"Long Aotian, you really need to lose some weight," Li Qingxue remarked from behind.

When Hu Yuying used to ride with just the two of them and Lin Wanning, it never felt this cramped.

Long Aotian chuckled in response but stayed silent, quietly savoring the overwhelming warmth pressed against him.

Hu Yuying pinched Long Aotian’s waist and whispered into his ear, "You never get enough of taking advantage, do you?"

"It’s not my fault. The scooter’s tiny—I’m barely perched on the edge of the seat here."

At his words, Hu Yuying took a deep breath, sucking in her stomach even more, and tried to distract herself by talking to Qingxue.

"Anyway, from now on, I’m done with anyone connected to Ye Liangchen."

Disappointment in someone never starts all at once—it piles up bit by bit.

Especially when it’s someone you’ve known for so long.

"Let’s just focus on ourselves. Other people and their drama don’t matter," Long Aotian chimed in. "We’ll just pretend we don’t know them if we run into them."

"I’m fine with that, but Xue Shaohua is in the same major as Yuying. They’ll have overlapping projects. That creep even tried to pursue her before, and then he pulled that disgusting stunt on you—ugh, he’s just revolting."

Even the thought of Xue Shaohua harassing Long Aotian made Li Qingxue feel like her brain needed a cleanse.

Suddenly, an idea seemed to strike her. She leaned over and whispered something into Hu Yuying’s ear.

The moment she heard it, Hu Yuying’s face flushed bright red. She glanced at Li Qingxue but didn’t argue, as if considering the possibility.

They’d occasionally stumbled upon thumbnails of videos featuring two men while browsing certain sites.

None of the three could bring themselves to actually watch that kind of content, but the images on the covers had left an impression.

"What are you two whispering about? Something I’m not allowed to hear?" Long Aotian caught their hushed exchange in the rearview mirror, along with the mix of disgust and awkwardness on their faces, which only fueled his curiosity.

"Long Aotian, do you think Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua might be… you know?" Li Qingxue figured there was no harm in asking—aside from a few private matters between the three of them, nothing was off-limits to him.

Plus, she wanted a guy’s perspective to confirm her suspicions.

"Yikes—" Long Aotian immediately grasped her meaning, and the possibility wasn’t entirely far-fetched. The thought sent a chill down his spine. Thank goodness Xue Shaohua hadn’t succeeded with him!

The way Xue Shaohua had looked at him—so blatantly—only reinforced Li Qingxue’s theory.

"That’s so messed up. You don’t think he’s actually into me, do you?" Follow current novels on novel(ꜰ)ire.net

"Pfft—" Hu Yuying couldn’t hold back a laugh, but her amusement quickly faded into seriousness. She pinched Long Aotian’s waist again. "Don’t you dare get curious about that gross stuff!"

"Do I seem like that kind of person to you?"

"Besides, I was just joking. There’s no way Xue Shaohua’s interested in me. He probably just wanted to mess with me because I’ve put him in his place a few times."

"Really? How did you handle it?" Li Qingxue asked curiously.

Mentioning this, Long Aotian leaned back again, shamelessly taking advantage of the little girl. "It's all because my little girl is so pretty."

Hu Yuying playfully smacked his back. "How is this about me again?"

"Remember last time when we were eating breakfast at home, right after we got that call from the old man?"

"I remember," Hu Yuying replied softly with a smile. How could she forget? Before even meeting her, Long Aotian's uncle had asked about her well-being. That was something she would cherish forever.

"That time, when I went to the restroom, I ran into Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua. They tried to intimidate me, telling me to stay away from you."

"Xue Shaohua even said you had a bright future at A University and that I was dragging you down by being with you..."

"That's nonsense!" Hu Yuying cut in, already furious before he could finish.

Though Long Aotian always indulged her now, she couldn’t deny that without him, she wouldn’t have become the person she was today.

She loved who she was now, and she had never once seen Long Aotian as someone who harmed her. For Xue Shaohua to say such things was utterly despicable!

Sensing her agitation, Long Aotian gently hooked her finger with his left hand, his voice teasing and affectionate. "So I beat them up in the restroom."

Hu Yuying wrapped her arms around his waist, her voice soft but firm. "Never. I’ve never once thought that way."

"It was all lies from Xue Shaohua."

He patted her hands soothingly where they rested around his waist. "I don’t believe a word anyone else says about you. Only what you tell me yourself matters."

The electric bike turned a corner, and soon they were home.

The lights in the yard were on.

As if hearing the gate open, Lin Wanning came running out.

"You guys took so long! I was starting to get scared all by myself," she said in a small voice.

"Lin Wanning, scaredy-cat, shame on you!" Li Qingxue stretched as soon as she got off the bike.

"Don’t laugh at me—next time, you stay home alone and see how you like it."

The place was spacious, and with some rooms still unfinished, it was easy for a girl to feel uneasy in the winter darkness.

Or maybe they just weren’t used to living there yet.

Once they settled in, this would be home—and what was there to fear at home?

"You bought snacks?" Hu Yuying asked, eyeing the bag by the door.

"Yeah, just a little. We can share them later."

Hu Yuying pressed a hand to her forehead, feigning exasperation as she looked at Li Qingxue. "And here Qingxue was just saying she wanted to diet and watch her figure. You’re just tempting her on purpose."

Hearing this, Li Qingxue, who had been about to check out the snacks, hesitated, unsure whether to look or not.

Her reaction was downright hilarious.

Long Aotian laughed the hardest—his little girl was learning how to tease people now.

Lin Wanning quickly responded, "Oh, I had no idea! I bought so many snacks that Qingxue loves—what a shame! I guess poor Qingxue will just have to watch us eat them."

Li Qingxue shook her head lightly and said with mock seriousness, "Actually, it’s fine. I can start exercising tomorrow to keep my figure in check—no problem at all."

Watching Li Qingxue put on such a solemn face while clearly being a glutton, Long Aotian couldn’t help but laugh even harder.

Li Qingxue promptly stepped on Long Aotian’s foot. "Your laugh is so creepy, you 'grass-grazing fiend'..."