Jiang Ruotang, regardless of being someone who had lived two lives, only knew that someone was trying to poach his territory. He suddenly moved sideways and stood in front of Lu Guifan, like a kindergarten child protecting his snacks, almost enveloping Lu Guifan.

“Classmates, no way! The Class Monitor’s entire set of school uniforms must remain complete! I’m already his school uniform’s collection agent!”

“Ah?”

“What does ‘collection agent’ mean?”

Jiang Ruotang began to seriously talk nonsense: “Everyone, you may not know, but our Class Monitor will definitely be a celebrity in the academic world in the future. There will be many people who want to collect his school uniform to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth. His school uniform is very valuable, and missing even one button would greatly reduce its collection value.”

Lu Guifan looked at Jiang Ruotang, lowered his eyes, and chuckled.

He gently patted Jiang Ruotang’s shoulder, comforting him but not pushing him away. He patiently said to the other students, “I am not a god; I cannot bless anyone. However, whether you are retaking the exam or have a senior preparing for it at home, you can check out Xiaotianguo. There’s a video of me explaining problems, which should be helpful to everyone. In the future, if you encounter any problems, you can tell me, and I will upload the lecture content to that account for everyone to share.”

Li Minzhen’s eyes lit up: “I saw a blogger on Xiaotianguo who teaches how to solve problems. Their voice is especially nice, and their explanations are particularly easy to understand! They have hundreds of thousands of fans! At the time, I thought the voice sounded like you, Class Monitor… but the temper was too good and too gentle, so I didn’t expect it was really you…”

Lu Guifan nodded slightly. “I’m the one lecturing, but Ruotang manages the account. He’s doing a great job, right?”

Li Minzhen paused slightly, as if suddenly understanding something, and lowered her head with a smile.

So, Lu Guifan’s gentle lectures were for Jiang Ruotang.

The other classmates who came for buttons also dispersed and went to watch the Xiaotianguo blogger, having heard that Lu Guifan was one of them.

As the crowd dispersed, Lu Guifan lowered his eyes to pack his belongings, the smile on his lips undeniably clear.

“You’re still smiling?” Jiang Ruotang punched him lightly on the chest. “I left you alone for a moment, and my collectibles almost became worthless!”

Just then, Jian Sha suddenly cheered with joy.

“Great! This is truly great! The verdict for Zhang Chun and Wang Hui’s infringement case is out! One was sentenced to two years, the other two and a half years… I feel so satisfied!”

Jiang Ruotang walked over and high-fived Jian Sha. “Today is truly a double blessing! We graduated, and the infringement case has a result! You can continue your serialization!”

Jian Sha smiled and nodded, “I have so many more ideas for my novel! Forget writing three parts, I think I can write thirty!”

“And Zhang Chun, that industry cancer, once his verdict is exposed, many people will surely seek out Jian Sha’s novel,” Cai Ji laughed. “Queen, you’re going to be famous!”

Jian Sha smiled shyly. “Actually, when I first started writing, I never thought about whether it would become famous or not. I just purely liked the story and the setting… But what novelist doesn’t dream of getting published?”

“So, you can use this time to write the rest of the story well,” Jiang Ruotang said with a tilted head and a smile. “And you can also submit the outline you gave to Zhang Chun earlier. Maybe a publishing house will extend an olive branch.”

Jian Sha smiled very happily: “Yes! Now that the infringement case has settled, I can submit for publication!”

Cai Ji also said, “I’ve read your novel and I’m totally hooked! But you type too slowly, being your reader is really tiring. But why should I be the only one tired? I’m going to create some character images from your book and upload them to Xiaotianguo so others can follow the serialization with me!”

“Thanks! Cai Cai, you’re so good!” Jian Sha hugged Cai Ji’s head and ruffled his curly hair for a while.

---

The graduation ceremony was over, and the remaining days were spent anxiously waiting for the college entrance exam results.

However, Liang, the art teacher, didn’t give Jiang Ruotang much time to indulge. He surprisingly said he wanted to recommend him to participate in an exhibition for emerging artists in Asia.

Jiang Ruotang was stunned, directly asking over the phone, “Teacher Liang, I… participate in an Asian art exhibition?”

Moreover, was he considered a “painter” now?

“What’s wrong? You’re a champion affirmed by Fu Chunshi. Several connoisseurs and critics have seen your work and specifically requested your participation.”

“Is there a theme?”

“Free expression. But… you seem to be very good at figures? Especially that boy you painted last time, why not paint him again? Different angles, different states of mind, perhaps different effects. You have plenty of time to find inspiration, until the end of summer vacation, before university starts in September.”

