Chapter 8: Thanks for Taking Me as Your Sidekick
Hu Yu Ying had no chance to resist in front of Long Ao Tian—or rather, she didn’t dare to resist at all.
Before she knew it, she was dragged right up to Wang Shuo’s seat.
Seeing Long Ao Tian bringing Hu Yu Ying over, Wang Shuo looked a little uneasy and shot a glance at Long Ao Tian.
“Spill it,” Long Ao Tian prompted, giving Hu Yu Ying the all-clear to speak.
The commotion had already caught the attention of the entire class.
Hu Yu Ying felt the weight of everyone’s gaze pressing down on her like an exam she forgot to study for. She clenched her fists tightly, trembling so much her lips quivered and her nails started leaving little indentations in her palms—without even realizing it.
“You… you need to apologize to me,” she finally managed, voice shaking but trying to sound determined.
Wang Shuo looked at her first, then eyes filled with stubbornness. As soon as Wang Shuo’s gaze hardened, Hu Yu Ying instinctively stepped back, body trembling uncontrollably—so much so that she was about to leave fingerprint scars on her own hand.
“You, you need to apologize to me,” she repeated, her words shaky but her resolve trying to stay steady.
Wang Shuo refused to answer, creating an eerie silence that enveloped the whole classroom. She could hear her own heartbeat pounding like a drum in her ears, her face draining of color. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced sideways.
Long Ao Tian’s figure appeared nearby, and suddenly she felt a flicker of calm.
Wang Shuo looked at Hu Yu Ying, then turned his gaze to Long Ao Tian.
When Wang Shuo’s eyes settled on Long Ao Tian, the boy tilted his head slightly and suddenly broke into a slow, lazy smile tinged with arrogance.
“Didn’t hear me? Want me to repeat it?” Long Ao Tian drawled, voice dripping with laissez-faire disdain.
Despite his rebellious, free-spirited attitude, his eyes—no, his aura—were razor-sharp and commanding. It was like a powerful force field radiating from him.
Wow, his aura was so intense, it could probably fry eggs.
Wang Shuo instinctively swallowed a gulp of saliva.
People are like that—cross someone weaker who seems scrawny enough to bully, and they act extra snobby. But if they meet someone stronger? Yeah, their arrogance crumbles faster than a cookie in the rain.
Looking at Hu Yu Ying, Wang Shuo felt in his bones that if he didn’t apologize now, Long Ao Tian would beat him to a pulp.
It was obvious he was about to cover for Hu Yu Ying.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have thrown your stuff on the ground on purpose,” Wang Shuo mumbled, voice trembling slightly.
Hearing that, Hu Yu Ying’s tense shoulders suddenly eased—a wave of relief washing over her so quickly she felt almost light. Hell, she couldn’t even describe that weird feeling—suddenly, she felt… carefree.
Not just physically but emotionally, too.
When she heard Wang Shuo’s apology, her instinct was to say: “It’s okay!”
But before she even got the words out, her shoulder was poked twice.
She looked up at Long Ao Tian.
He was giving her a subtle eyebrow raise, signaling her to do something.
Hu Yu Ying immediately caught on. Taking a deep breath, she sharply reminded herself of her mission: “You… you still need to pay me back for my damaged stationery.”
Wang Shuo’s lips pressed into a thin line, unwilling but resigned. He knew better than to fight Long Ao Tian—moreover, being around Long Ao Tian always felt like dealing with the gangsters on the street.
No doubt in her mind, Long Ao Tian truly knew people like that: “Got it.”
He then rummaged through his pencil case and pulled out a handful of pens.
As a seasoned slacker, these pens were mostly just props in his bag—still almost new.
Hu Yu Ying only took five pens, since five had been destroyed when her own got stepped on.
She didn’t keep any of the extras—those were all returned.
So, this marked a fresh start. Long Ao Tian turned around and left.
Hu Yu Ying quickly followed.
Back at her seat, she stared at her handful of pens, eyes curling into a smile unconsciously.
She wasn’t happy just because she got five pens back. No, she was happy because of the whole process—the apology, the repayment.
Back in the day, when someone bullied her, that was just part of life.
If her pens got broken, who cared? Nobody would apologize, nobody would replace what was lost.
Breaking her stuff or bullying her was just… normal.
But today? Everything’s different. Not only did she get an apology, but she even got her items replaced.
That’s something she’d never even dare dream of before!
“Thank you, Long Ao Tian.” In just one morning, she’d already said thank you to him countless times—yet she still wanted to say it again.
It felt like, besides saying thanks, she didn’t know what else she could do!
“Why thank me? You picked up your dignity yourself. If you break your stuff, you just have to pay for it,” Long Ao Tian shot her a quick glance and casually added, “If you don’t have what it takes, everything’s a waste anyway.”
Hu Yu Ying desperately needed encouragement and affirmation right now. Just a simple word of praise could slowly rebuild her confidence.
She wasn’t stupid—she knew very well if Long Ao Tian hadn’t been standing behind her today, she’d never have had the courage.
At noon.
Long Ao Tian glanced at Hu Yu Ying, still scribbling notes quietly. “Let’s go, time to eat.”
Hu Yu Ying hesitated for a moment, whispered, “I… I’m not really hungry.”
“Who asked if you’re hungry? You’re my sidekick now,” Long Ao Tian said plainly.
“Sidekick, got it? It means wherever I go, you go too.”
“Let’s go!”
“Alright then,” Hu Yu Ying nodded, tidied her stuff hurriedly, and shot a quick glance at Long Ao Tian’s messy desk.
She organized her belongings too, then followed behind him out of the classroom.
Walking behind Long Ao Tian, she noticed how tall he was—at least, for her, a girl. She carefully dodged the shadow he cast, worried about stepping on it.
“Student, wait a moment.”
Long Ao Tian kept walking ahead, because, according to the original story’s portrayal of the villainous Long Ao Tian, he didn’t expect anyone to call out to him.
“Wait, student,” two students hurriedly caught up to him.
They were two girls, slightly panting, apologetic on their faces: “Sorry to bother you, student. We’re doing a school survey. May we bother you for a moment?”
Long Ao Tian looked at one girl—his expression twitching slightly.
She was exquisite, beautiful, elegant—stunning. Seeing her, Long Ao Tian’s mind immediately jumped to the description of the second female lead’s “white moonlight” in the original novel.
Before he could react, the girl had already brought the microphone to her mouth: “Excuse me, what do you think about the cafeteria food? What improvements do you suggest?”
Because of her height, despite her best efforts to hold up the microphone, the slight height gap made her words sound a bit unconvincing.
Long Ao Tian frowned slightly, subtly leaning down: “I haven’t eaten there yet, so I don’t know where they need to improve.”
He then straightened up again: “We’re heading to eat now. Sorry for bothering you.”
And with that, he headed toward the cafeteria, Hu Yu Ying following closely behind.
Li Qing Xue had interviewed many people, but no one answered quite like this guy.
Plus, his bow was surprisingly gentlemanly…
