Chapter 33: Ruotang Is an Honest Kid 

Cai Ji probably realized he had spoken out of turn. “S-sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted your chat with the class rep.”

Jiang Ruotang quickly said, “You’re not interrupting at all… in fact, you should talk more. And Cai Cai, when you talk about this stuff, your eyes light up.”

Cai Ji shyly rubbed the tip of his nose.

Jiang Ruotang tilted his head and asked, “Why are you only eating sliced bread?”

“I… don’t have much of an appetite at lunch.”

Jiang Ruotang didn’t push. It was probably because of that blond punk again. But this was Cai Ji’s family matter—if he wasn’t willing to talk or break free on his own, Jiang Ruotang couldn’t meddle.

He went back to his seat, pulled two mushroom beef sausages from his bag, and set them on Cai Ji’s desk.

“White bread spikes your blood sugar fast. You’ll be starving before the first period’s even over. Better eat some meat.”

Cai Ji hesitated, then softly said, “Thanks.”

“Hey, do either of you know which cloud tech company is about to go public?”

To his surprise, both Lu Guifan and Cai Ji answered in unison: “Aoxiang Technology.”

Jiang Ruotang’s eyes lit up. Aoxiang Technology… of course! In the future, Aoxiang’s search engine would become one of the Big Three, supporting domestic brands like Xiaolan smartphones, GPS navigation, and more. The undisputed king of cloud tech!

“When’s the IPO?”

This time Cai Ji answered precisely: “The lottery starts the day after tomorrow!”

“Thanks a ton!”

Good thing he’d chatted with Lu Guifan and Cai Ji—otherwise, he’d have missed out on a fortune!

Jiang Ruotang took a deep breath, thanking the heavens he’d been reborn into an era where smart technology was sprouting like bamboo after the rain.

So many opportunities—and he had missed them all in his last life… especially when Grandpa left him that generous inheritance. Yet he’d thrown it all into Lin Chengdong’s garbage project, losing every cent. Truly, a masterclass in turning a winning hand into a complete disaster.

If only he’d been more rational, more thoughtful about the times—whether it was Xiaolan’s smartphones or Aoxiang Technology’s cloud services—any one of these could’ve doubled his fortune. Even if Jiang Huaiyuan got led astray by Lin Chengdong, he wouldn’t have been powerless to fight back.

If regret were medicine, Jiang Ruotang would’ve overdosed long ago.

Just then, Lin Lu and Bai Yingchuan returned from lunch. Lin Lu saw Jiang Ruotang seriously browsing the web and couldn’t help peeking over.

“Hm? Aoxiang Technology? What’s that… a game company?” Lin Lu asked.

Jiang Ruotang replied offhandedly, “Yeah, popped up when I searched for Wilderness Continent.”

See—that’s the difference between Lin Lu and Lu Guifan or Cai Ji.

Lin Lu’s head was full of learning his dad’s tricks—networking and leveraging connections. He and his father could only see their small world.

But Lu Guifan and Cai Ji, though just students, were watching the rise and fall of industries and trends—their vision much broader. They simply lacked capital, not ability.

Bai Yingchuan raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t like Lin Lu—he had heard of Aoxiang Technology.

It was cloud-related, sure—but Wilderness Continent’s cloud tech ran on Ankaier Era Tech Ltd., a foreign company.

“Ruotang, my dad and Aunt Bai Yue are working on a new TV drama. Yingchuan will have a cameo too. Want your family to invest a little?”

Lin Lu’s offer served two purposes: letting Bai Yingchuan know he was helping him find funding, and testing Jiang family’s intentions—if Jiang Huaiyuan agreed to invest or direct, it meant Zhao Yunshu hadn’t found anything wrong at the company yet.

But Jiang Ruotang sneered inside. In his past life, hadn’t the Lin father and son used this very film to swindle away his grandpa’s inheritance?

