"Are you doing alright at school?"
Hu Yuying nodded softly. "I'm fine, though I still feel a little unadjusted sotis."
Unadjusted to being alone, unadjusted to not being able to cook for Long Aotian every day. It seed like everything in this city felt unfamiliar.
She had grown used to being by Long Aotian's side, accustod to his maturity and his occasional playful, unserious deanor. For original chapters go to novel·fıre·net
Her classmates acted childish, often doing aningless things just to get her attention.
But she got along well with her roommates—not just in the dorm, but in class too.
No one bullied her anymore.
"What about you, Long Aotian?" Hu Yuying asked in return.
"Not bad. It’s a little different from what I imagined, but I’m happier than I expected." Long Aotian thought of his three self-proclaid "adopted sons" in the dorm and couldn’t help but chuckle.
It was like they were determined to make up for every missed opportunity from high school now that they were in college.
"Long Aotian, I think you’ve changed a little," Hu Yuying said, tilting her head as she studied him seriously.
"How so?"
"I don’t know." She sighed in frustration. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, but she could feel it.
If she had to put it into words, he seed more at ease, as if so invisible wall inside him had shifted without notice...
But no matter how he changed, he was still her Long Aotian.
"Long Aotian, um… can I ssage you when I’m free?" Hu Yuying murmured. "Or if you have ti, you could ssage too..."
The last ti she’d reached out, he’d been busy eating with his roommates, and she’d worried about disturbing him.
Hearing this, Long Aotian smiled sheepishly. He *had* been neglecting his little follower lately, too caught up in goofing off with his dormmates. "Sure."
Delighted by his answer, Hu Yuying happily shared more stories from her past few days at school—down to what she ate every day, how cheap and delicious the campus food was, and so on.
With Long Aotian, it seed she always had endless things to say.
Li Qingxue returned from the restroom and took her seat, glancing at the tableware that had already been rinsed with hot water. She lightly smacked Long Aotian’s back. "Thanks."
Long Aotian’s brows twitched imperceptibly before he forced a smile and stretched his back. "Just eat your fill later."
Li Qingxue’s eyes flickered, but she grinned. "Fine. I’ll eat you broke."
"I’ll leave you here as collateral and make a run for it with Hu Yuying!"
"You *dare*! If I catch you, I’ll bite you to death!" She burst into laughter, reminded of how Gao Quan had once been left as "collateral" at a barbecue stall by Ye Liangchen.
"Long Aotian, don’t leave Qingxue here as collateral," Hu Yuying giggled, tugging lightly at his sleeve.
"See? Hu Yuying and I are the real besties. Watch out, or we’ll leave *you* behind!"
Though the al wasn’t extravagant, it brought endless laughter to the three of them, all far from ho.
"Full?"
"Full x2."
"Can you two ride bikes?" Long Aotian asked.
Li Qingxue rolled her eyes. "I was the one who biked over with the fruit and snacks for you. Can’t you pay attention?"
"I can ride too," Hu Yuying chid in, happy that Long Aotian cared enough to ask.
"Then let’s go. I’ll take you back." With a wave of his hand, Long Aotian led the two of them to the bike-sharing station.
He pulled up the navigation app, switching to cycling mode—3.2 kiloters in total.
The three of them pedaled through unfamiliar streets, Long Aotian in front and the two girls trailing behind.
From the mont they started riding, the smiles on their faces never faded.
Even back when they’d first learned to ride bikes, following their families hadn’t felt as joyful as this.
Or maybe it had—but that was so long ago, the happiness couldn’t compare to now.
At this age, they were still too innocent to understand why so would say, *"I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."*
But at least in this mont, they were happy.
"Damn, this looks even more impressive in person." Long Aotian stared up at the gates of University A. "No wonder it’s the top school in the capital."
"The campus is huge too. Want to take a look inside?" Li Qingxue offered.
"Another day. You two head back."
As he watched them walk away, his phone buzzed twice.
It was Li Qingxue, who had just left. The ssage was brief: *"Wait, don’t leave yet!"*
Confused but obliging, Long Aotian lingered. They were all from the sa hotown, after all. Helping each other out was natural.
Before long, Li Qingxue ca sprinting back, panting. She shot him an exasperated look—here she was, exhausted, while he stood there surrounded by female classmates asking for his QQ handle...
She marched up to him. "Co with ."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
Long Aotian smiled apologetically at the girls. "The person I’m waiting for is here. See you."
He caught up to Li Qingxue. "Hey, what’s up?"
"What, scared I’ll sell you off?" She quickened her pace.
Once they reached a quieter spot, Li Qingxue suddenly stopped and turned to face him.
Long Aotian frowned under her intense gaze. "Do I have sothing on my face?"
Li Qingxue didn’t answer, just kept staring until her eyes began to redden.
"Wait, what’s wrong? Don’t tell you’re about to cry—I’ll punch you!" Long Aotian couldn’t handle girls crying in front of him. The mont tears fell, logic went out the window—suddenly, everything was *his* fault.
"What’s wrong with **? What’s wrong with *you*?"
"? What did I do?" He was still lost.
"What happened to your back? Did you get into a fight?"
Li Qingxue had heard about University T—full of athletes. Had they ganged up on Long Aotian because he was an outsider?
He’d been fine yesterday, but now, after just one night, even a light touch made him wince and tense up.
And he’d tried to play it off like nothing was wrong—but she’d noticed!
"My back is just—hey, hey! No groping—"
"Stay still, or I’ll tell Hu Yuying." Li Qingxue sniffled, her voice thick.
Amused but obedient, Long Aotian stopped resisting...
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