Chapter 547: Jiang Yixia Takes the Initiative to Cook for Lu Fan, Their Relationship Greatly Improves!

Jiang Yixia stared at the message, slightly stunned.

She typed a few words: [What did they say?]

Pan Lanfang: [Nothing much. Your dad just asked about his company and about Sifan and Silu. He also said that he isn’t too bad of a person.]

Jiang Yixia looked at the message, unsure of how to reply. She remembered what had happened three months ago when Lu Fan went to Qingshan Village and was chased out by Jiang Guoqiang. Back then, Lu Fan stood in the courtyard while Jiang Guoqiang pointed at the gate and told him to get lost, his voice so loud that half the street could hear him.

She hadn’t been there at the time, but Pan Lanfang had told her over the phone. Her mother’s voice had been trembling as she said, “You know how your dad’s temper is.”

Even though Lu Fan had visited a second time and Jiang Guoqiang’s attitude had improved slightly, she still wasn’t sure exactly how her father felt about him. At the very least, the fact that Lu Fan was allowed to stay for dinner and actually have a conversation with him was a huge improvement from before.

She sent a reply: [Got it, Mom.]

After hitting send, she set her phone on the counter and went back to wrapping flowers.

The wind chime at the door tinkled. She looked up to see Lu Fan walking in. He wore a thin, light gray jacket, his hair neatly combed, and carried two cups of coffee in his hands. A gust of wind followed him through the door, causing the lilies in the shop to sway.

“You’re back?” Jiang Yixia asked, her hands not stopping their work.

“I’m back,” Lu Fan replied, taking a seat across the counter. He set the coffees down, pushed one toward her, and chuckled. “Your mom kept me for dinner, and your dad even talked to me for quite a while.”

“My mom told me,” Jiang Yixia said, lowering her head to continue wrapping. She was working on red roses, neatly arranging them stem by stem, rolling them in white cotton paper, and tying them off with a ribbon. Her movements were practiced; her fingers flew nimbly, finishing a bouquet in mere seconds.

“Your dad said I’m not too bad of a person,” Lu Fan said with a smile.

Jiang Yixia looked up at him briefly before lowering her head again. A faint smile touched her lips but was quickly hidden away.

“Then you’re pretty impressive,” she said. Her tone was flat, but there was no trace of sarcasm.

Lu Fan smiled. He took a sip of his coffee and said nothing.

A quiet settled over the flower shop. Jiang Yixia continued wrapping flowers, and Lu Fan sat across from her, drinking his coffee. Neither of them felt any awkwardness.

Once she finished the roses at hand, Jiang Yixia looked up at Lu Fan. He was looking down at his phone with a slight frown, as if dealing with a work-related matter. His finger swiped across the screen a few times, paused, and then swiped again.

“Is there an issue at your company?” Jiang Yixia asked.

“No.” Lu Fan put his phone away and looked up at her with a smile. “Just reading a few emails.”

Jiang Yixia nodded and didn’t press further. She stood up, walked over to the flower stand, and picked up a watering can to mist the plants.

Lu Fan struck up a conversation. “Your dad is in good health. I saw how strong he was when he was chopping wood.”

Jiang Yixia turned around, glancing at him. “You helped my dad chop wood?”

“I did,” Lu Fan chuckled. “Chopped for over half an hour. Your dad said I didn’t do it as well as he does.”

Jiang Yixia couldn’t help but laugh, though she quickly reined it in. She turned back and continued misting the flowers.

“He’s been chopping wood for decades. You’ve only done it a few times. How can you compare?” she said.

“That’s why I didn’t argue with him,” Lu Fan said with a smile. “When he said I wasn’t doing a good job, I just said, ‘You’re absolutely right, Sir.'”

Jiang Yixia shook her head without a word, but the corners of her mouth curved up. After finishing the misting, she put the watering can back on the shelf and returned to her seat behind the counter. There were still a few unfinished bouquets piled there, so she picked them up and resumed her work.

Lu Fan watched her wrap the flowers for a while before suddenly speaking up. “You’re a lot faster at wrapping flowers than the first time I saw you do it.”

