"Can't I even come here to buy flowers?" Lu Fan used the purchase as a pretext, glancing at the roses on the table. "I'll buy every flower you have in the shop today. How about it?"
"I don't want to sell to you." Jiang Yixia's eyes were red as she stared at him.
She hadn't seen him since she'd stormed away from the scumbag before her nineteen years ago.
Seeing Lu Fan again now, Jiang Yixia was filled with a whirlwind of emotions.
There was hate, and also...
'No, it's just hate.'
'There are no other feelings.'
Jiang Yixia kept trying to convince herself.
They had already severed all ties.
She glared at Lu Fan coldly. "I'll say it again. Leave, now. Don't make me force you."
"Yixia, can we please talk?" Lu Fan pleaded. "I know it was my fault. Everything was my fault. I shouldn't have failed you. This time, I'm truly ready to change."
"I have nothing to say to you." Jiang Yixia started shoving Lu Fan toward the door. "You said the same thing back then, but you just kept disappointing me, over and over again. Do you really think I'd ever believe you again?"
Lu Fan stumbled backward under Jiang Yixia's shoves.
Of course, with his build, it would be next to impossible for a slender woman like Jiang Yixia to actually move him.
He was just letting her.
"Yixia, please let me explain. Everything that happened was my fault. But I also know one thing for sure: you're the one I've loved all these years. That's why I came looking for you the moment I found out you'd had our two children," Lu Fan said.
"How do you know they're your children?" Jiang Yixia immediately grew suspicious.
Lu Fan didn't answer, only smiling.
It dawned on Jiang Yixia, and she demanded angrily, "You had me investigated, didn't you?! Did you hurt them?"
"Yixia, they're my own flesh and blood. How could I ever hurt them? When I found out they were mine, I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night," Lu Fan continued. "I had someone run a DNA test on myself and the kids. That's how I found out you never remarried, that you've been raising our children all this time."
"I'm the one who wronged you. Hit me, curse me—I'll take it all." Lu Fan decided to go with the classic self-torment act, and with that, he slapped himself hard across the face several times.
But Jiang Yixia was no longer the naive young girl she used to be.
His repeated deception had long since eroded any trust she might have had in him.
"Don't make me call the police." Jiang Yixia ordered him out again, pointing to the door. "I'm closing up. Get out, or I'm calling them."
And just like that, Lu Fan found himself shut outside.
"Yixia, you have to believe me! I was wrong, I really was. I'm willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you and the kids," Lu Fan called through the door.
"Get lost!"
But all he got in return was Jiang Yixia's cold refusal.
Of course, Lu Fan wasn't one to be defeated by such a small setback.
He knew Yixia wouldn't forgive him easily. It would all take time.
Since he couldn't get through to Jiang Yixia, Lu Fan figured he could start with their two children.
If the children accepted him, Yixia naturally wouldn't be able to refuse him either.
Before leaving, he glanced at the steamed bun shop across from the flower shop, mulled it over for a few seconds, and then departed.
As for Jiang Yixia, she leaned against the door, her legs giving out as she slumped to the floor.
She didn't understand. Why, just when she was finally about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, did Lu Fan have to reappear?
She had sworn she would never see the scumbag who had hurt her nineteen years ago ever again.
But seeing him now, all the grievances Jiang Yixia had suffered over the years came flooding back at once.
She wept, cursing Lu Fan between sobs. "You bastard... you damn player... why did you do that to me back then?"
"If you had just treated me right, we could have had a happy family. We could have raised our two children together. But do you have any idea how much I've suffered these past eighteen years?"
"And now you come running back, asking me to forgive you."
"I can't."
Perhaps she was just too exhausted from all these years. After seeing Lu Fan, Jiang Yixia finally let herself have a long, hard cry.
She hadn't dared to cry before, afraid that if she started, the last bit of resolve holding her together would shatter.
She couldn't afford to break down, lest her two children see her.
Now that her children were finally in college, she had thought her struggles were almost over.
She never expected to be dealt such a brutal emotional blow.
Jiang Yixia closed her eyes, picturing Lu Fan as he'd just appeared.
'The suit, the confident smile... that bastard is forty years old, and he still looks just like he did nineteen years ago.'
