Chapter 2: Don’t Worry, I Won’t Torture You Physically or Emotionally
The homeroom teacher noticed that Hu Yu Ying seemed a bit stiff and uncomfortable.
So, she pointed to a seat in the back row and said, “Hu Yu Ying, seating is determined by ranking. You can sit there for now. After the next test, we’ll arrange everyone according to their scores.”
Hu Yu Ying obediently nodded at the teacher and walked to her new seat in the back.
Once seated, she started organizing her textbooks and stationery.
She took out her textbook and focused on the homeroom teacher as she explained the important points from the lessons.
Moments later, Hu Yu Ying pressed her lips together tightly, her little hand instinctively clenched, and her head lowered even more…
Long Ao Tian raised an eyebrow. Was his stare that scary?
He only glanced at her a couple of times, so why did she look like she was about to burst into tears?
Was she really that timid?
Feeling a bit sorry for her, Long Ao Tian decided to stop staring at Hu Yu Ying.
Despite his notorious reputation, he swore on his conscience that before the female protagonist transferred in, the version of himself in the original story never bullied girls.
He thought about it for a moment and decided it was best to clarify.
After all, he wasn’t the tyrannical villain from the original story anymore; no need to give the female protagonist a bad impression.
“Hu Yu Ying, don’t be afraid! I’m not that great of a person… Ah, I mean, I’m not a bad person! I’m actually really kind and would never harm a girl! Don’t worry!”
Long Ao Tian’s words left Hu Yu Ying feeling a bit puzzled.
But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what felt off.
All she could do was timidly nod and softly say “Mm.”
Seeing her nod, Long Ao Tian felt satisfied, thinking, “Great! Overall, it seems the female protagonist’s impression of me has already changed for the better.”
You see, in the original storyline, the female protagonist completely ignored anything the original Long Ao Tian said.
Now, she gave a nod and even softly responded — Long Ao Tian was already over the moon!
“Well, go ahead and listen to the lesson. I’ll buckle down and study too,” he said, pretending to browse through his textbook in a somewhat exaggerated manner.
Hearing that, Hu Yu Ying cautiously lifted her gaze to peek at Long Ao Tian, clearly afraid to be caught looking, and immediately glanced away.
And yet, her little hand gripping the pen tightened just a bit more.
After hesitating for a moment, she quietly said, “Um, classmate, this is language class; you have the wrong book.”
“Ah?” Long Ao Tian glanced at the math book in his hands. “I thought it felt a bit off.”
He hurriedly pulled out the language book and smiled at Hu Yu Ying. “Thanks!”
“No need to thank me, it’s nothing,” she replied, maybe a bit charmed by Long Ao Tian’s somewhat clueless antics, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons, her earlier stiffness easing away.
Long Ao Tian stared blankly for a moment at Hu Yu Ying, whose eyes sparkled like they held all the beauty and hopes of the world.
With a slight smile, calm and friendly, pure yet innocent, he couldn’t help but think about teasing her a bit!
Maybe make her cry, see those beautiful eyes get all red and watery—it would be downright adorable…
Realizing how dangerous that thought was, Long Ao Tian shook his head vigorously. Nope! Must squash that idea right now!
What could he say? Hu Yu Ying just looked way too easy to bully.
Taking a deep breath, he focused back on his textbook.
In his past life, Long Ao Tian had grown up in an orphanage, and just surviving was a challenge.
To make a living, he dropped out of school early, eager to work.
He had definitely learned the hard way that a lack of education had its downsides, leaving him with little choice but to do physical labor.
He crawled his way to a sales job, only to time-travel on his very first day of work!
Although he had no clue how he ended up in this book, he sure saw this as a second chance at schooling.
This time, he was going to seize that opportunity with both hands!
Three minutes later, as Hu Yu Ying diligently took notes, she frowned slightly when a quiet snore drifted into her ears.
Peeking up cautiously, she saw the classmate who had spoken to her earlier, now sound asleep on his desk.
She glanced at Long Ao Tian and then at the teacher at the podium, suddenly terrified that this snoring student would be called out by the teacher.
When the bell finally rang, Hu Yu Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
Once the homeroom teacher departed, the classroom erupted with chatter.
Hu Yu Ying, being a shy girl and newly transferred student, sat quietly as everyone around her chatted joyfully with their friends, clueless on how to join in.
She could only remain seated in her little corner of solitude.
Meanwhile, the other students were curious about this transfer student.
Noticing Hu Yu Ying sitting quietly and looking all sweet and bashful, a couple of livelier girls approached her. “Hey there! I’m Li Qian. Can we be friends?”
Upon hearing that, Hu Yu Ying’s eyes sparkled with delight; she couldn’t hide it!
A soft smile curled her lips, revealing a cute little dimple on her left cheek—her natural innocence radiated.
“Wow, you’re really cute! Let’s be friends!” grinned a slightly darker-skinned, chubby boy, staring at Hu Yu Ying with a silly smile.
Hu Yu Ying hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, surprised to make so many friends on her very first day.
“You agreed? Then starting now, you’re my girlfriend!” the chubby boy beamed.
Hearing that, Hu Yu Ying’s smile froze, and she looked up at him, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion the way only someone adorably dumbfounded could manage.
It seemed she didn’t quite grasp what he meant.
“Wang Shuo, you better watch your mouth, or I’ll tell the teacher!” Li Qian warned, giving Wang Shuo a glare filled with disdain.
“Pfft, as if you can do anything other than telling the teacher! Besides, she said she wants to be friends!” With that, he threw a lingering gaze at Hu Yu Ying before swaggering off toward the boy’s restroom.
“Just ignore people like him. If he bothers you, just tell the teacher,” Li Qian said, rolling her eyes at Wang Shuo’s back.
Observing Hu Yu Ying looking so sweet and naive, Li Qian continued, “Listen up! There are two people in this class you should avoid. One is Wang Shuo, and the other…”
At this point, Li Qian fell silent and pointed toward the aisle next to Hu Yu Ying, right where Long Ao Tian was still napping, drooling like a baby.
“There are always bad apples in every classroom. Wang Shuo is one, and he is worse.”
“He actually throws punches. Even Wang Shuo has taken a hit from him.”
Following Li Qian’s words, Hu Yu Ying turned to look at Long Ao Tian, who snored away, drooling elegantly.
“Got it?”
“Mm-mm, I got it!”
