Chapter 24 A Brain Formatted and Rebooted (VIP Notice)

Chapter 24: A Brain Formatted and Rebooted (VIP Access Notice)

Lin Lu lowered his eyes and sighed, saying, "Ruo-Tang, I feel like you've changed..."

Jiang Ruotang shoved his hands in his pockets and replied indifferently, "Oh, people always grow up. Growing up naturally brings change."

Lin Lu was thrown off. Normally, shouldn’t the response be, *"How have I changed?"*

Then he could have accused Jiang Ruotang of being cold and inconsiderate of others' feelings, but Jiang Ruotang’s answer left Lin Lu with no way to keep going.

As Jiang Ruotang was about to walk toward his family’s car, Lin Lu quickly grabbed his arm.

"Since you’re not going, can’t you at least throw me a bone?"

"Hmm?" Jiang Ruotang turned back, already pretty much knowing where this was going.

"Didn’t you do tons of sketches of Bai Yingchuan before? He hasn’t seen them yet. Why not give him your best one from last term’s sketchbook? That way, he’ll know he has fans here, feel supported, and it’ll also represent your father—the Great Director’s—stance toward him. Everybody wins, don’t you think?"

Lin Lu looked at Jiang Ruotang with his big, puppy-dog eyes.

*Win-win? More like giving you a chance to use my sketches to make Bai Yingchuan dislike me.*

*If you’re this scheming, why not spend more time studying? Get into the business school of Capital Chinese University—your mom could skyrocket in her circles. Why bother with this nonsense?*

Instead of answering directly, Jiang Ruotang fired back, "Bai Yingchuan’s mom must be pretty close to your dad, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, I guess. My dad helped her out before. I told you this already—don’t you remember?"

*That makes sense.*

Bai Yingchuan’s mother was Bai Yue, a once-renowned national it-girl.

But the entertainment industry was fiercely competitive. As new actresses rose to prominence, the roles suitable for Bai Yue dwindled. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to take supporting roles to younger stars, further shrinking her opportunities.

At this point, Lin Chengdong—who could provide her with a leading role every year—became an invaluable golden ticket. This made Bai Yue overly dependent on Lin Chengdong’s favor.

If Jiang Ruotang guessed right, Bai Yue probably had some leverage held by Lin Chengdong, forcing her to obey him.

Lin Chengdong’s real goal wasn’t Bai Yue—it was using her to control Bai Yingchuan, turning him into a meal ticket he needed to control.

This was also the main reason Bai Yingchuan had been indifferent to Jiang Ruotang last time around.

No matter how much Jiang Ruotang gave, Bai Yingchuan could only focus on Lin Lu—because his mother’s secrets were in Lin Chengdong’s hands.

In the end, Bai Yingchuan was weak too. He lacked the courage to cut ties with his mom or resist her control, and he probably couldn’t let go of the clout Lin Chengdong gave him.

Just then, Bai Yingchuan walked up grinning. "What are you two talking about?"

Eyes were on them from everywhere—curious, admiring, envious—a tangle of emotions.

Bai Yingchuan might not like their attention, but he had to play it cool.

"Nothing much. I can’t make it to your welcome party because I have studio time. Lin Lu suggested I give you my sketches of you from last semester as a gift."

Lin Lu tugged at Jiang Ruotang’s sleeve. "Why’d you blurt that out?"

*Of course I’d say it. Giving you sketches wasn’t my idea—it was yours.*

"Sure, I’d love to see them. Xiao-Lu keeps saying you’re my biggest fan."

Bai Yingchuan looked into Jiang Ruotang’s eyes, a hint of anticipation in his own.

Any fan would be thrilled to receive such a smile from Bai Yingchuan.

Jiang Ruotang scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, but I can’t show you. I used to draw so much that I filled a whole room with sketches, but I cleared them out before summer break to free up the room."

"Huh?" Lin Lu was shocked. "Wh-why did you clear them out? Wait, what did you need the room for?"

"Turning it into a study," Jiang Ruotang replied.

What Jiang Ruotang really wanted was for Jiang Huaiyuan and Zhao Yunshu to finally get married, move in together, and make up for lost time they’d missed.

Since Zhao Yunshu would be moving in, of course she needed a study.

So Jiang Ruotang had emptied the room where he stored his sketches.

"Your family already has a study, doesn’t it?" Lin Lu asked, confused.

Jiang Ruotang smiled. "One isn’t enough."

After all, soon, they’d be a family of four.

Bai Yingchuan looked at Jiang Ruotang. "I see. That’s a shame. If I’d transferred earlier, I might’ve gotten to see your drawings."

It sounded like he was just being polite—Bai Yingchuan probably didn’t truly mean it.

But when Jiang Ruotang glanced at his eyes, he caught a flicker of actual disappointment there.

At this age, he wasn’t as smooth an actor as he’d be a decade later.

