Chapter 248 What did you find out?

Su Qing did not respond immediately.

She leaned back in her chair, her gaze sweeping over the small round table between the two of them, carefully scrutinizing Lin Fan across from her.

She couldn't remember the last time they had sat face-to-face like this.

On the day of the divorce, Lin Fan was dressed in ordinary clothes at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, holding Tuantuan's hand. His back looked somewhat disheveled.

At that time, Su Qing felt that this man would soon be crushed by the cost of living in Jiangcheng after leaving the Su family.

Today, although Lin Fan was still wearing a black jacket with no sense of tailoring, he exuded an indescribable composure.

He sat there with his back straight, without the timid and hesitant demeanor he had shown at the Su family home, nor the subconscious bowing of his head when facing her, the female CEO.

"You speak with much more confidence now than you did back in the Su family."

Su Qing pinched the small silver spoon in the coffee cup and slowly stirred the black coffee.

The silver spoon tapped against the edge of the porcelain cup, making a monotonous, crisp sound.

"When you're at home, you don't need to worry about what others think, so you naturally feel confident," Lin Fan replied calmly.

"At home?" Su Qing stopped using the silver spoon in her hand, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips.

She picked up her coffee and took a small sip, a hint of mockery in her eyes.

"Lin Fan, we've been married for three years, and this is the first time we've sat down and chatted in a coffee shop on a weekday afternoon."

Lin Fan looked at her: "Yes, I remember you said before that your time is charged by the minute. You felt that talking to me was a waste of time, a waste of life."

"Yes, I still think so." Su Qing put down her coffee cup with a soft sound. "That's why I took the time to sit here today to correct a mistake in time."

She looked at Lin Fan, then changed the subject and got to the point.

"I passed by Phoenix Golden Street yesterday and looked at the area around your shop. There were haphazardly parked electric bikes everywhere, passersby reeking of cooking fumes, and noisy hawking. Do you think it's good for Tuantuan to grow up in such a mixed bag of people?"

Lin Fan put the water glass back on the table, without getting angry, and just quietly looked at her.

"I don't think people who earn their living with their own hands are some kind of lowlife. Tuantuan is very happy at the shop. She can eat a hot meal on time every day, and many people like her."

"Happy? Hot food?" Su Qing thought as if she had heard a joke.

"Lin Fan, your vision is too narrow. Tuantuan's surname is Su, and she should enjoy the best resources from birth. She should sleep in a bed with velvet, have a dedicated nutritionist prepare her meals every day, and have one-on-one tutoring from the chief foreign teacher of a private kindergarten."

Su Qing leaned forward slightly, staring into Lin Fan's eyes.

"This is the life and starting line she deserves. Not sitting in a corner of a noodle shop, drawing with a broken colored pencil, watching others wipe tables and sweep the floor!"

The café was filled with the melodious sound of a saxophone, and a few customers at a corner table were talking quietly.

The atmosphere between the two of them, however, plummeted to freezing point.

Lin Fan didn't respond to her comment.

He discovered that there was a fundamental, insurmountable cognitive gap between himself and Su Qing.

In Su Qing's eyes, everything should be labeled by price and social class.

She will never understand the satisfied smile on Tuantuan's face after finishing a big meat bun in the store, nor will she ever understand what true companionship is.

"You called me out today just to discuss educational philosophies?" Lin Fan glanced at the clock on the wall.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing sneered, took a dark blue leather folder from the seat next to her, and placed it on the table.

"Lin Fan, we've been married for three years. I've always thought that although you're not very ambitious, at least you're honest and reliable."

"But I really didn't expect that after the divorce, you would actually learn to use these kinds of tricks to cheat and deceive people."

Lin Fan took a sip of water, not even bothering to refute her, and simply watched her performance calmly.

At this point, Su Qing reached out and opened the dark blue folder on the table.

Inside were several printed A4 sheets of paper, and on top of them was a cash check stamped with the official seal of the Su Group's finance department.

Su Qing pushed the check along with the documents in front of Lin Fan.

"This is a settlement agreement that my legal team just drafted. The amount on the check is five million."

Su Qing looked at Lin Fan, a confident smile playing on her lips.

For years, Lin Fan lived like a dog begging for mercy in her house, eating and using the Su family's food and supplies. He even had to rely on her charity to buy him a decent piece of clothing. Now that he's been kicked out, let alone five million, even fifty thousand would be enough to make him bow his head.

In her view, Lin Fan's feigned indifference was nothing more than a ploy to lure her in.

How could a good-for-nothing who was kicked out of the Su family and had nothing resist the temptation of five million?

She had even planned to mock Lin Fan mercilessly the moment he reached for it, completely shattering his ridiculous dignity.

However, Lin Fan merely glanced at the string of glaring zeros on the check, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever, as if it were not five million, but just an insignificant piece of waste paper.

His hand, holding the water glass, never moved an inch toward the check.

Su Qing looked at Lin Fan, and the confident smile on her lips froze slightly.

She suppressed her surprise, her tone still carrying an arrogant certainty:

"I think you're a smart person now. Since you're working for capital as a puppet, you have to understand the rules of capital."

Lin Fan paused for a moment while holding the water glass.

He looked at the confident woman in front of him, shook his head, and spoke with a calm that betrayed no anger, but rather a sense of absurdity.

"A puppet working for capital? Su Qing, have you been sitting in an office building for too long and forgotten even the most basic common sense?"

Lin Fan put down his water glass and met Su Qing's gaze.

Su Qing's expression darkened slightly, and her brows furrowed.

Lin Fan ignored her reaction and continued, "Do you really think those big bosses who drive luxury cars and manage billions of dollars would go out early in the morning to freeze and queue up just to cooperate with what you call 'capital manipulation'?"

"Do you really think other people can't tell whether a bowl of noodles is good or bad? In your eyes, anything that doesn't conform to your business acumen is fake?"

Lin Fan's calm and straightforward rebuttal stung Su Qing's pride, like it had been pricked by a needle.

Su Qing snorted coldly, a sneer curling at the corner of her lips: "Lin Fan, you don't need to pretend in front of me anymore. I've already found out exactly what's going on with your shop."

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow slightly: "What did you find out?"