Chapter 140: The One She Favors, She Protects

This time, they chose a café a little farther away.

It was still Chen Ziyan who had booked the place.

Mainly because Su Su and Yuan Yi's incident had happened there last time, and Chen Ziyan felt it was a bad omen.

Lu Yan He walked for fifteen minutes before arriving at the new location Chen Ziyan had found.

This place was a Western restaurant.

When Lu Yan He was leaving the classroom, Chen Ziyan had already photographed the menu for him to see what he wanted to eat.

By the time Lu Yan He arrived, the food had already been served.

On a weekday noon, the Western restaurant was not very crowded.

Today, Chen Ziyan wore a tailored suit and had applied lipstick, looking even more capable than during their last meeting.

Seeing Lu Yan He, she smiled slightly.

"Sit."

Lu Yan He sat down.

"Let's eat first, and talk after we're done," Chen Ziyan said. "I haven't had lunch yet either; I'm very hungry."

"Okay." Lu Yan He nodded, picked up his knife and fork.

After finishing, Chen Ziyan wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Lu Yan He also put down his knife and fork.

Chen Ziyan said to him, "I've been sitting all morning, meeting people one after another. Since everyone learned I'm back, they've been sending me talents, wanting me to see if I'm interested in representing anyone. I've been thinking: having launched so many big-name artists, does this Agent job still hold any new meaning for me?"

Lu Yan He looked at her puzzled, not understanding why she was telling him these things.

"Then I kept thinking about the two works you sent me last night," Chen Ziyan said, looking at him. "Did you create these recently?"

"Not recently; I've been working on them for a long time. I only formally wrote them out for this meeting with you," Lu Yan He said.

"You are very honest."

"How should I put it? I'm just an ordinary eighteenth-tier minor celebrity," Lu Yan He smiled. "I have nothing except honesty."

"Don't you also create your own work?" Chen Ziyan said. "That is a very rare and precious ability."

Lu Yan He nodded and said frankly, "But a swift horse needs a connoisseur. Without you as my Agent, it might take me a very long time before anyone sees... my talents."

Even as he spoke the word "talents," Lu Yan He still felt an indescribable sense of shame.

"But I know that if you are willing to represent me, give me one year, and you can make me famous and earn money for you," Lu Yan He said, overcoming that shame. "Making an artist famous is simple for you, and making money is simple for you, but this is what I can promise after thinking about it for a long time; it is something I can achieve."

A hint of interest appeared in Chen Ziyan's calm eyes.

"I hope you will be my Agent. I have laid out everything I can offer, everything I hope will move you," Lu Yan He said, his sincere gaze gently resting on Chen Ziyan's eyes.

"Good." Chen Ziyan nodded.

Lu Yan He was stunned.

"Huh?"

"I said good," Chen Ziyan said. "Actually, I had already made my decision the first time I asked you out to meet. But I wanted to see how you would react if I hesitated. Honestly, you gave me an even bigger surprise; I didn't expect you to have such creative ability."

Lu Yan He looked at her in disbelief.

"You had already decided to represent me?"

"Otherwise, why do you think I came all the way to meet you near your school? Do you think I'm that free?" Chen Ziyan laughed. "You are a very smart boy, but sometimes, you are simpler than I imagined."

Lu Yan He didn't know what to say.

He had worked so hard preparing for so long, only to be told she had already decided to represent him?

Chen Ziyan said, "Let's keep the fact that I'm representing you quiet for now. Before your Gao San exams end, I don't plan to take on any work for you. Just let your contract with Star Entertainment expire smoothly, and then we will sign a new one."

Lu Yan He looked at Chen Ziyan in surprise.

"Sign a new one?"

"Mm." Chen Ziyan nodded. "What, did you think you could still keep the old contract and split the profits?"

Under the old contract, the profit split was 2:8, with him getting 2 and the company getting 8.

Lu Yan He looked at Chen Ziyan in surprise; he hadn't expected her to even prepare to change his contract.

"Oh."

Chen Ziyan said, "For the next period, just focus on your exam preparation and don't think about anything else. If you can really get into a Tier-1 university, then I'll already have my first topic to promote."

"Academic overachiever?"

"Don't insult me with those clichéd tactics of Zhou Ping'an," Chen Ziyan said. "The topic I want to promote is about how a faded idol relies on their own efforts to stage a comeback. An 'academic overachiever' persona will backfire; a comeback is the eternal protagonist. Going from the bottom of the grade to the top 100, from a vocational college level to a Tier-1 university—you will become the first star in the entire entertainment industry to wear the halo of a counterattack. Although there aren't many academic overachievers in this industry, there are still some, but a star who starts a comeback in Gao San and gets into a Tier-1 university? That has never happened before."

Hearing Chen Ziyan's words, Lu Yan He was once again speechless. One could only say that Chen Ziyan indeed had some unconventional ideas and methods.

Chen Ziyan drove Lu Yan He to the entrance of No. 13 Middle School.

"Do your best," Chen Ziyan said.

"Mm." Lu Yan He unbuckled his seatbelt. "Thank you."

After getting out of the car, Lu Yan He turned back, waved to the person inside, and walked toward the school gate.

Probably because he felt reassured in his heart, his mood became lighter.

He was no longer so anxious about the future.

The classroom was bustling with noise.

Before Lu Yan He had even stepped inside, he heard voices buzzing like boiling water.

He walked in puzzled, somewhat confused, seeing a group of people whispering about something.

"What's going on?" Lu Yan He asked Li Pengfei.

Li Pengfei seemed to be in a daze, frowning and lowering his head in deep thought, not hearing Lu Yan He's voice.

Lu Yan He had to wave his hand in front of Li Pengfei.

"Heh."

Li Pengfei snapped back to reality and looked at him.

"Oh, Old Lu, you're back."

"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so absent-minded?" Lu Yan He asked.

Li Pengfei glanced around, took out his phone, searched for something, and then held the screen up in front of Lu Yan He.

"Just look and you'll know," Li Pengfei said.

