Jiang Yixia returned to her shop and began calculating the day's profits from the roses.
She didn't want to take advantage of Lu Fan, nor did she want to have anything to do with him.
But just then, a furtive figure slipped into the shop.
Jiang Yixia frowned and looked at Lu Fan. "What are you doing here again?"
"Are you really calculating today's profits from the roses?" Lu Fan chuckled.
"I won't take advantage of you. I don't need to. I'll live my own life just fine," Jiang Yixia explained coldly.
Lu Fan, however, was shameless. He simply grabbed a broom from beside the shop entrance and started sweeping. "I'm not a bad guy. Besides, have you ever seen a bad guy as handsome as me?"
"You're right, you're not a bad guy. I never told the children you were a bad guy. I just said you weren't a *good* person," Jiang Yixia replied.
Lu Fan knew she was still being passive-aggressive with him.
'But that's to be expected. After all, I hurt her so deeply back then.'
"All calculated. I'm transferring you 269 yuan." With that, Jiang Yixia took out her phone, preparing to scan his payment code.
"No need, no need." Lu Fan quickly stepped forward. "How about this? I'll pick out a bouquet from you. My new shop just opened today, and I think a bouquet would be a nice touch."
Yixia felt helpless against him and had no choice but to say, "Then pick it out yourself."
"Could you arrange a bouquet based on my personality? I'm sure I'll like whatever you make."
Jiang Yixia said calmly, "In that case, I'll choose chrysanthemums."
"Hey, hey, hey," Lu Fan said awkwardly. "Chrysanthemums aren't a great choice for a new store's grand opening."
"Are you picking or not? If you don't, I'm making you one with chrysanthemums," Jiang Yixia said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Then I'll choose... sunflowers. Facing the sun, yearning for the sun, I think that's pretty good. And then add two roses. Oh, and I like baby's breath, add some of that for me too."
Seeing his motley selection, Jiang Yixia couldn't help but mutter, "You really have no aesthetic sense at all. What kind of taste is this... just a random mess."
"I used up all my aesthetic sense nineteen years ago," Lu Fan said with a smile.
At first, Jiang Yixia didn't understand what he meant, but she caught on a second later.
Her face flushed slightly, but she still scolded him angrily, "That line might have worked nineteen years ago, but it doesn't work now."
And so, Jiang Yixia arranged the flowers while Lu Fan swept the floor.
In Lu Fan's mind, this picturesque moment lasted a full five minutes.
"It's ready." Jiang Yixia handed the bouquet over. "Now get out of my shop."
Lu Fan looked up, and a giant sunflower was practically shoved in his face. He jumped back in shock. "Whoa, why is it so ugly?"
Jiang Yixia suppressed a laugh, but her tone remained cold. "You're the one who picked this combination of flowers."
Seeing this, Lu Fan had no choice but to take the sunflower-themed bouquet and walk back.
When Jiang Yixia saw him leave, although the little episode had left her feeling a bit smug, she still muttered, "Idiot!"
'Of course, this was all part of my plan.'
'Sometimes, this is just how you have to handle women.'
'Show a little weakness, make a fool of yourself... after a while, it's bound to cool her anger.'
'This trick never fails.'
'As for why I've had to test it so many times... well, never mind that.'
Back at his own shop, Chen He came up and asked, "Boss, are we heading back to Jinling?"
"Why? Did something happen?" Lu Fan asked in return.
"Nothing, it's just a little boring staying in the bun shop... Heh heh, it was more fun abroad," Chen He explained sheepishly.
Lu Fan retorted, "Rein in that personality you developed abroad. Pulling knives and guns might be fine overseas, but this is our country. Here, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem at all."
"Understood, Boss!" Chen He even joked, "Actually, the most dangerous thing in this country is probably helping an old lady cross the street."
Lu Fan then turned to his assistant, Jiali. "By the way, have the bank cards for the two of them been set up?"
"They're ready," Jiali said with a nod.
Just yesterday, Lu Fan had instructed Jiali to set up bank accounts for his two children.
As for how she managed to open bank accounts for them without them being present, that was simple enough.
After all, the requirement to be present in person was a rule for ordinary people. A rule that, naturally, didn't apply to Lu Fan.
Jiali then asked, "Boss, how much money should I transfer into the young master's and young miss's bank cards?"
Jiali had assumed that, as compensation, Lu Fan would surely transfer a "small goal" of a hundred million yuan into each account.
But Lu Fan said, "Just transfer ten thousand yuan into each for now."
"T-ten thousand?" Jiali asked tentatively.
Lu Fan smiled. "You think that's too little, don't you?"
Jiali didn't speak, but she didn't understand why her boss was doing this.
For him, ten thousand yuan was the equivalent of a dime to an ordinary person.
In all her years of assisting him, she knew Lu Fan was not a stingy person.
He even paid them, his "system people," the highest possible salaries.
Yes, Jiali and the others received salaries. They were no different from ordinary people—they liked to look good and had their own hobbies. The only difference was the absolute loyalty to Lu Fan hardwired into their minds.
Given this, Lu Fan merely having Jiali deposit ten thousand yuan into each of the two bank cards was truly baffling.
Lu Fan calmly explained, "Silu and Sifan have always been frugal. They even work part-time jobs to cover their living expenses. If I suddenly drop a bank card with millions or tens of millions on them, the shock and joy could cause a person's thoughts and behavior to change."
"As the saying goes, 'Find joy not in possessions, find sorrow not in self.' But they're only eighteen. It's too much to expect that of them. Hell, I'm not even sure I could have done it when I was younger."
