Chapter 214: Ying Chanxi Checks the Room in the Morning

2:30 a. m. on the 2nd.

After his alarm went off, Li Luo struggled out of bed, squeezed into the bathroom to wash up with his parents, then went to help at the shop.

During a break in preparing breakfast, Li Luo casually said: "If I ever make a fortune, you two shouldn't work so hard at this anymore—just rent out the shop and collect rent, it'd be much easier."

Lin Xiuhong shook her head repeatedly, and Li Guohong smiled and said: "Don't get cocky just because you've made some money—writing novels is still too unstable; we're here to back you up."

"No matter how much or how little you earn, your parents are always behind you."

"Come talk about this only when you've made so much money you can't possibly spend it all."

Li Luo smiled helplessly and didn't press further.

He knew very well himself: since his rebirth, whether his novel-writing or song-copying ventures, everything had now firmly gotten on track.

If he wanted, he could now earn enough to support the whole family and live a comfortable, fulfilling life—no problem at all.

But his parents' perspective on the matter was clearly vastly different from his.

To them, stability came first.

Moreover, they unconsciously avoided even considering the option of "giving up the breakfast shop."

After all, if they decided to stop running the shop, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong might not know what else to do.

Letting them do nothing would probably just make them restless.

They'd been running this breakfast shop for over twenty years—suddenly quitting was out of the question.

Neither of them could adapt to it.

But Li Luo had only said it in passing; he didn't expect them to accept it all at once—slowly was fine.

Right now, he only came to help out at the shop during holidays, easing some of his parents' burden.

By noon, Ying Chanxi hadn't found Li Luo at home, so she wandered downstairs and indeed spotted him at the shop.

After eating the stir-fried noodles made by Li Luo's uncle, Ying Chanxi asked: "Do you have anything this afternoon? Can we continue the game from yesterday?"

After all, she was flying out on the 4th and cherished every moment she could spend with Li Luo.

But Li Luo said: "I'm going back to catch up on sleep—I'll find you after I wake up."

"Oh, okay." Ying Chanxi remembered Li Luo had gotten up early to help at the shop—he probably hadn't slept enough yet—so she nodded thoughtfully, "I'll head home and do some homework first."

"Huh?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "You haven't finished your winter break homework? I already did."

"I finished the regular assignments long ago," Ying Chanxi said. "But the competition class still has tons of practice problems, and we've got a special QQ group for it—Teacher Sun occasionally posts new problems for us to solve."

"... That really is tough."

Li Luo's lip twitched—he was glad he hadn't foolishly joined the competition club back then; it would've been such a waste of time.

After all, his goal was only Qianjiang University.

Although this 985 university ranked highly nationally, roughly top five with hopes of top three, since it was within the province, it offered some relative advantages to candidates from Qianjiang Province.

It was just like how Beijing applicants had an easier time getting into those two schools, or how Shanghai applicants found it easier to get into Fudan or Jiaotong.

Of course, this was only relatively speaking.

But for Li Luo's current academic level, as long as he maintained it, admission to Qianjiang University was practically guaranteed.

He didn't really need competition awards to boost his chances.

After all, his purpose in attending school differed from other students'.

They aimed for a good major and a decent job later.

Li Luo was simply here to enjoy student life, making up for the days he'd never properly experienced in his past life.

He himself was curious: what real differences existed between an elite university and the ordinary junior college he'd attended before?

At least since entering Fuyi High, Li Luo had clearly felt how vast the gap was—even just between a provincial key school and a district key school.

Activities like clubs and the New Year's Eve gala, which he'd experienced this semester, were unthinkable at his former high school.

Yet despite spending extra time on clubs and the New Year's Eve gala, Fuyi High students remained outstanding, without any hindrance to their high scores.

But Li Luo also understood this had everything to do with teaching quality and student intake.

Fuyi High in Yinjiang District essentially operated in a suction mode—over ninety percent of the district's top students were here.

With such high-quality students gathered together, a superior learning environment and atmosphere naturally formed.

The school and teachers' job was simply to maintain this atmosphere.

Thus, the good became better, and the weak became weaker.

"Then we're heading home."

After eating their fill, Li Luo told his parents and left with Ying Chanxi.

Each returned to their own home; Li Luo went inside, listened to the sounds outside, and confirmed Ying Chanxi had entered her house.

Then he reopened the door, checked the time, rushed downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the airport.

…

At home, Yan Zhusheng ate the meal prepared by the cook, finding it bland.

His assessment: not as tasty as Li Luo's cooking.

But Yuan Wanqing ate it with relish, sensing no significant difference.

After all, the cook had originally been chosen by her, so the flavor naturally suited her palate best.

"Have you packed your luggage?" Yuan Wanqing asked.

"Mm."

"What are you thinking about?" Yuan Wanqing noticed her daughter was daydreaming and asked.

Yan Zhusheng shook her head: "Nothing."

"Then rest a bit after eating—we'll get ready to leave."

"Okay."

At 1 p. m., Yan Zhusheng boarded a chauffeured car with Yuan Wanqing and sped toward Yuhang City Airport.

