Jian Sha looked over at Jiang Ruotang, completely unaware of the turmoil in his heart. She waved at him and said, “Jiang Ruotang! Come quick! This game Cai Cai made is so much fun! But the class monitor’s too good—he’s totally dominating!”

Cai Ji smiled and chimed in, “Yeah! Come try it and see if you can take the class monitor down!”

Lu Guifan finally lifted his eyes and looked directly at Jiang Ruotang, gaze calm and unflinching.

“How could he have time to deal with me? He’s too busy listening to his beloved Mr. Wang Sibeng’s crosstalk.”

If anyone else had said this, it would have sounded bitter. But Lu Guifan had the unique ability to deliver such words with a calm, natural ease, even with a hint of teasing.

At that very moment, the ever-present background noise, Mr. Wang Sibeng, spoke from the TV again:
“What’s the hardest part about having a crush? Summer’s here, the weather’s heating up, but the crush still hasn’t turned into love! Can’t the second cup of half-price milk tea be drunk by two?”

Right then, Jiang Ruotang really wanted to shout at the old man, “Shut up!”
It was clearly winter, and getting colder by the day!

He rolled up his sleeves, now fully convinced that Lu Guifan had left the crosstalk playing just to mock him.

“I love Mr. Wang Sibeng’s crosstalk,” Jiang Ruotang said, staring straight into Lu Guifan’s eyes, trying to read even the slightest flicker of emotion. “But I love Lu Guifan even more—”

Lu Guifan remained absolutely unbothered, as steady as a mountain, his expression giving nothing away.

Jian Sha laughed. “You love Lu Guifan even more what?”

“Even more when he’s totally humiliated!”

Jiang Ruotang put down the soda and walked over. “Cai Cai, you designed a game? How do I install it? Quick, show me!”

He expected something simple made with an editor, but was surprised to see a proper, well-developed game. Though it resembled match-3 games, it had many more levels and mechanics. Players had to crash their own bubbles into other moving ones.

The game’s theme was “bubbles,” which explained why Jian Sha had joked earlier that the class monitor had popped all her dream bubbles.

And it wasn’t just single-player—it could connect over LAN for multiplayer.

Jiang Ruotang tried it out and was more and more shocked. The concept was almost identical to the game Phantom Bubble that had been a huge hit in his past life.

And the investor of Phantom Bubble? Lin Chengdong.

The game had gone viral among students and office workers. The early levels were free, but later ones required money. It even had couple modes with cute features like bubble hugs and kisses.

Plenty of young people used it to flirt and fall in love.

Lin Lu had once bragged that Lin Chengdong made three to four million yuan a month off the game—basically earning money in his sleep. He then used that money to invest in Chengjiang’s new development zone, doubling his assets and becoming one of the rising rich in Sheng City.

But now—was Cai Ji the original creator of that game?

Jiang Ruotang was stunned when he realized this, and while he sat frozen, Lu Guifan’s voice snapped him back:

“Your bubble just popped.”

“Huh? It did?” Jiang Ruotang looked at his screen and quickly refocused.

If this was really the prototype of Phantom Bubble, Jiang Ruotang had been a master at it in his previous life—playing it during breaks, on the toilet, or while waiting for people. He’d even earned the title of “Bubble God.”

He hit Ready Go and began the game. His fingers flew across the screen. The more he played, the smoother it got. He passed the first level easily.

“Not bad, Jiang Ruotang! As long as it’s unrelated to schoolwork, you pick things up crazy fast,” Jian Sha teased, hitting right where it hurt.

By now, Jiang Ruotang was nearly certain—this was the early version of Phantom Bubble.

He turned to Cai Ji, curiosity in his eyes. “Cai Cai, how’d you come up with this game?”

Cai Ji rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed. “Well, I never had anyone to play with. I needed something to kill time. So I made this game… Whenever I got hit, or was upset, or couldn’t sleep, I’d play. And while I played, I could forget the bad stuff for a while.”

Sensing the sudden heaviness in the air, Cai Ji quickly smiled. “But now I’ve got lots of people to play with! So I wrote some new code to make it multiplayer!”

Jiang Ruotang’s eyes stung a little. He took a deep breath and crooked a finger at Lu Guifan, flashing a challenging look.

Lu Guifan had clearly been watching him, his chin resting on his hand. He casually pushed up his glasses with a knuckle. “Let’s go.”

They jumped into a PvP match. Jiang Ruotang’s bubble zipped around, dodging attacks and collecting healing bubbles. But Lu Guifan was right behind him, practically breathing down his neck. Every time Jiang Ruotang almost got away, Lu would grab a speed boost and chase him down.