Hearing this, Lu Yan He took Li Pengfei's phone and looked at it.

It was a post on a forum.

Lu Yan He quickly realized this was the very post that had been the talk of the class for the past few days.

The one claiming that two people in their class were secretly dating.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Yan He discovered that the creator of the post had updated it at noon today, writing: "Although not many people know about this underground couple, the boy once gave the girl a pair of pink gloves."

Wait, pink gloves?

Isn't this—

Lu Yan He suddenly snapped back to reality; weren't the gloves Li Pengfei had bought for Xu Zijun earlier a pair of pink gloves?

He looked at Li Pengfei in surprise and asked, "Could it be that you and Xu Zijun?"

Panic immediately flashed across Li Pengfei's face.

"How could that be possible? Don't talk nonsense!" he said nervously, "I'm already afraid that others will see this post and think it's about me and her."

"Then if there's nothing going on between you two, why would someone write this?"

"Who knows!" Li Pengfei said furiously, looking visibly angry; it was clear he was truly dissatisfied with this matter.

There was absolutely nothing between him and Xu Zijun; if not for her older sister Xu Fanxing asking them to deliver a letter, he felt he wouldn't have spoken a single word to Xu Zijun throughout his three years of high school.

Although he had later sent a pair of gloves to Xu Zijun, it was only because he had heard about her situation, felt some sympathy for her, and saw that her hands had developed chilblains, which was why he sent them.

As a result, he was now being slandered online.

He really did not want to be misunderstood as secretly dating Xu Zijun; he admitted that while he felt a bit of sympathy for Xu Zijun, he absolutely did not wish to get entangled with her.

Seeing him angry, Lu Yan He asked, "Then who else knows about you sending her a pair of gloves, besides you and me?"

"No one else; I didn't tell anyone, not even Xu Zijun herself knows it was me who sent them," Li Pengfei said.

Lu Yan He looked at him in shock, "Even she doesn't know it was you who sent them?"

"Mm," Li Pengfei nodded, "I just waited until everyone had left one night, put the gloves in her desk drawer, and left her a small note telling her they were for her."

Lu Yan He: "..."

"Why didn't you just give them to her directly?"

Li Pengfei: "What if she refused to accept them? It's better to just slip them into her drawer."

Lu Yan He: "..."

He didn't know what to say.

"Is it a coincidence, or does someone know you sent Xu Zijun a pair of gloves and mistakenly thinks you two are secretly dating?" Lu Yan He asked.

Li Pengfei: "Who would know I sent Xu Zijun a pair of gloves? I didn't put them in her drawer in front of others; like I said, everyone had left at the time."

Lu Yan He's eyes flickered slightly as he asked, "Could it be that you've forgotten someone secretly opened your express delivery box before?"

Li Pengfei displayed a look of shock and sudden realization, "You mean the person who secretly opened my express delivery?"

"The only people who knew there was a pair of pink gloves in your express box were you, me, and the person who secretly opened your express delivery; now someone is saying this underground couple has a pair of pink gloves, so since it's neither me nor you, it can only be him," Lu Yan He said.

"Damn, that bastard!" Li Pengfei reacted immediately and cursed loudly.

Everyone else immediately looked over, watching him with confusion.

Seeing this, Li Pengfei suppressed his temper again.

Lu Yan He whispered, "Actually, this is good; originally we would never have been able to find out who the person secretly opening your express delivery was, but now this person can't help but reveal themselves, giving us a chance to catch him."

Li Pengfei said, "Just let me find out who this person is, and you'll see me beat the hell out of him! Damn it!"

Lu Yan He: "Let's find the person first; someone like this is indeed disgusting."

First, check the IP address.

When you post online, you always leave traces, unless you are a hacker god who roams the cyber world unchallenged, leaving no traces whatsoever.

How advanced could a high school student's hacking skills possibly be?

However, hiding one's real IP address doesn't require much skill; many high school students can do it.

Upon checking the account IP of the poster, it showed: United States.

Nonsense; it's obviously fake at a glance.

If the IP address can't be traced, then we should just look for the traces this person's ID has left elsewhere on the internet.

But this ID seemed to be newly registered not long ago, with not much valuable information.

After discussing with Li Pengfei, Lu Yan He decided to try fishing for information from this ID tonight.

The task of fishing for information fell to Lu Yan He.

He registered a new account and sent a private message to the ID named "Light": I'm a student from Class Three; regarding the couple you mentioned, one of them wouldn't happen to be the person who was dragged into a lot of trouble recently, would they?

Lu Yan He got straight to the point with this question.

He felt that only by dropping some bait and pointing the clues toward Xu Zijun would this "Light" take the hook.

The person in their class who had been dragged into a lot of trouble recently was undoubtedly Xu Zijun.

Sure enough, "Light" replied to him thirty minutes later: So you also know who it is?

Lu Yan He smiled and replied to "Light": When they were exchanging gifts, I secretly saw it, so when I saw your post, I was startled; at that time, there was clearly only me outside the classroom, and only the two of them inside.

"Light" said: I found out from somewhere else, but, who are you?

Lu Yan He rolled his eyes and said, "We're both anonymous. I won't ask who you are, and you don't ask who I am. You know how wild Li Pengfei is; if he finds out and mistakenly thinks I posted this online, he might beat me to a pulp."

"Light" remained silent for quite a while before saying, "You're right."

Lu Yan He smiled; "Light" had admitted it, and one of the parties involved was indeed Li Pengfei.

Combining this with the earlier mention of "someone embroiled in many scandals," it seemed no coincidence; the underground couple "Light" referred to was Li Pengfei and Xu Zijun.

Lu Yan He continued, "I really didn't expect that those two would actually be together."

"Light" said, "What's strange about that? A barbarian paired with a fat woman; a match made in heaven."

Lu Yan He couldn't help but frown.

This person spoke too offensively.

Who in the class usually spoke in this style?

Luo Zicheng?

The first person who popped into his mind was Luo Zicheng.

