Chapter 91
"I just want to rest," Long Aotian said weakly, his biological clock having woken him up early.
But he lay there in bed, lacking the energy to get up.
"You’re acting a bit off," the old man said as he walked into the room and sat down beside Long Aotian.
As a father, he could see even the slightest changes in his son.
Right now, Long Aotian gave the old man the impression that he had suddenly lost some kind of goal.
With a goal, there’s motivation; without one, motivation naturally fades away.
"I'm fine, I just want to rest," Long Aotian replied, sitting up and ruffling his messy hair.
"It’s because of that little teacher of yours, isn’t it?" the old man said softly. "Don’t think I don’t know. You’re running over to her place with meat and ribs every few days, practically making eight trips a day."
"That’s an exaggeration!" Long Aotian protested, realizing only after that the old man was trying to get him to talk.
The old man chuckled but said nothing. After all, he had raised Long Aotian all these years; he knew a thing or two about his son’s thoughts.
"If you like her, go after her. That little girl has a sweet voice and is polite; I like her," he added.
The old man’s own marriage had been a failure, and his approach to parenting hadn’t been perfect either.
He was a rough man, not one to express his feelings easily. Sometimes he worried that a wrong word might anger Long Aotian, but he always cared deeply for his son.
Since Long Aotian had changed his temperament, the gap between them had closed.
They could now speak freely without too much hesitation.
"I just feel sorry for her," Long Aotian admitted, not lying. The first time he saw Hu Yuying, he felt a pang of sympathy and even mentally noted it.
"Besides, Haiwan City is too small."
Hu Yuying was like a bird trapped in a cage.
Yet she had never given up, struggling from the bottom, facing many hardships and challenges, but she always persevered, never losing heart, and continued to work hard.
Now that the college entrance exams were over, the cage had been opened.
She would fly into a broader world (Kyoto A University), experiencing the beauty and freedom of the sky (meeting various talents and outstanding individuals).
She still needed to grow and reassess her inner self.
Long Aotian believed that Hu Yuying’s feelings for him were more about reliance and gratitude.
She was grateful for his help, which led to her dependence on him.
Moreover, he genuinely wanted to see her take a different path from the original story.
Even if it was just for a brief moment, he wanted her to forget her pain and feel a bit of warmth.
If he had any ill intentions, he could have easily taken advantage of that naive girl, leaving nothing behind.
She had suffered too much.
Now everything had changed.
Next, it was time for the little girl to soar!
As for why he enjoyed teasing Hu Yuying, it was simply because she was so easy to tease, and her silly innocence was quite amusing.
Besides, life is too short to not find some joy in the mundane; otherwise, what’s the point?
The old man didn’t say anything more, as he already had a good sense of things.
He had half-jokingly said, "If you like her, go after her..."
But Long Aotian’s response was, "I just feel sorry for her."
He could see the changes in his son, who seemed to have a better grasp of things than he did.
But today’s kids were maturing too quickly; it was almost alarming.
Maybe he was just getting old; let the young handle their own world.
"You can’t just sleep all day at home. Once you’ve rested enough, get out and take a walk," the old man said before leaving the room to get back to work.
Long Aotian stretched lazily in bed, thinking about having some fun.
But there really wasn’t much to do.
He couldn’t relate to the gang of friends he used to know.
But what was that little girl up to now?
With that thought, Long Aotian shook his head.
"Resting, clearing my mind. After all these years of hard work, even after crossing over, I’ve never really rested. What’s wrong with taking a break?"
"Time to watch some TV."
Lying on the couch, he turned on the TV: "Indeed, slacking off feels great for a moment, but slacking off all the time is even better!"
...
"It’s noon; what should we eat?"
"Let’s check out the mall. After we eat, we can keep shopping."
"What about you, Qingxue?"
Li Qingxue nodded, "I’m fine with anything, but before that, I’ll treat you all to ice cream."
"Yay!" The group of young girls was always eye-catching, no matter where they went.
After enjoying their ice cream, the four beauties happily headed toward the restaurant.
Once seated, the gossip began among the girls.
Of course, Wang Rui did most of the talking, and the others listened intently.
Among the four, only Wang Rui was a boarding student, familiar with classmates from other classes.
She had plenty of juicy gossip to share.
First, she revealed who confessed to whom in a certain class.
Then she mentioned who was planning to confess to someone else.
Whenever someone chimed in, others would echo their agreement.
Li Qingxue was also curious, but not overly so; she listened more attentively than usual.
Finally, Wang Rui mysteriously said, "There’s one more thing that you probably won’t believe."
"What is it? How can we know if you don’t tell us?"
Wang Rui teased them, "Hmph, when I first heard this, I didn’t believe it either. But after constantly eavesdropping and piecing things together, I concluded that the truth is indeed true."
Wang Rui’s words instantly piqued the others’ curiosity, even Li Qingxue couldn’t help but pay closer attention.
"Long Aotian scored 518 on the college entrance exam."
"Is that for real?"
"No way, Long Aotian? The top guy in our senior class?"
Wang Rui nodded vigorously, her lips pressed together, "Can’t believe it, right?"
"Really? How do you know?" Li Qingxue’s eyes lit up, eager to know.
Since that day when Ye Liangchen called her a third party, she hadn’t contacted Long Aotian, so she was curious about how Wang Rui found out!
"I have a roommate in Class 7. One of the bottom students, Wang Shuo, mentioned it in their group chat."
"Not only that, but Long Aotian also showed off to the second-to-last and third-to-last students... he really went around bragging, how childish!"
Pfft!
Li Qingxue couldn’t help but laugh; that was so typical of Long Aotian...
"Don’t blame me; I’ve already realized my mistakes..."
**Chapter 110: Long Aotian, I’m Going to Compete with You!**
After finishing their meal, the girls headed straight to the mall.
With the college entrance exams behind them, they had all achieved relatively good scores.
Their parents had given them a little reward, and as they prepared to head off to university, they wanted to buy new clothes to present their best selves.
Having family who cares and loves you is always a blessing.
Each of them bought a beautiful new outfit; college was different from high school, and they had more freedom in how they dressed.
After shopping, it was already around five or six in the evening.
Looking at their shopping skills, one could only say that Long Aotian had done a great job taking Hu Yuying shopping last time.
The four girls walked along, perhaps excited about heading to another city, or maybe it was just that girls always had endless topics to discuss.
Before they knew it, they passed by the riverside, strolling along the bank.
They felt the gentle breeze and the warm glow of the late afternoon sun.
Li Qingxue walked over to the grassy area by the river, took a deep breath, and slowly sat down on the grass.
"What are you doing, Qingxue?" Wang Rui asked as she sat beside her.
"Listening to the sound of the water," Li Qingxue replied, eyes closed.
Wang Rui closed her eyes too, taking it in: "It’s not as good as listening to music."
Hearing Wang Rui’s response made Li Qingxue chuckle; there was a time when she had said something similar.
"What are you laughing at?" Wang Rui asked, puzzled.
At eighteen, it was hard to find a moment of stillness.
"Nothing, just suddenly thought of something funny."
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