Chapter 134: Even Distribution of Rain and Dew

Sunday morning.

Ying Chanxi woke from sleep, climbed out of bed, stretched, then patted Pikachu's head and said good morning.

She walked out of the bedroom, quickly washed up in the bathroom, then came to the living room and found a small bowl of preserved egg on the table, beside which lay a pack of pickled mustard stem and a box of fermented tofu.

A note was stuck on the table.

"When you wake up, remember to eat breakfast. If your senior also wakes up early, let her have some too. The cooked porridge is in the rice cooker."

After reading the note, Ying Chanxi paused, then turned and walked to the master bedroom, knocked on the door—no response.

She pushed open the door a crack, peered inside, and saw that Li Luo was not there.

Then she ran to the piano room and checked—still no sign of Li Luo.

Looks like she went out.

Ying Chanxi went to the kitchen, scooped herself a bowl of porridge, sat at the table, ate breakfast, and called Li Luo.

"Hello? What's up?"

"Where did you go so early?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled. "Why do you sound out of breath?"

"Went out for a morning run. I'll be back soon."

"Are you alone? Or is someone with you?" Ying Chanxi grew alert, immediately asking, "Is Zhu Sheng there too?"

"She's got a mental illness if she came over here to run at this hour, and she doesn't even stay on campus on weekends," Li Luo said, laughing and exasperated. "I'll be back soon."

"Then why didn't you wake me up to run together?" Ying Chanxi complained. "Why sneak out by yourself?"

"Who was the one sulking last night?" Li Luo said, dumbfounded. "You said I wanted to use the computer but wouldn't just ask you face-to-face, that I didn't treat you like family, then stormed off to your room all mad."

"That's exactly right!"

Originally, Ying Chanxi had slept it off and temporarily forgotten about it.

But now Li Luo dared bring it up—Ying Chanxi instantly bristled: "I don't need to edit MVs every single day. It's not that urgent."

"If you want to use the computer, just tell me. I wouldn't stop you."

"After you told Zhu Sheng, you borrowed her laptop, making it look like I was deliberately hoarding your computer."

As she spoke, though she hadn't felt wronged yesterday, now emotions surged—Ying Chanxi grew more and more upset, her mouth puckering as she ate, nearly crying from her own words.

"I'm wrong, I'm wrong!" Li Luo quickly begged, sensing her tone. "Don't cry, if Mom finds out, she'll kill me."

"You're just afraid of Lin Yi getting angry, so as long as Lin Yi doesn't find out, you don't care if I cry, right?" Ying Chanxi blinked, her eyes glistening with grievance, as if tears would spill at any moment.

Li Luo: "..."

Fuck… angry girls are really fucking hard to soothe, with their weird, roundabout logic.

"Alright, stop crying," Li Luo sighed. "I need your help with something."

When a girl is angry, reasoning with her is useless—better to distract her first.

Sure enough, Ying Chanxi paused slightly, then instinctively asked: "Help you with what?"

"Shoot the MV," Li Luo said. "I've had a burst of inspiration and wrote a new song. I'll sing it for you when I get back."

"Really? That impressive?" Ying Chanxi's attention snapped away, curious. "Do you actually have talent for this?"

"Wait till I get back—you'll find out."

"Then hurry back. I'm almost done eating."

Around nine in the morning, Xu Youyu stumbled out of her bedroom, yawning, went to the bathroom, then came to the living room looking for food.

Li Luo hadn't returned yet; only Ying Chanxi sat hunched on the sofa, hugging her knees in a daze. Xu Youyu glanced at the leftover preserved egg and fermented tofu and asked, "Xixi, did you have porridge for breakfast?"

"Mm… there's more in the kitchen. Senior, you can have some."

"Where's Li Luo?" Xu Youyu murmured, heading toward the kitchen. "Playing computer in the bedroom?"

"No, this guy went out for a morning run," Ying Chanxi grumbled.

"So serious?" Xu Youyu was surprised. "Does he really think he can win a 3000-meter championship?"

"He'd be lucky to even place," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes. "I checked the sign-up sheet for the 3000-meter race—Class 16 has a sports student who specializes in long-distance running."

Xu Youyu ladled out a bowl of porridge and walked back, raising an eyebrow: "You're paying attention to this? I didn't even look closely."

"I'm not really interested—I just got curious. Otherwise this guy keeps bragging he'll win first place, making up nonsense without even thinking."

As Ying Chanxi spoke, Li Luo opened the door and came back.

Hearing her words, he laughed: "Why does everyone gossip about me the moment I walk in?"

"I'm just stating facts," Ying Chanxi glared at him upon his return, but with Xu Youyu present, she held back her emotions—no longer as heated as during the phone call.