Actually, upon learning this matter targeted Li Pengfei, Lu Yan He had already been wondering if this person might be Luo Zicheng.

After all, Li Pengfei had previously punched him once.

Luo Zicheng was petty and held grudges.

How could he make him reveal his true colors?

Lu Yan He thought for a moment, then sent him a message: "Do you know why Li Pengfei likes Xu Zijun?"

"Light": "Why?"

Lu Yan He said, "You don't know? Then forget it; I won't tell you."

"Light": "??"

"Light": "Stop trying to cover things up, okay?"

Lu Yan He said, "I thought you knew, but since you don't, I won't say it. What if you spread it around, Li Pengfei suspects I told you, beats me up, and I die unjustly?"

"Light": "I definitely won't tell anyone."

Lu Yan He: "Didn't you just post anonymously on the forum? You don't have much credibility."

"Light": "Who said that? I never promised to keep their secret. They let me discover this; does that mean I can't talk about it? But this, I swear I will keep confidential. Why does Li Pengfei like Xu Zijun? Spit it out."

Lu Yan He went offline.

One must whet a person's appetite to make it grow even larger.

He screenshot the entire chat and sent it to Li Pengfei: "Control your emotions first; don't alert the snake by striking the grass."

Li Pengfei: "I knew it was that dog! Damn it!"

Lu Yan He: "It's not strange if it's him; you know he bears a grudge against you and has always wanted revenge."

Li Pengfei: "I really want to kick him. How can there be such a disgusting person in this world? Damn, truly disgusting; I can't control my anger."

Lu Yan He: "Wait until I make him reveal his true colors. Once we have proof he's the one spreading rumors, then you can unleash your fury."

Li Pengfei: "What do you plan to do?"

Lu Yan He: "I haven't figured it out yet. Let's leave him hanging for now; tonight he'll definitely toss and turn wondering why you like Xu Zijun."

Li Pengfei: "Your trick is quite sinister. I originally thought you were upright, but turns out you're quite vicious too; a few sentences and you tricked him into revealing himself."

Lu Yan He smiled slightly: "That's not really vicious; just a little bit of cleverness applied."

Li Pengfei: "Give you an inch and you take a mile."

Lu Yan He: "I won't chat with you for now; I'm going to read. We'll talk later."

Li Pengfei: "Mm."

Lu Yan He reminded him again: "Don't lose your temper and go find Luo Zicheng; he definitely won't admit it right now."

Li Pengfei: "Alright, I know; I won't interfere with your continued trickery."

The next day, the first thing Li Pengfei did upon arriving at school was find Lu Yan He.

With an impatient look, he asked, "Have you figured out how to make Luo Zicheng reveal his true colors?"

"I have, but we must first resolve the matter of the pink gloves," Lu Yan He said. "Otherwise, once everyone learns the man and woman in this story are you and Xu Zijun, even if you deny it and clarify that Luo Zicheng is deliberately spreading rumors and fabricating stories, people won't fully believe you. The gloves were a gift from you; if you had given them to her openly in front of everyone without hiding anything, instead of letting such a post circulate, there wouldn't be so much room for speculation. If people find out, you might be fine, but Xu Zijun will surely become the subject of gossip and mockery again. She's already been embroiled in too much of this scandalous public opinion; let's not cause new waves that disrupt the grades she's worked so hard to stabilize."

Li Pengfei nodded.

"Fortunately, quite a few girls in our class wear pink gloves, and no one has suspected Xu Zijun yet," Lu Yan He said. "There are two options: either keep this matter hidden, or announce in front of the whole class that you gave Xu Zijun a pair of pink gloves, but find a way to make everyone understand there is absolutely no ambiguous relationship between you two, so they won't associate this incident with the pair of you—or even if they do, they won't believe it, though that's probably impossible."

Li Pengfei shook his head: "I don't know which to choose; you decide. As long as this gets resolved, it's fine."

The two looked at each other silently.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yan He whispered, "Then do this in a little while..."

After the second class ended, Li Pengfei deliberately walked over to Xu Zijun's area.

Passing by Xu Zijun's desk, Li Pengfei suddenly said loudly, "Xu Zijun, where are the gloves your sister asked me to pass along to you? I ran into her at the school gate again this morning; she told me to remind you that you've developed chilblains on your hands, so remember to wear gloves."

Xu Zijun looked at Li Pengfei in shock, utterly bewildered, as if she hadn't reacted yet.

Hearing Li Pengfei speak so loudly, Jiang Haitian and Ying Hete let out an "Oh?" and asked, "Brother Fei, when did you see Xu Zijun's sister?"

"Two or three weeks ago, I suppose," Li Pengfei said without changing his expression.

"For real? Brother Fei, could it be that the post on the forum is about you and Xu Zijun?" Li Cui immediately turned around, eyes shining with gossip, and asked.

"What the hell? You're saying Xu Zijun and I are secretly dating? Even your nonsense needs some limits," Li Pengfei denied, looking utterly speechless.

Li Pengfei appeared completely open and aboveboard, but Xu Zijun, suddenly mentioned, lowered her head, her face flushing red.

However, at this moment, Luo Zicheng suddenly looked at Li Pengfei with a mocking expression and said, "That's too coincidental."

Seeing Luo Zicheng pop up, Li Pengfei immediately glared at him.

"I advise you to shut your mouth and stop spouting nonsense; wasn't the punch I gave you last time enough?"

"Are you feeling guilty?" This time, however, Luo Zicheng seemed fully confident, not afraid at all that Li Pengfei might hit him, and said, "According to what you said, the matter of Xu Zijun's sister entrusting you to deliver gloves to her happened two weeks ago. You suddenly bring this up today; isn't that strange? Isn't it because you fear the person who posted will expose your and Xu Zijun's names, so you're deliberately making up an excuse to clarify that you were the one who gave Xu Zijun the gloves?"

Originally, when Luo Zicheng stood up and began speaking, everyone subconsciously felt resistance and disgust, yet his words somehow made them all agree to some extent.

