The car pulled up to Jiang Ruotang’s house. Everyone got out, chatting amongst themselves. It was Jian Sha’s first time there, and seeing such a detached house filled her with anticipation. Cai Ji, on the other hand, followed behind Zhao Changfeng, naturally holding his slippers.

“Here you go, these slippers were specially prepared for you,” Jiang Ruotang placed a pair of pink My Little Pony slippers in front of Jian Sha.

“Oh my god, these are so girly!”

“Sister Sha, in our hearts, you’ll always be a girl,” Jiang Ruotang didn’t forget to flatter her.

Stepping inside, Jian Sha couldn’t help but exclaim, “This house is huge! The scene is like something out of a movie!”

Lin Lu specifically observed Lu Guifan, as among them, Lu Guifan’s family background was the most ordinary. Coming to Jiang Ruotang’s house this time, he wondered if Lu Guifan would feel the class difference between them? A boy like Lu Guifan, who excelled academically, came from an ordinary family, and attended a private middle school on a scholarship, no matter how outstanding he became in the future, the pride and inferiority complex deep within him would always follow him—the so-called “phoenix man.”

Lu Guifan would be attracted by Jiang Ruotang’s economic conditions and enjoy his admiration, but ultimately, he would still be jealous of him and would be out of place in his life. Lin Lu genuinely wanted to see how Lu Guifan would cope after realizing the disparity between himself and Jiang Ruotang.

---

“Ruotang, Changfeng, your classmates are here!” Zhao Yunshu heard the voices from the entrance and gracefully descended the stairs, wearing a long dress and with her hair tied up.

Zhao Changfeng nodded, “Mom, did you specially get dressed up because you knew my classmates were coming?”

Zhao Yunshu poked Zhao Changfeng’s forehead, “You’re celebrating New Year’s Eve here, so of course your dad and I won’t stay here and be in the way.”

Jiang Huaiyuan also came down in a dashing suit, looking like he was going to a film festival. He smiled and put his arm around Zhao Yunshu’s shoulder, saying, “Yunshu and I are going for some alone time.”

Cai Ji immediately showed a sweet smile to Zhao Yunshu: “Auntie Zhao, Uncle Lu, hello.”

“Cai Cai, come, let Auntie and Uncle see, you’ve gotten a little bit fatter. How are your grandparents doing?”

“Very good! They even said they want to personally thank you for your help.”

“Oh, no, it should be us visiting them; they’re elders.” Zhao Yunshu stroked Cai Ji’s curly hair, probably thinking, like Jiang Ruotang, that his curly hair felt really nice.

“Director Jiang, Auntie Zhao, Happy New Year,” Bai Yingchuan greeted politely.

Jiang Huaiyuan walked over and patted Bai Yingchuan’s shoulder, “This isn’t on a film set, just call me Uncle Jiang. I heard you took on the script for ‘The Roaring Twenties’?”

“Yes, I’m playing the protagonist’s younger self again,” Bai Yingchuan’s tone and demeanor were well-managed, polite but not distant.

“I’m very optimistic about this drama, and I’m optimistic about you too,” Jiang Huaiyuan looked behind him again, “Hey, Xiaolu is here too, and a little beauty, must be Ruotang’s badminton friend Jian Sha, right?”

Jian Sha didn’t expect her name to be uttered by the famous director and was so happy she almost couldn’t speak.

“Then this… is this Lu Guifan?” Jiang Huaiyuan asked, looking at Lu Guifan.

“Hello, Uncle Jiang, I’m Lu Guifan,” Lu Guifan said politely.

Jiang Huaiyuan saw that Lu Guifan hadn’t had time to change his shoes, so he personally opened the shoe cabinet and took out a pair of slippers for him. Lu Guifan was flattered and quickly bowed his head to take them. “Uncle Jiang, you’re too kind! I can do it myself.”

“This isn’t being polite! You’re our Ruotang’s idol, and an idol should be treated like an idol,” Jiang Huaiyuan said half-jokingly.

Lin Lu froze, turning his head to look at Bai Yingchuan. Just three months ago, Jiang Ruotang’s idol was clearly Bai Yingchuan. He was crazy for him, wild for him, banging his head against walls for him. But Bai Yingchuan’s expression remained the same, as if he had already expected it.

Jian Sha hadn’t expected such famous director and his wife to be so amiable, without any airs, and also started to joke. “Haha, Jiang Ruotang—did our class monitor become your idol because of his looks or his intelligence?”

Zhao Changfeng chimed in to expose him, “What else is there to say, definitely his looks!”

The next second, he was tapped on the head by his mother, “Nonsense, it’s clearly his intelligence. Our Ruotang talks about how amazing the class monitor is every day, how one problem can have eighteen solutions, and there’s always one he can understand.”

“Exactly, exactly. He said you’ll be able to build spaceships to fly to the stars and submarines to pluck the moon from the sea in the future. He admires you very much. Because of his admiration for you, his academic scores have all gone up. As his father, I’m eternally grateful to you. It’s truly a blessing from our ancestors that Ruotang could become friends with you! Thank you for making Ruotang better and more confident!” Jiang Huaiyuan also praised Lu Guifan lavishly.

