Gao Cheng paused, surprised that Director Jiang’s son didn’t hold back in his assessment of him. “So it’s Director Jiang’s son. My apologies.” This explained why Jiang Ruotang, despite his young age, had so much insight and so many ideas; he had been immersed in it since childhood.

“I haven’t disclosed my investments, including to my father. I hope you’ll keep it a secret for me, Uncle Gao.”

“Why? With your father’s status in the industry and the film company behind him, your efforts to raise funds for Little Sweet Fruit would be twice as effective with half the effort.” Gao Cheng was puzzled. *Was it just the young master’s naive idea of “doing everything himself”?*

Jiang Ruotang smiled helplessly: “He’s just a mascot at Huanyu Pictures himself; how could he help me? On the contrary, I’m rushing to start a business before even going to college to prevent him, that ‘Liu Adou’ (a metaphor for an incompetent leader), from being usurped one day. This way, I’ll still have some spare money for him to make movies.”

Gao Cheng sighed knowingly. He had heard about the internal struggles within Huanyu Pictures. Indeed, where there are interests, there are schemes.

“Uncle Gao, let me tell you about the current shareholder structure of Xiaohongguo.”

Gao Cheng nodded; this was also something he cared about.

“There are only two shareholders with decision-making power in the entire platform: myself and Qi Yanzhe, who is the younger brother of Qi Yanfeng, the current chairman of Hongtian Borui. On the surface, he’s a rich playboy, but in reality, what you say makes sense, and he listens. He’s willing to hand over things he can’t handle to capable people. In short, although he’s simple-minded, he doesn’t suffer from envy of the capable.”

The words were blunt. Although Gao Cheng’s face remained expressionless, he couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Jiang Ruotang thought for a moment and added, “I almost forgot, there’s also Chen Dan, the son of the chairman of Chicheng Pictures. But Brother Chen hardly manages anything and isn’t someone who likes to micromanage. Plus… Qi Yanzhe and I aren’t much for drinking and socializing, but Brother Chen said he could handle that.”

Thousands of miles away, Chen Dan, who was riding a motorcycle with someone at a club, suddenly sneezed loudly.

The simple internal relationships held great appeal for Gao Cheng, who was deeply scarred by office politics. “Little Sweet Fruit has no complex power struggles internally, and from our preliminary discussions, the three major shareholders are consistent on the overall direction. All in all, this platform is far inferior to Qilin Video, but it’s not zero. It has millions of existing users, and it has a reputation and emotional connection among young people. You won’t find a better platform than Little Sweet Fruit even with a spotlight right now.” Indeed, there were more powerful film companies and video websites than Little Sweet Fruit, but either Gao Cheng couldn’t reach them, or their internal environments were probably even more complex than Qilin Pictures.

“I’ll consider it,” Gao Cheng raised his eyelids. “This matter can’t be settled just by a child who hasn’t even gone to college simply talking.”

“Then you can talk to Uncle Zheng. He’s different from me; he’s a college graduate.”

Gao Cheng: “…”

The high school student opposite him began to enjoy his meal without distraction. Looking at him, Gao Cheng deeply missed his younger self when he was starting his own business, full of passion and innocence, feeling that the sky was vast and nothing was a big deal.

Seeing Gao Cheng’s melancholic expression, Jiang Ruotang said, “Uncle Gao, calm down. Maybe in a few days, you’ll be glad you left Qilin Video?”

“Why do you say that?” Gao Cheng wondered if this kid was comforting him or about to start talking nonsense.

“Qilin Video is making such a big show of inviting overseas celebrities. We also have super popular domestic celebrities. Won’t their fans compare and cause a stir, then complain and suspect some shady dealings like yin-yang contracts?” Jiang Ruotang acted as if he was just guessing, but in reality, Qilin Video indeed caused a major scandal later on. Because… it was the masterpiece of Bai Yingchuan’s fan group, and Jiang Ruotang himself was once caught up in it, so he remembered it clearly.

Gao Cheng smiled. He suddenly felt like ruffling Jiang Ruotang’s hair. “You little rascal, you really know how to comfort people.”

“If I’m right, Uncle Gao, then come to Little Sweet Fruit and be a real decision-maker.”

Gao Cheng looked at Jiang Ruotang. Since leaving Qilin Video, he had truly experienced the warmth and coldness of human relationships. This wealthy young master kept extending an olive branch and giving him a way out; to say he wasn’t moved was a lie. Gao Cheng also smiled in response, “Alright.”

“High five on it, no regrets.” Jiang Ruotang raised his hand.

“Ha…” Gao Cheng lowered his head and laughed. He felt like he had been reeled in by this high school student. The key was, even though he was reeled in, he still had a little expectation for the future. What was going on?

