"Did you run short on money treating your classmates to a meal?" Lu Fan asked.
The question caught Jiang Sifan, who was standing nearby, off guard.
He nodded awkwardly. "Ah… yes, I just don't have enough in my WeChat wallet."
"It's fine. Let me lend you some."
With that, Lu Fan took out his phone and pulled up his QR code.
"No, no, it's okay." Jiang Sifan immediately tried to stop him. "Thank you, Sir, but there's no need. I can just ask a friend."
"Don't worry about it. I was just watching you eat with your classmates, and it reminded me of when I was young. Think of it as me treating my younger self to a meal," Lu Fan explained.
Hearing this, Jiang Sifan's anxiety eased a little.
He saw that Jiang Silu still hadn't replied. 'She might be in class,' he thought. 'If I have to wait for her to transfer the money, it'll take forever.'
Besides, Huang Hui and her roommates were still waiting, and they'd start to wonder if he took too long.
After weighing his options, Jiang Sifan thanked him again. "In that case, thank you so much, Sir. I'll add you on WeChat and pay you back tomorrow."
"It's no problem. Just pay me back whenever you have the money," Lu Fan said with a chuckle. "Watching you young people get together and chat reminds me of my own youth."
"Sir, you're so handsome. You must have had a lot of girls after you when you were young, right?" Jiang Sifan looked at the middle-aged man before him. Although he was quite a bit older, he seemed mature and composed, with a refined air about him. He had to be a wealthy man.
He even found himself thinking, 'I wish I could have a status like his someday.'
He immediately took out his phone to add him on WeChat. "I've sent you a request. My name is Jiang Sifan. I'm a first-year finance major at Jinling Institute of Technology. Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back."
Jiang Sifan even volunteered his personal information to convince Lu Fan that he wasn't a freeloader.
Seeing how earnest and innocent his son was, Lu Fan thought, 'Jiang Yixia has raised him well.'
After all, without a father figure, many children go astray.
That was the downside of a single-parent home.
But Jiang Sifan hadn't.
Not only that, he was an exceptional young man.
Dedicated and responsible.
And in the look in his eyes, Lu Fan could even see a hint of his own younger self.
The more Lu Fan looked at his son, the more he liked what he saw.
"Alright, you should get back to your classmates before they get anxious waiting," Lu Fan said with a wave, preparing to leave.
After thanking him one more time, Jiang Sifan returned to Huang Hui's side.
Hu Ke asked curiously, "Sifan, how much was the meal?"
"Over 600," Jiang Sifan explained.
"That's so expensive! If I hadn't run into you and Huihui today, I'd never get to eat such good Japanese food." As she spoke, Hu Ke took the opportunity to grab Huang Hui's hand. "Huihui, I'm so jealous of you! It's one thing for your boyfriend to be this handsome, but he's so generous too! BOOHOO, when will I ever find a boyfriend like that?"
Hearing Hu Ke's words, Huang Hui felt a surge of smug satisfaction. She feigned modesty and said, "Cocoa, you're so pretty, you'll definitely find a boyfriend as handsome as Sifan~ And when you do, you have to remember to have him treat us back."
"Don't worry, don't worry, I definitely will."
Since Hu Ke and Chen Kailin had to go to the supermarket, the group parted ways at the school gate.
After the other two left, Huang Hui immediately linked her arm through Jiang Sifan's. "Babe, you were so generous today."
Jiang Sifan gave a bitter, awkward smile. "But that meal really was expensive. And I don't think it was very filling. Not a great value for the money."
"Who goes out for Japanese food for the value?" Huang Hui explained. "It's like when Kaelin and her boyfriend go. They're after the emotional value. You don't go often, so you don't get the emotional value. But look at me—I'm super happy today! Sometimes, you can't put a price on emotional value."
Although the 600-plus-yuan price tag for the meal stung, seeing Huang Hui so happy made him feel it was worth it.
'Worst case, I'll just have to be more proactive with my food deliveries for the next couple of days and earn that living expense back,' he thought.
After walking Huang Hui back to her dorm, Jiang Sifan got a message from Jiang Silu right away: [What's up?]
Jiang Sifan: [You weren't around when I needed you earlier.]
Jiang Silu: [Well, if it's nothing, I'm out.]
