Chapter 41 Part 1

Compared to dealing with people, Miao Jiayan preferred dealing with plants. Little flowers and grasses didn't have so many messy complications.

Jiang Xun always complained that he didn't speak correctly, that his tone was either too gentle or he'd step into a pitfall. Although Miao Jiayan wasn't dumb, he really couldn't understand the extra meaning behind many words. Sometimes, he couldn't even tell when others were mocking him.

He had suffered losses because of this; others could trap him with just a few sentences. Fortunately, Sister Fangfang could block one line of attack for him, and Jiang Xun could intercept another.

Last time, someone said he was "pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger." Jiang Xun retorted, "Does he even need to pretend? He's a pig to begin with, and he has no intention of eating a tiger."

Never mind eating a tiger, the pig didn't want to eat anything. The pig just wanted to farm.

Miao Jiayan wasn't going to the meal the next day, but Jiang Xun had to. He had to go and make an appearance.

The person who invited them to the meal was a company manager who had a large number of popular influencers signed under him. The other party had mentioned more than once that they wanted to sign Miao Jiayan, but their side had never agreed. Miao Jiayan's popularity was good, and he was growing quickly. Many people wanted to promote him, but up until now, Miao Jiayan was still a small independent operator online, focusing only on selling flowers and occasionally taking on some advertisements.

Over the past two or three years, Miao Jiayan had also earned some money. Although it wasn't as much as what others earned, it was more than enough for him.

Miao Jiayan had thought about getting into university, going out to work, and earning money. He had also thought about staying with his grandparents forever, growing cotton to make a living. But he had never imagined that he would be earning money through the internet like he was now.

The set of photos Sister Fangfang had posted from their time in Yunnan went viral instantly, getting over twenty thousand reposts in twenty-four hours. In the pictures, he was wearing a skirt amidst vivid red flowers. Under the strong visual contrast, his posture and his gaze were both innocent and gentle.

He gazed at the boy opposite him with focus and deep affection, the love in his eyes impossible to hide.

Sister Fangfang didn't hold back either. She had Miao Jiayan open a Weibo account right away, not wanting to let the popularity go to waste.

Miao Jiayan didn't know how to do anything; it was Jiang Xun who helped him set up the account initially. Back then, Miao Jiayan didn't even have a smartphone. It was Sister Fangfang who later bought him one, which Miao Jiayan has been using ever since.

—Yanyan, did you go to dinner with Da Zhong?

When Sister Fangfang's WeChat message arrived, Miao Jiayan was in class. It was a university-wide elective lecture, and there were probably several hundred people in the tiered classroom. Miao Jiayan had arrived late and couldn't find a good seat, so he sat in the third row. The Mao Zedong Philosophy professor had an accent, a very thick one at that. Miao Jiayan often couldn't understand him clearly, and his slow speaking pace made people very sleepy.

Miao Jiayan was forcing himself to stay awake and not rest his head on his arms to sleep when he felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket to have a look.

He replied: No, I'm in class.

Fangfang: Don't sign with him. His company is too messy, it's not suitable for you.

Miao Jiayan: Okay.

On the podium, the professor sat at his computer, still lecturing in a monotonous tone. Rows of students fell one after another. Miao Jiayan propped his head up with his arm, feeling like he couldn't hold on much longer either.

Someone behind him tapped him lightly. Miao Jiayan turned around to see a smiling girl offering him a cold drink.

Miao Jiayan quickly waved his hands and said softly, "No need, you drink it yourself."

"I have one too. I bought this for my roommate, but she didn't come to class." The girl insisted on giving it to him, saying, "I've been following you for a long time. You're getting more and more handsome."

Caught off guard by a classmate's compliment during class, Miao Jiayan still didn't quite know how to handle these sudden small acts of kindness in his life. He seemed a bit flustered, smiled, and said, "Thank you."

"Just take it and drink it. Otherwise, by the time class is over and I take it back, it won't be cold anymore, and it'll taste bad when it's warm." The girl sincerely wanted him to have it.

Miao Jiayan didn't refuse again and took it. He then fumbled in his school bag for a long time, but unfortunately, he had nothing he could give in return. The only edible thing in his bag was the remaining half-pack of 3+2 crackers. So he had to give up and made a note in his phone's memo app: Buy a drink for the classmate from Mao Zedong Philosophy class.

