Lu Guifan continued flipping pages, and to his surprise, Jiang Ruotang had filled an entire sketchbook.

Eighty whole pages…

How late did Jiang Ruotang stay up painting last night?

No wonder he was sleeping so soundly that Sister Juan couldn’t wake him.

Lu Guifan’s throat moved. He had a strong sense of certainty that he was special to Jiang Ruotang.

Jiang Ruotang would gaze at him with focus, capturing Lu Guifan from every angle and light variation.

This feeling made Lu Guifan joyous, happier than ever before.

---

Lu Guifan went to wash up first. He didn’t hear any movement from Zhao Changfeng’s room. If he wasn’t mistaken, that guy probably had another intense basketball game planned.

Jiang Huaiyuan and his wife weren’t home either; they still had matters concerning Drunken Immortal Stage to attend to.

After washing up, Lu Guifan returned to the room and stroked Jiang Ruotang’s head. “Get up, it’s time for lunch.”

“Mm…” Jiang Ruotang hugged his quilt and turned away, facing the wall, as if to say, “No matter how you call me, I’m going to keep sleeping.”

“Alright, sleep a bit longer. I saw aftershave in the bathroom, I’ll borrow some.”

Just as Lu Guifan was about to leave, Jiang Ruotang, as if suddenly startled awake, grabbed him. “You’re going to shave it off?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you draw it all night? Haven’t you gotten tired of it yet?” Lu Guifan said with amusement.

Jiang Ruotang laughed, with a hint of sleepy laziness, his voice a little soft and sticky, making one’s heart melt. “You look especially Daddy with a bit of stubble.”

Like those domineering and capable men from explicit comics.

Of course, Jiang Ruotang only dared to imagine such things in his mind.

“Is that so? I didn’t realize your taste was so retro.”

Lu Guifan pressed Jiang Ruotang’s head once and then got up and left.

By the time Jiang Ruotang sat down at the dining table, Lu Guifan had already reverted to his fresh, eighteen-year-old demeanor.

“Want to see a movie this afternoon?” Lu Guifan asked.

“Huh? Sure, but are you really fully rested?”

“Fully rested.” Lu Guifan took out his phone and opened the cinema’s booking page. “Which one?”

Jiang Ruotang leaned his head over and said confidently, “The Mathematician!”

Lu Guifan paused, then slowly said, “Choose a genre you like, you don’t have to accommodate me.”

“It’s not to accommodate you, I genuinely want to see The Mathematician.”

Sister Juan brought the stewed red date black chicken soup to the table, smiling. “Ruotang likes the actor who plays the mathematician.”

“Oh, really…” Lu Guifan looked thoughtfully at Jiang Ruotang. “What do you like about him?”

“Just that ascetic face, tall build, melancholic eyes…”

Who knew Sister Juan would add, “Didn’t you say he’s like a Daddy version of the class monitor?”

Jiang Ruotang had just brought the soup to his mouth and almost choked on Sister Juan’s words.

“Cough cough… Sister Juan, what are you saying…”

How could she expose me like that!

“Oh, he’s shy now,” Sister Juan said with a smile.

Jiang Ruotang glanced at Lu Guifan and saw that he was already selecting seats for The Mathematician, seemingly not paying much attention to the word “Daddy.”

“I looked at the reviews. This ‘Daddy’ type mathematician you like seems to have been heartbroken by a painter. Mathematicians are loyal, but painters fall in love with everyone they see, and when they lack inspiration, they need to love a few more.” Lu Guifan glanced over, his gaze through his glasses.

Jiang Ruotang’s chopsticks paused.

Why… did he have the illusion that Lu Guifan was reprimanding him?

“Not all painters are fickle… For example, the Impressionist master Monet’s love for his wife Camille was sincere, passionate, and unwavering. It’s said he only painted Camille…”

“Oh.” Lu Guifan paused slightly, then added, “You, however, draw quite a lot of people. Looks like you won’t become Monet.”

Jiang Ruotang was about to retort when he noticed a faint smile on Lu Guifan’s lips. This guy was clearly teasing him.

So annoying.

“Hmph, there are plenty of fickle scientists too. Like Schrödinger, who, even after marrying Annamarie, still invited other girls to vacation in the Alps.”

Lu Guifan nodded. “He also created the Schrödinger equation… Looks like I should learn from him too…”

In the next second, Jiang Ruotang picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and shoved it into the other’s mouth. “Eat your food! Someone who can disappear for ten days at a time still wants to mess around!”

Lu Guifan raised his hand and clamped down on Jiang Ruotang’s wrist, which held the chopsticks. The force wasn’t great, but Jiang Ruotang couldn’t break free.

He lowered his head, leisurely bit off the beef, and then released Jiang Ruotang’s hand.

