Chapter 126

Actually, Li Luo had originally wanted to recommend "Literary Era" to Xu Rongsheng.

But upon second thought, recommending this book alone in front of Xu Youyu felt a bit too deliberate.

Out of caution, Li Luo held back and didn't pressure his senior at the dinner table.

After the meal, everyone was delighted.

The parents exchanged phone numbers and agreed they could stay in touch in the future.

"Pity Xixi's dad couldn't make it today," Li Guohong said regretfully as they were leaving, having enjoyed his chat with Xu Rongsheng. "Next time he's free, let's all get together again."

"No problem, we're always happy to host you," Xu Rongsheng said with a smile.

"Next time, don't you dare trouble you all," Lin Xiuhong laughed. "Come to our place—I'll cook you a proper meal."

The families bid each other farewell.

But as Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling saw the guests off, they noticed their daughter had followed them out.

Cui Suling immediately frowned and asked, "Youyu, where are you going?"

"I'm going home," Xu Youyu replied, blinking.

"You just got back—how can you leave after just lunch?" Cui Suling laughed and scolded, quickly pulling her back. "Stay overnight. Go home tomorrow."

"No way," Xu Youyu shook her head vigorously.

She wasn't Li Luo—a weirdo with endless drafts who still had to write at night.

So Xu Youyu said, "I'll stay until tonight. I'll have dinner and then go home."

"Fine, just don't leave too early—stay and keep us company," Cui Suling said, then turned to Xu Rongsheng. "By the way, Li Luo brought some fruit—there's green grapes you like. I'll wash some."

"He's good at picking gifts."

"You think? Your daughter egged him on—didn't even pretend to be polite." Cui Suling grumbled.

"Mom, I didn't! Li Luo picked them himself!"

"Why didn't you say that earlier? Now he's gone and you're blaming him? Who doesn't know how to shift blame?"

Xu Youyu: "..."

Damn it, Li Luo, you're gonna pay.

After leaving Xu Youyu's home, Li Luo and the others exited the compound.

Yuan Wanqing's car was waiting at the gate; she took Yan Zhusheng and parted ways with everyone there.

Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong had driven too; since Li Guohong had drunk at lunch, Lin Xiuhong would drive them home.

Because Ying Zhicheng wasn't home this week, Ying Chanxi didn't feel like going back either, so Li Luo walked with her toward Bihai Lanting instead of returning with his parents.

Now that they were finally alone, Ying Chanxi's steps grew lighter on the way home.

"I already tested you before the exam, but I didn't expect you'd score this high," Ying Chanxi murmured, glancing at Li Luo's profile. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but hesitated.

"Too bad you didn't get first in grade," Li Luo sighed. "Otherwise I'd really love to hear you bark like Wang Wang during the flag-raising ceremony."

"Don't get too arrogant," Ying Chanxi squinted at him, then added, "But if you really want to aim for first in grade, I have a suggestion."

"Hmm?" Li Luo looked at her, puzzled.

"Cough, cough... Here's the thing," Ying Chanxi cleared her throat, speaking with a tone of impartial objectivity. "It's impressive you ranked in the top thirty in the parallel class."

"But at your level, staying in the parallel class won't give you enough motivation anymore."

"Class One is the strongest in the key class tier—if you transfer there, surrounded by top students, you'll immediately enter a high-intensity learning environment."

"So..."

"So you want me to transfer to Class One?" Li Luo glanced at her in surprise, then chuckled. "So eager to be in the same class as me?"

"I—I'm not!" Ying Chanxi denied loudly. "I'm just giving you a sensible suggestion based on your studies. Besides, Teacher Sun likes you—you should consider it."

Watching her deny it while clearly wanting it was kind of cute.

But Li Luo didn't bother calling her out—he just shook his head. "Nah, Teacher Kong treats me well, and I've gotten used to my classmates and teachers. No need to switch now."

"Uh... yeah..." Ying Chanxi's voice grew dull after his blunt refusal. "You're right."

She didn't press him, but she'd secretly hoped he might choose to be in her class for her sake.

If not... it wasn't the end of the world.

They lived together anyway.

"Don't overthink it—there's still class division in Gao Er," Li Luo said, noticing her low mood.

"Oh right!" Ying Chanxi's eyes lit up. "Li Luo, which stream will you pick—liberal arts or science?"

"If we both pick the same, with your scores you'll probably be placed directly in Class One or Ten?"

. ￠O

"Then we'll be in the same class again."

"Well..." Li Luo blinked, considered, then said to Ying Chanxi, "I heard from Teacher Kong that our cohort might have college entrance exam reforms."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi blinked. "What does that mean?"

"The provincial college entrance system might change," Li Luo said. "Details aren't finalized yet, but future divisions may no longer be strictly liberal arts or science—instead, it'll be Chinese, Math, and English as core subjects, plus any three electives."

"Really?" Ying Chanxi widened her eyes—she'd never heard this before. "Can we pick any electives?"

"I don't know if it's completely free, but the course selection will definitely be more flexible," Li Luo said. "Class assignments will be based on everyone's chosen subjects."

"Then... if that's true," Ying Chanxi couldn't help asking, "what will you pick?"

"Uh... cough..." Li Luo smiled awkwardly. "I'll probably still pick the three pure liberal arts subjects."

After all, with his Memory Palace, liberal arts were far easier than science.

Physics and chemistry? Just memorizing formulas only gets you basic scores.

To get high marks, you need to flexibly apply concepts and truly master them.

This kind of thing certainly isn't enough just by relying on the Memory Palace.

Li Luo had a clear sense of his limits; after his rebirth, the butterfly effect meant he couldn't be certain the college entrance exam papers wouldn't change, so it was better to play it safe.

But after listening to Li Luo's words, Ying Chanxi fell silent.

Because according to her original plan, she had intended to choose science.

If that were the case, regardless of whether the college entrance exam system was reformed or not, the two of them probably wouldn't be placed in the same class during the Gao Er stream division.

"Alright, stop overthinking," Li Luo rubbed Ying Chanxi's head hard, "there's still plenty of time; thinking too much won't help."

"Then I can choose arts too," Ying Chanxi shook her head, swatting away Li Luo's hand, "it doesn't make much difference anyway—it's just about getting into Qianjiang University."

"You originally planned to choose science, didn't you?" Li Luo glanced at her.

Li Luo vaguely remembered that in his previous life, Ying Chanxi had gotten into the Computer Science department at Qianjiang University.

It was something related to image processing or video production.

Such majors generally couldn't be chosen by pure arts students.

But Ying Chanxi said: "I'll choose whatever I want."

"You're so stubborn," Li Luo lightly tapped her forehead, then sighed helplessly, "whenever you decide what to pick, just tell me—I'll pick the same as you."

It's just a matter of putting in more effort… I was hoping to sneak a little laziness, but now it looks like that won't work.

"Really?" Ying Chanxi's eyes lit up.

"Really."

"But…" Ying Chanxi bit her lip, hesitating again, "you clearly prefer…"

"No buts," Li Luo interrupted. "I just think arts are easier to study. If you end up choosing science, you'll be responsible for me—if you can't teach me well, I'll blame you."

"No problem!" Hearing this, Ying Chanxi immediately relaxed, then patted her chest cheerfully, "Leave it to me!"

After a private conversation with Li Luo and making their mutual promise, Ying Chanxi's previously somewhat blue mood instantly brightened into sunshine.