Chapter 285 - 193: Setting Lu Fan Up? Lu Fan’s Angry Retort

Chapter 285: Chapter 193: Setting Lu Fan Up? Lu Fan’s Angry Retort

Although Jiang Silu was comforted by her friends, she still felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach.

Just then, Liu Shiting noticed the web page suddenly refresh.

She quickly exclaimed, "Silu, look! The list is out!"

Jiang Silu immediately clicked on it and saw the name of her project right away!

There, in the Gold Prize category, were the words: Jinling University—"Innovative Pocket Park Waterfront Design for Yanhe District"!

She froze.

Song Miaomiao shrieked, "The gold prize! Lulu, your project won the gold prize!"

Lu Yao jumped up too, throwing her arms around her. "Holy shit, holy shit! You’re amazing!"

"Congratulations, Lulu," Liu Shiting said with a smile.

Jiang Silu felt dizzy from being shaken by them. It took her a long moment to process it, and then tears welled up in her eyes.

’She did it.’

’She really did it.’

Even though she hadn’t completed the project on her own, it was the first award-winning work she had ever been a part of.

The significance was immense.

She immediately opened WhatsApp, wanting to share the good news with her senior classmates.

But her senior classmates were already celebrating wildly in the group chat.

They were even tagging Jiang Silu repeatedly.

[Silu, the judge’s comments say that the waterside platform you created was uniquely distinctive and a very modern innovation! We won the gold prize all thanks to the part you designed!!]

[Silu, you’re incredible!!]

[AHHH! AH!! This is amazing! The Jinling University Department of Landscape Architecture won the gold prize! It’s been three years!]

It was only then that Jiang Silu realized there was a section with the judge’s comments.

In those comments, the part she had designed was singled out for praise by the judges.

For a moment, she was overjoyed.

Just as she was about to tell her family the news...

Her phone suddenly rang. It was Lu Fan.

Jiang Silu answered, her voice brimming with excitement. "Hello~"

Lu Fan’s voice came from the other end of the line, and he said with a laugh, "Silu, congratulations on winning the gold prize."

Jiang Silu paused, surprised. "How did you know? I just found out myself!"

Lu Fan chuckled and replied, "I’ve been keeping an eye on it. Jiali just told me the results were out, and that you won the gold prize."

Jiang Silu didn’t know what to say, but her father definitely deserved credit for this project. She thanked him, "Thank you. Without your help, I couldn’t have even designed the waterside platform that the judges praised."

Lu Fan laughed happily. "I just provided some support. You’re the one who did the real work. Lulu, Dad is proud of you."

Jiang Silu’s eyes were already red.

After hearing him say that, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

She covered her mouth to keep from crying out loud, only managing to say after several seconds, "Thank you..."

After hanging up, she clutched her phone, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

She didn’t know if she was crying tears of joy for winning the gold prize...

Or because it was the first time she had shared such joy with her father after winning.

Song Miaomiao, Lu Yao, and her other roommates watched from the side. They didn’t try to console her, just quietly stayed with her.

After a while, Jiang Silu wiped away her tears and called Jiang Yixia.

The call connected.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "Mom, I won an award. The gold prize~"

The other end was silent for two seconds, then Jiang Yixia’s excited voice came through. "Really? Oh, sweetie, that’s wonderful!"

Hearing her mother’s joyful voice, Jiang Silu couldn’t help but smile again. "Mom, I did it."

Jiang Yixia was grinning from ear to ear. "Mom knew you could do it! When you come back for winter break, I’ll take you shopping for new clothes."

"Okay~ And I’ll buy something for you, too. I’ve been saving up my own money."

After hanging up, Jiang Silu sat in her chair, gazing at the night sky outside her window. A sudden sense of calm washed over her.

She thought of Spring Glow Garden, of the orchid hidden in the crevice of the rockery, of Lu Fan’s back as he stood on the mountain watching the sunrise.

She thought of what he had just said—"Lulu, Dad is proud of you."

’Maybe,’ she thought, ’some things really are getting better.’

...

「That night, in Qingshan Village.」

It was already pitch-black when Lu Fan left.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that the light at the Jiang Family’s entrance was still on. Pan Lanfang was standing in the doorway, watching his car drive away into the distance.

A warm feeling spread through his chest.

’Those two elders really treat me like one of their own.’

He thought about what Aunt Wang had said, and about the way Pan Lanfang, with red-rimmed eyes, had told him to visit less often. He couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

He knew there would be no shortage of gossip from the villagers.

But he didn’t care.

What he cared about was the way those two elders looked at him.

As if they were looking at their own son.

’That’s enough.’

’After all, if they find out the truth someday, maybe they’ll even forgive me.’

Just as the car was leaving the village entrance, he suddenly saw a figure on the side of the road.

The person was standing in the darkness, seemingly waiting for him.

Lu Fan had Chen He slow down. In the glare of the headlights, he saw it was Jiang Ming.

He was taken aback for a second, then rolled down the window. "Jiang Ming? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Ming didn’t look well, and his voice was low. "President Lu, I... I’ve run into some trouble."

Lu Fan asked, "What kind of trouble?"

He knew Jiang Guoqiang and Pan Lanfang were in the village. If they saw Jiang Ming, it would undoubtedly arouse their suspicion, so he gestured. "Get in the car."

Jiang Ming hesitated for a moment before pulling open the car door and getting in.

He kept his head down and was silent for several seconds before finally speaking. "Ma Xiaofei came looking for me again."

Lu Fan raised an eyebrow. "The ’technician’?"

Jiang Ming nodded, his voice trembling slightly. "She found out I quit my job at the school, and she even found the address of the gym. This time... this time she brought people with her. They’re waiting for me downstairs where I live. She said if I don’t give her money, she’s going to make a huge scene at the gym entrance tomorrow!"

Hearing this, Lu Fan started to laugh. He clapped him on the shoulder. "I thought it was something serious. Don’t worry, leave it to me."

He then pointed back toward the village entrance and asked, "Your parents are in the back room. Don’t you want to go in and see them?"

"No, I’m not in the mood right now because of this whole mess. I’m afraid I’ll upset them," Jiang Ming said, shaking his head.

"Alright, I understand. I’ll take care of it," Lu Fan said calmly.

At that moment, Jiang Ming suddenly felt that with Lu Fan around, he didn’t have to worry about a thing.

’It seems... having a brother-in-law is actually pretty great, huh?’

’I just don’t know if my sister, Jiang Yixia, will ever forgive him...’