Our Story Begins

"Don't go." Long Aotian clung tightly to Hu Yuying's waist, pressing his shameless face against her back, refusing to let her leave.

Hu Yuying held her pajamas in one hand while patting Long Aotian's arm wrapped around her waist with the other, sighing helplessly. "Be good, Long Aotian. Sleep alone tonight. I won’t go out tomorrow."

"It’s been three days. Three days in a row you haven’t come back to sleep. Do you expect me to endure an empty bed at such a young age?"

"Long Aotian, you’re exaggerating. Last night, I sneaked back to be with you." Hu Yuying’s cheeks flushed slightly. She had indeed slipped back to spend the night with him—technically, she’d only been away for a day. It wasn’t as dramatic as he made it sound...

And the way Long Aotian was acting made it seem like she was abandoning him after taking advantage...

"Hurry up and let go. Qingxue and Wan Ning are waiting for me."

No matter what Hu Yuying said, Long Aotian remained stubborn, clinging to her like a persistent burr.

Finally, Hu Yuying sighed softly, turned to face him, and gently cupped his shameless cheeks before pressing a light kiss to his lips. "Is this enough?"

Long Aotian fought back a smirk, continuing his act. "You’ve changed, little girl. You used to cling to me all the time. Now that you’ve got me, you don’t treasure me anymore?"

Hu Yuying rolled her eyes. The longer she stayed with Long Aotian, the more she realized just how thick-skinned he could be.

Despite his pitiful whining and exaggerated complaints, she knew he was just angling for more favors.

What a greedy man.

With another sigh, she leaned in and gave him a deeper kiss.

As Long Aotian eagerly deepened the embrace, Hu Yuying tried to push him away half-heartedly before giving in.

Just as her clothes were being tugged up, her phone suddenly rang.

The sound snapped her out of her daze, and she quickly pulled away, shooting Long Aotian a reproachful look before answering. "Qingxue is calling."

After hanging up, she kissed Long Aotian’s cheek, coaxing him like a child with repeated promises before finally heading to the room where Wan Ning and Qingxue were waiting.

The moment she opened the door, she saw the two already in bed, leaving the middle spot open for her.

"Welcome, sis!" They lifted the blanket, urging her to hurry in—it was warmest under the covers.

Hu Yuying quickly changed into her pajamas and hopped onto the bed.

"Sis, what took you so long? We were about to fall asleep," Lin Wanning grumbled, wrapping an arm around Hu Yuying’s slender waist.

"Yeah, any later and we’d have been out cold," Li Qingxue added with an exaggerated yawn.

Hu Yuying lightly poked their foreheads. "You two night owls? Sleeping this early?"

The two giggled. "We knew Long Aotian was clinging to you and wouldn’t let you go, didn’t we?"

"That’s why I called you. Am I smart or what?"

Hu Yuying nodded. Without that call, she would’ve been helplessly swept up in Long Aotian’s advances again.

Glancing at Wan Ning, she asked, "What are you reading?"

"I found a really good novel recently. Want to see?"

Li Qingxue huffed. "Did I ever tell you I used to write stories too?"

Lin Wanning blinked in surprise. "You wrote? Show us! What kind of masterpiece did our literary genius create?"

Originally just showing off, Li Qingxue flushed at the praise, especially under Hu Yuying’s gaze.

"W-well, back when I read a lot of novels, sometimes I’d get so into them that I’d scribble my own ideas in a notebook. But I didn’t bring it with me..."

Lin Wanning pinched her blushing cheek. "What if the three of us wrote a fantasy autobiography about ourselves? Do you think anyone would read it?"

The idea lit up Li Qingxue’s eyes. Her first meeting with Long Aotian had been just like something out of a romance novel—a carefree, dazzling boy by the riverbank and a heartbroken girl...

"I think we should try it," she whispered excitedly.

"Sis, what do you think?" Both girls turned to Hu Yuying with eager eyes.

"Our life stories?"

"Yeah! Your experiences alone could fill a book—capturing the beautiful moments, the regrets, every step of the journey, and how we’ve grown..."

Li Qingxue’s words sent Hu Yuying spiraling into memories.

"Beautiful moments... regrets... every step of the journey... how we’ve grown..."

She murmured softly before a soft smile curved her lips.

"But how do we write it?" Hu Yuying’s life revolved mostly around studies and Long Aotian—she had no experience with storytelling.

Lin Wanning held up her phone. "Look, sis. This is a novel app. We just click ‘Become an Author,’ create a book, and start writing. If we hit 20,000 words, we might even get published—then tons of people could read it!"

"Will you two write too?" Hu Yuying asked.

"My story isn’t long, but it’s full of beautiful moments. I’d love to try," Li Qingxue said.

"Same. Maybe my story isn’t all happy, but... I’m happy now." Lin Wanning rested her head lightly on Hu Yuying’s shoulder.

Hu Yuying nuzzled her cheek against Wan Ning’s hair. "What should I call mine? ‘Starting as a Little Follower’?"

Two vivid images flashed in her mind—a bold, confident, and notorious big brother, and a gloomy, bullied girl who lacked self-esteem.

"Should we give it a try?" Hu Yuying whispered.

The three exchanged glances before pulling out their phones to download the app.

"I’ll go by ‘Sweet and Sour Li’."

"Then I’ll be ‘Ningxue’s Blossoming Years’."

They turned to Hu Yuying. "What about you, sis?"

"I’m thinking... maybe just ‘Ancient Moon’?"

"Boring. How about ‘Ancient Moon, Yuying’?"

"That’s perfect! Wan Ning’s so good with names."

With a final click, they confirmed their choices.

"Our story begins..."