He Was Not the Least Bit Sad

For the next day and a half, Hu Yuying and the other two girls took Long Aotian to various fun spots every day, exploring and shopping.

Even if they did nothing special, simply being in each other's company, wandering aimlessly, stopping to enjoy whatever caught their interest, was enough. The weather was pleasantly mild—even at noon, it wasn’t too hot. There couldn’t have been a more comfortable season.

"What’s going on up ahead? Looks lively!" Li Qingxue pointed toward a bustling crowd in the distance and grinned. "Let’s check it out!"

"Seems like a food street."

"Perfect, we can grab lunch here and keep exploring in the afternoon."

Hu Yuying glanced at Long Aotian. "Long Aotian, are you tired?"

On Friday, Long Aotian had been laughing heartily.

On Saturday, he still seemed to be enjoying himself.

But today, he didn’t look as cheerful. Instead, there was an unspoken weariness about him.

"Sure, let’s take a look," Long Aotian replied with a smile. Seeing their eager expressions, he couldn’t refuse. Besides, they’d be heading back to school in the afternoon—this was their last bit of free time, and he didn’t want to spoil the mood.

Though it was called a food street, the further they walked, the more entertainment stalls appeared.

"Ring toss! Ring toss! Twenty rings for ten yuan! Handsome guys, pretty girls, wanna give it a try? Even if you don’t win, there’s a consolation prize!"

Hu Yuying looked up at Long Aotian, her eyes flickering with unspoken meaning.

The first game she’d ever played at a mall was ring toss—and back then, Long Aotian had failed while she succeeded.

The joy was simple, the kind of game everyone played as a child.

But to Hu Yuying, it felt different... special.

"Boss, give us sixty rings!"

"We don’t need that many!" Sixty rings was excessive.

The game was just for fun—a brief moment of amusement. Ten rings were enough, twenty were fine—no need to go overboard.

The stall owner, afraid Long Aotian might change his mind, quickly added, "Sixty rings, and I’ll throw in fifteen more for free!"

Each of the three girls held twenty rings, while Long Aotian took the extra fifteen.

They huddled together, strategizing how to land the perfect throw.

Just as they finished discussing, Long Aotian walked over empty-handed.

"Long Aotian, where are your rings?"

"Already used them all." He spread his hands helplessly. "I was this close to hitting the grand prize. What a shame!"

"Long Aotian, you big dummy!"

"Yeah, yeah, total dummy!"

"Bro, we barely said two words, and you already threw them all..."

As the three girls scolded him, Long Aotian felt an odd sense of satisfaction.

He was sure he didn’t have a masochistic streak, yet somehow, his mood lightened, and the strange fatigue he’d been feeling seemed to fade.

The sight of three beautiful girls laughing, teasing, and celebrating small wins soon drew a crowd.

Unintentionally, they’d brought the stall owner a surge of customers.

Every toss felt like a major decision for the trio.

Though they didn’t win much, they still walked away with a few trinkets.

As they prepared to leave, the vendor handed them four plastic bags—each containing a small goldfish.

A free gift for Long Aotian and the girls.

Their presence had indirectly boosted his sales, and the little giveaway was also a marketing tactic—proof that even if you didn’t win, you’d still get something.

"I got a prize too!" Long Aotian grinned, his usual bright and carefree smile returning as he looked at the tiny fish in his hand.

Life went on, and everything seemed to return to normal.

Except for Huang Fei, who hadn’t shown up at school since that day.

Except for the empty seat where a certain lazy girl used to sit.

Otherwise, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

"Don’t stop me!" Wang Lijuan glared at Xu Shuai, her eyes reddening with frustration as she shot a resentful look at Long Aotian.

They’d shared a dorm with Shen Mengjie for nearly a year. The friendship they’d built wasn’t fake.

Shen Mengjie’s departure hurt them all.

But Long Aotian acted like nothing was wrong—going about his days as usual, smiling as if nothing had changed...

Even if he didn’t care about Shen Mengjie, what about the child she’d been carrying? His child. At the very least, he should’ve shown some grief!

"Lijuan, don’t. Long Aotian isn’t handling this any better than we are!"

Xu Shuai said the words, but truthfully, he hadn’t seen a trace of sorrow in Long Aotian either.

Just as Wang Lijuan said—even if he felt nothing for Shen Mengjie, that child was his. For the sake of the baby who never got to be born, shouldn’t he at least pretend to care?

"Xu Shuai, Li Longlong, let’s go play ball!" Long Aotian called out cheerfully as he approached.

Wang Lijuan turned her back the moment she saw his carefree grin.

Even Han Xiaojing, the gentlest of them all, wore a stiff expression, refusing to look at him.

But Long Aotian, who was usually so perceptive, acted oblivious.

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong exchanged a glance before dragging Long Aotian away.

On the way to the court, a group of boys passed by, laughing loudly.

The one leading them sneered. "You guys don’t know the half of it. That night at KTV, Shen Mengjie was wild. I told her I wasn’t interested, but she kept throwing herself at me—couldn’t even push her off..."

"Say what you will about her, but she was good-looking. You didn’t, y’know...?"

"Pfft, might as well tell you. Ever heard of ‘worship-level’ desperation?"

The others perked up instantly. "Go on, give us the details..."

Just as the guy leaned in to elaborate, a voice called out from behind.

"Hey."

He turned—only to be met with a basketball slamming into his face.

The impact distorted his features for a split second.

"What the—?!"

The group of seven or eight froze before whipping their heads toward the source.

And then they saw him—a single figure charging straight at them.

Like a bloodthirsty beast.

Outnumbered, yet radiating a terrifying, predatory aura that sent an involuntary chill down their spines.

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong were stunned. Long Aotian had always been the image of a caring, mature, warm-hearted big brother to them.

His temper was exceptionally good—whenever trouble arose, all you had to do was ask, and he would spare no effort to help. He was like their anchor, reliable and trustworthy, someone they believed was absolutely dependable.

But at this moment, Long Aotian was like a beast gone wild, devoid of all reason. Facing eight opponents—eight!—he charged forward without the slightest hesitation...

...

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