"So, it's better if I just give them enough of an allowance to ease their financial worries for now. I heard from Chen He earlier that the bodyguards we sent saw Sifan often doing his homework in the school's computer lab. That tells me he doesn't have his own laptop."
Jiali then asked, "But the young master refused to accept your gift. There was an Alienware computer in that box."
"We'll take it slow. I know that as the boy, he must have suffered a lot. He's had to protect his sister and mother since he was young. His resentment towards me is definitely deeper than his sister's," Lu Fan replied.
At this, Chen He sighed emotionally. "If the young master and young miss knew how much effort you're putting in, Boss, I'm sure they would forgive you once they learned the truth."
"Not necessarily," Lu Fan said with a smile. "If I could earn their forgiveness by doing something this simple, it would make the suffering they've endured for over a decade seem completely worthless."
With that, he stood up. "Alright, let's head back to Jinling."
Then Lu Fan walked to the entrance of his shop and shouted in the direction of the flower shop, "Yixia, I'm leaving! You should close up and get some rest soon, too."
Jiang Yixia didn't want to deal with him and simply turned her back.
Lu Fan, however, didn't mind. After all, it would be a strange day if Jiang Yixia *didn't* do that.
The owner of the dry-cleaning shop next door, Sister Li, waved goodbye. "Brother Lu, closing up for the day?"
"Mhm, yeah. Sister Li, you haven't closed up shop yet?" Lu Fan asked.
"In our line of work, a lot of people drop off their dry cleaning at night, so we can't close until eleven or twelve," Li Li replied.
Lu Fan smiled. "Well, take care of yourself, Sister Li. And if Yixia needs any help, please look out for her."
"No problem, no problem! I treat Yixia like my own little sister," Li Li said, grinning so wide her eyes nearly disappeared.
And with that, Lu Fan left.
After he was gone, Li Li mused to herself, 'This Boss Lu is loaded.'
Just yesterday, she had signed a contract with Lu Fan's assistant for a fixed delivery of over a hundred items of clothing to be cleaned every day. It would be no problem to earn an extra five or six hundred yuan a day from that!
It was practically a stable windfall from heaven.
She clasped her hands together in prayer. 'I hope our Boss Lu makes up with Sister Xia soon! Then, seeing how much I've helped, maybe he'll give my dry-cleaning shop enough business for the rest of my life!!'
After making her wish, Li Li immediately hurried over to the flower shop.
Seeing Jiang Yixia, she said with a laugh, "Yixia, my dear, look at Brother Lu. He went through so much trouble to organize this event just to get your forgiveness. The man's clearly sincere."
Jiang Yixia knew Li Li was back to playing his advocate, so she frowned and grumbled, "Sister Li, what kind of sweet talk did he feed you? I've known you for over two years, and now you're advocating for a guy you just met a few days ago."
"What are you talking about?" Li Li immediately grabbed Jiang Yixia's arm, feigning intimacy. "Yixia, if you say that, you'll make Sister Li angry. I've been on your side from the very beginning, thinking from your perspective."
"Then stop bringing him up in front of me," Jiang Yixia complained helplessly. "I've said it so many times. That man is gone from my life. I don't want any connection to him, and I don't want him in my life."
"Oh, come on," Li Li soothed. "You've been raising the kids by yourself all these years and haven't looked for another man. Let's be honest, he's still in your heart, isn't he? You've held on for nineteen years. No matter how much you hate him, that hatred should have faded by now. And even if we take a step back..."
Li Li looked around, then whispered in Jiang Yixia's ear, "You haven't been with a man in over a decade. Can you really stand it?"
Jiang Yixia, blushing, cut her off. "Sister Li, what nonsense are you spouting now? I'm closing up shop."
Seeing Jiang Yixia turn beet red, Li Li snickered. "Haha, every time we talk about things between men and women, you get that maidenly blush. It just goes to show how little experience you have. A woman is like a wolf at thirty and a tiger at forty. We women are in our prime. If you ask me, there's nothing that can't be solved in bed."
"Alright, alright, Sister Li, you have a customer in your shop," Jiang Yixia said, trying to usher Li Li out.
Li Li wasn't in a hurry. 'A little brainwashing every day,' she thought, 'and it won't be long before Yixia's opinion of Lu Fan starts to change.'
She smiled. "Okay, okay, I'll head back to my shop then. Be careful on your way home."
After finally getting Li Li back to her own shop, Jiang Yixia finished packing up, closed the door, and left.
As she passed the convenience store, she happened to see Jiasheng coming out.
Jiang Yixia felt a little awkward about Jiasheng. Even though she and Lu Fan had little to do with each other now, that guy had actually run over to the convenience store to "declare his sovereignty" over her to Jiasheng. He did whatever he damn well pleased!
As for Jiasheng, after secretly watching from his shop's entrance how Jiang Yixia treated Lu Fan, he was convinced that she hadn't forgiven her ex-husband yet.
'That means I still have a chance! A chance to make a comeback!!'
He had deliberately waited for Jiang Yixia to close her shop before immediately walking out. "Yixia, it's cold tonight. Here, two hand warmers for you."
As he spoke, he tossed the hand warmers onto the front of her electric scooter, then immediately turned and went back into his shop, as if afraid she would refuse.
Jiang Yixia really did want to refuse, but Jiasheng was already back in his shop, gesturing for her to go on. She could only say, "Well, thank you, Brother Jia."
Then she left.
However, as she was leaving, she took out her phone and transferred ten yuan to Jiasheng to pay for the hand warmers.
Jiang Yixia didn't want to owe Jiasheng any favors, nor did she want to give him the wrong idea.
Right now, all she wanted was to make good money and send enough for living expenses to her two children and her own parents each month. That was enough.