On the other side.
After picking up Hu Yuying, Long Aotian magically pulled a roasted sweet potato from his coat.
"Ta-da~ Want some?" Long Aotian waved the fragrant sweet potato in front of Hu Yuying, looking every bit like a sketchy uncle luring a little girl with candy.
Hu Yuying took a deep breath, savoring the lingering aroma in the air, then beamed and nodded emphatically. "Yes, please!"
Seeing how eagerly she played along, Long Aotian peeled the sweet potato and handed it to her.
Hu Yuying took a small bite—it was sweet, soft, and delightfully warm.
"Long-ge, you have some too," she said, holding the sweet potato up to his lips, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for him to take a big bite.
Noticing the hopeful look in her eyes, Long Aotian took a bite. "Delicious."
"Hehe." Satisfied, Hu Yuying giggled and let Long Aotian help her put on her helmet while she continued nibbling on the sweet potato.
Back in her hometown during winter, she used to roast sweet potatoes by the fire—they were just as delicious.
She thought about bringing Long Aotian home this year and roasting sweet potatoes for him too.
Watching her cheerful expression, Long Aotian took a quiet, steadying breath. The hesitation in his eyes gradually hardened into resolve. Every time he saw the smile on A-Ying’s face, he felt he could no longer keep hiding the truth.
He couldn’t deceive her any longer. Clenching his fists nervously, he met her gaze. "A-Ying, there’s something I need to—"
Before he could finish, Hu Yuying’s phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID. "It’s Wanning!"
She answered the video call, and Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue’s faces immediately popped up on the screen.
"You two are together?"
Li Qingxue glanced subtly at Lin Wanning before replying with a soft "Mhm," then added, "We’re going for a bath tonight, and you’re the only one missing."
"Yuying, it’s been so long since we bathed together. Spend tonight with us, okay?" Lin Wanning coaxed.
Hu Yuying’s heart swayed at their invitation, and she turned to Long Aotian. "Long-ge, we’re going for a bath."
"Brother/Long Aotian, we’re going for a bath~~~"
Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue’s playful voices chimed through the phone.
Seeing how excited Hu Yuying looked, a rare smile tugged at Long Aotian’s usually stern face. "Where are you?"
"I know the place! I’ll take Long-ge there," Hu Yuying declared proudly before hanging up.
Long Aotian chuckled and lightly booped her nose. "That happy, huh?"
"Of course! It’s been forever since we bathed together."
"And bathing with me isn’t fun?"
Hu Yuying’s cheeks flushed pink, and she pinched his waist lightly. "Bad Long-ge, stop talking!"
Every time they bathed together, it left her blushing furiously—she couldn’t handle him teasing her about it.
Even as she pouted, Long Aotian found it endearing. He gently pinched her cheek. "Alright, let’s go. I’ll take you there."
"Mhm."
Once seated behind him on the bike, she suddenly remembered something and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Long-ge, what were you going to tell me earlier?"
Long Aotian held her hands where they rested against his stomach, silent for a moment before replying, "I’ll tell you when you get back."
"Okay." She rested her head against his back with a soft murmur.
Following Hu Yuying’s directions, Long Aotian soon spotted Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue waiting by the roadside.
Before they even reached them, the two girls started waving excitedly. "Over here! We’re here!"
"Qingxue! Wanning! Long-ge, hurry up!" Hu Yuying tightened her grip around him, urging him to speed up.
"Easy, easy, we’re already here," Long Aotian laughed, amused by her impatience.
Why did it feel like she was more excited to see them than him?
After parking, the three girls reunited, leaving Long Aotian feeling somewhat like a third wheel.
"Long-ge, you can head back now. We’re going for our bath!" Hu Yuying grinned at him.
"Fine. Call me when you’re done, and I’ll pick you up."
"Afraid we’ll lose Yuying if she’s with us?" Li Qingxue teased.
"Drive safely," Lin Wanning added softly.
Long Aotian watched the three disappear into the bathhouse before turning his bike around.
"Yuying, we already booked a room!"
Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue had made arrangements beforehand.
"Stay with us tonight," Lin Wanning whispered with a smile.
Seeing Hu Yuying hesitate, the two girls tag-teamed their persuasion until she gave in.
"Then... I need to call Long-ge."
Hu Yuying knew if she didn’t tell him, he’d wait up all night, worried.
Long Aotian hadn’t gone far when Hu Yuying’s message came through.
Hearing she wasn’t coming home, he sighed but simply replied, "Alright."
"Yes~!"
Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning high-fived, quietly cheering.
Hu Yuying rolled her eyes at them. "I’m starting to regret this."
"No take-backs!"
"Tonight, you’re ours. No regrets allowed!"
Two bathtubs, three girls—endless fun.
At least without Long Aotian around, their friendship was something to envy.
Fresh from their bath and thoroughly relaxed, they headed to the hotel room Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue had booked.
A single large bed was more than enough for three slender girls.
Hu Yuying was the first to strip down and leap onto the bed, settling in the middle. She swept her long hair over one shoulder and patted the space beside her, grinning at Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning to come cuddle up.
Sleeping alone and sleeping with friends were completely different experiences.
The warmth was indescribable, but she loved it.
With one girl nestled under each arm, Hu Yuying was overjoyed.
"See? Sleeping with us is way better than with Long Aotian, right?"
It wasn’t the same—sleeping with Long-ge was its own kind of wonderful. But Hu Yuying would never say that out loud, or they’d pester her for details. Too embarrassing...
Suddenly, a familiar fragrance tickled her nose. Hu Yuying sniffed and turned to Lin Wanning on her right.
Noticing her gaze, Lin Wanning nuzzled against Hu Yuying’s neck. "What’s up, A-Ying? Want a snack? I’ll get it for you."
As Lin Wanning pressed closer, the scent grew stronger.
Hu Yuying hadn’t noticed it before.
As Lin Wanning undressed and pressed close, the faint fragrance of her body finally reached Hu Yuying.
Hu Yuying felt slightly dazed and shook her head gently. "Pour me a glass of water, please..."
"My dear sister, wait for me." With an affectionate nuzzle of her nose against Hu Yuying's cheek, Lin Wanning got up to fetch the water.
She held the glass to Hu Yuying's lips while lifting her chin with the other hand. "Let me feed you."
Gazing at Lin Wanning, who was so devoted to her, Hu Yuying chuckled softly. "You're being naughty, little sister."
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