Even though no one liked Luo Zicheng as a person, his words still shook them.

Could it be that Li Pengfei and Xu Zijun were really secretly dating?

Everyone looked at these two again, yet they still felt it really didn't seem like it.

Li Pengfei looked at Luo Zicheng speechlessly: "You're really good at making up stories; it seems that post online was fabricated by you too, right?"

Luo Zicheng naturally denied it.

"Then it has nothing to do with me."

"Heh." Li Pengfei said, "If I were really dating Xu Zijun, that would be one thing, but the problem is I'm not; furthermore, the person who made the post never said those two people were me and Xu Zijun, so how can you be so certain it's the two of us?"

Luo Zicheng immediately said: "That's naturally because you suddenly popped up just now claiming you gave Xu Zijun a pair of gloves; that behavior is very suspicious."

"Oh, so me giving Xu Zijun a pair of gloves is very suspicious? Old Lu, you were there with me when we saw Sister Xu Zijun; when I gave Xu Zijun the gloves, you were there too, so you're very suspicious as well—are you also secretly involved with Xu Zijun behind my back?"

Lu Yan He lifted his head as if he hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying just now, "Huh?"

Li Pengfei snorted with laughter, looking at Luo Zicheng with an expression of utter disdain.

Luo Zicheng said: "Whatever you say, Lu Yan He naturally won't object."

Lu Yan He smiled.

"Brother Fei, why has Luo Zicheng targeted you again?" He casually twirled a pen between his fingers.

Li Pengfei said: "This idiot insists that the underground couple mentioned in the Tieba post is me and Xu Zijun."

Lu Yan He: "The reason for targeting you this time is this far-fetched?"

"Exactly."

Lu Yan He suddenly chuckled, "I say, Brother Fei, could it be that Luo Zicheng directed and acted this all himself, specially wrote a post just to spread rumors about you today?"

Li Pengfei: "Who knows."

Lu Yan He said: "That day when you gave Xu Zijun the gloves, only I was present; even Xu Zijun wasn't there. You just threw the gloves and the letter her sister wrote for her into her drawer, with no one else around. If the couple in this post refers to you and Xu Zijun, then I must say this person is targeting you; he must have seen you bring a pink pair of gloves into the classroom, then two days later saw Xu Zijun wearing the pink gloves you had brought earlier, and jumped to the conclusion that you two must be dating."

Li Pengfei: "I think it's just that dog Luo Zicheng targeting me, doing nothing human all day long."

Luo Zicheng's face flushed red with anger.

"Don't slander people with baseless accusations!"

"Then if you have the guts, take out your phone, open your Tieba, and let's see if your ID is that 'Light'!" Li Pengfei pointed at Luo Zicheng, "Everyone has seen that post, and you've seen it too; don't tell me you don't have an account. Open it now, open the Tieba app, and show us your ID!"

The situation suddenly took a sharp turn, undergoing a massive change.

Earlier, everyone felt Luo Zicheng made sense, that there seemed to be some ambiguity between Li Pengfei and Xu Zijun, but immediately after Li Pengfei's righteous, completely unashamed shout, everyone's gaze fell upon Luo Zicheng.

"Luo Zicheng, why don't you take out your phone and check?" Jiang Haitian, as Li Pengfei's friend, watched the drama with gleaming eyes, yet at the critical moment, he still had to help Li Pengfei step on Luo Zicheng.

Luo Zicheng's face turned completely red; under the gaze of the crowd, he didn't move an inch.

He had been forced into a desperate situation.

Lu Yan He and Li Pengfei had plotted all this just for this final move.

To prove Luo Zicheng was 'Light', unless he, like Chu Saiying, stupidly exposed himself, there was no other way but to force him with such tactics.

Luo Zicheng's voice trembled: "On what grounds do you demand to see my phone? This is my privacy!"

"Who asked to see your phone? You just need to open your Tieba app background now and show us your ID." Li Pengfei said, "You don't even dare to show a single ID? Feeling guilty?"

He threw Luo Zicheng's earlier questioning right back at him.

Lu Yan He felt it was enough; he didn't actually think he could force Luo Zicheng to reveal his ID; this effect was exactly what they wanted.

He waved his hand, saying: "Forget it, boring."

Li Pengfei shrugged, also saying to the girl in front of him: "Xu Zijun, Luo Zicheng claims we two are dating; it seems we must keep some distance in the future, otherwise it's truly 'sitting at home when the pot falls from the sky'; if Liu Laoshi really misunderstands that I corrupted her prized student, wouldn't she beat me to death?"

After speaking, Li Pengfei clicked his tongue twice, gave Luo Zicheng a look of utter disgust, and returned to his seat.

Luo Zicheng only felt his face burning; that sense of shame and anger surged into his heart once again.

Old grudges and new hatreds intertwined within his heart.

Everyone whispered and debated, only Xu Zijun kept her head down, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Li Pengfei sent a message to Lu Yan He: Do you think Luo Zicheng will take the bait?

Lu Yan He: If we've forced him to this point and he still doesn't take the bait, then there's nothing more we can do about him.

Li Pengfei: Right now he must be dying to know from you why I like Xu Zijun.

Lu Yan He: Keep him waiting; we'll talk tonight.

For someone like Luo Zicheng, Lu Yan He now felt not a shred of sympathy.

He had thought the delivery box contained pornographic magazines and secretly opened Li Pengfei's delivery; it seems this guy has never given up his thieving heart, trying every possible method to make Li Pengfei lose face and retaliate against him.

Lu Yan He reminded Li Pengfei: But shouldn't you go explain things to Xu Zijun? Today she finally learned that those gloves were from you.

Li Pengfei: Don't worry; as soon as you told me the plan, I went to tell her about this matter after the first class ended, asking her to coordinate with me.

Lu Yan He: That's good then.

Lu Yan He suddenly paused; wait, since when did this guy have such a good relationship with Xu Zijun that when he asked her to coordinate, she immediately cooperated?

