Return to Lan Ba Academy

After leaving Heavenly Water Academy and boarding the carriage, Long Jie felt deeply unhappy.

He had finally managed to settle down somewhere, and he truly did not want to leave.

Besides, Shui Bing'er was there...

"Ugh! I left without saying goodbye this time. I wonder if Bing'er will hit me when we meet again!" Long Jie grumbled. The carriage rolled along slowly, and after only half a day—more than twelve hours—Long Jie finally returned to Lan Ba Academy.

By then, it was already dark. Long Jie did not disturb anyone and quietly returned to his dormitory.

The independent dormitories at Lan Ba Academy were single-occupancy, so Long Jie did not have to worry about disturbing anyone. He switched on the light and saw a small figure lying on the bed.

"Mm... who is it?"

The figure on the bed rubbed her eyes and reluctantly opened them, only to see Long Jie staring at her blankly.

"Little Wu? Why are you here?" Long Jie stared blankly at the girl before him. After three months apart, Little Wu had grown much thinner.

Little Wu had already been slender, but now she looked even frailer, making one's heart ache just looking at her.

"B-Brother... is that you?" Little Wu asked cautiously, unable to believe that the person before her was Long Jie.

Long Jie's heart ached. What had he been thinking, leaving this little girl alone at Lan Ba Academy...?

Filled with guilt, Long Jie stepped forward and pulled Little Wu into his arms. He said gently, "It's me. It's your brother. Little Wu, I'm back!"

"B-Brother, that's wonderful! You finally came back!" Little Wu was overwhelmed with emotion, and tears streamed down her face.

"Little Wu thought it was another illusion..."

In Long Jie's embrace, her small body trembled as she cried. It was clear just how badly she had been doing these past three months.

Long Jie's heart softened, and he was filled with guilt toward Little Wu. "I'm sorry, Little Wu. I'll never leave you alone again!"

"Really, Brother? Then it's a promise—you're not allowed to leave Little Wu!" Little Wu's tears stopped as she spoke excitedly.

She never wanted to endure the pain of being separated from Long Jie again!

"Really. Brother promises you!"

"Okay, Little Wu believes Brother..." Little Wu forced a smile and wiped away her tears. At last, she smiled.

Only when Little Wu smiled did Long Jie finally relax. He had known Little Wu the longest, so naturally, he cared about her the most!

"Little Wu, don't tell me you've been sleeping in my room for the past three months?"

"Yep!" Little Wu said matter-of-factly. "I haven't seen Brother in three months, and I missed Brother. The bed smells like you. Little Wu likes it!"

Long Jie froze, then smiled knowingly. "Then Little Wu can sleep here tonight!"

"Okay, okay!" Little Wu excitedly lay down beside him. At last, she could sleep with her brother again after so long.

She really was like a child...

Long Jie smiled and did not mind. He calmly lay down beside her and slept in his clothes.

The next day.

Long Jie woke up first and felt his neck tightly clamped. Opening his eyes, he saw Little Wu sprawled on top of him like an octopus.

And Long Jie was also familiar with letting his hands wander over Little Wu???

"Damn, I accidentally mistook Little Wu for Bing'er and actually put my hands on her. What a sin..." Long Jie muttered inwardly as he carefully withdrew his hand. Fortunately, Little Wu had not woken up yet.

This won't do. Until I get used to Bing'er not being around, I can't sleep with Little Wu anymore. Otherwise, I'll turn into a pervert!!!

Getting out of bed, Long Jie carefully went to the bathroom. It was spotless, clearly having been carefully maintained over the past three months.

"Strange... Little Wu knows how to do housework?" Long Jie muttered. Normally, Little Wu would not do this sort of thing...

"Little Wu, are you awake?"

At that moment, a woman's voice came from outside, followed by a knock on the door.

Long Jie froze for a moment, then went to open it.

Creak...

As soon as the door opened, their eyes met, and both of them froze!

"Long Jie? You're back?" Ning Rongrong was delighted. She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Long Jie's arm, and said excitedly, "My Jie Ge, you finally came back!

If you hadn't returned soon, I would have been exhausted to death! Every day, I had to cook and wash clothes for Little Wu. This Young Miss has practically become a little maid!"

A maid? You, Young Miss Ning, would be a maid?

Although Ning Rongrong was holding his arm, Long Jie felt no ripples in his heart. Compared to Shui Bing'er's impressive figure, little Ning Rongrong...

"Ahem!" Long Jie coughed and said with a smile, "Then I've really troubled you, Rongrong!"

"It wasn't any trouble!" Ning Rongrong said with a smile. "Little Wu and I already agreed that when you came back, you'd help me with something!"

"What kind of help?" Long Jie was curious. What could possibly require Young Miss Ning to ask personally?

"It's..."

"Brother, don't believe her!"

Just as Ning Rongrong was about to speak, Little Wu jolted awake from the bed and interrupted them.

Little Wu hurried over to Long Jie, shot Ning Rongrong a fierce glare, and pulled the two apart before saying, "What do you mean, washing my clothes and cooking for me? You clearly had your maid do it. You didn't lift a finger yourself!"

Having been exposed, Ning Rongrong looked a little embarrassed, but she still stubbornly said, "Hmph! My maid is my person too. What's the difference between her doing the work and me doing it?"

Was it the same? Not really. Was it different? Not really either!

"Hmph! I don't care. I'm not letting my brother help you!" Little Wu protectively shielded Long Jie as though guarding food, glaring at Ning Rongrong with hostility.

"You don't need to be like this. We're all friends..." Seeing this, Long Jie hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Hmph! Cheapskate. I'm not talking to you anymore!" Ning Rongrong snorted, then angrily turned and left.

It looked like she was genuinely upset.

Seeing this, Long Jie was somewhat puzzled. He looked at Little Wu and asked, "Little Wu, Rongrong only asked me for a little help. Why do you care so much?"

"Hmph!" Little Wu snorted and said unhappily, "You don't know what kind of help she's asking for... Sigh, forget it. You'd better not know. Come on, let's go eat breakfast!"

A girl's mood was like a book—turn one page, and it was a whole new feeling. Little Wu had been angry just moments ago, yet her mood instantly brightened as she pulled Long Jie toward the dining hall.

When they arrived at the dining hall, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were already sitting there eating. The moment Ning Rongrong saw Little Wu and Long Jie, she became unhappy again, her gaze clashing fiercely with Little Wu's.

Long Jie felt utterly helpless. Women's friendship... it was simply absurdly incomprehensible.

"Long Jie, you're back!" Zhu Zhuqing smiled at Long Jie. That faintly sweet smile on her cold face was especially pleasing to his eyes.

"Yeah, I missed you all, didn't I?" Long Jie smiled warmly.

After three months apart, he truly had missed them.

But his casual remark made Zhu Zhuqing blush.

Missed us... Did he miss me too...?

"I missed you too..."

"What?" Long Jie had not heard her clearly; Zhu Zhuqing's voice had been extremely soft.

"N-No, nothing!" Zhu Zhuqing blushed, seeming unsure what to say.

Seeing this, Long Jie merely smiled and said nothing more.

After three months apart, the three girls seemed to have become much closer than before. At the very least, they would no longer give each other the cold shoulder!!!