Chapter 29
Bad people can exploit the compassion of kind-hearted individuals to commit acts that provoke outrage from both gods and men.
Hu Yuying had a face that was easy to bully. If she were a bit more naive, she might end up with nothing left but her underwear!
“Mm-hmm.”
“Even though I don’t want to think the worst of people, you must always be on guard, understand?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Looking at her innocent and pure face, Long Aotian suddenly felt like he was teaching his daughter not to be lured away by a bad guy!
“And stop saying ‘mm-hmm’ all the time. If you have any doubts, you need to learn to refuse, got it?”
Hu Yuying nodded, then replied, “Mm-hmm.”
“Very good.”
They continued walking toward the school.
“Have you prepared for today’s task of being thick-skinned?”
“I’m ready.”
“Good, just follow my lead.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Stop with the ‘mm-hmm’ already.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Do you believe I’ll hit you?”
“Don’t hit me, I’ll behave.”
Once they arrived at the classroom, Long Aotian glanced at a few girls in the front row discussing math formulas and nudged Hu Yuying with his shoulder. “Your first task of being thick-skinned today is to join those girls in their discussion.”
“Math, physics, and chemistry are your strong suits. You need to learn to showcase your strengths.”
Hearing this, Hu Yuying looked up at the girls in the front row who were deep in discussion about math formulas. She instinctively felt nervous about approaching so many people at once.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; it was just her nature. When faced with a crowd, she would subconsciously tense up and struggle to speak.
Moreover, the girls were already engaged in a lively discussion, and she didn’t know how to jump in.
“Don’t be scared, or I’ll hit you!”
“Go on!”
Under Long Aotian’s threat, Hu Yuying picked up her notebook and hesitantly approached the group of girls, glancing back three times.
Each time she turned, Long Aotian pretended to threaten her with a fist.
With a stiff resolve, Hu Yuying finally stood in front of the girls.
Her small hands clenched tightly, and she felt awkward, unsure of how to start.
Looking back at Long Aotian, he gestured an encouraging sign.
Seeing her brother’s support behind her, Hu Yuying mustered her courage. “Um…”
As soon as she spoke, the girls turned to her with puzzled expressions.
Suddenly under so many gazes, Hu Yuying felt nervous and instinctively wanted to lower her head.
“Is there something you need?” one of the girls asked.
Hearing this, Hu Yuying forced herself not to look down; she had to learn to be thick-skinned.
“Can I join you in discussing the math problems?”
“Of course!” the girls replied with smiles. “Take a look at this problem. Do you think there’s a simpler way to solve it?”
Hu Yuying was surprised. Back at her previous school, she had always been excluded.
Now, these new classmates not only welcomed her but also invited her to join.
She nodded with a smile.
Then she joined their discussion.
“Wow, Hu, your understanding of this problem is really clear.”
“Yeah, this simpler method can save time on similar problems.”
“Hu, your math grades must be great, right?”
Facing their sincere inquiries, Hu Yuying’s nervousness gradually faded, and she began to engage in conversation.
Although it was mostly them asking questions and her answering, it was a significant improvement compared to before.
On the way back to her seat, Long Aotian gave Hu Yuying a thumbs-up for her performance.
Hu Yuying just smiled foolishly...
It seemed that talking to people wasn’t as hard as she had imagined...
---
**Chapter 35: You Are the Best Person I've Ever Met**
“You see, it’s really not as difficult as you thought, right?”
Hu Yuying nodded vigorously.
During the discussion, nothing unpleasant had happened.
And whenever she had the correct approach to a problem, they listened quietly without arguing or being difficult.
“If you keep this up, you’ll definitely make a lot of good friends in the future.”
At this, Hu Yuying’s previously bright eyes slowly calmed down.
She took out her notebook, handed it to Long Aotian, and said, “Brother Long, do the problems.”
“These are key knowledge points. Once you master them, you can score points.”
If she could, she really hoped Brother Long could fulfill his dreams, enter university, and step into a completely different life.
She would do her utmost to help him, just as he had helped her.
After the first self-study session ended, the girls who had discussed math with Hu Yuying hesitated in the aisle, clutching their papers.
Seeing this, Long Aotian stood up and walked toward the door.
Hu Yuying instinctively wanted to follow.
Long Aotian chuckled, “I’m going to the restroom. You stay here!”
With that, he left his seat.
Hu Yuying’s gaze followed him closely.
Once Long Aotian left, the girls approached Hu Yuying.
“Did you have a simpler approach to the big problem the teacher discussed today?”
Seeing these girls come to her for discussion, Hu Yuying smiled and nodded.
“Yuying, why don’t you sit by yourself? Don’t sit with Long Aotian anymore.”
As soon as this was said, the other girls nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’re too scared to come over when he’s around.”
“We can discuss topics together in the future. They say three heads are better than one. If we study together, we can save time for other exercises.”
Hearing this, Hu Yuying was momentarily stunned.
“No, you’re misunderstanding. Brother Long... Aotian is actually a really good person.”
The girls couldn’t agree with Hu Yuying’s words at all.
They knew all too well what kind of person Long Aotian was.
Seeing that they didn’t believe her, Hu Yuying wanted to explain that if they could just let go of their prejudices, they would see that Long Aotian was a really nice and gentle person.
But there was no time left.
The discussion had taken too long, and the class bell rang, prompting them to return to their seats.
At that moment, Long Aotian walked back into the classroom.
Once he sat down, he smiled and asked, “So, how was it? Friendships are built slowly over time.”
“So you went to the restroom to give us space?” Hu Yuying’s beautiful eyes sparkled with complex emotions.
“What nonsense! I went out to use the restroom, of course,” Long Aotian laughed.
“Oh.” Hu Yuying lowered her gaze.
She knew Long Aotian was lying; who takes ten minutes in the restroom?
Besides, the class bell had just rung, and he had come back right after they left.
But Hu Yuying said nothing.
If he didn’t want her to know, then she would pretend she didn’t.
They all said Long Aotian was bad, but in her eyes, her big brother was truly wonderful; he was the best person she had ever met in all her years.
“Brother Long, you are the best person I’ve ever met.”
Hearing this, a hint of satisfaction appeared in Long Aotian’s smile.
As someone with the soul of a twenty-eight-year-old, he knew all too well how people talked about him behind his back.
Of course, they weren’t entirely wrong; the Long Aotian from the original novel wasn’t exactly a good person.
Fighting, skipping classes, cursing—these had become his norms.
Even though he had toned it down since coming here, the impression he left on others wasn’t something that could change overnight.
But so what? Long Aotian couldn’t control how others thought. As long as he did what he believed was right, that was enough.
Besides, they were already in the second half of their senior year. In a few months, they would face the college entrance exams and scatter across the world.
To him, they were just passing figures in his life.
And he was the same to them.
So Long Aotian truly didn’t take it to heart.
He had changed the plot and altered Hu Yuying’s impression of him.
That was great; everything was moving in a positive direction.
At least it showed that he was on the right track with his efforts.
“Just remember, when you make it big, don’t forget you still have a big brother.”
“I won’t forget,” Hu Yuying replied softly, but with unwavering determination.
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