Chapter 164: Chapter 145: The Son Panicked, Startup Terminated?
"Yixia, you look beautiful in that outfit," Lu Fan said with a sigh of admiration.
Jiang Yixia blushed a little, noticing Lu Fan’s insistent stare.
She sputtered, retorting, "Alright, stop staring. You’re being so insincere."
"How am I being insincere?" Lu Fan chuckled. "I genuinely think you look beautiful."
"And you think I’d believe that?" Jiang Yixia retorted. "After all the gorgeous women you’ve seen? You’re looking at a woman who’s almost forty, and you think I’m going to fall for that?"
"Nonsense, you’re not forty. You’re only thirty-seven," Lu Fan reminded her. "I remember your age perfectly."
"Save those lines you use on little girls for someone else. I’m not the same person I used to be," Jiang Yixia said, turning to go back inside.
Seeing this, Lu Fan quickly asked, "Wait, Yixia, you’re not going to change out of this dress, are you?"
"How am I supposed to work in this?" Jiang Yixia retorted, her face red. "The slit on this skirt is so high. I’m not used to it."
"Forget about work! A beautiful dress like this deserves to be taken out for dinner, a movie, and some shopping," Lu Fan said, gesturing. "Come on, let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal."
"I’m not going," Jiang Yixia refused instantly, without a second thought.
She wasn’t about to give Lu Fan any opportunity to get close to her.
"Then... how about just getting some oden from the stall next door? You can do that, right?" Lu Fan suggested. "We used to love oden. Silu even bought some for me the other day, and eating it reminded me of when we used to eat street food together all the time."
"Stop trying to trick me with old memories. I’m not falling for it anymore." Jiang Yixia remained stubbornly resistant, afraid Lu Fan would rope her in if she let her guard down.
However, considering that Lu Fan had helped Jiang Ming a few times recently, she hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing. "Just one bowl of oden and then we come back. I’m not doing anything else."
"Deal." Lu Fan walked to the door and gestured with his hand. "Quick, quick, let’s go."
Jiang Yixia glanced at the shop. "What about the store?"
"That’s easy." Lu Fan looked over at Chen He, who wasn’t far away, and called out, "Chen He, come over here for a sec."
Hearing his boss’s order, Chen He immediately trotted over eagerly.
"What is it, Boss?"
Lu Fan answered, "Watch the shop for me."
Chen He nodded immediately. "Okay, no problem."
Seeing this, Jiang Yixia was about to remind Chen He, "The roses are five yuan a stem, and these flowers over here are sixty-nine yuan..."
Before she could finish, Lu Fan pulled her away. "It’s fine. Chen He will improvise. That kid’s been smart since he was little."
And just like that, Lu Fan led Jiang Yixia out of the flower shop.
Meanwhile, Chen He was left completely bewildered.
He looked at the flowers on the counter, muttering to himself, ’Did the boss lady say this one was sixty-nine yuan? Or was it this one...’
’Oh, whatever. Forget it. Everything’s sixty-nine yuan.’
Lu Fan led Jiang Yixia out onto the street.
Jiang Yixia frowned and said in a low voice, "Let go. Stop pulling me around."
"Haha, sometimes I can’t help myself, especially when you’re dressed so beautifully today," Lu Fan teased.
In reality, Lu Fan wasn’t holding Jiang Yixia’s hand, just pulling her by the arm.
After all, judging by the current state of their relationship, if he had tried to hold her hand, he would have likely been met with a Tathagata Divine Palm.
Since Jiang Yixia rarely went out in such conspicuous clothing, she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward when passersby looked her way, feeling as if they were laughing at her.
Lu Fan noticed her expression and comforted her, "Don’t worry, they’re just jealous of how beautiful you are."
"Yeah, right." Jiang Yixia’s face grew redder, and she even started to regret wearing this outfit out.
If she glanced down, she could even see her own cleavage.
She hadn’t worn such a form-fitting dress in years.
Seeing how nervous she was, Lu Fan thought to himself, ’She must have rarely dressed up these past few years while raising the kids on her own.’
At this thought, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
He, on the other hand, had been out living it up.
When he was younger, whenever he saw a female celebrity he was interested in on TV, like Nai Xiao or Xiwei, he would find a way to have them ’serve’ him for a while.
But while he was out enjoying himself, Jiang Yixia was living alone and raising their two children.
So he said to Jiang Yixia, "Yixia, is this dress too tight? If not, I can have someone bring over a couple more."
"No," Jiang Yixia answered decisively. "My life is just back and forth between home and the flower shop. What would I do with such a beautiful dress? Besides, it’s not practical for work."
"If it were up to me, I’d say you should just close the flower shop and travel the world with me." After saying this, Lu Fan immediately added, "Of course, I know you’ll definitely say no."
"Smart move." Jiang Yixia shot him a look, then walked up to the vendor’s stall. She looked down at the oden, a craving for the food showing in her eyes.
In truth, Lu Fan didn’t even have to think about it; he knew Jiang Yixia would refuse his offer.
But his real purpose was simply to test the waters.
To plant the idea in Jiang Yixia’s mind.
’Women love to daydream, after all, especially when they’re alone.’
’The moment she starts replaying these words in her head, I’ll be more than halfway to succeeding.’
Just as he was lost in thought, Jiang Yixia looked back at him and asked coldly, "What do you want to eat?"
"The usual," Lu Fan said with a shameless grin.
Jiang Yixia frowned, speechless. "How am I supposed to know what ’the usual’ is?"
