Chapter 210

In the evening, after putting away the instruments in the activity room, everyone briefly scattered at the gym entrance, returning to their classrooms to pack their bags, agreeing to meet at the school gate.

Xie Shuchen walked all the way back to the fourth floor of the Grade One teaching building, entered Class One, picked up his already-packed backpack, and turned to look at Liu Shaowen beside him.

For some reason, Xie Shuchen chuckled twice, then said to Liu Shaowen: "Hey, you got your phone on you?"

"What for?" Liu Shaowen eyed him suspiciously. "I remember you brought your own phone. Why ask me?"

"So you've got it." Xie Shuchen chuckled. "I don't mean anything by it—I just feel sorry for you, so later, make sure you check your phone. I'll send you something nice."

"What the hell?" Liu Shaowen frowned, then suddenly understood. "You're not talking about some spicy pics, are you?"

"What do you take me for?" Xie Shuchen snorted, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the classroom. "Just wait. Don't beg me to send more later."

"Hah." Liu Shaowen smirked. "Keep dreaming."

When he reached the third floor, Xie Shuchen immediately spotted Ying Chanxi waiting there.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had just finished packing their bags and stepped out of their classroom.

The four of them gathered together and walked down the stairs toward the school gate.

A few minutes later, including Xu Youyu, Shao Youpeng, and Niu Qingling, the seven of them were all assembled.

As a senior in Gao Er and the president of the rock club, and the one who organized this dinner, Niu Qingling led the way and said to everyone:

"The reserved hot pot restaurant is next to Qianjiang University—it's pretty good, but the location isn't great, so it's usually not crowded."

"That Sichuan-Chongqing old-style hot pot place?" Xu Youyu asked. "The one on Xijie? I went there once with Zhusheng."

"Yes." Niu Qingling nodded. "The taste should still be good, right?"

"It's really good," Xu Youyu nodded. "And it's definitely not crowded—no waiting."

Xie Shuchen and Shao Youpeng didn't care what they ate—they were just here for the company.

Now that they finally had a chance to have dinner with their goddess, they couldn't help but start chatting enthusiastically.

Li Luo, unusually quiet, walked silently from the gate of Fuyi Middle School, past the Qianjiang University campus and the dormitory zone, his expression thoughtful.

Ningshan Avenue, in this northern part of Yinjiang District near the river, is the only east-west thoroughfare besides the Riverside Road.

To the north lies the Qianjiang University campus and Riverside Road; further north is the rolling Yinjiang River beside Qianjiang Road.

To the south are the Qianjiang University dormitory zone and the foot of Ningshan Mountain.

Walking from Fuyi Middle School toward Qianjiang University, passing through this stretch of Ningshan Avenue before the university's south gate, leads to Xijie.

If you turn left, you enter a tunnel cutting through Ningshan Mountain, leading straight to Yinjiang District's only subway station—Nanzhan.

If, at the intersection just before reaching Nanzhan, you turn left onto Qiu Shan Street, walk a bit further, and you arrive at Li Luo and Ying Chanxi's junior high school, Yucai Middle School.

Further ahead lies Jincheng Community.

Among these locations—including Qiu Shan Street, one intermediate intersection, and the current Xijie entrance—subway lines will eventually open, with stations built.

Qiu Shan Street, for instance, is already an established commercial zone; compared to the quietness of Xijie, its return on investment would clearly be lower.

So after following Niu Qingling into Xijie, Li Luo's gaze settled on the shops here.

Then he looked across to the large vacant lot opposite Xijie.

That plot of land was said to have been acquired by the real estate company behind Tianjie.

But for some reason, after laying the foundation, construction stopped entirely.

Many assumed the project would be abandoned.

Who could have foreseen that in late September 2015, Yinjiang District's new subway line was officially confirmed—with its final stop set right at the Xijie entrance?

Thinking of this, Li Luo looked at the Sichuan-Chongqing old-style hot pot restaurant before him and recalled it in his mind.

After the subway and Tianjie were built, this restaurant became one of the few beneficiaries on this street.

In Li Luo's memory, in his past life, Xu Youyu had brought him here several times to eat hot pot—sometimes it was so busy they had to wait in line.

Not like now, where even on a Saturday evening during dinner hour, the restaurant wasn't half full.

Qianjiang University's main campus moved to this part of Yinjiang District in 2007.

When it was first built, the marketing for the shops along Xijie used Qianjiang University as a selling point, claiming university students would drive consumption.