'She didn't understand why, after this son of a bitch had made her life so miserable, her heart still skipped a beat when she saw him.'
"You bastard... Did I owe you something in a past life?..."
...
Lu Fan got back in his car and immediately started giving orders. "Chen He, arrange for some people to protect Yixia discreetly. And have someone drop by the shop every day at random times. Don't be obvious about it, and don't buy too many flowers. She's very sharp."
Chen He nodded immediately. "Understood, boss. I'll get right on it."
"Good. Let's head back to Jinling," Lu Fan said.
"Boss, we're leaving already?" his assistant, Jiali, asked.
Lu Fan nodded. "Help me check if my son is on campus right now. I want to go see him."
Meanwhile, Jiang Sifan and Huang Hui were heading to the food street just outside the campus gates.
As they walked, Jiang Sifan reached for Huang Hui's hand.
But Huang Hui pulled away, whispering, "Sifan, there are too many people. Let's not."
Jiang Sifan just laughed. "What's there to be afraid of? We're not in high school anymore. We're college students; it's not like we have to hide our relationship."
"Ugh, I just don't like it," Huang Hui said, quickening her pace to put a little distance between them.
To Jiang Sifan, these were just the actions of a proper, well-bred young woman.
'She must just be shy,' he thought, 'embarrassed to be all lovey-dovey in front of everyone.'
That was perfectly normal.
He had liked Huang Hui since their first year of high school.
Huang Hui wasn't what you would call stunningly beautiful.
But one time, Jiang Sifan had skipped breakfast and was getting dizzy from low blood sugar.
Huang Hui, who was his deskmate at the time, found out and gave him the egg from her own breakfast.
That single act was what made Jiang Sifan fall completely for her.
Sometimes, when you come from a broken home, a small act of kindness from an outsider can feel magnified in your heart.
Growing up, Jiang Sifan had always been called a fatherless bastard, which made him keep others at a distance, like a hedgehog with its quills up.
Fortunately, his grades were good, so he received special attention from his teachers and homeroom advisor.
Because of all this, Jiang Sifan felt he had to treat Huang Hui well in the future. He absolutely could not be a player like his scumbag father, who loved and left women without a second thought.
Just as Jiang Sifan was about to ask Huang Hui what she wanted to eat, two girls appeared in front of her. "Huihui! So this is why you're not eating with us. You're on a secret date with a cute guy!"
Huang Hui was a little surprised to see them. "What are you guys doing at the food street?"
"Yeah, we decided not to eat in the cafeteria today," one of them, a girl with short hair, said. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the handsome guy next to Huang Hui, and she asked curiously, "Who's this handsome? Is he your boyfriend?"
Huang Hui replied, a little proudly, "He is. He's my boyfriend. I've always said, I don't even look at guys who aren't handsome."
Seeing Huang Hui introduce him, Jiang Sifan immediately stepped forward to greet them. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Huang Hui's boyfriend, Jiang Sifan."
"Sifan, these are my roommates," Huang Hui said, pointing to the girl with long hair. "This is Chen Kailin."
Then she pointed to the other short-haired girl, who had an outgoing personality and was wearing denim shorts. "And this is Hu Ke."
"Just call me Cocoa!" Hu Ke said, flashing a peace sign as she introduced herself.
Then she asked, testing the waters, "Since we ran into each other, why don't we all eat together? Your boyfriend can treat us."
"Oh? Uh..." Huang Hui, who had just been showing off, suddenly shot an awkward glance at Jiang Sifan.
She knew Jiang Sifan didn't have much spending money, which was one of the reasons she didn't like going out with him.
After all, Chen Kailin's boyfriend often took her downtown for fancy dinners, while Jiang Sifan could only treat her to a bowl of malatang.
Jiang Sifan noticed Huang Hui's expression and put on a relaxed air. "Sure, no problem. My treat."
Then he leaned in and whispered to Huang Hui, "It's okay. I made 70 yuan from my food delivery job yesterday."
Hearing this, Huang Hui could only manage an awkward smile.
'Seventy yuan... Chen Kailin's boyfriend probably spends more than that on a single drink.'
She looked at Jiang Sifan's handsome face and suddenly felt that while other girls' boyfriends were the wealthy type, hers, aside from his good looks, didn't seem to offer much else.