Chapter 150
So that’s how it is, Xu Shuai finally understood, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Fortunately, the awkward moment didn’t last long.
Soon, Long Aotian arrived at his stop and passed by Xu Shuai on his way out.
“Hey, Old Ao, you’re here?” As soon as he said this, Wang Lijuan beside him froze for a moment, and Xu Shuai wanted to slap himself for letting that slip.
Long Aotian hadn’t expected this either. He had been pretending not to see Xu Shuai all along, and just when it was time to get off, he blurted that out.
“What do you mean, Old Ao? You’ve got the wrong person. I don’t even know you.” With that, he grabbed Lin Wanning’s hand and dashed out the door as it opened.
In that fleeting moment, he caught a glimpse of Xu Shuai giving him a thumbs-up.
Lin Wanning, looking at her hand being held by Long Aotian, smiled as she stepped out, also giving Xu Shuai a thumbs-up.
As the door closed, Long Aotian and Lin Wanning exchanged a glance and then smiled at each other.
“You didn’t see wrong. Xu Shuai is my roommate. He asked us to keep it a secret back in the dorm.”
“That was definitely awkward.”
But Lin Wanning quickly realized that this subway station was the same one she and her brother had passed through when they were looking at apartments earlier.
“Bro, did you end up renting that place?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said last time? It’s not worth it!” Lin Wanning genuinely felt it was a bad deal.
“Maybe I’m just getting a good bargain,” Long Aotian replied, not dwelling on it, and led Lin Wanning toward the subway exit.
Watching Long Aotian’s back and the hand he was holding, Lin Wanning decided to keep her thoughts to herself.
Though they had known each other for a short time, she believed this guy wasn’t just acting on impulse.
Once they exited the subway, it wasn’t long before they spotted Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue.
She handed them the fruit tea she was holding. “You guys should find some shade.”
Li Qingxue took the drink. “Yuying was worried you, big dummy, would get anxious if you couldn’t see us!”
At this, Long Aotian turned to Hu Yuying.
Hu Yuying shrugged innocently. “I’m just being obedient.”
With that pure and innocent face, Long Aotian felt an overwhelming urge to pinch her cheeks until they turned rosy, and then watch her shyly look up at him with her watery eyes and say, “Please don’t bully me...”
When this girl was being cute, it was just too easy to tease her.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to our secret base.” Long Aotian waved his hand grandly and led the three girls toward the courtyard.
He opened the gate to the courtyard.
Inside, the weeds and some discarded items had been cleared away by hired workers.
Overall, it looked much better than the initial chaotic state.
Lin Wanning had already known about this, so she wasn’t too shocked.
But Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue looked at the courtyard in surprise, then turned to Long Aotian, who wore a proud and smug expression.
“Long Ge, did you rent this place?”
“Of course! We’ve just done a simple cleanup; we haven’t started any renovations yet.”
Li Qingxue stood on her tiptoes and touched Long Aotian’s forehead with the back of her hand. “You’re not even running a fever, so what were you thinking? Renting such a big courtyard and then paying for renovations yourself? That’s going to cost a fortune!”
“Hey, don’t jinx me,” Long Aotian said, swatting her hand away.
As he spoke, he walked inside.
Lin Wanning looked at Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue, shrugging helplessly, as if to say, “I’ve already tried to talk him out of it, but it didn’t work.”
The three girls watched Long Aotian’s confident back, and since it had come to this, they helped him tidy up.
【Give the vulture some face; don’t make me kneel and beg you to send some electricity.】
【Send some electricity, please, have a heart for the kid.】
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Chapter 181: You Say, Do You Have Designs on Us?
While tidying up, they also caught sight of the design plans for the courtyard in Long Aotian’s hands.
“Is this the design plan for the courtyard?” Li Qingxue asked, looking at the papers on the table.
“Yeah,” Long Aotian replied. “Can you understand it?”
“Just take the ‘can’ out,” Li Qingxue shot him a glare. Looking at the design, she knew this guy was beyond saving.
