For the past two days, Qi Yanzhe hadn’t received a single message from Jiang Ruotang. He clicked into Jiang Ruotang’s Moments, looking through it again and again. All the posts were about his art studio assignments and some personal works. Although Qi Yanzhe didn’t understand them, he inexplicably felt that Jiang Ruotang was a person who had risen above vulgar interests and possessed a high level of aesthetic taste. Even though he had liked all of Jiang Ruotang’s artworks, he still couldn’t find an excuse to send him a message.

Just then, his elder brother Qi Yanfeng walked past him and saw his precious younger brother “stalking” someone’s Moments for a long time. He said with a hint of surprise, “Oh, you’ve changed your taste? You don’t like foxy pretty boys anymore, and now you’re interested in artistic types?”

Qi Yanzhe quickly shook his head, “This is a friend, not… not that kind of relationship.” Qi Yanfeng knew all of his brother’s reactions like the back of his hand. To put it bluntly, if he twisted his waist, Qi Yanfeng would know what kind of gas he was about to release.

“An artistic youth is good too; it can cultivate your sentiments and curb your temper.”

After a while, Qi Yanzhe asked, “Brother, do we have any cooperation with Director Jiang Huaiyuan?”

Qi Yanfeng shook his head. “Not much cooperation. The primary investor in Director Jiang’s works is Huanyu Pictures. We’ve also co-invested before, and it almost never results in a loss. But I haven’t heard any news about Jiang Huaiyuan in the past two years.”

Qi Yanzhe sighed, looking up. Sigh, Director Jiang, you’re too laid-back! Hurry up and start filming a movie, so my elder brother can invest, and then I’ll have an excuse to talk to Jiang Ruotang!

---

Two days passed like this, and finally, it was the day Qi Yanzhe had scheduled to meet Zheng Huasheng for cooperation talks. Earlier, Qi Yanzhe had been quite curious about this Mr. Zheng, but now his mind was entirely preoccupied with getting close to Jiang Ruotang. He only found talking business with this Mr. Zheng boring. This time, Qi Yanzhe booked a private room and was playing billiards while waiting for Mr. Zheng’s arrival.

A knock sounded on the door. Qi Yanzhe unenthusiastically responded, “Come in.”

“Brother Qi.” A clear, youthful voice rang out. Qi Yanzhe’s heart stirred, and he looked up to see Jiang Ruotang’s smiling face.

“Xiao Jiang… why are you here?” Was this wishful thinking turning into reality?

Jiang Ruotang replied, “Because the person who’s here to talk about cooperation with you today is me.”

Qi Yanzhe froze on the spot, “No… wasn’t it a Mr. Zheng?”

Jiang Ruotang walked in, turned to close the door, and said with a smile, “Mr. Zheng is my agent. I’m in my final year of high school now, and I don’t have the energy to do everything myself, so I’ve entrusted Mr. Zheng with managing my investments. But I heard Mr. Zheng was meeting you for this collaboration, so I took a day off from school to come see you in person.”

Although Qi Yanzhe had a good impression of Jiang Ruotang, he wasn’t completely brainless. He asked somewhat warily, “So that day at the billiard hall wasn’t a chance encounter; you deliberately approached me?”

Jiang Ruotang immediately shook his head. “Of course not. I don’t know anyone around you, so how could I find out your whereabouts? Actually, it was because I learned that Mr. Zheng had arranged to meet you at the billiard hall. To leave a good impression on you, I specially arranged to meet my master there to practice and improve my skills at the last minute. If you don’t believe me, I can show you my chat with my master.”

When Qi Yanzhe heard this, he was happy again. Jiang Ruotang had actually gone to practice billiards for his sake.

“Did your family also give you money to invest for practice?”

Jiang Ruotang shook his head. Since they were going to cooperate, honesty was paramount. “This money came from my grandfather’s inheritance. My parents and friends don’t know about it. Because I’m still in high school, if it got out to those with ulterior motives, it would inevitably attract covetousness. I hope that regardless of whether this cooperation works out, Brother Qi will keep my secret.”

