Chapter 41: Guifan

Lu Guifan went to the small convenience store across the street. He only had six yuan and fifty cents in his pocket. He remembered that Jiang Ruotang liked soda, so he picked up a can of cola.

When he wanted to buy a bag of chips as well, he realized he didn’t have enough money.

He dug around in his jacket pocket and found a coin.

Suddenly remembering that this coin had been given to him by Jiang Ruotang, Lu Guifan put it back into his pocket.

In the end, he just bought a pack of spicy sticks.

Returning home, Lu Guifan sat in his room staring at that can of cola, feeling a little foolish.

After almost half an hour, his phone rang, and Jiang Ruotang’s voice came through on the other end.

“Class monitor, come down and help us… we can’t lift it… ah! Xiao Gao, it moved by itself!”

Lu Guifan paused for a moment, then hurried downstairs, only to find that the trunk of Xiao Gao’s car was full of stuff.

“What’s all this…?” Lu Guifan asked.

Jiang Ruotang looked at Xiao Gao, who explained, “Sigh, this is bamboo shoots Director Jiang dug while fishing in the mountains. These are wild greens he picked. These are the fish he caught…”

“And what’s in this sack?” Jiang Ruotang asked again.

Xiao Gao stood akimbo, looking exasperated. “Lotus roots dug from the pond… Sister Juan has already fried enough lotus root cakes to last a week. I’m getting heaty just thinking about it…”

Jiang Ruotang gave Lu Guifan a little push on the back. “You guys just have to accept all this… Whenever my dad goes fishing, he only cares about catching fish, never whether his friends and family can eat it all or not.”

Xiao Gao sighed. “Even Old Master Qin refuses to accept fish now. These are all grass carp—full of bones, not good for the elderly, easy to choke on.”

“…Thanks,” Lu Guifan finally said.

Xiao Gao shook his head. “I should be thanking you. It’s a pity to throw these away, and there’s no way my family can finish them. I’ve been struggling to find someone to give them to… Since you’re willing to take them, I can finally clear out my trunk.”

Lu Guifan quickly called his parents down to help carry the stuff upstairs.

“Wow… this much, huh…”

Mr. and Mrs. Lu exchanged glances, looking both pleased and at a loss.

Pleased because these things could ease their financial burden a bit; at a loss because they didn’t know how to return such a favor to Jiang Ruotang.

Xiao Gao noticed and leaned in to whisper to Mr. Lu, “Don’t overthink it. I grew up in Gaojia Village in Chengjiang too. When we were kids, we used to fish in the river with folks from your village. We probably swam together back in the day!”

Hearing they were fellow villagers, Mr. Lu felt instantly closer to him.

“The Jiang family really can’t finish this stuff—they always share it with friends and family,” Xiao Gao explained again.

The couple finally nodded, full of gratitude toward both Jiang Ruotang and Xiao Gao.

Xiao Gao turned to Jiang Ruotang. “You stay here. Call me when you’re ready to go. I’m heading to wash the car.”

“Okay!” Jiang Ruotang gave him an OK gesture.

After moving everything into the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Lu began thinking about how to cook all of it.

Only Jiang Ruotang was left, crawling up the stairs like a turtle. Lu Guifan walked a few steps ahead, then turned back to look at him. “Sorry… if only we had an elevator at home.”

“Hm?” Jiang Ruotang looked up at him, confused. “What’s there to apologize for? Apart from gym class, this is the only time I get real exercise—overcoming gravity by doing work!”

“I could always carry you up on one shoulder, you know,” Lu Guifan said.

Jiang Ruotang put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “Don’t tell me… you’re serious?”

“I am.”

“No way!” Jiang Ruotang patted his belly. “Zhao Changfeng once carried me downstairs, and I nearly threw up on him!”

Lu Guifan’s lips seemed to curve ever so slightly. He turned and climbed a few more steps.

Half-tilting his head, Jiang Ruotang watched his back and thought: Actually, I’d like you to carry me.

Finally, they reached the apartment. They could hear Mr. and Mrs. Lu discussing in the kitchen.

