"Brat, why haven’t you gone out today? Still lazing around at home?" Old Han pushed open the door and looked at Long Aotian, who was lying on the bed staring blankly.
Ever since the college entrance exams, this kid had been running out every day, leaving in the morning and coming back at night.
Even when he was taking his driver's license test, it was the same.
If Old Han hadn’t known that he was spending time with that girl, Hu Yuying, he would have dragged him back long ago.
Today, for some reason, he hadn’t gone out, which surprised Old Han.
"Just wanted to rest," Long Aotian said weakly. His biological clock had woken him up early, but he had just been lying there, feeling drained and unable to muster any energy.
"You’re acting a bit off," Old Han said as he walked into the room and sat down beside Long Aotian.
As a father, he could spot even the slightest change in his son. Right now, Long Aotian gave him the impression that he had suddenly lost some kind of goal.
When people have goals, they have motivation. Without a goal, motivation naturally disappears.
"I’m not acting off. I just want to rest," Long Aotian said as he sat up in bed, running his fingers through his messy hair.
"Is it because of that little teacher of yours?" Old Han asked softly. "Don’t think I don’t know. You’ve been bringing her meat, ribs, and bones every other day, practically running to her house eight times a day."
"It’s not that exaggerated!" Long Aotian protested, feeling that Old Han was overstating things. He definitely hadn’t gone eight times a day.
Then it hit him: "Old Han, you’re tricking me into talking!"
Old Han chuckled but didn’t say anything. After all, he’d lived half his life already. If he didn’t have some wits about him, how could he have raised Long Aotian all these years?
"If you like her, just go after her. That girl speaks softly, has good manners, and is quite likable."
Old Han’s marriage had been a failure, and in many ways, so had his parenting. He was a rough man who didn’t know how to express himself. Sometimes he worried that saying the wrong thing would make Long Aotian angry, but deep down, he cared deeply for his son.
Ever since Long Aotian had changed his ways, the barrier between them had disappeared, and they could speak more freely.
"I just feel sorry for her," Long Aotian said, and he wasn’t lying. From the moment he first saw Hu Yuying, he could sense it, and he had even mentally assessed her situation.
"Besides, Haiwan City is too small."
Hu Yuying was like a bird trapped in a cage.
But she had never given up. She had struggled from the bottom, facing countless difficulties and hardships along the way, yet she had never lost heart. She kept pushing forward.
Now that the college entrance exams were over, the cage had been opened.
She would fly to a wider world (Capital City A University) and experience the beauty and freedom of the skies (meeting all kinds of talented and outstanding people).
She still needed to grow and re-examine her heart.
Because Long Aotian believed that Hu Yuying’s feelings for him were more about dependency and gratitude.
She was grateful for his help, and that had led to her dependence on him.
Moreover, he genuinely wanted to see Hu Yuying take a different path from the one in the original story.
Even if it was just for a brief moment, he wanted her to forget her pain and feel a little warmth.
If he had any ill intentions, he could have taken advantage of her long ago—this naive girl wouldn’t have stood a chance.
She had suffered too much.
Now, everything had changed.
Next, it was time for the little girl to soar!
As for why he liked teasing Hu Yuying, it was simply because she was so easy to mess with. Her cluelessness was kind of amusing.
Besides, life is dull without a little fun.
Old Han didn’t press further because he already had a good idea of what was going on.
He had half-jokingly said, "If you like her, just go after her..."
But Long Aotian’s response was, "I just feel sorry for her."
He had seen the changes in his son and knew that Long Aotian had more of a plan than he, the old man, did.
But kids these days were growing up too fast—almost unnervingly so.
Or maybe he was just getting old. Perhaps it was best to leave the younger generation’s world to them.
"Well, you can’t just sleep all day. Once you’ve rested enough, go out and take a walk," Old Han said before leaving the room. He had work to do.
Long Aotian stretched lazily in bed. As for going out to have fun...
There really wasn’t much to do.
The troublemaker friends the original Long Aotian had hung out with weren’t his style at all.
But what was that little girl up to now?
At the thought, Long Aotian quickly shook his head.
"Rest, clear my mind. I’ve been working like a beast for so many years. Even after transmigrating, I haven’t had a proper break. What’s wrong with resting for a bit?"
"Let’s watch some TV."
He lay on the sofa, staring at the screen. "Slacking off feels so good. If only I could slack off forever!"
......
"What should we eat for lunch?"
"Let’s check out the mall. We can shop after eating."
"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, beautiful girls drew attention wherever they went.
After enjoying their ice cream, the four of them headed to a restaurant.
Once seated, the gossip began.
Wang Rui did most of the talking, while the other three listened.
Since Wang Rui was the only one who lived in the dorm, she knew students from other classes and had plenty of juicy stories to share.
First, it was about how someone from Class X had confessed to someone from Class Y.
Then, there was the rumor that someone from Class Z was planning to confess to someone from Class W.
Whenever someone knew something, they’d chime in.
Li Qingxue, though not as gossipy as the others, listened intently.
Finally, Wang Rui said mysteriously, "There’s one more thing, and I bet you won’t believe it."
"What is it? You won’t know unless you tell us."
Wang Rui deliberately kept them in suspense. "Hmph, when I first heard this, I didn’t believe it either. But after digging deeper and deeper, I finally confirmed it’s true."
Her words instantly piqued everyone’s curiosity, even Li Qingxue’s.
"Long Aotian scored 518 on the college entrance exams."
"Really?"
"No way! Long Aotian? The top dog of our senior year?"
Wang Rui nodded solemnly. "Hard to believe, right?"
"Is it true? How do you know?" Li Qingxue’s eyes lit up as she asked eagerly.
Ever since Ye Liangchen had called her a homewrecker that day, Li Qingxue hadn’t reached out to Long Aotian. So, she was curious how Wang Rui knew about this.
"One of my roommates is in Class 7. A guy named Wang Shuo, who’s at the bottom of the class, mentioned it in their group chat."
"Not just that. Long Aotian didn’t just brag to Wang Shuo, the last-place guy. He bragged to the second-to-last, third-to-last, and so on. So childish!"
Pfft!
Li Qingxue couldn’t help but laugh. That kind of behavior was so typical of Long Aotian...
"Don’t talk about me. I’ve already deeply realized my mistakes..."