Chapter 517: Jiang Silu in Trouble After Being Scammed! Lu Fan is Furious!

“Understood.” Jiali’s voice was crisp and efficient.

Lu Fan hung up the phone, leaned back in his chair, and looked out at the courtyard.

The leaves of the frangipani tree had already sprouted, vibrant green and swaying gently in the wind. He recalled the earnest look on his daughter’s face when she was working on her designs, and the sheer joy in her voice when she told him, “Dad, I got an order!” To have her drafts stolen and then be scolded on top of it—the poor child must be feeling incredibly wronged.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Jiang Silu: “Silu, I know what happened. Don’t be afraid. Dad will take care of it.”

After sending it, he placed the phone on the desk, stood up, and walked over to the window.

Back in her dorm room, Jiang Silu sat on her bed, staring blankly at her phone.

Lu Fan’s message popped up. She clicked it open to read, and her tears finally fell.

Song Miaomiao handed her a tissue, comforting her softly, “Don’t cry. Your dad will handle it.”

“I’m not crying because I feel wronged,” Jiang Silu said, wiping her tears. “I just feel… it’s so nice to have a dad.”

Lu Yao walked over and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Of course! Your dad is a big boss, after all,” she said with a smile.

Liu Shiting sat on her own bed, watching Jiang Silu. She picked up her phone and sent a message to Jiang Sifan: “We’re keeping Silu company here. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Sifan replied with two words: “Thank you.”

Liu Shiting stared at those two words for several seconds before locking her screen.

Jinling Institute of Technology, boys’ dormitory.

Jiang Sifan put down his phone, leaned against the headboard, and stared at the ceiling.

A message from Wen Wan came through: “What did Uncle Lu say?”

Jiang Sifan replied: “He said he’ll handle it and told Silu not to do anything rash.”

Wen Wan: “That’s good. Try not to worry too much.”

Jiang Sifan: “Yeah.”

He placed his phone beside his pillow and closed his eyes, but his mind was spinning with other thoughts. He recalled the tone of Lu Fan’s voice when he had said, “I’ll handle it”—calm and unhurried, as if he wouldn’t flinch even if the sky were falling. He remembered when he had run into trouble himself; Lu Fan had been exactly the same, casually dropping an “I’ll handle it,” and then every single issue had simply vanished.

He rolled over and pulled up the covers.

Jiali’s efficiency was remarkable. By the next morning, she had uncovered all the information on Green Garden.

The company was registered in Jiangnan City. The legal representative was a man named Zhou, with a registered capital of one million yuan, and its business scope included “landscape design.” She also found that over the past two years, the company had been involved in three similar disputes. All of them centered around design drafts with university students, and all had eventually fizzled out to nothing.

Jiali compiled the documents and forwarded them to the legal department. At the same time, she contacted a local law firm in Jiangnan City and commissioned them to represent the case.

The lawyer went to the police station to file a report that very afternoon. The receiving officer reviewed the materials, stated that they needed to be verified, and told the lawyer to go back and wait for news.

Jiali synchronized this progress with Lu Fan.

After listening, Lu Fan gave a simple instruction. “Keep following up.” He thought for a moment before adding, “Have the lawyer tell the police station that this isn’t an ordinary contract dispute. It’s infringement. Furthermore, the opposing party’s attitude is atrocious, and there is a suspicion of fraud.”

“Understood,” Jiali complied.

Lu Fan hung up and dialed Jiang Silu’s number. The phone rang twice before it was picked up.

“Silu,” Lu Fan said, his voice extremely gentle, as if afraid of startling her. “Things are in motion. The lawyer has already called the police, so don’t worry.”

“Dad, thank you.” Jiang Silu’s voice was a bit hoarse, but sounded much better than yesterday.

“What are you thanking me for? I’m your dad,” Lu Fan chuckled. “Do you have backups of those design drafts?”

“Yes, they’re all on my computer.”

“That’s good.” Lu Fan nodded. “The lawyer might need your cooperation later to provide some materials. Jiali will contact you when the time comes.”

“Okay,” Jiang Silu replied.

Lu Fan instructed her a bit more, telling her to eat well and avoid staying up late, before ending the call. He placed his phone on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and gazed out the window.

A few days later, news came from the lawyer: the police station had accepted the case and was investigating.

Mr. Zhou, the legal representative of Green Garden, was summoned to the police station to give a statement. At first, his attitude was unyielding. He claimed they had made the design drafts themselves and that it had nothing to do with Jiang Silu. But when the lawyer laid out the chat logs, transfer records, and the source files of the designs one by one, Mr. Zhou’s face changed, and he claimed he needed to go back and think it over.

When Jiali relayed the situation to Jiang Silu, the girl was in her dorm room drawing.