Miao Jiayan had grown up being isolated and bullied. It was only after entering university that he understood why Chen Chao had told him back then that the outside world was vast.

University students came from all over the country. Unlike before, when only Miao Jiayan was the odd one out, it seemed like in university, there were no obvious commonalities between anyone; everyone was different. Their living habits were different, their ways of speaking were different. On campus, you could see people wearing Hanfu, people with tattoos, and people with red, blue, or green hair. Miao Jiayan blended into these seemingly "special" crowds, and no one gave them a second glance.

Although it couldn't be said that strange looks had completely disappeared, there were clearly more looks of acceptance.

This was different from what he had thought before coming out. The outside world was truly wonderful.

Yet he still went home almost every week.

His grandparents were getting old. His grandma's blood pressure had often been high in the last two years, so if Miao Jiayan had nothing to do on the weekends, he would go home.

Sometimes his grandma would say he was going through too much trouble and tell him not to come back. Miao Jiayan would agree verbally but would still head for the bus right after class.

He had also bought his grandparents cell phones so they could send him videos. His grandpa would often send him one after dinner while rocking in his bamboo chair, and his grandma would also come over to say a few words, asking if he had eaten and what classes he had the next day.

"I have classes all day tomorrow, until eight in the evening." With his phone propped up beside him, Miao Jiayan spoke to his grandma while washing his face.

"You have so many classes this semester. Last semester, I don't remember you saying you had evening classes." Grandma loved watching Miao Jiayan wash his face, looking at the screen with affection.

When Miao Jiayan washed his face, he would use a hair tie to pull his hair back, tying it up casually and revealing his whole face. He applied facial cleanser, his face slathered in white, and said, "I wasn't supposed to have any this semester either, but the professor for one class rescheduled."

"You look like a little calico cat when you wash your face," Grandma said with a laugh.

Miao Jiayan lowered his head to rinse his face and couldn't speak. He heard his grandma calling Grandma Chen over to look at him.

"Let me see Miao'er?" Grandma Chen's voice came through. "Class is over?"

"Right here." Miao Jiayan quickly raised his head and called out, "Grandma Chen."

"Aiyo, hurry and wash, hurry and wash," Grandma Chen saw his face was still covered in foam and quickly said, "Don't let it get in your eyes."

After washing his face, Miao Jiayan had to put on a face mask. This was all at others' insistence, telling him he couldn't stop using masks in the summer, that he had to apply sunscreen liberally all over his body, and that he especially needed to reapply it on his face at all times. This was all because during his first-year military training, he hadn't applied anything. When Sister Fangfang saw him at the end of the first week of training, she almost burst into tears.

"Baby, don't scare your big sister. You're tanned like a little briquette, how are we supposed to do photoshoots!" She pinched Miao Jiayan's chin, looking in despair at his thoroughly tanned face and the distinct black-and-white line created by the brim of his military training cap.

Miao Jiayan had said at the time, "This is how I've always spent my summers."

"The past is the past. Who cared when you were farming in the fields?" Sister Fangfang said, exasperated. "You're living off your looks now. This is your livelihood, and you're just going to trash it like this?"

That summer, Miao Jiayan's photos relied entirely on makeup and heavy editing. From then on, everyone reminded him to use sunscreen in the summer.

"Doing that thing again?" Grandma asked with a laugh, watching Miao Jiayan put on a face mask on the screen.

With the mask on, Miao Jiayan couldn't open his mouth wide, so he said indistinctly, "I might have a photoshoot this week."

"Remember to send them to your grandpa's phone after you're done," Grandma said. "We've saved all your photos."

Miao Jiayan squinted his eyes and said, "Okay."

After taking off the mask and washing it off, he applied some other products. Miao Jiayan stared at the pile of things on the cabinet above the sink for a long while and suddenly sighed.

Earning money is really not easy, he thought.

Before, Miao Jiayan used to just wash his face with a bar of soap, a little lather in the morning and evening, a quick splash, and he was done.

Now there was one set of products after another. Sometimes he couldn't even remember the order. It was truly a killer.

Jiang Xun called and asked if Miao Jiayan wanted anything to eat.