Chapter 45: I Don’t Want to Be Alone

At the corner of the hallway, Zhao Yunshu patted Jiang Ruotang on the shoulder.
“Being misunderstood is part of life. Don’t overthink it. I’m heading back to work.”

“Mm, got it.”

Bai Yingchuan quietly followed behind them, feeling like his presence didn’t really matter.

If it hadn’t been for Jian Sha’s words, he knew he would still be sitting in his seat, hesitating, stewing over everything.

This was a feeling he’d never experienced before. From childhood, Bai Yue’s teachings had been all about position and self-interest. All he ever learned was to stay out of things that didn’t concern him, to watch from the sidelines. Even Sister Yu had always reminded him: “Stay distant, never get involved if you can help it.”

He knew this way of life left him friendless, but he had always thought he didn’t need friends.

Yet this time he’d gone with Jian Sha to call the principal, and he realized—getting involved wasn’t such a big deal after all.

At least… at least he got a chance to make Jiang Ruotang turn around and look at him.

As if hearing his thoughts, Jiang Ruotang really did stop, turn around, and looked at him with a bright smile.
“Bai Yingchuan, thanks this time. If it weren’t for your ‘face’, the principal might not have come. I’d still be locked in battle with Old Wang!”

Jian Sha passed by Bai Yingchuan and laughed.
“Yeah, thanks to our superstar here, for lending us some of that ‘face.’”

Bai Yingchuan stayed silent, suddenly realizing his role was only to lend face.

Compared to Lu Guifan and Jian Sha, who’d risked being scolded or even having their parents called in—his face wasn’t worth much at all.

“Sister Sha, you’re the best. I’ll buy you milk tea!”

“One week’s worth,” Jian Sha said bluntly.

“Deal!”

“If I’d known you’d agree so easily, I’d have asked for a month,” she muttered, feeling she’d sold herself cheap.

Jiang Ruotang leaned close to Lu Guifan and whispered,
“By the way, Class Rep, do you know what’s up with Cai Ji? I think he’s a decent guy. Wasn’t he the one who told the teachers that it was Ye Jiaming who made Meng Yang break your glasses? Otherwise, who knows what else Ye Jiaming would’ve done to compete with you for that recommendation spot? Honestly, I don’t believe Cai Ji would help Meng Yang cheat—they don’t even get along!”

Lu Guifan fell silent for a while, then moved to the corner, putting some distance between them and the others, before whispering,
“Cai Ji’s parents divorced when he was about eight. His mom wanted custody, but Cai chose to stay with his dad. Later his dad remarried. His stepmother brought a son of her own… Cai’s situation at home isn’t great.”

Jiang Ruotang immediately thought of Meng Yang’s threats in the microwave room—talking about teaching Cai’s stepbrother a lesson at the internet café, and the cigarette burns on Cai Ji’s arm.

“Tch—” Jiang Ruotang shuddered, as if feeling phantom pain.

Lu Guifan paused and gently said,
“I’ll mention Cai Ji to the teachers, have them investigate if he’s being bullied.”

Hearing that reassured Jiang Ruotang a little.

When he got back to his seat, the other classmates couldn’t help asking him what had happened. Jiang Ruotang only smiled and brushed them off.

Zhao Changfeng poked him from behind and whispered,
“My mom left?”

“Yeah, she’s gone. Don’t worry—the teachers didn’t mention you. And you did move up three ranks this time, right?”

Moving up three ranks in the whole grade… wasn’t that basically no progress?

“Hey… sorry, man. I should’ve stood up for you too. But Sister Sha said I’d only make things worse…”

Jiang Ruotang laughed, ruffling Zhao Changfeng’s hair.
“Don’t overthink it. If you’d gone too, Old Wang would’ve chewed out both of us. No need to suffer double injustice.”

Zhao Changfeng let out a breath, then asked,
“What about Meng Yang? What’s gonna happen to him? If he gets punished, he can’t play in the next game.”

Jiang Ruotang sighed.
“Changfeng, take your brother’s advice—don’t count on him. Rely on yourself.”

Meng Yang’s character was so bad; his sportsmanship couldn’t be any better.

Zhao Changfeng said nothing, laying his head on the desk. Deep down, he also disapproved of Meng Yang—but after playing ball together for years, he still couldn’t let go completely.

During the break, Jiang Ruotang went to the school store and bought a few drinks.

He gave a latte to Lu Guifan, smiling.
“Thanks, Class Rep, for standing up to injustice and backing me up!”

“Thank yourself.”

“Right—thanks to me for studying so hard I melted the Class Rep’s iron heart!”

Lu Guifan gently poked his cheek with the can. Jiang Ruotang grinned and walked off.

Then he gave orange juice to Jian Sha.
“Thanks, Sister Sha—the heroic woman! I owe you milk tea; I’ll order it for you at lunch.”

“Mm. Good little Jiangzi, you may leave.”

Skirting around Lin Lu’s seat, Jiang Ruotang stopped in front of Bai Yingchuan.
“Classmate Bai Yingchuan, for your righteous act of dragging the principal here, I offer you this sugar-free green tea—suitable for someone who probably watches their calories.”

Bai Yingchuan looked at the green tea as if it burned his hand.

Even Zhao Changfeng at the back nearly exploded holding in his laughter. Green tea for Bai Yingchuan?

