Chapter 359 - 219: Lu Fan: Yixia, Last Night You Hugged Me and Kissed Me Hard

Chapter 359: Chapter 219: Lu Fan: Yixia, Last Night You Hugged Me and Kissed Me Hard

He’d really slept here all night.

For a moment, her heart softened.

’But she quickly steeled herself, cursing her own weakness.’

...

Downstairs, Pan Lanfang was already busy in the kitchen.

The pot on the stove was steaming, and the aroma of congee filled the house. It mingled with the smell of a wood-burning fire—the unique scent of her old home.

Her face lit up when she saw Lu Fan come downstairs. "Xiaolu, did you sleep well last night?"

Lu Fan chuckled. "I slept great, Auntie. You’re up so early. What time did you wake up?"

"I’m getting old, so I can’t sleep in. I was up at five," Pan Lanfang said with a gentle smile. "I wanted to make you two something nice. Your uncle went down to the river to fish. He said he’ll cook it up for you for lunch."

She then asked, "And Yixia? Is she up yet?"

"She’s up. Just getting dressed," Lu Fan replied with a nod.

Pan Lanfang’s smile grew even wider when she heard that.

Just then, Jiang Yixia came downstairs.

She had changed into a light-blue shirt and tied her hair up. A faint, lingering blush still colored her cheeks.

The collar of her shirt was buttoned up neatly, but the base of her neck was still red.

Pan Lanfang looked at her and asked with a knowing smile, "Did you sleep well last night, sweetie?"

Jiang Yixia blushed and mumbled, "It was fine."

Pan Lanfang glanced from her to Lu Fan, her smile growing even wider.

She turned back into the kitchen and brought out the congee and side dishes. "Come on, time for breakfast," she called. "The congee is freshly made, and I pickled these side dishes myself. They’re nice and crisp."

The three of them gathered around the table.

Jiang Guoqiang returned from outside, holding two fish. "Caught them just this morning," he said with a chuckle. "They’re as fresh as can be. This big one’s gotta be over two pounds."

Pan Lanfang took the fish. "I’ll cook these for lunch," she said. "One steamed, and one red-braised."

As they ate breakfast, Pan Lanfang continually placed more food onto both of their plates.

"Xiaolu, have some more. Your work must be tiring."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Yixia, you have some more, too. Here," Pan Lanfang said, adding some vegetables to Jiang Yixia’s bowl.

"Thanks, Mom."

Hearing their thanks, Pan Lanfang couldn’t have been happier.

Just as the family was in the middle of breakfast, the sound of footsteps and voices came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Sis, you home?" The aunt’s shrill voice carried from outside, easily audible across the courtyard.

Pan Lanfang put down her chopsticks and stood up to look outside.

Her aunt and uncle walked into the courtyard, followed by their daughter, Liu Yan, and her new husband, Xiaochen.

The uncle was wearing a brand-new jacket. His hair was slicked back, his leather shoes were polished to a mirror shine, and he carried two gift boxes. It was obvious he had dressed up for the occasion.

The aunt was wearing a red qipao and gold earrings, but the jade bracelet she usually wore was missing from her wrist.

It was hard to say if she’d been intimidated by Pan Lanfang’s big gold bracelet the day before.

"You’re here!" Pan Lanfang hurried to greet them. "Come in, have a seat! Have you had breakfast yet?"

"We’ve eaten, we’ve eaten," the aunt explained with a smile. "It’s tradition for the new son-in-law to pay a formal visit to the relatives, so here we are, bright and early."

The uncle walked in, his eyes landing on Lu Fan. "Well now, Xiaolu is here too?" he said with a grin. "Didn’t go home last night?"

Lu Fan stood up and nodded politely. "Uncle, Aunt. I stayed the night."

The uncle sat down at the table. He glanced at the congee and side dishes, then back at Lu Fan, and asked with a probing smile, "Xiaolu, I hear your pastry shop is doing pretty well? That gold bracelet from yesterday must have cost a pretty penny, huh?"

"It’s alright. As long as Auntie is happy," Lu Fan said with a lighthearted chuckle.

The uncle gave a sly chuckle, his tone testing the waters. "That bracelet looked pretty hefty. Must be a few dozen grams, wouldn’t you say? Is it 24-karat gold? The price of gold isn’t cheap these days, over a thousand yuan a gram."

Lu Fan knew what he was getting at. "It’s pure gold," he said calmly. "I had a friend in the jewelry business bring it from Hong Kong for me. I got it at a wholesale price, so it wasn’t too expensive."

"So what’s the wholesale price? How much cheaper is it per gram?" the uncle asked again after a brief pause.

Lu Fan just smiled and didn’t answer.

His wife, the aunt, tugged on his sleeve. "Why are you asking all that?" she whispered. "It’s rude."

The uncle coughed, then changed the subject. "So, Xiaolu, where are your pastry shops? How’s business? What do you pull in a month?"

"I’ve got a few branches in Yangcheng. Business is decent—enough to get by," Lu Fan said, deliberately teasing the man.

Xiaochen’s interest was piqued. He cut in, "Brother Lu, you’re in the pastry business? I own two restaurants, one in the east district and one in the south. We sell pastries for breakfast, too. If you have a good product, you could sell it through my restaurants. I get a lot of foot traffic, so you could move a lot of volume."

He spoke with his legs crossed, his tone laced with a condescending sense of charity, as if he were offering Lu Fan the opportunity of a lifetime.

Lu Fan glanced at him and smiled. "Thank you for the kind offer, Boss Chen, but I’ll have to pass. My stores are all directly-owned and operated. We don’t do consignment."

Xiaochen paused, surprised that he would be turned down.

He pressed on, "Well, if you’re interested, you should come by my restaurants and take a look. We could partner up. My locations are prime, with huge foot traffic. I guarantee you’d make more than you do selling on your own."

"No, thanks. I recently invested in a new gym and I’m busy overseeing the renovations. I don’t have time for anything else," Lu Fan said, shaking his head. His tone was casual.

Xiaochen’s eyes widened in disbelief. "A gym? Where are you opening it?"

"The Yangcheng City District," Lu Fan replied. "A prime downtown location."

Xiaochen was floored. "The Yangcheng City District?" he asked, his voice laced with disbelief. "The rent over there is insane. An investment for a gym must be huge, right? The rent alone would be several million a year."