Long Aotian opened a packet of pickled mustard greens and ate it with rice, savoring every bite.
Hu Yuying had initially thought that Long Aotian might not be used to such simple food, but to her surprise, he seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Could it be that Long Aotian liked pickled mustard greens?
Not entirely.
In his previous life, Long Aotian, who had no one to rely on, managed to buy a car and a house all by himself, thanks to one word:
"Frugality."
Back then, he mostly ate instant noodles and sausages, and occasionally, when his meals felt too bland, he would add a packet of pickled mustard greens.
After so long, eating pickled mustard greens again felt surprisingly refreshing.
"Long Aotian, slow down. If you like it, I can bring you more on Monday," Hu Yuying offered cautiously, afraid that Long Aotian might refuse.
"Monday?" Long Aotian paused for a moment.
Then he realized it was Friday.
Even though they were already in their third year of high school, they still had weekends off.
"Yeah, today's Friday, so we have the weekend off. I can bring you some on Monday. Is that okay?" Hu Yuying asked carefully, hoping Long Aotian would agree.
Long Aotian didn’t respond immediately, his gaze distant as if lost in thought.
Seeing that Long Aotian remained silent, Hu Yuying hesitated for a moment before adding, "Or... I can bring you some tomorrow?"
Long Aotian had always looked out for her, making sure she wasn’t bullied. Now that he wanted some pickled mustard greens, she felt she had to fulfill his request.
After all, she owed him for all the times he had treated her to meals.
"Can you help me with some extra tutoring today?" Long Aotian suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Hu Yuying was caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.
Weren’t they just talking about pickled mustard greens? How did it suddenly shift to tutoring?
"You don’t want to?" Long Aotian raised his fist and gave her a "friendly" smile.
"N-no, I do. I’m willing," Hu Yuying stammered, shrinking her neck slightly.
"You, you!" Long Aotian tapped Hu Yuying lightly on the head with his knuckles.
Compared to before, when she was quiet and lifeless, she had become much more lively.
It seemed that once the bullying stopped, her personality had started to change.
The tap didn’t hurt much, but it gave Hu Yuying a strange feeling.
It was as if she wasn’t facing a classmate her age, but rather an elder.
Only elders would tap younger people on the head like that.
The way Long Aotian had done it so naturally, with a smile on his face, didn’t seem like something a peer would do.
Shaking her head, Hu Yuying looked at Long Aotian’s youthful figure and his handsome, slightly immature face. Maybe she was just imagining things, she thought.
There was no evening self-study on Fridays.
Once the afternoon classes ended, it was time to go home.
Some students were packing up to leave, while others stayed in the classroom chatting and laughing.
A few were still working on their homework.
Hu Yuying took out her notebook, which contained some basic problems she had written down.
The problems weren’t difficult, but since Long Aotian’s foundation was weak, they had to start with simple exercises and gradually increase the difficulty.
After giving the problems to Long Aotian, she started working on her own homework.
Glancing at the clock in the classroom, it was 5:20 PM.
Stretching her body, she turned her attention to the problems she had assigned to Long Aotian.
"Is it okay if you go home a bit late today?" Long Aotian asked.
Hu Yuying looked up at him. "It’s fine."
Although she was grateful to Long Aotian, she didn’t elaborate.
She lived alone; her grandparents were back in the countryside.
"Alright then."
Hu Yuying didn’t understand why Long Aotian had asked her that, but since he didn’t say anything more, she went back to her homework, occasionally checking on Long Aotian’s progress.
......
"Brother Ye, what are you doing?" Gao Quan was increasingly confused by Ye Liangchen’s actions.
Ye Liangchen was stuffing books into his clothes, tightening his belt, and pressing the books against his stomach.
Once he was done, he asked Gao Quan to punch him in the stomach.
"Stop asking questions, just do it," Ye Liangchen said, patting his stomach.
"Alright, here goes," Gao Quan said, clenching his fist.
"Come on, it’s fine. Remember, Brother Ye always has a plan. Trust me, I’ll take you places this time!"
Although Gao Quan didn’t fully understand, he could sense the sincerity in Ye Liangchen’s words.
So, he punched Ye Liangchen in the stomach.
"Ugh!" Ye Liangchen grunted, gritting his teeth as he exhaled. The impact was still there, but thanks to the books, the damage to his body was minimal.
"Are you okay?" Gao Quan asked worriedly.
"I’m fine," Ye Liangchen said, standing up straight and patting Gao Quan’s shoulder.
"Brother Ye, what are you planning? Are you going to pick a fight with someone?"
Ye Liangchen just smiled without answering.
Gao Quan was only half right.
Ye Liangchen wasn’t planning to pick a fight—he was planning to get beaten up.
It was all to test a theory.
If his dream was accurate, some of Hu Yuying’s former classmates from her old school would come to the school gate today to confront her.
They would insult her and maybe even hit her.
Ye Liangchen’s plan was to provoke them before Hu Yuying arrived, drawing their anger onto himself.
He wanted Hu Yuying to see him getting beaten up.
Afterward, she would surely feel concerned and ask him why he had gotten into a fight with those people.
That’s when he would tell her that he had overheard them planning to bully her and say terrible things about her.
He couldn’t stand it, so he had confronted them.
This would definitely move Hu Yuying, especially since the fight was over her.
Based on what he knew of her from his dream, she would feel guilty.
At that point, he would smile brightly, pretending it was no big deal.
This would deepen her guilt.
Finally, he would say, "If you really feel bad, just be my friend and help me with my studies. That way, this beating won’t be for nothing."
Hu Yuying would agree because it wouldn’t cost her much.
Helping him with his studies was her strength, so she wouldn’t refuse.
This would not only bring them closer but also give him a head start on his studies.
It was a win-win situation.
"Gao Quan, no matter what happens later, don’t come out. Even if I get beaten up, don’t help me. Got it?"
Seeing the confusion in Gao Quan’s eyes, Ye Liangchen patted his shoulder.
"Do you trust me?"
"If you trust me, don’t ask any questions. I have my reasons, and you’ll understand everything later."
"Alright."
"Good. This time, Brother Ye will take you to new heights."
Ye Liangchen checked the time. According to his dream, the confrontation would happen around 5:30 PM.
It was already 5:22 PM, so it was about time. Ye Liangchen headed toward the school gate...