The will hadn’t been executed yet—he remembered Lin Lu would say something similar in their final term of senior year: claiming tight funding, Director Jiang was busy elsewhere, Aunt Bai Yue and Yingchuan needed support—and Jiang Ruotang, in a moment of hotheadedness, gave everything away… and lost it all.

Hearing it again now, he saw it for what it was—a trap with poisoned bait.

Sorry, this poisoned pie is all yours. Enjoy it yourself.

Bai Yingchuan, meanwhile, was searching Aoxiang Technology on his phone. Hearing Lin Lu’s words, his brows furrowed. Coldly, he said, “Lin Lu, whether to take a project or not is for Director Jiang to decide. Don’t butter up his family like this. If the investment fails or box office flops, we’d all lose friends.”

Jiang Ruotang was stunned. Huh? Didn’t Bai Yingchuan stay silent about this in my past life?

Why did he seem upset now when Lin Lu brought up funding his mom’s show?

Lin Lu was dumbfounded too—he didn’t get why Bai Yingchuan was blocking Jiang family involvement.

At some point, Zhao Changfeng had slipped into the back seat and suddenly piped up: “Bai Yue’s last film Long Clouds, Setting Sun didn’t even break even. Not that I think it was her fault—her acting’s decent. But wasn’t Lin Chengdong terrible as a producer? Bad directing, bad script, poor effects—tons of investment either wasted or pocketed by someone.”

Lin Lu spun around, rare anger on his face. “You—”

Jiang Ruotang was stunned. Whoa… Zhao Changfeng, you’re bold today.

Zhao Changfeng rolled his eyes. “If you even think about asking your dad to invest in Lin Chengdong’s crap, I’ll beat you till you learn sense.”

Jiang Ruotang shook his head furiously. “I wouldn’t dare! Absolutely not!”

Lin Lu couldn’t swallow this. “Zhao Changfeng—that’s slander!”

Zhao Changfeng shrugged lazily. “I read it online. Want the links? You can sue everyone for defamation. Might win enough damages to fund your project!”

Jiang Ruotang gaped. Has Zhao Changfeng’s mouth been hacked today or something?

Lin Lu’s eyes turned red—students nearby were looking over, pitying him like he’d just been bullied.

Bai Yingchuan patted Lin Lu’s shoulder and calmly said, “No matter how upset you are, you can’t stop people from judging. Next time your dad produces a great work, that’ll be the best comeback.”

Lin Lu lowered his head and said nothing.

Is Bai Yingchuan… throwing shade at Lin Chengdong? Jiang Ruotang wondered.

If Lin Chengdong could make a great film, then pigs could fly and touch the sun.

That night after dinner, Jiang Ruotang specially went to Jiang Huaiyuan’s study.

Jiang Huaiyuan thought his son had come to talk about Lin Chengdong and Bai Yue’s new project. Instead, Jiang Ruotang gave a detailed pitch on Aoxiang Technology’s upcoming IPO, hoping his dad would invest.

As expected, Jiang Huaiyuan wasn’t too interested in anything outside film and TV. He said most assets were managed by professional firms, while the rest funded the company’s operations. To him, his son was probably chasing a new fad—something he’d drop after a few days of enthusiasm.

Jiang Ruotang stood there, face fallen, staring at his father.

Jiang Huaiyuan hadn’t expected his son to care this much. He gently coaxed, “If you really like that tech company, how about Dad transfers you five hundred thousand to try the lottery? Sound good?”

Jiang Ruotang gave Jiang Huaiyuan a speechless look. “Five hundred thousand? You can keep that for fun. I’ve seen big money myself, you know.”

He turned and left the room, leaving Jiang Huaiyuan sitting there, bewildered.

Big money? What big money has Tangtang ever seen? Which movie?

Jiang Ruotang’s thinking was simple—if Dad could invest more into Aoxiang Technology, then there’d be less left for Lin Chengdong to squander, and more for the Jiang family to earn from “money making money” investments.

But who knew Jiang Huaiyuan would be the same as ever, deaf to the world outside his movies, with his heart set only on filmmaking.