Qi Yanzhe’s heart had already softened by three points when he heard that the cooperating party was Jiang Ruotang, but he wasn’t the type to blindly throw money around. He still said, “You’re a high school student with no investment experience. Cooperating with me is one thing, but you want me to listen to you?” For Qi Yanzhe, this was absolutely unacceptable. It’s your grandfather’s inheritance, it’s my parents’ money. Who’s more noble? Besides, I’m older than you, and I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice… probably.

Jiang Ruotang had already expected him to say that. He took a financial statement from his bag and handed it to Qi Yanzhe, smiling, “My investment experience may not be as extensive as yours, Brother Qi, but my success rate is higher.”

“Ah?” Qi Yanzhe frowned and took it.

Jiang Ruotang began to explain, “My Tangyun Investment is a shareholder of FAIRY, with a small stake, about five percent. But the quarterly revenue share alone is several million.” Qi Yanzhe secretly marveled. He himself had wanted to buy FAIRY stock, but his investment manager thought it was just hype, and milk tea wasn’t like cola; how far could its stock go? Who knew that now, drinking a cup of FAIRY in leisure time had become a habit for young people? Profits were soaring, and they even launched various bottled drinks into supermarkets. They were expected to become a leading beverage brand in the country within three years.

Qi Yanzhe flipped to the second page, and Soaring Tech appeared. “You actually have shares in Soaring Tech? My brother couldn’t even get access to the allocation of new shares, and you managed to buy them? And you’re quite bold, buying so many?” With the current popularity of cloud technology and its future applications, Jiang Ruotang was probably raking in dividends until his hands ached.

“I just happen to know someone who has access to those allocated shares.” Jiang Ruotang didn’t mention Mu Xianqing’s name yet, as they hadn’t finalized their cooperation with Qi Yanzhe.

As he continued flipping, Qi Yanzhe was stunned again. “Dream Bubble also has your investment? You actually own thirty percent of the shares?”

“Mm-hmm, so, Brother Qi, my investment vision isn’t bad, right?”

Qi Yanzhe flipped further, almost fainting. “You even invested in Xiaolan? Now Xiaolan’s new model’s price has tripled, it’s the most popular brand among domestic phones, and the spokesperson is a famous actress… I heard several popular celebrities are using Xiaolan phones, the one Bai Yingchuan uses is even sold out… My elder brother told me that Xiaolan’s new model is expected to have a net profit of 150 million in its first quarter, and if it continues to develop, next year’s net profit could exceed one billion… How much in dividends will you get from that…”

Jiang Ruotang smiled without answering; that was a business secret. Moreover, Jiang Ruotang had already discussed expanding into foreign markets with Mu Xianqing. High-end smartphones were too expensive for many countries. As long as Xiaolan had good quality, strong signal, and comprehensive features, it could definitely go the export route and quickly capture overseas markets. At that time, their net profit would be more than just a few hundred million.

Mu Xianqing discussed Jiang Ruotang’s idea with his father, Mu He. Mu He greatly admired Jiang Ruotang, saying that he was young but had a broad vision and saw markets beyond the present. He directly told Mu Xianqing to interact more with Jiang Ruotang and listen to the young man’s opinions. With the Mu family’s connections and endorsement, many of Jiang Ruotang’s investments went smoothly. Most importantly, whatever Jiang Ruotang favored, Mu Xianqing would follow suit. The Mu family’s market operation capabilities far surpassed Jiang Ruotang’s, and both parties complemented each other, making money together. Mu He found Jiang Ruotang extremely interesting, even thinking that when he grew up a bit more, if he still had such vision and spirit, the board of directors of Yi Tian Xia might even absorb this young blood.

Seeing this, Qi Yanzhe had to admit that in terms of investment vision and strength, he was absolutely inferior to Jiang Ruotang. Jiang Ruotang also meticulously observed Qi Yanzhe’s expression from the side, feeling that their cooperation was already 70% successful. The remaining part was to give this young master of the Qi family a way out and solidify his confidence in the cooperation and investment.

“Brother Qi, if you were to lead Xiaotianguo’s future development, would you follow the path of those two major video websites, simply being a market follower? Copying others’ homework, even if you don’t get a high score, at least you won’t get a zero?”

Qi Yanzhe was stunned. How did Jiang Ruotang guess his thoughts? “Isn’t that the safest way?”