“If you’re going to feed me, do it properly. You almost poked me in the throat.”

“Who said I was going to feed you? I wanted to poke your throat…”

After saying that, it felt a little off.

Jiang Ruotang turned his head and chuckled to himself. Poking Lu Guifan’s throat… Hahaha… just thinking about it felt satisfying.

---

They went to the cinema closest to their home. To Jiang Ruotang’s surprise, The Mathematician had quite a large audience, with a long line forming at the ticket check.

“Do you want popcorn? Or coke?” Lu Guifan asked.

As he spoke, Lu Guifan lowered his head, took off his glasses, and pulled out a cloth from his pocket to wipe them.

It was just a simple action, but some people around noticed and looked over. That kind of admiring gaze made Jiang Ruotang a little annoyed.

It felt like a treasure he knew about was being coveted by others. And judging by their lip movements, they were clearly saying things like “so handsome.” Although it wasn’t the exaggerated worship of idol stars, more and more people were staring at him.

They had already graduated, so neither of them wore the high school uniforms that made them obviously students.

Lu Guifan had no concept of dressing up. He was wearing a simple off-white T-shirt and jeans. His entire outfit, put together… probably didn’t even cost 150 yuan, excluding his glasses. But this guy had a great figure, a straight back, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. He was a natural clothes hanger; even a sack would look good on him.

Jiang Ruotang took his glasses, roughly wiped them quickly, and pushed them back onto his nose, like an impatient parent.

“No food, no drinks. Let’s go queue for tickets!”

Once inside the cinema, in the pitch black, who could even see him clearly anyway?

Lu Guifan inexplicably followed him to queue, kindly adding, “Are you sure you don’t want to buy water? Don’t regret it if you get thirsty later.”

“Never.”

The summer movie season truly lived up to its name. The cinema was not only packed but also had many young couples, clearly in their twenties, holding hands, practically glued together, as if the air between them was superfluous.

And sitting in front of them, by coincidence, was the same couple who took photos on the rooftop before graduation.

Jiang Ruotang’s eyes widened, and he was about to say hello when Lu Guifan gently pulled him back and shook his head.

Right, the college entrance exam results were supposed to be released the day after tomorrow. If this couple could get into the same university, they could continue their relationship. If not, they would go their separate ways, encounter different environments and people, and their ideas would increasingly diverge, making it highly likely for things to fizzle out.

Since that was the case, it was better not to let them realize there were two huge “light bulbs” in the back row. Let them enjoy their simple time.

The plot of this movie truly exceeded Jiang Ruotang’s imagination. More than that… it felt like a projection of him and Lu Guifan in another fictional world.

The male protagonist was a mathematician who valued logic and reasoning. He had a handsome appearance and a stern expression. Whenever the camera zoomed in on his face, there would be gasps of “wow” in the cinema.

This mathematician kept everyone at a distance. His colleagues and assistants called him “the cold calculating machine.” In reality, this mathematician served the Allied forces, specializing in code-breaking, with remarkable success.

Because of this, the opposing side sent many people to approach him, trying to assassinate him for various reasons, including his close friend from student days, who was executed after being captured.

The plot seemed cruel and depressing, but the mathematician showed no emotional fluctuation, immersing himself in the ocean of mathematics day after day.

His world was pure.

Until one rainy day, he came to his favorite small restaurant. While listening to the rain, he was solving mathematical problems. Then he noticed a young, beautiful woman across from him who kept looking at him. Once their eyes met, the woman gave him a sweet, benevolent smile.

The mathematician remained unmoved. Not until he solved the problem in his hand did he look up again, only to find the woman across from him gone.

When he paid, the waiter told him the bill had already been paid. He instinctively knew it was the woman sitting across from him.

The waiter said the female guest had also left a painting for him. The mathematician took it and saw it was a depiction of himself engrossed in solving problems.

The beauty of a painting can dismantle all cold logic. The mathematician seemingly expressionlessly folded the painting, returned to his apartment, and still couldn’t resist opening it and putting it into his textbook.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Ruotang’s heart pounded wildly.

—The first time Lu Guifan explained a problem to him, that scratch paper was the most precious work of art to Jiang Ruotang in this world. He, like the mathematician in the movie, carefully clipped that scratch paper into his textbook.

But… did Lu Guifan understand this feeling?

And… when he first presented his portrait of him, did he also feel something?

Jiang Ruotang instinctively looked to his side. Lu Guifan was indeed looking at the screen, completely oblivious. The light reflected off his high nose bridge and glasses, giving him a calm, dispassionate look.

The movie plot continued. The mathematician developed a habit: whenever he didn’t have class, he would go to the window seat of that small restaurant to solve math problems. Sometimes he would encounter the female guest, who would also be painting not far away.

Sometimes, she wouldn’t appear all day.