“We can make spring rolls with the wild greens and bamboo shoots. The fish can be dried into salted fish, or made into fish balls. The lotus roots can be turned into stuffed lotus root or fried lotus cakes…”

“This is enough food for more than half a month…”

“Ruotang, you brought all this—why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, Uncle and Auntie will show you some real cooking!”

“Sure!” Jiang Ruotang smiled brightly, his eyes crescent-shaped with joy.

Lu Guifan led Jiang Ruotang into his room to study.

“Did something good happen to you today?” Lu Guifan asked.

Jiang Ruotang turned to look at him. “You noticed?”

“Yeah.” Lu Guifan nodded.

“I’ve been fighting a big boss for a while, and today I finally made some progress—I took down one of the little bosses that charged at me for the big boss.”

A trace of pride and happiness shone in Jiang Ruotang’s eyes.

Lu Guifan was infected by his mood too, the corners of his lips lifting in a soft smile.

He knew the ‘big boss’ Jiang Ruotang mentioned wasn’t from a video game—but whether it was a game or a real-life battle, Lu Guifan was happy that Jiang Ruotang had won.

They worked through a few problems, but Jiang Ruotang got stuck. Lu Guifan tried explaining in several different ways, but Jiang Ruotang just couldn’t grasp it.

The little fox who’d been excited earlier now wilted, starting to doubt his own intelligence.

“Take a break. Clear your head. I’ll think about how else to explain it.”

“…Okay.” Jiang Ruotang picked up his pen and absentmindedly doodled on the scratch paper.

Lu Guifan propped his chin, pondering where exactly Jiang Ruotang’s mind had snagged.

After a while, just as Lu Guifan turned to speak, he saw that Jiang Ruotang had fallen asleep on the scratch paper, half his face resting on his arm, still holding the pen in one hand.

Lu Guifan leaned forward little by little, until he was resting on the table too. From this angle, he could see Jiang Ruotang’s peacefully closed eyes and relaxed expression.

He raised a hand, gently brushing aside the messy bangs from Jiang Ruotang’s forehead, revealing his youthful features. Before he realized it, his knuckles were already touching Jiang Ruotang’s cheek—the warmth and softness reminding him that this person was real, not some illusion.

He didn’t know how long he stayed like that before Jiang Ruotang’s phone vibrated in his pocket. His eyelashes fluttered, and he rubbed his hair, slowly waking up.

“Mm… I fell asleep? Why didn’t you wake me up…”

“I was just about to, and you woke up on your own.”

When Jiang Ruotang lowered his head to check his phone, Lu Guifan suddenly realized that the doodle on the scratch paper was of him.

Though drawn with just a few simple lines, it captured the outline of Lu Guifan’s profile—his bangs and that familiar pair of black-rimmed glasses—soft and pleasing.

On Jiang Ruotang’s phone was a message from Sister Juan asking if he would be coming home for dinner. Jiang Ruotang replied that he was eating at a classmate’s house.

When he looked up again, he saw that Lu Guifan had taken the scratch paper, holding it up against the light and leaning back in his chair, his expression focused as if trying to see something deeper in it.

Jiang Ruotang suddenly felt a bit guilty, like a student caught doodling in class. Just as he was about to explain himself, Lu Guifan spoke.

“Do you… draw yourself?”

“Hm?” Jiang Ruotang didn’t understand why Lu Guifan asked that.

“You know, all the famous painters—Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso—they all painted self-portraits, right?”

“Ah… drawing myself… feels a little narcissistic, doesn’t it?”

“Does it?”

For some reason, that quiet “Does it?” from Lu Guifan sounded a little lonely.

“Let’s get back to the questions.” Jiang Ruotang bumped him with his elbow.

Before they knew it, it was time for dinner. The moment Mother Lu called out, “Dinner’s ready!” Jiang Ruotang’s stomach growled loudly at just the right time, making Lu Guifan chuckle.

Lu Guifan picked up the can of cola from the corner of the table and tapped it gently against Jiang Ruotang’s temple. “Here. You want some spicy sticks too?”

