Chapter 184: Same Bed

More than half an hour later, the time had reached eleven at night.

Li Luo chuckled as he picked up the lipstick Xu Youyu had prepared and drew a "o" on Ying Chanxi's soft pink cheek.

On Ying Chanxi's right cheek, a "井" character was already drawn, and the newly drawn "o" sat precisely in the center of the "井."

It was clearly a game of tic-tac-toe.

"You're so perverse," Xu Youyu said, squinting at Li Luo; her own left cheek bore a "井" character, missing only its final stroke.

After finishing Ying Chanxi's face, Li Luo grinned at Xu Youyu: "Senior, your turn."

"Hmph, hurry up!" Xu Youyu leaned her face forward, letting Li Luo complete the tic-tac-toe grid.

After the penalty round ended, Ying Chanxi puffed out her cheeks angrily and began shuffling the cards.

Xu Youyu, beside her, looked utterly disgruntled: "What kind of luck is this? You win every single round?"

For seven or eight rounds straight, this guy hadn't lost once.

Half of those rounds, he'd won as landlord, sweeping both of them clean—drawing one stroke on each of their faces.

"What do you call that luck?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even have a single Big or Small Joker in my hand, yet I still won. That's skill. Understand?"

"Again! I don't believe it!" Xu Youyu rolled up her sleeves, determined to win at least one round against Li Luo to avenge the tic-tac-toe on her face.

Unfortunately, Li Luo never gave her a chance.

With the help of his Memory Palace, he perfectly memorized every card, and by analyzing the cards they played, he could deduce exactly what cards remained in their hands.

Under these conditions, it was impossible for him to lose.

For Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu, if they truly wanted to learn card memory and prediction, their intelligence would've allowed them to match Li Luo.

But they were just playing for fun, never intending to think hard—never realizing this guy was secretly cheating.

The three of them played cards while snacking, the TV in the living room broadcasting a drama.

As midnight approached, one side of Ying Chanxi's and Xu Youyu's faces were completely covered in tic-tac-toe grids.

Li Luo then turned to the other side, drawing a little pig on Ying Chanxi's cheek and a tiny turtle on Xu Youyu's.

In the final round, Li Luo finally had a change of heart—he deliberately claimed landlord and then deliberately lost.

The instant Xu Youyu played her last card, she leapt off the sofa, cheering wildly in the living room.

"Won! Won! Finally won!"

Xu Youyu slapped Ying Chanxi's hand; the two nearly wept with joy, hugging each other in triumph.

"Give me the lipstick!" Once her excitement settled, Xu Youyu snatched the lipstick that had never left Li Luo's side, smiling sweetly at him as she hummed, clearly plotting something.

"Cough…"

Li Luo had merely felt a bit embarrassed, having won the entire night, so he'd let up at the end.

But seeing Xu Youyu's mischievous expression, he instinctively stood up from the sofa, trying to escape.

The next second, Xu Youyu shoved him back onto the sofa and shouted to Ying Chanxi: "Chanxi, come! Hold him down—don't let this brat run!"

"Coming, coming!" Ying Chanxi, having been simmering with resentment all night from losing to Li Luo, sprinted over and plopped half her body onto him, pinning him in place.

"Hey hey… revenge begets revenge—when will it end?" Li Luo, pinned beneath Ying Chanxi's weight with his shoulders held fast, could only grin helplessly. "Senior, go easy—I still need to set off fireworks. Don't waste time."

"No rush," Xu Youyu smiled, the lipstick hovering in midair as she pondered what to draw on Li Luo's face. "Just sit still. The rest is up to me."

With that, Xu Youyu fell into deep thought, considering what to paint on Li Luo.

Seeing she had no intention of letting him off, Li Luo shifted tactics and patted Ying Chanxi, who was half-sitting on him.

"I won't run. I accept my loss. Just get off me."

"I don't believe you," Ying Chanxi huffed. "You've cheated before when you were little. Wait until Senior finishes drawing."

Ying Chanxi had one foot on the floor, the other on the sofa, her knee pressed against Li Luo's side, both small hands firmly on his shoulders, most of her body leaning over him.

This close proximity made her cheeks flush slightly.

But Li Luo assumed it was just from her excitement during the card game, plus the beer she'd finished—her little childhood friend being a bit tipsy was understandable.

By contrast, he and Xu Youyu had been far less restrained.

Over the past hour, Xu Youyu had downed four or five bottles of beer.

