Jiang Ruotang deliberately bumped into Cai Ji’s waist. “Your face is all red. Looks like you just confessed to someone.”

Cai Ji blushed even more. Zhao Changfeng walked by and used his height advantage to press down on the top of Jiang Ruotang’s head. “Stop bullying Cai Cai.”

“Cai Cai?” Jiang Ruotang was taken aback. Looks like he and Zhao Changfeng really were brothers after all—they even gave Cai Ji the same nickname.

“Every time I say ‘Cai Ji,’ it sounds like I’m calling him ‘noob.’ Calling him Xiao Ji sounds like ‘little chicken.’ We can’t exactly call him Xiao Cai either—we’re not his elders. So ‘Cai Cai’ it is,” Zhao Changfeng declared like it was the most natural decision in the world.

Jiang Ruotang whispered to Cai Ji, “If you don’t like it, you better say so now. Otherwise, with his loud voice, the whole school’s gonna call you ‘Cai Cai.’”

Cai Ji smiled, “It’s fine. I heard your dad call you ‘Tang Tang’—it sounds affectionate. ‘Cai Cai’ is also a reduplicated name.”

Zhao Changfeng gave Jiang Ruotang a smug look, as if to say: See? What’s wrong with the nickname I picked?

Aunt Juan’s voice called from downstairs, “Breakfast is ready! If you don’t come down now, the noodles are going to get mushy!”

“Coming!” Jiang Ruotang shouted back.

At the large round table, Cai Ji sat down and stared in awe at the spread of breakfast before him. He didn’t know where to begin—it was his first time seeing something so lavish.

Jiang Ruotang saw the look in his eyes and guessed what he was thinking. “We don’t usually have this much for breakfast. Aunt Juan made extra because you’re here. She made yam noodles especially for you—she was worried your mouth might hurt if you ate something too hard.”

As he spoke, Jiang Ruotang ladled a bowl of noodles for Cai Ji and scooped in an egg and soft, tender meatballs.

“Thank you…”

Just then, Zhao Yunshu and Jiang Huaiyuan came down after washing up to join them for breakfast.

Zhao Yunshu said gently, “Cai Ji, just focus on going to class today. No matter what happens, you can talk to your teachers, or come to Ruotang or Changfeng. Leave the rest to us adults.”

Jiang Huaiyuan nodded. “We’re not just helping you temporarily. As long as you don’t give up, we’ll stand and fight with you till the end!”

That line—fight till the end—sounded like something out of a passionate movie. Trust a director to get someone fired up with a single sentence. It gave Cai Ji a huge morale boost.

Xiao Gao drove the three high schoolers to school. Before Cai Ji got out, he gave him his own phone number and told him to call if anything happened.

Standing at the classroom door, Cai Ji suddenly felt emotional. “There really are a lot of kind people in the world…”

Zhao Changfeng replied, “And a lot of bad ones too. That’s why guys like you also need to learn to protect yourselves.”

At school, teacher Song Qinghe—who was supposed to be doing attendance at the school gate—had gone straight to the principal’s office to report everything about Cai Ji. The principal was shocked.

“As long as we get proof that Meng Yang colluded with outside delinquents to bully Cai Ji and forced him to help them cheat, we’ll deal with them with zero tolerance!”

Maybe it was the support pouring in from all sides, but Cai Ji had become noticeably more cheerful. He even started joking around with Jiang Ruotang and the others.

At noon, Jiang Ruotang didn’t order takeout. Aunt Juan had prepared a feast and sent it over with Xiao Gao.

When Jiang Ruotang and Zhao Changfeng picked it up at the school gate, the food containers were still steaming.

“Come on, we’ve got great food today. Aunt Juan made a ton—let’s all eat together!”

Zhao Changfeng placed the lunch box on Cai Ji’s desk and waved at Jian Sha and Lu Guifan.

The other students still in the classroom looked a bit surprised.

Bai Yingchuan had been about to say hi but was pulled back by Lin Lu.

Lin Lu whispered, “Cai Ji is still being investigated for cheating. Even though Mr. Song insists he’s innocent, until things are cleared up, it’s better we don’t get involved.”

Bai Yingchuan turned to look at him, a coldness in his eyes. “So, before things are settled, you’ve already decided he’s guilty?”

“I…” Lin Lu looked guilty but still muttered, “I’m just thinking of you.”

“Right. If my mom found out I was hanging out with someone suspected of cheating, she’d punish me hard. Isn’t that what you meant?”

