That evening.
After returning to her dorm, Jiang Silu leaned against the balcony railing and called Jiang Yixia.
"Hey, Mom~ What are you up to?~" Jiang Silu asked curiously.
Jiang Yixia had just gotten ho. She answered the call as she opened her door, saying, "I just got ho."
"Oh? You closed up shop and ca ho this early today? Are you not feeling well?" Jiang Silu knew that, given Jiang Yixia’s personality, she would never co ho at eight in the evening unless she had a fever or a headache—not even in a storm.
Jiang Yixia hesitated for a mont before finally telling her the reason.
"I went to the hospital," she explained.
Just as she’d suspected, Jiang Silu imdiately grew tense. "You went to the hospital? What’s wrong? Are you sick?"
"It wasn’t for ," Jiang Yixia replied. "This morning, the rolling shutter on the flower shop was broken. I couldn’t pull it up, and then... and then..."
Jiang Silu grew anxious listening to her. "And then what?"
"Then your dad ca and pulled the shutter open," Jiang Yixia stamred. "But he accidentally cut his hand. It was a pretty deep gash, so we went to the hospital. The doctor said there are a lot of nerves in the palm, so he needs to be kept for observation."
"Huh?" Jiang Silu started to worry. "Is it that serious?..."
"Mhm." Jiang Yixia knew that Lu Fan had bought Jiang Silu clothes and shoes and had even taken her out for Western food. ’Her daughter’s attitude toward her father must have softened quite a bit,’ she thought.
So, she urged her, "If you have ti, you should send him a ssage and see how he’s doing."
"Okay..." Jiang Silu wasn’t sure if she actually would send a ssage, but she agreed subconsciously.
She then told Jiang Yixia about visiting her classmate’s ho that day.
After hearing about it, Jiang Yixia advised her, "If you don’t like her brother, just be direct and turn him down. You don’t need to feel awkward about it."
"Mhm, I know. It’s just... I’m not always good at turning people down..." Jiang Silu said in a small voice.
"Don’t worry about what might happen after you say no. That’s a problem for later. Lulu, you’ve been compromising your own feelings your whole life. Sotis you have your own ideas, but you still go along with what others suggest. You have to rember to follow your own heart, understand?"
Jiang Silu nodded. "Mhm, I understand, Mom."
She checked the ti and said hurriedly, "Mom, I have to go. I need to work on my drawings. The project is due in a week."
"Okay, but don’t work too hard. Rest when you need to, you hear?" Jiang Yixia said with concern.
"I know~"
After hanging up, Jiang Silu went back to her desk and resud her work on the drawings.
She kept drawing until eleven o’clock at night.
Even though her roommates, Song Miaomiao and Lu Yao, were still on their phones, Jiang Silu was considerate enough to ask, "It’s getting late. I’ll turn off the main light for you guys, okay?~"
With that, she ran over to turn off the light. Then she draped so clothes over her computer screen and turned the brightness down as low as it would go.
Song Miaomiao said caringly, "Lulu, we’re not ready to sleep yet. It’s fine. If you need to draw, just keep the light on."
"Yeah, Lulu, you’ll ruin your eyesight like that," Lu Yao added.
Jiang Silu was touched by their words.
But a dorm room wasn’t her own private room, after all.
She couldn’t disrupt her roommates’ rest just so she could work on her project.
After drawing for another half hour, Jiang Silu went to bed as well.
’The project is due in five days. There’s still enough ti, technically.’
’But this is my first design, after all. I need to leave plenty of ti for the upperclassn to review it.’
’But working on it in the dorm will disturb Miaomiao and Yaoyao’s sleep.’
’Maybe I should get a hotel room for a few days.’
Jiang Silu hadn’t checked the prices of hotels near the university yet.
But even if it was a hundred yuan a night, she could grit her teeth and afford it for five days.
For the sake of this design project, Jiang Silu decided to go all out!
’I’ll look for a hotel tomorrow!’
「anwhile.」
Jiang Yixia hadn’t heard from her son, Jiang Sifan, in several days.
She assud he was still wrapped up in his startup venture.
Thinking of this, she gave Jiang Sifan a call.
"Hello, Sifan? I’m not bothering you, am I?" Jiang Yixia asked tentatively.
Jiang Sifan laughed. "Mom, I just got back to my dorm."
"Getting back to your dorm this late?" Jiang Yixia was a little worried. "Where were you?"
"I was working on my startup!" Jiang Sifan said excitedly. "Mom, I t a benefactor!"
"A benefactor? Tell about it." Seeing that Jiang Sifan seed to be in high spirits today, the gloom of the past few days completely gone, Jiang Yixia felt a sense of relief.
Jiang Sifan started off indignantly, "Mom, I actually got scamd with my startup. It makes so mad! Those two upperclassn were total scumbags."
"But I didn’t give up! Then my partner happened to et a lawyer from a law firm. After she heard our story, she helped us find new shops and talk to the owners about partnering up. As of today, we already have eight shops cooperating with us!!"
"And the lawyer said she’ll help us gather evidence to sue that company."
"It’s aweso!"
Listening to Jiang Sifan’s excited retelling, Jiang Yixia understood. ’This is all Lu Fan’s doing, helping him secretly from behind the scenes.’
’That guy can be unreliable sotis... no, not sotis, most of the ti!’
’But when it cos to helping the kids, he’s actually done a great job.’
There were tis her financial situation had prevented her from giving her children the best of everything.
She often felt guilty about it.
Perhaps Lu Fan’s return could fill that void.
Although she had taught her children not to be too materialistic, Jiang Yixia also knew they were only human.
And humans have feelings.
They make comparisons.
So, she said with relief, "Sifan, you’re already doing so much better than your peers. Just rember to get plenty of rest, okay?"
"I will!" Jiang Sifan was now full of motivation. He even made a bold declaration, "Mom, don’t you worry. I’m starting this business as a freshman. By the ti I graduate, I might be able to save up a few hundred thousand. Then I’ll pick out a nice neighborhood and buy an apartnt. We’ll finally have a real ho of our own!"
Hearing this, Jiang Yixia’s eyes welled up with tears.
When it ca to filial piety, both of her children were truly devoted.
So devoted that it made her feel guilty for never having been able to give them the best.
When Jiang Yixia didn’t say anything for a long mont, Jiang Sifan asked tentatively, "Mom, what’s wrong?"
"N-nothing," Jiang Yixia said with a laugh. "I’m just so happy. You’re all grown up."
"By the way, Mom, has *he* been bothering you lately? If he has, just tell , and I’ll co right back to Yangcheng," Jiang Sifan said, suddenly rembering that Lu Fan had opened a pastry shop right across from Jiang Yixia’s flower shop.
Hearing this, Jiang Yixia decided to put in a good word for Lu Fan, hoping to improve his image in Jiang Sifan’s eyes. "Don’t worry, your dad has been very respectful."
"He’s not my dad. I don’t acknowledge him," Jiang Sifan said, still sulking. "Anyway, he was gone for eighteen years, and we lived just fine. I can support this family without him."
"Sifan..."
"Alright, Mom, you should get so rest. Don’t work too hard, either. Don’t worry, I’ll give it my all! I promise I won’t let my studies or my business suffer!" Jiang Sifan assured her.
After hanging up, Jiang Yixia stared at her phone screen. For a mont there, she had desperately wanted to tell Jiang Sifan that Lu Fan was the one secretly helping with his startup.
She wanted him to see his father in a new light.
But she was afraid her son was too stubborn. If he found out, he probably wouldn’t be able to handle it.
’Sigh... I’ll just have to find the right ti.’
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