It felt just like a game of cat and mouse.

Cai Ji and Jian Sha sat on either side of Jiang Ruotang. Zhao Changfeng, being the tallest, loomed behind him.

“Ahhhh! The class monitor’s coming to eat you—run!”

“He’s going for your butt! He’s gonna bite you!”

“He stole your health bubble! And chomped you three times! Is your butt still attached?!”

Jiang Ruotang was completely overwhelmed by their commentary and almost lost focus. He barely managed to escape again after getting another health bubble.

He was so close to the finish line… Almost there—!

His heart was pounding, but just as he was about to break free, Lu Guifan’s bubble suddenly powered up and swallowed him whole.

GAME OVER.

“Dang!” Zhao Changfeng slapped his thigh. “Another one bites the dust!”

Cai Ji chuckled, “You were the most brutally devoured of us all.”

Jiang Ruotang tilted his head. “Wait, the class monitor ate you guys too?”

“Nope,” said Cai Ji, scratching his head. “He just wiped us out immediately.”

Hearing this, Jian Sha moaned, “Jiang Ruotang, you do get special treatment!”

“Huh? What special treatment?”

“Class monitor plays badminton with us and smashes every ball. Plays with you and he’s serving softballs in every direction. Plays games with us and destroys us. Plays with you and chases you around, nibbles at you, lets you run, and only eats you at the very end!”

Her summary made Jiang Ruotang feel like a thousand rabbits were bouncing through his chest.

He leaned back, stared at Lu Guifan on the couch, and asked, “Class monitor, did you really go easy on me?”

Lu Guifan moved his phone aside and glanced over. “What do you think?”

“You should’ve just let me win! I was so close, and then you KO’d me at the last second! That’s so cruel!”

“I thought that was the fun part of the game.”

Jiang Ruotang had the urge to strangle him again.

“You… you’re destined for a loveless life. You’ll die alone.”

Zhao Changfeng blinked. “Wait, what does this have to do with a life sentence?”

Clearly, Lu Guifan didn’t understand either.

Jiang Ruotang grinned smugly. “You’ve never heard of a ‘loveless life sentence’? It means no wife, dying single and alone!”

Zhao Changfeng still looked confused. “But what did the class monitor do to lose his wife?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Say he’s playing this game with his wife. She’s survived all the obstacles, and just when she’s about to win, he KO’s her? That’s it. Breakup incoming!”

He smacked Zhao’s head. “Remember this—when you’re chasing someone you like, whether it’s in a game or on the court, always let them win!”

But Lu Guifan just shrugged. “I thought letting you live until the end before I ate you was cutting you some slack.”

Jian Sha tapped her chin, then delivered another classic line:
“Isn’t that just, ‘He runs, I chase. He has nowhere to escape’?”

To which Lu Guifan actually chuckled lightly. “How about another round? Let’s see if I’m the one doomed to loneliness… or if you’re the one with no way out.”

Jiang Ruotang: Outmatched in science.
But games? He had to win at something.

“Bring it on!”

The second round began, but barely a minute in, Lu Guifan cut a corner and swallowed him whole.

“Yikes… so brutal,” Zhao muttered.

“Again!” Jiang Ruotang shouted.

In round three, Jiang was just about to grab a health bubble when Lu Guifan used a time trick to crash into him and eat both Jiang and the health bubble. New record.

“Ahhhhhh!” Jiang Ruotang stomped the floor and glared.

Lu Guifan, on the other hand, lounged back in his chair, head tilted, glasses sliding down his nose—looking lazy and smug.

“Wanna swap roles?” Jian Sha offered. “Let the monitor run and you chase him?”

“Yes! Lu Guifan, I’m coming for you!”

“Sure.” He still didn’t take Jiang seriously.

But in the first reversed round, Lu Guifan dashed ahead and cleared the level. Jiang had tried to jump for a speed boost and ended up wasting time.

That made him reflect. Lu Guifan never picked up every item. He only took what he needed—when he needed it.

He was even calculating in a game.

And Jiang? No match for those 800 layers of schemes.

Several rounds later, Jiang still hadn’t landed a single bite.

“After being crushed by the class monitor, I’ve realized I’m the one doomed to loneliness. I should just stick to single-player games. Forget comparison—I’ll be a happy little loser.”

He sighed dramatically.

Lu Guifan placed his phone on the coffee table, leaned forward, and looked straight at him. “I thought you’d keep going no matter what. Didn’t think you’d give up so easily.”

