Chapter 534: Lu Fan Provides an Entire Building Floor to Lu Fan as a Studio!

The car made a U-turn at the entrance of Jinling University and headed toward the Jinling Institute of Technology.

Chen He drove steadily. Streetlights flashed past the window one by one, their warm orange glow spilling into the car and casting shifting shadows across Lu Fan’s face.

Lu Fan took out his phone and opened Jiang Sifan’s chat. Their last conversation had been three days ago. Jiang Sifan had sent a photo of his studio with the message, “Business has been pretty good lately.” Lu Fan had simply replied, “Good.”

He thought for a moment before typing out a brief message: “Are you at the studio?”

Two minutes later, Jiang Sifan replied: “Yes, working overtime today.”

Lu Fan put his phone away and leaned back against the seat.

Soon, the car pulled up to the entrance of the Jinling Institute of Technology. Lu Fan got out, told Chen He to park the car, and walked inside alone.

The campus was quiet. Dim, yellow streetlamps illuminated the stone-paved paths. Lights were still on in a few of the academic buildings, but the classrooms were mostly empty, occupied only by a handful of students burying themselves in practice tests for their graduate exams.

After walking along the main road for about seven or eight minutes, Lu Fan turned into an older building. A sign that read “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Building” hung by the entrance. The paint was peeling, but the words were still legible.

Jiang Sifan’s studio was on the third floor.

Lu Fan headed up the stairs. The hallway lights were sound-activated, so he stomped his foot to turn them on. The pale, harsh light reflected off the concrete floor, stinging his eyes slightly.

When he reached the door, he found it open. The clatter of keyboards and the murmur of voices drifted out from inside.

The studio wasn’t large—only about twenty square meters—and five desks crammed into the space left it packed to the brim. Jiang Sifan sat by the window, an account book and a laptop open in front of him. His brows were furrowed in concentration. He would type a few keystrokes, then pause to think.

Wen Wan sat across from him, also focused on her computer. She occasionally looked up to say something to him; he would nod and then return his attention to his work.

A few other guys sat at the desks pushed against the wall. Gao Lao was staring blankly at his screen, which displayed a financial report. After studying it for a long while, he picked up a pen, scribbled a few words on a piece of paper, and then crossed them out. Qiu Zai was on the phone, his voice hushed. Whoever was on the other end seemed to be asking questions; he explained a few things before pausing to listen again. Brother Ming sat in the corner with a stack of documents piled in front of him. He flipped through them one by one, checking off the covers as he finished.

Lu Fan stood in the doorway for a moment, watching them in silence.

Jiang Sifan looked up, intending to speak to Wen Wan, but his gaze swept to the door and he froze. He set down his pen and stood up so hastily that his chair scraped back, letting out a harsh SCREECH.

Gao Lao glanced up, followed Sifan’s line of sight, and also blanked for a second.

“Sifan, your dad is here,” Gao Lao called out.

Qiu Zai hung up his phone and turned around. Brother Ming looked up from his mountain of documents and adjusted his glasses.

Jiang Sifan stood at his desk, staring at Lu Fan in the doorway. Unsure of what to do with his hands, he wiped them awkwardly against his pant legs. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the desk and walked over to Lu Fan.

The two men stood face to face, separated by just a couple of steps.

“Dad,” Jiang Sifan said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear.

Hearing the word “Dad,” Lu Fan smiled, deeply gratified. During the New Year at the villa, Jiang Sifan had bowed and called him that. That was the first time. Later, on WhatsApp, Jiang Sifan had typed “our dad,” but face-to-face, this was only the second time. It was a bit more natural than the first, though there was still a hint of nervousness in his tone.

“Busy?” Lu Fan asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s the end of the month, so we’re reconciling the accounts,” Jiang Sifan nodded.

Lu Fan glanced around the studio. Wen Wan stood up, her cheeks slightly flushed, and gave him a small bow. “Good evening, Uncle Lu,” she greeted softly.

“Good evening,” Lu Fan smiled and nodded.

Gao Lao, Qiu Zai, and Brother Ming also got to their feet. Gao Lao beamed, “Hello, Uncle Lu.”

“Hello to all of you.” Lu Fan chuckled cheerfully, then turned to glance at Chen He.

Chen He was standing at the door, holding two large bags. One was filled with cakes and pastries, and the other with milk tea. He walked in and set the bags down on an empty desk.

“I brought you guys some food. Take a break,” Lu Fan said warmly.

Gao Lao was the first to hurry over. He peeked inside the bag and his eyes lit up. “Master Bao’s pork floss cakes! And Heytea milk tea! Uncle Lu, you’re too kind.”

Qiu Zai joined him, taking a cup of milk tea from the bag. He pierced the lid with a straw and took a sip, his eyes crinkling in delight. “It’s still hot.”

Brother Ming walked over, grabbed a pork floss cake, and took a bite. He nodded silently, but a smile touched the corners of his mouth.

Watching his roommates happily enjoy the snacks, the tension on Jiang Sifan’s face eased considerably. He turned back to Lu Fan and said softly, “Dad, have a seat.”

Lu Fan sat down in Jiang Sifan’s chair and looked around the studio. Five desks were squeezed together, leaving a gap barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through sideways. Several business flowcharts and client lists were taped to the walls, while boxes of printer paper and folders were stacked up in the corner. The window was half open, offering nothing more than a view of the school’s boundary wall. There was virtually no scenery to speak of.

“The studio is a bit cramped,” Lu Fan remarked.

“It’s alright, we’re used to it.” Jiang Sifan stood beside him, hands tucked into his pockets. “Before, it was just Wen Wan and me. Now that we’ve hired a few part-timers, it really is a little tight.”

With his mouth stuffed full of pork floss cake, Gao Lao mumbled indistinctly, “Uncle Lu, you have no idea. With the few of us sitting here, we bump into each other just turning around. Last time, I went to grab a document, spun around, and knocked right into Qiu Zai. Spilled milk tea all over the desk.”

“That’s because you never look where you’re going,” Qiu Zai said, rolling his eyes at Gao Lao.

The group burst into laughter.