Chapter 203

At three-thirty in the afternoon, Li Luo and Xu Youyu went out together to buy groceries.

On the way to buy groceries, he called Yan Zhusheng and asked her to come over for dinner in the evening.

As a result, the cook received another call from Yan Zhusheng; the moment the phone rang, the cook already knew she wouldn't need to work that evening.

Yet at three-thirty, Li Luo and Xu Youyu hadn't finished shopping when he received a call from Yan Zhusheng.

"Hello? What's up?"

"I'm here," Yan Zhusheng said on the other end. "Isn't anyone home?"

"... My senior and I are still shopping," Li Luo said, dumbfounded. "How'd you get here so fast? It's not even dinner time yet."

"I've got nothing to do at home," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "I came right over after you called."

"Then wait by the door for a bit," Li Luo said. "We're almost done shopping—we'll be back right away."

"Yan Zhusheng's here?" Xu Youyu asked as soon as he hung up.

"Yeah," Li Luo nodded. "Let's buy one more fish and head back."

The two bought a fish and immediately headed home.

A dozen minutes later, they saw Yan Zhusheng outside apartment 1502.

Yan Zhusheng was crouched sideways by the door, holding her phone, seemingly absorbed in whatever she was watching.

Hearing the elevator doors open, she turned to see Li Luo and Xu Youyu stepping out, then immediately stood up, trotted over to Li Luo, and took the plastic bags from his hands.

Li Luo freed his hands, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door.

"You can watch TV for now," Li Luo told Yan Zhusheng, then turned to Xu Youyu. "Senior, come help me in the kitchen."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng blinked, stared at Li Luo for a moment, saw he had nothing more to say, and obediently sat down on the sofa.

Then she turned her head again to watch Li Luo, and when she saw him disappear into the kitchen, she sighed slightly, turned back, and picked up the remote to turn on the TV.

Xu Youyu followed him into the kitchen, put on an apron, and helped wash vegetables.

She wasn't allowed to chop.

Li Luo had once asked Xu Youyu to chop, but the way she held the knife was downright frightening—he feared she'd slice off her own fingers, so afterward he only let her wash vegetables.

"I could learn, you know," Xu Youyu washed vegetables, handed them to Li Luo as she finished, watching him swiftly and neatly dice them on the cutting board, her eyes eager. "Just teach me."

"Teaching you would be a waste of time."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"No, I mean, we only need one person who can cook at home—no need to trouble you, Senior," Li Luo laughed. "Besides, it's usually Chanxi who helps, and you only come by occasionally."

"I think you're just stingy," Xu Youyu huffed. "Chanxi's chopping skills are pretty good—didn't you teach her?"

"My mom taught her," Li Luo said. "She's been eating at my house since she was little, always helping in the kitchen—over time, she picked it up."

"Chanxi's that capable?" Xu Youyu was surprised. "Then why can't I learn it just by spending time around it?"

"You can learn, sure—but first, fix the way you hold the knife. Otherwise, I'm always afraid you'll cut your fingers."

"Then teach me," Xu Youyu leaned close to Li Luo, watching his hands chop. "What's the difference?"

"It's mostly the left hand," Li Luo said. "Your fingers need to curl like a chicken's claw, pressing against the side of the blade."

"See? No matter how fast I chop, I can't cut my fingers—that's why I can slice this quickly."

"If you do it like you do—fingers flat out—you'll slice them off the moment you speed up."

"Oh~" Xu Youyu felt she understood, immediately patted Li Luo's shoulder. "Let me try! It's not that hard—I think I've got it."

"Then try cutting this carrot," Li Luo handed her the knife but kept a close eye on her. "Go slow—get used to the posture first."

"Like this?"

"Bend your fingers more—your fingertips should be behind your knuckles, so they won't get cut," Li Luo reached out, adjusted her fingers.

"Oh oh," Xu Youyu felt it, nodding eagerly, though the posture felt awkward and unnatural—chopping was awkward. "Like this? Feels like I can't apply force."

"Adjust your grip too," Li Luo stood behind Xu Youyu, placed both hands over hers, demonstrating. "See? Grip forward like this."