Lin Lu had been about to say “I’m glad you understand,” but he suddenly realized Bai Yingchuan was being sarcastic. Bai had taken his so-called concern as a threat.

But so what? Lin Lu thought. All he could do now was keep Bai Yingchuan from joining Jiang Ruotang’s circle. Even if it meant Bai resenting him, he couldn’t let him get close. If Bai’s popularity and commercial value became an asset to the Jiang family, Lin Chengtong would explode.

Lin Lu comforted himself: as long as his dad gave Bai Yingchuan more resources and opportunities, Bai wouldn’t think about Jiang Ruotang anymore.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ruotang was opening the lunch containers one by one. Aunt Juan’s signature dishes were all there: braised lion’s head meatballs, spicy ribs with bean paste, shrimp-egg rolls, Yangzhou fried rice—and even fresh-squeezed juice.

Jiang Ruotang joked, “Cai Cai gets better treatment than me and Changfeng.”

Cai Ji laughed, feeling warm inside. It was the first time he felt such genuine connection with people around him.

Other classmates glanced at each other. Cai Ji used to be practically invisible. How come, after that whole cheating incident, not just Zhao Changfeng and Jiang Ruotang but even Jian Sha and Lu Guifan were now sitting with him?

Lu Guifan! He never socialized with anyone!

As they ate, Zhao Changfeng gave Cai Ji some ribs, Jiang Ruotang shared his meatball, and for once, Cai Ji wasn’t eating a sad little boxed lunch alone.

During lunch break, the classroom was filled with students sleeping at their desks. Jiang Ruotang and Zhao Changfeng were fast asleep; the latter was even snoring.

Cai Ji’s phone rang, making his heart skip a beat. He thought it was his father or brother calling to yell at him about last night, or to demand money again. But to his shock, the screen showed: Mom.

His throat tightened, and his heart pounded. He had no idea what she was going to say.

When he picked up, her trembling voice came through, crying: why didn’t you tell me? I’ve already booked a flight—I’m coming tonight.

At that moment, Cai Ji finally believed—his mother still cared about and loved him. Across the phone, the mother and son wept.

“Mom… I miss you so much…”

That evening, there were no art classes. Jiang Ruotang stayed in the classroom for evening study.

He texted Lu Guifan:
[Class rep, wanna go bet three bucks on the road?]

Meaning: want to eat a three-yuan pancake and walk as far as we can?

At the street stall outside the school, Jiang Ruotang heard him order: “Two eggs, with beef, shredded potato, and hotdog.”

It was such an ordinary line, but when Lu Guifan said it, it had a certain special quality.

Jiang Ruotang didn’t object. Lu’s dad now worked for Mr. Zheng Huasheng. He was hardworking and honest, and Mr. Zheng had been teaching him some simple finance skills, even giving him generous bonuses. The Lu family was doing much better now.

Walking side by side, Jiang Ruotang focused intently on eating. Whenever he was about to walk into a pole or bump into someone, Lu Guifan would gently pull him to his side.

Ruotang chattered on, of course mostly complaining about Cai Ji’s scummy dad and brother.

Lu Guifan didn’t comment on Cai Ji’s situation. He just quietly watched Ruotang walk ahead.

“What’s wrong, class rep?” Ruotang turned around, munching the last bite of his pancake.

“Jiang Ruotang, I don’t understand.”

“Don’t understand what?”

“Why you always help others without a second thought.”

“Huh? I don’t!” Jiang Ruotang was confused.

“You jumped in front of my parents’ car when it was being smashed, helped my dad find a job, supported Zhao Changfeng behind the scenes, and now you’re helping Cai Ji—even though you barely talked to him before. Jiang Ruotang, people who are too kind get treated like human ATM machines. And when the ATM stops dispensing what people want, they might not thank you—they might dump you.”

Sounds exactly like Lin Chengtong and his son.

“So you care about me after all,” Ruotang said with a grin.

Lu Guifan turned his head away.

“I don’t help just anyone. Zhao Changfeng is my family. He may talk tough, but he’s actually a sweetheart. I don’t want him to be influenced by Meng Yang—I care about his future.”

“As for your parents’ stall—that was where we first ate together like real friends. That’s why I rushed to protect them.”

Lu Guifan paused. He hadn’t expected that to be the reason.

“And I helped Cai Ji because he stood up for you. He told the teacher that Meng Yang had deliberately knocked off your glasses. Deep down, he’s brave.”