“Of course,” Jiang Yixia said without looking up. “I’ve been doing this for years. If I wasn’t fast by now, I might as well quit.”

“Back when I first saw you wrap flowers, it took you almost ten minutes just to do one rose bouquet,” Lu Fan said cheerfully. “I thought to myself, ‘This girl works really slow.'”

Jiang Yixia looked up and glared at him. “If you think it’s slow, don’t watch.”

“I didn’t mind it being slow,” Lu Fan said with a smile. “I thought being slow was nice. It gave me more time to watch you.”

Jiang Yixia’s face flushed. She lowered her head and kept wrapping, ignoring him.

Lu Fan didn’t say anything else, just sat there watching her. Occasionally, people passed by the door; some glanced inside, while others pushed the door open to buy a bouquet. Whenever that happened, Jiang Yixia would stand up to greet the customers, and Lu Fan would sit quietly to the side and wait. When the customers left, she would sit back down and resume wrapping.

“When are you heading back to Jinling?” Jiang Yixia asked.

“The day after tomorrow,” Lu Fan replied.

“You’re staying quite a while this time.”

“Yeah, there’s nothing urgent, so I’m staying a couple of extra days.”

Jiang Yixia nodded and didn’t say anything more. She finished the last bouquet, put the scissors and ribbon away in the drawer, and looked up at him.

“Eating here tonight?” she asked.

“Sure,” Lu Fan smiled. “What are you making?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I’ll eat whatever you make.”

Jiang Yixia gave him a look, stood up, and took off her apron, hanging it over the counter. She walked to the door and flipped the sign from “Open” to “Closed.” Then, she turned around and looked at Lu Fan.

“Let’s go. To the supermarket for groceries,” she said.

Lu Fan stood up and followed her. The two walked side by side toward the supermarket. Jiang Yixia walked on his left, her pace steady. Lu Fan walked on her right, his hands hanging loosely by his sides.

After walking for a bit, Lu Fan suddenly spoke. “Your mom told me today that you used to be terrified of thunder when you were little.”

Jiang Yixia paused and turned to look at him. “Why would she tell you that?”

“It just came up while we were chatting,” Lu Fan said with a chuckle. “She said every time there was a thunderstorm, you’d hide under the covers and make your dad keep you company.”

“That was when I was little,” Jiang Yixia said, averting her face. “I’m not scared anymore.”

“Not scared at all?” Lu Fan teased with a smile.

“Not at all,” Jiang Yixia replied.

Lu Fan smiled but said no more.

They continued walking. The sunlight was bright, reflecting dazzlingly off the pavement. The supermarket wasn’t far—just a seven- or eight-minute walk away.

Jiang Yixia grabbed a shopping cart, and Lu Fan walked alongside her. In the produce section, she picked out a bundle of leafy greens, a carton of tomatoes, a block of tofu, and a carton of eggs. Lu Fan grabbed a bottle of soy sauce from a shelf and placed it in the cart. Jiang Yixia glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

“Is that enough?” Lu Fan asked.

“It’s enough,” Jiang Yixia said, pushing the cart toward the checkout.

Lu Fan took the cart from her, pushed it up to the register, and unloaded the items one by one. Just as Jiang Yixia was about to pay, Lu Fan had already pulled out his phone and scanned the QR code.

“I got it,” he said with a smile.

“You don’t need to,” Jiang Yixia said, reaching for her phone.

“Already paid.” Lu Fan put his phone away.

Jiang Yixia looked at him, said nothing, picked up the grocery bags, and walked out of the supermarket. Lu Fan followed her out and took the bags from her hands. Jiang Yixia didn’t fight him on it and let him carry them.

They headed back. The sun was beginning to set.

Jiang Yixia glanced at Lu Fan. He was walking beside her with the bags, his pace matching hers, a smile playing on his lips.

“What are you smiling about?” Jiang Yixia asked.

“Nothing much,” Lu Fan chuckled. “Just thinking that the weather is really nice today.”

Jiang Yixia didn’t reply. She turned her head forward, keeping her eyes on the road.

Suddenly, she felt the weather was really nice today, too.