Chapter 166: Can

At 4 p. m., Ying Chanxi finished class, returned to Classroom One to pack her bag, and took out her phone to send Xu Youyu a message.

Xu Youyu, in the living room of Bihai Lanting 1502, felt her phone vibrate a few times, pulled it from her pant pocket, and glanced at it.

【Ying Chanxi】: Senior, I'm done with class. Let's meet at the crossroad to buy groceries.

Seeing the message, Xu Youyu shook her head slightly toward Li Luo, who had just finished singing, and signaled: "Chanxi's out. She says meet at the crossroad."

"Then let's go."

Li Luo stood up and returned the guitar originally belonging to Yin Zhicheng to the piano room.

The three of them quickly packed up, put on their shoes, went downstairs, walked out of the residential gate, and headed toward the crossroad near the affiliated middle school.

As they walked, Li Luo turned his head to glance at the storefronts along the street, his mind swirling with thoughts.

In his memory, the final approval and confirmation of Yinjiang District's subway lines didn't settle until the summer of 2015.

Before that, government announcements and wild rumors flew everywhere, causing Yuhang City's property prices to swing wildly.

Especially with every rumor about subway routes, property prices rose and fell, leaving many people unsure.

Only Li Luo knew the business opportunities hidden within all this.

Unfortunately, he had no capital right now.

If this collaboration with Yuan Wanqing could significantly raise his royalty payments, and if he could continue collaborating on songs afterward, he might have a chance to buy a commercial storefront nearby before the subway lines were finalized.

After his rebirth, he didn't seek much—just enough to buy a few apartments before prices peaked, then live comfortably as a landlord for the rest of his life.

The only problem now is that the period from 2014 to 2018 was Yuhang City's—and the nation's—final golden wave of property prices.

Once this window closes, the real estate market will truly collapse.

Later, he might not even find anyone willing to take over his properties.

And the most awkward thing is that Li Luo only managed to get into university in 2017.

Before that, he was still an underage Gao Zhongsheng.

Too many constraints limited his ability to act.

Even if he had a large sum of money now, he couldn't directly buy property—he'd have to find a way to convince his guardians, his parents, and use their identities to qualify for purchase.

Just thinking about it was a hassle.

"What are you thinking about?"

Xu Youyu, noticing how he kept glancing at roadside shops and fell into silent thought, asked curiously.

"Nothing." Li Luo shook his head. "I was just thinking, if all these storefronts were mine, I could just collect rent every month and lie back—sounds pretty nice."

Xu Youyu: "... You really have lofty dreams."

"Don't ever buy property yourself," Li Luo glanced at her, warning, "and don't invest in stocks or anything else—avoid it entirely if you can."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu blinked, confused by his sudden advice.

But Li Luo remembered that in her previous life, after earning big money from writing, she always loved investing.

Besides investing in his Short Drama, she had tried stocks, investing in hot pot restaurants, investing in municipal bonds, and more.

She never made money from any of it.

Basically, every investment lost.

Even the municipal bond that had been profitable for over a decade collapsed under her "investment genius" buff, dragged down by real estate debt and defaulted outright.

The hot pot restaurant lasted longer, but eventually closed after being crushed by the flood of chain hot pot shops—not a pretty end.

Fortunately, the three arrived at the crossroad quickly, giving Xu Youyu no more time to ponder—they had barely reached the spot when they spotted Ying Chanxi walking from the school gate, backpack on her back.

Ying Chanxi had been walking slowly, but when she saw Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng beside Xu Youyu, she froze, then broke into a run, stopping only at the crossroad.

"Senior, Zhusheng~" Ying Chanxi waited for the green light, then ran over to the three, waving her hand, "Why are you two back so early?"

"Recording went fast—we finished and came back," Li Luo answered first, to prevent Yan Zhusheng from saying something wrong.

After speaking, Li Luo reached out and yanked Ying Chanxi's backpack off her shoulder, slinging it onto his own to carry it for her.

Ying Chanxi felt her shoulders lighten, turned to see Li Luo carrying her pink backpack, and couldn't help but smile slightly—then quickly suppressed it.

She then hugged Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu's arms on either side and headed toward the market: "Let's go buy groceries."

Li Luo followed behind, carrying her pink backpack, strolling slowly toward the market, watching the three slender figures ahead—quite pleasing to the eye.