Xu Zijun hadn't said a word just now, letting Li Pengfei have his way; thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a bit strange.

He glanced at Li Pengfei with a somewhat peculiar expression.

"What?" Li Pengfei asked.

"Nothing." Lu Yan He shook his head.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Lu Yan He logged into Tieba.

Sure enough, 'Light' had already sent him seven or eight messages, constantly asking him why he didn't stand up today when Li Pengfei and Lu Yan He were lying?

Lu Yan He smiled and replied: How would I dare to stand up? Moreover, didn't Li Pengfei say he was just entrusted by Xu Zijun's sister to deliver a pair of gloves? Maybe I really got it wrong? But...

This "but" was used with pure soul.

"Light" replied immediately: Yesterday when you saw Li Pengfei giving gloves to Xu Zijun, only the two of them were in the classroom. Yet today Li Pengfei claims Lu Yan He was also present. Isn't that a lie? If he weren't guilty, why would he lie?

Lu Yan He continued playing his role: Sigh, that's what you say...

"Light": You know why Li Pengfei likes Xu Zijun; you must know something. What will it take for you to tell me?

Lu Yan He remained silent, not replying.

"Light": Just tell me! Whatever conditions you want in exchange, I'll agree to them all!

Lu Yan He still did not reply.

"Light": Don't chicken out! I absolutely won't drag you into this. Rest assured, I don't even know who you are.

Lu Yan He: Are you determined to make Li Pengfei pay the price?

"Light": Of course! I want everyone to see his true face!

Lu Yan He: His true face? He's just secretly dating Xu Zijun. Though he's a bit wild, he's not as bad as you make him out to be.

"Light": Heh, you simply don't understand him. He relies on his family's wealth to do whatever he wants. Look at how many classmates he's bullied!

Lu Yan He: Then what do you want to do?

"Light": I want Liu Laoshi to know what he's been doing. Now even Liu Laoshi thinks he's improved and studying hard every day; he's deceived everyone! In reality, he's just using this as cover to date Xu Zijun. Once Liu Laoshi learns Li Pengfei is dating Xu Zijun, he'll surely see through his true nature. Xu Zijun is capable of getting into a top-tier university; Liu Laoshi won't allow her to date him. At that point, his father will definitely be summoned to the school.

"..." Lu Yan He suddenly felt that Luo Zicheng suffered from severe delusions. No matter the issue, he could imagine Li Pengfei in the most negative, worst-case scenario, spinning nothing into a whole novel.

Was the shadow Li Pengfei cast on him really that large? Did it warrant such intense hatred?

Lu Yan He felt it was about time, so he said: Alright, I know Li Pengfei wrote a Love Letter to Xu Zijun, tucked it inside his Chinese textbook, and plans to give it to her in the next couple of days. If you can get hold of that Love Letter, you can prove Li Pengfei is lying.

"Light":??? How would you know this? Are you trying to trick me?

Lu Yan He: Believe it or not, up to you. Anyway, I'm about to delete my account.

Having said that, he went offline.

Lu Yan He believed that given the provocation Luo Zicheng had suffered in this matter, he would definitely try to find that Love Letter to retaliate against Li Pengfei.

However, what awaited him would certainly not be a Love Letter.

He called Li Pengfei, telling him the hook had been cast; now they just had to wait for Luo Zicheng to bite.

Li Pengfei said: "Do you think he'll actually take the bait? What if he's too cautious and refuses to act? Wouldn't all this effort be wasted?"

"If he really is too cautious and refuses to act, then we can only let it go," Lu Yan He said. "Anyway, after today's commotion, people will surely trust Luo Zicheng's claims less. He already holds grudges against both you and Xu Zijun; no one will believe a hundred percent of what he says."

"That's true."

"Besides, you and Xu Zijun aren't actually together, right?" Lu Yan He asked.

"Of course not," Li Pengfei replied immediately. "Luo Zicheng actually thinks Xu Zijun and I are dating. Truly speechless."

"After all, he knows that delivery box of yours contained a pair of pink gloves, and those gloves happened to appear on Xu Zijun's hands a few days later. Putting these things together, misunderstanding is hard to avoid. However, his intentions are malicious; he deliberately posted this on the school forum, aiming to gradually shift the spotlight onto you and Xu Zijun," Lu Yan He said. "He's even plotting to use Liu Laoshi, hoping Liu Laoshi will teach you a lesson. That's quite baffling and utterly meaningless. So what if Liu Laoshi scolds you? Haven't you been scolded by Liu Laoshi plenty of times before?"

"He's just obsessed now. Seeing me constantly improve and being praised again and again by Liu Laoshi, he's simply jealous," Li Pengfei said immediately.

Lu Yan He thought for a moment and felt Li Pengfei might actually be right. Among the classmates, Luo Zicheng surely hated Li Pengfei the most. Aside from everything else, that single punch destroyed Luo Zicheng's image in the class. Many classmates were privately mocking him. It wasn't that people mock someone for being beaten; rather, everyone despises someone who usually portrays themselves as lofty and righteous, only to reveal such cowardice.

What destroyed Luo Zicheng's image wasn't the punch he took, but the fact that day everyone saw his cowardice beneath his fierce appearance, seeing through his self-righteous hypocrisy.

Luo Zicheng believed that if he could get Li Pengfei publicly reprimanded and accused by Liu Laoshi, the image he had built over this period would collapse.

However, he completely failed to realize that while a person's image is influenced by others' evaluations, ultimately, it depends on what kind of person they truly are.

When all the classmates signed the joint letter and only he refused, he should have understood. But perhaps he was deceiving himself, or perhaps he was unwilling to admit his own problems; he simply couldn't figure it out.

It was already December; the first semester of Gao San was nearly over. Lu Yan He truly didn't want to waste his time and energy, but Li Pengfei was his friend, and Luo Zicheng was staring at Li Pengfei like a venomous snake. Lu Yan He felt he had to help Li Pengfei resolve this trouble somehow.

