"Did you only bring back this little after finally coming home?"
"Mm, there’s everything at home, no need to carry things back and forth. Besides, I’ll be leaving for the capital soon anyway," Hu Yuying said softly, seated on the back of the bicycle.
Then, cautiously, tentatively, she inched closer to Long Aotian, her hands lightly resting on his waist.
She could clearly feel his body stiffen for a moment at her touch—but, but Brother Long didn’t scold her...
Her mood instantly brightened.
After that one impulsive moment before, she had nearly lost her Brother Long. Because of that, Hu Yuying had been trying very hard to restrain herself lately.
But... but sometimes, she found it truly difficult...
Since Brother Long didn’t say anything, she gathered her courage, nervous yet determined, and gently leaned her head against his back.
A radiant smile curled at the corners of her lips, and her once-calm heart now rippled with emotion.
"This is nice," she murmured under her breath, so quietly only she could hear.
The station was far, but eventually, they arrived.
As Long Aotian stopped the bike, the reluctant Hu Yuying finally let go of her hold. "Thank you, Brother Long."
"Why not leave tomorrow? Why insist on going back tonight?" Long Aotian unhooked the bag of snacks hanging from the bike’s handlebars and handed it to her. "Here, for the road."
"And don’t start being polite with me, or I’ll smack you!"
Looking at the bag of snacks, Hu Yuying chuckled softly and nodded. "Okay, Brother Long. I’ll be good. I’m the best little follower."
"Go on in. Message me when you arrive." Long Aotian waved, urging her to hurry inside.
She wanted to say "thank you" again, but the words stuck in her throat.
From the moment they first met, she had always been thanking Brother Long.
This time, she wouldn’t say it. "Brother Long, goodbye."
The sooner she left, the sooner she could return.
Her grandparents were her family, but in another way—in her heart—Brother Long was family too...
She didn’t look back, because she knew he was still watching her.
The timid, weak, gloomy Hu Yuying was a thing of the past.
Now, she was confident, brave, and strong—at least in front of Brother Long, she would be.
She never wanted to make things difficult for him again.
Those days apart had been unbearable.
After buying her ticket and waiting inside the station, Hu Yuying finally glanced back.
Just like the first time they met, he was still looking at her...
Hejin Village was a three-hour journey—not too long, but for the fifteen-year-old Hu Yuying back then, it had felt endless.
Six years from the countryside to the town, three more from the town to the county, another three from the county to Haiwan City—and now, she was heading even farther, to the capital. The road ahead was still long, but Hu Yuying was no longer afraid.
Leaving the station, she took a six-yuan tricycle ride back to her village.
From a distance, she could see two figures standing at the village entrance.
Their backs were slightly hunched, but they had always held up a small world for her.
"Grandpa, Grandma," Hu Yuying called out, running toward them.
Looking at their familiar faces, their hair a little whiter, their wrinkles a little deeper, she didn’t want to cry—but the tears wouldn’t stop.
Her grandfather’s rough hand gently patted her head. "Crying as soon as you’re home? Aren’t you ashamed?"
Her grandmother wiped the tears from her face. "It’s good you’re back. Let’s go home first."
At home, they studied their granddaughter carefully.
She had changed—a lot.
Her smiles were more frequent now, and the confidence and ease she carried were nothing like before.
Just seeing her like this, they knew she had been happy these past six months.
That school transfer had been the right decision.
Back then, seeing her put on a brave face while struggling with insecurity had broken their hearts.
She never said anything, but how could they not know? She must have been bullied outside.
"Good, so good. Our Yuying is still so beautiful," Grandma said fondly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Hu Yuying’s ear to get a better look at her.
"Tell us about your new school."
At the mention of the transfer, Hu Yuying’s eyes sparkled. "Okay."
They hadn’t known each other for long, but she could talk endlessly about him.
Seeing the way her face lit up when she spoke of Long Aotian—the admiration, the gratitude in her words—her grandparents couldn’t help but smile too.
This classmate Long Aotian had taught her so much and changed her in so many ways.
"He’s just... a really, really, really good person."
"If I hadn’t met him... I don’t know what my life would be like. But I’m glad I did."
Hu Yuying finished speaking, but the light in her eyes didn’t fade.
Grandma and Grandpa exchanged a glance.
They had lived long enough to recognize that look.
In the countryside, this wasn’t unusual. Some had children by eighteen, married by twenty. Past twenty-two, unmarried folks became the talk of the village.
And in their family’s situation—if Hu Yuying hadn’t gotten into high school, if her grandparents hadn’t supported her education, if she hadn’t worked so hard herself—they would have already been arranging a match for her by now.
After all, they were old. They couldn’t protect her forever.
Marrying her off would have meant security. (Not to generalize, but that’s how it went in most rural families.)
"Are you and Long Aotian... together?" Grandma asked with a smile, because she could tell her granddaughter was different when talking about him.
Hu Yuying’s face immediately flushed red. Fidgeting, she stammered for a while before whispering, "N-no... He... he thinks I’m still too young."
Long Aotian had never said it, but those who carried insecurity were also the most perceptive. She had sensed it—at some point, Brother Long had felt something for her too.
At the very least, she was different in his eyes...
Her grandparents didn’t press further.
Young people’s affairs were beyond their interference now.
But seeing their granddaughter happy—and admitted to Capital City University—filled them with pride and joy...
[Thanks for the support, everyone! Stay warm—it’s getting cold out.]
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
