Walking back home.
Hu Yuying silently sighed in relief, looking at Long Aotian by her side and softly laughed, "Long Brother, thank you for picking me up."
"Next time you need help, just tell me directly."
"I'm your older brother, and you're my little mentor. You don't have to feel troubled. If I hadn't come today, wouldn't you be worried about catching a cold and getting sick from walking back in the rain?"
Hearing Long Aotian's slightly reproachful tone, Hu Yuying didn't feel upset but instead chuckled softly and whispered, "I understand."
Seeing Hu Yuying's obedient demeanor, Long Aotian couldn't help but chuckle. No matter what he said, Hu Yuying always nodded and said she understood.
But when it really came to needing help, she still faced things alone.
She was inherently afraid of troubling others, but wasn't human relationships all about helping each other and complementing one another?
"Long Brother, let me carry something for you."
Seeing Long Aotian holding an umbrella with one hand and carrying a bag with the other, and with her own hands empty, Hu Yuying offered to take the bag from him.
"The stuff is light," Long Aotian lifted his hand to avoid Hu Yuying's attempt to take the bag.
"I have nothing to carry, and you're holding the umbrella. Let me help you with a bit of it," Hu Yuying said, looking at Long Aotian, her voice a little shy.
"Don't dawdle, or I'll kick you into the rain," Long Aotian teased.
At these words, Hu Yuying stood stiffly in place.
Seeing her small, restrained appearance, Long Aotian laughed, "Once we get back, you can cook for me, and you'll be busy then."
Hearing that she could still help Long Aotian, Hu Yuying immediately brightened up, "I can cook many things, you can tell me whatever you want to eat."
"If I don't know how to make something, I can learn, I pick things up quickly."
"Alright, alright, I know you can't stay idle. Now, can we hurry home so you can cook for me? I'm really hungry."
"Yes, yes, okay. Long Brother, follow me, I know a shortcut here, it'll save us a lot of time." Hu Yuying said, and without realizing it, she naturally took hold of Long Aotian's arm.
The path Hu Yuying led them through was near a railway switching yard.
Passing through the gate, walking through a small pathway piled with sandbags, hopping down from the platform, and crossing the tracks, they saved more than half the journey.
"What kind of weather is this? When we get home, the rain will have lightened up," Long Aotian closed the umbrella, looking at the misty drizzle and said, "Can you make rib soup? Let's have rib soup today."
After saying that, he handed over all the purchased vegetables, meat, and ribs to Hu Yuying.
Seeing Long Aotian’s bag in front of her, Hu Yuying's eyes slightly glazed over, "Long Brother, tutoring you is something I do willingly. Just tell me what you want to eat..."
Before she could finish, Long Aotian tapped her head, "Stop dawdling, or I'll knock you out."
"Am I the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others? You don't know how happy Old Han was when he found out I scored fifth from the bottom this time. If I hadn't stopped him, Old Han would have brought his meat stall straight to your house."
Hu Yuying was not used to accepting others' gifts, but for some reason, after hearing Long Aotian's words, a hint of a smile appeared on her lips.
"Then how about we have rib noodles today?"
"Whatever works."
Hu Yuying carried the bag into the kitchen, then took out a towel, "Long Brother, you should dry off first, go sit in the living room, it'll be ready soon."
When she handed the towel to Long Aotian, she noticed that the side of his body that had been carrying the groceries was already soaked with rain.
In contrast, apart from the initial contact with the rain, her body hadn't been wet again.
When she returned to her room, Hu Yuying looked at her clothes.
Except for the floral short-sleeved top, the other clothes seemed to not fit right.
Picking up the floral top, an inexplicable blush appeared on her face.
"Long Brother, if you don't mind, you can change into this for now."
After saying that, she placed the clothes in Long Aotian's hands and walked into the kitchen.
She boiled some hot water, added ginger slices, and let it simmer.
Poured a bowl and carried it into the room.
Seeing Long Aotian's current look, the mirth in her eyes almost overflowed.
The floral top, which had been loose on her, looked a bit tight on Long Aotian.
Long Aotian noticed Hu Yuying's gaze and awkwardly pulled at the shirt, "Are you laughing? I’ll smack you."
"I'm laughing, and you'll still smack me?"
As she said that, she handed the ginger tea over to Long Aotian, looking a bit aggrieved.
Seeing the steaming ginger tea in his hands, Long Aotian sniffed, "Don't think you can get away with not getting smacked just because you made me ginger tea."
Hu Yuying turned and walked toward the kitchen, lifting the bamboo curtain for a moment, she glanced at Long Aotian sipping ginger tea, then quietly smiled and started cooking.
Long Aotian had bought a lot of vegetables, meat, and ribs.
In the kitchen, Hu Yuying sorted everything out and put it all into the fridge.
These ingredients, as long as they didn't go bad, could last for quite some time.
After the ribs were stewed until they were tender, Hu Yuying scooped out a bowl and started cooking noodles in the rib broth.
The flour from the noodles dissolved in the broth, making the soup thicker and sticking to the noodles, creating a savory and refreshing dish.
Hu Yuying tasted it and her eyes lit up. Satisfied, she took the meal to Long Aotian.
"Let me take it," Long Aotian quickly lifted the bamboo curtain and took the bowl and chopsticks.
Two bowls of noodles, and a small basin of ribs.
Long Aotian took a bite and couldn't stop praising Hu Yuying's cooking, "Hu Yuying, you're amazing. Not only are you beautiful and smart, but you also cook so well."
Hearing Long Aotian's praise, Hu Yuying felt embarrassed. After all, it was just home-cooked food.
But seeing Long Aotian's satisfied expression, her eyes sparkled, "If you like it, I’ll cook for you every time."
"Then I’ll be counting on you until the college entrance exam," Long Aotian joked.
Hearing this, Hu Yuying's eyes dimmed for a moment, "You can tell me whenever you want to eat it in the future."
At that, Long Aotian paused, then looked up and saw Hu Yuying’s smiling, earnest gaze, and unconsciously looked away.
Wiping the corners of his mouth with a tissue, he swallowed the food in his mouth.
“We’ll talk about the future later. For now, things are fine.”
"Yes, yes."
After the meal, Hu Yuying assigned ten problems for Long Aotian, problems that she had summarized based on her past mistakes on previous exams.
When Long Aotian came across things he didn’t understand, Hu Yuying patiently explained them.
She had previously enjoyed the quiet atmosphere while studying, and now there was an added joy: explaining problems to Long Aotian.
Seeing the confidence in Hu Yuying’s expression as she explained, Long Aotian could clearly feel her happiness.
Feeling Long Aotian’s gaze on her face, Hu Yuying looked up, her eyes curving into a smile, “Long Brother, why are you always looking at me…”
After saying that, her eyelashes fluttered and instinctively looked down at the problems on the table.
As if she didn’t want Long Aotian to notice the flush on her cheeks.
“What are you saying? I was just thinking about the problem and got a little distracted!”
…