Lu Guifan lowered his head, his ears seeming a little red. This was a scene Lin Lu had not at all anticipated; Jiang Huaiyuan and Zhao Yunshu praising Lu Guifan so highly. The appreciation and equality of minds made worldly class differences seem less important.

“Everyone, have fun. If you’re setting off fireworks on the terrace, be careful and don’t burn your down jackets!” Jiang Huaiyuan and Zhao Yunshu then left.

Jian Sha excitedly asked, “Can I tour your house? Before, I used to read novels about exaggerated mansions, but now that I see a real one, it’s a rare opportunity!”

“Sure, why not?” Zhao Changfeng agreed without thinking, leading all of them around. Lin Lu glanced at Jiang Ruotang, who was smiling, not at all uncomfortable with Zhao Changfeng acting like the host. But to others, Zhao Changfeng’s open and natural demeanor, without any of the caution of someone living under another’s roof, further demonstrated how truly good Jiang Ruotang was to Zhao Changfeng.

---

Zhao Changfeng walked and introduced, “There’s a storage room on the basement floor, specially for Dad’s, Director Jiang’s, beloved fishing gear. There’s also a small gym with basic equipment like treadmills. I do my workouts here. In the middle of the gym, there’s also a pool table; we can play pool together after hot pot.”

The first floor has a living room and three guest rooms. Two of them belong to Sister Juan and Xiao Gao, and the other was originally Jiang Ruotang’s toy room. After he grew up, the toys were disposed of and it was converted into a guest room. In his previous life, this was Zhao Changfeng’s room, which didn’t have very good lighting, and Zhao Changfeng never liked it. In this life, Jiang Huaiyuan had transformed it into a dreamy princess room. Rococo-style wardrobes and dressing tables, European princess bed, and fluffy soft cushions arranged on the windowsill.

“This room is too cute! This is my dream room!” Jian Sha exclaimed.

“Ah… you like this kind of room…” Zhao Changfeng was surprised.

Jiang Ruotang smiled, “You’ll sleep here tonight.” Jian Sha was overjoyed.

Then they went upstairs to the second floor and visited Jiang Huaiyuan’s study, which contained many famous domestic and international books, even modern popular novels, and books related to film production. In his previous life, Bai Yingchuan had never been to the Jiang family’s home and had never truly understood Jiang Huaiyuan, who had made him famous. In this life, it was his first time experiencing the atmosphere of Jiang Huaiyuan’s study. There was also a pot of Begonia flowers on the windowsill, and many photos were displayed on the desk.

Bai Yingchuan and Jian Sha looked up at the bookshelves, while Lu Guifan stood in front of the desk, because most of those photos were of Jiang Ruotang. Jiang Ruotang at one hundred days old, fair and chubby, very cute.

Jiang Ruotang at one year old, held by his birth mother He Yun, basking in the sun on the terrace, smiling like a plump little cat. Jiang Ruotang participating in a kindergarten performance, dressed as a little bee, wearing a round prop costume, with three marks drawn on his cheeks, looking innocently silly, which made Lu Guifan instinctively poke him with his fingertip.

…These were all sides of Jiang Ruotang that Lu Guifan had never seen.

“You’ve seen me as a child; I want to see you as a child too,” Jiang Ruotang’s voice sounded in Lu Guifan’s ear.

“I wasn’t as good-looking as you when I was little. They said I was scrawny, like a little old man.”

“Isn’t it enough that you’re better looking than me now?” Jiang Ruotang said.

Lu Guifan lowered his eyes and smiled. From Jiang Ruotang’s perspective, looking through the lenses and the space between Lu Guifan’s eyes, he could just see his timeless eye-tails, which were truly beautiful.

Then they visited Zhao Changfeng’s and Jiang Ruotang’s bedrooms, which made Jian Sha incredibly envious. “Both your bedrooms are so big. Changfeng, your bed is huge too! With such a big bed, you must grow to two meters tall in the future!”

“It’s alright… my brother picked it for me,” Zhao Changfeng rubbed the back of his head.

Cai Ji said, “Actually, Changfeng, your brother really dotes on you, haven’t you noticed?”

“Is… is that so?” Zhao Changfeng’s face flushed.

Cai Ji was envious of this. “Of course! At the beginning of the semester, Ruotang brought you nutritious meals every lunchtime. He kept an eye out for all the merchandise of your favorite football stars. You also said last time that your trainer was found by Uncle Jiang after Ruotang reminded him. Ruotang watches replays of all your games. And now you’re saying that even your bed and your closet were chosen by your brother. Isn’t he good to you? I really wish I had a brother like that.”

Zhao Changfeng belatedly rubbed his head, “I guess so. He even makes me late-night snacks… He’s really good to me.”

“That’s because you’re also very good to me,” Jiang Ruotang smiled.

Lin Lu was surprised to hear this. Being so considerate of others, and the person in question being Zhao Changfeng, his stepmother’s son—was this still the Jiang Ruotang he knew?

Bai Yingchuan asked with a smile, “Jiang Ruotang can also cook? What did he make?”