“Huh? Cola? Spicy sticks?” Jiang Ruotang took the cola, glanced at the spicy sticks, and handed them back. “Are these special study session snacks? Then save the spicy sticks for me—I’ll have a reason to come again next time.”

Lu Guifan opened his mouth slightly. You don’t need any reason at all to come over.

Carrying the cola, Jiang Ruotang stepped out of the room and gazed at the table full of food. “Wow, it smells so good!”

The fish head soup had turned a milky white from simmering and was filled with tender fish balls.

There were bamboo shoot and wild vegetable spring rolls, golden and crisp.

The stir-fried diced lotus root looked irresistible.

And most unexpectedly, Mr. and Mrs. Lu had even made fried fish noodles!

“Uncle, Auntie, do you have cups? Let’s share the cola.”

“Just one can. You drink it, Xiao Jiang. Uncle and Auntie don’t need any!” Father Lu said.

“But it’s ‘fat otaku happiness water’—how could I be the only one to enjoy it? It wouldn’t be true happiness if I got fat all by myself, would it? Everyone has to share in the joy!”

Laughing, Mother Lu fetched some cups. Jiang Ruotang popped the tab and poured a little into everyone’s cup.

“Class monitor, cheers!” Jiang Ruotang clinked his plastic cup against Lu Guifan’s thermos.

“Mm, cheers.”

Lu Guifan could hear the bubbles in the cola rising, popping one after another just as they touched the air.

This was the first time in his life that he had ever shared a can of cola with anyone.

“Xiao Jiang, since you’re at our home, you don’t have to keep calling him ‘class monitor’—it sounds so distant,” Mr. Lu said.

“Then what should I call him?” Jiang Ruotang deliberately looked at Lu Guifan.

“Guifan. Just call him Guifan,” Mrs. Lu said with a smile.

Lu Guifan’s grip on his cup tightened slightly. Since their first year, he’d heard Jiang Ruotang call him by his full name impatiently or indifferently. Later, he’d switched to ‘class monitor’ or ‘master’ when he was being playful. But “Guifan”… those two syllables held a strange, quiet warmth, like a closeness he didn’t dare to hope for.

“Really? Is that okay?” Jiang Ruotang leaned closer.

Lu Guifan knew—this guy was teasing him again.

“Guess not—the class monitor isn’t nodding.”

Jiang Ruotang pulled away and licked his lips, focusing on spearing a fish ball with his chopsticks.

Lu Guifan lowered his gaze and took a sip of cola.

“You could call him Little Boat,” Mr. Lu suddenly said.

Lu Guifan rarely spoke fast, but now he did. “Dad… that’s my childhood nickname! No one’s called me that since elementary school!”

But Jiang Ruotang was intrigued. “Why? Why was your nickname Little Boat, class monitor?”

“Because when he was little, he was raised by his grandpa,” Mr. Lu explained. “His grandpa used to fish in Chengjiang and carried him on his back. Every time they pulled up fish or birds flew low over the water, this boy would kick his legs excitedly. But the moment they reached land, he’d start crying. Grandpa said he liked being on the fishing boat, so he called him Little Boat.”

“Ohh… I see.” Jiang Ruotang turned his face to look at Lu Guifan and finally understood why he treasured those glasses his grandpa had given him so much.

Just as Lu Guifan reached for a spring roll, Jiang Ruotang leaned in and bombarded him with a string of “Little Boat, Little Boat, Little Boat!”

Lu Guifan knew this was coming. He raised his free hand, about to cover Jiang Ruotang’s noisy mouth, when he suddenly heard a soft “Guifan.”

It was light and quick, like the shadow of a bird gliding across water.

As if it snatched his heart away and soared into the sky.

His chopsticks trembled, nearly dropping the spring roll—but he caught it in time.

“You can call me Ruotang too,” Jiang Ruotang said, as if complaining to Lu parents. “Uncle, Auntie, every time the class monitor tutors me, whenever he calls my full name, I feel like I’m about to get sent to the principal’s office.”

Lu Guifan bit into his spring roll, the crisp sound filling the air. He thought to himself: Little liar. I always call your name carefully—because I don’t want to see you upset or hurt.

