Chapter 163: Chapter 144: Yixia Fulfills Her Promise and Changes Clothes in Front of Lu Fan
Jiang Sifan nodded. "I understand, Sister Jiali."
Jiali watched his expression in the rearview mirror. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiang Sifan wasn’t taking her seriously.
Since that was the case, she would have to follow Lu Fan’s earlier instructions and have the five shop owners terminate their partnerships with Jiang Sifan.
They had to force Jiang Sifan to face the reality of running a business and give it his all.
Over the next hour, Jiang Sifan and Wen Wan treated Jiali to a big meal.
Although Jiali had said any casual restaurant would be fine, Jiang Sifan insisted on choosing a more expensive one.
The meal ended up costing over seven hundred yuan.
That was nearly four hundred per person.
For Jiali, that kind of spending per person was nothing special.
But Jiang Sifan and Wen Wan were college students, after all, and a nearly four-hundred-yuan meal per person was far beyond what they could normally afford.
Wen Wan had wanted to remind Jiang Sifan not to order something so expensive.
But when she saw how determined he was to treat Jiali to a lavish meal, she didn’t say anything more.
As for Jiali, she simply ate whatever was ordered.
She knew very well that Jiang Sifan would soon face a temporary cash shortage due to the terminated contracts and would have to figure out how to overcome his startup’s difficulties.
After the meal, Jiali reminded Jiang Sifan again, "If that couple comes looking for you again, call the police."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Jiali."
"Oh, and you really need to focus on your startup. You can’t be complacent. You have to be prepared for potential crises," Jiali couldn’t help but add before she left.
Jiang Sifan nodded, but his tone was dismissive. "Don’t worry, Sister Jiali. I’ve got this."
And with that, Jiali left.
Jiang Sifan looked at Wen Wan and said confidently, "I think Sister Jiali is worrying for nothing. Our studio is already working with so many shops. How could anything go wrong?"
But Wen Wan agreed with Jiali. "Class President, Sister Jiali is right. Our startup is incredibly vulnerable right now. If one thing goes wrong, it could set off a domino effect. We really should set aside some startup capital for emergencies."
"Alright, fine. From next month’s income, we’ll set aside forty—no, twenty percent as startup capital. Ah, we don’t need that much. Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll handle it," Jiang Sifan said cheerfully.
「Meanwhile.」
Jiali contacted the owners of five of the shops, instructing them to first use ’subpar performance’ as an excuse, then terminate the contracts, and finally demand that Jiang Sifan return the deposits.
After she had notified them, Jiali sent a message to Lu Fan: [Boss, it’s all taken care of.]
Lu Fan was already back in Yangcheng by this point.
He had just arrived at the pastry shop when he saw Jiang Ming in the flower shop again.
Over the past couple of days, Jiang Ming had been stopping by Jiang Yixia’s place from time to time.
Ostensibly, it was to help his sister with her work.
But in reality, he was secretly trying to find out what kind of gifts girls like.
Jiang Yixia naturally saw through Jiang Ming’s intentions. Curious, she asked, "What’s this? Do you really like that girl?"
Jiang Ming blushed instantly. "No, I... I just want to understand what kind of things girls like. That way, if I get a girlfriend in the future, I’ll be prepared."
Jiang Ming didn’t tell Jiang Yixia directly that he had already developed a crush on Ma Xiaofei.
Ma Xiaofei had been initiating chats with him from time to time over the past few days.
The deadliest blow came late one night when she sent him a selfie.
It made Jiang Ming, who had been single for a long time, instantly flush with excitement.
Staring at her impressive cleavage and the long, black-stockinged legs beneath her hip-hugging skirt, Jiang Ming had to admit that the little head had overpowered the big one.
He decided he could try getting to know Ma Xiaofei.
But Jiang Yixia had a nagging feeling that this Ma Xiaofei wasn’t as wonderful as Jiang Ming made her out to be.
However, she didn’t know how to persuade Jiang Ming, so she could only advise him, "I can’t interfere with what kind of girl you like, but I just want to tell you one thing: you have to keep your eyes open. Don’t let yourself be deceived."