Especially since Lu Yan He now had another suspicion. If that suspicion proved true, he would need to help Li Pengfei resolve this matter even more urgently, preventing Luo Zicheng from adding fuel to the flames.

Lin Yu and Chen Qin happened to return at this moment.

They had both passed the independent recruitment exams and secured conditions for reduced-score admission, their faces beaming with joy.

Upon their return, other classmates felt varying degrees of envy.

This was like adding a layer of insurance. The Gaokao happens only once; if one performs poorly on that day, the past decade-plus of studying would be wasted. With these reduced-score admission conditions, given their grades, even if they underperformed, they could still secure admission steadily.

Li Cui said: "Lin Yu and Chen Qin are really lucky. I heard independent recruitment might be cancelled starting next year."

"What?" Everyone else was surprised. "Really?"

"Really," Li Cui said. "I heard they're already discussing this. Many people feel independent recruitment is unfair to many students, especially to examinees from economically underdeveloped regions."

"Wow, if this year really is the last batch of independent recruitment, Lin Yu and the others are incredibly lucky."

"Give me a break, what does luck have to do with it? Independent recruitment was earned through their own strength," Mei Ping said to the person whose tone sounded somewhat envious. "If you could rank in the top fifty of the grade, you'd have such an opportunity too."

Hearing everyone's discussion, Lu Yan He thought to himself that independent recruitment had already been cancelled in the timeline before he transmigrated.

He hadn't expected it to start being cancelled here as well.

It seemed that although the modern development of these two timelines differed in many ways, society was still evolving in the same direction.

Suddenly, at that moment, Li Pengfei patted Lu Yan He on the shoulder and said: "Going to the convenience store?"

"Let's go," Lu Yan He replied. He knew what Li Pengfei was planning: creating an opportunity for Luo Zicheng.

Only when neither of them was at their seats would Luo Zicheng have the chance to search through his Chinese textbook for the Love Letter.

Seeing Lu Yan He and Li Pengfei leave the classroom, Luo Zicheng's heart immediately began to stir with anticipation.

However, there were still many people in the classroom now, unlike last time when he searched through Li Pengfei's delivery box; back then, hardly anyone was at the back of the classroom.

Was what that person said true or false?

Luo Zicheng actually remained half-believing and half-doubting until now.

But if there really was a Love Letter inside, then he could prove that what the person said was true!

Thinking of this, Luo Zicheng's mood became excited.

He stood up and walked toward the back of the classroom.

However, the moment he rose, the gazes of many surrounding classmates immediately fell upon him.

Wherever Luo Zicheng went, he was watched by the surrounding gazes.

"..." He went to the back to get a glass of water, then returned.

Lu Yan He and Li Pengfei had created several opportunities for Luo Zicheng, but Luo Zicheng had made no move whatsoever, which made the two of them start whispering doubts to each other.

"How could this be?"

"He didn't take the bait."

"Could it be that he discovered some trickery, which is why he didn't take the bait?"

The two huddled together and discussed for a long while without reaching any conclusion, so they could only drop the matter.

What they did not know was that Luo Zicheng had not been inactive; rather, because of previous events, his every move was being watched by his classmates, making him dare not act.

"So we just let it go like this?"

"If he won't take the bait, what else can we do but let it go?"

Li Pengfei felt somewhat depressed.

Lu Yan He comforted him, "It's fine; you performed very well that day. Now everyone believes what you said more; no one believes him."

Li Pengfei sighed.

"Not forcing him to admit he is 'Light' still leaves me a bit unwilling to accept it."

December 20th.

Chen Ziyan came to see Lu Yan He again.

This time, she had found a new restaurant near the school again; she drove directly to the school gate to pick him up and take him there.

"I know your time is very tight right now, but proper relaxation is still necessary," Chen Ziyan said. "Were you studying until one in the morning again last night?"

"Did you watch my livestream?"

"Don't call me 'You' anymore."

"Then what should I call you?"

"As you wish."

"Sister Ziyan?"

"Fine."

Lu Yan He awkwardly let out an "Oh."

"I see you working even harder than Yan Liang," Chen Ziyan said. "Everyone says the most hardworking person in your group is Yan Liang; isn't that just because many people don't understand you?"

Lu Yan He shook his head. "I only started working hard after deciding to prepare seriously for the college entrance exam; Yan Liang has been working hard every single day since he started participating in competitions."

Chen Ziyan nodded.

"You are willing to work hard and remain so humble; that is a very good quality. What annoys me most are those who do one part and boast three, people who only move themselves," Chen Ziyan said. "Last time, you gave me the story for 'Lost on Journey'; I had a professional Screenwriter look at it, and his evaluation was very high, saying it is extremely suitable for adaptation into a film script."

Lu Yan He thought to himself, Of course it is; this story was originally derived from an excellent film.

"Have you considered transitioning to behind-the-scenes work in the future? I see that you can write songs as well as stories," Chen Ziyan said.

Lu Yan He immediately shook his head.

"My creative speed is very slow; if I had to rely on creation to support myself, I basically wouldn't survive," Lu Yan He said, possessing clear self-awareness.

None of these things truly belonged to him.

There would always be a day when they ran out.

Chen Ziyan said, "Your creative ability is very strong, which will be of great benefit to your future development. Whether singing or acting, one must have very good aesthetic sense and keen insight. Some rely on talent, others on later learning; you clearly have talent, and your later learning is also very diligent. If you build a firmer foundation now, you will be able to go further in the future."

"Mm."

Lu Yan He could feel that Chen Ziyan was sharing some of her life experience with him.

"The entertainment industry is an especially cruel place, but you cannot feel it now because you are young; all the difficulties you currently face come from Zhou Ping'an obstructing you. But one day, when you encounter a broader world, you will also encounter broader difficulties: for example, a complex character you cannot understand and therefore cannot play, resulting in lost opportunities; or a friend who seems kind and concerned for you suddenly stabbing you in the back one day, turning your entire life upside down—that is cruel betrayal; or as you grow older, your market continuously shrinks, your opportunities become fewer and fewer, and without sufficient ability to extend the vitality of your career, you can only awkwardly continue playing roles unsuited to you, such as the handsome CEO in idol dramas, until you are cursed by negative reviews across the entire internet to the point where no producer dares to use you again, and your career thus reaches its end."