What was Jiang Ruotang thinking?

Lin Lu stayed perfectly still, pretending nothing happened, but her teeth were probably grinding.

Jian Sha sipped her juice and said,
“Different drinks for different people. Someone’s gotta play the ‘green tea pretending to be pure water.’”

Zhao Changfeng scratched his head.
“Huh? Why? Isn’t green tea tastier than water?”

Jian Sha sighed.
“You don’t get it. These days green tea’s full of additives.”

“Additives? So turning from plain tea to old, shady green tea?”

Jiang Ruotang was amused. These two could turn anything into a comedy skit—even casual banter.

Lin Lu could only grit her teeth and keep her face calm, pretending not to understand.

Bai Yingchuan leaned slightly forward, trying to start a conversation with Jiang Ruotang.

“By the way… I forgot to say. I really liked that drawing you gave me last time. Any chance I could get one that’s less… rushed?”

Jiang Ruotang stayed expressionless.
“Sure. I’ll find one my art teacher praised and give it to you. Who knows—if I get famous someday, that piece could be worth millions.”

Bai Yingchuan smiled a little wider, but his gaze didn’t change.

“I meant… like the one you gave me on my birthday.”

“Huh?” Jiang Ruotang blinked in surprise.

In his past life, he’d drawn Bai Yingchuan so many times—carefully choosing sketches to give him—only to be dragged into a bathroom stall and warned coldly.

But now… Bai Yingchuan was asking him to draw again. Proof that freely given isn’t as precious as what one begs for.

“To draw a person… you need to feel something. Without that feeling, it’s just like turning in homework.”

Jiang Ruotang smiled faintly and returned to his seat.

And Bai Yingchuan understood the unspoken meaning: I feel nothing for you.

Bai Yingchuan lowered his gaze. He wanted to smile, like reading a bad comment online—but he couldn’t. Disappointment flooded his heart.

He knew—if it had been Jian Sha or Zhao Changfeng who’d asked, Jiang Ruotang might’ve pulled out his sketchbook to draw for them right then and there.

Lin Lu remained silent the whole time.
It was as if Jiang Ruotang and Bai Yingchuan had automatically filtered him out—he no longer had any presence at all.

Just as Lin Lu was wondering how to “break the ice” with Jiang Ruotang, Jiang Ruotang suddenly spoke first.

“Lin Lu, I just remembered something. Every time we wander the hallway after class, or sit by the window, you always seem to bring up how I used to support Bai Yingchuan. And at least three or four times out of ten, Old Wang or some other teacher just happened to overhear, right?”

“Ah? I… I didn’t mean to! I wasn’t doing it on purpose!”
Lin Lu’s face went pale. His heart pounded wildly.
Why would Jiang Ruotang suddenly bring this up?
Who told him—Zhao Changfeng? Jian Sha?

“I’m not saying you did it on purpose. But you talk about it so often that it makes me look like some brainless fanboy in front of the teachers. With someone like Old Wang, the conservative type, it’s easy for him to get the wrong impression. You know I’ve quit the fandom now. So from now on—whether in front of people or behind their backs—let’s not bring this stuff up anymore, okay?”
Jiang Ruotang propped his chin on his hand and glanced sideways at Lin Lu.

“Of… of course!” Lin Lu nodded vigorously.

“Mm.” Jiang Ruotang nodded as well—setting a rule for Lin Lu, letting him know that if he wanted to talk about him again in the future, he’d better be cautious and think carefully before opening his mouth.

He didn’t really care what others thought of him, but too many misunderstandings would still cause unnecessary trouble.

---

That night, the principal personally chaired the senior-year teaching conference.

Teacher Song Qinghe raised some key issues, especially regarding Cai Ji—suggesting that he might have been bullied, which led him to cheat for Meng Yang.

Old Wang firmly insisted that cheating was cheating, and there were no excuses.

The younger teachers, however—particularly the English and biology teachers—actively voiced their opinions, stressing the importance of thoroughly investigating the truth, since the school couldn’t bear the consequences if this escalated into a tragedy.

After hearing everyone out, the principal made a decision: in handling the cheating case involving Cai Ji, Meng Yang, and the others, Teacher Song Qinghe would personally lead the investigation to uncover the real motives and reasons behind it all.

This was essentially stripping Old Wang of his authority as both the homeroom teacher and grade leader. The support from the younger teachers was obvious and overwhelming.

Jiang Ruotang had been in the art studio for class when Zhao Changfeng messaged him out of the blue with the news that Old Wang had been sidelined. Teachers and students alike throughout the grade were reportedly overjoyed.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruotang couldn’t help but pinch the corner of his eye.

As he continued drawing, it suddenly struck him—the cheating incident with Cai Ji and Meng Yang had also happened in his previous life. But back then, his own grades were terrible, so Old Wang had never suspected him.

At that time, Teacher Song Qinghe had also believed Cai Ji wouldn’t willingly help Meng Yang cheat and had wanted to speak with him more, which had caused friction with Old Wang. Eventually, Song Qinghe was transferred because of this.

But this time—because Jiang Ruotang’s grades had improved too quickly—he’d made it onto Old Wang’s suspect list, triggering a butterfly effect that forced the principal to see Old Wang’s tyranny. Otherwise, Teacher Song might’ve been sent away again.At this realization, Jiang Ruotang felt that studying hard really was worth it after all.