Miraculously, that dinner eased the worry on Lu Guifan’s parents’ faces. They smiled and chatted with Jiang Ruotang the whole time.

Mr. Lu told stories about fishing in Chengjiang when he was young, while Mrs. Lu said she used to be known as the “Whitefish Queen of the Waves” there. Jiang Ruotang listened with envy and longing, thinking he should go sketch by the river someday.

After dinner, Lu Guifan helped his parents wipe the table and clean the dishes. Jiang Ruotang wanted to follow and help, but Lu Guifan flicked his forehead. “Go back to the room and finish your problems. I’ll check them after I’m done. The sooner you finish, the sooner Xiao Gao can pick you up without staying too late.”

“Okay…”

That night, Xiao Gao came to pick Jiang Ruotang up at ten. Watching him get into the car, Lu Guifan returned to his room and tidied up the scratch papers Jiang Ruotang had left behind.

At the very bottom, Lu Guifan froze.

In the corner of one sheet, Jiang Ruotang had drawn a tiny self-portrait—poking his own head with a pen in frustration over the problems he couldn’t solve. It was… honestly very cute, the kind that made people smile without knowing why.

It was probably Jiang Ruotang’s answer to Lu Guifan’s question about self-portraits.

The next afternoon, Jiang Ruotang got a call.

It was Zhao Yunshu, driving personally to pick him up, saying she was taking him to meet someone—Zheng Huasheng.

Hearing this, Jiang Ruotang felt both excited and nervous. So this was the “agent” Zhao Yunshu had mentioned for him.

Their meeting spot was a tea house.

At first glance, Jiang Ruotang thought Zheng Huasheng looked like a university professor. He wore fine black-rimmed glasses, was in his fifties, and carried himself with a gentle, cultured air that inspired trust.

After Zhao Yunshu’s introduction, Jiang Ruotang learned that Zheng Huasheng had once been a financial officer at a publicly listed company. When he was thirty-two, he had a run-in with robbers trying to steal his boss’s laptop and USB security token. In the struggle, he injured his leg.

Jiang Ruotang glanced down and indeed saw a cane resting beside Zheng Huasheng’s seat.

Of course, he’d managed to save both the laptop and the USB drive, earning the deep trust of the company’s owner, who promoted him all the way to CFO.

A few years ago, that old boss retired. As the saying goes: “A new king brings his own ministers.” The new owner wanted to bring in their own people. Though Zheng Huasheng was still in his prime, he chose to leave while ahead.

In other words, in terms of both experience and character, Mr. Zheng seemed to perfectly fit Jiang Ruotang’s needs.

What’s more, he was tight-lipped. Even after leaving, he never said a bad word about the new management.

Zheng Huasheng gave a small smile. “I’ve heard Zhao Shimei mention you—she said that although you’re young, you’re clever and full of ideas. Even so, I have to say, managing ten or twenty million on behalf of a kid isn’t something I’m particularly interested in.”

Zhao Yunshu knew they were about to get into detailed discussions and was just about to excuse herself when Jiang Ruotang gently held her wrist.

“I’m not asking Mr. Zheng to help me launder dirty money. Of course you can listen to what this is about.”

Zhao Yunshu was briefly stunned. As she sat back down, a flicker of genuine approval flashed in Zheng Huasheng’s eyes before he quickly concealed it.

This kid, he thought, was more straightforward than he had expected.

“I need you to help manage eighty million. This is the fortune that my grandfather and his ancestors worked hard to build, so it’s extremely important to me. I don’t want to squander it recklessly—I’d like it to grow if possible. Even though I’m young, I hope Mr. Zheng can trust some of my judgments, even if they sound bold or willful.”

“Oh? Young people’s ideas may sound fanciful at times, but they often see paths others don’t. Would you mind sharing yours with me?”

Zheng Huasheng smiled as he spoke.

This wasn’t just Zheng Huasheng testing Jiang Ruotang; Jiang Ruotang also wanted to see if they could find common ground.

Jiang Ruotang took out a map of Sheng City from his pocket, unfolded it, and laid it flat between himself and Zheng Huasheng, pointing to the very top—a nearly invisible patch of Chengjiang tidal flats.