Chen Ziyan drove her car into a parking lot, swiftly seizing a parking space just as another car approached from the opposite direction.

Her speed was fast, yet her expression remained normal.

"I know that most of what I am telling you now, you basically cannot understand, but I still have to tell you, because you need to know one thing: since I have decided to represent you, all my arrangements for you are for a more long-term future. You may not understand, but you must accept it." After Chen Ziyan finished speaking, she immediately turned off the engine. "We're here; get out."

Chen Ziyan's unquestionable attitude left Lu Yan He somewhat dazed.

—You may not understand, but you must accept it.

This sentence sounded a bit like Zhou Ping'an's attitude; he never allowed his artists to resist his decisions.

However, although Chen Ziyan had spoken such words in such an indisputable tone, it did not make him feel it was hard to accept.

On the contrary, he felt this was also very good.

"Sister Ziyan, although I have already debuted for two and a half years, in reality, these two and a half years since my debut have been no different for me than if I had never debuted; I am still a newcomer. You are my Agent, so I certainly believe in you," he said. "Therefore, you don't need to worry about me not listening to you; I will listen."

Chen Ziyan paused in her steps, turned around, and looked at Lu Yan He with some surprise.

Lu Yan He broke into a brilliant smile.

"I know you are doing this for my own good."

Chen Ziyan thought to herself, Young people are indeed young people, so easily trusting an Agent they have just met.

So easy to deceive.

If she were someone with the same character as Zhou Ping'an, what would he do then?

Chen Ziyan turned back around, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

Up to now, every one of Lu Yan He's reactions had made her feel very comfortable.

Although young people are easy to deceive, she was too lazy to deceive young people like someone such as Zhou Ping'an would.

Since this person was the one she had chosen, then she would be the one to protect him.

From now on, let all sorts of demons and monsters get out of the way.

Chen Ziyan suddenly coming to find Lu Yan He today was, of course, not for idle chat.

Only after they sat down in the restaurant did she bring up the main matter.

"I need to tell you two things; the first concerns your current livestream room," Chen Ziyan said. "The concurrent viewership in your livestream room has now reached a scale of nearly two thousand people. Because your livestream's theme aligns very well with mainstream trends, the streaming platform occasionally features you on its homepage recommendation slot to drive traffic to you. According to my projections, by next June, the viewership for your livestream will reach somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000. This number isn't large in the context of livestreaming, but it holds great significance for you—or rather, it holds great significance for you to restart your entertainment career after the college entrance examination."

Lu Yan He looked at her perplexed, not understanding why she was saying this.

"Because your livestream room is unique across the entire internet; you are currently the only study blogger with any influence," Chen Ziyan said. "That is the greatest significance. Coupled with the two silk banners you received previously, your public image will be extremely positive, and a very positive public image is highly favored by potential partners."

Only then did Lu Yan He understand what Chen Ziyan wanted to say.

"Mm."

"However, there are both advantages and disadvantages; you have already embarked on the path of a hardworking academic overachiever. Even if you don't intentionally establish this persona, others will assign it to you anyway, which means your college entrance examination results will be subjected to intense scrutiny," Chen Ziyan said. "Once you perform poorly, all the praise and approval you received earlier will turn into disparagement."

Lu Yan He understood Chen Ziyan's meaning clearly, and he nodded.

"Therefore, I hope that no matter what happens, you do not become lax; you must study well and study seriously. Merely putting on a show will not suffice; you need to achieve a truly good score."

"Okay." So it was about this matter; Lu Yan He nodded, feeling no psychological burden whatsoever, as this was something he intended to do anyway.

His goals remained Zhenhua and Yuming, even though no one believed in them.

"The second matter concerns the two works you wrote: 'Childhood' and 'Lost on Journey'."

Chen Ziyan said, "Regarding the song 'Childhood,' I have already found someone to help arrange the music for you, but the official recording will take place after the college entrance examination. At that time, I plan to have you perform it at some gala. I'm telling you this in advance: do not expose this song to the public for now."

"Okay."

"And regarding the story 'Lost on Journey,' what are your thoughts?" Chen Ziyan asked.

"Huh?" Lu Yan He looked at Chen Ziyan incomprehendingly. "What thoughts?"

"You wrote this story surely with the intention of adapting it into a film or television production, right?" Chen Ziyan asked.

Lu Yan He nodded.

Chen Ziyan said, "What I mean is, do you want to write the screenplay for this story yourself, or do you hope that I find a buyer to purchase the copyright and let others develop it?"

Lu Yan He pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't know how to write screenplays either."

Chen Ziyan said, "If you are not in a hurry to monetize this story, then my suggestion would be to first register the copyright for this story. We don't need to rush the next steps yet. It would be a pity if you didn't star in this screenplay yourself; however, it is difficult for you to secure a leading role in a movie right now, so let's take it step by step."

"I'll listen to you, Sister Ziyan."

"Alright, then listen to me," Chen Ziyan nodded. "This is your advantage; remember to preserve any good ideas you have. An artist with creative abilities is a rare commodity."

Lu Yan He laughed. "Okay."

That evening, Lu Yan He livestreamed as usual.

After going live, Lu Yan He told everyone about the content he had mainly been studying recently.

He habitually scrolled through the danmu comments to see what everyone was saying.

That "Pretty Girl Lanlan" still had not appeared.

She had not shown up for several days now.

Had she lost interest in this livestream room?

Lu Yan He couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed in his heart.

He Lan only entered half an hour later.

Looking at that familiar face on the screen, she couldn't help but smile.

Although Lu Yan He still showed no expression while reading, mostly maintaining a motionless posture with only his eyeballs moving occasionally, He Lan keenly sensed that Lu Yan He's state of reading today was more relaxed and happy than before.

