Chapter 194: Award Ceremony Talk Session

The living room of the Bihai Lanting apartment was quite spacious.

At this moment, Li Luo stood in the center of the living room, facing the balcony; to his left, near the kitchen, was the dining table they usually used.

To his right was a long sofa facing the wall, and Li Luo could still hear the voices of characters from the TV drama playing on the television.

Directly ahead was a long table Lin Xiuhong had specifically bought earlier.

When they needed to study together, they would gather here.

If you really wanted to find a place to hide, there truly wasn't one.

It was only after putting on the blindfold that the game gained some playability.

But for Li Luo, the blindfold merely blocked his vision.

With the soul-body enhancement of the Memory Palace, he could walk precisely, following his usual movements around the living room.

Still, to avoid being accused of cheating, Li Luo pretended to be cautious, extending both hands to feel around.

Meanwhile, the other five had already found their hiding spots.

Among them, Zhao Rongjun was the most honest—he sat on the single sofa beside the TV, hugging a pillow like a man resigned to fate, showing no intention to hide at all.

Qiao Xinyan crouched beneath the desk, deliberately pulling two chairs in front and behind to block the view.

Ying Chanxi hid behind the curtains.

Xu Youyu crawled straight under the coffee table, curling into a ball, yet still poking out his head to observe the situation.

Yan Zhusheng wasn't good at this kind of game; he simply crouched silently in the corner by the piano room door.

When the game began, Li Luo had no intention of rushing—he slowly explored the common areas first.

Holding the back of the sofa, he moved along to the desk, then, under Qiao Xinyan's tense gaze, reached the balcony curtains.

Ying Chanxi was so nervous she crouched inside the curtains, revealing only one eye, watching Li Luo pass by her side—both tense and thrilling.

But in the end, Xu Youyu was better at this game.

When Li Luo passed by the coffee table, Xu Youyu dared to stealthily extend one foot and lightly kick his shin.

This made Li Luo stop instantly.

This spot… Li Luo knew he was standing right in front of the TV, with only a coffee table beside him; to be kicked here… a simple analysis revealed exactly where the mischievous person was hiding.

Li Luo chuckled, then stopped moving altogether, beginning to feel around the coffee table.

After touching every surface above the coffee table and finding no one, he deliberately avoided touching beneath it.

Xu Youyu, hiding underneath, wore a face full of excitement, his breathing quickening as he stared intently at Li Luo's footsteps circling the table.

As time passed, Li Luo slowly crouched down and began trying to reach his hand beneath the coffee table.

At this point, according to the previously stated rules, Xu Youyu kept one leg stationary under the table, then rolled his upper body over to the other side.

Thus, Li Luo's hand met only empty air, touching only the cold floor.

This surprised Li Luo slightly.

But he quickly realized something, silently withdrew his hand, stood up, and pretended he hadn't found anyone, as if preparing to change his search area.

At this moment, the other spectators nearby couldn't help wiping away cold sweat.

Zhao Rongjun, still hugging his pillow on the single sofa, had watched Li Luo and Xu Youyu's maneuvers up close.

Fortunately, Li Luo never suspected anyone would sit on the sofa—he hadn't even reached for it; otherwise, a simple reach would have caught Zhao Rongjun outright.

It could only be said that the most dangerous place was sometimes the safest.

But just as everyone assumed Li Luo had abandoned searching under the coffee table, and Xu Youyu had crawled back underneath, Li Luo's steps away from the table suddenly changed—he launched a sudden counterattack.

"Ah!"

Xu Youyu was startled by Li Luo's left hand snapping back—he had no time to react before Li Luo's hand grabbed him firmly beneath the table.

But the next second, both the grabber and the grabbed froze silent.

Because the coffee table blocked their view, the others didn't know what had happened below—they merely sighed in relief, releasing their held breath.

"I nearly died just now," Ying Chanxi said as she walked over. "You don't know—you almost caught me. I was crouching behind the curtains, and you never even thought to feel underneath."

"And Zhao Rongjun—he's been sitting on the sofa the whole time, and you never even touched it! You missed him completely, yet went for the most tricky spot under the coffee table."

"Look at Zhusheng—she's been crouching over there, watching you and Senior Sister battle wits. It made me laugh so hard."

As Ying Chanxi happily recounted the events, Zhao Rongjun glanced between Li Luo and Xu Youyu, opening his mouth but unsure whether he'd seen correctly just now.

Li Luo silently removed his blindfold, looked down at his left hand, his eyes flickering strangely, as if slightly guilty.

Fortunately, Xu Youyu said nothing; he simply crawled out from under the coffee table, stared at Li Luo for several seconds with a knowing look, then pulled out a lipstick and handed it to him: "Here, punish me."

"Cough…" Li Luo dared not meet Xu Youyu's gaze; he grabbed the lipstick and hastily drew a careless line on her face, then immediately shoved the blindfold into Xu Youyu's hands: "Senior Sister, your turn."

"Hmph."

Xu Youyu gave a light huff, tidied her slightly disheveled clothes, put on the blindfold, and stood in the center of the living room: "Go ahead. Remember to set a timer."

"Set." Li Luo set two alarm timers on his phone, then began searching for a good hiding spot.