After the meal, Gao Cheng still had to show proper etiquette to Jiang Ruotang. He took him to the underground parking lot and personally drove him back to school. Jiang Ruotang saw the high-end Mercedes and whistled, “Wow, I feel like I’ve found a Sugar Daddy.” Gao Cheng, of course, understood what a sugar daddy meant, and with Jiang Ruotang’s fair and handsome looks, if the car stopped at the school gate, it would indeed have that vibe.

“If you little brat keep talking nonsense, you can take a taxi back to school yourself.”

“I won’t talk nonsense. Uncle Gao, please take me back to school.”

—

When Jiang Ruotang entered the classroom, lunchtime was almost over. Across the aisle, Jian Sha leaned her head over and asked, “Where did you go during PE class? I was so bored.”

“Huh? Didn’t anyone play badminton with you?”

“I played with the class monitor.” At the mention of this, Jian Sha’s face darkened. “He completely refused to feed me the shuttlecock; he brutally smashed it every time!”

“That ungentlemanly? Condemn him!” Jiang Ruotang said with a clenched fist.

Zhao Changfeng from the back row spoke up, “Come on, the class monitor only smashes on the fifth rally; he let you win the first four rallies.”

Jian Sha looked up, unwilling to give in, “But the class monitor can feed Jiang Ruotang the shuttlecock until the PE class ends. This kind of differential treatment… it’s too much!”

Jiang Ruotang immediately said fawningly, “Then… still condemn him!”

Unexpectedly, Lu Guifan was called away by the homeroom teacher, Song Qinghe. As he passed Jiang Ruotang’s desk, he leaned down, supporting himself on the corner of the desk with one hand, and asked, “Who do you want to condemn?”

“I condemn myself,” Jiang Ruotang said with a smile.

Jian Sha from the right and Zhao Changfeng from the back row said in unison, “Fawning!”

—

The end-of-semester exams were fast approaching. Jiang Ruotang no longer needed to go to the art studio and focused entirely on his academic subjects, not missing a single evening self-study session. On the sole day off, Sunday, he liked to finish his exercises in the morning and then go to Lu Guifan’s place in the afternoon for private tutoring.

As the Lunar New Year approached, the weather grew colder. Lu Dad and Lu Mom’s income was now stable, and to provide Lu Guifan with a good study environment, they installed an air conditioner in his room. Lu Guifan had good physical conditioning. On weekdays, he’d turn it off after the room warmed up. It was only on Sundays that it stayed on all day, because Jiang Ruotang would be visiting.

That day, the child of the uncle who owned the supermarket fell ill and had to be taken to the hospital, so Lu Guifan had to go watch the small supermarket again. When Jiang Ruotang arrived at Lu Guifan’s house, he saw the message he had sent, so he replied: [Can I wait for you on your bed?] Lu Guifan was arranging goods at the time. When he casually took out his phone and saw this message, he almost dropped the yogurt in his hand. After two or three seconds, Lu Guifan realized that Jiang Ruotang meant he wanted to take a nap in his bedroom. Lu Guifan sighed and replied: [Go ahead and sleep. Speak properly in the future.]

Jiang Ruotang tilted his head and thought for a long time. *Which sentence did I not speak properly?* But with permission, Jiang Ruotang happily took off his coat and socks, pulled back Lu Guifan’s blanket, and covered himself. He first curled up, like a hibernating little caterpillar. Lu Guifan’s duvet cover was just ordinary pure cotton, with some small pills like his pajamas. It felt slightly coarse, with a faint smell of sunshine, and Lu Guifan’s scent enveloped Jiang Ruotang, making him feel as if he was being embraced.

Jiang Ruotang’s phone suddenly rang as he was wiggling around under the covers. Before he could even clearly see the name on the screen, he happily drew out his voice: “Hello, who is it?” The other person was stunned for a moment, then replied in a casual tone: “Your sugar daddy.” Jiang Ruotang froze for about two seconds, then choked on his own saliva: “Uncle Gao! Mr. Gao! Please don’t make jokes like that; you’ll scare me senseless! If I can’t get into college, will you compensate me?”

“You finally understand how I felt that day?” Gao Cheng chuckled softly.

“Ah, didn’t I already apologize to you? But since you can joke with me like this, have you decided to join our pirate ship and be happy pirates with us?”

Gao Cheng was silent for a while, then asked, “Can you tell me how you knew?”

“Knew what?” What kind of headless conversation was this?

Gao Cheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Qilin Video gave the script that was originally meant for Bai Yingchuan to a very popular idol from Country K. But they didn’t expect that some of the staff were die-hard fans of Bai Yingchuan and anonymously exposed this unethical matter in Bai Yingchuan’s fan group, and then that fan group exploded.”

Jiang Ruotang was momentarily stunned. So, even without his own contribution as a generous and active fan, what was supposed to happen would still happen?