The result?

Ningshan Avenue did see traffic, but Xijie only got a sip of business on weekends—on regular days, it barely got even a drop.

This was purely a matter of foot traffic.

After all, Ningshan Avenue lay sandwiched between the main campus and the dormitory zone, with the most students passing through daily.

But Xijie had nothing to draw people in.

Only after the subway station and Tianjie were built did it become a new traffic hub.

"What are you looking at?" Ying Chanxi, walking behind Li Luo, saw him pause at the entrance and waved her hand in front of him. "What's so interesting about this shop sign?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if this Sichuan-Chongqing hot pot is authentic," Li Luo smiled, shook his head, and followed Ying Chanxi into the restaurant.

As for authenticity, Li Luo could only say that foreign cuisine, once it reached Yuhang City, inevitably lost some of its original flavor.

Especially Sichuan-Chongqing hot pot.

In the past, Li Luo thought the extra-spicy here was already intensely hot—most people in Yuhang couldn't handle that level of spice.

But in his past life, when he traveled to Sichuan-Chongqing with Xu Youyu and tasted their mild spice, he realized how vast the gap was in their understanding of "mild."

Inside the hot pot restaurant, the owner warmly greeted them and seated them at a shared window table.

Two four-person hot pot tables were pushed together, with one pot on each side.

Niu Qingling asked: "Who here can handle the most spice?"

The two boys immediately raised their hands, claiming they could eat plenty of spice.

But Ying Chanxi and the others exchanged glances and all shook their heads.

So Niu Qingling directed everyone to sit: Xie Shuchen and Shao Youpeng took seats beside the left pot, while everyone else sat near the right.

"Left side gets a spicy pot, right side gets a clear broth pot," Niu Qingling said. "That way, everyone's tastes are covered."

At this moment, Li Luo sat at the left seat of the right table, while Ying Chanxi sat in the corner to his right.

Opposite them were Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu.

To Li Luo's left was Xie Shuchen; across from them were Niu Qingling and Shao Youpeng.

The two good buddies had no such thoughts—after all, just being out to eat with Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu was already great; they didn't dare dream of sitting beside them.

Xie Shuchen, even more excited, quietly pulled out his phone, snapped a photo of the table, then found Liu Shaowen's QQ and sent it over.

【Xie Shuchen】: No need to thank me—even though the hot pot hasn't started yet, I already feel it's delicious.

【Liu Shaowen】: What the hell? Why are you sending me photos when you're out eating?

【Xie Shuchen】: Guess who's sitting to my right?

【Liu Shaowen】: Who?

【Xie Shuchen】: Li Luo. Our rock club went out for dinner.

【Liu Shaowen】: Pfft, so you went out to eat—why message me?

【Xie Shuchen】: Don't you remember what Ying Chanxi said after last week's exam? Guess again—who's sitting next to Li Luo?

【Liu Shaowen】:???

【Liu Shaowen】: You bastard!

【Liu Shaowen】: Showing off, are you?!

【Liu Shaowen】: Which hot pot place are you eating at?

【Liu Shaowen】: Near campus?

【Liu Shaowen】: You little brat!

【Liu Shaowen】: Talk!

Watching Liu Shaowen send over a dozen messages, Xie Shuchen felt his face twisting with laughter.

But he'd already had his fun, so he didn't reply to Liu Shaowen—let him stew.

It's said that to get close to Ying Chanxi, you must first get close to Li Luo.

That strategy was originally summed up by Liu Shaowen himself.

But you, Liu Shaowen, only met Li Luo through the literature club.

With so many members in the literature club and so few activities, your bond couldn't possibly be deep.

How does that compare to me, Xie Shuchen? In the rock club—with only a handful of people—I formed a band with Li Luo; isn't our connection solid?

So when we went out for dinner, it was only natural for Li Luo to bring along Ying Chanxi.

Thinking of this, Xie Shuchen couldn't help but silently give himself a thumbs-up for his foresight.

Li Luo had no idea what Xie Shuchen had just done.

He merely glanced around, observing the hot pot restaurant's layout and ambiance.

To be honest, it was nearly identical to how it had been in his past life—maybe just repainted, but the style remained unchanged.

And yet, this place probably earned a fortune each month now.

Compared to the packed, bustling hot pot shop of his past life, this one was clearly far inferior.

But if they just held on for two more years, once the subway was built, this hot pot shop would experience a complete turnaround.