Jiang Ruotang shook his head and patiently advised, “That’s the most dangerous method—it means you become a potential competitor to the other two industry giants. They will spare no effort to destroy you and then swallow you up. Moreover, their capital is tens or even hundreds of times yours. What they can buy, you can’t afford to follow suit, and what they can achieve at 100 points, you probably can’t even get 30 points.”

Qi Yanzhe listened intently, because this statement coincided with his elder brother’s view, and clearly his elder brother had no solution, but Jiang Ruotang did.

“What should we do then?”

“You forgot what more than half of Xiaotianguo’s users are—two-dimensional teenagers! Why do you have to follow those two video websites? If you buy anime works, not only do you spend less money, but it also better meets the needs of Xiaotianguo’s users.”

Qi Yanzhe seemed to understand something when he heard this. “You mean to take a differentiated approach?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

Indeed, taking a differentiated approach requires a lot of courage, as the mainstream market lies with those two major video websites, which are both buying TV series starring popular actors. Xiaotianguo, however, would be buying anime. Would people really pay to watch licensed versions?

“You see, if we cooperate, we’ll both save nearly twenty million in liquid capital. I’ve already investigated neighboring countries that produce a lot of anime, and non-exclusive anime copyrights cost only fifty to one hundred thousand per episode. Ten million could buy 100 to 200 episodes. Why should we stubbornly stick to TV dramas that cost millions per episode?”

Qi Yanzhe still hesitated: “But… the two-dimensional market is too narrow and can’t be profitable.”

Jiang Ruotang smiled. It seemed Qi Yanzhe was also a thoughtful person, immediately seeing the potential problems with this differentiated development path. “Deepening the two-dimensional market is just the first step for Xiaotianguo. The goal is to avoid competition and achieve paid conversion for existing users. What I truly want is a large-scale, comprehensive platform. After achieving profitability in the two-dimensional market, we’ll gradually shift towards investing in larger film and television dramas, using anime IP adaptations and high-quality, boldly set, tightly plotted series as breakthroughs to achieve market expansion.”

Qi Yanzhe understood now: survive first, transition to paid services, and then grow and develop. “And video websites don’t just make money from membership fees; there are also advertising fees, sharing of tips from quality bloggers, plus various live streams, developing recommendation algorithms, and so on. Anyway, once Xiaotianguo is acquired, I will definitely hire an entire professional team to implement these.”

But the concept was important. Even if Qi Yanzhe didn’t know what a recommendation algorithm was, from the literal meaning, he could probably guess a thing or two. For Jiang Ruotang, only partners with aligned ideas would not secretly sabotage or turn against each other. Qi Yanzhe was not capable of persuading anyone with grand theories; perhaps that was why his elder brother told him to read more, so he could cite classics and speak eloquently. But he had an ability no one else possessed: foresight. He had a strong premonition at this moment that he should invest in Xiaotianguo, and that he should follow Jiang Ruotang—he could make money without much effort.

Qi Yanzhe thought for a moment, then asked a few questions that his asset manager was most concerned about. To his surprise, Jiang Ruotang, a high school student several years younger than himself, spoke eloquently and had answers for everything. The other party wasn’t just playing around; he was serious about making Xiaotianguo a success. At this point, Qi Yanzhe no longer saw Jiang Ruotang as just an interesting boy, but as someone with ideas, someone Qi Yanzhe even admired a little. He was different from the superficial people he knew. Jiang Ruotang was clearly… playing dumb to get what he wanted! In his high school student guise, he made so many people drop their guard. He was so good at making money, of course, Qi Yanzhe wanted to make money with him, and he had a legitimate excuse to get closer to him—it was simply perfect.

“Okay, I’ll consider it.” Qi Yanzhe decided to maintain some composure.

“I’ll await your good news,” Jiang Ruotang smiled. Why should that Mr. Zheng be able to keep him in suspense? Qi Yanzhe wanted Jiang Ruotang to worry for a few days too.

“Want to play a few rounds?” Qi Yanzhe asked.

“Sure,” Jiang Ruotang readily agreed. Qi Yanzhe could finally appreciate Jiang Ruotang playing billiards without interruption. Although he didn’t know many techniques, his serious and focused demeanor impressed Qi Yanzhe.