"You went for a run," Xu Youyu glanced at the plastic bag in Li Luo's hand, puzzled. "Why are you carrying stuff?"

"Bought a few little things on the way back," Li Luo smiled, walked straight to the sofa where Ying Chanxi sat, ruffled her long hair, and asked, "Still mad?"

"Who's mad at you?" Ying Chanxi forced herself to maintain the composure of a top-ranked student in front of Xu Youyu.

After all, she was now vice president of the student council and expected to take over Xu Youyu's position next year.

She couldn't let her senior think she was petty.

But Xu Youyu was used to their daily bickering—she just ate breakfast and watched the show.

Then she saw Li Luo reach into the plastic bag and pull out a box slightly larger than a palm, handing it to Ying Chanxi.

"Here, for you."

"What's this?" Ying Chanxi blinked, took the box, glanced at the pattern on the packaging—it showed a camera. "Why'd you suddenly buy me a camera?"

"It's a Polaroid," Li Luo said. "It's small, fits in one hand, and prints the photo instantly after you take it—very convenient."

"Oh, I know what a Polaroid is!" Ying Chanxi's eyes lit up, eager to open it—but before she touched it, she looked at Li Luo. "C-Can I open it now?"

"Go ahead," Li Luo chuckled at her eager expression. "It's a gift for you—open it whenever you want."

With Li Luo's approval, Ying Chanxi no longer hesitated. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, cradled the box in both hands, and began carefully unwrapping it.

She didn't dare to use force, only carefully and gently peeled off the sealing tape on the box without damaging even a single fiber of the packaging.

Only after the entire seal was removed did she open the lid slowly, her heart brimming with anticipation.

A delicate, compact, and adorable instant camera appeared before her eyes.

In addition, the box contained its own instruction manual, a compatible battery, and a stack of blank photo paper for exposure and development.

"It comes with thirty blank photo papers," Li Luo reached into the plastic bag again and pulled out a small box, "and there's an extra box inside—should be a hundred sheets."

"The sports meet is coming up soon, and carrying your video camera around would still be too heavy."

"There'll be so many people at the sports meet—if you drop or lose it, that'd be bad. This instant camera is small and easy to carry."

"A hundred sheets of photo paper should be enough for you until the sports meet ends."

Ying Chanxi picked up the instant camera from the box, turning it left and right, her fingers stroking it back and forth, feeling its texture and weight.

The smile on her face had long since refused to fade—she was clearly delighted.

Yet she still said, "You've got a bit of conscience after all."

Hearing her say that, Li Luo knew she wasn't angry anymore, so he pinched her cheek gently: "You're ecstatic, yet you pretend not to be."

"Let go! I need to figure out how to use this first."

Xu Youyu, sitting at the dining table, had already finished breakfast. Seeing Ying Chanxi's joyful excitement, she burst out laughing.

Then she looked at Li Luo and teased, "You're so good to your childhood friend—so I'm the extra one, right?"

"If you ever get mad at me someday, I'll buy you one too."

"Then I'm mad right now—can you conjure up a gift for me?"

"You're serious?"

"What? You actually have one?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

The next second, Li Luo reached into the plastic bag like Doraemon pulling from his magic pocket, pulled out a wooden board, and handed it to Xu Youyu.

"Here, this is for you."

"What is this?" Xu Youyu stared blankly at the wooden board, lost in thought. "If you're trying to fool me, just say it outright—this is worse than no gift at all."

"It's a keyboard wrist rest," Li Luo explained. "I noticed you use your computer a lot—doesn't your wrist hurt after long hours?"

"Place this in front of your keyboard and rest your wrists on it while typing—it'll be more comfortable."

"You've never used one before, so I recommend you try it."

After hearing Li Luo's explanation, Xu Youyu froze completely.

This was the first time a boy had ever given her a gift from such a thoughtful angle.

The wooden wrist rest looked plain and unadorned, yet it carried genuine care.

She didn't recall ever mentioning that her wrists hurt from typing—could Li Luo have noticed this subtle need through everyday interactions?

But she didn't know that in his past life, Li Luo had often heard Xu Youyu complain about her tendonitis and lower back strain.

Her back problems weren't obvious when she was young, but her tendonitis had started back in high school.

This was, in effect, targeted medicine.

"Take it."

"Oh… okay, thanks," Xu Youyu accepted the wrist rest, glanced at Ying Chanxi on the sofa, then at Li Luo, and stood up quietly. "I'll go try if it's comfortable."

On the sofa, Ying Chanxi's gaze returned from Xu Youyu's back and fixed on the plastic bag in Li Luo's hands. She narrowed her eyes and asked:

"Li Luo, aren't there more things in your bag?"