Chapter 143

What does it feel like to hug a girl?

In Li Luo's thirty-plus years of life, he had never experienced this before.

When he was young, he often played and wrestled with Ying Chanxi.

Later, after getting close to Xu Youyu, she would often punch and kick him in mock anger after he made flirtatious remarks.

As for Yan Zhusheng, she rarely touched him unless she occasionally brushed his hand while correcting his guitar posture and finger technique.

But being suddenly tackled into his arms by a girl—Li Luo had never experienced this.

Not once.

"Y-You okay?" Li Luo felt his hands stiffen; after steadying Ying Chanxi's shoulders, he could clearly feel her hot, labored breath against the chest of her short-sleeved uniform.

"Exhausted… can't catch my breath…" Ying Chanxi clutched at Li Luo's collar, leaning fully against him as if she couldn't support herself.

At this moment, many from Class One ran down from the stands and formed a circle around Li Luo and Ying Chanxi.

Liu Shaowen even handed over an unopened bottle of water: "Need some hydration?"

Probably because everyone in the class already knew Li Luo was Ying Chanxi's cousin, no one thought much of their intimate contact.

They simply watched Ying Chanxi with concern.

Xie Shuchen excitedly said: "Third place! You actually came in third—so strong! The first-place finisher's even a sports student, and you still made top three—Class Monitor, you're incredible!"

During her final sprint, Ying Chanxi had focused entirely on the sprint itself and hadn't noticed how many people she'd passed.

Hearing her placement, she finally lifted her head, glanced around, then looked at Li Luo in front of her—her cheeks slightly flushed.

Fortunately, after intense exercise, her face was already red, so no one noticed anything unusual.

Li Luo took the mineral water from Liu Shaowen, unscrewed the cap, and held it to Ying Chanxi's lips: "Sip a few times, then walk around slowly to cool down—if you stop right after running, you'll feel worse later."

Ying Chanxi nodded obediently, drank a few sips under Liu Shaowen's expectant gaze, then placed one hand on Li Luo's shoulder and began walking slowly across the grassy field.

Seeing that Ying Chanxi was fine, most of Class One dispersed and returned to their own stands.

Liu Shaowen and Xie Shuchen had wanted to follow, but with Li Luo beside her, they decided not to make themselves obvious.

Yet on the way back to the stands, Liu Shaowen excitedly punched Xie Shuchen twice and laughed loudly: "Look, look—this is the benefit of being on good terms with Li Luo!"

"Wait, what benefit are you talking about?" Xie Shuchen stared at him strangely. "Why are you so excited? Ying Chanxi didn't throw herself into your arms."

"You don't get it?" Liu Shaowen chuckled. "Didn't you see? Who gave Ying Chanxi the water just now? Hmm? Speak up."

Xie Shuchen looked utterly baffled: "... There was only your bottle of water in the whole crowd—what else was she supposed to drink?"

"But during military training, I brought her drinks before, and she never touched them—today she drank yours," Liu Shaowen said firmly. "Isn't this the first step toward victory? I've already conquered the hardest part!"

"Damn!" Xie Shuchen stared at Liu Shaowen's triumphant expression; after a moment's thought, he suddenly felt it made sense. "You're actually clever, kid—but I train with Li Luo all the time. Wait and see—I've got the advantage of proximity. Even if you sprint ahead first, it won't help."

Li Luo naturally had no idea how excited those two boys were—he just helped Ying Chanxi walk for a while.

Once she recovered from that weak, limp state, he slowly let go of her.

Ying Chanxi glanced wistfully at Li Luo's shoulder but didn't dare pretend anymore—she simply smiled: "I came in the top three, you know. You'd better work hard tomorrow."

"You're putting a lot of pressure on me," Li Luo clicked his tongue. "What if I don't make top three?"

"So what if you don't? I'm not like someone who doubts others before the race," Ying Chanxi huffed. "Even if you come in last, I'll still cheer for you."

"So I should thank you, then?"

"Of course."

The two bickered on the field until Ying Chanxi had mostly recovered, then they returned to their respective seats on the stands.

Yan Zhusheng, seeing Li Luo return, pulled out her harmonica and played a short melody of "Light," based on what she remembered.

Then she paused and asked: "What comes next?"

Li Luo blinked, recalled for a moment, and hummed a few bars.

After he finished the tune, Yan Zhusheng nodded in satisfaction, then asked curiously: "When did you write this song?"

"I was inspired."

"You haven't written other songs and just never sung them, have you?"

"... You're overestimating me."

"Should we record this song too?" Yan Zhusheng asked. "You can come to my place this weekend."

"Let's record it together with 'Chasing the Light,'" Li Luo thought for a moment, then said. "Can we manage it this weekend?"