By then, the sky had darkened, and the streetlights were on.

The pale glow lit up Lu Guifan’s handsome profile and shoulders, giving Jiang Ruotang the illusion that his hopeless crush was kicking in again.

“Sounds like I’m the center of your world.”

Jiang Ruotang laughed brightly and jokingly admitted, “You are the center of my world, class rep.”

Lu Guifan stood still as Ruotang walked ahead.

“Jiang Ruotang…”

“Yeah?” He turned back and found Lu Guifan staring at him, serious and serene.

It made Ruotang inexplicably nervous.

“No matter who you meet in the future, or who you foolishly fall for, you must remain the center of your own world. Always choose what makes you happy, what benefits you. Never sacrifice yourself for others. You’re not the sun—you don’t have to shine on the world. You’re not a candle either—don’t burn yourself to light others.”

Put yourself first. Only then can I be at ease.

“…Class rep, can you not call me by my full name like that? Sounds like I’ve got ten practice papers overdue and I’m about to be made to stand in the back row.”

“Then Jiang Ruotang classmate.”

“You sound like the dean of discipline!” Ruotang bumped him with his shoulder. “Try calling me ‘Ruotang’?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Lu Guifan sighed. “…Gives me Lin Lu flashbacks.”

Jiang Ruotang nearly choked on his own spit.

“What the heck?! You literally said ‘Good night, Ruotang’ over the phone just last night!”

Lu Guifan turned and walked back to school without expression.

Ruotang immediately followed behind like a little tail.

“Class rep, didn’t you feel lonely and empty last night when I didn’t send you a question? Like something was missing in your life?”

“More like the construction crew outside my window finally took a day off. The world was blissfully quiet.”

“Class rep… you actually like the construction noise, don’t you?”

“Why would I?”

“’Cause it’s lively.”

Lu Guifan muttered, “Why not say I like suona horns?”

“That’d be bad. When the suona plays, it means The End.”

Lu Guifan was baffled at himself—how could he banter nonsense for ten minutes straight?

But with Jiang Ruotang around, he felt like he could talk for a lifetime.

Back in class, Ruotang had just laid his head down when Bai Yingchuan’s voice floated over from the next desk. “Jiang Ruotang, I took your suggestion.”

“Huh? What suggestion?” Ruotang turned his head lazily.

Lin Lu was also lying down pretending to sleep. Normally he’d have jumped into the conversation, but now he just seemed out of place—anything he said would feel awkward. So he kept pretending to sleep.

Bai Yingchuan smiled helplessly. “You really don’t remember? That Boiling Era script. I told them the dialogue was too stiff and outdated. They actually took my advice and brought in a younger writer to revise it.”

“Huh? Your mom agreed to that?” Ruotang asked, pretending it was a casual question but actually asking on purpose.

Bai Yingchuan’s eyes paused briefly, then curved into a smile. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“Because at this stage, Madam Bai Yue probably cares more about your popularity than your artistic growth,” Ruotang said bluntly, not bothering to be polite.

To his surprise, Bai Yingchuan admitted it directly. “You guessed right.”

Ruotang reminded himself to be more careful with his words around Bai Yingchuan. He almost let slip things he knew from his past life.

He remembered how controlling Bai Yue was. In his previous life, he’d found several quality, performance-heavy roles for Bai Yingchuan. But since those roles didn’t guarantee popularity, Bai Yue vetoed them all—Bai never even read the scripts.

“But I still tried to fight for it,” Bai said. “I used what you told me that day as an argument. For once, she actually listened.”

That night, Bai recalled, Bai Yue had been home for once, waiting for him like an interrogator.

She demanded to know why he was wasting time on that script.

He told her, “Because your judgment sucks. You can’t even pick the right man, let alone the right collaborators. Someone like Lin Chengtong is just a fraud. If he goes down, he’ll take your career with him.”

He argued he was still young and didn’t need to chase quick fame. What mattered now was building credibility by working with serious professionals.

Bai Yue laughed at him for being naive and idealistic, saying the project would flop.

Bai Yingchuan pushed back: “How do you know it won’t become a state-sponsored tribute drama?”

That shut her up.

Later, he overheard her calling her industry contacts, asking about the project.

To her shock, someone from the national broadcaster told her the topic was promising—they were even considering funding it. The only flaw was the dialogue—it lacked appeal and relatability.

Exactly what Bai Yingchuan had told her.

She knocked on his door and asked where he got that intel.

