Chapter 142: Chapter 136: Shocking! Jiang Sifan’s Romantic Encounter

That guy Lu Fan was so annoying.

But he was undeniably capable.

Jiang Yixia also got the feeling from the photo that the girl was probably hiding something.

She decided that if Jiang Ming really took a liking to the girl, she’d have her brother send over her personal information. Then, she could ask Lu Fan to run a check.

The thought made Jiang Yixia feel conflicted again.

It would mean owing that guy another favor.

But then she remembered how that bastard had tricked her so many times in the past. Any favors she owed him now could just be considered payback for what he did back then.

"I’m not going to feel guilty! Not one bit!" Jiang Yixia muttered to herself, feigning indifference.

「Meanwhile.」

Jiang Silu was still anxiously awaiting the results of the competition’s preliminary review.

In the design group chat, her seniors were all talking about it.

Kong Le, who had a James profile picture, typed excitedly in the group: [I think our project will place in the top two, at the very least.]

Peng Chengshuai: [Haha, I think so too. We might even win the gold prize.]

Liang Jing: [Let’s all keep a level head. Even if we don’t place, we can just treat it as good practice.]

Kong Le: [Liang Jing, you’re being too conservative. I think our project is unbeatable! Especially the waterside promenade Silu designed. Her renderings were drop-dead gorgeous.]

Seeing Kong Le praise her in the group as he always did, Jiang Silu quickly replied, feeling a bit awkward: [Brother Kong, I wouldn’t have improved so much if it weren’t for everyone tutoring me all the time. I also have to thank Liang Jing. Whenever I ran into a problem, she was always there to help me figure it out.]

Peng Chengshuai: [Silu, you’re being too humble. You have so much potential. And our Liang Jing is brilliant, too. Basically, everyone in our group is fantastic.]

In the middle of the group chat, Kong Le suddenly sent Jiang Silu a private message: [Silu, we’ve been so focused on the design project lately that I didn’t get a chance to ask you out for bubble tea. Are you free tonight? How about we grab some bubble tea, and I’ll treat you to a movie?]

Jiang Silu wasn’t naive. She knew exactly what this kind of invitation implied.

To be honest, she didn’t have particularly warm feelings for this Brother Kong.

At most, she just felt the respect one would have for a senior.

But now that the competition entry had been submitted, Kong Le was still asking her out.

Jiang Silu really didn’t want to go.

As she struggled with what to do, she suddenly remembered that both Jiang Yixia and Lu Fan had told her to follow her heart.

In the past, she might have been afraid of offending someone, or would have tried to carefully preserve the relationship.

But for some reason, the Jiang Silu of today had a bit more backbone.

She wasn’t even sure where this newfound confidence had come from.

Or who had given it to her.

’Maybe it was Dad.’

Having gone through so much recently, Jiang Silu had matured quite a bit.

She no longer walked on eggshells around others.

Of course, she could reject him without making things ugly.

So, Jiang Silu replied tactfully: [Sorry, Brother Kong, I think I’ll pass on the bubble tea~]

Kong Le seemed unwilling to let such a lovely junior slip through his fingers.

He thought of Jiang Silu’s stunning looks. ’If I don’t make a move now,’ he thought, ’all those old pervs will be eyeing her like hungry tigers.’

So Kong Le replied again: [What about a movie then? Want to go to the movies?]

Seeing that Kong Le was still pressing, Jiang Silu had no choice but to refuse again: [I’ll skip the movie too. Sorry, Brother Kong.]

Seeing this, Kong Le seemed to guess that she wasn’t interested in him.

He started to think about backing down.

Of course, a part of him still held onto a sliver of hope.

’After all, Silu often smiles at me. I think she must have some feelings for me.’

Of the world’s three great delusions, Kong Le had just fallen for one.

Now that she was done with the design work, Jiang Silu’s life returned to normal.

Plus, Jiang Sifan had sent her money and told her to stop working part-time.

So, Jiang Silu decided to take it easy for a while.

Looking at the computer on her desk, she thought about Jiang Sifan’s recent business venture and gave him a call.

"Hey, Bro."

"What’s up?" Jiang Sifan asked, puzzled.

Jiang Silu explained, "I’m done using that Alienware computer of yours. Do you want to take it? Since you’re doing accounting and tax filing for people now, a more powerful computer would make processing data much easier."

At first, Jiang Sifan wondered what Alienware she was talking about, but then it clicked.

It was the computer Lu Fan had given him as compensation, the one he had refused to accept.

Jiang Silu had ended up using it for her competition.

Now that her project was done, his sister naturally wanted to return it to its rightful owner.

But Jiang Sifan refused outright. "I don’t want that computer."

"Why? Don’t be so stubborn," Jiang Silu pleaded. "It’s not like he’s giving you a million dollars. It’s just a computer. You don’t have to be so clear-cut about everything."

"The moment I think about him buying it, I can’t bring myself to use it," Jiang Sifan explained. "I know he helped me out a lot with that Lin Qiang business. To be fair, I’m really grateful to him for that. But I can’t accept any more of his things. I know my limits. I don’t want to owe him anything, and I don’t want him to owe me anything, either."

