Upon hearing Li Qingxue's words, Long Aotian raised an eyebrow.
Communication between people can reveal a lot about the other person's character just from their demeanor and speech.
At the very least, Long Aotian could sense that this female classmate had a straightforward nature; she didn't harbor any hidden agendas and was willing to confide in a stranger about her troubles.
In Long Aotian's own words from his era, she was "carefree and simple-hearted.": "You haven't even told me your name yet."
Li Qingxue straightened her posture, facing Long Aotian directly with her eyes curving into a bright smile, full of vitality and joy: "Hello, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Li Qingxue."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Long Aotian's face froze for a moment, then completely vanished.
Li Qingxue?
If he remembered correctly, wasn't she the "female second lead" and the white moonlight of the story?
She was Li Qingxue, so the person who had pursued her and confessed to her 99 times must be...
Thinking about this, Long Aotian couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Li Qingxue blinked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Seeing Long Aotian's momentarily stunned expression, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"No, nothing!" Long Aotian said slowly, then coughed lightly: "May I ask, that friend of yours of nine years..."
Before he could finish, Li Qingxue chuckled softly: "His name is Ye Liangchen."
"Heh, heh, what a coincidence indeed!" Long Aotian's last shred of hope inside was shattered.
"What?" Li Qingxue hadn't heard clearly and asked again.
"Nothing, it's fine."
Li Qingxue wanted to say more, but a voice interrupted her first: "Long Bro, you should do your homework now."
Hu Yuying spoke softly, then gave Li Qingxue a slight smile.
Long Aotian looked at Hu Yuying, who had proactively greeted Li Qingxue, and was a bit taken aback.
After all, Hu Yuying didn't usually like to initiate conversations with others, except when he had given her the task of being bold and outgoing.
"This is the tutor responsible for helping me with my studies," Long Aotian said with a smile, introducing Hu Yuying.
Li Qingxue looked at Hu Yuying with a warm smile: "Hello, last time I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Li Qingxue."
"Hello, I'm Hu Yuying," Hu Yuying replied gently, showing no signs of nervousness or restraint, meeting Li Qingxue's gaze confidently.
Li Qingxue glanced at Hu Yuying a couple more times: "Well, you two better get back to studying. I should head back too." She turned and walked away.
Watching Li Qingxue's retreating figure, Hu Yuying was still processing when she felt a tap on her head: "What are you standing there for? Let's go."
"Mhm," she murmured softly, the resolve she had mustered dissipating as she meekly followed behind Long Aotian like a little chick.
Back at their seats, Hu Yuying's spirit didn't seem as high as before.
Her mind was filled with Li Qingxue's warm smile as she looked at Long Aotian, saying, "If you need tutoring, I can help too..."
She glanced at Long Aotian quietly, seeing him focused on his studies, and whispered: "Did my study methods work for you, Long Bro?"
"Of course," Long Aotian replied without looking up.
In Long Aotian's eyes, Hu Yuying was an excellent tutor.
Whenever he struggled with a problem, she always explained it in the simplest way, making it easy for him to understand.
The last math test was proof enough—he had improved by four whole places.
Hearing Long Aotian's response, Hu Yuying felt relieved: "Will you let me keep teaching you then?"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you already teaching me?" Long Aotian looked up at Hu Yuying.
"No," Hu Yuying said with a slight panic, her eyes pleading as she looked at Long Aotian, then suddenly lowered them, her voice subdued with a hint of disappointment: "I mean, just let me teach you, can you?"
By the end of her sentence, her voice had grown so faint that Long Aotian almost didn't hear her, despite being nearby and having good hearing.
Seeing Hu Yuying like this, Long Aotian realized she must have felt a sense of crisis after Li Qingxue's words, afraid that he might not let her be his little follower anymore.
He chuckled, finding her adorable, and looked at Hu Yuying: "I'll consider it."
Hearing this response, Hu Yuying bit her lip, looking even more uneasy.
Her adorable demeanor was just too sweet, Long Aotian couldn't help but want to pinch her soft, tender cheeks until they turned red, watching her wide, watery eyes fill with confusion and helplessness.
Shaking his head to banish these wicked thoughts, he returned to focusing on the corrected problems Hu Yuying had gone over with him.
Math was manageable, but some physics problems still required a bit of brainpower.
Most of the evening self-study sessions during senior year were spent independently studying.
The good study atmosphere made it easy to immerse oneself without realizing how much time had passed.
After some unknown length of time, Long Aotian suddenly felt someone gently tugging on his shirt.
Glancing at Hu Yuying, he saw her place a lollipop on his desk.
Finding her unusual action confusing, Long Aotian looked at her quizzically.
Then Hu Yuying took a deep breath, her voice timid and soft: "Have you... made your decision, Long Bro?"
"I'm your little follower, and I'm very obedient."
Long Aotian suppressed a laugh, picked up the lollipop from the desk, and lightly tapped it on her head: "Who taught you this? Bribing me, huh? You think a candy can test your Long Bro?"
Seeing Hu Yuying's pleading gaze, Long Aotian knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if he didn't answer her.
At eighteen, she still had the temper of a child.
He really couldn't resist her.
"Little tutor, thanks for your hard work in the future," Long Aotian extended his hand toward Hu Yuying.
Seeing Long Aotian's outstretched hand, Hu Yuying broke into a dazzling smile, then firmly nodded, gripping Long Aotian's large hand: "Mhm."
"You eat this one yourself," Long Aotian placed the lollipop back on Hu Yuying's desk.
Hu Yuying's eyes sparkled with mirth, then she took out another lollipop from her pocket: "I have one more, this one is for you."
"You have a beautiful smile, you should do it more often."
The phrase "You have a beautiful smile" had been said by Long Aotian for the second time. The first time, Hu Yuying had wondered why others' happiness seemed so effortless.
Now, Hu Yuying simply felt that, indeed, happiness could be this simple.
"Long Bro, what would you like for breakfast tomorrow? There's too much food at home, I can't finish it all by myself. The weather's getting warmer, and the food won't keep. Also, the meat and spare ribs in the fridge won't taste as good if they're kept too long."
"Would it be too troublesome?"
Hu Yuying shook her head, very certain: "It wouldn't be troublesome at all. I need to eat breakfast too, it's just an extra bowl of rice, really not a big deal."
"Then I'll eat whatever."
Hu Yuying nodded silently. After making several meals, she found that Long Aotian had a good appetite.
Whether it was congee, buns, stir-fries, or noodles, rice, stews—he enjoyed them all.
So when it came to cooking, Hu Yuying had a lot of freedom to choose what to make.
Her role as his little follower was the most fitting...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