"It’s not like I’ll never draw again. There’ll be plenty of chances. Anyway… I should get going. My car’s here."

"Oh, okay. Bye…" Lin Lu waved.

Watching Jiang Ruotang walk away, Lin Lu frowned. "What’s his deal lately?"

It was like Jiang Ruotang’s brain had been totally wiped and rebooted.

"What did you say?" Bai Yingchuan turned, his gaze seeing right through Lin Lu’s facade.

Lin Lu felt suddenly nervous for no reason. "Nothing. Ying Chuan, my car’s here. Let me take you home."

Back home, Jiang Ruotang changed into slippers at the entrance, did some worksheets in his room, and when he got tired, opened his laptop to watch Zhao Zhangfeng’s game highlights.

Chin in hand, he replayed Zhao Zhangfeng’s rebound plays. He used to think athletes were all brute strength, dumb arguments, and sweat, but now he could appreciate it—just look at Zhao Zhangfeng’s muscles from shoulders to forearms. He should haul his ass to the studio as a model.

Wouldn’t that be better than some marble statue?

Recently, Jiang Ruotang had also sent Zhao Zhangfeng’s videos to several coaches. They’d given plenty of advice and training plans, along with suggestions for the kid’s future development. Jiang Ruotang jotted it all down to put into practice.

Around 10 p.m., Jiang Huaiyuan returned.

Sister Juan was just bringing up some fruit, so Jiang Huaiyuan took the tray and personally delivered it to Jiang Ruotang’s room.

He and his son had been in a cold war over his relationship with Zhao Yunshu, but things had improved lately. Of course Jiang Huaiyuan would use this to reconnect.

Hearing the knock, Jiang Ruotang put his feet up. "Come in, Dad."

"How’d you know it was me and not Sister Juan?" Jiang Huaiyuan put the fruit down on the desk, spotting the worksheet on his son’s right and the frozen game footage on the laptop—paused mid-play with Zhao Zhangfeng grabbing the rebound.

Jiang Ruotang chuckled, "Sister Juan's knocks are clear and straightforward, unlike yours, Dad—even your knocks sound shady."

"I was just worried I might disturb you while you were studying," Jiang Huaiyuan laughed.

"Good time for a break. Dad, did you want to talk to me about something?"

"I just wanted to tell you that you were absolutely right. Grandpa Qin is all for moving Auntie Zhao to the audit department. The way he put it..." Jiang Huaiyuan paused, hesitating to continue.

After all, Ruotang was still a high school senior. Even if he explained company matters, his son wouldn’t understand—it would only add unnecessary stress.

Jiang Ruotang propped his chin on his hand and smiled. "Dad, does Grandpa Qin also think there are issues with the financial line? That Lin Chengdong has overstepped his bounds so much that even Grandpa Qin can’t be sure of the company’s true financial state? And that the audit department is full of people who just nod along and don’t actually work? The entire audit line is practically useless, and they need someone like Auntie Zhao—a doer—to get things moving?"

"Wait, how did you know?" Jiang Huaiyuan was stunned.

This was info Zhao Yunshu would share with Jiang Ruotang ten years later when discussing the money laundering case.

By saying this now, Ruotang wanted his father to understand that he wasn’t just some spoiled rich kid, only good at spending money and chasing after Bai Yingchuan nonstop. He hoped his father would consult him in the future rather than leaving him in the dark until everything collapsed.

"Dad, listen carefully. I think Uncle Lin’s operations have grown too big. You know how I used to be really into Bai Yingchuan, so I spent a lot of time in fan circles. The rumors there are a mix of truth and lies, but some of them set off alarm bells for me."

Jiang Huaiyuan met his son’s gaze and asked quietly, "Did you hear something?"

"Nothing stays hidden forever, and fans online? They’re better detectives than Sherlock."

"Tell me." Jiang Huaiyuan’s brow furrowed.

"Uncle Lin has been backing a bunch of pop stars, right? Fans are saying he might be using their movie box office numbers or TV drama production budgets for money laundering. Of course, it could just be fans dragging rivals to protect their faves... but the bigger the mess, the harder it is to hide."

Jiang Huaiyuan’s expression turned grave. Deep down, he had already sensed something off about Lin Chengdong’s dealings, but they had grown up together. Their history made him hesitate to call him out.

"Dad, no plan means problems knocking at your door. If Auntie Zhao really starts leading the audit work, you have to support her. You can’t waver between her and Uncle Lin, and you definitely can’t just smooth things over. Grandpa Qin is still strong now—he’s the pillar Grandpa left to guide you. He’s been protecting you all these years. He’s almost eighty and still won’t step back. Do you really think it’s because he’s afraid of having nothing to do after retirement? It’s obvious—he’s still looking out for you."

The fact that even his son saw this so clearly filled Jiang Huaiyuan with shame.