Lu Guifan lowered his gaze and smiled faintly.

He subconsciously touched the index finger of his right hand.

When Jiang Ruotang joked earlier about biting him if he didn’t let go, Lu Guifan had felt as if a soft, delicate paw had clawed hard at his heart.

A rush of blood surged through him. In that moment, he couldn’t stay calm and composed as Jiang Ruotang played around—he had let go.

Even though he had let go, he had strangely regretted it. Without thinking, he wanted to touch him.

His fingers reacted before his brain did, brushing against Jiang Ruotang’s lips.

Lu Guifan couldn’t help but wonder—after eighteen years of following the rules, had he just crossed a line with Jiang Ruotang?

Luckily, that carefree guy didn’t seem to mind at all.

His mother was still discussing with his father what kinds of meals to prepare for Lawyer Hong’s children from Monday to Sunday.

Lu Guifan smiled to himself. How nice—it seemed his mother had found a new sense of purpose in life.

Back in his room, he started tidying up the scratch paper Jiang Ruotang had left behind earlier. That’s when he noticed a cup pushed up against the wall.

It was the milk tea cup Jiang Ruotang had brought over while doing practice problems that day. It had the word FAIRY printed on it—probably a freebie from a new shop’s grand opening. The cup had a push-top lid and built-in straw.

Lu Guifan picked it up and gave it a shake. The milk tea inside had already been finished. When he opened the lid, the straw popped up with a soft pop—a sound that landed in his heart like a marble dropping into water.

He took a photo of the cup and sent it to Jiang Ruotang:
[Do you still want this cup?]

The reply came quickly:
[Yes! Yes! Yes! Perfect for drinking water at your place.]

Lu Guifan’s lips curled up slowly, without him even realizing it.

He brought the cup to the kitchen, opened the lid, and rinsed out the leftover milk tea.

When his fingers touched the straw, Lu Guifan suddenly realized—that was the part Jiang Ruotang had once put in his mouth.

He might have bitten it, or pushed it with his tongue.

Lu Guifan closed his eyes and tried to picture Jiang Ruotang holding the cup and sipping milk tea—but maybe it had happened too many times in everyday life. He couldn’t remember it clearly, and that felt like a pity.

The moment Lu Guifan realized his fingers were pinching the straw, it felt as though he had been burned. He instantly pulled his hand back.

A wild thought swept through him: it felt like there was a wild horse trapped deep in his soul, struggling to break free. Once it crossed a certain line, it would only want more and more.

—A sign of growing, insatiable desire.

Lu Guifan closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

It was nearly the weekend again. After receiving Jiang Ruotang’s life-saving investment, the domestic smartphone company Xiaolan had finally completed production and testing of its latest model. The phone would be showcased at the upcoming domestic smart device expo this weekend. They also had several investor meetings lined up with companies like Deyi Tianxia and Yangcheng Group.

On Thursday night, He Changqin delivered a few prototype phones to Mr. Zheng before the expo.

By noon on Friday, with nothing pressing on his schedule, Mr. Zheng strolled over to the reception desk at Beicheng Guangyao and dropped off the phone, then sent a message to Jiang Ruotang:
[Your own investment—test it well.]

Jiang Ruotang picked up the phone and sat in a reception chair, opening the packaging with great excitement and carefully feeling the device in his hand.

He had originally wanted his painting printed on the phone, but that idea was eventually rejected in a meeting—the metal casing couldn’t properly replicate the texture of an oil painting. Still, Mr. He promised the painting would be displayed elsewhere in a way that would impress potential investors.

The new model had a more premium feel—matte metal casing, a soft metallic sheen, rounded corners, slim profile, and a comfortable grip. It didn’t lose out to any top foreign smartphone brands.

Eagerly, Jiang Ruotang powered it on. When the Xiaolan system interface appeared, he was stunned.

He quickly swapped his SIM card into the phone and began testing out various features and browsing online. Everything worked well—the only thing left was to see how the battery performed.

Carrying the shopping bag, he slipped into the classroom through the back door and stopped beside Lu Guifan—sure enough, there was that handsome nape again.

Unable to resist, Jiang Ruotang poked it with his finger and then quickly pulled his hand back.

Lu Guifan slowly woke up, reached into the drawer for his glasses, and looked up at Jiang Ruotang. “What’s up?”

“Come out for a second.” Jiang Ruotang smiled with his eyes curved, speaking softly.

His happiness was infectious—Lu Guifan felt it too.

If it had been anyone else waking him from a nap, they probably would’ve gotten snapped at. But Lu Guifan got up quietly and followed Jiang Ruotang to the end of the hallway without a word.