Li Luo had matched her with three cans, but felt no drunkenness—only heightened alertness.

Xu Youyu, meanwhile, seemed perfectly fine, as if she regularly sneaked drinks.

From what Li Luo knew of her, since she started writing Online Novels, every time she hit a creative block, she'd drink a little, enter that slightly intoxicated state, and inspiration would gush out like a mountain spring.

It was much the same now.

After a moment's thought, Xu Youyu, emboldened by alcohol, grinned as she popped open the lipstick, stepped behind Ying Chanxi, and leaned close to Li Luo's face.

Watching the lipstick draw nearer, Li Luo resigned himself, closing his eyes—then felt the lipstick begin to move across his skin.

Not just his cheeks, but his eyelids… and finally, even his lips weren't spared.

Ying Chanxi, pressed atop him, watched Xu Youyu's artwork with delight, fighting back laughter.

But when she saw the lipstick reach Li Luo's lips, her expression stiffened slightly, and she whispered: "Senior… you're still going to use this lipstick, right? Painting it directly on his mouth—isn't that… a bit inappropriate?"

"No problem," Xu Youyu waved her hand. "I've barely used this lipstick. I never wear lipstick anyway. From now on, I'll use it only for card game penalties."

She'd bought this lipstick originally to describe the sensation of applying lipstick in her novel.

After trying it once, she'd never used it again.

This was, at least, putting it to good use.

After hearing Xu Youyu's words, Ying Chanxi relaxed slightly and resumed admiring Li Luo's face.

Li Luo's lips were now fully coated in bright red, with Xu Youyu extending the color outward at both corners into upward-curving arcs.

On both cheeks, she'd painted two round red circles; his nose was also painted red.

Her lipstick had traced eyeliner along his eyelids, making his eyes slightly upturned.

From a glance, he looked like a comical clown.

"Hahaha~" Xu Youyu was extremely satisfied with his creation; after finishing it, he could no longer hold back his laughter.

After glancing a few times, Ying Chanxi also burst into laughter, leaning against Li Luo and shaking with mirth.

Li Luo opened his eyes with a blank expression, sighed, and patted Ying Chanxi's shoulder: "Satisfied now? After you finish painting, we'll wash our faces, then head downstairs to set off fireworks."

"Why the rush?" Ying Chanxi climbed off him and grinned. "You don't wash yet—I'm going to get the camera."

Li Luo: "…?"

Soon after, Ying Chanxi brought over the instant camera Li Luo had given her, then pulled Xu Youyu and Li Luo to sit on the sofa, one on each side.

"Ready? Say cheese."

After trying several angles, Ying Chanxi took several photos, capturing the three of them in their current "grotesque" states, then nodded in satisfaction.

"I should've painted something else," Li Luo muttered, looking at the artwork on their faces. "I'm just too gentle."

"Hmph," Xu Youyu snorted. "Someone won so many rounds before—when she held the lipstick, there wasn't a trace of gentleness. I still remember that smug, triumphant grin on her face."

"Enough, enough," Li Luo coughed twice and rose from the sofa. "New Year's is about to begin. Let's wash our faces and head downstairs."

"Do we need to clean up here?" Xu Youyu asked, glancing at the scattered beer cans and snack wrappers.

"We'll tidy up tomorrow," Li Luo said. "Today, being happy matters most."

Saying this, Li Luo returned to his room to wash his face.

Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu also went into the bathroom down the hallway.

A few minutes later, the three of them washed their faces clean, picked up the fireworks Li Luo had bought, and prepared to head downstairs.

Watching Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu swiftly return to their rooms, change into thick sweaters and down jackets, then slip on thermal underwear and cotton pants, and gather at the door in just two or three minutes, Li Luo fell into deep thought.

"So if we're going to set off fireworks, you two were going to change clothes and come downstairs anyway, right?" Li Luo's mouth twitched. "Then why didn't you both come down together when we went to buy things earlier?"

"Cough, cough," Xu Youyu patted Li Luo's shoulder. "Sometimes, it's better not to think too clearly. Rarely being confused is what lets you keep living. Don't you agree?"

"Let's go," Ying Chanxi wrapped her own scarf around her neck, then picked up Li Luo's scarf from the sofa and helped him put it on. "Don't overthink it. You said it yourself—today, being happy matters most."

Li Luo stared blankly and let out two dry laughs: "You've left me no room to say anything—every argument's already been claimed by you two."