That evening, Lu Fan personally received Elder Meng.

"Elder Meng, you haven’t been here in so long, not since you built this manor for me," Lu Fan said with a smile.

"You’re swamped with work, busy every single day. I can never seem to find you, even when I want to chat," Elder Meng chuckled.

Lu Fan sighed in agreement. "Back when you were building this manor, we really hit it off. We had such great talks. All these years, you’re the only true friend I have from a different generation."

"I can’t take your words seriously, you brat. I’d much rather listen to your daughter," Elder Meng teased. "Speaking of which, I’ve taken your daughter on as my student. Aren’t you going to pour me a cup of tea for that?"

"Thank you, Elder Meng. For this great kindness, I’ll do anything to repay you in my next life," Lu Fan said, picking up a cup of tea.

"You know, you’re a lucky man to have a daughter who’s so capable and has such a gift for design," Elder Meng said, a hint of envy in his voice.

He then asked, "Does the girl know about you yet?"

"She knows," Lu Fan nodded.

"So, does she accept you as her father?" Elder Meng pressed.

Lu Fan smiled. "Suddenly having a father pop into her life... she hasn’t accepted me yet. I’m working on it."

"You... I really don’t know what to say to you. You were such a philanderer when you were young." Elder Meng shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "You made that poor girl suffer, raising two kids all by herself. You’d better make it up to them, or I won’t let you off the hook. Your daughter is my student now, so I have to look out for her."

"Don’t worry, Elder Meng. I’d do that even if you hadn’t said anything," Lu Fan explained.

After finishing his tea, Elder Meng stood up. "Alright, I have to get back. There’s a pile of work waiting for me at the research institute."

"Thank you for making this special trip to Jinling, Elder Meng." Lu Fan then looked at Chen He. "Chen He, see Elder Meng out. Make sure he gets home safely. Drive carefully."

"Understood!"

And with that, Chen He drove Elder Meng home.

The butler, Old Luo, approached him. "Sir, are you still going to Yangcheng tonight?"

Lu Fan suddenly remembered he hadn’t drunk the wellness soup Jiang Yixia had made for him today. He nodded. "We’re going to Yangcheng."

With that, he hurried away.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yixia was sitting in her shop.

Business was slow tonight.

Most of the time, Jiang Yixia just sat in her chair, waiting for a call from Jiang Silu.

Just as she was thinking about it, her phone rang.

Jiang Yixia answered the call. "Hello, Lulu? You said you had big news to tell me. What is it?"

She thought it was about Lu Fan.

So there was a hint of urgency in her voice.

Jiang Silu giggled on the other end of the line. "Mom, let me tell you, today was such a lucky day."

"A lucky day? How so?" Jiang Yixia asked.

Jiang Silu then told Jiang Yixia everything that had happened from last night until today.

After listening, Jiang Yixia furrowed her brow and asked, "So you’re saying a nationally-renowned professional came to your school to give a lecture, thought your design draft was good, decided to give you special tutoring, and even accepted you as his student?"

"Yes!" Jiang Silu said excitedly. "Mom, you have no idea, when I heard it, I was stunned! I couldn’t believe my ears! And there’s more good news. That senior from the design team, the one who gave me a hard time yesterday? For some reason, she suddenly quit the group. Now a junior is leading the team."

"And then Teacher Chen told me my name will be on the list of competition members!"

Jiang Silu said to Jiang Yixia, overcome with excitement, "Mom, don’t you think today is my lucky day?!"

Jiang Yixia hesitated for a moment before offering encouragement. "This isn’t your lucky day. It’s the reward you’ve earned for all your hard work. You have to study even harder now so you don’t disappoint Elder Meng."

"Mhm! I know, Mom! Okay, Mom, I have to go now. I’m going to have a bowl of mung bean soup and then head back to my dorm to work on my drawings."

"Okay. Oh, and remember to rest. Don’t overwork yourself, you hear?"

"I know, Mom. You get some rest too. Don’t stay up too late closing the shop."

"Alright." Jiang Yixia seemed to think of something and asked, "By the way, what has your brother been busy with lately? I haven’t seen him say anything in the group chat."

Jiang Silu replied, "I don’t know. I’ve been busy too. Mom, you could give him a call."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Jiang Yixia thought it over and finally decided to call Jiang Sifan.

"Hello, Sifan? Are you busy?" Jiang Yixia asked tentatively.

Jiang Sifan answered, "Not busy. What’s up, Mom?"

"It’s nothing. I just noticed you haven’t been chatting in the family group or messaging me lately, so I just wanted to call. If you’re busy, I won’t bother you," Jiang Yixia replied.

Hearing this, Jiang Sifan explained, "My schoolwork has just been a little busy lately. I’m fine, Mom."

"That’s good," Jiang Yixia said with a smile.

"By the way, Mom."

Jiang Sifan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Back then... when you found out Dad cheated on you, how did you find out?"

"Why do you ask?" Jiang Yixia said, a little nervously.

"It’s nothing, just... my roommate, he and his girlfriend... they’re long-distance, yeah, long-distance. And he thinks something’s off, but he doesn’t know how to check, yeah, doesn’t know how to check," Jiang Sifan answered.

Jiang Yixia thought for a moment, then explained, "There wasn’t really one big discovery. You just... can’t find that feeling of love in their eyes or their actions anymore. I think if you just pay attention, you can feel it."

"Oh, I see." Seeing his chance, Jiang Sifan changed the subject. "Mom, by the way, I’m working on a campus startup recently. I’ll tell you all about it once I succeed, okay?"

"Oh, really? Do you need any help from me? For example, do you need any funding?" Jiang Yixia naturally understood that starting a business required capital.

But Jiang Sifan refused. "No need, Mom. Your son is so capable, I can handle a little thing like money myself. I’m working as a tutor now, you know!"

"Haha, my son really is amazing," Jiang Yixia said, pleased.

The mother and son chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up.

After the call ended, Jiang Yixia was lost in thought.

It was obvious that Jiang Sifan had just lied.

When he lied, he had a habit of repeating the last part of his sentence.

A mother knows her son best.

Jiang Yixia wondered if her son was having relationship troubles.

But Sifan was eighteen now, not a little kid anymore. There were many things she couldn’t press him about.

Just as she was thinking, footsteps sounded at the shop’s entrance.

"Yixia, I’m here for my soup."

Jiang Yixia looked over to see Lu Fan walking in with that same shameless, grinning expression.

"What are you doing here again?" Jiang Yixia frowned.

"I didn’t get my soup today. I rushed all the way back from Jinling just for it," Lu Fan explained.

Jiang Yixia was speechless. "Honestly, don’t you have anything better to do with your time?"

Although she still hated him, she had made a promise, and Jiang Yixia always kept her word.

A moment later, she came out from the back room with a thermos. "The soup from this afternoon is in here. I don’t know if it’s still warm. You can heat it up yourself when you get back."

"I knew you were the best to me." Lu Fan didn’t care if it was cold or not; he twisted off the lid and started drinking it directly.

As he drank, Jiang Yixia, despite her cold tone, asked a probing question: "That business with Elder Meng taking Silu as his student... you arranged that, didn’t you?"