Jiang Ruotang handed him the paper bag like a child waiting for a gold star. “Open it and see.”

Lu Guifan took out the box and found it was a smartphone.

If anyone else had given him something so expensive, he would’ve declined it outright.

But this was from Jiang Ruotang.

Lu Guifan knew his personality—he wouldn’t give a phone without a good reason. And he wouldn’t look this expectant without a story behind it.

Lu Guifan took the phone out of the box. It had a solid weight to it, but not so much that it felt heavy or burdensome.

He held down the power button. The screen lit up, a few musical notes played, and then the Xiaolan system booted up.

A quiet sea, moonlight streaming through a tear in the sail of a boat—

—Guifan OS 3.0

After thousands of sails, the boat returns to shore. Xiaolan, always by your side.

Lu Guifan stared blankly at the screen for a long time before it hit him why Jiang Ruotang had given him this phone.

“Fits you perfectly, doesn’t it?” Jiang Ruotang said with a grin.

Lu Guifan opened his mouth slightly. He remembered now—Jiang Ruotang had once asked him if he could use a certain painting for a phone brand. He hadn’t expected it to be Xiaolan’s newest model.

“Everyone who uses this phone will see your name every time they turn it on. Hahaha!”

Jiang Ruotang leaned in, carefully watching his expression.

“You’re… not blushing, are you?”

“No… I was just thinking—why didn’t you paint crabapple blossoms? Xifu crabapple, or weeping crabapple—they’re both really pretty…”

Jiang Ruotang tilted his head and thought. “Crabapple OS 3.0… sounds weird. And besides, if you become someone famous in the academic world, this system name will make it sound way more high-end.”

Lu Guifan couldn’t help laughing—but this feeling was one he’d never experienced before. It felt like a silent declaration—grand yet only understood by the two of them.

It was trust. Admiration. A kind of proud announcement that shouted to the world, Lu Guifan is amazing.

Lu Guifan wasn’t clueless. He remembered Jiang Ruotang had used his old 200 yuan Xiaolan smartphone. And now, his painting had become the startup screen, and its theme had even been used as the name of the phone’s OS. It was likely that Jiang Ruotang—or his family—had invested in the brand.

“Let’s hope the phone doesn’t flop after launch,” Lu Guifan said with a small smile. “Or I’ll have cursed it.”

“No way, no way! Hurry up and switch SIM cards—after you test it, tell me how it performs! Any bugs or flaws!” Jiang Ruotang said excitedly.

“Okay.” Lu Guifan nodded.

Then Jiang Ruotang pulled out another phone from his pocket and waved it proudly. “I’ve got one too! Hee hee!”

The two returned to the classroom, and Lu Guifan seriously began testing the phone’s performance.

As class was about to begin, Lin Lu, who had been napping at the same table, woke up. He noticed Jiang Ruotang playing with a new phone and leaned over for a look. “Hey? Ruotang, got a new phone?”

Jiang Ruotang nodded without hiding anything. “Yup. New model. A friend gave it to me.”

Lin Lu asked curiously, “Which brand?”

“Xiaolan.”

“Oh.” Lin Lu nodded. “That brand’s been around a few years. Earlier models looked kinda cheap, but this new one looks pretty decent.”

“Yeah, the system runs smoothly too,” Jiang Ruotang replied.

“But it’s still not as well-known as Fangzhou. Fangzhou’s design is more stylish, and its camera is stronger. I heard it’s really popular among college students.” Lin Lu sounded like he was just comparing specs, but there was an unmistakable trace of pride in his tone.

Jiang Ruotang smiled to himself. It was true—Fangzhou had once been trendy on college campuses. But then battery defects were exposed, tanking the brand’s reputation. Not to mention, Fangzhou had constantly copied the appearance of phones from brand M, eventually getting sued and nearly bankrupted. They had since exited the smartphone market altogether.

“Oh? You’re pretty well-informed. I thought you weren’t interested in domestic smartphones,” Jiang Ruotang said with a smile.

“My dad invested in Fangzhou. Wanna go to the smartphone expo this weekend?” Lin Lu asked.

Jiang Ruotang gave his usual unshakable excuse: “Ah? I’ve got to go to the art studio. The joint entrance exams are getting close—I can’t skip classes.”

Lin Lu had already guessed that answer. He hadn’t really expected Jiang Ruotang to go. So he turned to Bai Yingchuan instead. “Yingchuan, wanna go? Show your support for domestic smartphones, maybe your agent can even put out a nice PR post for you.”

Bai Yingchuan glanced at Jiang Ruotang, then at the phone in his hand. In a calm tone, he replied, “Depends. I’m not sure if I’ll be free.”

