The person who knows everything suffers the most.

The following days passed with all the freshmen across various colleges and universities enduring the grueling ordeal of military training. Even Long Aotian, after these days, was so exhausted he could barely move.

Every day, Hu Yuying would share some amusing anecdotes with him. Today, as he looked at the photo she sent, he noticed someone new standing beside her. The sight of this person made Long Aotian chuckle.

Since that day, Li Qingxue had stopped actively sharing her daily fun with him. It seemed she was still a little upset.

"Yuying, who’s that ugly duckling next to you?"

The moment he sent the message, he was bombarded with a flurry of replies—all from Li Qingxue.

The gist of it could be summed up in one sentence: "How am I ugly? I’m pretty too, you know!"

"Oh, so you’ve finally decided to show up? I thought you’d quit QQ altogether."

The chat screen kept displaying [The other party is typing...], but before Li Qingxue’s response came through, Hu Yuying’s message arrived first: "Long-ge, stop teasing Qingxue. She’s about to lose it (sneaky laughing emoji)."

Just from the text Hu Yuying sent, Long Aotian could almost picture her struggling to hold back laughter while Li Qingxue sulked in frustration.

He decided to initiate a video call.

The other side picked up almost instantly.

The first thing he saw was Hu Yuying’s smiling face, her eyes brimming with mirth.

It had been days since they last met, but the military training hadn’t darkened her complexion. Instead, it had given her a certain unspoken air of spirited determination.

Military training was meant to temper one’s will and character, and it was clear Hu Yuying had excelled.

"Long-ge, you’ve gotten darker… and thinner," Hu Yuying remarked with a smile.

Compared to before training, Long Aotian had indeed tanned a bit and slimmed down, but overall, he seemed to have become even more handsome.

"Thinner? I can’t tell," Long Aotian mused. He ate a lot after training every day and hadn’t noticed any weight loss.

"You are. Your jawline’s sharper now," Hu Yuying insisted with certainty.

She had been secretly looking at his photos in her dorm every day, so she was absolutely sure.

Only someone who cared this much would notice even the slightest change.

"You better not get any darker, or you’ll turn into a lump of charcoal," Li Qingxue grumbled, suddenly appearing on-screen.

Seeing her, Long Aotian couldn’t help but wonder—do pretty girls just not get sunburned?

"Well, well, who do we have here? Your eyes are practically rolling into the back of your head."

At his teasing, Li Qingxue bit her lip lightly, shaking a tiny fist at him through the screen. But then she asked, "Are you… doing okay?"

Long Aotian knew exactly what she meant. He stretched his arms demonstratively. "Fit as a fiddle."

"Such a show-off," she huffed before disappearing from view again.

Judging by Hu Yuying’s gaze, she was still nearby.

"How have you been these days?"

"Pretty good, except it’s so hot sometimes," Hu Yuying admitted. She was the type to speak her mind only around Long Aotian.

"When we get a break, I’ll take you out for something delicious."

"Mhm." Hu Yuying nodded, though it wasn’t the food she was looking forward to—it was finally getting to see Long-ge again.

But instead of spending money eating out, she’d much rather cook for him herself.

Too bad she didn’t have the tools here, and renting in the capital was ridiculously expensive.

When Hu Yuying first arrived in the city, she’d planned to find a part-time job and rent a place—after all, if she worked odd hours, she didn’t want to disturb her roommates.

But after checking rental prices in the capital, she quickly abandoned the idea.

"What’s with that face? Not happy about me treating you to good food?" Long Aotian noticed her sudden sigh and found her utterly adorable.

"It’s nothing. I just miss cooking for you, Long-ge." Hu Yuying thought if he could eat her meals every day, he’d never lose weight.

Back during summer break, she’d even managed to make him gain a little…

"Once I’m rich, I’ll buy a big place here, and then you can cook for me every single day," Long Aotian joked.

"Pfft. If you actually buy a place here, I’ll come clean it for you every day," Li Qingxue’s voice chimed in through the call.

Property in the capital was insanely expensive—way beyond what a student could afford.

Renting? Sure, she could believe that. But buying? That was a stretch.

"So I’ll have a free live-in maid, huh?"

"Excuse me, not a maid—a domestic goddess, maybe." Li Qingxue shook her head. "Wait, no—you haven’t even bought a place yet! What domestic goddess?!"

She glanced at Hu Yuying, who was nodding earnestly, and nudged her shoulder. "You can’t possibly believe him, right?"

"Mhm." Hu Yuying nodded firmly. When it came to Long-ge, she trusted him unconditionally—because to her, he was truly amazing.

"See? Learn from Yuying. Have a little faith in me, will you?"

"Fine, fine. I’ll try to have some faith in you," Li Qingxue reappeared on-screen, her expression feigning annoyance, though the curve of her lips betrayed her amusement.

"Not convincing at all. Yuying’s the only one who really believes in me!"

He didn’t mean anything by it, but the words sent a faint tremor through Hu Yuying. A delicate blush crept onto her cheeks.

Did Long-ge just call her his Yuying?

Even if he hadn’t meant it that way, the thought alone made her heart flutter.

"You’re a grown man—why are you so hung up on this? Alright, fine, I do believe in you. Happy now?" Li Qingxue turned her head away with a huff.

It was just an ordinary video call, yet the warmth and joy between them had already surpassed mere friendship.

Hu Yuying knew it.

Li Qingxue knew it too.

But Long Aotian, tangled in the middle, remained oblivious.

He could give others advice because he understood everything—yet his inability to see his own place in the situation stemmed from that same understanding.

Sometimes, being too perceptive was its own curse.

A person shouldn’t be too selfless—sometimes, they needed to care for themselves too.

Not when they were already knee-deep in their own mess, yet still trying to comfort others.

Hu Yuying grasped a sliver of this, which was why she trusted Long Aotian without question. Wasn’t that, in itself, a form of love?

Li Qingxue understood a little as well, which was why she brought him joy. Wasn’t that her own way of caring?

Even Lin Wanning, who had only recently met him, was slowly trying to unravel the enigma of this boy—someone she couldn’t quite figure out, yet felt inexplicably safe around.

The truth was, those who understood everything were often the ones who suffered the most...