Jiang Sifan: [Hey, hey, hey, wait. Lend me 300 yuan.]
Jiang Silu: [Then you'll owe me 600.]
Seeing his sister take the opportunity to jack up the price made Jiang Sifan grit his teeth in frustration: [I'm your own brother! You're worse than a bandit.]
Jiang Silu: [Don't think I don't know what you need the money for. It's definitely to spend on that woman.]
Jiang Silu knew of Huang Hui, but for some reason, her woman's intuition told her something was off about her.
As for what was off, Jiang Silu couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Jiang Sifan: [That's your future sister-in-law. You should be a little more polite to her.]
Jiang Silu: [You're only a freshman and you're already calling her your future sister-in-law? Have you never heard that the summer of senior year is breakup season for college couples?]
Jiang Sifan: [Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. How can such venomous words come from that cute face of yours?]
Jiang Silu: [Mm, I like the sound of that. Alright, I'll lend you the money. Remember to pay me back 600.]
Jiang Silu: [300 yuan transferred.]
Jiang Sifan could only sigh and accept the money.
Jiang Silu then remembered her encounter with Lu Fan earlier that day and told Jiang Sifan all about it.
Jiang Sifan grew a little tense: [He came looking for you again?]
Jiang Silu: [Yeah. But he turned and left as soon as he found out Mom had told me. And from the look on his face, he seemed pretty dejected.]
Jiang Sifan: [Just ignore people like him. He's probably just putting on an act. It might work on you young girls, but if it were me, I'd see right through it in a heartbeat.]
Jiang Silu: [Right, right, you're Sherlock Holmes. Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'm gonna go. I have to go tidy up books at the library. It's 10 yuan an hour.]
Jiang Sifan: [Don't work too hard. Make sure you get some rest when you need it.]
Jiang Silu: [If I don't work hard, how am I supposed to earn money for my dear older brother to spend? He needs it to spend on his future sister-in-law, after all.]
Jiang Sifan was completely helpless against Jiang Silu's sharp tongue.
Jiang Sifan: [Sometimes a stranger's kindness is worth more than your own sister's.]
Jiang Silu: [A stranger?! What are you talking about?]
So, Jiang Sifan told Jiang Silu about the awkward situation he had run into that day.
The two siblings had never kept secrets from each other, ever since they were little. That included the time in middle school when Jiang Silu was bullied by girls from the class next door, all because she was pretty and several boys liked her.
This had attracted the jealousy of those girls.
Those girls had originally assumed that since Jiang Silu didn't have a father and came from a single-parent home, she would have a weak personality and wouldn't dare say a word even if they bullied her.
But to their surprise, Jiang Silu went and told Jiang Sifan everything.
Furious, Jiang Sifan broke a broom apart, grabbed the stick, and marched into their classroom to give those girls a piece of his mind.
From that day on, no one ever dared to bully Jiang Silu again.
After Jiang Silu heard the whole story, her first reaction was to complain: [Wow. You've never even treated your own sister to a 600-yuan Japanese feast. Am I even your real sister?]
Jiang Sifan: [Alright, alright. I'll treat you when I have money, okay? I need to pay that man back now.]
Jiang Silu seemed to realize something was off. She asked: [Wait a minute, what did this man look like?]
Jiang Sifan: [Pretty handsome, wearing a suit, tall. He looked young, but he's probably in his thirties or forties, about Mom's age.]
Jiang Silu: [Oh my god, don't tell me it was that Uncle Lu?! The one Mom told us to stay away from!]
It hit Jiang Sifan all at once. So much for 'treating his younger self to a meal'—it all made sense now!!
And to think he had just been bragging to Jiang Silu that if the man with the surname Lu was standing right in front of him, he'd be able to spot him instantly.
Jiang Sifan immediately transferred the money for the meal to Lu Fan.
A second later, Lu Fan replied: [There's no need. Just consider it my treat.]
Jiang Sifan: [You, Lu! I don't know what you're up to, but I'm warning you: stay away from me, and stay away from my sister and my mom!]
Lu Fan saw the message and wanted to explain.
But the next second, a red exclamation mark appeared.
Wow. He'd just blocked his own father on WeChat.
He couldn't help but sigh. "It seems those two really do listen to their mother."