However, what Qi Yanzhe hadn’t expected was that Jiang Ruotang didn’t call him even once for three full days after returning home. Hey, hey, hey! I only agreed to consider cooperating with you, not decided to cooperate with you. You should at least send a few more messages to make your presence known, right? Are you giving me space to consider, or are you completely uninterested in me?! Qi Yanzhe angrily flicked Jiang Ruotang’s profile picture to vent his frustration.

During this time, Qi Yanzhe also told his elder brother what Jiang Ruotang had said to him. Qi Yanfeng immediately found it reasonable. His brother hadn’t revealed the true identity of the collaborator, so Qi Yanfeng inquired about Zheng Huasheng. His friends all said that Zheng Huasheng had previously worked for the CEOs of listed companies; he was experienced and reliable. Qi Yanfeng felt that spending these tens of millions to let his brother experience the methods of industry seniors was worthwhile. His elder brother’s affirmation settled Qi Yanzhe’s last doubts, and he waited for Jiang Ruotang to contact him again. Who knew the other party was like an old monk in meditation, completely unhurried?

Seeing that there were only three days left until the deadline, and even finalizing legal documents and specific cooperation shares would take time, Qi Yanzhe couldn’t sit still any longer. Worried that the deal would fall through, he quickly contacted Jiang Ruotang. Only then did Jiang Ruotang bring Mr. Zheng and Dai Ming to meet Qi Yanzhe and his team. Qi Yanzhe’s manager saw that the other party’s lawyer was Dai Ming and immediately felt that this partner was even more reliable. Moreover, the other party’s conditions were not harsh, so the cooperation was successfully reached before the deadline. Looking at the contract, Qi Yanzhe was delighted, as it meant a close cooperative relationship had formed between him and Jiang Ruotang. Jiang Ruotang could no longer ignore him and hold him at arm’s length.

But Qi Yanzhe found that being Jiang Ruotang’s partner was still quite lonely. When he sent messages to Jiang Ruotang, Jiang Ruotang would only reply with things like “in class,” “at the art studio,” or “going for lunch break.” Chen Dan glanced at Qi Yanzhe’s chat box and couldn’t help but say, “Don’t put social pressure on a final-year high school student anymore. He’s not like you; he has to juggle art exams and academic subjects. And given Jiang Ruotang’s personality, he probably doesn’t want to be arranged by his family but wants to get into university based on his own abilities.” This meant that Jiang Ruotang was so hardworking and ambitious, so he shouldn’t drag him down. More importantly, Chen Dan also realized that Jiang Ruotang wasn’t interested in Qi Yanzhe in that way.

Qi Yanzhe thought, If chatting doesn’t work, then I’ll just send Jiang Ruotang some warmth. So, he bought a pile of things and sent them to Jiang Ruotang at school. Things like imported dried blueberries, nut gift boxes, deep-sea fish oil, and dark chocolate, etc.

Jiang Ruotang was bewildered, completely unable to understand why Qi Yanzhe was sending him these things. Lin Lu, his deskmate, curiously leaned his head over to take a look. “Did you buy these?”

“No… someone else sent them.” Someone would still send things to Jiang Ruotang? Lin Lu looked at the sender’s name in confusion, unexpectedly seeing “Qi Yanzhe.”

“Qi Yanzhe? Is that the Qi Yanzhe who insisted on talking to me at the annual meeting last year?”

“Yes,” Jiang Ruotang nodded, immediately explaining, “I ran into him at the billiard hall last week. We played a game of billiards and buried the hatchet.” He gave a direct answer, not wanting Lin Lu to keep pestering him.

But Lin Lu was envious at this moment. After a series of investment mistakes, Lin Chentong had once wanted to establish a connection with the Qi family. Following Qi Yanfeng in investments would definitely earn more money than his own misguided ventures. But Qi Yanfeng completely ignored Lin Chentong. Lin Chentong remembered how Qi Yanzhe had once pestered Lin Lu, so he asked Lin Lu to find an opportunity to invite Qi Yanzhe out to play. Lin Lu was unwilling. Qi Yanzhe had once punched Jiang Ruotang, making his nose bleed, so he might punch him too. Remembering Geng Yu’s slap, Lin Lu still felt lingering fear; he didn’t want to be hit by Qi Yanzhe again. But why… after just playing a game of billiards together, did Qi Yanzhe suddenly see Jiang Ruotang in a new light? The connections the Lin family wanted were so easily obtained by Jiang Ruotang? Could it be that Jiang Ruotang taking a punch from Qi Yanzhe was just to get his attention?

