Chapter 144

At night, on the way home.

Ying Chanxi pointed to a specialty store by the roadside and asked Li Luo, "Is this the shop where you bought your instant camera?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll go take a look."

"Huh?" Li Luo blinked, "What are you going to look at?"

"I'm running low on photo paper," Ying Chanxi said, slightly embarrassed. "I feel safer with extra on hand."

Hearing this, Li Luo let it go and simply said, "I'll head home and make late-night snacks. Come back early."

"I'll keep Ying Chanxi company," Xu Youyu said from beside them.

So Li Luo went home first, while Xu Youyu accompanied Ying Chanxi into the specialty store.

While Ying Chanxi pretended to carefully inquire about photo paper, she glanced at Xu Youyu, who was idly examining the display cases, then pulled out her instant camera and asked the clerk something.

A few minutes later, the two emerged from the store and hurried home.

"Ying Chanxi," Xu Youyu asked with a smile, "when Li Luo played alone this afternoon, how did you feel? Doesn't it move you when someone sings just for you?"

"I-I guess so…" Ying Chanxi murmured. "It was kind of surprising."

"Just surprising? I thought you'd be moved to tears."

"It's not that easy to cry."

As they chatted, Xu Youyu casually gathered material.

After all, in her view, Li Luo was a perfect treasure trove of material—every pretentious trope seemed to land right on him.

Too bad her own novel's protagonist wasn't a campus character; many of these moments were unusable.

Otherwise, this whole scene—singing to a girl in front of the entire school—would've been perfect for a plotline.

Thinking of it, Xu Youyu even felt her fingers itching to write.

But Ying Chanxi clearly seemed distracted.

After Li Luo finished the late-night snacks and all three ate, he said, "You ran 1500 meters today. Wash up and go to bed right after eating. Get good rest."

"Okay." Ying Chanxi nodded.

Xu Youyu, beside her, volunteered to wash the dishes so Ying Chanxi could go straight to shower.

After her shower, Ying Chanxi wrapped her damp hair in a Mao Jin, returned to her bedroom, then came out again after a while and knocked on Li Luo's door.

At that moment, Li Luo had just minimized his computer screen to the desktop. He turned to see Ying Chanxi entering and naturally stood up, offering her the chair, then went to fetch the hair dryer.

"Li Luo," Ying Chanxi said, eyes closed as she enjoyed his hair-drying service.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I want to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"But I need to clarify first—I have no ulterior motives. I'm just genuinely worried."

"What's so serious?" Li Luo chuckled. "Just say it."

"Before I speak, will you please take this?" Ying Chanxi suddenly pulled a red envelope from her pajama pocket and handed it to Li Luo behind her.

"What's this?" Li Luo stared blankly, took the envelope, squeezed it, then opened it to find a stack of red bills—over a thousand yuan at least. "Wait… are you trying to keep me?"

"What are you talking about!" Ying Chanxi's carefully rehearsed speech shattered. Her face flushed crimson as she stomped her foot.

Her bare white feet, still damp with water droplets, left streaks of moisture on the wooden floor.

"Then why give me money?" Li Luo said, exasperated. "You said you're not lusting after my looks?"

"Get out!" Ying Chanxi pouted, sulking. "What are you even thinking? That's insane!"

"Alright, alright," Li Luo slipped the red envelope back into her pajama pocket. "You were being so serious, I was just lightening the mood. Keep going—what were you about to say?"

"I-I…" Her mood, carefully built up, was now broken. She couldn't recall where she'd left off. "Where was I?"

"You said you were just worried, and told me not to overthink," Li Luo prompted. "So now you can say it. What's so serious?"

"It's… it's the instant camera you gave me," Ying Chanxi said helplessly. "I went to their store tonight and asked about it."

"Mm. What did you ask?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, sensing something.

"I asked the price," Ying Chanxi shot him a disgruntled look. "The model you bought me costs sixteen hundred yuan."

"And the clerk said the camera comes with only the photo paper inside the box—there's no extra hundred sheets included."

"Just buying ten sheets of this paper costs thirty to forty yuan. You bought a hundred—that's at least three or four hundred yuan."

"Add it all up, the camera alone cost you at least two thousand yuan."

"Where did you get so much money?"

After hearing Ying Chanxi's words, Li Luo finally understood her meaning.

It was a slight oversight on his part.

Earlier, he'd gone downstairs for a morning run, remembered she was still upset, happened to spot this store, and bought it on impulse—just hoping it would cheer her up.

After all, he earned over ten thousand a month; a gift of one or two thousand yuan was nothing to him.

But from Ying Chanxi's perspective, this gift was extremely valuable.

Among ordinary students, it was rare to give gifts worth over a thousand yuan so casually.

Even someone like Ying Chanxi, from a wealthy family, wouldn't casually choose such an expensive gift for someone else.

After all, whether you can afford it yourself is one thing; whether the recipient can accept it is another—both require careful consideration.

Thinking of this, Li Luo's gaze softened. He gently stroked Ying Chanxi's head. "You really went to so much trouble thinking for me."

"What kind of thing are you saying…" Ying Chanxi savored the warmth on her head, reluctant to let go of this tenderness, murmuring softly under her breath but not resisting.

"But don't worry too much," Li Luo said. "Remember the graduation banquet last summer?"

"Of course I do. What about it?"

"Wasn't I given a bunch of red envelopes last time?" Li Luo said. "My mom took only half, and the other half she gave me as pocket money, plus the fifteen hundred my mom gave me at the start of summer vacation, and the money I got from my uncle when I sold belts at the school gate."

"When you add it all up, it's actually quite a bit—not as hard as you think."

"It's just buying you a camera. No need to overthink it."

After listening to Li Luo's words, Ying Chanxi fell silent, thinking carefully, then asked: "Are you telling the truth?"

"Of course I am."

"You didn't ask your uncle and aunt for money to buy the camera, right?"

"Definitely not," Li Luo shook his head. "We still have a mortgage to pay. As long as I have money of my own, I'd never ask my parents for cash."

"This… this is how it is…" Ying Chanxi's previously tense heart finally settled.

But thinking of Li Luo's gift of two thousand yuan, she still pulled out her red envelope: "This has fifteen hundred inside."

"I've seen the instant cameras at that store—the cheapest one costs over five hundred."

"Why don't you just take this envelope, and pretend you bought me a five-hundred-yuan instant camera? Would that work?"

Li Luo looked at Ying Chanxi and burst out laughing, tapping her on the head. "You're really that naive."

"Ow… why'd you hit me…" Ying Chanxi covered her head and glared at him.

"You should avoid doing things like this—it's heartbreaking—but…" Li Luo took the red envelope from her hand, pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, and slipped it into his own pant pocket.

Then he returned the envelope to her pocket, holding the hundred-yuan bill, and smiled: "Keep the envelope, but I'll take this hundred as a tip—it's payment for the free hair blow-dries I've given you these past few months."

Since Li Luo had said that, Ying Chanxi didn't press further.

After all, if he hadn't asked his uncle and aunt for money to buy the camera, but had saved his own pocket money, Ying Chanxi felt genuinely happy—and no longer overly worried.

She could just pay more for his meals at school later.

Thinking this, she no longer insisted on giving the envelope back to Li Luo.

Yet, watching the hundred-yuan bill in Li Luo's hand, Ying Chanxi thought for a moment, pulled another hundred from the envelope, shoved it into his hand, propped her feet up on the bed edge, and grinned:

"Here's another hundred for you as a tip—can you give me a shoulder rub and leg massage?"