Jiang Ruotang decided to go talk to an “ally” instead.

And sure enough—speak of the devil and the devil arrives.

Up the stairs came Zhao Yunshu, holding a glass of juice. Seeing Jiang Ruotang’s gloomy face, she chuckled. “What’s this? Did you fight with Changfeng?”

“Of course not. Changfeng’s fine. It’s Director Jiang—he only thinks about making movies, and not about how tech will shape the future of the entertainment industry.”

“Oh?” Zhao Yunshu smiled. “Then tell me all about it. I’d like to hear.”

Jiang Ruotang followed her into her study, unceremoniously grabbed her slimming veggie juice, and gulped it down. Then he summarized what Lu Guifan and Cai Ji had said at lunch today.

He didn’t need to sound like an expert—he just needed Zhao Yunshu to take the future trend seriously.

As expected, with her finance background, Zhao Yunshu’s brows furrowed the more she listened—it was clear she was really taking in what Jiang Ruotang was saying.

She couldn’t make promises yet, but she patted his shoulder. “I’ll look more into Aoxiang Technology. Even if the outside world is optimistic, we can’t rush into this. Thanks for the tip, Tangtang. I didn’t expect you to have better foresight than us adults.”

Hearing that, Jiang Ruotang felt relieved. Zhao Yunshu wasn’t one to hand out false praise—if she said that, she’d definitely take Aoxiang seriously.

He left the study in high spirits.

Sure enough, as soon as the door closed, Zhao Yunshu made several calls to inquire about Aoxiang. Whether it was her old investment banking senior or her friend in a major corporation’s asset management department, they all spoke positively about Aoxiang’s cloud tech.

But as for how far cloud technology could really go in the future, no one dared give guarantees.

The next day at lunch, Zhao Yunshu was getting coffee near the company when she received a call from her most trusted senior, Zheng Huasheng.

Though currently between jobs, he gave an in-depth analysis of Aoxiang—he’d clearly been watching them closely.

After hanging up, Zhao Yunshu made up her mind. When she turned, she found herself face to face with Mu Xianqing’s smiling face.

Today was the shareholders’ meeting at Huanyu Films. Mu Xianqing was probably standing in for his father, Mu He.

“President Zhao, sounds like you’re interested in Aoxiang Technology too?”

Zhao Yunshu smiled. “Interest is one thing—getting a lottery allocation is another.”

Mu Xianqing grinned. “We’ve got strategic placement shares. If you want in, I can help you.”

Zhao Yunshu froze. If the Mu family was investing, this must be a sure thing with real profit potential.

Looks like Jiang Ruotang really has spotted the cutting edge of the times.

“Our liquid assets aren’t much—compared to other strategic buyers, we’d be insignificant…”

“No problem. Whether it’s five million or fifty million, I just want to do a favor for Jiang Ruotang. All I ask is you pass that along to the little painter.”

“Huh? So you told Ruotang about this?”

Mu Xianqing shook his head with an aggrieved expression. “No way. We only ever talk about painting—he’s too proud to discuss money with me.”

Zhao Yunshu laughed. “My mistake then. It was Tangtang who insisted on investing in Aoxiang. He spent ages in my study yesterday explaining it.”

“Jiang Ruotang? He cares about this kind of thing?”

Mu Xianqing stroked his chin—somehow finding Jiang Ruotang even more interesting.

Thanks to Mu Xianqing’s “generous offer,” Zhao Yunshu successfully persuaded Jiang Huaiyuan to invest twenty million. When Jiang Ruotang heard, he took a deep breath.

This was the first time Jiang Huaiyuan had ever invested so much in anything outside of film. Nervous as hell, he could only reassure himself: It’s fine. Even if it flops, at least I made my wife and son happy. And if the money’s gone, I’ll just make another film to earn it back.

But who could’ve predicted Aoxiang’s stock would soar straight to the moon—those who couldn’t buy in could only watch in envy.