Lin Lu’s mind raced. He used to only envy Jiang Ruotang for his good birth, having a father who was the chairman of a large film and television company without much effort. Even if Jiang Ruotang achieved nothing, he still had a throne to inherit. But at this moment, Lin Lu desperately wanted to be Jiang Ruotang, wanting to be valued, trusted, and liked by others like him.

Just then, Lu Guifan walked back into the classroom from outside. Passing by Jiang Ruotang’s desk, he glanced at the items he had received and said calmly, “Have you been overusing your brain recently? You’ve bought so many brain-boosting things?”

“Brain-boosting?” Jiang Ruotang looked up and asked.

“Blueberries’ antioxidant function improves memory; nuts are rich in omega-3, which also enhances memory; deep-sea fish oil… is rich in DHA, also beneficial for the brain; the caffeine in dark chocolate boosts your concentration.” Lu Guifan commented unhurriedly. But when he flipped to the sender’s name on the box, he clearly paused.

Zhao Changfeng’s voice came from the back row: “What? Brain boosters? Who’s so mean? Do they think Jiang Ruotang is stupid?”

Jian Sha, sitting next to him, delivered a perfectly timed jab: “Ruotang might not need it, but Changfeng, you really should get some. Look at Cai Cai; he’s pulling his hair out trying to teach you!”

“Huh?” Zhao Changfeng suddenly felt serious and retorted, “Then is it still time for me to buy hair growth tonic for Cai Cai?”

“Why buy hair growth tonic? If you just get smarter, it’s better than anything!”

Jiang Ruotang quickly pushed the fish oil in front of Zhao Changfeng. “According to the instructions, take it daily and quickly grow your brain!”

Zhao Changfeng: “…”

Jiang Ruotang didn’t think much else. Someone kindly sent these to feed a final-year high school student; he couldn’t just return them. So he opened a bag of nuts and munched on them. Although they were plain, they smelled good.

Jiang Ruotang was about to share some with Lu Guifan, but the other person turned and left.

“Hmm?” Why did Lu Guifan’s expression seem cold, like he was unhappy? What happened? This caused Jiang Ruotang to be distracted for the rest of the class, constantly looking back at him. But Lu Guifan’s expression remained faint, almost never returning Jiang Ruotang’s gaze. What did I do to make Lu Guifan unhappy? No, wait, is there anything in this world that can make Lu Guifan unhappy?

Finally, when class was over, Jiang Ruotang immediately went to Lu Guifan’s desk, first bumping Lu Guifan’s shoulder. The other didn’t get angry, but he didn’t say anything either. Jiang Ruotang whispered, “Master, what’s bothering you? Tell your disciple, and I’ll solve it right away.”

Lu Guifan sighed imperceptibly. He raised a hand, cupped the back of Jiang Ruotang’s head, and pulled him closer. “He’s interested in you.” Lu Guifan released his hand after speaking. Jiang Ruotang hadn’t even fully registered what happened before the intimate contact ended. Interested? Who’s interested in whom? Jiang Ruotang thought for a few seconds, his CPU almost burning out. He also lowered his voice and said to Lu Guifan, “You’ve got it wrong, right? He punched me before, and then turned around and became interested in me? What kind of new game is this?” Besides, Qi Yanzhe had actively added Lu Guifan as a friend before, which made Jiang Ruotang wonder if he was interested in Lu Guifan.

Lu Guifan replied, “The you of last year and the you of now are different.”

Jiang Ruotang lowered his head, thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll make it clear to him. But I’ve already opened the nuts; I’m too lazy to find the exact same ones to buy and return. Let’s just eat them as they are. My younger brother also needs brain food.”

Lu Guifan was amused by his last sentence. “Then aren’t you afraid that if you make it clear to him, he won’t cooperate with you?”

“Didn’t you win the billiard game and get me a ‘help card’? If he refuses to cooperate with me, I’ll spread the word about his unreliability to all his friends.” For someone like Qi Yanzhe, his reputation among his friends was incredibly important.

