Chapter 12 Happy Lantern Festival

Chapter 12: Lantern Festival Greetings

The next morning, Jiang Ruotang sat waiting in his seat. Even when Lin Lu arrived and greeted him, Jiang Ruotang only responded with a polite but distant smile. Lin Lu talked about organizing a small gathering, inviting mostly the executives' kids from Universe Pictures, with Bai Yingchuan as the main guest.

On the surface, it was a welcome event for Bai Yingchuan, but in reality, Lin Lu was using them to impress Bai Yingchuan.

Jiang Ruotang listened half-heartedly, nodding, then suddenly asked, "When are you planning to hold this welcome party?"

"How about Sunday?" Lin Lu’s eyes lit up, as if saying, 'See? You claim you don’t like Bai Yingchuan anymore, but you still care about his welcome party.'

"Sunday? I have art class. You guys have fun," Jiang Ruotang replied.

"Ah? Art class..." Lin Lu’s expression stiffened for a moment before quickly recovering. "Skipping one class won’t hurt. Even a workhorse needs rest—you go to the art class five times a week. One less won’t matter."

Jiang Ruotang thought to himself, *When I was dying of lung cancer in my past life, why didn’t you say, ‘Even a workhorse needs rest’ then?*

"No, the provincial art entrance exam is approaching."

Just as Lin Lu was about to argue, Lu Guifan walked into the classroom. Jiang Ruotang’s eyes lit up, and he immediately grabbed his math test and rushed over to Lu Guifan’s seat.

"Class monitor! Class monitor, save me! I can’t solve this problem!"

Like marking territory, Jiang Ruotang plopped the test paper onto Lu Guifan’s desk.

The other students, busy copying homework, looked up in gratitude.

*—Good brother, you’re a real one! Once again volunteering yourself to delay Lu Guifan’s homework collection rounds!*

Lu Guifan leaned back slightly, his brow furrowing faintly.

Jiang Ruotang felt nervous. *Did I push too hard to get closer?*

There’s a basic boundary between people. *I… probably annoyed him.*

*Ugh, when’s the next monthly exam? Lin Lu, hurry up and step on Lu Guifan’s pen so I can step in and earn some goodwill points.*

Just as Jiang Ruotang was about to apologize, Lu Guifan took the test paper and examined it.

"Rather than this big problem… you got these wrong. You should focus on the basics first."

"Huh? Wrong?" Jiang Ruotang stared blankly as Lu Guifan tapped several multiple-choice questions.

His fingers were long, nails neatly trimmed with a slight curve—clean and elegant.

Jiang Ruotang remembered how, in his past life, Lu Guifan would always wash his hands before peeling fruit for him. The way he’d dry his fingers with a tissue had a quiet elegance that Jiang Ruotang never got tired of watching.

"Wrong," Lu Guifan confirmed firmly.

"Then… what’s the right way?"

Lu Guifan took the cap off his pen, and Jiang Ruotang quickly offered scratch paper. Lu Guifan began explaining each problem one by one.

Time was limited. By the third question, the morning study period bell rang, forcing Jiang Ruotang to return to his seat with the test paper.

He didn’t even notice Bai Yingchuan entering the classroom, immediately surrounded by classmates.

As soon as he sat down, Lin Lu teased him.

"You didn’t even see—Ying Chuan didn’t get a single second of peace. And you, his biggest fan, didn’t even help."

"Huh?" Jiang Ruotang blinked, instinctively looking past Lin Lu at Bai Yingchuan.

In high school, everyone wore uniforms, and features hadn’t fully matured. Boys’ hairstyles were either generic or messy, with no styling or makeup. Yet, Bai Yingchuan’s natural looks were exceptionally good-looking.

Sensing Jiang Ruotang’s gaze, Bai Yingchuan tilted his head slightly, the way he looked up living up to a certain producer’s praise—*Bai Yingchuan was born to make hearts flutter.*

Bai Yingchuan smiled faintly, as if waiting for Jiang Ruotang to speak.

Ever since Lin Lu mentioned Jiang Ruotang was his obsessive fan, Bai Yingchuan had gotten Jiang Ruotang’s fan group and fan club IDs from him. His team even recognized Jiang Ruotang’s name—his assistant said Jiang Ruotang had money to burn, collecting everything about him, even hiring photographers to take his pictures. If anyone criticized Bai Yingchuan, Jiang Ruotang would retaliate fiercely, embodying "one fan being worth ten haters."

Someone so infatuated, now acting so indifferent upon meeting him in person? Wasn’t this exactly what Lin Lu called 'playing hard to get'?

Jiang Ruotang thought for a moment, then said, "Well, everyone’s just curious. Once they get used to you, they won’t crowd around anymore. If we push them away, it’ll hurt your reputation. By tonight, there might be rumors about you acting like a diva."

Lin Lu stared at Jiang Ruotang as if asking, *Ruo Tang, what are you saying?*

Jiang Ruotang patted Lin Lu’s shoulder solemnly. "I know you’re the most affected. Why don’t you talk to Wang Fuzi? Tell him the class’s enthusiasm is disrupting you. He’ll set some rules, and you and Bai Yingchuan can both have peace."

"Huh?"

Reporting to the teacher wasn’t something Lin Lu usually did himself—he always had others do it. This was the first time someone suggested he take the initiative.

"You’ve got to stand up for your own rights. Otherwise, the teacher will just think others are 'a dog catching mice—meddling in others’ business.'"