Jiang Huaiyuan stared at the stock price until his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Zhao Yunshu and Jiang Ruotang reminded him countless times: not a word to anyone—especially not Lin Chengdong.

Seeing how serious they were, Jiang Huaiyuan swallowed nervously. “I-I swear, I won’t breathe a word to anyone—especially Lin Chengdong.”

Jiang Ruotang crossed his arms and nodded. “Good. If you do, you’re kneeling on the keyboard at home.”

Zhao Yunshu frowned. “Keyboard? Isn’t kneeling on durian shells the new trend?”

Jiang Ruotang scratched the back of his head. He’d been reborn ten years in the past, trying to seem old-fashioned to fit the times—but here Zhao Yunshu was, already ahead of him.

“Right. Durian shells it is.”

Jiang Huaiyuan’s shoulders slumped. These two are terrifying…

Jiang Ruotang also got an allocation. Though small, his personal wealth was rising fast.

That night, after Lu Guifan finished explaining homework to him via voice chat, Jiang Ruotang cautiously asked:
[Class Rep, I got an allocation for Aoxiang Technology.]

Lu Guifan replied coolly:
[Congrats.]

Jiang Ruotang swallowed, hesitated, and typed:
[Can I top up your phone data? Thanks for helping me with all the practice questions and advising me on cloud tech. If you have enough data, you could send me voice notes or short teaching videos—I’d learn better.]

He was nervous. He didn’t want Lu Guifan thinking he was “charity funding” him—this was heartfelt thanks.

After all, Lu Guifan helped him so much with studying—why should he foot his own phone bill?

What Jiang Ruotang didn’t know was that when Lu Guifan heard he’d gotten the allocation, he checked Aoxiang’s stock price, realizing this little money-grubber had made a lot of pocket money. The corners of Lu Guifan’s lips curved up unconsciously.

Lu Guifan replied:
[Sure. But if you don’t improve this monthly exam, I’ll refund every cent. No reward without merit.]

Jiang Ruotang’s eyes widened as he read that line several times.

What? If I don’t improve, you’ll return the money? So to not waste your phone data, I HAVE to improve?

Was this forcing him to study hard, rise out of the bottom three, and face the bright new world?

Jiang Ruotang suspected Lu Guifan had completely figured him out—knowing he hated wasting others’ kindness and expectations. If Lu Guifan actually refunded the money, Jiang Ruotang would probably die of guilt.

Soon another message came:
[If you’re too scared to recharge, forget it.]

In his mind’s eye, Jiang Ruotang pictured Lu Guifan propping his chin, looking coolly at his phone, distant and aloof, thinking: A dumb slacker wants to buy me with phone data?

But in reality, Lu Guifan was sipping from a mini thermos cup, tapping Jiang Ruotang’s profile pic, a soft smile curling his lips as he lowered his eyes.

Before he even put down the cup, Lu Guifan got a notification: 200 yuan topped up.

Then came Jiang Ruotang’s message:
[Just watch me improve!]

Lu Guifan looked at that line of text and couldn’t hold back—he lowered his head and smiled silently.

The slightly long bangs on his forehead quivered gently along with him.

Very soon, it was Zhao Yunshu’s first birthday after marrying Jiang Huaiyuan.

Jiang Huaiyuan might not sense the undercurrents flowing within Huan Yu Corporation, but Jiang Ruotang knew well how important this birthday was to Zhao Yunshu—it concerned whether she could gain a foothold in this new environment.

Jiang Huaiyuan had already reserved a restaurant and ordered fresh flowers, planning to leave the two little ones behind that evening and enjoy a private dinner with Zhao Yunshu.

But at noon, Lin Chengdong’s wife, Wu Ning, had organized a gathering at a private club, inviting several other shareholders’ wives from Huan Yu under the pretense of celebrating Zhao Yunshu’s birthday. In reality, they were the wives of people tied to Lin Chengdong’s interests, and they had come to test and size up Zhao Yunshu.

