Lu Fan sat in the car, not annoyed at all that Jiang Sifan had deleted him on WeChat. In fact, he was smiling.
It was true that both siblings harbored some animosity toward him.
But that was only normal.
After all, he was a stranger who had suddenly appeared in their lives, and their own mother had repeatedly warned them not to see him.
If they weren't wary under these circumstances, it would mean they had a dangerously naive view of the world.
Good people made up the majority of the world.
But there were plenty of bad ones, too.
Having navigated the treacherous waters of the business world for the past twenty years, Lu Fan understood the endless deception and intrigue better than most.
He looked up and asked Chen He, "Chen He, did Yixia accept the gifts?"
"Boss, when the madam opened the flower shop, she saw the gifts and eventually took them inside," Chen He explained.
Lu Fan nodded in satisfaction.
When Jiang Yixia had thrown him out of the flower shop earlier, Lu Fan had left the gifts he was carrying at the door.
Among them were high-end skincare products, as well as nourishing supplements like bird's nest and cordyceps.
Although Jiang Yixia truly hated Lu Fan, she wasn't a fool.
Throwing all those expensive gifts in the trash would be a waste.
Hating him was one thing, but letting her emotions lead to such wastefulness wasn't Jiang Yixia's style.
He then stood up and said to Chen He, "Chen He, come on. Let's go for a swim."
"Yes, Boss."
Within Lu Fan's estate, there was a complex of buildings dedicated to fitness.
The ground floor of one housed a swimming pool the size of four or five basketball courts.
Chen He loved swimming here, but he could only get in the water when Lu Fan wanted to race.
"Same as always. Loser runs ten laps around the pool." As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Fan executed a perfect dive and plunged into the water.
Seeing this, Chen He quickly shouted, "Boss, that's a dirty trick!"
...
That evening, Jiang Silu called Jiang Yixia.
"Hello, Lulu~"
Although seeing Lu Fan today had thrown her for a loop, Jiang Yixia did her best to sound calm for her daughter.
"Mom, are you still at the flower shop?" Jiang Silu asked.
"Mhm, a customer just came by, so I thought I'd close up a little later," Jiang Yixia explained.
Jiang Silu's heart ached for her. "Oh, Mom, it's getting late. You should close up and stop working. My brother and I can both earn money now, so you don't have to work so hard."
"You think there won't be plenty of expenses later on? In four years, you two will graduate and start working. Your brother will need to get married, and you'll be getting married. We'll need to prepare for his betrothal gift and your dowry," Jiang Yixia said with a smile.
But Jiang Silu replied, "My brother and I will earn all of that ourselves. You don't need to wear yourself out. Besides, if we run into any of those ridiculously expensive betrothal gift or dowry customs, we just won't get married. What era is this anyway, still demanding huge bride prices?"
"That's easy for you to say. My greatest wish right now is to see you both get married and start your own families. Then I can finally rest easy. Even if I'm all alone at home, I'll have nothing to worry about," Jiang Yixia said cheerfully.
Hearing this, Jiang Silu tested the waters. "Mom, why don't you find someone? My brother and I are adults now. We've always hoped a man could take care of you. You're just too tired."
Jiang Yixia's heart skipped a beat when she heard that.
The image of that scumbag immediately flashed through her mind.
She quickly and awkwardly explained, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not thinking about that right now. Besides, you make it sound so easy, as if I can just find a man whenever I want."
"By the way, Mom, that Uncle Lu came looking for me again today," Jiang Silu said.
Jiang Yixia immediately grew tense. "He came to see you again? Did he do anything to you?"
"No, he didn't. I told him that you told me to stay away from him, and then he left, looking a little disappointed," Jiang Silu explained. "Mom, is he really a bad person? I don't think he seems like one."
Hearing her daughter's words, Jiang Yixia hesitated.
"Mom?"
It was only when Jiang Silu called out again that Jiang Yixia took a deep breath. Then, in a solemn tone, she said, "Lulu, what I'm about to tell you might be a bit of a shock, so you need to be prepared."
"What is it? You're being so mysterious. Hurry up and tell me, Mom," Jiang Silu said, her curiosity piqued.
"That Uncle Lu... is your biological father. The father you've never met."
Jiang Silu: "..."
"What the actual hell?!" The next second, Jiang Silu exclaimed in shock, "You're saying he's the one who abandoned the three of us?!"
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Yixia immediately explained, "No, no, Lulu. Although your father did do something to wrong me back then, he didn't abandon you. I was the one who left in a fit of anger, and he never knew I was pregnant."
"He ran into you by chance that day and saw how much you look like me, so he knew you were my daughter. Later, he had someone look into it and found out that you and your brother are his biological children. He wanted to acknowledge you both right away."
"And today, he did everything he could to find me and beg for my forgiveness."
When Jiang Silu heard this, she grew anxious. "Mom, he found you? Did he do anything to you? Did he bully you?!"
"No, no."
Although Lu Fan had indeed betrayed Jiang Yixia in the past, she still tried to protect his image in front of their child. "The moment he found out you and your brother were his biological children, he came to find me and ask for my forgiveness. That shows that he really does care about you."
"Hmph. If he cared about me and my brother, where was he all those years ago? Why didn't he come looking for us? When I was little, I wished so badly that my dad would suddenly appear one day. Then I could proudly tell all my friends, 'See, that's my dad!'"
"But in all these years, he never showed up! He was never there when my brother and I needed him most!" The more Jiang Silu spoke, the angrier she became. She said to Jiang Yixia, "Mom, if he ever dares to bother you again, you have to tell me. My brother and I will take the high-speed train back immediately. No one gets to bully the Jiangs!"
"Lulu, don't worry, he won't bully me." Jiang Yixia cautiously added, "If you're willing, you could try to forgive your father. After all, he really didn't know you were his children."
'I don't want my two children to live their whole lives in the shadow of hating their father. Plus, from Lu Fan's actions, I can genuinely feel that he wants to acknowledge them.'
'If I can help ease the relationship between him and his son and daughter, perhaps it could also atone for my own sin of running away all those years ago.'
'After all, I left in a fit of anger and raised two children by myself, causing them to grow up without a father's companionship. That truly was my fault.'
Listening to Jiang Yixia, Jiang Silu replied, "Okay, fine. But now that I know he's my dad, I don't want to see him again."
Jiang Yixia knew her daughter would need some time to process and fully accept the situation.
After hanging up, she told Jiang Sifan the news.
'After all, the kids are grown now. They have a right to know who their biological father is.'
Jiang Sifan was not as emotionally stable as Jiang Silu. When he learned that Lu Fan was his biological father, he exploded with anger. "Mom, why didn't you tell me sooner?! If I had known he was my dad, I would have punched him right then and there! That cheating scumbag doesn't deserve to be my father!!"