The sky gradually darkened.
Jiang Yixia was arranging flowers.
Usually, more young couples would come out to stroll through the shopping district in the evening.
This was when the flower shop's business would pick up a bit.
With the current economic downturn, ordinary people were buying and gifting flowers far less often than they had in previous years.
Moreover, in previous years, business would boom around romantic holidays like Valentine's Day and the Qixi Festival.
But over the past year, business had become increasingly difficult.
It seemed guys were less willing to buy flowers as gifts, too.
Jiang Yixia knew that the monthly profit from the flower shop was just enough to cover her family's expenses.
If even one of them got seriously ill, it would take a significant bite out of their savings.
Of course, she burned incense and prayed daily for her parents and her two children, Sifan and Silu, wishing for their days to go smoothly and for them to stay healthy.
'As for myself, as long as I'm not a burden to them, that's enough.'
While she was busy, she glanced over at the pastry shop across the street.
It wasn't a bun shop anymore. It had been renamed "Liuxia Pastries."
The meaning behind the name was self-evident.
For this reason, Jiang Yixia had angrily confronted Lu Fan about it.
But Lu Fan had just smiled and said, "Since you've already guessed the meaning of the name, that just proves the name has meaning."
"What nonsense." Jiang Yixia couldn't be bothered to waste her breath arguing with him, and in the end, just let him put up the sign.
Looking at the pastry shop now, it seemed that womanizer wasn't inside.
'Hmph. Better that he's not around. Saves me the headache.'
But the thought had barely crossed her mind when a familiar figure appeared at the shop's entrance.
Lu Fan appeared, holding a megaphone and shouting to the crowd on the street, "Liuxia Pastries! Delicious and delightful! Come on down for a look, come on down for a taste!"
Seeing him shamelessly drumming up business again, Jiang Yixia was left speechless.
But it reminded her of the time they were running a street stall to earn extra cash. She had been too shy to call out to customers, so Lu Fan had stood by her side, shouting for two or three hours straight to draw a crowd.
As he put it afterward, "Who cares about saving face? As long as you're not breaking the law, you should do whatever it takes to reach your goal."
This was one of the things she had adored about him back in the day.
Confident, always had a plan, and was never afraid of failure.
Now, that guy was so rich, yet he was still hawking for customers just like in the old days.
Although Jiang Yixia hated him, she had to admit she was impressed.
At the very least, every time she thought about standing at her own storefront to attract customers, she found herself at a loss for words.
Lu Fan's method was certainly effective.
Coupled with the fact that the shop had been redecorated and was now very eye-catching.
This combination drew many curious people into the store.
Then, he raised the megaphone again and shouted, "Today, we're doing a joint promotion with the flower shop across the street! Buy a 5-yuan rose from them, and you can get a free, gourmet little cake from us, worth 20 yuan! Buy two roses, get two cakes! The more you buy, the more you get!"
Hearing this, many people in the crowd grew excited.
A young woman with a child in tow asked, "Sir, what's the catch? You're clearly losing money on this. I'm a bit skeptical, you know."
"Haha, well, my shop is new, and I wanted to do a joint promotion to let more people know there's a great flower shop and a great pastry shop here on this shopping street. Of course, this deal won't last forever. It's tentatively planned for three days." Lu Fan knew that if he wasn't sincere with the customers, his plan would backfire. It was better to be upfront about his intentions.
Just as he expected, the customers' interest was immediately piqued.
"Alright, alright! I'll go buy a rose right now. Sir, I want this strawberry cake. You'll hold it for me, right?"
"No problem."
With that, the young woman led her child toward the flower shop across the street.
The other customers, not wanting to be left behind, quickly followed.
"Sir, I want the little pig cake!"
"I want the mango cake! I'm going to buy a rose right now. You have to hold it for me!"
In a flash, four or five customers trailed after the young woman, filing into Jiang Yixia's flower shop.
Jiang Yixia was still arranging roses.
She was clearly taken aback when a whole group of people walked in.
"Ma'am, are your roses 5 yuan each?" the young woman asked, picking up a rose from the table.
Jiang Yixia nodded quickly. "Yes, they are."
"Could you pick a nice one for me, then? One without any damaged petals. And is that the QR code for payment on the wall?"
"Yes, yes, of course. That's the WeChat QR code on the wall."
Jiang Yixia quickly took a rose from the refrigerated display and began to wrap it carefully for her.
Meanwhile, two or three other customers behind her chimed in, "Ma'am, could you get us two roses as well?"
"I'll take three roses."
Jiang Yixia was a bit confused. She didn't understand why everyone was coming in and asking for roses without even browsing.
But the sudden rush of business spurred her into action.
'Today must be a good day,' she thought. 'The shop is never this busy at this hour, and so many people are buying roses today.'
As Jiang Yixia was carefully wrapping the roses, one of the customers said with a smile, "This promotion of yours is really great. You should keep it going next week if you can. I'll be back to buy more roses and get another cake."
"'Buy roses and get a cake?'" Jiang Yixia asked, confused.
The young woman from before explained, "Aren't you doing a joint promotion with the pastry shop across the street? If you buy a 5-yuan rose here, they'll give you a gourmet little cake worth 20 yuan over there. The more you buy, the more you get."
At those words, it finally dawned on her.
'So they're not here because they actually want roses... they're here because of that new promotion Lu Fan started!'
A flare of irritation went through her.
But with other customers still in the shop, Jiang Yixia had to swallow her anger. She would finish wrapping their flowers first and then go settle the score with Lu Fan.
The customers kept coming in waves, like a line of falling dominoes.
They didn't give Jiang Yixia any time to go find Lu Fan.
It wasn't until half-past nine, after the pastry shop had sold all its cakes, that the stream of customers to the flower shop finally started to dwindle.
Only then did Jiang Yixia storm over to the entrance of Lu Fan's pastry shop.
Lu Fan, for his part, had long been waiting for his dream girl to arrive.
Her face flushed and her brows knitted together, Jiang Yixia angrily demanded, "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"Yixia, you know my shop just opened. If I want to make a name for myself and get a foothold on this street, I need a gimmick. I don't know any of the other owners, so you were the only one I could team up with," Lu Fan explained, pretending to be aggrieved.
Of course, Jiang Yixia knew his tricks. She didn't believe for a second that this was his real reason.
She pressed on, "Then why didn't you ask me? Why did you make this decision on your own?"
"If I had asked you, would you have agreed?" Lu Fan replied with a smile.
"I..." Jiang Yixia was struck speechless.
'It was true. Given her personality, if Lu Fan had asked her about a joint promotion, her first reaction would have been to refuse.'
"I'll transfer you the profits from the roses sold today. I don't want your charity." Jiang Yixia immediately pulled out her phone, about to scan the payment QR code on his wall.
But Lu Fan quickly pulled out his own phone. "That QR code on the wall belongs to the previous owner. Scan mine."
Jiang Yixia rolled her eyes at him and said angrily, "I need a payment QR code, not one to add you as a friend."
With that, she turned and stormed away.
Lu Fan watched her storm off and sighed in admiration. "She's beautiful even when she's angry. I really had good taste back in the day."