Zhao Yunshu accompanied them to this awkward lunch, listening as they chattered on about limited-edition handbags, custom jewelry from top brands, high-end sports cars… It felt like a completely different world—Zhao Yunshu could hardly get a word in, so she could only smile politely while quietly eating.

“Oh, Yunshu, this is your first birthday after marrying Director Jiang, isn’t it? Didn’t he give you anything special?” Wu Ning asked with apparent curiosity.

“He’s taking me to dinner tonight. We’re husband and wife—whatever he spends on my birthday gift comes from the household’s money anyway.”

“Yunshu, that’s the wrong way to think about it. If you don’t spend your husband’s money on yourself, then it has nothing to do with you. After all, this family will belong to Ruotang in the future. What you can’t get now, you’ll never get later.”

Wu Ning’s words were clearly meant to sow discord between Zhao Yunshu and Jiang Ruotang.

Zhao Yunshu understood perfectly well what was going on, but surrounded by this crowd of wives and vastly outnumbered, she could only give a faint smile.

“I heard you even brought up signing some kind of prenuptial agreement? Don’t be so foolish. Whether you sign or not, you and Jiang Ruotang will never really be a family—he’s not your biological son, after all, and there will always be a divide between you. You should focus more on planning for Changfeng’s future!”

When they started dragging Jiang Ruotang into this, Zhao Yunshu couldn’t hold it in any longer. She suddenly set down her wine glass with a sharp tap, and the others instantly turned to look at her.

“Ruotang is an open and honest child—he never hides his love or his hate. Huaiyuan’s proposal to me was planned by Ruotang. The furniture in my study was designed and picked out by Ruotang. Even when it comes to Changfeng’s future, Ruotang cares about it more than I, his own mother, do. He’s a good son, a good brother. There may be a blood divide between us, but not a divide of the heart.”

The room fell into awkward silence at Zhao Yunshu’s words. Wu Ning quickly tried to smooth things over. “Well of course—why else would Director Jiang have chosen Yunshu? Because she’s kind, not greedy, and just wants a home.”

Zhao Yunshu rolled her eyes inwardly. What was that supposed to mean—that she was content being the Jiang family’s housemaid?

After finally enduring that painful lunch, Zhao Yunshu thought she could go home and rest.

But to her dismay, the wives decided to head to Haicheng Mall next—the most famous luxury shopping center in Sheng City. New seasonal items from international brands always hit the shelves there first. It was the sacred ground where these wives compared status and wealth.

Zhao Yunshu truly didn’t want to go. Couldn’t she just take a nap instead?

—You women are way too idle.

“Sigh, Yunshu, you really need to learn these brands. Otherwise when you attend those evening galas with Director Jiang, you’ll see what other women are wearing and won’t even know what brands they are when you want to compliment them!”

“That’s right! A woman must pamper herself. Look at my husband—every birthday, he gifts me a limited-edition handbag. And this bracelet, too—he gave it to me!”

Dragged along into Haicheng Mall by the group, Zhao Yunshu listened to them flaunt their husbands and their birthday gifts, her head about to explode.

In their eyes, she was nothing more than an outsider, completely out of place.

It even reached the point where, after Wu Ning bought a bag at a certain luxury boutique, she handed it straight to Zhao Yunshu under the guise of letting her “experience a brand-name item.” The sales associate actually mistook Zhao Yunshu for Wu Ning’s secretary or assistant—and even gave her the other wives’ bags to carry as well.

How annoying. Zhao Yunshu felt she was already patient enough, but she almost wanted to hurl these bags off the rooftop and smash them to bits.

But these were the wives of company shareholders. Zhao Yunshu couldn’t tell whose weight was heavier, whose influence greater—she didn’t want to cause trouble for Jiang Huaiyuan, so she held it all in.

Just as they were heading into yet another luxury store, Zhao Yunshu suddenly spotted two familiar figures.

“Changfeng? Ruotang? What are you two doing here?”