Jiang Ruotang’s face stayed blank, but in his heart…
He couldn’t help thinking about the version of himself from his last life.

He was also that persistent—but unfortunately, he had been persistent about the wrong people and things. And that wasn’t perseverance; it was obsession.

“I don’t want to be that tired anymore. The sea of bitterness has no bounds; turn back and you’ll find the shore,” Jiang Ruotang said, half-joking, half-self-mocking.

“Is that so…” Lu Guifan leaned back slightly, as if thinking—or maybe weighing something. Then he turned his head toward Jiang Ruotang and gave him a faint smile. “Well, I’m quite good at being persistent. That’s why I can always bite down on you.”

Now it was Jian Sha who grabbed Cai Ji by the shoulders and shook him. “Cai Cai! Did you hear that? Their conversation is so sweet it’s making my teeth ache! Your game is literally made for love—relentless chasing, until they finally meet at the end of the earth!”

Cai Ji was shaken until he got dizzy.

Jiang Ruotang swallowed the words he was about to say: “This was always a trending mini-game for couples.”

They stayed at Cai Ji’s new apartment for a while longer. His mom had specially cooked a full table of food for them. After dinner, they had to head back downstairs for evening self-study. Xiao Gao was already waiting at the school gates to take Jiang Ruotang to the art studio.

They passed a newly opened FAIRY milk tea shop, and Jiang Ruotang caught a glimpse of a sign that read “Second cup of pearl milk tea half price.”

That line from Teacher Wang Sibeng’s stand-up rang in his head again: “The saddest thing about a secret crush? Summer’s here, and it still hasn’t become a hot romance. Can someone please share the second cup of half-price milk tea with me?”

Jiang Ruotang lowered his eyes and chuckled helplessly.

Lu Guifan didn’t drink milk tea—even if it was half-off, it didn’t matter to him.

He said goodbye to his friends and got into the car bound for the studio.

Jiang Ruotang rested his chin on his hand and looked out at the streetlights flashing past. He kept thinking about how, in his past life, the mini-game that made Lin Chengdong so much money could have actually been designed by Cai Ji.

He pulled out his phone and searched “Phantom Bubble,” but the game didn’t exist yet.

That meant it couldn’t have been something Cai Ji copied from an existing product—he had completely created it on his own.

The more Jiang Ruotang thought about it, the sleepier he got. Eventually, his head leaned against the car window, and he fell asleep.

Time seemed to surge forward in strange directions. When the tide receded, Jiang Ruotang jerked awake—he was sitting in a classroom.

It was lunch break. Lin Lu took a fashion magazine out of her bag and said, “Ruotang, this is the issue with Bai Yingchuan in it. It’s not even out for sale yet. His agent, Sister Yu, gave me an advance copy!”

“Thanks! You’re amazing!” Jiang Ruotang’s eyes lit up. He was ecstatic, holding the magazine like it was a treasure. Nothing else in the world seemed to matter anymore.

Lin Lu laughed. “Take your time reading it. I’m going out to grab some milk tea.”

When she came back, she entered through the back door of the classroom, passing by Cai Ji’s seat.

Cai Ji was resting his head on his desk, playing a game on his phone. Lin Lu stopped behind him, watching with interest.

When the round ended, Cai Ji sensed someone behind him and turned around, only to find Lin Lu standing there.

“Wow, what game is that? It looks really fun—I want to download it too!”

Cai Ji looked flattered and surprised. He didn’t have many friends and never knew how to get close to others, so he eagerly shared everything.

“I made this mini-game myself. There are eight levels in total. The trick to passing level one is not picking up that speed boost at the corner—if you do, you’ll lose control and crash into the wall. As for level two, if you take the first health pack, don’t get greedy and go for the second—you won’t have time to turn and you’ll get killed by the spikes on the wall…”

Lin Lu nodded seriously as she listened. “You’re amazing, Cai Ji! You’re just a student like me, and you already made a game by yourself! Can you send it to me so I can try it?”

“Sure! No problem.” Cai Ji was overjoyed to share his creation.

A few days later, Lin Lu bought another milk tea and gave it to Cai Ji, smiling as she asked, “Is this game only for solo play? Could you make a multiplayer mode, like something competitive or where people can chase each other?”

It was the first time anyone had ever treated him this kindly, and Cai Ji was thrilled. “Sure! I’ll give it a try!”

With the upgraded version of the game, Lin Lu often played with Cai Ji for a while. Eventually, the game had over twenty levels.