"Don’t worry, Sis. You were young and naive back then, which is why you were tricked by that scumbag. I’m almost thirty now. How could I possibly be fooled by a girl?" Jiang Ming had a knack for touching a sore spot, bringing up Jiang Yixia’s past.
Jiang Yixia’s face flushed slightly as she retorted, "Alright, stop hanging around here. Didn’t you have a date with that girl? Hurry up and go meet her."
"Haha, alright, then I’ll just..." Saying that, Jiang Ming grabbed a bouquet of flowers from the table. "Sis, you’re giving me this bouquet. Just deduct the cost from my New Year’s money."
"You’re a thirty-year-old man, and you still want New Year’s money from me? Are you crazy?!" Jiang Yixia said angrily.
Jiang Ming chuckled. "As long as I’m not married, I can get a red envelope for the New Year. Why else do you think I’ve stayed single? Haha."
"You’re not married because nobody wants you," Jiang Yixia shot back mercilessly.
Hearing his sister’s brutal honesty, Jiang Ming let out a theatrical cry of grievance and left.
Seeing this, Lu Fan knew it was time to make his entrance.
He walked over.
Jiang Yixia had already spotted Lu Fan in the corner of her eye, but she pretended not to have seen him.
Lu Fan smiled and asked, "Yixia, why aren’t you wearing the clothes I gave you?"
"You didn’t say when you were coming," Jiang Yixia shot back.
"Well, I’m here now. Can you change into them now?" Lu Fan said cheerfully.
Jiang Yixia frowned. "It seems to me you have way too much time on your hands."
"That’s fine. I can pull down the security shutter, and you can just change in front of me," Lu Fan said, feigning generosity.
"Pervert," Jiang Yixia muttered.
Then she tossed a slip of paper at Lu Fan. "This is the information on the girl Jiang Ming is seeing. I only managed to find out her name, age, and the general area where she works. I couldn’t get anything else."
Lu Fan looked at the information on the paper.
Name: Ma Xiaofei.
Age: 23.
Work Area: Bai Mountain District
He looked at the information, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Is this all you have? You’re making things difficult for me."
Hearing Lu Fan’s words, Jiang Yixia knew it would be difficult to find someone with so little information.
So she settled for the next best thing. "If you can’t find anything, then just forget it. It’s not much to go on, after all."
"But," Lu Fan said calmly, "who’s your husband? Your husband is the prince of connections. Is there anything I can’t do?"
"Whose husband are you? Stop spouting nonsense!" Jiang Yixia replied, flustered and annoyed.
"However, with so little information, finding her would indeed take a lot of time and manpower, unless..." Lu Fan trailed off, feigning contemplation.
Jiang Yixia knew the guy was about to pull another one of his tricks.
She answered frankly, "Out with it. What’s the condition?"
"I already told you my condition. I think you would look amazing in those outfits I bought for you," Lu Fan said again.
Jiang Yixia knew Lu Fan would make this demand. She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before frowning in flustered annoyance. "Wait!"
She then went into the back room and locked the door from the inside.
Lu Fan hadn’t expected Jiang Yixia to actually bring the clothes to the shop.
He sat down on a chair, waiting for his wife to appear.
「A moment later.」
The door opened again.
Before he could see her face, a slender, exquisite leg stepped out.
Lu Fan looked over and saw the 37-year-old Jiang Yixia walking out in an exquisite cheongsam with a high slit.
The satin fabric clung to her delicate figure, cinched perfectly at the waist without a hint of slack or unwanted flesh.
The line of her shoulders and neck was smooth and slender, her waist so slim it looked like it could be encircled by a single grasp.
As she walked toward Lu Fan, the slit of her dress would occasionally part, revealing a pair of straight, slender, firm, and well-proportioned legs.
From top to bottom, her entire being showed none of the bloat or sluggishness that came with age.
She was as dainty and exquisite as an eighteen-year-old girl, her beauty vibrant and captivating.
Lu Fan had seen his fair share of beautiful women over the years. As his standards had risen, the number of times he was genuinely moved had become fewer and fewer.
Most of it was just physical exchange.
But now, seeing his wife so exquisitely dressed up again, he had to admit that the original flavor was still the most alluring!
Those long legs, in particular, instantly reminded him of the scenes from their past—in the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, and even propped up on the dining table...
