“Aren’t you worried that I’ll get ‘love-brained’ again when I’m with Bai Yingchuan?” Jiang Ruotang asked, frowning.

“You show no signs of being ‘love-brained.’ When I was explaining this problem to you, Bai Yingchuan looked back at you twice, and you had no reaction whatsoever. Forget ‘love-brained,’ you’re practically ‘brain-dulled.'”

Moreover, combined with what Jiang Ruotang said when they were walking around the track at noon, Lu Guifan could basically conclude that the “actor” he mentioned was related to Bai Yingchuan.

Since it was a major event related to taking down Lin Chengdong, Lu Guifan also wished him all the best.

Lu Guifan held the pink pen, tapping it on the paper. “Look at the problem.”

“Then maybe I was listening too intently, immersed in your mathematical logic, and ignored Bai Yingchuan’s gaze. Don’t just say I’m dull; my mind is very sharp.”

Lu Guifan looked at Jiang Ruotang’s eyes, and his serious expression when he said he was “sharp-minded,” and suddenly turned his head away and smiled.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No, look at the problem.” Lu Guifan’s smile became more obvious.

Jiang Ruotang, anyone can boast about being sharp-minded in front of me, except you.

After all, you can’t even discern my thoughts.

After evening self-study, Xiao Gao came to pick up Jiang Ruotang and saw Bai Yingchuan standing with him.

“Oh, Bai Yingchuan’s here too. Isn’t Lu Guifan going home with you?” Xiao Gao asked.

Bai Yingchuan looked at Jiang Ruotang, who calmly opened the car door and said, “Bai Yingchuan and I have something to do today, so the class monitor won’t be going home with me.”

Hearing this, Bai Yingchuan couldn’t help but ask, “Does Lu Guifan often go home with you?”

Jiang Ruotang said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Of course! Otherwise, where do you think my 520 for the first mock exam came from?”

The driver, Xiao Gao, sighed, “Guifan’s not here, so I couldn’t eat minced meat and eggplant noodles for breakfast!”

Jiang Ruotang immediately smiled, excitedly patting Xiao Gao’s seat back, “Right! Right! Guifan’s minced meat and eggplant noodles are delicious! Even Sister Juan praises them!”

Bai Yingchuan’s heart felt like it was being pricked by needles. He didn’t want to hear any more and immediately changed the subject: “Where are we going now?”

Jiang Ruotang replied, “Xiao Gao, take us to the North Gate of Shengtong Amber Garden.”

“Okay,” Xiao Gao started the car.

When Bai Yingchuan heard “Amber Garden,” he knew that the person Jiang Ruotang was taking him to visit must be very influential.

The Amber Garden was home to people with status in political and economic circles.

When they arrived at their destination, it was the 21st floor. Jiang Ruotang pressed the doorbell, and the door opened.

“Ruotang, you’re here? Have you eaten dinner?”

Dai Ming’s voice sounded.

Jiang Ruotang smiled, “Uncle Dai, I’ve eaten. But you said an important client was visiting before ten, have you eaten?”

“Yes, come in.”

Bai Yingchuan was stunned.

Previously, Bai Yue had a lawsuit and wanted to pay a high price to hire Dai Ming, but Dai Ming was overseas and didn’t take the case. Later, Bai Yue was completely defeated and lost a lot of money.

The first time he met Gao Cheng, Bai Yingchuan had seen Dai Ming. He was unsmiling, aloof, rigorous, self-possessed, and flawless. Every word he spoke influenced Gao Cheng and Zheng Huasheng’s opinions.

But at this moment, Dai Ming wore a gentle smile, as if Jiang Ruotang was his own junior, a child he deeply adored.

Bai Yingchuan quickly greeted him, “Attorney Dai, hello.”