“Then let’s meet again over the weekend,” Lin Lu said with a smile.

Jiang Ruotang thought to himself, He didn’t remember Lin Chengtong investing in Ark smartphones in his past life… Maybe it was because Cai Ji hadn’t handed over his mini-game, and Lin Chengtong’s investment in it had clearly gone down the drain, so he redirected his money-burning interests toward smartphones.

That man’s nature was to chase whatever was trending, trying to cash in before the heat faded, without ever deeply investigating the quality of a product.

The battery issue with Ark phones—any basic online search would bring up plenty of college student complaints.

Jiang Ruotang glanced at Bai Yingchuan, and more or less figured out why Lin Lu specifically invited him to the expo—he wanted Bai Yingchuan to endorse Ark phones. Even if Bai only lingered at the Ark booth for a moment and took a few photos with the phone, it would attract fans and fuel a bunch of marketing articles.

It was a no-cost business move—siphoning off Bai Yingchuan’s popularity without having to pay for endorsements or ad fees.

Over the weekend, Jiang Ruotang obediently went to the art studio. Zhao Changfeng, however, invited Cai Ji to the smartphone expo.

After finishing his morning sketch, Jiang Ruotang checked the time on his phone and noticed several messages from Zhao Changfeng.

[Oh my god, do you know what we just saw? A phone exploded!]

[Some middle school kid was playing a preloaded mini-game at the booth while charging the phone—it got super hot! Luckily the brat tossed it in time, or he might’ve lost some fingers!]

[His parents called the police! A crowd quickly gathered—everyone was eager for drama!]

[Lin Chengtong showed up! I just remembered Lin Lu said his dad invested in this phone, right?]

[You still drawing? I’m telling you all this and you’re not even reacting!]

Jiang Ruotang sighed helplessly and replied:

[Just finished my morning sketch. Are you all okay? Is the expo still going on?]

As soon as he replied, Zhao Changfeng called.

Jiang Ruotang walked out into the hallway to take the call.

“I’m telling you, Lin Chengtong’s face looked like someone had desecrated his ancestral grave! I’m so curious how much money he invested—wakes up on a weekend morning and the sky’s already falling!”

Jiang Ruotang didn’t really care about Ark’s situation—he only wanted to know how Xiaolan was doing. “So the expo wasn’t canceled?”

“Nope. It’s a massive event, not just Ark. Too many people crowded around Ark’s booth, so Cai Cai, Bai Yingchuan, and I went to check out other brands.”

Jiang Ruotang frowned. “Bai Yingchuan? How’s he involved again? Shouldn’t he be with Lin Lu?”

“No idea. They got separated somehow. We bumped into him midway—hat pulled low, black mask, totally covered up. I thought he was planning to steal a phone or something!”

Jiang Ruotang gave a couple of speechless chuckles. Bai Yingchuan probably separated on purpose. He clearly didn’t want to get tangled in the Lin family’s mess, and this ‘getting lost’ act accidentally saved his reputation—otherwise he’d be trending for posing with an exploding phone.

“But then when we checked out Xiaolan’s new phone together, some fans recognized Bai Yingchuan. Tons of people rushed for selfies. Cai Cai and I nearly got squashed.”

Jiang Ruotang couldn’t help but smile. Looks like Ark failed to get Bai Yingchuan’s traffic, and Xiaolan ended up riding the wave instead. Not bad—saved a whole chunk of the marketing budget.

He opened Big Eye and, sure enough, the #ArkPhoneExplosionAtExpo hashtag was ranked ninth on the news list.

Too bad there wasn’t a photo of Lin Chengtong’s miserable face.

Meanwhile, the entertainment headline was #BaiYingchuanPromotesXiaolanSmartphone.

The contrast was downright comical.

Apparently, thanks to Bai Yingchuan’s influence, over a hundred Xiaolan phones were pre-ordered on the first day of the expo, leaving the booth staff scrambling.

After lunch, Jiang Ruotang resumed his color practice until class ended at 5 p.m. As he was packing up, his phone buzzed. The caller ID surprised him—Mu Xianqing.

Huh, he’s calling earlier than I thought.

“Hey, Mu-ge, what’s up?” Jiang Ruotang said while putting away his paints.

“Can we talk?”

Jiang Ruotang’s lips curved, but his tone remained calm. “About what?”

“I’m calling you on Xiaolan’s latest model. Don’t you think I deserve some face time? Let’s have dinner—I’m downstairs at your studio.”

Jiang Ruotang sighed. Looks like this dinner is inevitable.

He headed down, handed his supplies to Xiao Gao, and walked toward a black Bentley—clearly fancy despite its muted color. Just as he was about to open the door, Mu Xianqing personally got out, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door.

