Watching Hu Yuying's bashful demeanor, Long Aotian gave her a strange look. "Has no one ever told you how beautiful you are?"
Hearing this, Hu Yuying didn’t know how to respond, and as a result, she became even more nervous.
Her slightly lowered gaze and docile expression resembled the little white fox from ancient myths—a mix of allure and an innocence that could captivate hearts.
Occasionally, when she glanced up, it was so breathtaking that it made one instinctively want to conquer and possess her.
"No way?"
"Please, stop talking," Hu Yuying pretended to pick up a test paper. "This problem is actually quite simple. I have notes on it in my notebook. Let me find them for you."
"Many of the exercises on these papers are based on key concepts. I’ll write them down for you later. If you practice regularly, your grades will definitely improve."
Seeing Hu Yuying flustered, Long Aotian found it amusing. This girl really couldn’t handle being teased.
Just look at how red her face had turned.
Noticing the smile on Long Aotian’s lips, Hu Yuying, who had been nervous, started to relax a little.
In fact, during their interactions, under Long Aotian’s deliberate guidance, Hu Yuying’s shyness had gradually faded.
If this had happened before, she would have immediately lowered her head, not even daring to look at anyone.
The ugly duckling becomes a swan because it was always a swan to begin with.
Hu Yuying was the same. Like the typical trope in novels, the female protagonist must undergo a gradual transformation, eventually stunning everyone.
What she needed most now was to build her confidence.
Destroying someone’s confidence is easy.
But building someone’s confidence is incredibly difficult.
At least for Hu Yuying, today was undoubtedly a wonderful day.
The amount of praise she received today surpassed what she had gotten in the past two years of high school combined.
All thanks to having such a great "big brother."
Thinking this, Hu Yuying silently encouraged herself to help her "big brother" improve his grades.
Seeing Hu Yuying so motivated, Long Aotian also felt inspired.
Ten minutes later: "Wait a second, my brain’s a bit overwhelmed. Let me take a moment. Given the function f(x) = kx + b..."
Hu Yuying waited quietly, but when she noticed smoke rising from Long Aotian’s head, her eyes widened in shock.
Pointing at Long Aotian’s head in amazement, she exclaimed, "Big brother, your head is smoking!"
"Huh?" Long Aotian was momentarily stunned. "I can’t see it. Could it be that I’m growing a brain?"
"Then, big brother, do you still want to keep studying?"
"Of course," Long Aotian replied without hesitation. "I feel like a god of learning has possessed me. I can’t stop now!"
After Hu Yuying carefully explained the solution step by step, she looked at Long Aotian expectantly. "Did you understand?"
"Uh, sort of," Long Aotian said, though he hadn’t really grasped it. He felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, the impression he had left on Hu Yuying so far was one of dominance and brilliance.
If she found out he was actually clueless, would she still respect him?
Hearing Long Aotian’s response, Hu Yuying’s eyes curved into a smile, and she tilted her head, trying to suppress her laughter. "Should we go over it again?"
She was holding back laughter because Long Aotian clearly hadn’t understood but was pretending he had.
His guilty expression was a stark contrast to how he had acted when scolding Wang Shuo earlier.
He looked a bit silly.
"Alright, let’s go over it again. Write it down for me this time."
"Okay."
As the top troublemaker in Class 7, Long Aotian was now discussing academics with a new classmate.
This was something he would never have imagined before.
But the conversation between the two of them was a bit too abstract, wasn’t it?
Overusing his brain to the point of smoke rising from his head, yet claiming it was the "god of learning" possessing him.
He was clearly nervous earlier, yet he insisted he had understood everything!
Everyone in the class was secretly watching Long Aotian and Hu Yuying.
Whispers spread throughout the room.
Even Wang Shuo couldn’t help but glance at Long Aotian. "Is he serious?" he asked, his tone filled with disbelief.
"Did he really grow a brain? I saw smoke coming from his head too," Wang Shuo’s deskmate said, equally astonished.
As the second-to-last and third-to-last students in the class, they couldn’t believe that the absolute last-place student was actually taking the initiative to study—and even managed to make his head smoke in the process.
