Now Everyone Knows How to Play the Coquetry Game

Seeing the blood, Hu Yuying was startled.

Long Aotian, who had just picked up a fruit beer and poured himself a glass, frowned slightly at the sight and raised his hand to cover Hu Yuying's eyes.

He whispered softly in her ear, "It's okay, don't be afraid."

Hearing Long Aotian's gentle voice, Hu Yuying's heart miraculously calmed down immediately.

It seemed that as long as Long Aotian was by her side, she would become very brave, so brave that she wasn't afraid of anything.

Feeling the warmth from Long Aotian's palm, Hu Yuying quietly opened her eyes.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, brushing against Long Aotian's palm, tickling him. He instinctively pulled his hand away a little, ensuring that Hu Yuying's eyelashes wouldn't brush against his palm while still blocking her view.

As Long Aotian's hand moved slightly away, Hu Yuying saw that his palm was red.

It was still radiating heat.

She suddenly remembered how Long Aotian had used chopsticks with his right hand and peeled shrimp with his left—it must have been hot, right?

Her gaze fell to her own palm.

Her palm had also been burned earlier, leaving a similar red mark.

"Brother Long, shall we go?" She reached out and grabbed Long Aotian's fingers. They had already eaten most of the food, and they could take the rest home to make a stew for dinner.

She didn't want to stay here any longer, but she was afraid of dampening Long Aotian's mood.

In the end, though, she had still been affected.

Holding Long Aotian's fingers, feeling the warmth from his hand, Hu Yuying pressed the back of her hand against his palm, trying to cool it down.

"Let's go, then," Long Aotian patted Hu Yuying's hand, his tone gentle, as if soothing her.

After all, in Long Aotian's mind, Hu Yuying was a timid little girl.

Hearing Long Aotian agree to leave, Hu Yuying broke free from his hand and ran toward the front desk.

After just two steps, she felt a large hand grip the back of her neck: "Are you looking down on your Brother Long?"

Hu Yuying looked up at Long Aotian, gently shaking his arm, her big, sparkling eyes feigning a pitiful expression. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, giving her a clean and pure aura, making Long Aotian hesitate to say anything.

"You've really learned how to act spoiled, haven't you?"

Seeing that Long Aotian didn't scold her, Hu Yuying's eyes curved into a smile, her expression radiant. It was only in front of Long Aotian that she could show such happiness.

Looking at Hu Yuying's smile, Long Aotian awkwardly averted his gaze, pressing a finger against her forehead and gently pushing her away: "When Brother Long invites you out, it's not a woman's place to pay. Go pack up the leftovers."

From beginning to end, neither of them glanced at Ye Liangchen, as if they had completely forgotten about him.

This kind of disregard was more painful than any insult.

Ye Liangchen, covering his nose, watched the two of them leave, feeling as if he couldn't catch his breath. If Long Aotian had just cursed at him, Ye Liangchen wouldn't have felt so terrible.

This feeling of being ignored was far more painful than if Long Aotian had slapped him twice.

At least if Long Aotian had hit him, it would have been a sign of hostility.

At least it would have made Ye Liangchen feel like he and Long Aotian were on equal footing.

But being ignored like this made him feel like a clown.

Clenching his fists tightly, he thought, "Long Aotian, the humiliation you've brought me today, I will repay it a hundredfold in the future!"

"Brother Chen, Long Aotian didn't really do anything. You were the one who bumped your nose and made it bleed," Gao Quan reminded him softly.

Ye Liangchen turned sharply to look at Gao Quan: "What do you know? If Long Aotian hadn't scared me, would I have been so agitated and hit my nose?"

As he spoke, an idea suddenly flashed in Ye Liangchen's mind. He took out his phone: "Quick, take a photo of me."

While Ye Liangchen was busy striking a pose, Long Aotian and Hu Yuying had already come downstairs.

"Brother Long," Hu Yuying looked down at her skirt and shoes, calling out softly.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for buying me clothes and shoes today. I really like them, but... but... I want to say, give me some time, and I want to buy clothes and shoes for you too."

Hu Yuying mustered up the courage to say it all at once.

Even when Long Aotian treated her to a meal at the cafeteria for less than ten yuan, Hu Yuying felt like she owed him, let alone now when he had bought her clothes and shoes worth hundreds of yuan.

As Hu Yuying herself had said, she was just frugal. She actually had some savings.

She had saved up this money bit by bit to pay for her university tuition.

For someone like Hu Yuying, who came from the countryside, education was her only way out.

Her parents were gone, and her grandparents were old. The only person she could rely on was herself.

That was why, no matter how much she was bullied, she never gave up.

As Li Qingxue had said, studying hard was about taking responsibility for her own life.

And for Hu Yuying, studying hard was entirely about taking responsibility for herself.

"Alright, after the college entrance exams, when you have money, you can treat Brother Long to a nice outfit. Your Brother Long is quite picky, you know."

Long Aotian understood Hu Yuying's feelings very well.

If he said no, it would only make Hu Yuying feel more guilty.

But if he agreed, it would at least ease her mind.

This strange feeling—it was like suddenly having a direction, or a sense of hope.

"Aren't you afraid I might go back on my word after the exams and run away? Then Brother Long would lose a few hundred yuan," Hu Yuying was taken aback. It felt so good to be trusted.

"I'm not afraid. If you dare to run, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth and give you a good beating!" Long Aotian joked, "Are you scared?"

Hu Yuying shrank her neck: "Yes, I'm scared."

"Then study hard and earn money to buy Brother Long a custom outfit!"

"Okay, then let's go back and study now?"

Hearing this, Long Aotian stopped in his tracks: "Actually, I think studying should be balanced. Taking breaks and relieving stress might make it more effective."

Boys are naturally playful. As the saying goes, men remain boys at heart until they die.

Long Aotian was no exception, acting a bit like a wild horse that had broken free.

This kind of behavior is quite common, like when someone looks at a table full of delicious food and firmly says, "I'm going to lose weight, but I'll start after this meal."

Or when, after school on Friday, they want to go to an internet café but see their classmates still studying hard, so they say, "Next week, I'll definitely study hard too."

"No, Brother Long, you need to study hard too," Hu Yuying was very strict when it came to studying.

She pulled Long Aotian toward home.

At that moment, Hu Yuying was like the reins on a wild horse. No matter how unruly the horse was, once the reins were on, it had to follow her obediently...