Chapter 65 What Kind of Life Do You Want?

Chapter 65 What Kind of Life Do You Want?

Before long, Lin Chengdong had his game company produce a rip-off called "Phantom Bubble." After its release, it actually attracted a considerable number of users. Riding on the popularity of Dream Bubble, his copycat game raked in hundreds of thousands on its first day.

At the time, copyright awareness was practically nonexistent, and piracy was everywhere—games were among the worst offenders.

Only a few major companies invested in legal action to protect their rights. For games like Dream Bubble, which had just launched and were focused on market expansion, they usually didn’t prioritize legal battles. Some even saw these knockoffs as free advertising—after all, players could only play up to a dozen levels for free in these copycat games. Once hooked, they’d still have to turn to the official Dream Bubble for the final stages.

Lin Chengdong figured that as soon as Dream Bubble made moves to sue, he could simply take the game offline.

This was practically the bread and butter of many knockoff game companies at the time.

"If this can last a month, that’s millions right there," Lin Chengdong bragged.

But Mu Xianqing’s legal team quickly identified the copycat game and filed an infringement lawsuit against his company.

Sitting in his office, watching the user numbers of his knockoff game climb steadily, Lin Chengdong got the shock of his life when the news reached him. "How'd they move so quick...?"

In his plan, the game would make a cool ten mil before Mu Xianqing’s team even noticed, allowing him to take it down before getting caught. But it had only been a few days—how was their legal team so efficient?

Dream Bubble had plenty of copycats—why was he the first to be targeted?

What Lin Chengdong didn’t know was that Mu Xianqing had zeroed in on his company from the sea of copyright violations and placed it at the top of the list.

Mu Xianqing himself couldn't care less about the internal drama among Universe Pictures’ shareholders—he didn’t even bother watching from the sidelines, considering it boring.

But Jiang Ruotang was his ally and, frankly, his cash cow. So of course he’d make an example of Lin Chengdong to scare the rest.

On Lin Chengdong’s end, he didn’t dare let the case go to court. If it became public news, he’d be the joke of the industry, and even bank loans would be hard to get approved for. He had no choice but to negotiate an out-of-court settlement with the opposing legal team.

And an out-of-court settlement required sincerity.

Mu Xianqing wasn’t short on money—Lin Chengdong’s chump change meant nothing to him. But that didn’t mean he’d tolerate nobodies meddling with his business. He set a compensation amount that would make Lin Chengdong beg.

Fortunately, the Mu family was also a shareholder in Universe Pictures. Lin Chengdong managed to get an old shareholder acquainted with the Mu family as a mediator. He originally wanted to invite Mu Xianqing to a meal, but Mu Xianqing blew him off. Out of respect for the old shareholder, the compensation was eventually reduced to a reasonable amount.

In the end, Lin Chengdong got wrecked financially and reputationally.

The old shareholder bluntly stated that this was the last time he’d step in for Lin Chengdong, adding that he had lost his original drive and was nothing like the diligent young man who had once worked under Old Master Jiang twenty years ago.

Lin Chengdong faked gratitude as he escorted the old shareholder home, but internally, he tuned him out. Later, he hit up a temple to pray his bad luck away, convinced that his failure was just a fluke.

But after this disaster, his game company went belly up.

Not only did he have to fork over the profits from those few days to Mu Xianqing, but he also ended up losing millions of his own money.

Once Mu Xianqing received the compensation, he distributed over two million to Jiang Ruotang, tens of thousands to Cai Ji, and even Lu Guifan inexplicably received a few thousand—all according to their shares and contracts.

At the time, they were in class when the bank notifications arrived, leaving all three completely lost.

Cai Ji and Lu Guifan simultaneously turned to look at Jiang Ruotang.

Jiang Ruotang was just as clueless—this wasn’t the quarterly profit-sharing period for the game company.

Of course, the chemistry teacher was calling students up to solve problems on the blackboard. When Lu Guifan glanced toward Jiang Ruotang, the teacher took it as the class monitor suggesting Jiang Ruotang for the task—a chance to "challenge" him.

"Jiang Ruotang, come up and solve this problem," the chemistry teacher said with a smile.

Jiang Ruotang blanked. His mind had been zoned out with the bank notification, and he hadn’t fully processed the teacher’s explanation.

*Who am I? Where am I?*

Steeling himself, Jiang Ruotang stood up. Just then, he heard Zhao Zhangfeng mumble under his breath, "I know how to do this one… Cai Cai taught me…"

*What? If even Zhao Zhangfeng can solve it, there’s no way I can’t.*

Head held high, Jiang Ruotang strode to the blackboard, took a deep breath, and carefully read the question.

*Huh. I actually know this—Lu Guifan taught me!*

Under the watchful eyes of the entire class, Jiang Ruotang casually tucked one hand into his uniform pocket and wrote out the solution line by line, arriving at the correct answer with the confidence of a pro.