Hu Yuying stepped closer to take a look as well. She had a lot of faith in Long Ge.
From the time he took her to buy goods for profit to his insights on future social trends, he had always shown a certain foresight.
Long Ge definitely had his own ideas about things, so among the three girls, Hu Yuying was the quickest to be surprised and the quickest to accept.
What she felt most was that now they had a place to stay, she could get some tools and cook for Long Ge every day.
It had been a long time since she last cooked for him, and she wondered if he still liked her cooking.
Long Aotian stood in the courtyard with the blueprints, sharing his design concepts.
“What do you think?”
Facing Long Aotian’s question, the three girls looked at the design draft, considering the layout of the courtyard, brainstorming how they would design it if it were theirs...
It’s true what they say: three heads are better than one.
The design draft was continuously improved. Long Aotian didn’t just come to tell Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue that they now had a secret base in Beijing.
He was also there to refine the design based on the courtyard’s layout.
After all, it would be their future home, so the more detailed, the better.
And the sooner they settled on it, the sooner they could start renovations.
Noticing that Long Ge had finished his fruit tea, Hu Yuying quietly said, “Long Ge, is there a store nearby? I want to buy some things.”
Long Aotian paused for a moment; he hadn’t really paid attention to that.
“I know, I’ll take you there,” Lin Wanning said with a smile.
Seeing Lin Wanning’s smile directed at her, Hu Yuying nodded gently. “Okay.”
Watching the two of them walk away, Li Qingxue’s eyes flickered as she turned to Long Aotian. “You’re renting a place here and asking for our opinions on the renovations. Are you trying to get something from us?”
“Yeah, you caught me,” Long Aotian replied with a laugh, while contacting the renovation company on his phone.
Li Qingxue’s cheeks flushed slightly, feeling that this guy was being too straightforward, not even pretending.
It was one thing to have designs on her, but now he seemed to have designs on Yuying and Wanning too.
“That kind of thinking isn’t good!” Li Qingxue said softly, biting her lip.
“What’s wrong with it?” Long Aotian asked, amused.
Li Qingxue pouted. It seemed that no guy ever thought there was anything wrong with such matters.
As her thoughts wandered, she recalled how he had talked about his good looks when they were on the boat last week.
Hmph, so this guy had been plotting against me all along.
With that thought, a hint of sweetness crept into her heart.
But then she realized he wasn’t just interested in her; he had designs on Yuying and Wanning too.
Immediately, she took on a faux mature tone to lecture Long Aotian. “Even though you’re fit now, that’s just because you’re young. When you get older, you’ll definitely be out of steam.”
This made Long Aotian chuckle. It was just that Li Qingxue’s youthful face suddenly turned serious, creating a strange contrast.
Unable to resist, he teased, “Don’t worry, I’m in great shape.” He flexed his bicep for emphasis.
Seeing the muscles on Long Aotian’s arm, Li Qingxue’s heart raced. Is he really in great shape? Will I be able to handle it? Just thinking about it made her cheeks flush uncontrollably.
Who would have thought this guy, who initially seemed so mature and humorous, would reveal his true self so quickly!
I can’t take it anymore; if that’s the case, I need to take the initiative.
Looking at Long Aotian’s back, she felt a bit flustered, but after two deep breaths, she gradually steadied herself.
She stepped forward. “Long Aotian, I have something to tell you.”
Long Aotian turned around. “What is it?”
The courage she had built up flickered out the moment he turned to face her.
Okay, maybe she had overestimated herself a bit.
Especially now, with Long Aotian looking directly at her, her heart raced even more.
She took two steps back.
When a person is particularly nervous, it’s as if their brain is starved of oxygen, and their feet can trip over each other.
“Long Aotian!”
“Hahaha...” Li Qingxue’s actions made Long Aotian burst into laughter.
He caught her by the waist to steady her. “Are you silly? The ground is so flat, and you still managed to trip over yourself?”
With her body leaning against Long Aotian’s arm, they were even closer now.
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