“Fans organized and complained to relevant departments, accusing Qilin Video of engaging in yin-yang contracts, using projects to extract funds, and even tax evasion. The tax authorities have already moved in, and anti-commercial bribery investigations will follow. If I had stayed there… they might have shifted the blame and made me a scapegoat. Even if I could eventually prove my innocence, a series of investigations, evidence collection, and blame-shifting would be enough to trouble me.”

Jiang Ruotang composed himself and slowly said, “So Qilin Video’s current management is probably going to be in big trouble. The people who once troubled you are now being troubled themselves. As expected, the wheel of fortune turns, and no one escapes karma. Uncle Gao, do you want to go back to Qilin Video?”

“Do you think I’ll go back?” Gao Cheng really wanted to know how well this child could grasp his state of mind.

“No,” Jiang Ruotang replied. “The greatest sorrow is a dead heart. Having finally left that quagmire, does Uncle Gao want to go back and play power games, confining himself to a narrow space? The world outside is vast.”

At this moment, Gao Cheng was smoking on the balcony of his apartment. He found it amazing that a child could understand his thoughts so thoroughly, as if he had experienced it himself. “Jiang Ruotang, have you also been excluded or bullied at school?”

Jiang Ruotang smiled. “Uncle Gao, everyone has their own story. I once, under the manipulation and misleading of my closest, most trusted friend, poured all my energy into someone who would never acknowledge me. I stayed up late, I worked hard, I toiled for his success, diligently learning English and French for his career, but he never looked at me properly. Even when I was lonely and despairing, that person, worried about offending his boss, refused to give me a single word of comfort or encouragement. If I’m not mistaken, the chairman of Qilin Pictures knows you were wronged but hasn’t contacted you to ask you to return, right? Because in his heart, you’re not on their side. Even if a dissenter is capable, they won’t use you.”

When people are at their lowest, what they want most is to be understood and needed. And Jiang Ruotang gave him both of these. Gao Cheng felt like a stray dog with nowhere to go in front of this child. Making a decision in a moment of impulse, Gao Cheng didn’t know if he would regret it in the future.

Jiang Ruotang suddenly said, “Uncle Gao, why don’t you also invest? I think your car is quite valuable.”

“What?” A vein throbbed on Gao Cheng’s forehead.

“If you invest, you can raise Little Sweet Fruit as your own child, and you won’t be so anxious about gains and losses. If it grows into a towering tree, you’ll also have a sense of accomplishment.”

Hearing this, Gao Cheng immediately understood that this was Jiang Ruotang’s guarantee to him, and even more, an affirmation of his decision-making power. “Uncle Gao, we are like a high mountain meeting a flowing stream, finding a kindred spirit. If you miss me, you’ll probably never meet your true ‘Zhong Ziqi’ again.”

At this, the smile on Gao Cheng’s lips was truly unstoppable. One minute ago, he thought Jiang Ruotang was offering him, a stray dog, a doghouse, and the next minute, this kid said they were Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi. They were equals. Even if Gao Cheng was foolish, he could hear Jiang Ruotang’s respect for him. He decided to follow his inner thoughts and joined Little Sweet Fruit’s startup team.

“Okay, I’m in,” Gao Cheng replied. Jiang Ruotang immediately told Qi Yanzhe and Chen Dan the news. Not only did they not object to Gao Cheng’s involvement, they even raised both hands in agreement.

Qi Yanzhe, who was with his elder brother, casually mentioned, “Brother, Gao Cheng has left Qilin Pictures and just agreed to be the CEO of Little Sweet Fruit, and he’s also investing.”

What kind of person was Qi Yanfeng? A pragmatist. Hearing this news, he grinned, “You guys are quite capable for a makeshift team!” He had originally wanted to invite Gao Cheng to his own company, but he was worried about creating friction with Qilin Video, so he wanted to wait and see what personnel changes would occur after the investigations into Qilin Video concluded before making a decision. He never expected that Gao Cheng wouldn’t choose to return to help his former employer, but instead chose Little Sweet Fruit. This made Qi Yanfeng curious about who his younger brother’s mysterious partner was. After all, this person had earned Qi Yanzhe’s sincere respect, Chen Dan’s praise, and even Gao Cheng’s strong support.

“A-Ze, who exactly are you working with?”

Qi Yanzhe glanced at his elder brother and chuckled evasively, “Don’t worry, the other party has an impeccable family background and a profound scholarly heritage. They’re a truly decent friend, the kind you’d be hard-pressed to find a second one of.”

Qi Yanfeng was amused. “What do you know about an impeccable family background? And profound scholarly heritage? What kind of decent friends can you make?”

Qi Yanzhe remained tight-lipped. Since he had promised Jiang Ruotang not to reveal his identity, he would rather break his teeth than spill the beans. Qi Yanfeng was secretly surprised. He never thought his younger brother was someone who could keep his composure, yet no matter how he probed, he wouldn’t reveal anything. In a way, this could be considered growth.