Chapter 72
Since the unpleasant encounter with Ye Liangchen last week, the obsession in her heart seemed to be gradually fading away.
She no longer let Ye Liangchen's recent posts affect her mood.
This feeling made her unusually light-hearted, not just physically, but more so mentally.
Even though she no longer needed Long Aotian's guidance, Li Qingxue still found herself coming here.
She didn’t know why; perhaps it was simply the pleasant environment that lifted her spirits.
Just like now, even sitting here with Long Aotian in silence, her mood was surprisingly... quite good.
But this state of tranquility didn’t last long.
Before long, feeling bored, Li Qingxue poked Long Aotian with her finger.
“What’s up?” Long Aotian raised his hand to wave her off, signaling her to stop poking him.
“What’s wrong with you? You look so down,” Li Qingxue asked.
Then her eyes lit up: “Oh, I get it! Are you nervous about the upcoming college entrance exam? Feeling the pressure?”
With the exam approaching, anxiety was inevitable.
So, Li Qingxue mimicked Long Aotian, patting his shoulder earnestly, “You need to keep a good mindset. Didn’t you always say that all worries come from overthinking?”
“Come on, you look anything but cool right now.”
At this, Long Aotian finally stirred, slowly sitting up from the grass.
He straightened his clothes and cleared his throat, “How about now?”
Watching his series of actions, Li Qingxue couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “Cool, very cool.”
“Just a little cool,” Long Aotian replied modestly.
No one dislikes compliments; not women, and certainly not men.
“You’re so full of yourself!” Li Qingxue laughed even harder, while Long Aotian shot her a puzzled glance, “What are you grinning about? Be a little more reserved!”
After her laughter subsided, Li Qingxue gradually calmed down, though the sparkle in her eyes didn’t diminish much, “Okay, okay, I’ll try to be a bit more reserved.”
But after this little commotion, Long Aotian didn’t lie back down; instead, he sat up and gazed at the shimmering river with Li Qingxue.
“Which university are you planning to apply to, Long Aotian?”
“I’ll put Kyoto as my first choice, and I still need to think about the rest.”
Hearing the name “Kyoto,” Li Qingxue’s heart inexplicably fluttered for a moment, a subtle change she didn’t even realize herself. “Really?”
Long Aotian turned to look at the visibly more excited Li Qingxue, a bit surprised, “Why are you so excited?”
He then looked her up and down, “You better not have a crush on me!”
At his words, Li Qingxue froze for a moment, then bit her lip, her cheeks flushing slightly, perhaps for the first time someone had teased her so directly.
To distract him from noticing her embarrassment, she playfully hit Long Aotian on the shoulder, “As if! I wouldn’t want to like you!”
“It should be you who shouldn’t secretly like me.”
Long Aotian chuckled; the dullness of studying these past few days had vanished.
“What are you laughing at? Do you believe I’ll go to school tomorrow afternoon and tell Hu Yuying on you?”
“Tell on me? Don’t you know I’m Hu Yuying’s big brother? If you want to complain, you might as well just tell me directly.”
Li Qingxue narrowed her lively eyes and blinked playfully.
With a smug huff, she continued, “Don’t think I don’t know; you two must be dating. Big brother, ‘little follower’ is just a cover to avoid being discovered.”
Seeing Li Qingxue so confident and smug, Long Aotian became intrigued.
Since he had nothing better to do, he asked with a playful tone, “Oh really? How did you figure that out?”
Thinking he was admitting it, Li Qingxue seized the opportunity, “I just know.”
“Wow, when did you become so perceptive? You can see that?”
“Are you mocking me?” she replied, but continued, “I’ve seen you smile at Hu Yuying several times.”
“Well, I’m smiling at you now; does that mean I like you too?”
“Not the same.” Li Qingxue rolled her eyes at Long Aotian, “The way you smile at Hu Yuying is so affectionate, and you’re always gentler with her than with anyone else.”
“That just means Hu Yuying is different in your eyes.”
Long Aotian scratched his head, “Is that all?”
As Hu Yuying’s big brother, he had watched her transform from a gloomy girl into a confident, slightly lively person, which naturally gave him a sense of accomplishment.
Moreover, being gentle with her was simply because Hu Yuying deserved kindness from everyone.
“You’re just being stubborn!”
“Hu Yuying treats you the same way; she’s special to you. With others, her gaze is indifferent, but when she looks at you, she blushes without realizing it, her eyes filled with you.”
After saying this, Li Qingxue crossed her arms, looking like she had just solved a case.
Long Aotian couldn’t help but lightly tap her on the head.
“What was that for?” Li Qingxue huffed, cradling her head, then suddenly thought of something, “Looks like I hit the nail on the head; you’re just embarrassed!”
“Not at all.” Long Aotian couldn’t help but tap her head again lightly.
“I’m Hu Yuying’s big brother. From the first day she transferred here, I promised to protect her, so I naturally give her more brotherly care.”
“Hu Yuying is special to me because she’s a kind person who knows I help her and is grateful for it.”
Upon hearing Long Aotian’s explanation, Li Qingxue huffed lightly, her delicate, beautiful face puffing up slightly, “No way! We girls know girls best…”
---
**Chapter 87: A Heartbeat in an Instant**
“I’m here.”
Hearing the voice, Hu Yuying looked out the kitchen window toward the yard.
When she saw Long Aotian’s figure appear, a gentle smile unconsciously spread across her cheeks and in her eyes.
In the past, the first thing she did when she got home was lock the door.
Now, she instinctively left the door open for Long Aotian, only for him.
“Long Ge, wash your hands first; dinner will be ready soon.”
“Oh.” As he walked into the kitchen and saw Hu Yuying’s radiant smile directed at him, Long Aotian’s gaze shifted, and he moved to the refrigerator.
He opened it and neatly arranged the vegetables, ribs, and meat he had brought.
After doing all this, Long Aotian secretly glanced at Hu Yuying, only to find that her gaze hadn’t left him since he entered.
This realization made Long Aotian feel a bit uneasy.
In his mind, he recalled Li Qingxue’s last words before leaving: “If she can keep her distance from other boys, treats you specially, and only has eyes for you, those are the most obvious and different signs…”
After saying this, Long Aotian quickly raised his hand, stood up, hugged his head, and backed away, lifting his nose in a huff, “If you keep hitting my head, I might just bite you!”
“I-I’m going in first.” Long Aotian blurted out, leaving the kitchen and stepping into the living room.
He poured himself a glass of water and sat on the sofa, falling into silence.
He occasionally glanced toward the kitchen, his expression a bit indescribably serious.
While he was lost in thought, Li Qingxue observed him and felt as if she was seeing a different picture.
What he thought was normal began to feel increasingly abnormal.
Long Aotian indeed cared about Hu Yuying. The first time he saw her, he felt only one thing: “Poor thing…”
Having grown up in an orphanage, Long Aotian had also been seen as a “pitiful creature” by others, so he could intuitively sense Hu Yuying’s emotional changes.
He could see it, which made him feel sorry for her.
Thus, Long Aotian often found himself wanting to know about Hu Yuying’s past, to understand the tragic life that could be summarized in just a few words.
But at the same time, he was also afraid to learn about her past.
She was a strong girl, a gentle girl.
At least in Long Aotian’s eyes, Hu Yuying was someone who deserved kindness from everyone.
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