“President Jiang, your carriage awaits.”

Jiang Ruotang rolled his eyes, silently saying: Keep this up and I’m leaving.

Mu Xianqing finally dropped the act and resumed his usual lazy smile.

As they drove, he casually asked what Jiang Ruotang had drawn in class, avoiding any mention of the phone.

The restaurant Mu Xianqing picked was a high-end western place with few customers. The tables were spaced far apart—perfect for private conversations.

He chose a seat by the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking an elegant garden bathed in sunset light—it looked almost like an oil painting.

Just as the starters arrived, he got to the point.

He picked up the Xiaolan phone and gave it a light shake. “I turned it on and off dozens of times just to study that artwork.”

“Oh,” Jiang Ruotang replied blandly, forking a piece of roasted vegetable into his mouth.

“That startup screen, even after digital processing, the brushwork, colors, composition—it all screams your work, my dear artist,” Mu Xianqing said, watching him.

Not just a question about the painting—but about Jiang Ruotang’s relationship with Xiaolan.

“I painted it. I did invest in Xiaolan, though not much. Just a few million. Mr. He was grateful I invested during their hardest times, so he made me an original shareholder.”

Jiang Ruotang looked up at Mu Xianqing. There was a clear glint of interest and curiosity in the man’s eyes.

“I see. But you know De Yi Tian Xia won’t choose Xiaolan just because you’re an investor, right?”

“So what?” Jiang Ruotang said easily. “Would you rather skip a stable, mature system with great performance and battery life, just to throw a lifeline to Ark after their battery scandal?”

Mu Xianqing was caught off guard, and the teasing vanished from his expression. He became serious.

“That painting… can’t you give it to me? You’d rather let Xiaolan use it for a startup screen than collaborate with me? When you’re famous, we could launch an artist co-branded edition, boost the brand’s image.”

Jiang Ruotang shook his head. “It’s not for sale.”

Mu Xianqing covered his face. “Not for sale—because it’s tied to someone you secretly love, right? But why give it to Xiaolan?”

“Because… he’s a Xiaolan user.”

Even in his last life, 28-year-old Lu Guifan still used a Xiaolan phone. He used it to message, call, and play games with Jiang Ruotang.

“Right, right. Even Xiaolan renamed the OS to ‘Gui Fan’! Don’t tell me his name is actually Gui Fan!” Mu Xianqing said, half-joking in exasperation.

“…It is.”

Mu Xianqing froze, then burst out laughing, shoulders shaking.

“Are you lovesick or just hopelessly romantic?”

Jiang Ruotang thought for a moment, then replied, “Just my own private romance.”

Still, it was clear De Yi Tian Xia was showing a lot of interest in Xiaolan phones now—so he decided to stoke the fire.

“Ark’s in trouble. That means Yangcheng Group, which was leaning toward Ark, is likely turning its attention to Xiaolan. So, Mu-ge, if your company wants in, better decide fast. A moment’s hesitation and the duck might fly off the plate.”

Mu Xianqing gave a small smile, meeting his eyes more seriously. “Then let’s hope for a smooth partnership in the smartphone field.”

“Mm.” Jiang Ruotang nodded lightly.

On Monday, He Changqin brought his team to De Yi Tian Xia headquarters for the investment pitch. To his surprise, the process went far more smoothly than expected.

He thought the decision would take a month or even a full quarter. But on the way down in the elevator, Yangcheng Group also called to express interest. He was stunned—Xiaolan had suddenly become the darling of capital.

Just as he ended that call, the assistant of Mr. Mu He (from De Yi Tian Xia)—who was escorting him—said, “You don’t need to go to Yangcheng Group. Our investment was already approved internally. Today’s presentation was just a formality.”

He Changqin stood frozen beside his car door.

He thought he had reached a dead end, only to find the path ahead suddenly bright and wide.

But he knew: without Jiang Ruotang’s life-saving investment of a few million, he wouldn’t have even had the chance to walk into De Yi Tian Xia.

He leaned on the car window, lowered his head, and tears streamed down his face.

Choking up, he called Zheng Huasheng to share the news and repeated “thank you” again and again.

As for Lin Chengtong, he was in a frenzy.

The mini-game that exploded the phone? It was one he had invested in—originally meant for marketing on Ark smartphones. But the phone couldn’t even handle a small game while charging.

“What the hell happened? How could the battery explode? Explain it to me!”

The Ark team, desperate, replied, “Wasn’t this your demand? You insisted the phone be compact and slim, so we reduced the battery size. That bent the wiring and caused a short circuit. We warned you about this risk ages ago!”