Ying Chanxi, because of class, had simply tied her hair into a low ponytail at the back of her head, clinging to her neck and upper back, ending just below her neck.

Yan Zhusheng habitually wore a high ponytail, which bounced with each step, tapping against her back.

Xu Youyu also tied her hair up at school, but always let it down when she got home—now her long hair fell loosely over her shoulders, looking fuller than when tied up.

The four walked together to the market, bought the dishes they all liked with ease, returned home, and Li Luo carried the groceries into the kitchen to start cooking.

Ying Chanxi told Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng to sit comfortably in the living room, then went to her bedroom to fetch Pikachu and Doraemon, placing them in their hands to prove how much she loved them.

She then turned and entered the kitchen, put on an apron with Li Luo, and helped with the cooking.

In the living room, Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng turned on the TV and watched, chatting idly.

"Zhusheng."

"Hmm?"

"I have a question," Xu Youyu hugged Doraemon, curious. "If a girl who's deeply passionate about music meets a boy with extraordinary musical talent, they hit it off and become soulmates."

"But this boy already has a girlfriend. You have some feelings for him, but you don't want to ruin his relationship."

"Yet you two often spend time alone due to work or other reasons, and it's hard to control your thoughts."

"What would you do in such a situation?"

Yan Zhusheng blinked, tilting her head: "What do you mean, what would I do?"

"I mean…" Xu Youyu rubbed her chin, struggling to describe, "you like him, you want to be with him, but someone else got there first. What should you do?"

"Why can't three people be together?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously.

"Ah…?" Xu Youyu was stunned by the question. "You really think that way?"

"I don't know," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "Why are you asking this question, senior?"

"Ahahaha… just curious."

Actually, she'd hit a roadblock while writing recently.

Previously, Xu Youyu thought Yan Zhusheng's character concept was interesting, so he couldn't resist adding a female side character who was a musical prodigy into his novel.

But he accidentally went too far and couldn't stop himself—the male lead and this female side character seemed to be developing dangerous overtones.

Yet many readers loved this female character, while another group felt it would betray the girlfriend.

So both sides were arguing fiercely.

This had left Xu Youyu feeling frustrated lately, wondering if he could get a useful answer straight from the character's real-life prototype.

But… it looked like he wouldn't get any good answer after all.

"So why can't they all be together?" Yan Zhusheng blinked and added, "I read a novel once where the male lead had three girlfriends."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu hadn't expected Yan Zhusheng had this taste. "What novel did you read?"

"This one," Yan Zhusheng pulled out her phone and eagerly shared it with Xu Youyu. "It's great."

Li Luo hadn't told her to keep quiet about him writing novels, but he hadn't told her she could share it either.

Thinking this, Yan Zhusheng happily began her evangelism.

But when Xu Youyu saw the book's title page, she instantly felt her face freeze.

This damn thing was written by Li Luo!

Xu Youyu cast a suspicious glance at Li Luo's back in the kitchen, wondering if he'd told Yan Zhusheng.

But logically, if Yan Zhusheng knew, Ying Chanxi should've known too.

Or did Ying Chanxi already know?

Was Li Luo just hiding it from her alone?

Living under the same roof but being treated differently—it made Xu Youyu feel a little upset.

Of course, she understood: after all, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi were close, while she was just their senior—there was bound to be some distance.

"So you've read this book?" Xu Youyu asked curiously.

"I have," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "There are three female leads—one's exactly the musical prodigy you mentioned. Why don't you take a look?"

Xu Youyu twitched her lips: "... Alright, I'll check it out when I have time."

In truth, Xu Youyu had already read the latest chapters.

That bastard Li Luo had written a male lead who was a total scumbag—juggling three girls, turning himself into a master of time management.

All three female leads were still clueless; readers were screaming for a harem showdown, but Li Luo refused to write it—only occasionally letting two of them appear together, teasing readers into burning curiosity, then skipping ahead.

Xu Youyu admitted she couldn't handle Li Luo's approach.

"What are you two talking about?"

Li Luo stepped out of the kitchen with a dish, placing it on the dining table, and saw Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu whispering to each other.

"Nothing," Yan Zhusheng shook her head.

Xu Youyu nodded along.

Both silently dropped the previous topic, saying nothing to Li Luo.