Chapter 116
When I first learned to ride a bike, I was behind my family, and I wasn't nearly as happy as I am now.
Maybe I was happy back then, but so much time has passed that it pales in comparison to the joy I feel now.
At this moment, they are at their most innocent, still unable to grasp why some people say, "I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."
But at least for now, they are happy.
“Wow, this is even more spectacular than it looks in the photos.” At the entrance of A University, Long Aotian couldn’t help but exclaim, “It truly deserves to be the best school in Kyoto.”
“It’s really big inside too. Should we go take a look?” Li Qingxue asked.
“Maybe another day. You guys head back,” he replied.
As he watched the two of them walk away, Long Aotian was about to leave when his phone buzzed twice in his hand.
It was Li Qingxue, who had just left, and her message was brief: “Wait, don’t leave yet!”
Long Aotian was puzzled but decided to wait.
They were all from the same city, friends who could look out for each other; he wouldn’t turn her down.
Before long, Li Qingxue came running back, breathless, and shot him a look of exasperation. She was exhausted, yet he was surrounded by a few female classmates, seemingly being asked for a penguin...
“Come with me,” Li Qingxue said, turning on her heel.
Long Aotian glanced at the girls and smiled, “The person I’m waiting for is here. See you!”
He caught up to Li Qingxue. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you really scared I’m going to sell you out?” she teased, quickening her pace.
Once they reached a quieter spot, Li Qingxue suddenly stopped and turned to face Long Aotian.
He found her gaze a bit strange. “Is there something on my face?”
Without saying a word, Li Qingxue just stared at him, her eyes starting to redden.
“What’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re about to cry. I’ll have to punch you!” Long Aotian couldn’t stand it when girls cried in front of him.
Especially at that moment, no matter who was right or wrong, it felt like it was all his fault.
“What’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t you be asking what’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” Long Aotian was still trying to wrap his head around it.
“What’s going on with your back? Did you get into a fight?”
Li Qingxue had heard about T University before; the students there were all athletes. Did they bully Long Aotian because he was an outsider and gang up on him?
Otherwise, he had seemed fine when he arrived, and now, just after one night, a light touch on his back made him wince and tense up.
He was trying to act like nothing was wrong, but she could see right through him!
“My back is because... hey, hey... don’t be a tease...”
“Don’t move, or I’ll tell Hu Yuying,” Li Qingxue said, sniffling, her voice muffled.
Hearing that made Long Aotian chuckle, but he didn’t move...
Chapter 140: The Feeling of Meeting You is That I Really Like You
As Li Qingxue lifted Long Aotian’s shirt, she saw a swollen bruise on his right side, with a scar that had stopped bleeding.
“Long Aotian, did someone hit you?” Li Qingxue’s voice choked as she looked at the large bruise.
Long Aotian turned around and lightly tapped her on the head. “Am I that easy to bully?”
“You can’t even see it! It’s all swollen; no wonder it hurts so much.”
Li Qingxue didn’t understand how men’s bodies worked. For her, even a small scrape could hurt for a long time. Seeing such a large bruise on his back made her sure it must be incredibly painful...
“Hey, don’t cry. It’s not what you think.” Long Aotian recounted how he had gone out to eat with his roommates after registration yesterday and ended up in a situation where someone was being bullied.
“You’re so foolish. You just love to meddle, but don’t you see where you are? So many people, and you had to rush to the front. What if that lunatic threw a knife...”
Li Qingxue scolded him, but she knew this was just Long Aotian being Long Aotian, doing something only he would do.
Wasn’t that how they first met?
When she was feeling down, a meddlesome boy had said something that made her remember him for so long...
“I’ll go get you some medicine. Wait here.”
“Hey, look what I’ve got!” Long Aotian pulled out a tube of ointment from his pocket and waved it in front of Li Qingxue.
“You’re still smiling? I thought you were hurt, and you’re laughing?”
Long Aotian stopped smiling and lifted his shirt for Li Qingxue to apply the ointment.
“Qingxue, don’t tell Yuying about this.”
“Ah, be gentle.”
“I thought you didn’t know what pain was.” He said this but tried to be as gentle as possible, blowing on the ointment after applying it to help it absorb.
“Yuying is sensitive. If she finds out, she’ll definitely cry. I’m most afraid of her crying; you don’t know how long she can cry sometimes,” Long Aotian said, and as he thought of something, a smile crept onto his face.
“I know. I could tell you were holding back in the restaurant; you didn’t want Yuying to find out.”
“But I think Hu Yuying is stronger than you think.” Li Qingxue said this because of how Yuying had acted at school.
“That’s good.”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s good’? You always think of others; can’t you take care of yourself a little?”
“Ah, it’s just a little scrape. I’m tough; in a couple of days, the swelling will go down, and it’ll be nothing.”
Li Qingxue poked the edge of the bruise with her finger. “Then why are you afraid of Yuying finding out?”
“You’re the most stubborn person.”
Long Aotian stood up and pulled his shirt down. “This isn’t stubbornness; it’s unnecessary. There’s nothing wrong, and saying it out loud would just make me seem delicate.”
“That’s just classic ‘saving face while suffering in silence.’”
“Do you want to see Hu Yuying cry?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the point? There’s nothing wrong, so why tell her and make her worry?”
“Speaking of Yuying, the way you were just now, anyone would think I did something to you. How embarrassing,” Long Aotian laughed.
At this, Li Qingxue rolled her eyes at him and sat down beside him. “You’re really good to Yuying.”
“Yeah, what else? Call me ‘Long Ge,’ and I’ll take you as my second-in-command.”
“No way.” Li Qingxue adjusted her clothes, glancing sideways at Long Aotian, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.
A moment of silence fell between them.
“Let’s head back. There’s nothing going on, and you should get some rest. Military training starts in a couple of days,” Long Aotian said, feeling a bit shy after sitting with Li Qingxue for a while.
In Long Aotian’s memory, Li Qingxue was always cheerful and lively, as if all the beauty in the world gathered around her. Just being near her would infect you with her optimism and brightness.
But now, Li Qingxue had her arms crossed, looking sulky and not smiling, which somehow created an unexpected pressure.
Long Aotian turned to look at her.
Noticing his gaze, Li Qingxue suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. “What are you looking at?”
“Your makeup seems to have smudged.”
“Really?” Li Qingxue touched her face, concerned. “I only put on a very light makeup today; it shouldn’t be...”
Before she could finish, she saw Long Aotian laughing and immediately pinched him at the waist. “You’re just trying to make fun of me.”
She knew he was just trying to cheer her up; what a big fool...
When Li Qingxue smiled, the atmosphere instantly changed.
“Let’s go.”
Watching Long Aotian’s back, Li Qingxue felt both amused and annoyed. Sometimes, he was genuinely great—he could help Hu Yuying change, he could say something that enlightened her, and he couldn’t stand by when he saw someone being bullied.
But when it came to his own issues, he seemed so indifferent. He was a strange person.
He seemed to be a typical eighteen-year-old, yet his demeanor was completely different from his peers...
In the girls’ dormitory, Room 301 on the third floor.
Hu Yuying bit her lip tightly, her fingers clenched so hard they turned white, but she didn’t let go.
“Yuying, you’re back?” she heard her roommate say.
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