"Thank you," Hu Yuying said softly to Long Aotian after returning to her seat.
It was like a feather gently falling to the ground. If not for the aisle separating Long Aotian and Hu Yuying, he almost wouldn't have heard her.
He looked at Hu Yuying.
Facing Long Aotian's gaze, Hu Yuying nervously clutched her small hands, not daring to meet his eyes, only continuously dodging them.
With a face that looks easy to bully, and such a gentle personality, speaking without any assertiveness—if not her, then who would they bully?
"Have you never thought about changing?" Long Aotian suddenly asked.
In this situation, Long Aotian could rely on his identity as a delinquent whom no one dared to provoke, to speak up for Hu Yuying.
But outside this classroom, in the wider world, at university, if Hu Yuying remained like this, wouldn't she just be bullied in a different place?
Hu Yuying gently lowered her gaze. How could she not have thought about changing? She had tried to change, to resist, but in the end, it only led to even more intensified bullying.
She had also tried to tell the teachers, but it only resulted in the saying, 'It takes two to tango,' and 'Why do they bully you and not others? Sometimes you need to look for reasons within yourself.'
(T/N: The saying "it takes two to tango" is the equivalent of "One hand alone, can't clap" which Basically mean both sides are responsible.)
Over time, Hu Yuying fell into self-doubt.
Were they bullying her because she truly wasn't good enough? Was it truly her own fault?
No one had ever spoken up for her, as if she was born to be bullied.
So, facing the first person who spoke up for her, Hu Yuying didn't know how to answer that question.
Seeing Hu Yuying lower her head again, Long Aotian frowned and said in a deep voice, "Raise your head!"
Hearing Long Aotian's words, Hu Yuying obediently raised her head, but her eyes were still evasive, not daring to meet his gaze.
Perhaps Long Aotian's gaze was too obvious; Hu Yuying felt her cheeks begin to burn.
She instinctively wanted to lower her head.
"Don't move."
Long Aotian said again. When talking to someone, one subconsciously looks at the other person.
Hu Yuying was no exception. She looked up at Long Aotian, just as she opened her mouth, their eyes inadvertently met, and her palms clenched slightly: "Wh-what is it?"
Seeing Hu Yuying blushing but not lowering her head, Long Aotian nodded in satisfaction: "Good. You should be more confident. At eighteen, you should be like a flower, blooming freely and boldly."
"Look at you, your voice is so small, and you always lower your head..."
At this point, Long Aotian showed displeasure: "Look, look, you want to lower your head again. You're not an ostrich—no, ostriches don't lower their heads as diligently as you do."
Hu Yuying was simply too lacking in self-confidence, and too used to being bullied, so she always thought of enduring silently.
Whenever she encountered anything, she would first lose her confidence.
Such a person, even when encountering any unfair situation, would not dare to speak up, only silently accepting all the bullying directed at her.
"I, I understand," Hu Yuying said softly.
"What good is understanding? You need to be brave enough to act on it."
Hearing this, Hu Yuying lowered her gaze and gently 'hmm'ed.
Although she didn't continue to lower her head, that utterly spiritless 'hmm' already said it all.
Long Aotian secretly sighed.
Having been bullied for so long, he didn't expect Hu Yuying to change all at once.
It was better to take it slowly.
The plot had already been changed by him.
Based on the current situation, it seemed no one in this classroom would dare to bully Hu Yuying anymore.
But if Hu Yuying's submissive personality didn't change at all, people who wanted to bully her would still bully her once she leaves the classroom.
Since the plot's development had already changed because of himself, then he should properly guide Hu Yuying, help her regain her confidence, and enable her to bravely face injustice and setbacks.
At least, in the future, when she encountered similar bullying incidents, she would have the courage to resist.
It wasn't her fault, but those devils who loved to bully the weak!
Thinking of this, Long Aotian said, "Have you ever thought about why Wang Shuo dared to bully you and not others?"
Hu Yuying cautiously glanced at Long Aotian, then pursed her red lips: "Is it because I did something to make him unhappy?"
"Nonsense!"
Hu Yuying trembled slightly. Long Aotian's gaze was so scary.
Long Aotian was speechless. What had this girl gone through before? Why did she always look for reasons within herself whenever she encountered a problem?
Was it her fault that she looks cute and easy to bully?
That definitely doesn't count!
"When Wang Shuo bullied you, who was right and who was wrong?"
Hu Yuying secretly glanced at Long Aotian. Although she didn't dare to look directly into his eyes, she couldn't help but try to sneak a peek at him, then attempted to say softly, "Was it Wang Shuo's fault?"
Long Aotian was exasperated to the point of laughter.
Seeing Long Aotian's helpless expression, the light in Hu Yuying's eyes dimmed considerably. Was it really her fault after all?
So, she corrected herself, her voice very low, with a hint of grievance: "It's my fault."
"Yes, it is indeed your fault!"
"You should have fiercely pulled his hair, looked at him with contempt told him in a vicious tone that you messed with the wrong person! This old lady isn't that easy to bully!'"
"Ah?" Hu Yuying was stunned, staring blankly at Long Aotian.
Although Long Aotian's words were vulgar, they didn't make her feel any discomfort or disgust.
"What 'ah'? Even persimmons are picked soft. You're just too easy to bully. Whenever someone meet you, no matter who's right or wrong, they want to pinch you!"
(T/N: The saying "Even persimmons are picked soft" means that People tends to target the one who are easier to deal with or in this case bully.)
"Show me how fierce you are," Long Aotian said.
Hu Yuying nodded, then took a deep breath, gritting her teeth, her clear eyes looking as if she had suffered a great injustice. Finally, with clear lack of confidence, she complained, "I'm not wrong!"
After saying this, she cautiously looked up, secretly glanced at Long Aotian, then very softly and somewhat shyly asked, "Did I not scare you?"
"Scared? No, but you excited me!"
If he didn't know she was trying to be fierce, he would have thought this girl was deliberately teasing him, trying to conquer his heart and mind!
Long Aotian sighed slightly: "Your foundation is too poor. From now on, you'll follow me. I don't believe I can't change you, this soft persimmon!"
Hearing this, Hu Yuying lowered her gaze and said nothing.
Long Aotian looked at her in confusion: "What, you don't want to change this nature of being easily bullied?"
"No, it's not that," Hu Yuying suddenly looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.
This time, Hu Yuying didn't dodge Long Aotian's eyes.
But this gaze made Long Aotian uneasy. How could she cry after he said a few words to her?
He quickly looked around, careful not to let people think he was bullying her!
Hu Yuying took a deep breath, her tone full of suppressed grievance: "I really want to change myself."
No one wanted to change themselves more than she did.
She also didn't want to be a soft persimmon that others could squeeze.
Everyone subjectively assumed that 'it takes two to tango,' and even if she was the one being bullied, they would only tell her to look for reasons within herself.
But only Long Aotian asked her if she wanted to change!
'I want to, I really want to...'