Jiang Ruotang looked at Lin Lu. His gaze wasn’t sharp, but it seemed to penetrate Lin Lu’s soul, seeing through everything about him.

Lin Lu couldn’t answer that question.

Jiang Ruotang smiled. “You’ll hide far away, grateful that in this game of hot potato, you weren’t the last one holding it.”

No matter what, he couldn’t hide his selfishness.

He was born believing that everyone else in the world was a tool to serve him.

“Lin Lu, I’ll only say this once. If you can take it in… and persuade your father, at least your future life should generally be fine.”

Lin Lu’s eyes lit up: “Tell me!”

“Your father is so afraid of those investors probably because he had improper dealings with those behind-the-scenes figures before. This project will inevitably be investigated, and the deeper the investigation, the bigger the problems will become. What will those big shot bosses do then?”

“What… will they do?”

“They’ll pin everything on your father. He’s the one who siphoned off the budget, he’s the one who evaded taxes, and he’s the one who conducted illicit benefit transfers. Your father will have no way to defend himself. But if he goes to the economic crime investigators immediately and reveals everything he knows, he can strike first. That way, whether it’s bankruptcy liquidation or selling houses and cars to pay fines, he can at least apply for a reduced sentence. There’s a difference between serving three to five years and twenty years, right?”

“My dad… my dad’s pride can’t accept that…”

Lin Lu shook his head.

“Even geckos know to shed their tails to survive. Soon, someone will specifically audit all projects and accounts handled by your father. What they find out, and what your father proactively reveals as a tainted witness, are two different things.”

Lin Lu took a deep breath. He knew Jiang Ruotang was telling the truth, and he knew he had been fighting a losing battle.

“Your time is running out.” Jiang Ruotang raised his phone and shook it.

At that moment, Jiang Ruotang’s gaze was like a bullet fired from a gun, piercing Lin Lu’s heart, making him realize that reality would not change according to his wishes.

There were no fools in this world who would take the fall for Lin Lu.

Perhaps the old Jiang Ruotang would have, but Lin Lu had already lost him.

Lin Lu stood up, distraught. The feeling of weightlessness almost made him fall again, but Jiang Ruotang merely sat there, not even raising a hand to help him.

“I understand. I’m going back.”

Jiang Ruotang nodded. “I’ll have Xiao Gao drive you.”

As he reached the stairwell, Lin Lu looked back at Jiang Ruotang. He wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but what he saw was a more mature youth, as if from many years in the future.

---

Lin Lu returned home and once again faced the dark, quiet room. Invisible pressure surged over him.

He walked upstairs, knocked on his father’s study door, and stepped inside.

The desperate Lin Chengdong roared, bellowed, and cursed, throwing everything he could lay his hands on at Lin Lu. Lin Lu could only curl up, clutching his head, until a “Best Producer” trophy hit Lin Lu’s forehead, immediately drenching his face in blood.

Lin Lu roared back, “Smash it! Keep smashing! Until tomorrow morning when those who are waiting for you to take the blame buy their press releases! Prepare all the evidence against you! Let’s see if you can smash them!”

Lin Chengdong froze, staring blankly at Lin Lu. After a brief stunned silence, he suddenly knelt on the floor and burst into tears.

Lin Lu trembled as he wiped the blood from his eyes. He didn’t know how everything had come to this.

Abandoned by everyone… everything was like a reflection in a mirror, shattering with a touch.

And all of this probably started when Lin Chengdong told him to take care of Bai Yingchuan.

Large, hot tears rolled down Lin Lu’s cheeks.

The next morning, Lin Lu did not come to school.

In the afternoon, after classes, explosive news broke out. Lin Chengdong revealed that he had collaborated with several film and television company executives, exposing various under-the-table dealings that implicated three large film and television companies and platforms, sparking an industry-wide tsunami.

“Did you see the headlines? Lin Lu’s dad is truly incredible! All those projects were just tools for him to make money!”

“So it wasn’t just Bai Yue, there were so many other actors and directors…”

“It’s terrifying! It’s practically an industry earthquake!”

There were also a large number of celebrities who had worked with Lin Chengdong. Upon learning that their own idols had also been used as tools by Lin Chengdong to make money, fans were enraged. They attacked Lin Chengdong relentlessly online, their combativeness astonishing, cursing Lin Chengdong’s ancestors for five hundred years without repeating themselves.

The big shots who had invested in this project with Lin Chengdong were furious, sending several waves of people to Lin’s doorstep to demand their money. Fortunately, Lin Chengdong had been taken into custody after surrendering, otherwise his two hundred-odd bones might have been broken.

It was said that Lin Chengdong’s house was vandalized, and the property management company called the police, causing the housing prices in that high-end community to plummet.

---

Jiang Ruotang was slumped over his desk, his left arm resting against Lu Guifan’s, while Lu Guifan was explaining chemistry to him.

It seemed as if all the discussions had nothing to do with Jiang Ruotang.

His life, he had to walk it steadfastly himself.

“Guifan,” Jiang Ruotang softly uttered the other’s name.

The next second, Lu Guifan lightly tapped Jiang Ruotang’s head with a pink marker. “What do you want?”

“Just calling to see if you’d answer me.”

Actually, Jiang Ruotang felt a little melancholy.