Jiang Ruotang nodded as if saying, *You can do it.*

Lin Lu’s smile stiffened.

Bai Yingchuan’s lips curved into a deeper smile. Resting his chin on his hand, he asked, "But what if I don’t want to be surrounded during breaks?"

"Hide in a bathroom stall and play on your phone."

Bai Yingchuan chuckled. "I don’t like the smell of bathrooms."

"Then copy me—flop down and sleep. No one’s gonna shake you awake just to chat."

"Hmm, not a bad idea."

Bai Yingchuan looked at Jiang Ruotang’s face. His expression was calm. Having been in the entertainment industry for years, Bai Yingchuan had met plenty of fake people. Yet, Jiang Ruotang’s eyes held no trace of admiration—if anything, there was a faint "don’t touch me" vibe.

This made Bai Yingchuan doubt whether Jiang Ruotang was really the obsessive fan Lin Lu described.

But perhaps infected by Jiang Ruotang’s calm attitude, Bai Yingchuan found the irritation of being surrounded fading. Mimicking Jiang Ruotang, he rested one arm on the desk, resting his cheek on the other. No matter who approached, they couldn’t see his face—and he didn’t have to see theirs.

Lin Lu glanced between them, baffled. *How did Bai Yingchuan and Jiang Ruotang just start talking over me?*

The entire morning, Jiang Ruotang listened intently in class and fell asleep during breaks.

After all, brain development required not just knowledge but also sufficient rest.

Bai Yingchuan followed Jiang Ruotang’s rhythm, nodding off almost simultaneously.

With Lin Lu stuck between two sleeping figures, classmates who wanted to chat with Bai Yingchuan could only sigh, hover awkwardly, and eventually drift away.

It was a silent rejection. Everyone understood it wasn’t good to keep crowding Bai Yingchuan.

Beicheng Guangyao used to have a school cafeteria, but the contract expired last semester. With multiple influential parties vying for the lucrative deal, negotiations dragged on all summer without resolution.

The principal could only apologize to students and parents, blaming 'fire safety renovations' for the cafeteria’s closure.

Jiang Ruotang was like: Yeah right, I don't believe a word!

If memory serves, it wasn't until the end of the semester that the matter was settled.

This really boosted the restaurants and food delivery services around the school.

When class ended at noon, Zhao Zhangfeng from the back row stood up to go buy lunch. As he passed Jiang Ruotang's seat, Jiang grabbed him by the arm.

"What?" Zhao Zhangfeng frowned.

"I was in a hurry to finish the test this morning and forgot. This is for you." Jiang Ruotang dug through his backpack for a while before handing Zhao Zhangfeng a Peppa Pig lunchbox.

"What's this? A kiddie meal? I don't want it!"

"Then I'll give you Sister Juan's number, and you can call her to say you don't want it."

"Huh? Why?"

"Otherwise, Sister Juan might think I deliberately withheld what she gave you. I'm not taking the blame for that."

Zhao Zhangfeng froze for a moment, recalling Sister Juan's smiling face from last night. "Sister Juan... why would she prepare this for me?"

"Beats me. Maybe she likes you more than me. I'm picky, but you finish everything she makes. She gets a sense of accomplishment from you?" Jiang Ruotang shrugged.

Zhao Zhangfeng was the type who couldn't refuse kindness. He took the pink lunchbox, his neck turning slightly red, a mix of awkwardness and shyness.

"Then... what are you having for lunch?"

"Me? I've got tons of options—fried chicken, burgers, giant sodas. I don't need to bulk up or watch my body fat percentage." Jiang Ruotang gave a smug grin and walked out of the classroom.

Truth was, he'd ordered takeout and had to pick it up at the school gate.

Seeing Jiang Ruotang get up, Lin Lu immediately followed right behind him.

Once outside the classroom, Lin Lu grabbed Jiang's arm. "Are you nuts? Bringing lunch for Zhao Zhangfeng? You're not actually trying to become buddies with him, are you? Don't forget what Zhao Yunshu is like!"

Jiang Ruotang looked into Lin Lu's concerned eyes, recalling his usual tactics and rhetoric. He patted Lin Lu's shoulder and said, "Whatever Zhao Yunshu's done wrong, Zhang Feng is innocent."

"Zhang Feng? Innocent, my ass!" Lin Lu's expression looked like he'd just eaten something disgusting.

But Jiang Ruotang swore he was just using Lin Lu's own tactics against him.

"Right. Zhang Feng doesn't work at Universe Pictures. Zhao Yunshu is always working overtime, so she probably doesn’t have much chance to influence him. I believe if I treat him sincerely, Zhang Feng will know right from wrong."

Even Jiang Ruotang found his own tone way too sweet.

"Have you... been watching some cheesy soap operas lately?"

After saying this, Lin Lu immediately felt himself getting worked up—uncharacteristic of his usual patient, persuasive demeanor.

"Xiao Lu, you're such a kind person. How can you hold Zhao Yunshu's actions against Zhang Feng? You're letting me down."

Jiang Ruotang put on a serious face again and patted Lin Lu's shoulder.

For a moment, Lin Lu was speechless. In all his years, this was the first time someone had said they were disappointed in him.

The next second, a quiet laugh came from behind Jiang Ruotang.

It was gone in an instant.

His heart did a funny little skip. Jiang Ruotang turned around to see a tall figure just walk right past him.

It was Lu Guifan.