Jiang Sifan was nearly struck dumb with anger by what Jiang Silu said.
He rapped her sharply on the head. "What kind of things are you saying? Can't you be serious for a second?"
"What's the big deal? We're all adults. We learned all about the stuff between men and women in biology class," Jiang Silu said bluntly.
"That sort of thing... That sort of thing should happen naturally," Jiang Sifan explained, his face turning red as he cleared his throat.
Jiang Silu sighed. "Oh, come on. Don't be so bashful. A guy should be proactive when he needs to be. It's no big deal to just get a room."
Jiang Sifan stammered, "I... I'm not an idiot, I definitely..."
A second later, it dawned on him, and he immediately switched to a lecturing, elder-brother tone. "Just what are you looking at online all day? And what do you mean, 'it's no big deal to just get a room'? Let me tell you, you'd better not be messing around. Even if you have a boyfriend, you have to test him before you take the next step. Otherwise, I'm telling Mom!"
"I know, I know. I was just giving you some advice. I'm definitely strict with myself and lenient with others," Jiang Silu said calmly.
"Why the sudden visit today?" Jiang Sifan asked.
Jiang Silu explained, "No real reason. I just didn't have class this morning. Plus, having a biological father suddenly pop into our lives feels a little unreal, so I wanted to come chat with you."
As he listened to her, Jiang Sifan's gaze happened to fall on the phone in her hand. He frowned and asked, "What phone is that? Did you get a new one?"
Jiang Silu nodded. "Yeah. He gave it to me."
Jiang Sifan knew exactly who "he" was: their biological father, Lu Fan.
Jiang Sifan was speechless. "You were bought off that easily by an iPhone? You've really got some integrity, don't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Jiang Silu immediately retorted. "First of all, he didn't just give me an iPhone. He also gave me two down jackets, a Chanel bag, and a makeup set."
"E-Even if he gave you all that, you can't just accept it! Whatever he gives is his business," Jiang Sifan said, shocked that Lu Fan had given his sister so many gifts. Still, he forced a harsh tone.
But Jiang Silu said, "I refused at first, of course. I even called Mom about it. But Mom said it's that man's way of compensating us, and she told us to accept it without feeling burdened."
"Mom told you to accept it, so you just accepted it? I don't see you being this obedient usually," Jiang Sifan shot back.
"If Mom tells me to accept it, I'll accept it. I'm a good girl who listens to her mother." Jiang Silu stuck her tongue out. "You're not regretting your choice now that you see me getting all these gifts, are you?"
"I have no regrets," Jiang Sifan said stubbornly. "I, Jiang Sifan, would sooner drop dead from poverty, starvation, or thirst than accept a single favor from that man."
"You'd better mean that."
Jiang Silu then shared her own thoughts. "Honestly, Mom has a point. He's the one who left back then, so he didn't even know we existed. Now that he knows, he's trying to make it up to us. From the perspective of someone who just found out, there's nothing wrong with what he's doing now."
"But we empathize with Mom. Since Mom can't forgive him, we can't forgive him either."
Jiang Sifan nodded. "In any case, I will never acknowledge that man as my father. If you guys want to, that's on you."
With that, he started walking toward the cafeteria.
Jiang Silu asked curiously, "Wait a minute. Your little sister made a special trip to your university, and you're not actually taking her to the cafeteria, are you?"
"What's wrong with the cafeteria?" Jiang Sifan replied. "The food is good and cheap. It's great value for the money—way better than some Japanese or Thai place outside."
"You cheapskate." Jiang Silu stomped her foot but ultimately followed him.
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Yixia arrived at the flower shop.
She first greeted Li Li, the owner of the dry-cleaning shop. "Sister Li, good morning."
When Li Li saw Jiang Yixia, she perked up immediately. "Yixia, good morning~"
"Sister Li, you seem to be in especially high spirits today," Jiang Yixia noted curiously.
Li Li replied at once, "Of course! Good fortune lifts the spirits, as they say."
"What good fortune? Tell me, quick," Jiang Yixia asked.
Li Li decided to be mysterious. "Haha, my good fortune is all thanks to you."
"What? How is it thanks to me?"
Just as Jiang Yixia was wondering what was going on, she heard a familiar set of footsteps.
She whipped her head around.
There was Lu Fan, walking toward the bun shop across the street.
Jiang Yixia frowned and looked at Lu Fan. "What are you doing here again?"
"Huh?" Lu Fan feigned innocence. "I'm opening up for business."
"What business?" Jiang Yixia was speechless.
"I just took over this bun shop yesterday, so from now on, we'll be neighbors right across from each other," Lu Fan said with a smile.
Jiang Yixia's expression froze. He didn't look like he was joking.
She asked again, "You're saying you took over this bun shop yesterday?!"
"That's right," Lu Fan explained. "The owner saw how sincere I was and readily agreed."
Jiang Yixia was incredulous. "You... Do you even know how to make buns?"
"Nope."
Lu Fan gestured. "That's why I hired a few pastry chefs on short notice yesterday. They'll be doing the making."
Jiang Yixia was infuriated by his actions.
'A bun shop that needs several chefs? The profits won't even be enough to cover their salaries. This guy must have a bun for a brain!'
But Lu Fan shamelessly sidled up to her and said, "Yixia, it's my grand opening today. Whatever you want to eat is on the house."
"I don't want your buns." Jiang Yixia entered her flower shop without a backward glance, not wanting to exchange another word with him.
At that moment, Li Li came forward to speak with Lu Fan. "Brother Lu, how about I go talk to Yixia and try to persuade her?"
"It's fine, no rush. I've already taken over the bun shop across from the flower shop anyway. From now on, we're all neighbors on this street. We're bound to run into each other all the time. Familiarity breeds affection, you know?"
"Yes, yes, exactly! Familiarity breeds affection!" Li Li agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment, speaking from experience.
After all, she had been through it before.
Meanwhile, Lu Fan returned to his bun shop and began changing the sign, rebranding it to focus on exquisite pastries.
Inside her shop, Jiang Yixia watched Lu Fan bustling about across the street, a constant sense of unease in her heart.
'That damn philanderer, he's like a ghost that won't go away! He's driving me crazy.' Just as she was grumbling to herself, Jiasheng, the owner of the convenience store, walked in looking apprehensive.
"Brother Sheng, you're here." Thinking he needed something, Jiang Yixia asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Um... Yixia, I heard yesterday that... your... ex-husband is back, right?" Jiasheng asked awkwardly.
It clicked for Jiang Yixia instantly. She glanced at Lu Fan across the street, knowing full well that he must have given Jiasheng a hard time yesterday to stake his claim.
Although she was itching with frustration at the man, Jiang Yixia realized this was also a good opportunity to completely extinguish any hope Brother Jia might have.
So she nodded. "Yes. He came back this time to get back together with me."
"Then... are you going to say yes?" Jiasheng asked nervously.
"I don't know. I'm not ready to forgive him yet. But if I ever decide to remarry, he's the only one I would ever remarry in this lifetime."
Just as she intended, Jiang Yixia's words completely snuffed out any last glimmer of hope for Jiasheng.