Chapter 75: Is This Going a Little Too Ambiguous?
With Ye Liang Chen leaving, the scene instantly shifted gears.
Long Aotian squinted at Hu Yu Ying and asked, “Are you really annoyed with him?”
He rarely saw Hu Yu Ying show such a face—more like a petulant pout than annoyance—so naturally, he fired off the question without thinking. Honestly, caring about her feelings had become automatic.
Hearing the question, Hu Yu Ying nodded slightly. Although Long Brother always loved to joke around with her, she still couldn’t bear to lie to him.
Long Aotian didn’t press further, just cast a subtle glance at Ye Liang Chen, then made his own decision silently.
Hu Yu Ying quickly adjusted her mood. Today’s shopping and eating with Long Brother should be fun, so she’s got to stay cheerful.
Before long, the giant shrimp platter on their table was ready.
Hu Yu Ying saw this and hurriedly got up, grabbing an apron from behind her on a rack, walking over to Long Aotian.
“Long Brother, apron.”
Long Aotian blinked.
Honestly, he had no clue why anyone would need an apron for eating shrimp hotpot—he’d never worn one before, even in his original world. Shrimp hotpot was pretty normal there…
Watching Long Aotian look so puzzled, Hu Yu Ying’s pretty eyes curved into a small crescent moon. She pursed her lips and stepped forward, slipped the apron around his neck.
“Long Brother, reach out.”
At her words, Long Aotian extended his hand.
Hu Yu Ying carefully dressed him in the apron, doing her best to keep oil splatters off his clothes. So considerate!
Her scent—the soft, floral aroma—filled the air, so close that he instinctively avoided eye contact, glancing aside instead.
Her hands slowed down as she worked, and this was the first time she’d intentionally gotten so close to Long Brother—heart pounding like a drum.
Her chest flurred with nervous energy. One hand pressed against her heart, but then she shivered, her breath quickening, eyes flickering, finally settling on Long Aotian’s side profile.
Hearing how wildly her own heart pounded for him, Hu Yu Ying felt like a tiny deer had trampled her chest—uneasy, warm, and strangely sweet. All those feelings flooded her heart at once.
She tried to regulate her breathing, but in that moment, it was as if she forgot how to breathe normally—no, she forgot how to breathe decently.
“Is it okay now?” Long Aotian turned his head away, pretending it was just a casual question, but inside, he was nervous as hell—his heart was about to jump out of his chest. The sweet scent in the air made his palms sweat, so he clenched his fists to suppress the fluttering mess inside.
Too close… way too close. So awkward, so uncomfortable…
“Okay,” Hu Yu Ying replied softly.
Long Aotian let out a silent sigh of relief. Phew, this was getting too ambiguous…
Honestly, anyone outside watching would think they’re just a couple flirting around—big time.
Gao Quan stared helplessly at the two of them. The constant adorable interactions, the little maternal smiles Hu Yu Ying made while teasing Long Brother—so sweet, it was almost painful. Why was it so sweet?!
Just as Long Aotian and Hu Yu Ying each returned to their seats, ready to eat, Gao Quan reluctantly withdrew his gaze. Watching people eat is just… kind of awkward.
But as he turned away, he suddenly froze.
He saw Ye Liang Chen staring at Long Aotian and Hu Yu Ying, tears streaming down his face while they smiled.
“Chen Ge, are you okay?” Gao Quan asked, concern flickering.
Ye Liang Chen shook his head without saying a word—just tilted his head back and started drinking.
“First bottle!” Ye Liang Chen hiccupped, muttering, “A heart that’s been hurt… who can it still love? The feeling of being alone… my love’s already buried.”
His voice was noisy and loud, almost like he wanted Long Aotian and Hu Yu Ying to hear.
Hu Yu Ying was busy trying to peel shrimp for Long Brother—focused, not paying attention. Even if she had heard, she wouldn’t care.
Long Aotian shot Ye Liang Chen a sideways look, his lips twitching in awkwardness. He felt the total cringe deep in his bones—was this guy not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed?
Sigh~~
The freshly cooked big shrimp was coated in sauce, hot and steaming. Hu Yu Ying kept burning her fingers peeling them, despite her efforts.
Watching her small hands tremble, Long Aotian couldn’t help but laugh.
He slid on a disposable glove on his left hand, picked up a big shrimp with chopsticks in his right, then started peeling it like a pro—completely unfazed by the heat.
In no time, he placed the peeled shrimp onto Hu Yu Ying’s plate.
She looked at the peeled shrimp and then up at Long Aotian.
“What are you looking at? Eat now.”
As she stared at the neatly peeled shrimp, Hu Yu Ying’s heart fluttered oddly—her eyelashes even had a tiny smile drooping on them.
Maybe it was because Long Brother peeled it for her, so it tasted extra delicious. Or maybe… just maybe, it was a little different.
She decided to peel shrimp for Long Brother too and sped up her peeling action.
Satisfied, she finished and suddenly noticed her plate now had five or six more peeled shrimp than before.
“Long Brother, you eat too.”
“I’m eating,” Long Aotian replied casually, still focused on peeling.
“Open wide, Long Brother.”
“Mhm.”
“Long Brother, I’ll wipe your sweat.”
“Huh?” He looked up, surprised. Before he knew it, Hu Yu Ying leaned in, holding a moist tissue against his heated skin, cool and refreshing.
But because she leaned at an angle, her chest unexpectedly fell into Long Aotian’s line of sight.
This chapter isn’t over—click next page for even more exciting stuff!
“Pink?” he asked suddenly.
“Pink noodles? Do you want to eat noodles, Long Brother?” Hu Yu Ying didn’t catch what he said, so she asked.
Long Aotian hurriedly shook his head: “Nothing.”
Watching their interaction, Ye Liang Chen chuckled through tears and took a big swig of beer—like water, flooding into his mouth.
It seemed like only that could make his battered heart feel a little better.
Especially when seeing Hu Yu Ying feeding shrimp to Long Aotian and wiping his sweat, Ye Liang Chen suddenly felt a pang of uselessness—his rationality clouded by alcohol.
He raised his glass, swirling the pale yellow liquid inside, and said oddly, without looking at Long Aotian or Hu Yu Ying:
“Senior year now, if you really care for each other, you shouldn’t be dating right now. Studying is like rowing against the current; if you stop, you’ll fall behind—even if you’re first in the year, that’s how it is!”
Hearing this, Hu Yu Ying’s eyes flashed with slight irritation and she shot a look at Ye Liang Chen.
What on earth did he mean? Hu Yu Ying wasn’t stupid.
He was basically saying, in a roundabout way, that Long Brother was dragging her down.
Ridiculous. Long Brother cared about her the most—he treated her so well, it wouldn’t affect her at all.
Long Aotian didn’t even glance at Ye Liang Chen, just decisively grabbed a bottle of soda.
Seeing that, Ye Liang Chen’s eyes widened in horror—he thought Long Aotian was about to smash him in the head with the soda bottle.
He quickly hunched over, expecting to be hit.
But in his drunken state, he only instinctively bent forward—completely unaware that he was seated, so that his face smashed right into the table with a loud smack.
Ouch!
He let out a cry of pain, and his nose immediately started bleeding.