Bai just smiled and told her: “If you really want reliable industry partners, forget Lin Chengtong’s bogus advice. One day he’ll bleed you dry and make you think you struck gold. Better to connect with someone solid—like Director Jiang Huaiyuan. Who knows, you might even get your second wind and make a real comeback.”

His son’s mockery was too blunt. Bai Yue stood there in silence for a long time, looking like she was about to explode at Bai Yingchuan, but in the end, she held herself back.

After that, she no longer tried to stop Bai Yingchuan from accepting the script.

Jiang Ruotang lazily glanced at Bai Yingchuan and drawled, “Then I wish you get a good role and make a sensational debut.”

Having lived a second life, Jiang Ruotang finally realized that Lin Lu’s methods of manipulating Bai Yingchuan had always been too crude.

The truly sophisticated way was to make the target willingly walk into your reins.

Bai Yue thought she could control her son—from his habits, his friendships, to his future.

But once Bai Yingchuan tasted the sweetness of rebellion, he would realize that what the Lin father and son gave him was not a future, but a cage. His resistance would only grow fiercer.

Once a person has experienced a moment of true freedom, they will desperately try to break free from all restraints and see anyone who interferes as an enemy.

In Bai Yingchuan’s heart, Jiang Ruotang was the one who opened the road to freedom for him—just by casually offering a few suggestions.

Jiang Ruotang turned her face and happened to meet Lin Lu’s gaze.

Lin Lu had been pretending to sleep. He hadn’t expected that just one secret glance at Jiang Ruotang would be noticed by her.

His heart sank violently, and a strange wave of fear surged through him. For a moment, Lin Lu didn’t even know how to look away.

Until Jiang Ruotang gave him a smile.

It looked like a normal smile, but it gave Lin Lu an illusion—as if he were a clumsy child whose grand lie had been effortlessly seen through by an adult.

Jiang Ruotang turned to the other side and lay down again to continue her nap. Only then did Lin Lu let out a small breath of relief.

That night after evening self-study, Xiao Gao came to take the three kids home.

As soon as the door opened, Cai Ji saw his mother sitting on the couch with red eyes. When she heard the door open, she rushed over and, without saying a word, hugged Cai Ji and burst into tears.

The scene made even Jiang Ruotang’s nose sting, and both Sister Juan and Xiao Gao’s eyes turned red.

After Cai Ji’s mother calmed down, they all gathered in the study to discuss what to do about the situation.

Her first instinct was to take Cai Ji back to the capital. But the problem was that his student registration couldn’t be transferred. Even if he attended school there temporarily, he would still have to return to Sheng City for the college entrance exam. The two cities didn’t use the same exam papers, which would put Cai Ji at a disadvantage. But staying here meant constantly being harassed by his abusive father and stepbrother—he’d never have peace.

“If it comes to it, I’ll just resign and come back to stay with Cai Ji until the exam. If that bastard dares to show up, I’ll call the police!”

Cai Ji was stunned. He hadn’t expected his mother would consider resigning for his sake.

She had worked so hard to establish herself in the capital—how could she resign so easily?

And what about the life she had built there? She finally had a caring husband and a lovely daughter…

“Mom, I want to fight for it.” Cai Ji looked up, his eyes firm as he met her gaze.

“Fight for it… what do you mean?”

When Cai Ji revealed his plan, not only his mother, but Zhao Yunshu and Jiang Huaiyuan also said in unison, “Absolutely not.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘not allowed.’ I was too cowardly before and didn’t gather any evidence. This time, I will succeed in collecting it!”

Even if not for himself—he had to fight for his mom and all the people who helped him!

Jiang Ruotang looked at the determined light in Cai Ji’s eyes. This plan would definitely make him suffer, but if it worked, it would solve everything once and for all.

The only thing was… Cai Ji had been at school the whole time. How did he come up with this plan?

The next day, while Cai Ji was still in class, his phone kept vibrating. The screen flashed with his stepbrother Li Chun’s name. Cai Ji sucked in a cold breath, his palm breaking out in sweat. Instinctively, he glanced over at Jiang Ruotang and Zhao Changfeng.

Jiang Ruotang immediately sensed his gaze and turned her face to give him a small nod.

Cai Ji exhaled slowly and quickly texted back under the desk:
[In class, can’t take the call.]

Not long after, Li Chun replied:
[What, now that you’ve clung to the rich kid in your class, you think you’re too good for me? Get your ass to Blue Dragon Internet Café at noon—or I’ll beat the crap out of you!]