But before he even started looking, Ying Chanxi grabbed him and pulled him to the curtains near the balcony, pushing him in front of herself.

"Wait… isn't this a bit excessive?" Li Luo whispered in Ying Chanxi's ear. "Are you using me as a shield?"

"Oh come on, this place is safe—I'm looking out for you," Ying Chanxi giggled, forcibly dragging him into the curtains with her, the two of them squeezed tightly together.

When Yan Zhusheng saw this, she, who had been unsure where to hide, also crawled in.

"Zhusheng, why are you coming in?" Ying Chanxi froze, whispering urgently. "Three people is too many!"

"It's fine," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "I'll stand on the outside. If anyone touches, they'll hit me first—then you'll be safe."

Li Luo: "..."

Ying Chanxi: "..."

Zhao Rongjun, now lying on the long sofa instead of the single one, stared blankly at the three-person sandwich in the curtains.

Qiao Xinyan, who had hidden under the coffee table this time, peeked out her head, saw the scene by the curtains, and wore the same stunned expression as Zhao Rongjun.

Then the two of them—one under the coffee table, the other lying on the sofa—exchanged a glance, both at a loss for words.

Qiao Xinyan couldn't help but smile, pointed toward the curtain, and covered her mouth, stifling a giggle.

Zhao Rongjun spread his hands helplessly, signaling he was just as speechless.

At that moment, the phone's 30-second alarm rang.

Xu Youyu chuckled, turned off the phone alarm, and launched into action: "Wait and see—I'll cut through the chaos with a swift blade and catch you both right away!"

Probably because she had hidden under the coffee table last time, Xu Youyu assumed no one would copy her, so she didn't check under it.

She did pat the single sofa, didn't find Zhao Rongjun, and assumed he had hidden well this time—so she didn't touch the nearby sectional sofa.

Qiao Xinyan and Zhao Rongjun narrowly escaped detection.

But the three behind the curtain were in trouble.

As Xu Youyu groped forward, she gradually neared the curtain.

Yan Zhusheng, standing farthest out, couldn't help stepping back half a step—and ended up squeezed into Li Luo's arms.

Ying Chanxi, deepest inside, was crushed hard against Li Luo's back, her front pressed flush against his back.

Li Luo felt trapped between front and back, frozen in place, unsure how to react.

When Xu Youyu finally reached the curtain and began groping inward, Yan Zhusheng instinctively crouched down—her occiput sliding down Li Luo's chest.

Fortunately, Li Luo reacted quickly and crouched too, catching Yan Zhusheng's head before disaster struck.

Xu Youyu's hand brushed just above Li Luo's head, failing to reach Ying Chanxi at the very back.

But as Li Luo crouched, he felt the back of his head land softly on something like a plush meadow.

When he realized what it was, he had no idea how to respond.

Ying Chanxi's face was flushed crimson.

But Xu Youyu's threat was right there—she dared not move, so she held her breath, clutched Li Luo's head tightly, and stared nervously at Xu Youyu outside the curtain.

Thus, a peculiar scene formed inside the curtain.

Yan Zhusheng crouched at the front, her whole body leaning into Li Luo's arms.

Li Luo crouched halfway, his head resting against Ying Chanxi's chest.

The three of them formed a stepped height gradient, perfectly evading Xu Youyu's first probe.

Unfortunately, the space behind the curtain was so limited that when Xu Youyu pressed forward again, her hand hadn't reached Ying Chanxi yet—when she felt her foot kick something.

She instinctively reached downward—and touched a strand of smooth, long hair.

She lifted her blindfold and looked—when she saw the scene before her, she froze in shock.

"What… are the three of you doing?"

"Phew…" Li Luo quickly pulled Yan Zhusheng up as soon as he saw her caught, then rose himself and escaped from behind the curtain, "It's all because of them—they shoved me right in the middle."

"How was I supposed to know Zhusheng would come running in too?" Ying Chanxi sighed, rubbing her temple.

But Yan Zhusheng said seriously, "I felt your side was safer."

"You three are ridiculous," Xu Youyu muttered, her eyebrow twitching. She picked up her lipstick and drew a line on Yan Zhusheng's cheek. "Now it's your turn, Zhusheng."

"Oh."

Yan Zhusheng nodded and took the blindfold.

But for some reason—perhaps because her head was smaller—she felt the blindfold was loose.

After putting it on, a gap still remained at the bottom.

As long as she wanted, she could see everything ahead through the gap.

So then.

When the 30-second alarm rang.

Yan Zhusheng first pretended to wander around the living room, then walked straight toward the sofa.

The next second.

Amid everyone's shouts, Yan Zhusheng tripped lightly on the coffee table's leg and tumbled onto the single sofa.

Inspired by Zhao Rongjun's "the most dangerous place is the safest" philosophy, Li Luo had simply sat there boldly.

He was immediately tackled full-force by Yan Zhusheng.

"Ouch…" Li Luo winced from the impact, holding Yan Zhusheng's body as he sucked in a sharp breath, "Are… are you okay?"

"Mmm…" Yan Zhusheng clung tightly to Li Luo, motionless for a long moment—until the blindfold was removed, when she seemed to suddenly realize and scrambled off him, "I bumped my foot."