"I'll give you an email address," Yan Zhusheng said. "When you get home tonight, send the sheet music to this email—just say I told you to."

"Whose email?"

"Aunt Luo Fei's," Yan Zhusheng said. "Simple arrangement takes one or two days—perfect for use this weekend."

"Alright," Li Luo nodded, then remembered Ying Chanxi's request and added, "Should I invite Xi Xi and Senior Qiao this weekend?"

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng blinked, then softly nodded: "Sure."

On the field, after the 1500-meter races for all three grades concluded, the time had reached half past five in the evening.

The host on the podium announced that today's competition had ended smoothly and successfully, thanking everyone for their all-day efforts.

Then the crowd descended from the stands and surged toward the cafeteria.

Early birds like Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang had already prepared themselves and showed no sign of having competed—they dashed toward the cafeteria with astonishing speed.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng strolled slowly behind, meeting up with Ying Chanxi and Qiao Xinyan from Class One, and also pulling in Zhao Rongjun.

Zhao Rongjun had initially hesitated, reluctant to join with so many girls around Li Luo, but Li Luo ended up dragging him by the neck over.

"What event did you compete in? I didn't see you at all," Li Luo asked.

"I signed up for shot put," Zhao Rongjun muttered. "It's tomorrow."

"Oh, I see," Li Luo nodded, then asked quietly, "How's it going with your desk partner? Have you asked her yet?"

"I… I don't know how to bring it up," Zhao Rongjun scratched his head, troubled. "You told me to ask if she has a boyfriend, but how do you just ask that directly?"

"Who told you to ask directly?" Li Luo looked exasperated. "Just say you have a friend who might like her, and you're asking on their behalf whether she's seeing anyone."

"Or during a chat, just say you have a friend who's recently been secretly dating, then see if she bites—once the conversation starts, casually ask about her own situation, won't that work?"

"Use your little brain, don't speak so rigidly."

After hearing this, Zhao Rongjun thought it made sense and nodded: "Then I'll look for an opportunity to try."

"What are you two whispering about?" Ying Chanxi asked curiously. "Planning something?"

"Nothing," Li Luo waved his hand. "Men's business. Girls shouldn't meddle."

"Pfft, like anyone cares."

"Oh by the way," Li Luo remembered something and said to Ying Chanxi, "I just made plans with Yan Zhusheng—we're going to her place this weekend to record songs. Don't forget to come along."

"This weekend?" Ying Chanxi blinked in surprise, then immediately nodded. "Alright then, it's a deal—I'm coming too."

Qiao Xinyan, standing nearby, heard this and her face lit up with curiosity: "What recording? Are you singing, Li Luo?"

"He wrote two songs himself and wants to record them in a studio," Ying Chanxi explained. "Luckily, Yan Zhusheng's family has a dedicated recording room, so we're borrowing it."

"Can I come watch?" Qiao Xinyan asked eagerly. "I've never seen how recording songs works."

"Is it okay with Yan Zhusheng?" Ying Chanxi turned to look at Yan Zhusheng.

"Of course," Yan Zhusheng nodded, then glanced at Zhao Rongjun beside Li Luo. "Are you coming too?"

"Uh… um… I…"

"Just go," Li Luo slung an arm around his best friend's neck. "You've got nothing to do this weekend. With the sports meet these past few days, you can finish your weekend homework during evening self-study—then you'll be completely free and can just head straight to Yan Zhusheng's place to record."

"We can buy some groceries in the afternoon—I'll cook you all a great meal."

"Consider it a little celebration for the sports meet ending smoothly."

Zhao Rongjun, seeing Li Luo speak this way, had no grounds to refuse and could only nod helplessly.

He was genuinely curious how Li Luo had written these new songs, but the presence of too many girls had made him reluctant to go.

"Does Zhao Rongjun not like being around girls?" Qiao Xinyan asked with a smile. "Last time we studied together at Li Luo's place, he sat alone in the corner, barely saying a word."

"Uh… it's not that I don't like them…" Zhao Rongjun hurriedly waved his hands to explain, but stammered for a long time without managing more than a few words.

Finally, Li Luo laughed and said: "He's just a really honest guy—he gets tongue-tied around pretty girls. It's all your fault for being so beautiful, not his problem."

"Haha, you only need to mention Xi Xi and Zhusheng—why drag me in?" Qiao Xinyan said, though her face still beamed with delight.

Zhao Rongjun watched as Li Luo effortlessly made the girls laugh, and a touch of envy stirred in his heart.

Unfortunately, he simply couldn't learn it.

Luckily, he had Li Luo as a good friend—otherwise, he felt he'd never have any luck with women in his life.

"He's just smooth-talking—no idea where he picked up that habit," Ying Chanxi said, linking arms with Qiao Xinyan as they walked forward. "New Yan, don't pay him any mind."