The teacher, facing over 60 students in a single class, had limited time to explain problems in detail. If they spent too much time on one question, it would delay the progress of new material. As a result, the explanations weren’t always thorough.
Hu Yuying’s one-on-one tutoring, however, allowed her to explain the solutions in meticulous detail.
Whenever Long Aotian didn’t understand, Hu Yuying would immediately switch to a different approach, helping him grasp the concept faster.
"Did I get it right?"
Hu Yuying nodded gently. "Yes."
"Yes!" Long Aotian stretched and felt incredibly proud of himself.
He had solved this problem entirely on his own, following the steps Hu Yuying had provided.
A genius—he was nothing short of a genius!
Seeing Long Aotian’s joy, a glimmer of light flickered in Hu Yuying’s eyes, but it quickly dimmed as she seemed to think of something.
Everyone’s happiness seemed so simple.
In the past, people would laugh and feel happy whenever they saw her in a pitiful state.
Some people, who appeared domineering and unapproachable, found joy in something as basic as solving a simple math problem.
Why was it so hard for her to find happiness?
Her desires were modest—she just wanted to live without being bullied.
She had never provoked anyone, only wanting to study quietly, get into a good university, earn money, and support her family. Why was that so difficult?
If she hadn’t met her "big brother," she would probably still be getting bullied.
Taking a deep breath, she mustered the courage to look at Long Aotian. "Big brother, if I’m your follower, will no one bully me anymore?"
Hearing this, Long Aotian fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, meeting Hu Yuying’s gaze, he didn’t directly answer her question. Instead, he spoke seriously, "Do you know how amazing you are?"
"Amazing? Me?" Hu Yuying’s eyes showed a brief moment of confusion.
"Let me guess. If I’m right, just nod, okay?"
Hu Yuying looked at Long Aotian without speaking, then nodded.
"Among those who used to bully you, did someone once confess their feelings to you, but you rejected them?"
Hearing this, Hu Yuying instinctively pursed her lips, but under Long Aotian’s gaze, she nodded again.
Long Aotian chuckled softly. "Looks like I guessed right."
"Among those who bullied you, did they ever insult your appearance or accuse you of cheating on exams?"
Hu Yuying recalled something, her gaze lowering as she nodded once more.
"So, do you see how amazing you are now?"
"Amazing people naturally attract each other, but those who only want to possess you will do everything they can to drag you down."
"Because you’re so outstanding, to some people, you’re like a swan among toads, or a cloud above the mud."
"Only when the swan becomes an ugly duckling, or the cloud is tainted by mud, do these people feel they have a chance."
As he said this, Long Aotian glanced meaningfully at Wang Shuo, who was picking his nose.
Hu Yuying followed his gaze, then quickly looked away.
"But jealousy can also twist people’s hearts."
"The people they admire are easily drawn to you, and their pride takes a hit. When they realize they can’t measure up to you but refuse to admit you’re better, they start targeting you."
"They’ll try to expose your most vulnerable moments, tarnishing your image so that your brilliance is overshadowed by flaws."
"And once you’re covered in flaws, you don’t seem so amazing anymore."
Long Aotian’s words seemed to be comforting Hu Yuying, but in reality, he was magnifying her strengths.
As a passionate young man from the modern world, Long Aotian was 28 years old before he transmigrated.
In front of an 18-year-old girl, it wasn’t too much to call himself an "uncle," was it?
Having experienced so much in society—seeing the fickleness of human nature, the harsh realities of the world, and the darkness in people’s hearts—he naturally knew how to comfort someone effectively.
And truthfully, Long Aotian wasn’t entirely wrong.
After middle school, boys and girls enter a phase of youthful curiosity and budding emotions.
By high school, the attraction between the opposite sexes, combined with the hormonal turbulence of adolescence, often leads to a particular infatuation with those who are exceptionally good-looking.
It’s all too common for confessions of love to be rejected, leaving behind feelings of resentment—something that happens even among adults.
When the person you secretly admire likes someone else, it’s only natural to feel a pang of jealousy.
The root of the problem, however, lies with Hu Yuying herself...