After roughly forty minutes of driving, they arrived at the airport without incident.

After checking in at the counter, Yuan Wanqing wanted to get through security as soon as possible.

But Yan Zhusheng pulled out his vibrating phone, glanced at it, and whispered to Yuan Wanqing, "Mom, I've got a stomachache—can I go to the bathroom?"

"Oh, go ahead," Yuan Wanqing nodded, sitting down on a nearby seat. "I'll wait here for you."

Yan Zhusheng blinked, clutched his stomach, and walked toward the restroom.

But as Yuan Wanqing lowered her head to check her phone, Yan Zhusheng twisted through the crowd and vanished along the path to the restroom.

At that moment, Li Luo stood beside the airport security checkpoint, at the entrance to the KFC.

Seeing the meal prices at least 50% higher than outside, Li Luo clicked his tongue twice.

In his memory, in his past life, he had never boarded a plane until he was twenty-five.

Only after meeting Xu Youyu, writing novels with her, and finally earning some spare cash did he travel across the country with her.

He had flown a few times.

Later, when his novels flopped and the Short Drama lost money, he never flew again.

After Yan Zhusheng was diagnosed with heart disease and flew abroad, he didn't go to the airport to see him off.

He never expected that in this life, he'd end up at the airport again—to see Yan Zhusheng off.

As he recalled these things, a figure rushed up behind Li Luo.

Yan Zhusheng, breathing lightly, braked sharply and gently bumped into Li Luo's back, sending him stumbling.

Li Luo turned around and laughed: "Why'd you deliberately bump into me?"

"The airport floor is slippery," Yan Zhusheng blinked, his spirits lifting the moment he saw Li Luo.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're not on your period today, right?"

"Nope," Yan Zhusheng tilted his head. "Why?"

"Nothing." Li Luo shook his head, then said to the KFC staff, "Two ice cream cones, please."

Soon after, Li Luo received the two ice cream cones from the staff.

Yan Zhusheng reached for one, but Li Luo pulled it away: "Who said I was giving you one? Can't I eat both myself?"

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng narrowed his eyes: "Li Luo, you're bullying me again—you just asked if I was on my period."

"I was just being considerate, asking politely."

"I want an ice cream cone," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Please?"

Li Luo: "..."

Who starts with the ultimate move?

That's too much.

Li Luo sighed and handed over the ice cream cone: "Fine, eat it."

Yan Zhusheng looked at him, then didn't reach out—instead, he lowered his head and lightly licked the creamy white ice cream.

Licked again.

Still wouldn't take it.

"You're like a little greedy cat," Li Luo laughed. "Just take it yourself."

After a few more licks, Yan Zhusheng finally took the ice cream cone, holding it with both hands, sipping slowly.

"Where's your mom?"

"Over there," Yan Zhusheng pointed, the check-in counter blocking the view.

"Should I say hello to your aunt?"

"N-No, don't," Yan Zhusheng whispered. "I said I was coming to use the bathroom."

"Oh~ Yan Zhusheng, you've gone bad," Li Luo narrowed his eyes. "You've learned to lie."

"You taught me," Yan Zhusheng said. "So it's still your fault."

The two found a nearby seat, sat down, and chatted idly while eating their ice cream cones.

After a few minutes, the ice cream cones were finished.

Li Luo pulled a pair of fingerless gloves from his pocket and shoved them into Yan Zhusheng's arms. "Bought them on a whim."

"How do I wear them?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, pretending ignorance again.

Li Luo rolled his eyes but took Yan Zhusheng's hand and slipped the gloves on: "I checked the weather where you're going—it's much colder than Yuhang City. Gloves will help."

"Oh."

After putting on the gloves, the two sat quietly.

At this point, the conversation had run dry, and silence fell.

Yet even without speaking, Yan Zhusheng savored the quiet.

Until Li Luo checked the time and said, "You've been in the bathroom almost half an hour—time to go back. Otherwise your mom will think you fell into the toilet."

"Alright," Yan Zhusheng stood reluctantly and walked toward Yuan Wanqing's seat.

Li Luo followed beside him.

After passing several check-in counters and turning a corner, they could see Yuan Wanqing's figure.

But when they reached that spot, Yan Zhusheng suddenly stopped and turned to face Li Luo.

"What's wrong?" Li Luo asked. "Go on."

"Open your arms."

"Huh?" Li Luo looked puzzled, then slowly opened his arms.

The next second, Yan Zhusheng stepped forward and gave him a light hug.

When Li Luo came to his senses, Yan Zhusheng had already turned and run toward Yuan Wanqing, spun around to wave at him, then returned to stand before Yuan Wanqing.

Watching the mother and daughter's backs disappear into the security checkpoint, Li Luo felt his phone vibrate a few times.

He pulled it out and glanced at it, then smiled.

【Yan Zhusheng】: That's a foreign custom—good friends seeing each other off at the airport always hug before they leave.

【Yan Zhusheng】: It's proof we're good friends.

【Yan Zhusheng】: You didn't understand before, but next time you'll have to take the initiative.

【Li Luo】: So this time I learned something new from you?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Don't thank me—I taught you for free.