Jiang Ruotang was both apprehensive about his abilities and secretly delighted. Wasn’t this giving him a reason to invite Lu Guifan to his studio?

Painting portraits, finding all sorts of angles and poses, they could spend a whole day together. Jiang Ruotang was so happy he could spin in circles right then and there.

He immediately called Lu Guifan, told him about Teacher Liang’s suggestion, and even sent him the exhibition invitation to prove he had no “ulterior motives.”

Participating in an art exhibition was a serious matter.

Lu Guifan said apologetically, “Ruotang, I’m with my parents looking at houses. If I come to find you, it’ll have to be at night.”

“Looking at houses? Is your family renting a bigger place… or buying a new house?”

“Buying a new house.”

Only then did Jiang Ruotang remember that Lu Guifan was someone who could afford a house outright just from patent fees.

Sheng City was a tier-one city, with economic development always at the forefront of the times. Good locations now cost ten to twenty thousand per square meter, but in ten years, it could be one to two hundred thousand.

And it was very likely that this year and next year would see different prices.

Lu Guifan’s patent income already surpassed many people’s lifetime earnings. Buying a new house, one with an elevator, and in a good location with good facilities, should be no problem.

Not to mention that after the end of the year, Lu Guifan would also receive dividends, making financial pressure almost nonexistent.

“So, where have you looked at houses? Any favorites?”

“We looked at houses in Huaijiang District, Xinyun District, and Heping District. I prefer a second-hand house in Huaijiang District, around 120 square meters, renovated about three years ago, with a minimalist style. But it costs over 2.2 million, and my parents are a bit reluctant.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ruotang immediately sat up straight. Huaijiang District would be the best developing district in Sheng City in the future, besides Chengjiang District.

In the next ten years, house prices there would soar like a rocket.

“Which complex is that house in Huaijiang District?”

“After-Rain Spring Tang.”

Hearing the name of the complex, Jiang Ruotang’s heart fluttered slightly. Could it be because the complex’s name contained the character “Tang” that Lu Guifan particularly liked it?

Ah… Jiang Ruotang, you are incomparably self-indulgent.

Jiang Ruotang immediately opened his computer to check. This complex… a huge hit!

In five years, the branch of Sheng City’s First People’s Hospital would be just over a thousand meters away. Currently, only an elementary school could be seen, but if Jiang Ruotang remembered correctly, Sheng City University’s First Affiliated High School would be one subway station behind this complex in the future—a super school district property!

Not to mention that the large passenger transport parking lot with overgrown grass on the east side would start construction next year to be converted into a large integrated leisure, entertainment, and shopping mall.

Even the extended Subway Line 12 would pass by the entrance…

What better time to buy than now!

Jiang Ruotang excitedly called Lu Guifan back: “Believe me, buy that house in After-Rain Spring Tang. Its appreciation potential is huge. And it’s a boutique complex with good property management. If you don’t have enough money, I can lend it to you…”

After saying the last sentence, Jiang Ruotang wondered if he sounded like he was showing off his wealth.

Lu Guifan had earned his patent through such hard work and experimentation, while he himself had achieved it by relying on his parents.

Just as Jiang Ruotang was thinking about how to retract what he had just said, Lu Guifan’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Okay, don’t worry, I have enough money.”

His voice seemed to carry a faint smile, which also reassured Jiang Ruotang.

“My parents are calling me; I’ll go over now. I’ll come find you tonight.”

Hearing that the other person would come find him instead of just calling back, Jiang Ruotang became happy again.

---

Before dinner, Lu Guifan indeed came.

Sister Juan specially added two dishes. Zhao Changfeng and his basketball teammates were out having fun, and Jiang Huaiyuan and his wife were busy with the Drunken Immortal Stage project. Lu Guifan’s arrival was perfectly timed, allowing them to talk freely.

“Are you still going with your parents to look at houses tomorrow?” Jiang Ruotang asked while eating refreshing preserved eggs.

“No, the contract was already signed and the down payment made before I came.”

Jiang Ruotang was stunned: “That fast? Doesn’t looking for a house usually take many days? You only looked for one day…”

Lu Guifan leaned closer, looking into Jiang Ruotang’s eyes, and said, “Did you forget? You called and said the house in After-Rain Spring Tang had great appreciation potential, didn’t you?”

“You believed me just because I said so?”

“Why wouldn’t I believe what you say?” Lu Guifan retorted, then calmly picked up some food and ate.

“That’s over two million! Uncle and Auntie must be under a lot of pressure…” Jiang Ruotang worried that his good intentions had led to a bad outcome.

Lu Guifan stopped, resting his chopsticks as if he smiled. “They originally felt a lot of pressure, but I just said one sentence: ‘Ruotang said the houses here have great appreciation potential,’ and they immediately decided not to look anymore and wanted this one.”