Then one day, Lin Lu said, “Cai Ji, I really like your game. I want to ask my dad to help develop and launch it so more people can play.”

“Really?” Cai Ji was genuinely excited.

“If you agree, my dad can sign a contract with you and buy the rights.”

“No need, no need. If you like it, I’m happy—I can just give it to you!”

That was just how Cai Ji was—when someone showed him kindness, he’d offer up everything.

“We should still sign something. I know your home life isn’t easy. If you sell the game, you can use the money to live better.”

“Lin Lu, you’re such a good person!”

And just like that, Lin Chengdong bought the creative concept and code for the game for only 20,000 yuan.

A month later, Phantom Bubble launched, becoming a hit among students and office workers alike. The game made tons of money.

None of that, however, had anything to do with Cai Ji.

Li Chun overheard the story in an internet cafe and immediately went to find Cai Chuan. The two of them fumed over the fact that a game with hundreds of thousands in monthly revenue had been sold for just 20K. They dragged Cai Ji to Lin Chengdong’s house to make a scene, but Lin refused to even come out and meet them.

Furious, Cai Chuan and Li Chun called Cai Ji a traitor, beat him, and demanded he get the code back—they said Lin had to pay at least a million!

Cai Ji, desperate to escape the two bloodsuckers, ran away in a panic. He didn’t see the traffic light at the intersection. A speeding motorcycle turned the corner without slowing down…

Jiang Ruotang jolted awake with a gasp, heart tight and cold sweat soaking his back.

“Ruotang, what’s wrong?”

Xiao Gao asked worriedly.

“N-nothing. I probably listened to a horror story and accidentally fell asleep… I scared myself in the dream.” Jiang Ruotang grabbed a couple of tissues and wiped the sweat off his neck and arms.

So that… was Cai Ji’s ending in his past life?

No wonder he couldn’t remember what college Cai Ji got into—or if he even showed up at the final class reunion.

In that past life, Cai Ji’s life had ended just like that.

This time around, Jiang Ruotang refused to let him fall down the same path.

That night, after returning home from the studio, Jiang Ruotang called Mr. Zheng and said he wanted to start a game company to develop mini-games.

Mr. Zheng said it would be better to have professionals handle that kind of thing—unless Jiang Ruotang planned to buy an entire dev team.

Jiang Ruotang understood it wouldn’t be easy.

But Cai Ji’s game shouldn’t be underestimated—it was already mature in many ways. With some polishing and aesthetic upgrades, it would be nearly identical to the Phantom Bubble game he remembered from his past life.

The real problem was finding professionals who could handle testing, approval, publishing, etc. These were beyond Mr. Zheng’s expertise.

More importantly… Cai Ji had to agree.

Even if Jiang Ruotang wasn’t the kind of person who’d lowball someone and then turn his back on them, this was still Cai Ji’s heart and soul—his companion through lonely days. This wasn’t a “transaction.”

If Cai Ji didn’t want to commercialize the game, Jiang Ruotang would help him register for intellectual property protection. He would never let anyone take it from him.

The next day at noon, Jiang Ruotang went downstairs to pick up takeout. Although Cai Ji had his mom’s lovingly prepared lunch, he was still dragged away by Jiang Ruotang.

Cai Ji cheerfully followed him out of the classroom.

As they walked, Jiang Ruotang asked casually, “Cai Cai, if I said I really liked your mini-game and wanted to develop it further… would you be willing?”

Cai Ji’s eyes lit up. “Really? Is my game really that good?”

Jiang Ruotang nodded. “It’s fantastic! Super addictive—you just can’t stop playing!”

“Then of course I’d be willing! Does your dad own a game company or something?”

After all, Jiang Ruotang’s father was a film director. Games were still part of the entertainment industry, so if Jiang Huaiyuan invested in games, it wouldn’t be that surprising.

Oh right. Jiang Ruotang scratched the back of his head. Although his dad could be unreliable, if he handed it over to Zhao Yunshu to invest and combined it with his dad’s industry connections, wouldn’t that be way more effective than fumbling through on his own?

And with someone else managing the operations, both he and Cai Ji—busy seniors in high school—could still focus on their studies.

“I’ll go home and discuss it with them. But first, we need to handle copyright protection…”

The more he thought about it, the more he realized copyright registration came before development.

He immediately called Lawyer Dai. Even though the lawyer didn’t know how important the game was, if Jiang Ruotang called him personally, he took it seriously.

“Cai Cai, where’s the code and everything for your game?” Jiang Ruotang asked.

“It’s on my laptop, back at my place.”