Dai Ming nodded, “Yingchuan, don’t be nervous. You can consult me with any questions you have. I can’t guarantee I can help, but I can guarantee complete confidentiality. And you’ve greatly contributed to the user growth of ‘Little Sweet Fruit,’ so as the legal director of ‘Little Sweet Fruit,’ within my abilities and what the law allows, I’m willing to help you solve your problems.”

Hearing Attorney Dai say this, Bai Yingchuan felt much more at ease.

“Uncle Dai, if you and Bai Yingchuan are discussing a case, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to listen. Can I go to another room to do some practice questions?”

Bai Yingchuan hesitated, he actually wanted Jiang Ruotang to stay by his side, he didn’t want Jiang Ruotang to always distance himself from him.

But he also understood Jiang Ruotang’s concerns. After all, he and Bai Yue were public figures. If any unfavorable news leaked out, and Jiang Ruotang knew nothing about it, then he wouldn’t suspect him, and it wouldn’t affect their relationship.

“Okay, go to the guest room. There’s soda and juice in the fridge,” Attorney Dai called out.

“Got it, Uncle Dai, you two go handle your important business.”

Jiang Ruotang put his backpack down in the guest room and glanced at his phone, realizing that Jian Sha had called him several times two minutes ago. He had put it on silent during class and forgotten to turn it back on, so he hadn’t heard any of them.

Jian Sha rarely called him. Jiang Ruotang immediately called back, but she didn’t answer after several attempts. It seemed like an accidental touch?

He then messaged Cai Ji, who also said Jian Sha hadn’t called or messaged him, so it really seemed to be an accidental touch.

Jiang Ruotang spread out his practice papers and did a few problems, and for no reason, he thought of things from his previous life.

At the last class reunion he attended before he passed away, everyone chatting seemed to mention that Jian Sha, as the English class representative, should have been able to get into a key university, but in the end, she barely got into a second-tier one… What caused her grades to plummet so suddenly?

The first mock exam was over, and Jian Sha scored over 640, which was very high. Her grades had always been stable, so nothing should happen this time.

Just as Jiang Ruotang was about to finish the last problem, Jian Sha’s call came. Jiang Ruotang answered with a smile.

“Sister Sha, I called you back several times and even messaged you. You haven’t replied for so long. Did you go abroad to find inspiration for your novel?”

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Ruotang heard Jian Sha chewing on something. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but it sounded like she was seething with indignation, biting someone’s bones.

Jiang Ruotang immediately confirmed that Jian Sha was very unhappy.

“I didn’t reply because I’m too stupid! I’m reading the anti-fraud pamphlet sent by the police uncle!”

Jiang Ruotang’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“I was originally serializing a novel on Whale Island Literature website, but towards the end of winter break, someone claiming to be a publisher’s editor… asked me to send him the first 30,000 words of that novel… He even showed me his business card…”

“You sent it?” Jiang Ruotang frowned.

“Yeah, I sent it. 30,000 words isn’t the whole story, I thought it didn’t matter, so I sent it.”

“Mm, yes. What happened after that?”

Jiang Ruotang didn’t blame Jian Sha, because sending the first 30,000 words to an editor for review was still a normal operation.

“Not long after, that person asked me for the outline, and then told me that the first 30,000 words and the outline had been approved. But I needed to submit the full manuscript to sign the contract. He also wanted me to delete the first dozen chapters on Whale Island Chinese Network, otherwise, it wouldn’t be fresh for published readers and would affect the book’s sales.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ruotang felt something was off. “Did you delete them?”

“Of course not. There are reader comments below the serialization, and I couldn’t bear to delete them, so I just set them to ‘only visible to myself’…”

Jiang Ruotang let out a slight breath. “Did you give the other party the full manuscript?”