The chemistry teacher nodded approvingly. "Jiang Ruotang’s reasoning is very clear. Everyone, take a look."

Jiang Ruotang turned and walked back to his seat, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

*Thank goodness I got it right—didn’t embarrass myself.*

Jian Sha cocked her head, amused. "With that attitude, I almost thought you were the chemistry rep!"

Regardless of the reason, Jiang Ruotang had solved the problem correctly—he had every right to feel pleased with himself.

As soon as class ended, Cai Ji announced he was starving and dragged Jiang Ruotang out to buy snacks.

Knowing Lu Guifan had also received the random deposit and must be equally confused, Jiang Ruotang "accidentally-on-purpose" grabbed Lu Guifan’s wrist on the way out and pulled him along.

"Monitor, you’re coming too—"

Lu Guifan went off-balance, half his body yanked forward. Instinctively, he pulled back—only to send Jiang Ruotang stumbling backward.

As Jiang Ruotang wobbled, about to land on the floor, Lu Guifan reflexively stuck out a leg to catch him. The next second, Jiang Ruotang found himself seated on Lu Guifan’s right knee.

It was a weird spot, but realization hit Jiang Ruotang immediately.

The surrounding classmates broke into catcalls.

Jiang Ruotang turned his head, meeting Lu Guifan’s gaze.

Before he could decipher the emotions in those eyes, Lu Guifan tilted his face slightly and said flatly, "Young Master, how long are you planning to use me as a human chair?"

Jiang Ruotang jumped up. "Sorry! I didn’t mean to!"

Lu Guifan stood, stepping away from the desk. He rested a hand on Jiang Ruotang’s head and gently nudged him forward. "Let’s go. Snacks."

Jiang Ruotang hurried ahead, pretending nothing had happened—though inwardly, he was secretly thrilled.

He didn’t see Lu Guifan’s other hand clenching the edge of his pants pocket, only relaxing once they left the classroom.

Once outside the school building, Jiang Ruotang immediately called Mu Xianqing to ask about the unexpected deposits.

"What? Infringement compensation? So it’s not the quarterly profits?" Jiang Ruotang was surprised.

Mu Xianqing, sipping coffee on the other end, replied lazily, "Mhm. The money came from Lin Chengdong."

His tone was so smug that Jiang Ruotang could practically picture a Doberman wagging its tail.

"In that case, I’m spending this money without holding back. Don’t come asking for it back later."

"Would I? But Little Goldfish, whatever you plan to buy, give me a heads-up."

Although Mu Xianqing didn't believe an eighteen-year-old high school student could have such long-term investment foresight, he did believe in metaphysics.

Figuring that as long as he rode Jiang Ruotang's coattails, he could make money, of course, he wanted to hear more of his ideas.

Jiang Ruotang chuckled and replied, "Got it," before hanging up the phone. He then passed along the news with Cai Ji and Lu Guifan.

Lu Guifan's expression remained calm. He wasn’t particularly driven by money, but he enjoyed seeing Jiang Ruotang happy about earning it.

As for Cai Ji, he was completely floored.

"With the game royalties and this infringement compensation, I already have over half a million... I never even imagined I could have this much money."

Jiang Ruotang smiled. "You’ll have even more in the future. Just be careful—keep this from your uncles and aunts, or they’ll come asking for money again."

Cai Ji nodded. "Actually, I want to give this money to my mom. Her and my stepfather’s factory has contracted a product line for the sports brand Nifeng, so they’re expanding and allowing employees to invest."

Jiang Ruotang gave an approving nod. "That’s a pretty good investment. Nifeng’s brand development is stable. If your mom and stepfather’s factory can partner with them, it means their production quality is top-notch."

Hearing Jiang Ruotang’s affirmation, Cai Ji lit up with a huge grin.

Lu Guifan turned to Jiang Ruotang. "This much money feels strange to me. Why don’t you take it? You can manage it—otherwise, it’ll just sit in the bank."

Jiang Ruotang nearly grabbed Lu Guifan’s shoulders and shook him. "Class monitor, get a grip! If I lose all your money, you’ll have nothing left."

"Is that so?" Lu Guifan looked at Jiang Ruotang, a quiet smile in his eyes, as if to say it wouldn’t matter even if it were lost.

Jiang Ruotang blinked. "Shouldn’t you save it, preferably in a three-to-five-year CD? Once you’ve decided where you’ll settle down, you can buy a house in that city!"

"Really? I just suddenly realized I don’t necessarily have to live the life my parents always expected of me."

"Huh?" Jiang Ruotang looked at him in confusion.

"Work hard to get into a good university, join a stable research institute, repeat studies that may not generate economic benefits but please the higher-ups, year after year, until retirement, and then die of old age."

