This Is Not a Vow, Yet It Bears Such Weight

The three girls stood dumbfounded, staring at Long Aotian's tall, imposing figure.

His words still echoed in their ears: ["As long as they still call me 'brother,' it's my duty to protect them."]

["If you dare try this again, I swear I'll do everything in my power to put you behind bars..."]

Though his voice wasn't particularly loud, it carried an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

As long as he was there, it felt like no one could ever harm them.

As long as he was there, even if the sky were to collapse, he would shield them from the fall.

It wasn’t an oath, yet it weighed as heavily as one, striking their hearts and sending ripples through their emotions...

If asked who in this world—aside from their parents—could give them the greatest sense of security, the three girls would answer without hesitation: Long Aotian.

Closing the gate again, he turned to Hu Yuying beside him and gently placed a hand on her long hair. "Next time something like this happens, don’t confront them yourself. Tell me, and I’ll handle it."

Hu Yuying looked up at Long Aotian, her eyes shimmering with his reflection, then nodded firmly. "Mm, I’ll listen to you, Brother Long."

She knew he was just worried about her, afraid she might suffer...

"You two as well," he continued, glancing at Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning. "You're girls—don’t get into arguments easily. If anything happens, come to me. I might not be able to solve everything, but at the very least, I won’t let anyone bully you."

Hearing his words, the corners of Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning’s lips curled into faint, tender smiles.

They never doubted Long Aotian’s capability—in their eyes, he could do anything. That was the kind of security he gave them.

Sometimes subtly, sometimes outright boldly!

"Clean up a bit. I’ll take you all out to eat—forget about what just happened. Don’t let some mentally unstable person ruin your mood."

Hu Yuying added with a playful tone, "Brother Long says the best way to deal with people like that is to just walk away."

Hearing this, Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning couldn’t help but chuckle. Crude as it sounded, it was undeniably practical—exactly the kind of thing only Long Aotian would say.

......

Ye Liangchen’s face twisted into a pained grimace, as if he were wearing a mask of agony. No one could fathom the turmoil in his heart.

"How’d it go, Brother Chen?"

At Xue Shaohua’s question, Ye Liangchen instantly wiped the pain from his expression, not wanting to reveal his humiliation.

Instead, he feigned calm.

Strangely enough, despite Long Aotian slapping him twice, aside from some slight swelling, not a single mark remained.

Xue Shaohua, meanwhile, had been afraid Hu Yuying and the others would realize he was the one who had tailed them and exposed their location. So the moment Ye Liangchen kicked open the courtyard gate, he had quickly ducked away.

After all, he still had four years of sharing a class with Hu Yuying ahead of him. If she held a grudge over this, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Besides, he and Ye Liangchen had a deal—if he could just get Hu Yuying to spend one night with him, he was confident his skills would leave her utterly enthralled. No need to spoil his chances now by making a bad impression.

"Nothing much. Just had a little fight with Long Aotian," Ye Liangchen replied coolly.

"So that guy’s name is Long Aotian," Xue Shaohua murmured, narrowing his eyes.

"How did it turn out?"

Ye Liangchen shook his head. "I took a hit, but he didn’t walk away unscathed either."

After all, force works both ways—even if Long Aotian had slapped him twice, his palms must’ve hurt too. In a way, that counted as injuring him!

The thought made Ye Liangchen smirk. Suddenly, his face didn’t sting as much.

"I wasn’t asking about that," Xue Shaohua pressed. "What about Hu Yuying? And Li Qingxue, that icy beauty—did Long Aotian force himself on them?"

That was what truly concerned him. In his mind, Hu Yuying already belonged to him.

Ye Liangchen laughed—a hollow, bitter laugh—until a single tear rolled down his cheek.

No matter how hard he tried to hide his emotions, the pain was just too much.

"Long Aotian must’ve been badmouthing me behind my back. Now they’ve all turned against me."

Hearing this, Xue Shaohua frowned deeply. "Are you even capable of handling this?"

"You promised you’d help me win Hu Yuying over—get her into my bed!"

"You swore it outright before!"

Ye Liangchen’s expression darkened.

Damn it, I went out there and took a beating, and instead of backing me up, you’re still hung up on this?

Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to slap Xue Shaohua silly.

Besides, if anyone was going to have Hu Yuying first, it’d be him. Xue Shaohua would only get the leftovers—if he was feeling generous.

But then again, he couldn’t afford to lose Xue Shaohua just yet.

Useless as he was, Xue Shaohua still had his uses—at the very least, he could keep an eye on Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue for him.

Since they’d all turned their backs on him, even saying such hurtful things, then fine—they’d brought this on themselves!

He’d steal Hu Yuying’s business achievements, frame her for plagiarism, and crush her until she had no choice but to beg at his feet.

As for Li Qingxue—that ungrateful bitch—after nine years of friendship, this was how she treated him? If she wanted to cut ties, then he’d show her no mercy.

And Lin Wanning? Ha. Once he hijacked Hu Yuying’s success and became a rising business tycoon, controlling her would be child’s play.

With that, Ye Liangchen tilted his head back at a 45-degree angle, closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around himself in a dramatic embrace. "You forced me into this."

"What do you mean? Who forced you?" Xue Shaohua asked, baffled by the sudden theatrics.

"Nothing. Just know this—I am their salvation."

Truthfully, even as he said it, Ye Liangchen wasn’t entirely confident.

Everything had spiraled beyond his expectations.

But he still had faith in himself.

At the very least, Long Aotian hadn’t gotten his hands on Li Qingxue or Lin Wanning yet.

Today’s display was probably just a ploy to win their favor through Hu Yuying.

Flattery with ulterior motives—nothing good ever came of it.

Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning were still too naive. Ye Liangchen had no doubt that once the time was right, Long Aotian would shove Hu Yuying aside and sink his claws into them.

The thought made his expression twist with fury.

Since the source of the problem lies with Long Aotian, all I need to do is outshine him and draw their attention back to me.

Gently touching my face, I murmured, "I won’t let these two slaps go to waste today."