Had something good happened to him?

He Lan had had no time to watch Lu Yan He's livestream these past few days.

She had been confined for intensified training for a competition, and her mobile phone had been confiscated; only today, after finishing the competition, did she get her phone back.

So tired.

He Lan lay prone on the bed, with her pillow under her hands, comfortably stretching out her two legs.

The competition had finally ended.

He Lan looked at Lu Yan He's face on the screen and sighed with emotion; finally, she could see the handsome little brother again.

A silly smile appeared on her face.

"He Lan, don't tell me you're watching that Lu Yan He's livestream again?" Jiang Linxian asked, coming out of the washroom with a face mask on, upon seeing He Lan lying on the bed looking at her phone.

He Lan replied, "What's wrong with me watching his livestream?"

"I'm just surprised; I didn't expect you to be so deeply entrenched," Jiang Linxian said. "I find it a bit hard to accept that my roommate is a fan-chasing star follower."

He Lan frowned; these words made her feel very upset.

"Whether I chase stars or not is none of your business!"

"You're ruining the study atmosphere in our dormitory," Jiang Linxian said. "Don't forget, apart from you, everyone else in the dormitory is in the top twenty of the grade."

He Lan silently rolled her eyes inwardly.

"So, are you blaming me for dragging you all down?"

Jiang Linxian said, "If you usually worked hard, I wouldn't speak to you so directly."

"Then should I thank you?" He Lan was furious. "Jiang Linxian, don't think that just because your grades are good, you can look down on this and that. We're only sophomores now; no one knows who will fare better in the future."

"But I do know that wasting all your time chasing stars will definitely lead to faring poorly," Jiang Linxian said.

He Lan took a deep breath, thinking to herself, Just you wait and see.

He Lan did not feel in the least that watching Lu Yan He's livestream was a waste of her time.

On the contrary, every time she saw Lu Yan He able to read books alone for several hours, she also felt an impulse to study hard and read books herself.

She knew she was not such a self-disciplined person and needed some external force to stimulate her.

But she also never expected that one day she would be stimulated by a high school student's study livestream.

He Lan had been preparing for this competition during this period.

This competition was a national English interpretation contest; today was the final round at Yuming, where she ultimately placed second and will represent Yuming in the national competition next semester.

Because this is a professional interpretation competition, very few non-foreign-language majors participate.

That He Lan, a non-major student, could secure second place in the Yuming competition shattered many people's expectations.

He Lan wanted to do this partly because her spoken English was already excellent and her reactions very quick, and partly because she wanted to cultivate a presentable skill alongside her major.

Jiang Linxian and the others had no idea she was doing this.

Nor did He Lan want them to know.

He Lan told no one; the sudden desire to cultivate a presentable skill arose solely from watching Lu Yan He study every day.

Every night at ten o'clock, Lu Yan He would lead everyone in silently memorizing vocabulary, then say, "English is a language. Although increasingly convenient translation software, even real-time AI interpreters, will emerge with the development of artificial intelligence, no one knows how long that will take. Having more skills never hurts. I always study English with the mindset that I will deal with many foreigners in the future, not merely to prepare for exams. Looking at the long term makes learning less dull and tedious."

He Lan was inspired right then.

Her spoken English had always been quite good; during high school, she always took first place in competitions like English speech contests.

She also recalled that while preparing for exams in Gao San, she often maintained her language sense by listening to live interpretation audio from those god-tier simultaneous interpreters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Those god-tier interpreters were her idols, but after entering university, she gradually forgot about them.

Then, she tried to pick that back up.

Posting in the danmaku chat, He Lan wrote: I wonder how many others are like me, getting pumped up to study just from watching Lu Yan He read and learn every day.

She had only said it casually, not expecting many to agree, yet soon people below were posting "+1" and "+2."

Someone said: I used to never be able to sit still, but now with Lu Yan He's livestream in front of me, as long as he doesn't get up, I don't get up. I just keep reading. Unexpectedly, I've gradually become able to sit at my desk and read for an hour without losing focus.

Someone said: Our school has already entered exam week. Today in the study room, I was surprised to find two people reviewing with recorded broadcasts of Lu Yan He's usual study livestream playing. I was stunned.

Someone remarked: So studying can be contagious?

Someone scoffed: Are you shills hired by Lu Yan He's company? This is too far-fetched.

He Lan thought to herself that she didn't know if the others were shills, but she herself was genuinely encouraged and inspired by Lu Yan He.

By the time Lu Yan He finished his problems and prepared to end the broadcast, it was nearly midnight.

He yawned, turned on his microphone, and told the livestream audience, "I'm a bit sleepy today, so I'm going to bed early. You all should sleep early too."

Then, out of habit, he scrolled through the danmaku chat and saw all those previous comments.

Lu Yan He was surprised.

Could his livestream room really have such energy that it made everyone love studying?

Was it true or false?

Lu Yan He himself barely believed it.

Yet, many of the IDs in the danmaku chat were familiar.

Especially the appearance of "Beautiful Girl Lanlan" made Lu Yan He breathe a sigh of relief.

So she was still here.

Since she had said so, Lu Yan He couldn't help but feel half-believing and half-doubting.

Regardless, this was a good thing.

He was very happy.

This sign made him feel that starting this livestream room had gained some additional meaning.

"Beautiful Girl Lanlan" posted: Little Lu finally doesn't look so thin he's just skin and bones.

Seeing this, Lu Yan He couldn't help but smile.

Over these past few months, he had put on a little flesh.

Before, he had been too thin, so thin he felt he was losing his resemblance to himself.

He waved his hand: "Then I'm ending the broadcast. Bye-bye."

He closed the livestream room, stretched, went to wash his face and brush his teeth, and under the overwhelming wave of drowsiness, soon fell peacefully asleep.

Yes, peacefully asleep.

Now, before going to bed at night, he no longer tossed and turned, unable to sleep from anxiety over his future.