Jiang Ruotang thought, *Isn’t that exactly Lu Guifan’s past life?*

Stable, but dull.

Brilliant but settling for average.

Though Jiang Ruotang didn’t know whether Lu Guifan had accepted the opportunity to study abroad after his own death.

"So, what kind of life do you want?" Jiang Ruotang asked curiously.

It was naive and laughable to be imagining their futures when they hadn’t even gotten into university yet.

But sometimes, envisioning the future also meant understanding one’s deepest desires.

"Maybe spending so much time with you has made me see my abilities from a different perspective. STEM subjects aren’t just problems printed on paper—turning them into something useful feels much more interesting. Like the coding I’ve been learning from Cai Cai—when it becomes a game level, playing it with you makes me really happy."

Jiang Ruotang immediately understood what Lu Guifan meant.

Tilting his head, Jiang Ruotang suddenly blurted out, "Class monitor, you’re awesome."

Lu Guifan pressed a hand lightly on Jiang Ruotang’s head, thinking to himself, *The truly awesome one is you.*

*You make everyone around you better.*

In the second week of the new year, the acquisition of Xiaotian Guo entered its make-or-break final stage.

Jiang Ruotang had thought his financial standing was enough to secure an easy win, but an unexpected rival emerged.

Mr. Zheng explained that the other party was rolling in money. If they secured the shares they wanted, even if Jiang Ruotang got the rest, he’d have no real power in management, and many of his previous plans would be impossible to realize.

"Uncle Zheng, can you find out who the other party is?" Jiang Ruotang asked curiously.

"Qi Yanze."

"Huh? That rings a bell..." Jiang Ruotang couldn’t place it right away.

"He’s the youngest brother of Qi Yanfeng, the current chairman of Hongtian Borui Film Company."

"Pfft—" Jiang Ruotang almost spit out his milk tea.

*That* Qi Yanze?!

Talk about bad luck.

"Judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem like you and Qi Yanze can coexist peacefully?" Mr. Zheng was sharp as ever.

Hongtian Borui’s scale in the industry was at least a third larger than Jiang Ruotang’s father’s film company. The two companies occasionally collaborated but also competed for market data.

But Jiang Ruotang and Qi Yanze had once come to blows—no, more accurately, Jiang Ruotang had been the one punched until his nose bled.

The story dated back to last year.

A renowned director had held a birthday party for his seventieth, attended by many big names in the entertainment industry.

Jiang Ruotang had gone with Jiang Huaiyuan, and the Lin father and son had also attended. Unexpectedly, they ran into Qi Yanze.

He was the infamous hellraiser of the Qi family—spoiled by his parents, protected by his eldest brother, getting whatever he wanted. He never lacked starlets or models throwing themselves at him, but for some reason, he’d grown tired of the usual fare and set his sights on Lin Lu, the innocent wallflower.

Lin Lu was clever. Wanting to reject him but not daring to offend him outright, he kept throwing Jiang Ruotang desperate glances. Jiang Ruotang shadowed Lin Lu, but Qi Yanze loved the chase. He cornered Lin Lu at every opportunity, finally provoking Jiang Ruotang enough to dump a drink in his lap.

Qi Yanze, who had never been "treated" like that before, immediately punched Jiang Ruotang, making his nose bleed.

Lin Lu just stood there, frozen, while Jiang Huaiyuan rushed his son to the hospital.

Though Qi Yanze’s parents later visited the Jiang family to apologize, Jiang Ruotang still remembered the smirk Qi Yanze gave him as he descended the stairs, as if saying, *I hit you—what are you gonna do about it?*

The feud was born, while Lin Lu managed to come out completely unscathed.

"How much is Qi Yanze offering?" Jiang Ruotang asked.

"Over 2 mil. I doubt he’s even thought about what to do after acquiring Xiaotian Guo. Is he just going to let it stagnate, without introducing other copyrights to attract users? Eventually, he’ll have to seek financing. Is he trying to buy an internet platform for Hongtian Borui? If it’s Hongtian Borui making the move, they have ample funds, extensive connections, and partners. At best, we’d be lucky to get scraps, and none of your plans for Xiaotian Guo’s future would come to fruition. It might be better to just give up."

"Uncle Zheng, let me think about it and get back to you."

"Alright, you really should consider it carefully."

After hanging up, Jiang Ruotang propped his arms on the corridor railing, recalling everything he knew about Qi Yanze and Hongtian Borui.

From what he remembered, Xiaotian Guo had survived for a while after the lawsuit, following other video platforms in acquiring some film and drama copyrights. But its content library remained sparse, lacking a smart recommendation engine or effective use of major creators' followings. In the end, it was swallowed by another platform and folded before even launching a mobile app.