“It’s almost time for the college entrance exam now, where would I have time to submit the full manuscript… I just wrote three to four thousand words a week and sent them to the other party. I’ve sent eight to nine thousand words intermittently. Then today, I saw a new TV series about to start filming, and the character settings and plot progression are so similar to my novel! I felt something was wrong, so I searched online for that screenwriter. Many people posted that that screenwriter often uses new writers as ghostwriters, deceiving them into giving low-priced manuscripts without attribution. I was worried I was scammed, so I couldn’t help but immediately call that editor, but his phone was off! It made me so angry… I went and made a bowl of instant noodles, added a braised egg and ham sausage!”

Jiang Ruotang’s head was full of black lines. As expected of Jian Sha, she was still so strong mentally after being scammed out of her manuscript, and could even finish instant noodles.

“The other party showing as off could be because he’s in an underground parking lot or elevator without signal. He might not necessarily be a scammer.” Jiang Ruotang asked again, “Did you send a message confronting him?”

“I wanted to curse him, I edited a long section!”

“How did you curse him?” Jiang Ruotang covered his face, thinking that scammers wouldn’t care about losing face.

Jian Sha started a rapid-fire rant, which even stunned Jiang Ruotang.

“Swearing is just to express my emotions, please don’t let it affect your opinion of me.”

“Thinking about how many calls you made to me, I suddenly feel like I should tell you about this.”

Jiang Ruotang let out a breath. He had called so many times just now, and Jian Sha hadn’t answered. It turned out she was “converting anger into appetite,” which was very Jian Sha-style.

Fortunately, she didn’t send her little essay.

“Absolutely don’t send those words. Wait until we find this guy, then unleash all hell. Don’t let him feel that you’ve realized you might have been scammed out of your manuscript. If he deletes his account, or says his account was hacked, it’ll be very difficult to find him again, and very difficult to pinpoint him. Jian Sha, you need to stay calm now.”

“The fact that I can still eat instant noodles and chat with you means I’m pretty calm. So if he comes online and asks me what I want, what should I say?”

“Just say that you’re about to take the college entrance exam, and your parents confiscated your laptop, and you don’t know what to do. Lower his vigilance and guard.” Jiang Ruotang said, “We’ll figure it out together. Your novel might not be unrecoverable.”

For some reason, hearing Jiang Ruotang calmly and steadily tell her what to do, Jian Sha’s seething anger began to subside, and she even felt this bowl of instant noodles was a bit filling.

Jiang Ruotang scratched his head. Attorney Dai specialized in economic cases, and Jian Sha’s case was related to copyright… copyright… wasn’t there Attorney Hong?

It was almost eleven. He wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to bother Attorney Hong, so he tentatively sent her a message: [Auntie Hong, are you asleep?]

Attorney Hong replied almost instantly: [Not asleep. If you’re just messaging me to say good night, I’ll hit you.]

Jiang Ruotang took a deep breath, immediately called Attorney Hong, and told her about Jian Sha’s situation.

“Can you help her? I’ll pay the legal fees. I just hope my friend can protect her rights and participate in the college entrance exam with a clear mind.”

Attorney Hong readily agreed: “Give that child my number. If that child can’t sleep tonight because she’s upset, tell her to call me now, and we’ll see what the situation is.”

Jiang Ruotang immediately gave the phone to Jian Sha and told her to quickly call Attorney Hong for consultation.

“This is my mother’s good friend; you can tell her everything without worry.”

Jian Sha didn’t expect Jiang Ruotang to be so efficient. She had initially thought of just accepting her bad luck, at most eating another box of instant noodles. But when she felt that Jiang Ruotang truly cared about her problem, she suddenly felt that even if the novel couldn’t be recovered in the end, it was worth knowing such a friend.

On the other hand, Jiang Ruotang leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, looking indifferent.

—How dare they trick his good friend, he’d flay that scammer alive.

If Jian Sha’s college entrance exam was affected by that scammer in her previous life, Jiang Ruotang would make that scammer regret being born.

At this moment, there was a knock on the guest room door. Dai Ming’s voice came through, “Ruotang, we’re done talking. You two should go home early.”