Jiang Ruotang was still thinking about how to arrange a talk with Qi Yanzhe when the guy unexpectedly invited him to dinner. Qi Yanzhe was quite thoughtful, choosing a location close to Jiang Ruotang’s art studio where he had evening classes, and even reserved a private room. Since there was a private room, Jiang Ruotang thought the other party would invite Chen Dan and other friends, formally introducing Jiang Ruotang as a business partner into his social circle. To his surprise, upon entering the room, only Qi Yanzhe was waiting for him, and he even thoughtfully came over to take Jiang Ruotang’s coat hanging on his arm. It seemed… Lu Guifan’s guess was correct; Qi Yanzhe really was a little interested in him. That would be a headache.

Based on Jiang Ruotang’s experience in his previous life, business partners are partners, and it’s best not to mix in emotions. Even unrequited love can easily lead to conflicts of unfulfilled love and resentment, ultimately leading to separation or even betrayal.

Jiang Ruotang ate his appetizer while thinking about how to make Qi Yanzhe understand that a relationship between them was impossible, but unexpectedly, Qi Yanzhe spoke first. “Um… I think we’re quite similar.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Ruotang looked up and asked. Qi Yanzhe’s face seemed calm, but his voice was strained.

“Well… both our families are in the film and television industry, both you and I want to achieve something on our own without relying on our families, and we both have our eyes on Xiaotianguo. Not only our family backgrounds and entrepreneurial ideas, but even our investment vision are very similar. This must be fate.”

Jiang Ruotang almost choked on his cola, thinking, Why does this sound so much like something you’d say on a blind date? “Looking at it that way, it’s indeed quite fated.” Jiang Ruotang smiled. With someone like Qi Yanzhe, he couldn’t just reject him outright and hurt his pride, putting him in a difficult position. “So, I hope we can become allies who understand, support, and trust each other. Whether it’s with Xiaotianguo or other decisions in life, we can support each other and have each other’s backs.”

Qi Yanzhe felt delighted after hearing this. “You’re really good with words. Chen Dan also told me that you look like the type who studies and paints seriously, preparing to get into a good university.”

At this point, Jiang Ruotang finally found an opportunity. “I have to work hard. If I don’t do well in the college entrance exam, my family might arrange for me to study abroad, but I want to get into a university in the capital.”

“Why? Isn’t studying abroad good?” Qi Yanzhe asked curiously. He had been sent to study abroad by his family. Although he studied business, he felt like he hadn’t learned anything before returning.

“If I study abroad, I won’t be able to see the person I like,” Jiang Ruotang answered openly.

Qi Yanzhe was instantly stunned. What did Jiang Ruotang say? He had someone he liked? No, the key point was that he actually wanted to get into a university in the capital through the college entrance exam just so he could keep seeing the person he liked… the admission score must be very high, right? How much did he like that person, to be willing to suffer through the college entrance exam instead of having a carefree life preparing to study abroad?

After a long while, Qi Yanzhe finally asked, “You… like him that much? Are you two together?”

“Not yet, we’re just friends right now. But… I probably won’t like anyone else besides him.” Jiang Ruotang looked at Qi Yanzhe frankly, blocking his mouth before he could come up with any ideas like “why don’t we get together?” Otherwise, if he actually said it, it would be extremely awkward.

“Why? Is he that good?” Qi Yanzhe’s voice uncontrollably rose an octave. If Jiang Ruotang was just an ordinary minor celebrity who rejected him, Qi Yanzhe might have started his typical “domineering CEO” routine: chauffeur service, luxury goods, and throwing various resources at him. He wouldn’t believe the other party wouldn’t be tempted. But Jiang Ruotang wasn’t short on money or resources; his own investments were hundreds of times more reliable than Qi Yanzhe’s. Qi Yanzhe couldn’t implement a “domineering CEO” mode at all in front of Jiang Ruotang.

Although Jiang Ruotang noticed Qi Yanzhe’s gaffe, he remained calm, speaking in a conversational tone as if chatting with a friend: “He is irreplaceable to me. I used to live under the influence and control of others, being used and betrayed, just like a failed investor who only wants to inject more capital, and complete failure is the inevitable result. I couldn’t see the true attitudes of the people around me, and I hurt those who truly cared about me. He appeared by my side and helped me find myself. He’s like a magical book; as long as I calm down and ask a question, and open him, I can get the answer I want. Sometimes I even find it amazing how there can be someone so perfectly suited for me in this world.”