After listening to Jiali, she fell silent for a moment before asking, “Sister Jiali, will they pay compensation?”

“They will.” Jiali spoke with absolute certainty. “They either pay up or face a lawsuit. They can do the math themselves.”

Jiang Silu hung up the phone and looked at the design draft on her computer screen. She had spent a whole week on it, drawing every single line by hand. She suddenly felt it was somewhat not worth it—going through so much trouble for days just for five thousand yuan. But then again, she felt she couldn’t just let the matter go. It wasn’t about the money; it was about the principle of the thing.

Song Miaomiao returned from outside carrying two cups of milk tea. She handed one over. “Silu, have some milk tea.”

Jiang Silu took it and took a sip. It was wonderfully sweet.

“How is it? Any news from your dad?” Song Miaomiao asked.

“The lawyer called the police, and the station is investigating,” Jiang Silu replied.

“That’s good.” Song Miaomiao sat down beside her. “People like that deserve a lawsuit.”

Lu Yao popped her head out from her bed to chime in, “Silu, from now on, whenever you take an order, you absolutely have to collect a deposit first. If they don’t give a deposit, you don’t do it. Take it as a hard lesson learned.”

“I know,” Jiang Silu smiled.

She picked up her phone and sent a message to Jiang Sifan: “Sifan, thank you.”

Jiang Sifan replied quickly: “No need to thank me. I wasn’t the one who helped. It was our dad.”

Jiang Silu burst into a smile as she looked at the words “our dad.” She took a screenshot, sent it to Lu Fan, and attached a sentence: “Dad, look. Sifan said ‘our dad’.”

Lu Fan replied with a smiley face, followed by a message: “Your brother has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. I’ve known that for a long time.”

Jiang Silu smiled even more brightly at that message.

Song Miaomiao leaned over to peek at her phone. Seeing the words “our dad,” she sighed in amazement, “Your brother finally changed his tune?”

Jiang Silu smiled. “He supposedly called him that during the New Year. I didn’t hear it myself, though—my dad was the one who told me about it.”

One week later, Jiali called, saying that Green Garden had relented. They were willing to pay a compensation of ten thousand yuan, on the condition that Jiang Silu did not pursue legal liability against them.

Jiang Silu considered it for a moment before answering, “Ten thousand yuan is fine, but I want them to apologize publicly. They have to post a statement of apology on their official website and their Taobao store, and leave it up for a month.”

Jiali relayed her demands to the lawyer. After the lawyer communicated with Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhou agreed.

On the day the public apology was posted, Jiang Silu was drawing in her dorm room.

Song Miaomiao was the first to see it. She ran over, holding up her phone. “Silu! Silu! They apologized!”

Jiang Silu glanced at the statement. The wording was highly official, the gist of it being, “Due to a work error, we mistakenly used the design works of student Jiang Silu, for which we are deeply sorry.”

Looking at that paragraph of text, she couldn’t quite put her finger on how she felt.

“Has the ten thousand yuan arrived in your account?” Lu Yao asked.

“It has. Sister Jiali said it’s already been transferred to my card.” Jiang Silu nodded.

Lu Yao smiled. “Then that’s that. You got the money, and you got the apology.”

Liu Shiting sat on her bed, watching Jiang Silu, and asked, “Silu, are you still angry?”

Jiang Silu thought about it and shook her head with a smile. “I’m not angry anymore. I just wonder how there can be people like that in this world.”

“There are tons of people like that,” Lu Yao curled her lips. “Just be more careful from now on.”

Jiang Silu nodded, placed her phone on the desk, and went back to her drawing.

Yangcheng, inside the flower shop.

Jiang Yixia was wrapping flowers when her phone buzzed. She picked it up to take a look; it was a message from Jiang Silu: “Mom, the matter has been resolved. The other party paid ten thousand yuan in compensation and even issued a public apology.”

Jiang Yixia smiled as she read the message. She typed a few words: “That’s good. Pay attention next time.”

After hitting send, she placed her phone on the counter and continued wrapping flowers.

The wind chime at the door rang, and Lu Fan walked in.

“What are you smiling about?” he chuckled, leaning against the counter to watch her.

“Silu’s situation is resolved,” Jiang Yixia said without lifting her head, though her tone carried a clear sense of relief. “The other party compensated her with ten thousand yuan and made a public apology.”

Lu Fan nodded and smiled. “That’s good.” He paused before adding, “Sifan took the initiative to call me this time.”

Jiang Yixia’s hands paused in their work, and she lifted her head to look at him.

“He said, ‘Something happened to Silu, could you help?'” Lu Fan said with a grin. “Even though he still used the formal address, it’s a huge step up from before.”

Jiang Yixia didn’t speak. She lowered her head and resumed wrapping the flowers, but a distinct look of gratification had softened her features.