On this street, only a handful of such shops had managed to survive.

Most owners had given up midway, missing the good timing.

As Li Luo pondered this, two hot pot broths were brought to the table.

The ingredients they ordered were also placed on the table one by one.

After mixing their own dipping sauces at the condiment station, the group returned to the table and began feasting.

Because Li Luo sat between the two tables, he could eat from both the clear broth pot and the spicy pot.

Ying Chanxi, sitting beside him, watched and quietly asked: "Is the spicy pot good?"

"It's fine—just a bit spicy."

"Then give me some."

"Here." Li Luo fished out the lamb slices he'd just dropped into the spicy pot, boiled them through, and placed them directly into Ying Chanxi's bowl.

Watching this, Xie Shuchen felt a pang of envy.

Family ties really were great—you could openly serve Ying Chanxi food like that.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng across the table reached with his chopsticks, trying to pick up a boiled beef ball from the pot.

But for some reason—perhaps his chopstick skills were poor—he struggled for a long time without success.

Li Luo, watching from across, couldn't help but smile wryly. Seeing Yan Zhusheng's gaze turn toward him, he sighed, shrugged, extended his own chopsticks, precisely plucked up the beef ball, stood up, and placed it in Yan Zhusheng's bowl.

"Why can't I pick it up?"

"Use finesse, not force—find the balance," Li Luo said. "Your chopstick technique is weak—you need more practice."

"Li Luo, add some rice cakes for me," Xu Youyu, diagonally across, pointed to the rice cakes beside Li Luo and ordered.

"Alright."

Shao Youpeng, watching Li Luo busy serving others, felt a touch of envy, and began eagerly awaiting his own chance to be asked for help with the food.

Unfortunately, most dishes had been ordered in duplicate—one for the spicy pot, one for the clear broth—so Shao Youpeng never got his chance.

But.

Just as they were nearly finished eating, Shao Youpeng's phone vibrated a few times.

He pulled it out and saw it was a message from his cousin, Shao Heqi.

【Shao Heqi】: Brother, why didn't you come home for dinner today?

Both families had bought apartments near Fuyi High School, right across from each other, and usually gathered for dinner after school.

Today was no different either.

But Shao Youyu told his family he'd eat out and didn't come home.

So after dinner, Shao Heqi curiously asked a question.

【Shao Youyu】: It's the rock club's dinner, and Xu Youyu's there—I definitely had to come.

【Shao Heqi】: Oh, no wonder. That's the Gao Er senior, right?

【Shao Youyu】: Heh, you get it. I'm definitely seizing this chance.

【Shao Heqi】: Got it.

【Shao Youyu】: By the way, weren't you pretty fond of Ying Chanxi before?

【Shao Heqi】: Yeah, so what?

【Shao Youyu】: Ying Chanxi was there today—she came with Li Luo.

【Shao Heqi】: What? Ying Chanxi was there too?

【Shao Youyu】: Yeah.

【Shao Heqi】: Where are you? Can I still make it over and set up another table?

【Shao Youyu】: That's a bit ridiculous. Besides, we're almost done eating.

【Shao Heqi】: Brother, why didn't you tell me sooner…

【Shao Youyu】: I figured since you're not even in the same class as her anymore, and you haven't talked much this semester, it's probably hopeless anyway.

【Shao Heqi】: You say that? But you're not in the same class as Senior Xu either—I'd say that's hopeless too.

【Shao Youyu】: What are you talking about!

The two brothers nearly got into an argument over this.

Fortunately, at that moment, Niu Qingling, seeing the hot pot was nearly finished, suggested: "Are you in a hurry to go home tonight? If not, let's find a place to sit a while longer?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Shao Youyu nodded eagerly. "Let's play cards or something—winter break's coming, and we might not get together again."

Xie Shuchen quickly chimed in.

After all, they'd been classmates in the band for a semester, and Li Luo had no objection—he thought for a moment and said: "How about we go to my place? Saves looking for another spot."

"Your place?" Niu Qingling looked puzzled.

Xie Shuchen and Shao Youyu beside her also turned their attention to this remark.

So then.

A few minutes later.

The group that had left the hot pot restaurant walked into the Bihai Lanting residential complex and made their way to Unit 1502.

When Niu Qingling and the others saw Ying Chanxi and the others casually slipping on the slippers by the door and pulling out spare slippers from the shoe cabinet for them, they fell silent.

"You guys… you're living together, aren't you?"