She was the only variable and surprise in the mathematician’s fixed life trajectory.

Just like Jiang Ruotang was to Lu Guifan.

Lu Guifan was sure Jiang Ruotang didn’t know that once upon a time, his daily expectation was to pass by Jiang Ruotang when collecting homework in the morning.

He was the only lively bright spot in Lu Guifan’s ordinary life.

Until one day, under a gloomy, rainy sky, the mathematician was alone in the small restaurant. Just as a lightning bolt struck him, someone suddenly lunged, knocking him down. The woman’s soft hair brushed against his cheek, and at the same time, he felt warm liquid flowing down his neck. The waiter in the restaurant suddenly rushed out, pulling the mathematician to hide behind the bar, leaving only the lady lying in a pool of blood, her deep blue eyes looking in the mathematician’s direction.

The mathematician tried to rush out several times but was held back.

Finally, the assassin was killed. The mathematician staggered to the lady’s side, desperately trying to staunch her bleeding wound.

She was rushed to the hospital and, luckily, survived.

The mathematician came to visit her. It was his first time following the advice of his assistants and colleagues, buying a small bouquet of roses. But he didn’t expect the lady to be allergic to pollen, so the roses were left on the bench outside the hospital room. The mathematician meticulously washed his hands and came to her bedside.

Love grew naturally.

He apologized to her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I brought you roses, but they wouldn’t let me give them to you.”

“Then you can give me a kiss.”

The kiss came very suddenly, yet it was perfectly reasonable.

From a slight touch of lips to an inseparable, intertwined kiss, the pressing of noses and cheeks, a fervent and crazy sensation seemed to break through the screen, rushing towards them.

They were together day and night, passionately. Several times, his beloved told him, “Softer,” “Slower.” She yearned to be treated gently, and at first, he was gentle. But nothing in his life had ever appeared so suddenly, without warning, stirring all his emotions like this woman before him. His cold heart melted and boiled, erupting like lava towards the sky.

Jiang Ruotang never expected this movie could be so bold. Although nothing that shouldn’t be exposed was, all the poses and the shaking, vibrating bed and cabinets made one feel the mathematician’s frantic passion.

Jiang Ruotang had thought it would be a spy thriller involving mind games, but it turned out to be such a crazy love story.

And Lu Guifan was sitting right next to him!

This must be what it felt like to have your toes curl in embarrassment.

Jiang Ruotang wanted to watch but felt too shy. He couldn’t help but glance at Lu Guifan again.

He hadn’t expected Lu Guifan to be leaning forward, one hand propping his chin, watching very, very intently.

Amidst the mathematician’s muffled grunts and the heroine’s pleas for mercy, calling his name, Lu Guifan’s eyes behind his glasses seemed tinged with desire, so deep they were intoxicating.

What made Jiang Ruotang even more awkward was that the couple in front of them actually started kissing passionately in that atmosphere.

Jiang Ruotang almost let out a shocked squawk, but Lu Guifan, instead, wrapped one arm around Jiang Ruotang’s head, gently covered his mouth, and pulled him back against the seat.

His heart pounded. Instinctively, his lips moved, just to chase Lu Guifan’s palm.

The other person stiffened slightly, then released his hand, but his arm still rested naturally on Jiang Ruotang’s shoulder. His other hand went to his lips, making a shushing gesture towards Jiang Ruotang.

Jiang Ruotang’s head was buzzing. All he could think was, could Lu Guifan’s arm stay there, and not drop?

His entire perception was focused on the person beside him. Unbeknownst to him, the mathematician in the movie and the female painter had gotten married.

A church, a white wedding dress, countless blessings.

This seemed like the most beautiful form of love, but the story didn’t stop there.

As the mathematician decrypted more and more codes, his life became increasingly dangerous. He and his family were placed under special protection.

At first, the mathematician often accompanied his wife. He solved problems, she painted him, and everything was beautiful.

As the war grew tense, one code after another that needed to be solved trapped the mathematician in a secure studio. His wife, initially bored, painted the small flowers on the windowsill, the fruit on the table, the empty wine glasses. She slept alone on one side of the double bed every day, occasionally looking at the empty pillow.

The mathematician would call her weekly. Without physical touch, their topics of conversation became scarce, even dull.

She was like a withered rose trapped in a glass bottle, without even water.

Until every week, a young man came to bring things to the female painter. He was handsome and humorous, appreciated her paintings, became her model. He told her about the outside world, and then, naturally, they ignited a passion, crossing a boundary that shouldn’t have been crossed.

The female painter no longer needed gentleness; she craved intense power to know she was still alive.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruotang felt a strange pang of fear.

Would Lu Guifan also think that he, like this painter, needed passion to stimulate numb nerves, needed dopamine to be secreted wildly to maintain vigorous creativity and the value of his life?