The next morning, Lu Fan reviewed the report from the previous night again.
After Jiang Yixia left him, she returned to her hometown, only to discover she was pregnant.
Her parents, naturally, didn't want Jiang Yixia to have the baby.
If she had an abortion, they could leverage their daughter's good looks to secure a hefty bride price in their rural village.
But Jiang Yixia couldn't bear to do it.
Lu Fan was her first man. Although he had failed her, the child was innocent.
She was determined to have the baby.
Her parents eventually respected Jiang Yixia's choice and helped their daughter raise their two grandchildren to adulthood.
To avoid being too much of a burden on her parents, Jiang Yixia worked tirelessly. She ran a street stall, waited tables, and during the hardest times, she even juggled three jobs in a single day.
During this period, quite a few men expressed their willingness to accept her and her two children.
At work, her supervisors and bosses even subtly hinted at wanting to keep her as a mistress.
But Jiang Yixia rejected them all.
She never remarried, raising her two children to adulthood on her own.
It wasn't until the year before last that she finally managed to save up enough to open a modest flower shop in Yangcheng.
Reading through the report, Lu Fan knew his debt to her was immense.
He even wanted to rush to Yangcheng immediately and beg Jiang Yixia for her forgiveness.
However, after all these years, earning Jiang Yixia's forgiveness wasn't something he could achieve in a day or two.
But first things first, Lu Fan needed to confirm whether these two children were his.
So he pressed, "Jiali, can we get the results of the paternity test today?"
"Sir, I've already sent people to the university town to find the young master and the young lady. We'll have the results by tonight at the latest," his assistant, Jiali, explained.
Lu Fan could only shake his head helplessly.
He thought about how time always seemed to fly by when he was squandering it.
But now, each day felt like a year.
...
Meanwhile, the agents Jiali had dispatched were heading toward Jinling Institute of Technology and Jinling University.
Over the years, to develop his business empire, Lu Fan had placed his own people in various fields.
There was no shortage of agile special agents among them.
They infiltrated the dormitory buildings, waiting for the dorm supervisor to step out before slipping into her office to find the master keys.
Then, they entered the men's and women's dorms respectively to retrieve Jiang Silu's and Jiang Sifan's toothbrushes.
The entire operation went off without a hitch, leaving no trace behind.
Since Lu Fan's corporation owned its own hospital, the samples were sent directly to its lab. The technicians there began the analysis immediately, not daring to delay for a single moment.
After a wait of nearly two hours, the test report was finally in Lu Fan's hands.
He held the report, unable to wait to see the results.
When he saw the test report confirming he was their biological father, a smile immediately spread across Lu Fan's face.
Seeing this, Old Luo, who was standing to the side, immediately congratulated him. "Congratulations, Sir! A handsome son and a beautiful daughter, all at once."
Lu Fan was overjoyed. He looked over the report one more time, then glanced up at Jiali. "Jiali, this report is accurate, right?"
His assistant, Jiali, replied, "Sir, this hospital is part of your own corporation. Do you still not trust it?"
"Good, that's good." Lu Fan finally let out a laugh of relief.
Although he had suspected that Jiang Silu and Jiang Sifan were very likely his children, Lu Fan hadn't dared to be certain until he saw the definitive data.
Now, the DNA test report was out, written clearly in black and white.
Lu Fan immediately stood up.
He asked Jiali, "Do we have all the info on Silu's class schedule and dorm building?"
"Yes, we do. She has a class this afternoon in room 301 of the Second Academic Building," Jiali replied with a nod.
"Good, well done." Lu Fan had to acknowledge his assistant's competence.
After all, for all these years, anything he tasked her with was always handled flawlessly.
Lu Fan looked at the information again. 'Silu is studying Landscape Architecture at Jinling University, and Sifan is studying Finance at Jinling Institute of Technology...'
Both were reputable universities, not just in Jinling but in the entire Jiangnan region.
Lu Fan hadn't expected them to achieve such excellent results, considering they grew up without a father and had such a difficult life.
'You've both suffered so much,' Lu Fan thought, vowing to make it up to them in the future.