Seeing how obstinate Jiang Sifan was, Silu didn’t press the issue.

Instead, she suggested, "In that case, I’ll return the computer to him."

"Why? Why don’t you just keep using it?" Jiang Sifan asked.

"He gave this computer to you, after all. I don’t feel right using it," Jiang Silu replied. "Besides, I don’t have much design work to do right now. I’d feel better if it were returned."

Hearing this, Jiang Sifan started to feel a little bad.

He would feel terrible if his stubbornness left Jiang Silu without a computer.

After thinking it over, he finally said, "You keep using it. Just pretend I’ve accepted it. But aside from this one computer, I won’t accept anything else from him."

"What about the sneakers he sent?" Jiang Silu asked. "I looked them up online, and they seem to be some kind of limited-edition All-Star model."

Jiang Sifan hesitated for two seconds before answering, "I don’t want them. I have my pride."

"Alright." Jiang Silu didn’t try to persuade him anymore.

Jiang Sifan then started making grand promises. "Don’t worry, my startup will have its own office soon. Once I make it big, I’ll buy you whatever you want. You won’t have to accept anything from him anymore."

Jiang Silu smiled. "You’d better~ Oh, right, make sure you manage your risks properly. Don’t get cocky."

"Don’t worry. As long as I’m in charge, nothing can go wrong," Jiang Sifan said confidently.

"By the way, has my roommate Lu Yao chatted with you since she added you?" Jiang Silu asked curiously.

"Yeah, she messages me every now and then," Jiang Sifan replied. "She’s pretty forward."

"That’s just her personality. So, what do you think? She said you’re handsome and that she wants to be my sister-in-law," Jiang Silu teased.

Jiang Sifan stammered a bit. "She’s... she’s definitely pretty, and totally girlfriend material, but... I don’t know, I just don’t think she’s the right fit for me. I’m not looking to get into a relationship right now. All I want to do is make money!"

"Alright, alright. Go make your money then, so you can support your little sister," Jiang Silu said with a laugh.

"No problem. Other people are second-generation rich kids, but you’ll be the sister of a first-generation rich guy."

After chatting for a little longer, they ended the call.

Jiang Silu was just about to go to bed when Liu Shiting spoke up. "Lulu, could you share your brother’s WeChat with me? I’m learning about business from my dad right now, and I think there’s a lot to learn from the direction his project is taking. I’d like to ask him for some advice."

"Sure," Jiang Silu said with a nod, and promptly shared his contact with Liu Shiting.

A short while later, Jiang Sifan received a friend request.

The note said: Liu Shiting.

He thought, ’Lu Yao just added me today, and now there’s another one?’

’They must be drawn to my charm.’

Then again, it made sense. He was only a freshman, and he had already successfully launched a business on his own talent and intelligence.

Of course, he’d had some help from people like Wen Wan and Sister Jiali.

This couldn’t help but make Jiang Sifan feel a little smug.

He even started to think that his father, Lu Fan, wasn’t all that. If he was just given a little time to build up his resources, his future accomplishments might even surpass his father’s.

Jiang Sifan immediately accepted the request and sent a greeting: [Shiting, hello.]

Liu Shiting explained her reason for adding him: [Sifan, sorry to bother you. I’m learning about business from my father, and I think your startup is very successful. I was hoping I could add you so I could ask you for advice if I run into anything I don’t understand.]

Hearing her reason, Jiang Sifan was, of course, secretly thrilled.

After all, his impression of Liu Shiting from that day was of a poised, elegant, and stunningly beautiful woman.

And now this beautiful woman was not only adding him proactively but also wanted to ask for his advice.

He wondered, ’Is my charm really that powerful?’

Jiang Sifan: [Of course. To be honest, I’m just figuring things out as I go. We can definitely discuss things and learn from each other in the future.]

Liu Shiting: [Okay, then I won’t disturb you any further. You should get some rest.]

Liu Shiting: [Good night~]

Jiang Sifan immediately replied: [Good night!]

Lately, besides Wen Wan, Liu Shiting was the only one who would take the initiative to say good night to him.

"Looks like I really made the right call with this startup! As long as I can successfully apply for a studio, I can scale up and make it big!" Jiang Sifan grew more and more excited as he thought about it.

Surpassing *that man* is within my grasp!

Meanwhile, Jiang Silu asked Liu Shiting, "Shiting, did you add him?"

"I did~ We had a brief chat," Liu Shiting replied.

"That’s good. Well, you two can talk then." Jiang Silu naturally didn’t want to interfere in their conversation.

She opened WeChat and was surprised to see hundreds of new messages in the design project group chat.

’Could the preliminary review results be out?’

Jiang Silu eagerly opened the group chat, wanting to read the messages from the top.

Sure enough, Liang Jing had sent a link to the list of projects that passed the preliminary review.

But after staring at it for dozens of seconds, Jiang Silu still couldn’t find their project’s name.

She immediately scrolled down through the chat history and saw that Liang Jing had posted a screenshot.

It was a reply from the organizers.

Organizer: [Judges’ Comments: The design concept is similar to that of a previous award-winning entry. Suspected of plagiarism!]

When she saw the organizer’s reply, she felt her world come crashing down.