“Nothing much, just egg sandwiches,” Jiang Ruotang replied.

“But Ruotang, where’s your art studio? I remember last time I came, your studio was that place in the basement where you kept fishing gear,” Lin Lu said curiously.

“How long has it been since you last came? My brother’s studio has already moved to the top floor, in the attic.”

As Zhao Changfeng said that, Lin Lu suddenly realized that he hadn’t been to the Jiang family’s house in over four months. The changes here were far beyond Lin Lu’s imagination. Zhao Yunshu had become the mistress of the house, the room once filled with Bai Yingchuan’s merchandise was now Zhao Changfeng’s bedroom, and even the location of the art studio had changed. And whether it was Bai Yingchuan, Cai Ji, or other classmates, they were all accepting the current Jiang Ruotang.

“Come with me, my art studio… Jian Sha, you’ll definitely say it’s very romantic again.”

Everyone followed Jiang Ruotang upstairs. Upon entering, Jian Sha indeed gasped. There was a row of windows on the triangular sloping roof, and the light of the setting sun poured in, dyeing the entire space orange. Against one wall were rows of wooden shelves, on which Jiang Ruotang’s everyday practice plaster casts, paints, tools, and so on were placed. Another wall was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, covered with Jiang Ruotang’s sketchbooks and stacked artworks. There were also several oil paintings stacked against the wall.

“Great artist, may I admire your works?” Bai Yingchuan asked.

“Of course, feel free to look. Just be careful not to drop them on yourself when you take them down,” Jiang Ruotang replied.

Zhao Changfeng, being the tallest, helped take down the sketchbooks from the top. Bai Yingchuan took them and, upon opening them, couldn’t help but smile: kittens, puppies, morning glories… these were what he saw from Jiang Ruotang’s space. The further he flipped, there were even crickets in the grass, ladybugs on leaf tips, little dragonflies on the water surface… Everything in life was quickly recorded by Jiang Ruotang’s brush.

Lin Lu looked at Bai Yingchuan’s expression at that moment, gentle with appreciation. This kind of emotion was something Lin Lu fought desperately for but couldn’t get, yet Jiang Ruotang achieved it with just a sketchbook.

“Cai Cai, look! It’s you! Jiang Ruotang, when did you draw Cai Cai?” Jian Sha held up a sketchbook, drawing everyone’s attention. The pages were filled with various depictions of Cai Ji: sleeping at his desk, his curly hair soft and fluffy; chatting with classmates, his eyes bright, smiling sweetly; and swinging his paddle during a table tennis game with classmates.

“These are all me… Why do I suddenly feel so handsome?” Cai Ji rubbed the back of his head.

Lu Guifan, who had been standing quietly by, spoke up, “Because the Cai Ji in Jiang Ruotang’s heart is handsome, so the lines of the sketches are free and easy, and both dynamic and static characteristics are captured.”

“Haha, no wonder Zhao Changfeng in the sketches looks even handsomer than usual! So it’s all thanks to Jiang Ruotang’s psychological filter!” Jian Sha said, holding a sketchbook full of Zhao Changfeng’s basketball moments. Everyone crowded around to look.

“Oh my god, even handsomer than a shoe commercial!”

“Zhao Changfeng, you could debut on the spot!”

Bai Yingchuan walked to the shelf and took down a few more sketchbooks. Before coming to this school, Lin Lu always told him how crazy Jiang Ruotang was about him, but in Jiang Ruotang’s art studio, there was Zhao Changfeng, Cai Ji, Director Jiang, Zhao Yunshu, Sister Juan, and even Xiao Gao who drove the car. They were all quickly recorded by Jiang Ruotang. But in these records, Bai Yingchuan found not a single trace of himself. So, he didn’t know what he was like in Jiang Ruotang’s heart.

Jiang Ruotang, even as a fan, did you truly ever like me?

Jian Sha suddenly said, “Jiang Ruotang, those you draw are so lucky.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you make them beautiful with your lines. I don’t care, I want you to draw me too!” Jian Sha said seriously.

“Okay! I wish someone would let me draw them! I asked Zhao Changfeng to sit here for a while, and I hadn’t even captured his form before he ran off!”

“That wasn’t a sketch; it was a detailed drawing. You’d ask me to stay motionless for two hours? That would be the death of me!”

Meanwhile, Bai Yingchuan was stunned, because the sketchbook in his hand was filled with only one person. Even with simple strokes, one could feel a delicate state of mind. The person in the drawing had seemingly cold eyes, yet their outer corners carried a hint of tenderness. His handsome features, whether looking up at the sky, smiling faintly with a lowered head, or glancing back with an expressionless face, all evoked a desire to love.

Jiang Ruotang’s paintings were a manifestation of his emotions. In his heart, Cai Ji was cute and handsome, Zhao Changfeng on the field was full of tension, and Zhao Yunshu was dignified and gentle. Jiang Ruotang would replicate these qualities with his brush. And the man in this sketchbook was exceptionally refined, seemingly distant, yet one felt compelled to approach him.

…This was Lu Guifan. Lu Guifan, who was perfectly beautiful in Jiang Ruotang’s eyes.