“Ah… Uncle and Auntie trust me that much?”

“You’re my dad’s hidden boss. Who else would they trust if not you?”

Lu Guifan’s smile became even more obvious.

“How many years did you mortgage it for?” Jiang Ruotang asked with some concern.

“I paid in full.”

“Huh? Lu Guifan, you’ve changed! You’ve become extravagant, paying over two million without even batting an eye!”

Lu Guifan chuckled and shook his head, saying unhurriedly, “I helped Professor Yang a few times. His team has collaborations with some large enterprises, so the funds are quite abundant. It’s really just some ideas and calculations. Professor Yang is a very generous person; he included my name and was very generous with the fees.”

“Wow… others get rich by raising pigs, you get rich purely by your IQ,” Jiang Ruotang exclaimed.

Lu Guifan was amused by him and reached out to ruffle his head.

“Then I think you and Professor Yang get along so well, why don’t you set up your own tech company in the future? Instead of working for others, make capitalists kneel and beg for your technology.”

Jiang Ruotang said it casually, but Lu Guifan paused, looking at Jiang Ruotang.

After a while, Jiang Ruotang didn’t hear Lu Guifan say anything, so he looked up, only to find the other person staring at him.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Lu Guifan gently shook his head. “Everything you say is right.”

Jiang Ruotang touched the tip of his nose, thinking: No, everything you say is right.

After dinner, Lu Guifan accompanied Jiang Ruotang to the art studio. Although it wasn’t his first time there, it was his first time as a model.

Whether speaking on stage, sitting in a competition arena, or even handling the college entrance exam with ease, he felt inexplicably nervous at this moment.

Jiang Ruotang was organizing the easel, then he pushed a sofa against the wall to the center of the studio.

“Do I sit here?” Lu Guifan asked.

“Mm, try sitting down,” Jiang Ruotang squatted in front of the sofa, his eyes crinkling in a happy smile, like a cheerful little fox.

Lu Guifan sat down and found the sofa very soft, as if it enveloped half of him.

“Comfortable?”

“Mm.”

“I bought it specially for you,” Jiang Ruotang said, leaning beside him.

When he said this, Lu Guifan’s heart trembled.

“Why specially for me?”

“You’re usually so serious and tense. I couldn’t bear to make you hold a pose for one or two hours. It’s much better to paint you relaxing on a soft sofa.”

Lu Guifan’s lips curved into a smile, but the smile disappeared before it could widen.

Because Jiang Ruotang very honestly said: “But I never found a chance to invite you. So when Zhao Changfeng modeled for me, he fell asleep on this sofa. I couldn’t beat him, so I didn’t dare to give an opinion.”

“And my dad, he lay here watching scripts until he fell asleep, and he even snored.”

Lu Guifan lowered his eyes and looked at him. Perhaps because the overhead light wasn’t on, Lu Guifan’s face looked a little somber in the backlighting.

“Oh, who else has slept here?”

“Sister Juan? Xiao Gao… Cai Cai… and Sister Sha.”

The curve of Lu Guifan’s lips inexplicably reminded Jiang Ruotang of a horror movie he’d seen. The gloomy, beautiful serial killer had smiled like that before locking the protagonist in a pitch-black basement.

Lu Guifan’s hand reached out and gently stroked Jiang Ruotang’s head. “So this sofa, supposedly bought for me, everyone else has slept on it, except me.”

“Uh… yeah,” Jiang Ruotang scratched his cheek.

Lu Guifan’s knuckles lightly tapped Jiang Ruotang’s forehead. “I really want to strangle you.”

Jiang Ruotang, however, laughed. Lu Guifan’s slightly intimate gesture made Jiang Ruotang greedy and bold. He deliberately looked at Lu Guifan with a provocative gaze. “You want to be unique? Sure! Take off your jacket! I don’t want to paint plaster David anymore, show me the real you, hahaha!”

“Okay.”

The two words, coolly spoken, jolted Jiang Ruotang out of his mischievous delight.

What did Lu Guifan just say?

The boy sitting on the sofa looked into Jiang Ruotang’s eyes, as if an invisible force was forcefully dragging out all of Jiang Ruotang’s hidden, unutterable fervent emotions.

Lu Guifan was wearing a plain T-shirt, with clear lines of light and shadow in the folds. His hands gripped the hem of the T-shirt, about to pull it up.

For just a brief moment, Jiang Ruotang saw the taut, fluid muscles of the other boy. A sense of power surged, intermingling light and shadow, rushing backward along Jiang Ruotang’s gaze—it was a crisp, restrained aggression.