Chapter 159: Around the Clock

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Around the Clock

"Grandma, look at her! She won’t eat, won’t let me eat, and she even pinched me."

"How can a girl be so bossy? I’m telling you, she’ll never get married."

Jiang Fan grumbled as he shoveled rice into his mouth.

"Pah! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Director Grandma reached out and poked Jiang Fan hard on the head.

"Let me tell you, if our Little Yue’Er can’t get married in the future, it’ll be all your fault. You’ll have to take responsibility."

"What? How is this my fault?"

Jiang Fan protested, crying foul at the injustice.

"Oh, so you’re the wronged party now, are you?"

"Just eat your food."

Exasperated, Director Grandma slapped Jiang Fan on the back of the head.

Defeated, he could only shut his mouth and obediently shovel down his food.

He knew there was no point in trying to reason with her right now.

If he pushed it and made her angry, she would hit him, and he’d just have to take it.

"I wouldn’t want him to take responsibility anyway. As if I’m some kind of lost cause who can’t get married."

"Grandma, let’s just ignore him. Where’s Qian’Er?"

Jun Yue glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Li Qian’Er.

"She’s out on an errand. A lot of the children at the orphanage are ready for school, and she’s handling the arrangements."

"For them, school is the only way out."

"Just like it was for you back then."

As she spoke, Director Grandma gazed toward the large playground in the distance, at the group of children playing happily.

The two of them followed her gaze.

Childhood memories came flooding back.

"That’s right, it’s time for school," Jiang Fan said with a sigh.

"But I have a different idea. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I haven’t mentioned it to you."

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Fan decided to speak up.

"What idea?"

Director Grandma looked at him curiously.

Even Jun Yue turned her gaze toward him.

"I mean, what if... what if some kids just aren’t cut out for academics?"

"Forcing them to study would be completely useless."

"Couldn’t we try to develop their other talents?"

"Like becoming student-athletes, for example."

"As long as they can meet the standards, their future could still be very bright."

"At least it would give us another option."

"We wouldn’t be forcing everyone down the same dead-end path."

Jiang Fan’s voice grew quieter as he spoke.

He noticed that both Director Grandma and Jun Yue were staring intently at him.

"What? Did I say something wrong? If something’s off, just tell me. It’s just a suggestion. You don’t have to look at me like that. It’s creeping me out."

But to his surprise, Jun Yue shook her head and said:

"You’re not wrong. In fact, I think it’s an excellent idea."

"It is a good idea. And actually, Qian’Er has mentioned this to me before."

"There are a few children at the orphanage who are exceptionally good at sports, but their academic performance is relatively poor."

"She was just discussing with me whether we could let them pursue the student-athlete track."

"I couldn’t make up my mind about it..."

Director Grandma said with a sigh. In her traditional view, studying hard was the only way to secure a good future.

But she also knew times were changing. If a child was only average academically, they would never get ahead without pursuing other paths.

The two conflicting ideas warred in her mind.

"I think we should give Qian’Er’s idea a try."

"Our situation already requires us to be tougher than others. They say children from poor families mature faster."

"We can’t compare to the families other kids have, so we at least have to push ourselves harder."

Jun Yue added in agreement.

"Alright. I’ll talk to Qian’Er about it when she gets back."

After some hesitation, Director Grandma finally nodded, her mind made up.

After all, more than anyone, she wanted the children of the orphanage to have a good life. ℴℴ𝘮

None of them knew that this simple discussion would become such a blessing for the children’s futures, giving rise to countless great athletes.

After finishing their meal, they chatted with Director Grandma for a while and played with the orphanage children for a bit before Jiang Fan and Jun Yue got up to leave.

The two of them had truly been out of touch all day, not answering their phones at all.

It was only when they picked up their phones that they discovered they were not only flooded with missed calls, but also countless messages.

They looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.

"Let’s go. Time to deal with business."

Jun Yue said, stretching lazily.

"Alright, I’ll take you back to your company first. I have to go to my office too. My manager called me several times, but I missed them all. I need to go see what’s going on."

Jiang Fan nodded. He then dropped Jun Yue off at her company before heading back to Xuerong.

Humming a little tune, he arrived at Li Muwan’s office.

But what greeted him was Li Muwan’s murderous glare.

The smile froze on Jiang Fan’s face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Where have you been all day? Why didn’t you come to work?"

"I called you, you didn’t answer. I sent you messages, you didn’t reply. Don’t you dare tell me you were too busy to see them."

"In this day and age, who goes an entire day without looking at their phone even once?"

Li Muwan unleashed a verbal torrent; she was truly furious this time.

Over in the Celestial Dragon District, both Xuerong Group and Fengming Group were vying for the market share.

Xuerong Group was already at a slight disadvantage compared to Fengming Group, as Fengming had family backing and outperformed them in some areas. But now, Li Fengming had gone crazy for some reason, giving up significant profits to form an alliance with several other companies—giants in their own right—to also enter the Celestial Dragon District.

Individually, these companies couldn’t compare to Xuerong Group, but united, they were a force to be reckoned with, especially with Fengming Group backing them.

Now, they were in an extremely passive position.

At a time like this, time was money, but of course, Jiang Fan had been unreachable all day, not a shadow of him to be seen.

"Ahem... I really did have something to take care of, so I didn’t see my phone."

"I’ve almost finished the proposal. There are just a few minor details left."

"Tidying up those details won’t take much time at all."

Jiang Fan steadied his nerves and spoke calmly.

’Can’t let Li Muwan know I was out having fun,’ he thought. ’If she finds out, I’ll be skinned alive.’

"Then tell me, what are we going to do about this situation?"

Li Muwan explained the whole situation to Jiang Fan, about how Fengming Group had allied with other industry giants.

After listening, Jiang Fan’s expression gradually grew heavy.

"Is this information reliable?"