Back in his cramped room, Ling Song opened his incredibly slow laptop and began reading the script.

After finishing, he couldn’t sleep.

Because Director Jiang Huaiyuan wanted him to “let go,” to be as open-minded and tolerant as Ye Linzhou… he simply didn’t know how.

---

That night, Jiang Ruotang was tidying up his afternoon’s work in the studio.

There were two paintings in total: one of Ling Song sitting sideways, and another of Ling Song lying on the sofa.

Zhao Changfeng knocked on the door and poked his head in.

“What do you want?” Jiang Ruotang looked up impatiently.

“What did you paint Ling Song as? Let me see!”

Jiang Ruotang crossed his arms and looked at Zhao Changfeng. “I knew it… you kept asking me to peel shrimp for you during dinner on purpose.”

“What did I do on purpose?”

The corner of Jiang Ruotang’s mouth lifted. “Competing for favor, of course. You think Ling Song is more handsome than you, more mature and charismatic than you, and you’re worried that I’ll start asking him to model for me all the time, and you’ll lose all status in my studio from now on.”

“Who cares,” Zhao Changfeng walked up to the easel. “Hey, can I take pictures and send them to the group chat? Jian Sha just asked if you had any new works, send them so she can find some inspiration too.”

Jiang Ruotang was happy to share with friends, but… he doubted Zhao Changfeng’s photography skills could capture any of the essence.

And… he also had a little scheme in mind.

Would Lu Guifan, immersed in his experiments, feel a tiny bit upset if he saw Jiang Ruotang painting another man when he checked his phone?

This thought lasted only a moment before Jiang Ruotang was amused by himself.

Lu Guifan? How could that guy possibly be looking at his phone?

Even if he did, in his eyes, he was just finding someone to paint, not someone to fall in love with. As his high school deskmate, class monitor, and good friend, would he need to assess the other man’s character or anything?

“Go ahead,” Jiang Ruotang lowered his head, like a frosted eggplant…

No, it should be said, an eggplant deeply in love.

Zhao Changfeng received Jiang Ruotang’s permission and snapped away from various angles, then sent them to the group, adding provocatively, [What score would you give this man who slept in my brother’s studio? My brother actually said he’s more handsome than me!!!]

The three exclamation marks indicated Zhao Changfeng’s seriousness about the matter—you all must say I’m more handsome than this man!

Who knew that in the next second, Zhao Changfeng would be dumbfounded.

The group was flooded with comments.

This wasn’t their usual “hanging out” group; it was their whole senior class group!

Oh no!

[Who is this man? So handsome!]

[Jiang Ruotang’s painting skills are truly impressive, this light and shadow, this outline, and this atmosphere!]

[Though I don’t understand painting, I just think it’s beautiful!]

[Putting everything else aside, Jiang Ruotang’s aesthetic taste is truly like his father’s!]

…

Jiang Ruotang felt his phone continuously vibrate, so he took it out of his pocket and immediately frowned.

Then a vein throbbed on his forehead. If he weren’t weaker than Zhao Changfeng, he would have probably jumped on his head and pummeled him right now.

“Zhao Changfeng—if your eyesight is bad, go get some glasses! Look where you sent my paintings!”

Zhao Changfeng also felt a chill run through him at that moment. He retracted the pictures, but they had already been seen by many people.

For example, in their smaller group, Jian Sha had started talking nonsense.

[Someone tell me, is the handsome guy in the painting a male model from somewhere? Or a rising star? Jiang Ruotang, you’re really a charmer, attracting Alphas everywhere and even letting him sleep in your sacred studio—be honest, is he your new lover?]

Jiang Ruotang’s face was full of black lines. If Lu Guifan saw these outrageous words, he’d never be able to clear his name, even if he jumped into a washing machine with a bucket of disinfectant.

[It’s the studio’s sofa, alright! Cai Cai and Zhao Changfeng have both slept on it!]

Jiang Ruotang quickly explained.

Although Zhao Changfeng had retracted the photos, almost the entire class had seen them.

Teacher Song’s comment was the most normal: [The model in the painting has a sense of relaxation after tension. Student Jiang Ruotang’s painting skills have improved again!]

Then everyone started to ridicule Zhao Changfeng’s “straight male” photography skills, turning art into melodrama.

---

Meanwhile, in the lab, Lu Guifan, still wearing his white coat, leaned back, resting his face against the chair, seizing every second to rest.

The voices and movements of his partners around him quieted down.

“Is this Xiao Lu really not a college student yet?”

“His mind is too fast… Professor Yang couldn’t think of a solution, but he did…”

“The conversion rate is skyrocketing like a rocket!”

Just then, someone couldn’t help but shout out.

“It’s out! It’s out! Twenty-two percent!”

“What? It really exceeded twenty percent?”

Hearing the continuous exclamations, Lu Guifan’s eyelids fluttered. He woke up, immediately got up, and walked over quickly.

The others consciously moved aside for him. He saw the new data and let out a breath.

An older person wearing glasses patted Lu Guifan’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Xiao Lu. This is another breakthrough.”

Lu Guifan took a deep breath. Although his face was tired, his eyes shone brightly. “I only provided ideas and calculations. It’s the senior brothers and Professor Chen who truly made it a reality.”

The older man, referred to as Professor Chen, patted Lu Guifan’s shoulder.

“Go back and rest. Look at you, a handsome young man all haggard. Leave the remaining data organization and report to us. Don’t worry, your name will be at the top!”

