Chapter 56
Hu Yuying used to send messages to herself, always sending one at a time and waiting for her own reply before sending the next.
But today, she sent several in a row.
Hu Yuying: [Long Ge, are you home yet?]
Hu Yuying: [Long Ge, have you eaten? I’m going to cook soon; should I make you a portion too?]
Hu Yuying: [Long Ge, are you busy?]
Five minutes later.
Hu Yuying: [Long Ge, are you still not back?]
Five minutes later.
Hu Yuying: [Long Ge, what are you doing?]
There were so many messages that Long Aotian couldn’t help but feel a hint of urgency in Hu Yuying’s words, or perhaps it was desperation.
When you know someone well, you can truly sense their emotions through text, even without any emotional language.
“What’s wrong?” Long Aotian replied.
The moment he sent the message, he received a reply from Hu Yuying.
It seemed like the girl was just holding her phone, eagerly waiting for his response.
As Hu Yuying read Long Aotian’s message, her inner strength crumbled in an instant.
She wanted to complain, to tell her Long Ge that she was being harassed by Ye Liangchen again.
But she held back.
With the college entrance exams approaching, she didn’t want to bring any trouble to Long Aotian.
Otherwise, knowing how much he cared for her, he would definitely confront Ye Liangchen.
She didn’t care about Ye Liangchen, nor did she want to, but she didn’t want her issues to affect Long Aotian.
So she replied: [It’s nothing, just wanted to ask if Long Ge is coming for dinner tonight.]
After sending that message, Hu Yuying sat dazed on the steps at the entrance, curling up and staring blankly at her phone.
As time passed, Long Ge still hadn’t replied.
Slowly, Hu Yuying’s head drooped lower until it rested on her knees.
Back in middle school, Hu Yuying was at a school in the town.
When she moved to the city for high school, she had long gotten used to being alone.
She learned to find her own joy in solitude.
But Long Aotian’s arrival made her realize that she didn’t actually like being alone.
She wanted companionship.
Especially now, in the empty courtyard, she was all by herself.
No one to listen to her, no one to share a meal with, and even a little bit of response was nowhere to be found.
Unknowingly, Hu Yuying had come to rely on Long Aotian, the person who had suddenly entered her world.
That’s how it is with people; when loneliness becomes a habit, you stop expecting someone to be there.
But once you experience the warmth of dependence, it becomes hard to adapt to solitude...
Knock, knock, knock!
The iron gate suddenly echoed with knocks, startling Hu Yuying. She turned her head toward the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, your big brother Long Aotian.”
Hearing that voice, Hu Yuying quickly got up and ran to the door, not even realizing how pure her smile was.
She opened the door.
Seeing Long Aotian standing there, her smile widened, but an indescribable sense of grievance surged within her.
This feeling of grievance was like seeing a trusted family member; it was uncontrollable.
Emotions can be like that—at a seemingly ordinary moment, encountering someone you care about can trigger an overwhelming outburst.
She tried to mask it with a smile, but the trembling corners of her mouth betrayed her true feelings...
Chapter 67: I’m Frugal, and I’m Capable
Biting her lip, her eyelashes fluttered as if she might fall like a broken-winged butterfly: “Long Ge.”
Long Aotian felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his body tensing up. The sight of Hu Yuying’s tear-filled eyes pierced his heart.
The moment he saw her messages, he sensed something was off.
But...
But seeing Hu Yuying like this left Long Aotian at a loss; he didn’t know what to do.
Instinctively, he raised his hand, gently wiping the corner of her eye with his warm fingertip. “It’s okay, big brother is here. No one dares to bully you.”
Upon hearing this, the emotions she had been holding back suddenly overflowed.
Seeing this, Long Aotian panicked, unsure whether to pull his hand away or leave it there.
He could only gently ruffle her hair, trying to soothe her feelings.
“What’s wrong? Don’t cry; your Long Ge can’t stand it when girls cry. When you cry, I don’t know what to do.”
While feeling helpless, Long Aotian was also puzzled. Today was supposed to be the day the male and female leads met and got to know each other.
How did his little follower end up in such distress?
Hu Yuying shook her head. She first apologized to Long Aotian, then bit her lip and said she was just feeling down, that it was really nothing.
At this stage, Hu Yuying just wanted to catch up with Long Aotian.
He had been so good to her, and she didn’t want to cause him any trouble.
Moreover, she would probably never forget how Long Aotian had boasted in class today, proudly announcing his score of 318 on the exam, pretending it wasn’t a show-off.
She still had to tutor Long Ge; she didn’t want some irrational person to affect them.
With the college entrance exams approaching, if Long Ge stood up for her and confronted Ye Liangchen, leading to him facing consequences or being called in for a parent-teacher meeting, that was the last thing Hu Yuying wanted to see!
Besides, she had pushed Ye Liangchen today, so she hadn’t lost anything.
In fact, she had gained an advantage.
Her mood was only down because Ye Liangchen had spoken ill of Long Ge.
Now that she felt Long Ge comforting her, she realized it was actually okay.
Long Aotian looked at Hu Yuying. Since she didn’t want to talk, he decided not to press further.
“In life, aside from life and death, everything else is just a small matter. As long as the sun rises tomorrow, there’s no hardship you can’t overcome.”
“If you feel wronged and want to talk, I’m here to listen. No matter how harsh the world is, you can just be yourself with me.”
Hearing this, Hu Yuying stole a glance at Long Aotian, then quickly looked away, her lips pressed together as a wave of indescribable joy washed over her heart.
“Just be yourself with me” echoed in her mind, creating ripples of warmth.
At this age, when a girl first experiences the flutter of emotions, she doesn’t fully understand what it means to have a crush; she just feels her heart racing and a sense of happiness.
It was as if the mere presence of this person could block out all her worries and unhappiness, keeping them at bay.
Though Long Aotian didn’t know why Hu Yuying was feeling down, he could see that her mood had noticeably improved, so he didn’t say anything more.
Instead, he changed the subject. “What are we having for dinner?”
“We’re having fried noodles, tomato and egg fried noodles,” Hu Yuying said, pulling Long Aotian into the courtyard. “Long Ge, go wash your hands; the noodles will be ready soon.”
Watching Hu Yuying busying herself, Long Aotian couldn’t help but chuckle. “This girl.”
He strolled around the courtyard before heading into the living room.
Having come here every day recently, Long Aotian felt as if he were back home. He poured himself a glass of water and lay back on the sofa, stretching contentedly.
Soon, Hu Yuying came in with a bowl of food. “Long Ge, it’s time to eat.”
“I’ll take you out for a nice meal tomorrow,” Long Aotian said between bites of noodles.
This was a promise he had made to Hu Yuying; if she could rank in the top three in her grade this time, he would treat her to something delicious.
He didn’t want her to think he was always just flattering her.
“Let’s just eat at home. Long Ge, what do you want? I’ll make it for you,” Hu Yuying said softly. “There’s no need to eat out; it’s a waste of money.”
To Hu Yuying, the money spent on eating out could cover several meals at home.
And the food she made was just as good, if not better.
“Just let me treat you.”
Seeing Hu Yuying about to argue, he interrupted, “Shut up! If you keep nitpicking, I’ll really hit you!”
“That’s not worth it,” Hu Yuying mumbled softly, genuinely feeling it was a bad deal.
For instance, this fried noodle dish would cost seven or eight yuan at a street stall.
But she had only used two yuan for the noodles, two tomatoes, and three eggs, and the total cost was under five yuan for this much food.
And if she wasn’t full, there was still more in the pot.
Spending more money outside didn’t guarantee she’d even be full.
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