"Pinch the blade's end with your thumb and index finger—it's less tiring this way."

"Go on, try it."

Xu Youyu felt Li Luo's chest pressed against her back, and the kitchen's temperature seemed to rise slightly.

She softly pursed her lips, smiling inwardly—this was exactly the feeling she wanted.

Though readers had recently praised her for her vivid everyday details, she still wanted to improve.

Especially those subtle psychological nuances—unless you experienced them firsthand, you couldn't capture their flavor in words.

Fortunately, she had a perfect subject right beside her—and now she'd seized the chance.

"Hey, Li Luo."

"Hmm?"

"Can you help me again?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like this," Xu Youyu grabbed Li Luo's hands, wrapped them around her, and placed them on top of her own. "Control my hands—won't that teach me faster?"

"You've got quite the demands."

Originally, Li Luo had kept his distance, standing behind her without fully pressing against her back.

But with Xu Youyu pulling him in, he now fully embraced her—though loosely, it still looked convincingly intimate.

But that wasn't the real issue.

The kitchen wasn't cold to begin with, and after coming inside, Xu Youyu had taken off her down jacket, wearing only a sweater.

Over that, the apron she tied on—plain on Ying Chanxi—now looked like towering mountains.

And Li Luo, standing directly behind her, was perfectly positioned to view it.

It distracted him—he held her hands to guide the knife, but his chopping slowed considerably.

This made Xu Youyu slightly puzzled; she turned her head as if sensing something and glanced at Li Luo, then chuckled: "Hey, are you looking at carrots or something else?"

"Cough… don't turn your head while chopping." Li Luo said seriously, face stern.

After being tormented by Xu Youyu for several minutes, Li Luo finally escaped his senior's grasp.

Even though it was winter and the kitchen hadn't even started heating water, it was already unbearably hot.

Fortunately, after helping wash the vegetables and learning how to chop them, Xu Youyu obediently left the kitchen and no longer disturbed him, allowing Li Luo to focus entirely on cooking.

By five in the evening, the four dishes and one soup were ready; Li Luo carried them all to the dining table in the living room and said to the two people on the sofa: "Wash your hands, dinner's ready."

Xu Youyu was the first to walk into the bathroom to wash her hands.

Yan Zhusheng, however, stopped suddenly as she passed by Li Luo and said to him with serious expression: "Li Luo, I'm cold."

As she spoke, she adjusted her collar, her eyes fixed on the scarf around Li Luo's neck.

But Li Luo didn't understand her meaning; he simply said: "I'll turn up the living room air conditioner."

When Yan Zhusheng saw him actually going for the air conditioner remote, she fell silent and obediently went to wash her hands.

After dinner, Xu Youyu began clearing the table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Li Luo, meanwhile, planned to return to his bedroom and squeeze in a little writing before heading to school for evening self-study.

But Yan Zhusheng followed him into his bedroom, her eyes scanning the room, as if searching for something.

"What are you doing?" Li Luo asked, puzzled. "I'm going to write. Go wait in the living room for a bit, or help Xu Youyu wash the dishes."

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng finally couldn't hold back; she narrowed her eyes and stared at Li Luo: "You're so dumb."

Li Luo: "... Why did you suddenly insult me?"

Yan Zhusheng searched again but still couldn't find what she wanted; finally, she asked Li Luo: "Where's the scarf your mom gave me? Did you forget to take it?"

"..." Li Luo, hearing this, was momentarily speechless. "You were looking for this?"

Saying this, Li Luo walked to the bed, opened his backpack, and pulled out an orange-yellow scarf. "Here—it was supposed to be given to you at school, so I just shoved it in my bag."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng didn't reach out to take it; instead, she quietly sat down on the edge of Li Luo's bed, saying nothing.

"What's wrong? Take it." Li Luo asked, puzzled. "Why are you sitting here?"

"I'm angry."

"Heh." Li Luo looked at her expressionless face and thought it was adorable.

Seeing she refused to take the scarf, Li Luo chuckled and walked to her, gently putting the scarf around her neck himself. "How's that? Does it feel comfortable?"

"Comfortable."

"Aren't you angry?"

"I'm not angry anymore."