Zheng Huasheng’s gaze darkened little by little. He looked into Jiang Ruotang’s eyes and said, “You want this?”

“Why not?” Jiang Ruotang replied with a question of his own.

“It’s not that you can’t—but the situation there is still unclear. It’s risky,” Zheng Huasheng immediately understood what Jiang Ruotang meant.

“But I’m willing to bet, Mr. Zheng—if you had even one-fifth of my capital in hand, you’d want a piece of this, too. And this so-called high risk is mostly appearance—in reality, it’s almost certain.”

Zhao Yunshu couldn’t quite follow the riddle the older and younger man were speaking in.

But Jiang Ruotang and Zheng Huasheng both knew they were referring to the new district development plan for the Chengjiang tidal flats.

Zheng Huasheng hadn’t expected Jiang Ruotang to see through him so sharply. This kid really was interesting.

“You need to give me something—something that will make me trust your judgment,” Zheng Huasheng said. “Otherwise, no matter how much money you have, I won’t clean up the mess from the rash decisions of a spoiled young master.”

“Then… what would Mr. Zheng like me to offer?”

Judging from Zheng Huasheng’s past record, he had never asked for equity or anything like that at his previous publicly listed company. With a “little kid” like Jiang Ruotang, he was even less likely to want shares.

Jiang Ruotang met Zheng Huasheng’s eyes directly, seeing within them the weariness and depth that only someone long weathered by the world would have—something Jiang Ruotang knew well.

—What Zheng Huasheng wanted was probably a like-minded partner with vision, not someone bogged down in office politics.

Zheng Huasheng took a slow sip of tea and said casually, “Have you heard that the acquisition of Huachen Auto is about to conclude?”

“Mm.” Jiang Ruotang nodded.

Zheng Huasheng continued, “Right now, the top contender with the highest bid is Longming Group. Even though Longming made its fortune in real estate, it’s been eager to break into the home vehicle industry. So, do you think Longming will win the bid over the runner-up, Fengteng Auto, and take Huachen Auto into its fold?”

Jiang Ruotang froze for a moment. Was this a test from Zheng Huasheng?

If so—what incredible luck.

In his previous life, Longming’s attempt to acquire Huachen Auto had been huge news in the industry. Even though Jiang Ruotang wasn’t particularly interested in the case at the time, the result had been so unexpected that every adult around him talked about it endlessly—he couldn’t have forgotten if he tried.

Even Lin Chengtong had assumed Longming would win, and lost a good deal on the investment.

As for the inside story—who had carefully analyzed all of it for him?

Lu Guifan.

Ten years later, when Jiang Ruotang had been in the hospital, Lu Guifan had been working like mad, developing battery tech for new energy vehicles with his team, spinning like a top—so busy that Jiang Ruotang didn’t see him for an entire month.

And Jiang Ruotang had a habit: whatever Lu Guifan was busy with, he would read about it—just so he could chat with him before bed.

That’s how, bored out of his mind, he ended up reading Huachen Auto’s corporate history.

“Lu Guifan, why did an old private company like Huachen collapse back then? I read online that they had a great market share in developing countries overseas and a solid production line. Their boss should’ve been making easy money, right?”

“Family businesses like that are most vulnerable during leadership transitions. Brothers and sisters fight each other, sabotage each other—just like back in my hometown, Chengtan, where everyone’s breaking their heads over relocation compensation. Once the cash flow breaks, things spiral out of control.”

Lu Guifan’s voice was calm, gentle, with a faint smile—the kind of voice that always soothed Jiang Ruotang’s soul.

“Oh—so Huachen Auto, once it fell from grace, became a juicy target that every capital giant wanted a piece of. I read that Longming Group offered the highest price back then. But why did Huachen end up becoming a sub-brand of Fengteng Auto instead?”

Lu Guifan chuckled softly—Jiang Ruotang could almost feel the vibration of his voice through the phone.

“Silly, have you ever heard of ‘besieging Wei to rescue Zhao’?”

“Oh? You mean Huachen Auto was Wei—so who was Zhao?”

Lu Guifan replied, “Yixin Electronics.”