Long Aotian Gets Carried Away

Walking behind Long Aotian, Hu Yuying’s curled fingertips tightened slightly, her heart skipping a beat as a shy glimmer flickered in the corner of her eyes, tender and graceful.

Just moments ago, she didn’t know what had come over her. Watching Li Qingxue interact with Long Aotian, she felt as if she had lost her soul. By the time she regained her senses, her hand was already resting on Long Aotian’s head.

Now, just thinking about her actions in the cafeteria, Hu Yuying’s palm tingled slightly, a strange, indescribable physiological reaction.

Clenching her small hand, she took a deep breath and quickened her pace to catch up to Long Aotian. She tried to control her erratic breathing and stole a glance at him.

Seeing that Long Aotian looked as calm as ever, she couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief. Still, a hint of unease lingered in her heart. Would her actions seem too forward in Long Aotian’s eyes?

A girl shouldn’t casually touch a boy’s head, just as a boy shouldn’t casually grab a girl’s hair.

Lost in her thoughts, she became somewhat absent-minded.

Soon, Hu Yuying felt herself bump into something warm and slightly firm.

Startled, she quickly snapped back to reality.

“What are you thinking about? You’re so distracted,” Long Aotian chuckled.

He had noticed Hu Yuying’s absent-mindedness earlier. She hadn’t even noticed the campus streetlights ahead.

Long Aotian had been curious to see if she would actually walk into one, and sure enough, she nearly did.

If he hadn’t shielded her with his hand, she would have definitely ended up with a bump on her forehead.

“N-nothing,” Hu Yuying touched her forehead, feeling a little awkward and embarrassed. If Long Aotian hadn’t protected her, her forehead would have hurt from the impact.

But when she saw the smile on Long Aotian’s face, she couldn’t help but smile too.

“Silly girl, you need to take care of yourself, little scatterbrain.”

Hu Yuying stubbornly shook her head. Over the time she had spent by Long Aotian’s side, her personality had subtly changed. Now, she even dared to joke with him. “I’m not scatterbrained! I was just testing whether you’d protect me in time.”

“Oh, you’ve learned to argue back now, huh? Not bad,” Long Aotian replied, clearly pleased.

In the past, Hu Yuying would have just accepted whatever others said without a word of protest.

At least now she could argue back a little. That was progress.

As for what had happened in the cafeteria, Long Aotian simply treated it as a minor incident.

After all, Hu Yuying was his little sidekick!

Wasn’t it only natural for her to help out her big brother?

......

The three days of exams passed quickly.

The urgency of senior year wasn’t just felt by the students; the teachers were equally pressed for time.

After invigilating the exams, they had to rush back to their offices to grade the papers.

By the afternoon of the third day, just before school ended, the results of the monthly exams were already out.

Long Aotian was among the first to check the results, dragging Hu Yuying along with him.

Thanks to the intimidating impression Long Aotian had left on others, no one dared to compete with him for a spot at the front.

“Wow, double first place.”

Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue’s names were tied for first place, standing out prominently.

This outcome was somewhat unexpected for Long Aotian, yet it also made sense.

In the original novel, Hu Yuying had always been a good student, but after transferring schools, she had been bullied by Long Aotian, which had affected her studies.

Now that he had taken over, not only had he stopped bullying her, but he had also protected her. With her solid foundation, it was no surprise she had scored so high.

As for Li Qingxue, Long Aotian swore he hadn’t known she was the “white moonlight” female lead in the original story.

After accidentally giving her some advice, she had temporarily set aside her distractions and focused on her studies.

Perhaps that was why she had been able to concentrate and dedicate more time to her academics.

Otherwise, according to the original story’s progression, the “white moonlight” female lead would have been going through a period of regret, her studies severely affected.

She definitely wouldn’t have been tied for first place with Hu Yuying.

Unlike Long Aotian, Hu Yuying didn’t start scanning the list from the top. Instead, she began from the bottom.

Long Aotian’s name wasn’t among the bottom ten.

It wasn’t in the bottom twenty either.

There were seven classes in the senior year, totaling around 420 students.

Finally, she found Long Aotian’s name at the 389th position, with a total score of 318.

Long Aotian was about to praise Hu Yuying, encouraging her to keep up the good work so she could get into her dream university.

But before he could speak, Hu Yuying turned to him, her face beaming with excitement. “Long Aotian, you scored 318! That’s 30 places higher than last time!”

“What?” Long Aotian’s eyes widened.

He had to admit, hearing Hu Yuying tell him he had improved by 30 places made him feel a little proud.

Unconsciously, he straightened his back, even clasping his hands behind him. His mouth was practically splitting into a grin, but he forced himself to maintain a calm tone. “Not bad, I guess.”

To Long Aotian, this score was something to be proud of.

At least, that’s what the surrounding students thought.

Hu Yuying had scored first in the grade, yet she wasn’t strutting around like Long Aotian, who was practically puffing out his chest and looking down his nose at everyone.

How could someone who had barely scraped the bottom 30 act so smug?

Hu Yuying, the top scorer, wasn’t even this proud. Wasn’t he overdoing it?

Regardless of what others thought, Long Aotian was genuinely happy. This proved that his efforts to study with Hu Yuying had paid off, and he had made significant progress.

If he kept this up until the college entrance exams, maybe he wouldn’t need his father to pull strings, beg for favors, or spend years of savings to get him into university.

He might actually be able to get in on his own merit.

And then, he could embark on a completely different path in life.

A completely different path! The thought alone was enough to excite him.

With a smug expression, he walked back to his seat—not directly, but by making a grand detour around the classroom.

When he passed by Wang Shuo, who was stuffing books into the back of his pants, Long Aotian couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. “It’s too late for that now. You’re doomed!”

“Do you know how much I scored this time? 318! Rank 389, which is 31st from the bottom. I improved by 30 places! Can you believe it?”

Wang Shuo’s face twitched. He had been counting on Long Aotian to be the bottom of the class so he could at least tell his parents someone had done worse than him.

Sure, he’d still get scolded, but it wouldn’t be as bad.

Now, without Long Aotian as the class’s worst, Wang Shuo remembered how his father had whipped him with a belt after the last minor test, leaving him unable to sit properly for three days.

And this time, it was a monthly exam! The thought made him want to cry as he stuffed two more books into his pants.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Better stuff in a few more books. After all, I’m no longer the bottom of the class!”

Wang Shuo knew exactly what Long Aotian was doing—showing off. “Yeah, yeah, you’re amazing. Just stop talking, okay?”

Long Aotian struggled to suppress his grin, straightening his collar with one hand to distract himself from the overwhelming urge to smile. “You know, I’m not saying this to brag about my 318 score.”

“I just want you to know that I’ve improved by 30 places compared to my previous self—that’s all.”

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back, straightened his posture, and walked off with a spring in his step, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He then approached the second-to-last and third-to-last students, shaking his head and clicking his tongue before casually mentioning that he hadn’t performed well this time, scoring only 318 points and ranking 389th, 31st from the bottom.

He had only improved by 30 places.

And he made sure to emphasize that he wasn’t saying this to boast...