Since he had met Jiang Silu yesterday and made a somewhat favorable impression, Lu Fan decided to press his advantage and build more of a presence with his daughter.
He looked at Chen He and said, "Chen He, get the car ready. We're going to Jinling University."
"Yes, Sir."
At this moment, Jiang Silu was still worried about her mother, Jiang Yixia.
Jiang Yixia's strange behavior and tone last night had really scared her.
After thinking it over, she finally decided to tell her brother, Jiang Sifan, about it.
Jiang Silu: [Jiang Sifan, are you busy?]
Jiang Sifan had just gotten out of class. Seeing the message from his sister, he immediately called her. "Hey, Jiang Silu! Have you forgotten your manners? Daring to use my full name... you got a death wish or something?"
Jiang Silu retorted, "You were born a whole two minutes before me. I'll call you 'Big Brother' in front of other people, but you want me to do it over text, too? Fat chance!"
Jiang Sifan replied calmly, "Well, I was thinking of going out this afternoon to buy a gift for Huihui, and I was going to grab some hand cream or something for you too. But on second thought... never mind..."
"No, no, no! My dearest big brother!" Jiang Silu's tone immediately turned sweet and wheedling. "You're the best!"
"What is it you wanted? Spit it out," Jiang Sifan grumbled. "Huihui's birthday is tomorrow, and I'm busy planning the perfect gift. So don't waste my time."
"I know, I know." Jiang Silu sounded slightly annoyed; every other word out of his mouth was 'Huihui'.
This Huihui's full name was Huang Hui. She was Jiang Sifan's high school classmate. They confessed their feelings for each other after graduating and had only recently started dating, so they were currently in the inseparable, joined-at-the-hip phase.
She told Jiang Sifan everything that happened yesterday afternoon, as well as Jiang Yixia's agitated tone last night.
"So you're saying, Mom heard that some guy named Lu ran into you, and she got all worked up and told you to stay away from him?" Jiang Sifan asked, puzzled.
"Yeah." Jiang Silu was just as confused. "I don't know why she'd say that, but it's the first time I've ever seen her get so emotional."
"Well, if Mom said so, you should listen to her. That Lu guy probably isn't a good person," Jiang Sifan offered his theory. "I bet back when Mom was working all those jobs, this guy liked her but wouldn't take no for an answer. He probably clung to her like a shameless mutt she couldn't get rid of, which is why she hates his guts."
As he spoke, something clicked for Jiang Sifan. "I get it now! No wonder he went out of his way to approach you. He sees you look like Mom, and since he couldn't get her, he's trying to get his hands on you! That's exactly what those creepy, greasy, middle-aged perverts do."
"Huh?" Jiang Silu pictured Lu Fan in her mind. It didn't seem to fit. "Really? I don't think so."
"Why not? Think about it! Society was a mess when Mom was eighteen. There must have been tons of punks around, and she was so beautiful back then. It has to be that!" Jiang Sifan insisted. "Anyway, the next time you see him, you run! If that doesn't work, call the police! And call me right away. My school's only a half-hour drive from yours. I'll grab a ride and come teach him a lesson!"
After hearing Jiang Sifan's words, Jiang Silu finally felt a little more at ease.
She had to admit, all these years, her big brother Jiang Sifan had always protected her.
She remembered when they were little, the other kids in the village would call her a fatherless bastard. It would make her so upset that she'd hide in a corner and cry, and it was always Jiang Sifan who would grab a stick and give those kids a thrashing.
Even though the parents of those kids came to make trouble for Jiang Yixia afterward, their fiercely protective mother never once scolded them over it.
It was a memory Jiang Silu had cherished all these years.
'So what if she didn't have a father? She had her big brother, her mom, her grandpa and grandma, her uncle...'
"Okay, okay, Big Brother, I get it. I'm not a three-year-old, you know. I'm heading to class now!"
After hanging up, Jiang Silu walked into the classroom cheerfully.
No sooner had she stepped inside than Lu Fan arrived at the ground floor of the academic building.
He looked at his watch, calculating the time Jiang Silu's class would end.