Hearing this, Qi Yanzhe felt both sad and envious. Sadness because he had just fallen for Jiang Ruotang and had been rejected at lightning speed. Envy because in Qi Yanzhe’s life, he had never encountered the kind of person Jiang Ruotang described.

“I think you’re just seeing him through rose-colored glasses; whatever he does, you cheer him on,” Qi Yanzhe grumbled.

“Haha, but you’re my friend now. As long as it’s not a decision that harms heaven and earth or hurts yourself, I’ll cheer you on too. Even if your elder brother objects, and those around you mock you, if I can’t persuade you, I’ll choose to join you so you don’t lose too badly.” Jiang Ruotang seemed casual, but he was actually very serious. This phrase “if I can’t persuade you, I’ll choose to join you” struck Qi Yanzhe’s heart, making him feel both lost and warm.

From childhood, whether it was studying, making friends, or even doing a little business, he was always compared to his elder brother. What his elder brother supported, the whole family supported. What his elder brother opposed, Qi Yanzhe was helpless against, even wanting to butt heads with a brick wall would be restrained. Chen Dan even said he was blessed and didn’t know it, always having his elder brother to back him up yet still not satisfied. Only Jiang Ruotang understood what kind of friend he wanted.

Qi Yanzhe had a change of heart. Relationships come and go; who knows when they’ll end? But if they could truly be loyal brothers, venturing out together, drinking wine together, eating meat together, wouldn’t that be more enjoyable?

“Then… if there’s a chance, bring that friend to meet me. Since you call me Brother Qi, you should at least bring him to show me.” Qi Yanzhe still really wanted to meet the rumored “main person” and see how good he really was.

“You’ve already met him.” Qi Yanzhe’s eyes almost popped out when he heard this. Met him? When? Qi Yanzhe had only met two of Jiang Ruotang’s friends. One was Lin Lu, and the other was the guy who taught Jiang Ruotang billiards that day. At last year’s industry annual meeting, Jiang Ruotang was so protective of Lin Lu, so was it Lin Lu? No way. Lin Lu looks okay, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of strong-willed person who could provide Jiang Ruotang with such great spiritual strength.

“Jiang Ruotang, I really don’t understand you. You have looks, you have money, and you’re so talented, yet you still have to have a secret crush?”

“He also has to take the college entrance exam, and I don’t want him to be distracted. Besides, I only became friends with him this semester, and I’m still working on building good rapport. He grew up in a conservative environment, and I don’t know if he can accept me,” Jiang Ruotang said with a smile.

“What? What if he doesn’t accept you?”

“Then I’ll just keep liking him.”

Qi Yanzhe felt a little annoyed again at this point. So devoted, why don’t you like me? I definitely wouldn’t let you down. Jiang Ruotang saw Qi Yanzhe’s dejected look, like a big dog squatting by the roadside in the rain. This guy was also a simple person; his emotions were completely undisguised.

To prevent Qi Yanzhe from continuing to be depressed, Jiang Ruotang brought up a currently popular anime. “Once we acquire Xiaotianguo, we can introduce the copyright of ‘Super Boxer’.” Mentioning anime, Qi Yanzhe finally regained his interest in chatting, and in one breath, he named several copyrights he was eager to acquire and share with domestic enthusiasts. The latter half of the meal turned into an exchange between two anime enthusiasts. They hadn’t even bought Xiaohongguo yet, but they had already compiled a list of copyrights.

After dinner, Qi Yanzhe drove Jiang Ruotang to the entrance of Beicheng Guangyao. Before getting out of the car, Qi Yanzhe thought for a moment and still said to Jiang Ruotang, “Xiao Jiang, although I’m not as smart as you, nor as good at making money, there’s one thing I’m more experienced in than you.”

“What?” Jiang Ruotang asked curiously.

“Loving yourself is the ultimate way,” Qi Yanzhe said very seriously. Jiang Ruotang was stunned for a moment, immediately understanding that Qi Yanzhe was worried that he would, like in his previous life, love someone blindly and without reservation, then be used, emptied out, and left with nothing.