There were some things he truly couldn’t forgive Lin Lu for, but after so many years of growing up together, he knew that this time, Lin Lu would exit his life.

Lin Lu was someone who couldn’t bear the pointing fingers of others.

It was too late to transfer schools now, but at this stage, he was just doing practice problems to fill gaps. He would move with his mother to another place and just take the college entrance exam on the designated day.

But with his sensitive nature, could he truly get his spirits together?

Lu Guifan asked, “Lin Chengdong should be very short on money now. Aren’t you going to acquire his shares? Otherwise, if his shares fall into other people’s hands, Huanyu Film and Television will have a new shareholder, and it’ll be unclear if they’re friend or foe. If other shareholders buy them, and their equity surpasses your father’s, the chairman’s position will change hands.”

Jiang Ruotang suddenly became interested, eager to know if Lu Guifan’s thoughts aligned with his own.

“You guess. If you guess my thoughts correctly, I’ll give you a neck and shoulder massage. My technique is really good,” Jiang Ruotang raised his fingers and wiggled them in front of Lu Guifan. His slender yet not delicate fingers looked really good in Lu Guifan’s eyes.

Then Jiang Ruotang took a scrap piece of paper, wrote something on it behind Lu Guifan’s back, folded it over onto the desk, covering it with both hands, and looked at Lu Guifan with an expectant expression.

Lu Guifan lowered his eyes and, with hardly any thought, said, “You won’t take his shares.”

“Ah? Why?”

“Because Lin Chengdong is now like a dead pig that doesn’t fear boiling water; he needs to return the money he siphoned out to get a reduced sentence. So his shares will definitely be sold at a very, very high price. It’s not worth it to acquire them now.”

Jiang Ruotang smiled, pursing his lips, offering no comment, just saying, “Anything else?”

“Also, neither you nor Uncle Jiang or Aunt Zhao are very concerned about the chairman’s position, and you are already the behind-the-scenes chairman of Little Sweet Fruit. According to your vision, Little Sweet Fruit will become a comprehensive platform—covering movies, TV dramas, animations, and live streaming. If it develops well, you will be the甲方 (client/funder), and no matter who becomes the chairman of Huanyu Film and Television in the future, they will have to curry favor with you. If it were your biological father as chairman, you wouldn’t be able to bargain when buying broadcasting rights.”

Jiang Ruotang lowered his head, his shoulders shaking, laughing like a little fox who had eaten a chicken leg, making Lu Guifan want to smooth his fur.

“Yes, it’s also a good way to see who ends up with Lin Chengdong’s shares, and our whole family can clearly see who wants the Huanyu Film and Television chairman position the most.”

At this moment, Lu Guifan hooked Jiang Ruotang’s finger that was resting on the desk. Jiang Ruotang’s face showed no expression, but his shoulders shrugged very slightly.

He moved his hand away. Lu Guifan flipped the paper over. On it was an ‘X’, indicating that he would not acquire Lin Chengdong’s shares.

Lu Guifan nodded with satisfaction, then pointed behind him with a finger. “Neck and shoulder massage, come on.”

“Coming, coming!” Jiang Ruotang stretched his arms, flexed his fingers, and stood behind Lu Guifan.

Finally, he could openly touch Lu Guifan, and Jiang Ruotang felt very happy.

He pressed down with force, following Lu Guifan’s muscles. So this was what his neck felt like when pressed.

This was like a brand new experience for Jiang Ruotang, as if he was surveying his own territory. Not to mention, Lu Guifan had his eyes closed, looking relaxed, making Jiang Ruotang really want to bite him hard and then watch him wake up with a start.

Unfortunately… Jiang Ruotang was very timid. He realized he liked Lu Guifan more and more, and the more he liked him, the more timid he became.

But from this angle, Jiang Ruotang could see Lu Guifan’s Adam’s apple. Its folding and rising contours made Jiang Ruotang instinctively swallow. He couldn’t resist, and his fingertip brushed it.

“Why do I feel like I’m still losing out a bit even though I won this bet?” Lu Guifan’s voice was slow and leisurely, no longer sounding so serious. It was so relaxed that it made Jiang Ruotang’s heart itch.

As his vocal cords vibrated, an invisible force transmitted to Jiang Ruotang, and he withdrew his hand as if electrocuted.

Jiang Ruotang quickly found an excuse for himself: “Losing out on what…? I was just… curious if your Adam’s apple was hard.”

“Whose Adam’s apple is soft? I think you just deliberately wanted to touch me.”

Jiang Ruotang’s mind was like a stone dropped into a thousand ripples, and he immediately withdrew his hand. “Then I won’t press anymore.”

Who knew Lu Guifan would then say, “You’re touching me quite comfortably, keep going.”

Jiang Ruotang almost spat blood.

You’re a proper person, can’t you speak without such ambiguity!

Don’t make me think wrong things, okay? I still want to study properly!

The next morning, Xiao Gao was driving Jiang Ruotang, Lu Guifan, and Zhao Changfeng to school when he suddenly heard Zhao Changfeng, sitting in the front passenger seat, exclaim, “Holy crap—Lin Chengdong’s wife just crashed into Bai Yue’s car! Bai Yingchuan was hit and taken to the hospital!”