Chapter 503 - 502: IF Storyline: Did the Big Boss Vie for Favor Today? 71

Chapter 503: Chapter 502: IF Storyline: Did the Big Boss Vie for Favor Today? 71

Shi Lan secretly gritted her teeth. Of course she knew, and she couldn’t say much about it. ’Just think of it as being for the cat, not for me,’ she told herself, which made her feel a little better.

’Still, that silly boy Jiang Xia really knows what to say. He’s quite a natural at chasing girls.’

If he had given her any other gift, Shi Lan probably wouldn’t have accepted it. But of all things, it had to be concert tickets, which were exactly what she wanted.

Thinking of this, the last bit of her annoyance vanished.

She replied with a message: "Thank you. Be safe on your way back to school."

And she said no more.

Jiang Xia was so happy he jumped a few times in the stairwell and eagerly replied, "Okay, I will! I hope you have a great time too!"

Shi Lan didn’t reply, but Jiang Xia wasn’t disappointed. The trip hadn’t been a waste. He had seen the girl he liked, eaten a meal she cooked, and even made it into her apartment.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a lucky day.

To make the day even luckier, he went to the apartment his cousin had originally let him stay in and knocked on the door. He wanted to see who had bought his cousin’s place so he could offer them a higher price and buy it himself.

Jiang Xia had already been calculating his savings. His monthly allowance was about fifty thousand yuan. Aside from food and drinks, he didn’t have many expenses, so he could save about twenty thousand a month. His parents also gave him money on holidays, and with the five hundred thousand his cousin had given him, he had saved up over two million yuan in total. That should be enough to buy an apartment in L City.

Jiang Xia had little concept of prices in L City. He spent money without even looking at the bill. At school, he just used his student ID card, which his parents had loaded with a lot of money when he enrolled. When he occasionally wanted to eat better, he would drive his roommates out to eat at fairly high-end restaurants.

He wasn’t sure how much an apartment in L City actually cost, but he knew places in the Capital were very expensive. ’I’ll just ask the buyer first,’ he thought. ’If it’s not enough, I’ll ask Mom and Dad for more.’

Unfortunately, he knocked for a long time without anyone answering. He tried the keypad twice with his cousin’s old password, but that didn’t work either. He even furtively pressed his eye to the crack in the door to peek inside, which was when he was hauled away by the complex’s security guard, who probably thought he was a thief.

Jiang Xia hastily explained, "It’s like this—my cousin originally bought this apartment. He sold it to someone else, and I want to see who it was."

The guard gave him a stern look. "I don’t care about your cousin. Get out of here right now."

Jiang Xia’s lip drooped a little. He wasn’t happy. After a moment’s thought, he lowered his voice. "I’ll give you a thousand. Can you tell me who the current owner of 601 is?"

The guard’s heart skipped a beat, but he resolutely refused. "Don’t try that with me. That’s the owner’s private information."

"Two thousand."

"Three thousand... five thousand..."

Jiang Xia raised the offer to five thousand. ’If the guard still won’t talk, I’ll just give up,’ he thought. ’Worst case, I’ll just have to come by a few more times. I’m bound to run into them eventually.’

In the end, the guard couldn’t resist the temptation of money and stealthily showed him the registered name.

"Chen Fangshan..."

Jiang Xia scratched his head. He didn’t know this was Assistant Chen’s name. Just like Shi Lan, he only knew that his cousin had an "Assistant Chen" but didn’t know his full name.

So, even seeing the name now, he didn’t connect it to He Hanshi.

He tried to memorize the owner’s contact number listed next to the name, but the guard quickly covered it with his hand. "Hey, handsome, I can’t just leak that."

"Alright..."

Jiang Xia didn’t insist on getting Chen Fangshan’s phone number and, true to his word, transferred five thousand to the guard.

His goal this time was just to confirm whether his cousin had really sold the apartment. Since he had, Jiang Xia figured he would just have to visit a few more times.

He refused to believe he wouldn’t eventually run into this new buyer.

He Hanshi hadn’t actually sold the apartment. Nor had he used Assistant Chen’s name specifically to hide it from Jiang Xia. Assistant Chen had been the one responsible for purchasing the property, so they had simply registered it in his name, though the asset belonged to He Hanshi.

After sending Jiang Xia away, He Hanshi had returned to the Capital. He planned to use this time to sort out his feelings for Shi Lan.

In truth, when he first found out she was Pumpkin, the first thing he felt was a strange sense of joy. He didn’t know if he was relieved that she was human or just relieved to have found her.

However, he didn’t have much experience with women. After one interaction after another, he sensed Shi Lan’s distance and became afraid to get too close, fearing he would make her hate him.

He Hanshi stood on the second floor, looking down at a chubby orange cat playing in the garden below, and sighed silently.

He couldn’t say he disliked the current Pumpkin, but only he knew that he had developed an indescribable obsession with the original Pumpkin.

He missed its companionship, the concern in its eyes, its liveliness when it played with him. And all of these memories were slowly coalescing... seemingly forming the clear image of Shi Lan’s face.

He Hanshi’s heart suddenly hammered in his chest. He clutched his chest in confusion and called the family doctor.

Mr. and Mrs. He thought something was terribly wrong. It was rare enough to see him take a day off, but now he was calling a doctor for a heart examination. The two of them were scared to death, watching him with worried eyes.

The family doctor said, "Mr. He, there’s nothing wrong with your heart. But you still need to be careful with your leg. It’s only recently recovered, so don’t do any strenuous exercise. Light walks are good, and be sure to massage it at night to promote circulation."

He Hanshi gave a faint nod, and Mr. and Mrs. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He Hanshi looked at them, the corners of his lips curving slightly. "Mom, Dad, I’m sorry to have worried you."

"You silly child. As long as you’re okay. Tonight, I’ll have your father massage your legs for you."

"Oh, right, Doctor, is there a specific massage technique we should use?"

Mrs. He pulled Mr. He over to ask the family doctor for instructions. When it came to their son, they were both deeply concerned.

Watching their retreating figures, He Hanshi opened his phone’s photo album. The only picture he had of Shi Lan was a shot of her smiling at him in her shop. He still remembered what she had said then: "Thank you for visiting my little shop, Mr. He. It’s an honor. I hope this floral tea helps you have a good night’s sleep~"

That night, he wasn’t sure if it was because of the sleep-aid tea or her words, but for the first time in a long while, he hadn’t suffered from insomnia.

He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but looking back now, he realized how clearly these memories were etched into his mind.

He Hanshi placed his hand back over his heart, which was still beating a little too fast, and pressed his lips together.

’I think,’ he thought, ’I’ve fallen for Shi Lan.’

His feeling for Pumpkin was a protective obsession, but for her, it was the thrill of burning love.

He Hanshi was not an indecisive man. Having confirmed his feelings, he decided to pursue Shi Lan.

...

Time passed quickly, and to the great anticipation of Shi Lan and Chen Xinyi, the day of Yan Huoshui’s debut concert finally arrived.

Yan Huoshui’s concert started at three in the afternoon and would last about two hours. It was drizzling that day, but that did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans who had flown in from all over the country.

Fortunately, this was an indoor concert. The stadium had a protective roof, so the rain wouldn’t affect the show.

Shi Lan and her best friend shared an umbrella. Shi Lan was in charge of holding it, while her friend was in charge of taking all sorts of pictures. Her friend was excited the whole way, chattering nonstop.