After leaving the artificial lake, Long Aotian didn’t stop until he arrived at University A.
From a distance, he could already see the young girl waiting at the campus gate.
She wore a knee-length coat, her dark hair tucked behind her ears because of the wind, occasionally standing on tiptoe to look around.
When she didn’t spot the person she was waiting for, she obediently stayed in place, continuing her vigil.
But the moment she saw him approaching, her delicate, charming face immediately lit up with a smile, like gentle ripples stirring across a tranquil pond.
"Long-ge." Her voice was warm as she waved enthusiastically, afraid he might miss her standing there.
"Have you been waiting long? Sorry I’m late today." Long Aotian walked up to Hu Yuying, retrieving her helmet from under the back seat and carefully fastening it for her.
"It’s fine. I’m just happy you came to pick me up. Besides, I just got out, so I haven’t been waiting long." She giggled, effortlessly settling onto the back seat and raising a small hand. "Let’s go home."
Watching her joyful expression, Long Aotian clenched her hand tightly, suddenly realizing he couldn’t keep hiding the truth from her.
But he didn’t know how to bring it up.Wasn’t this happiness of hers exactly what he wanted to protect?
"Long-ge, behave yourself." Hu Yuying lightly pinched his cheek.
Long-ge was perfect in every way—except for one thing. He never knew restraint, always insatiable in his desires. Yet after every time, he’d be so tender and attentive, making it impossible to stay mad at him.
"Let’s go home." Long Aotian took a deep breath and released her small hand.
He thought he should find the right moment to come clean to Yuying.
He was the one who messed up. He shouldn’t lie to her—it wasn’t fair to Hu Yuying...
"Mhm, home." Hearing this, the girl wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
A second later, she sniffed lightly, catching a faint, unfamiliar fragrance.
She inhaled carefully—it was subtle, but definitely not her own scent. Gently, she tugged at Long Aotian’s clothes.
"What’s wrong?" He tilted his head to listen.
Gazing at his profile, Hu Yuying smiled softly. "Nothing. I just suddenly felt like pulling at you."
"Silly girl. When we get home, you can pull at me all you want. Hold on tight—I’m speeding up."
"Okay." She clung to him, feeling the wind whistle past her ears.
Secretly glancing up at his back, she unconsciously tightened her grip a little more.
When it came to Long-ge, she trusted him with all her heart.
......
Not long after Long Aotian and Hu Yuying left, Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua also arrived at the entrance of University A.
"You can go back now. I’ll contact you if anything comes up." Ye Liangchen flicked his hair and spoke to Xue Shaohua beside him.
Xue Shaohua shrugged indifferently, then also flicked his hair, letting the cold wind mess up his freshly styled locks without bothering to fix them, before striding into the campus.
As Xue Shaohua walked away, Ye Liangchen took out his phone and found the contact still pinned at the top of his list.
"Even though you’ve hurt me countless times, we’ve known each other for nine years—no, ten, counting this year."
"How many decades does a person have in their life?"
"I’ll just assume you were blinded by Long Aotian before. Now, I, Ye Liangchen, magnanimously declare to the world that I’ve restored your title as my white moonlight!"
With that, Ye Liangchen slowly closed his eyes, lifted his gaze at a 45-degree angle, and took a deep breath of the crisp air.
Then he opened his phone and dialed a number.
"Yes, it’s something very important."
Meanwhile, in the girls’ dormitory.
Ever since Hu Yuying stopped living on campus, Li Qingxue, who had lost much of her fun, would return straight to her dorm after workouts instead of going out.
Right now, she was happily picking out tomorrow’s outfit when her phone suddenly rang.
Li Qingxue glanced at the screen, her face instantly brightening with joy as she flopped onto her bed and answered. "Hey, Rui Rui! Did you get the clothes we sent you? How do they look?"
Earlier, she had asked Wang Rui to help model outfits for her, Hu Yuying, and Lin Wanning’s online store. Without hesitation, Wang Rui had agreed.
The results were fantastic—no doubt Wang Rui had put in a lot of effort.
As a thank-you, every time they released new designs, Li Qingxue, Hu Yuying, and Lin Wanning would send Wang Rui the latest pieces.
Wang Rui’s voice still carried that playful lilt. Even though they weren’t at the same university, their three years of high school friendship wasn’t so easily forgotten.
The two chatted for a while longer.
Just before hanging up, Wang Rui suddenly remembered the real reason for her call.
"Wait, wait! I got so carried away I almost forgot—there’s something else I need to tell you."
Li Qingxue lay on her stomach, her fair, petite feet kicking idly in the air, her mood still cheerful. "What is it?"
"Gao Quan called me. He said Ye Liangchen has something to discuss with you and wants you to accept his friend request."
"He mentioned it’s pretty important."
Hearing this, Li Qingxue rolled her eyes. Given some of the things Ye Liangchen had done, she really had no interest in dealing with him now.
What "important" matter could he possibly have?
Her life was going well—she called home once a week, and everything was fine there. Li Qingxue couldn’t think of anything more important than her own life and family.
"Qingxue, I never thought you’d actually delete Ye Liangchen’s contact."
"That’s because you don’t know what he’s done," Li Qingxue retorted irritably.
Wang Rui knew her friend’s temper. If Li Qingxue had gone as far as blocking and deleting him, it must have been unbearable.
A girl’s gossip-loving curiosity was strong, though. After some prodding, Wang Rui immediately declared Ye Liangchen a total creep.
......
Ye Liangchen flicked his hair dramatically under the night sky. Soon, his phone rang, and a confident smile curled his lips. Seeing Gao Quan’s name on the screen, his grin widened.
"Chen-ge, Wang Rui said... she told you to stop harassing Li Qingxue..."
That single sentence emptied Ye Liangchen’s mind. He didn’t even register the rest of Gao Quan’s words.
Stunned, he hung up and stared at his phone in disbelief. "What kind of joke is this? I’ve always been protecting you! Shouldn’t the one harassing you be Long Aotian?"
She shook her head, "The misunderstanding between us runs too deep. But once you see the photos in my hand, you'll realize that no one in this world cares for you more than I do..."
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