Until the very end, Long Aotian's face remained flushed red enough to drip water.

Li Qingxue really had no filter—how could she say such things out loud?

Stealing a glance at Hu Yuying, he unsurprisingly met her exasperated eye-roll.

Silent and wordless, he knew the best choice now was to endure Li Qingxue's scolding obediently.

He was the one who had messed up, so listening quietly to her reprimand was only fair.

If not for Li Qingxue considering their long-standing acquaintance, had she chosen to report him to the police, he would’ve been done for—after all, this technically counted as breaking and entering...

The fact that she didn’t press charges and merely lectured him, even if she disliked him now, was already the greatest mercy she could offer.

With that in mind, Long Aotian stood in the corner, letting Li Qingxue vent her frustration at him.

Only when she finally ran out of steam did he speak up: "I know this was especially unfair to you. You have every right to blame and scold me. I’m sorry."

Seeing Long Aotian’s sincere apology, Li Qingxue opened her mouth but ultimately held back from saying anything more.

After all, this entire situation had been her design from the start. It’s just that the reality deviated too far from her expectations, leaving even her struggling to process it.

In her imagination, she should’ve gained the upper hand and steered everything back on track.

But the truth was, Yuying had already known everything, while she—like a fool—had walked right into her own trap. Nothing had changed, and she’d been caught red-handed by Yuying...

How utterly humiliating.

Thinking about it this way, maybe it wasn’t entirely Long Aotian’s fault.

So she softened her tone: "You... just be more careful next time. Don’t be so impatient."

With that, she sat on the edge of the bed and buried herself in her breakfast.

"Try this—I bought three different kinds."

"Then, sister, try mine too."

Li Qingxue glanced at Long Aotian, who was crouched in the corner wolfing down his meal, and pressed her lips together to suppress a smile, murmuring under her breath, "Idiot."

She then shared the unique items from her breakfast with Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning.

Gently, she also tugged Hu Yuying’s hand, silently thanking her for staying up late to talk with her the night before...

"This afternoon, let’s go shopping at the market. Tomorrow, we’ll make dumplings."

"Sure, I’ll come find you two in the afternoon," Lin Wanning said between bites. Her schedule was flexible, so she could head to University A early to meet Yuying and Qingxue.

After speaking, she nudged Hu Yuying with her shoulder and subtly gestured toward Long Aotian in the corner.

Noticing this, Hu Yuying quietly turned to Long Aotian and asked, "We’re going shopping this afternoon. Want to come?"

Long Aotian, hearing her voice, looked up at the three of them, chewing his food as he met their gazes. It took him a moment to realize Yuying was actually talking to him.

He’d thought she’d ignore him all afternoon again.

"Y-Yes!" he blurted out eagerly.

Seeing him like this, Hu Yuying couldn’t stay mad at him even if she tried.

If not for Qingxue and Wanning being present, she might’ve thrown herself into his arms right then, demanding a kiss.

He’d been manipulated from start to finish, yet he genuinely believed he was irredeemable.

Even though he always knew just what to say to comfort her, repeatedly reminding her to take care of herself.

Yet when it came to himself, he was such a scatterbrain—who would comfort him?

She glanced at Qingxue and Wanning, resolving to lecture them later: no more taking advantage of Long-ge’s obliviousness to trick him.

As they finished breakfast and prepared to leave, Long Aotian suddenly pulled Hu Yuying—who hadn’t yet stepped out—into a tight embrace.

"I’m sorry," he murmured deeply.

"Wanning told me so much last night... things I never knew before."

Feeling his arms around her, Hu Yuying gently stroked his back.

But the next second, a warm hand lightly patted the back of her head.

Confused, she looked up at him.

"Has my little follower forgotten what her big brother once said?"

Hearing him use that tone again, Hu Yuying smiled. So, in his heart, she’d always remained his little follower—nothing had changed.

"I haven’t forgotten."

"Then why didn’t you tell me directly?"

"Didn’t I say that loving others starts with loving yourself?"

"And that mouths aren’t just for eating—they’re for speaking, for communication?"

He cupped her face tenderly. "You could’ve refused me. If it went on too long and made you uncomfortable, if it happened too often... you should’ve told me."

Hu Yuying nuzzled into his palm. "But as Long-ge’s woman, if I can’t even satisfy you, I’d feel terrible too."

"And... your stamina is overwhelming. Sometimes you get too rough—it hurts by the end."

In Long Aotian’s original world, his boundless energy had let him take on heavy labor, quickly earning him money.

After crossing into this world, not only had his body regained its youth, but his stamina seemed to have doubled. Combined with his regular workouts at University T, he sometimes lost control in the heat of passion.

But if Yuying just spoke up, he could learn to hold back, to improve.

It never occurred to him that what he thought was mutual pleasure had actually been him unknowingly hurting her.

"Let’s set a safe word. If you feel uncomfortable, just say it, okay?"

Hu Yuying nodded softly. "Then... ‘wait’ or ‘stop.’"

Breaking away, she straightened his hair and clothes. "This afternoon, we’ll buy you thicker clothes. Capital City’s winters are colder than the bay’s."

When Long Aotian instinctively moved to refuse, she immediately frowned.

"No objections. You promised to let me take the lead, so you’ll listen to me."

"Alright, as you wish."

Pleased, Hu Yuying beamed. "Let’s go. Qingxue will get impatient waiting."

At the mention of Qingxue, Long Aotian still didn’t know how to face her.

Unlike Wanning—who liked him and had been accepted by Yuying—Qingxue was entirely his own doing. He’d been the one to push her down...

That she hadn’t reported him for assault was likely only out of consideration for Yuying, leaving him utterly lost on how to act around her now...

Downstairs, Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue had been waiting for a while.

After walking through the shopping district, Long Aotian hailed a taxi for the two.

Watching the car drive off, he exhaled in relief—at least Qingxue hadn’t scolded him further.

Noticing his tension ease, Lin Wanning hooked her pinky around his.

"Big brother, who only nibbles the grass near his nest... could you escort your Wanning to school too?"

"Stop teasing me already. If it weren't for you giving me that little push from behind, I’d only have made half the mistake."

Lin Wanning responded with a faint, knowing smile. If her brother had only made half the mistake, that crybaby probably wouldn’t have been satisfied anyway... Google seaʀᴄh nοvelfire.net

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