When Hu Yuying didn't speak, Long Aotian asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Hu Yuying still didn't respond, only shaking her head with downcast eyes.
Long Aotian frowned slightly. Now, Hu Yuying gave him the same feeling as when they first met—a girl burdened by self-doubt, trapped in the image of a gloomy girl.
"Look up," Long Aotian's voice became a bit louder.
Truthfully, Long Aotian usually sounded gentle when he spoke. Such a tone, not to mention Hu Yuying, even Li Qingxue couldn't help but shrink her neck.
Hearing Long Aotian's voice, Hu Yuying tightly gripped the hem of her shirt, a small habit when she felt nervous.
But she still obediently raised her head.
"I really can't stand you being self-deprecating and gloomy like this. It feels like you're... a person who has experienced all the sorrows of the world... a... a sad person."
In his original world, he too had climbed up from the bottom, endured life's hardships, and been beaten down by society.
He had borne the pressure and suffered the blows of society, yet he had still managed to survive.
There's nothing in this world that can't be overcome.
If there is, then find a way to get past it.
Hardships are fixed, but people are flexible. There's always a solution.
Long Aotian didn't deny the suffering Hu Yuying had experienced in the first half of her life, so she should embrace the beauty of life even more. She should love herself more than anyone else, unwaveringly.
He looked at Hu Yuying with annoyance and gently tapped her head, "You look great when you smile. Now, give me a smile."
Hu Yuying stared at Long Aotian blankly, momentarily caught off guard.
"What are you looking at? Sometimes I really want to punch you!"
Hu Yuying smiled, a genuine smile that could brighten the mood of those around her.
Li Qingxue blinked her beautiful eyes, somewhat confused. She couldn't understand—he's threatening to punch you, and yet you're still smiling?
Though she didn't realize it herself, the slight upward curve of her lips was also quite captivating.
"So, what's really going on?" Long Aotian asked.
Hu Yuying lowered her eyes, lacking confidence as she said, "It's nothing, just that I feel like I didn't perform as well as I could have."
At this, Long Aotian sighed, "I thought it was something serious. Just this once, though. If you mess up in future tests, watch out—I'll punish you!"
"Got it, Long Brother, you too, keep it up."
Sss—
A hissing sound rang out.
Long Aotian looked up and saw a chubby boy being dragged into the restroom.
He didn't recognize him, so he averted his gaze.
But Li Qingxue, who also saw the boy, had a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
That chubby boy, she recognized him—it was Gao Quan.
"Alright, let's head back. Wait for me at the classroom door at lunchtime, I'll come find you."
This seemingly casual piece of concern unexpectedly soothed Hu Yuying's mind.
"Mmm."
"Remember, you're my little follower, my little teacher. I'll protect you. Don't ever put on that gloomy, old-lady act again. I want to see you smile every time I look at you, now and in the future."
Watching Hu Yuying return to Class 1, Li Qingxue whispered, "Are you really going to punch her? Long Aotian, don't bully the girls."
Long Aotian glanced at Li Qingxue, "How about I punch you instead?"
Li Qingxue turned her head, a smile emerging from her eyes, "Liar, I can tell you wouldn't really punch a girl."
"On the contrary, you're quite nice to Hu Yuying."
"Hmm," Long Aotian didn't deny it, just staring in the direction Hu Yuying had left, his voice calm but carrying a feeling Li Qingxue didn't quite grasp, "Because I understand her a little."
"What?" Li Qingxue asked instinctively.
"Sadness."
This feeling was something Li Qingxue couldn't fully comprehend yet.
Only after entering university, stepping into the real world, experiencing betrayal, and being beaten down by society, would she understand the meaning of Long Aotian's words at this moment—"sadness."
"Understanding her is a sad thing," Long Aotian muttered, his voice so soft that Li Qingxue didn't hear it.
...
On the other side.
In the restroom.
Gao Quan grimaced as he rubbed his hand, which had a distinct tooth mark on it.
"Chen Ge, why did you bite my hand?"
Ye Liangchen leaned against the restroom wall, gazing up at the ceiling as if desperately trying to hide his inner sorrow.
What had he just seen?
He saw Li Qingxue standing by Long Aotian's side.
He saw Long Aotian hit Hu Yuying's head hard!
It hurt!
A pain that was hard to describe.
It felt like his heart had been shredded into countless pieces in an instant.
So, he couldn't restrain himself and wanted to rush up and beat Long Aotian to protect Hu Yuying.
But he couldn't!
Because his early appearance had made Long Aotian feel threatened, triggering his malicious possessiveness.
That's what led to Long Aotian forcing himself on Hu Yuying...
If Long Aotian saw him going to help Hu Yuying, how would he treat her?
First of all, Ye Liangchen wasn't really afraid of Long Aotian.
Although this body was still seventeen, having been reborn, he had the soul of a twenty-eight-year-old.
How could a twenty-eight-year-old truly fear Long Aotian?
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid, but Hu Yuying was afraid.
He didn't want to make things worse for Hu Yuying because of himself.
"It's nothing, Quan, don't ask. I just need a moment of silence."
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
He patted Gao Quan's shoulder, "Sorry, I lost control for a moment back there!"
Gao Quan was a bit upset at first, but hearing Ye Liangchen's apology, he could only ask helplessly, "Why did you bite me? It really hurts."
"I know, because I'm also afraid of pain." After saying this, Ye Liangchen peeked out into the hallway.
Since class was about to start, there weren't many people left in the corridor.
"Let's go, we should head back," Ye Liangchen said and led the way out of the restroom.
Passing by Class 6, Ye Liangchen looked through the window at Li Qingxue.
"Things are starting to get interesting. I don't know if you're trying to provoke me by involving Long Aotian or what!"
"But one day, when you find out Long Aotian is a garbage man filled with violence at his core, I'll wait for you to cry and come seeking me!"
"Don't blame me for not warning you."
Quietly saying this, Ye Liangchen glared at Long Aotian through the window.
"Just you wait. After this exam, it's the moment fate brings me and the treasure girl together!"
"But this time, I've decided to stop being kind. I won't just make you lose face, I'll make you suffer—humiliate you to the point where you can neither live nor die!"
"Want to compete with me? Don't forget, I'm a reborn man, and I have resources you can't even imagine!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
