He was incredibly strong, pushing the bike forward with ease. His tone softened unconsciously as he said, "Your tire is flat, and the rain is too heavy for a young lady like you to push this on your own. Let me help you get to a nearby repair shop. Here, you take the umbrella."
The girl looked at him, a flash of gratitude in her eyes. Although it was mixed with a hint of wariness, after a moment's hesitation, she said softly, "Thank you, sir."
And so, Lu Fan pushed the bike while the girl walked beside him, holding the umbrella and trying her best to keep it angled over his head.
Before long, Lu Fan and the girl arrived at a repair shop at the mouth of the alley.
The owner, seeing he had customers, quickly ushered them in and took the bike for inspection.
Lu Fan took a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, dry yourself off."
"Thank you, sir." The young girl took the tissue and was about to wipe the raindrops from her forehead.
But then she saw Lu Fan taking off his suit jacket, intending to drape it over her shoulders.
"Sir, you don't have to. I'm not cold." The young girl hurriedly tried to shrug it off.
"Keep it on, don't catch a cold." Lu Fan waved a hand, his gaze landing on her drenched hair. "You can give it back to me after your bike is fixed."
"Thank you, sir." After a moment's hesitation, the girl finally nodded.
As she wrapped the jacket around herself, she caught the faint scent of cedarwood clinging to the fabric. Combined with its lingering warmth, the chill in her body began to recede.
Seeing his chance, Lu Fan asked, "Are you heading home?"
"No, I'm heading back to school. I heard this old district is scheduled for redevelopment. My mom once mentioned that she used to live and work here, so I wanted to take a picture for her as a keepsake. But just as I finished taking the picture and was about to head back to school, my tire suddenly blew out."
Perhaps it was Lu Fan's kindness that made the girl relax a little, and she couldn't help but explain a bit more.
Hearing this, Lu Fan's heart began to beat even faster.
'She lived and worked here? In that district with the old, tile-roofed buildings?'
Lu Fan cleared his throat and asked with a smile, feigning composure, "You must be in college, then? I see you're not in a high school uniform."
"Mhm, I'm a freshman." The girl pulled the jacket tighter around herself, her voice soft.
'A freshman, so she's about eighteen. Jiang Yixia left me nineteen years ago.'
'Could it really be such a coincidence?'
Lu Fan probed tentatively, "You look a lot like an old colleague of mine. I used to live and work around here, too. I think I might know your mother. I'm sorry to ask, but may I ask for your mother's surname?"
The shop owner, who was standing nearby, overheard their conversation and shot Lu Fan a disdainful look.
'Buddy, what century is this? Still using a line like that to hit on a young girl? She's only eighteen!'
The girl listened to Lu Fan's explanation. Though still wary and reluctant, her heart softened when she considered how he had just helped her push her bike, even getting his own hair wet in the process. She revealed, "My mother's surname is Jiang."
"Is her name Jiang Yixia?" Lu Fan's fingers curled unconsciously, his knuckles turning white. His gaze was locked on the girl's face, as if he were afraid to miss a single word of her reply.
The girl was stunned. "You... you really know my mother? Yes, my mother's name is Jiang Yixia. My name is Jiang Silu."
Upon hearing her answer, Lu Fan felt as if his heart had been slammed with a heavy hammer, leaving it ringing.
A clap of thunder seemed to explode in his mind.
'It's really Jiang Yixia's daughter!!'