Lu Guifan quickly shook his head. “I was just helping Professor Yang…”

“Regardless of whether you’re helping or not, this was your conception. It’s a shame, our Shengshi University probably can’t keep a great talent like you. With your level, you should be going to a top institution like Capital University of Science and Technology, right?”

Lu Guifan lowered his eyes and smiled. “It depends on the situation.”

“Depends on the situation? What else could it depend on? My relative’s child is also studying at Beicheng Guangyao, and he told me that their college entrance exam score estimates are all based on you!”

Lu Guifan didn’t continue to explain. If he told others that whether he went to Capital University of Science and Technology depended on how Jiang Ruotang scored, no one would believe him.

But he had made a promise to stay with Jiang Ruotang, and he would keep that promise.

He hadn’t seen Jiang Ruotang for many days. He wondered how he was doing.

A senior brother spoke up, “Xiao Lu, you have a girlfriend, right?”

“Ah? Why do you say that?”

“Who else but a girlfriend would be so thoughtful, bringing you lunch and dinner every day? And it’s home-cooked food, clearly made with good cooking skills and a virtuous touch!”

Lu Guifan was stunned for a moment. Jiang Ruotang… virtuous?

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The so-called lunch and dinner were all prepared by Sister Juan, packed, and delivered by Xiao Gao.

But besides Jiang Ruotang, he really couldn’t think of anyone else who would care for him like that.

“You should cherish her. Us science and engineering guys, we don’t understand romance, and we don’t know how to care for people. We’ll be in the lab for days and won’t spend time with our girlfriends. If you don’t, there are other handsomer, gentler guys who are willing to, and then your girlfriend will be gone!”

Lu Guifan was startled. He quickly opened the cabinet and took out his phone.

He found that besides text messages, his social media messages had exploded.

He didn’t look at various group chats. Instead, he first tapped on Jiang Ruotang’s profile picture. Sure enough, he had sent many messages.

[So bored… Zhao Changfeng wants to play basketball, Cai Cai went to the summer resort with his grandparents, Sister Sha writes novels every day, and I can’t find a model for painting…]

[So bored… new movies out this summer, no one to watch them with…]

[Little fox sigh.JPEG]

[Ah… I lost so much playing Landlord I’m down to minus five thousand happy beans… should I abandon this account…]

[Little fox resting chin on hand.JPEG]

[I told Zhao Changfeng to go to a bar with me to experience it, and he actually said good kids don’t go to those kinds of places? Good kid? How old is he?]

[Haha, Dad found an actor with a model-like physique and a chiseled face to model for me today, hiss hiss~]

…

Lu Guifan sat on the bench, scrolling continuously.

Male model?

What did “hiss hiss” mean?

Lu Guifan frowned. He tapped on Jian Sha’s message, and a picture popped up. Had Jiang Ruotang painted this yesterday?

Jian Sha’s comment was: [Class monitor, look! While you were away, your “replacement” has moved in and is sleeping in Jiang Ruotang’s attic studio! I told you, a studio should be a sacred place. For an artist, only true love can sleep in their studio!]

Lu Guifan sighed. Jian Sha was really crazy about shipping them. Others shipped fictional characters, but only she was enthusiastically shipping him and Jiang Ruotang. Of course… Lu Guifan felt that she was hitting the mark, and he secretly curled his lips every time.

But Lu Guifan couldn’t show it, because he didn’t know if Jiang Ruotang cared.

Despite Jiang Ruotang’s usually carefree demeanor, Lu Guifan knew he had a very delicate heart.

Ignoring the expensive data usage, Lu Guifan tapped on the painting. He uncharacteristically lacked patience, tapping his heel on the ground several times before it finally loaded. When he saw the painting, his heart felt as if it had been pricked by a fine needle.

It was indeed a handsome man, with good body proportions, sleeping gracefully, as if after being hurt by the harsh world, he would succumb once wrapped in softness.

Lu Guifan took a deep breath and stood up, hooking his fingers into his collar and tugging it away.

He didn’t know what this restlessness stemmed from. Jiang Ruotang loved to paint, and his brushstrokes held pure emotion. What his eyes and heart saw, that’s what he painted.

A gentle pity emanated from this painting.

This made Lu Guifan think of himself. He knew Jiang Ruotang had a protective urge towards him, so much so that if any injustice befell Lu Guifan, he would transform into a bristling hedgehog, ready for battle.

If another person also evoked his protective instincts, would his attention… be diverted?

“Xiao Lu, why are you still here? Look at how forlorn you are. Did the girlfriend who cooked for you finally dump you?”

At that moment, Lu Guifan’s nerves felt sharply plucked. He didn’t want Jiang Ruotang to pity anyone else, didn’t want him to carry soft emotions and depict another person on his canvas. Even if Jiang Ruotang stared intently at another model… Lu Guifan felt very uncomfortable.

This emotion was called possessiveness.

Lu Guifan was very clear: he didn’t want to be expelled from Jiang Ruotang’s life because he was focused on his experiments.

“I’m leaving. Call me if there’s a problem.”

With that, Lu Guifan quickly hung his white coat in the cabinet, hastily changed into his own clothes, and strode out with long legs.

He hailed a taxi, gave the address of the Jiang family’s residential area, and the driver immediately said, “Whoa, that’s a high-end neighborhood! It’ll be seventy, eighty yuan to drive there from here!”

“Just drive. Drive faster.”

Lu Guifan finally understood what “eager to return home” meant at that moment.

He just wanted to see Jiang Ruotang in person, immediately.