"Chen Xing'er?"
Upon hearing Li Xiuying's relayed message, Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle.
His sister had found him this quickly; she was quite perceptive.
He did want to see her, but not in a way that she'd just show up.
For certain reasons, he even wished she wouldn't find him.
"I understand, thank you, Auntie," Chen Fan said.
"Ah, what's there to thank?" Li Xiuying waved her hand. "It's a small matter."
She paused, then lowered her voice. "Xiao Fan, how are things between you and A Xue?"
"Everything's fine, Auntie. You..." Chen Fan replied. Seeing Li Xiuying's slightly ambiguous expression, he suddenly understood what she was asking about.
He couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
His relationship with Su Yingxue was harmonious now, but the presence of her 'him' in the middle was like an insurmountable chasm.
"I see. I once made a wish at Lingyin Temple, praying to Buddha to bless A Xue with everything going smoothly."
"After meeting you, Xiao Fan, A Xue's work and life have been going well, and my illness hasn't recurred. So, A Xue and I have agreed to go to Lingyin Temple to offer incense tomorrow."
Li Xiuying said, "Xiao Fan, if you're not busy, would you accompany us?"
Chen Fan nodded. "Okay!"
"Xiao Fan, you're a man, you need to be more proactive."
Li Xiuying sighed again. "If I could see you two end up together, then even if I were to join A Xue's father, I'd have no regrets."
"Auntie, please don't say that," Chen Fan smiled. "You'll live a long and healthy life. As for Yingxue and me, we'll let nature take its course. Even if we don't end up together, I'll still take good care of her."
"What a good child," Li Xiuying said emotionally. "I just can't understand why A Xue is being so stubborn in her heart?"
Chen Fan smiled and said no more, accompanying Xiao Nannan as she played with her toys.
Not long after, Su Yingxue returned, her expression filled with excitement.
"Brother Chen, do you know who I saw today?" she said to Chen Fan.
"Who?" Chen Fan asked with a smile.
"Bob Kent! The world's top tailor, and also an outstanding designer. The chairman actually invited this master to the company for guidance."
"He even looked at my work and talked to me a lot!"
"And, you'd never believe it, his daughter, Lilith, is also an excellent designer and tailor. We exchanged contact information and became friends."
"I feel like I'm dreaming!"
Chen Fan smiled. "Congratulations! Such opportunities are rare!"
"Yes, it's such a pleasant surprise."
Su Yingxue exclaimed, "This master is so approachable, without any airs of a top design master. Did you know that the British royal family and the Prime Minister both have their clothes custom-made by him?"
"I learned a lot today. I have to go and write down some of his concepts and guidance so I don't forget them!"
Chen Fan wanted to say it wasn't necessary, that she could call Bob anytime she wanted to consult him.
But the words stopped at his lips, and he just nodded.
Su Yingxue picked up Xiao Nannan, spun her around, kissed her, and ran into her room.
"Auntie Xue is really happy today. Uncle, isn't a tailor someone who makes clothes? Is it very impressive?" Xiao Nannan giggled and asked.
"Yes, it's very impressive," Chen Fan nodded. "Even something as ordinary as making clothes, to be able to become the very best at it, is quite remarkable."
"Oh." Xiao Nannan nodded as if she understood. "Then I want to be the very best too!"
Chen Fan smiled and encouraged her, "Then our Nannan needs to study hard and become the top student first!"
"Mhm!" Xiao Nannan nodded seriously.
...
The Su family's old residence.
All the important members were gathered.
"We've used all the connections we could, but it's no use!" Elder Mrs. Su said. "Either they directly refuse, or they give us perfunctory answers. The Jiang family is likely beyond saving this time!"
She was primarily looking at Su Yingxia. The Jiang family was, after all, related to the Su family by marriage. Although they all knew it was difficult to salvage the situation, they still had to try.
However, the Su family's network of contacts was limited, and they were all left by the late Elder Mr. Su. At this time, they could only do so much.
Su Yingxia's expression was a little dejected.
She had long been disappointed with Jiang Shaolong, but with Jiang Shaolong in jail, it would affect her reputation. To be frank, it didn't sound good.
She felt annoyed by this. It was one thing that Chen Fan was useless. Now that Jiang Shaolong had been arrested, it was hard to say what the outcome would be.
With her marriages repeatedly going awry, she felt as if she had encountered some evil spirit. And this evil spirit was most likely Chen Fan, the jinx.
She was utterly unlucky.
"In my opinion, since we can't save Jiang Shaolong, why doesn't Xia Xia divorce him!" a voice declared. It was Su Mu speaking.
She snorted, "Xia Xia has become good sisters with Miss Chen now, so she's not afraid of not finding a good man!"
"Jiang Shaolong married my Xia Xia and didn't even give much dowry, he was so stingy!"
Su Yingxia glanced helplessly at her mother.
Unexpectedly, Su Mu got more worked up. "When we agreed to let Xia Xia dump Chen Fan and marry him, we thought the Jiang family had good standing and was quite wealthy. But in the end, we didn't get much benefit or advantage!"
Elder Mrs. Su nodded, agreeing with Su Mu's statement.
"Exactly. Not only did we not gain much, but they also made us lose face!" Su Yufang added fuel to the fire. "We won't even mention that the new house they bought was like a doghouse. The scene at the wedding made the Jiang family a laughingstock."
"What 'Mr. Long', turns out Chen Fan, that loser, has a connection with Mr. Long!"
Mentioning that wedding, everyone in the Su family had their grievances. These grievances, which hadn't been apparent before, all surfaced now that the Jiang family had fallen.
For a while, everyone in the hall was chattering, all enumerating the faults of Jiang Shaolong and the Jiang family. In their hearts, Jiang Shaolong had become even worse than Chen Fan.
At least Chen Fan was still living in Villa No. 1, with Mr. Long as his backer!
Su Yingxia listened, becoming increasingly annoyed. She also wanted a divorce, but not only would her reputation suffer, she also needed to have a better option first.
"Xia Xia, find an opportunity to get Jiang Shaolong to sign the divorce agreement!" Su Mu urged with expectant eyes. "Aren't you good sisters with Miss Chen? Let her introduce you to a young master from the capital. We won't lose out!"
"That's right, Yingxia, you have the looks and the figure. If you dump Jiang Shaolong, you'll definitely find someone better!"
"You should get closer to Miss Chen. It's already late today, go be with her early tomorrow morning. She's new here and will surely depend on you a lot!"
"..."
"Alright, let's talk about it later!" Su Yingxia felt a bit dizzy from all the talk and shouted.
The others immediately fell silent.
Just then, her phone rang.
She picked it up and saw it was Yuan Liangping calling. Her heart skipped a beat.
The last time they met alone, Young Master Yuan seemed to have some interest in her? Now that Jiang Shaolong was incarcerated, the obstacle between them seemed to have disappeared?
However, Young Master Yuan's momentum didn't seem as strong as it was before the auction? But overall, Young Master Yuan was still a very good prospect, wasn't he?
She refused her mother's question and walked out to take the call.