If their content library had been lacking in his past life, it meant the operators had limited funds and failed to secure financing—hardly the backing of a giant like Hongtian Borui.

So, buying Xiaotian Guo was likely Qi Yanze’s pet project.

Jiang Ruotang returned home and asked his father for Qi Yanze’s direct contact info.

"Ruotang, don't tell me you're planning to get back at Qi Yanze for punching you last time...?" Jiang Huaiyuan asked with concern.

"Of course not!" Jiang Ruotang laughed. "A stand-up guy like me, who turns the other cheek, might just invite him for a giant pancake instead?"

"What?" Jiang Huaiyuan looked utterly confused.

"Never mind. But Dad, you can’t tell anyone I asked for Qi Yanze’s number." Jiang Ruotang tilted his head and extended his pinky finger toward his father.

"You really just want to treat him to pancakes?" Jiang Huaiyuan asked skeptically.

"That's right! A huge one—bigger than my face!"

Jiang Huaiyuan was clueless what his son was up to, but over the years, Jiang Ruotang had never hurt anyone. Even after getting punched by Qi Yanze and bleeding from the nose, he’d just locked himself in his room, too embarrassed to face anyone.

If he really wanted revenge, he wouldn’t have waited this long.

"Alright, I’ll keep it a secret." Jiang Huaiyuan hooked his pinky with his son’s.

Meanwhile, Qi Yanze, who was shooting pool with a group of trust fund buddies, received a call from an unknown number. Without a second thought, he hung up—but the number kept ringing relentlessly.

Qi Yanze was about to block it, but the sheer persistence of the caller annoyed him. He snapped, "Who the hell is this? Got a death wish?"

"Mr. Qi, I’d like to discuss Little Sweet Fruit with you."

Qi Yanze smirked arrogantly. "Oh! I know who you are! You’re the one who lost the bidding to me, right? Highest bidder wins—if you can’t afford it, take a seat!"

The voice on the other end sounded like a man in his forties or fifties, who didn't even blink at Qi Yanze’s rudeness.

"That’s fine. You can save my number, Mr. Qi. When Little Sweet Fruit goes belly-up on you, you can come to me. Finding someone willing to pay more than me? Good luck with that."

Qi Yanze’s temper flared instantly. He abandoned his game, gripping his pool cue as he shot back, "You’re just a sore loser, a crybaby! Can't buy Little Sweet Fruit, so you curse me to fail? What kind of loser comes at me like this? Get lost!"

Despite his words, Qi Yanze didn’t hang up. He had a competitive streak—if someone provoked him, he had to crush them.

This guy wanted Little Sweet Fruit, right? Shouldn’t he be negotiating? Begging?

But instead, he starts with trash talk? What kind of attitude is that?

"Oh, really?" The man remained calm. "Why don’t you go ask your big brother, 'Little Qi'?"

What the hell? It’s "Mr. Qi," not "Little Qi"!

"Are you off your meds? He’s my brother, not my dad! Why should I ask him for permission?"

"But after you blow through those twenty million, how will you fund Little Sweet Fruit’s transition to a legit business? With your little rich-kid friends? Ask them—when you need them to invest, will their pooled cash even cover one episode of *Peppa Pig*?"

With that, the call ended.

Qi Yanze was fuming. He’d never been so completely rattled before!

He hadn’t even finished ripping apart the guy, and yet—who does he think he is, hanging up first?

It was like a kindergarten fight where you think you’re winning, only for the other kid to cover their ears, stick out their tongue, and yell, "I can’t hear you!"

On the other end, Mr. Zheng exhaled in relief.

He’d followed Jiang Ruotang’s script to provoke Qi Yanze. He’d expected to be blocked after the first sentence, yet somehow, he’d lasted until he could hang up himself.

Jiang Ruotang’s understanding of Qi Yanze’s personality was dead-on.

"Uncle Zheng, don’t worry. We just have to wait for Qi Yanze to come to us."

That’s what Jiang Ruotang had said. Zheng Huasheng hadn’t believed it at first—but now, he was coming around.

Qi Yanze gathered his friends. "Hey, if I ran into funding trouble halfway through a business venture, how much could you guys chip in?"

Honestly, if Qi Yanze were opening a bar or a KTV, these guys would be tripping over themselves to invest. But Little Sweet Fruit?

Some video-sharing site? What kind of profit was there?

"Uh… I’ll put in 500,000!"

Once one spoke up, the others followed.

"Same, 500,000!"

"No problem, Brother Ze, count me in!"

Qi Yanze clenched his pool cue so hard it nearly snapped. These guys could easily spare five million each if they wanted.

But 500,000? Even wedding gifts weren’t this stingy—this was pocket change!

That "sore loser" had been right. Combined, they couldn’t even afford a kids’ cartoon!

Furious, he threw down his cue on the table, hopped into his sports car, and sped off to his brother’s office.