“Mm!”

Jiang Ruotang packed his things and left Dai Ming’s house with Bai Yingchuan.

Compared to his previous tension, Bai Yingchuan’s mood was much better now. Attorney Dai analyzed the content of the recording and believed the situation wasn’t so bad, as Lin Chengdong had indeed deceived, induced, and threatened Bai Yue.

Inside the elevator, Jiang Ruotang was still thinking about Jian Sha’s matter, his hands in his pockets, while Bai Yingchuan looked at him sideways.

The cool elevator lights fell on Jiang Ruotang’s face, giving his features a cold, glazed look. His brows were slightly furrowed. Since the first time Bai Yingchuan met Jiang Ruotang, he had never seen him troubled by anything other than studying.

“What are you thinking about?” Bai Yingchuan asked.

“Huh? Thinking…” Jiang Ruotang looked at Bai Yingchuan beside him and suddenly thought of something. “What was the name of the movie Lin Chengdong invited your mom to act in again? What’s the content?”

“It’s an ancient costume suspense story about a princess from Yunnan returning to the capital. She learned a lot about manipulating gu worms in Yunnan and solved a series of strange cases in the capital.”

“Ah… who was the screenwriter again?”

“It’s just Lin Chengdong’s dedicated ghostwriter, Zhang Chun.”

“Ghostwriter?” Jiang Ruotang paused for a second before realizing he meant “copywriter.” He then let out a cold laugh. “Zhang Chun is so arrogant in the industry, he probably has the protection of some ‘beast protection association’.”

Zhang Chun had a bad reputation in the industry. Online authors often accused him of plagiarism, but Lin Chengdong always resolved it for him, either with money or threats.

In his previous life, until Jiang Ruotang’s death, Zhang Chun’s most famous work was “The Capital’s Eerie Night,” which was a series, with the first three arcs being the most outstanding.

And Jiang Huaiyuan was tricked by Lin Chengdong into directing “The Capital’s Eerie Night.” Because of an economic case, Jiang Huaiyuan was investigated. After this movie created a box office miracle that year, it also became the object of furious public condemnation.

Coincidentally, the novel Jian Sha sent to Jiang Ruotang was called “West Window Ghost Stories,” which told the story of a general’s daughter returning to the capital from the frontier, also skilled in identifying gu worms and poisons, solving many strange cases. Jiang Ruotang had briefly read the first 10,000 words in the guest room and felt more and more a sense of déjà vu. Now he finally knew why.

So… in his previous life, Jiang Huaiyuan wasn’t Lin Chengdong’s only victim; there was also Jian Sha, the original author.

Wait! Today, Lu Guifan also reminded him to put pressure on Lin Chengdong to force Bai Yue to betray him… An opportunity, isn’t this it?

Jiang Ruotang chuckled coldly to himself. Lin Chengdong, if I don’t finish you off, I won’t be called Jiang.

“Bai Yingchuan, do you really not want to take on this movie?” Jiang Ruotang looked up at Bai Yingchuan.

Bai Yingchuan was stunned. In his impression, Jiang Ruotang’s expression was always gentle, his eyes filled with a lively smile, never easily getting angry at anyone.

No matter who it was, if they made such a good-tempered person angry, Bai Yingchuan felt they were utterly evil.

If it was Lin Chengdong, it was even more infuriating.

“Just tell me what to do,” Bai Yingchuan smiled.

As long as it could make Lin Chengdong pay, Bai Yingchuan was very happy to follow Jiang Ruotang’s arrangements.

Jiang Ruotang chuckled lightly, “If you have time, talk to this plagiarist Zhang Chun, talk a little more directly.”

Bai Yingchuan was momentarily stunned, seeing a hint of cunning in Jiang Ruotang’s eyes.

He was no longer the Jiang Ruotang of his previous life. Yesterday’s torrential rain couldn’t dampen him today, nor would it ever dampen those around him.