Chapter 249

After lunch, watching Chen Lu take Chen Sijia across to Grandpa San's convenience store for snacks, Li Luo sat on the balcony railing upstairs, gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, a strange sadness on his face.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes, this one."

"Alright, I'll take all of them."

Behind him, Li Xiang and Chen Yongqi whispered to each other.

"I don't usually read this kind of thing," Chen Yongqi said.

"Then what do you usually read?"

"Fan fiction of light novels, or marriage-switch stories."

"... Your tastes are a bit unusual," Li Xiang chuckled awkwardly. "This one's pretty good too—I like all the female leads."

"Then which female lead do you like most?" Ying Chanxi asked suddenly from beside him.

"Jiang Mingyue," Li Xiang replied instinctively. "I just like the older-sister type."

But no sooner had Li Xiang spoken than he saw Ying Chanxi huff and walk off, clearly annoyed—he quickly reacted: "Shen Dongdong is great too!"

"Great is great—what's it got to do with me?"

Ying Chanxi walked onto the balcony and sat beside Li Luo, poking his waist. "Don't be sad—everyone will find out eventually anyway. Your novel's doing so well; even Uncle didn't stop praising you."

Li Luo's lips twitched, thinking: Who even comforts someone like this?

But Li Luo glanced at the living room—only Chen Yongqi had actually asked for the book titles; the others—Auntie, Sister-in-law, Aunties—had just been curious, never planning to actually read what he wrote.

After all, the elders had low educational levels and limited reading ability; even online novels were hard for them to get through.

Nothing compared to the convenience and directness of future short videos.

After confirming this, Li Luo felt slightly relieved, no longer as miserable as before.

But the moment he thought Chen Lu and Chen Sijia might read his novel, Li Luo sighed again.

"Hey Uncle, aren't you supposed to be writing today?" Li Xiang leaned over, grinning shamelessly. "I saw you updated one chapter in the morning—won't you update another one tonight? Don't you need to write in the afternoon?"

"Don't worry about him," Ying Chanxi chuckled. "He's got over two hundred thousand words in reserve—he doesn't even need to write this month."

"Holy shit?!" Li Xiang's face turned stunned, disbelieving. "How much? Two hundred thousand words?!"

Immediately, Li Xiang grabbed Li Luo's arm, grinning sheepishly. "Uncle, can I take a look?"

"Get lost."

"I'll pay you the subscription fee in advance!"

"Dream on," Li Luo rolled his eyes. He thought: Even Yan Zhusheng asking to see his reserve drafts was understandable—but you?

Seeing Chen Lu and Chen Sijia return with two large bags of snacks, Li Luo stood up, patted his butt, and walked toward the living room. "Help me move out the mahjong table for Mom and the others."

In the afternoon, the second-floor living room of the Li household was lively.

Grandpa and Grandma had gone downstairs for their afternoon nap.

Li Guoru and the other men, including Li Dao, had gone to Li Guoru's house next door to play pool and smoke and chat.

Lin Xiuhong, Auntie, Elder Aunt Li Xuexian, and Second Aunt Li Xuefeng sat around the mahjong table, playing.

Sister-in-law and Young Aunt Li Xuemei sat nearby, slicing fruit for everyone in the living room.

Li Luo, Ying Chanxi, Chen Yongqi, Chen Lu, Chen Sijia, and Li Xiang sat around the coffee table on the sofa, playing cards.

Around two or three in the afternoon, Young Aunt checked the time and called Chen Sijia to return to her grandfather's house—they'd be having New Year's Eve dinner there.

Sister-in-law sliced more fruit and took it over to the pool table next door.

At that moment, Lin Xiuhong felt a stomachache and quickly stood up, telling Ying Chanxi beside her: "Xixi, I need to use the restroom—can you take my place for a bit?"

"Oh, I'll do it," Ying Chanxi replied. Her turn was over, so she stood up immediately.

But then Li Luo tossed his last remaining card into the pile, stood up, and sat down in Lin Xiuhong's empty seat. "Mom, why didn't you ask me? I'm your own son."

"Don't even think about it!" Lin Xiuhong, seeing it was Li Luo, clutched her stomach and turned back, swatting his head. "I know your luck—get out of there and let Xixi take over! Or else all your losses count as yours."

On the other side, Chen Lu shouted at Li Luo: "You haven't even finished your turn! You're just leaving?"

"I only had one card—I could leave anytime." Li Luo refused to budge from the mahjong table, calling toward the sofa. "It won't affect you guys either."

Chen Lu thought that made sense, then watched Chen Yongqi flip over the card Li Luo had discarded—his face darkened as he cursed: "You little brat dare say you're off the hook?"

Li Luo pretended not to hear. Sitting in his mother's seat, he crossed his legs, leaned back, one hand resting on the mahjong tiles, and grinned. "Whose turn to draw?"

"Yours," said Elder Aunt, the player before him.

"Alright, let me draw a White Dragon Fortune for Mom," Li Luo reached out, drew a tile, then pouted and slapped it down with a thump—it was a Wind East.

Ying Chanxi sat beside him watching him play, occasionally handing him fruit to eat.

For ordinary players, mahjong is three parts memory, seven parts luck.

Li Luo had unbeatable memory but couldn't draw the tiles he needed.

After several rounds, he'd only managed to get one usable tile.

Luckily, Lin Xiuhong's hand was good—after over ten rounds, she finally helped him reach tenpai.

At that moment, Lin Xiuhong returned from the restroom, glanced at Li Luo's tiles, and nodded reluctantly: "Not bad—at least you can self-draw."

But despite that, for several more rounds, Li Luo failed to draw the final tile. Lin Xiuhong grew impatient: "Move over—I'll take over."

"No, wait—let me finish this hand."

"How long are you going to keep drawing? Everyone else is ready to win."

"Look at this tile—I'm sure..." Li Luo slammed the tile down with a thump—it was another Wind East. "Damn it!"

"I told you—you're no good," Lin Xiuhong sneered. "You'd be better off letting Xixi draw one for you."

"She'll draw better? I don't believe it." When it was Li Luo's turn again, he nodded toward Ying Chanxi. "If Xixi doesn't draw it, I'll take back my turn."

As he spoke, Ying Chanxi placed the tile she drew onto the table and whispered: "One Man—self-draw."

Li Luo: "..."

"Still, Chanxi is reliable." Lin Xiuhong laughed, then patted Li Luo on the shoulder and said dismissively, "Alright, alright, go play your cards."

"The little brat's coming back soon," Chen Lu teased from the sofa. "I let you off the hook last round—get back here and take last place, or no one'll be left to crawl like a turtle."

"Maybe we should change the game," Li Luo suggested as he and Ying Chanxi returned to the sofa and sat down.

"What game?"

"Simple: lay all the cards face-down on the coffee table, spread them out. Each person flips two cards at a time—if they're a pair, you keep them; if not, you put them back."

"Everyone can see both cards when they're flipped, and if they're not a pair, you must return them to their exact spots."

"The one with the most pairs at the end wins; the one with the fewest loses."

"That's kind of interesting," Chen Lu nodded, about to agree.

Ying Chanxi quickly said, "Don't play this—it's an easy win for him."

"Huh?" Chen Lu blinked. "Are you sure? Is Li Luo really that good at this?"

"He remembers better than I do," Ying Chanxi said. "On the first day of school, he memorized every classmate's name. How impressive is that?"

"Ying Chanxi, don't undermine me!" Li Luo protested. "I can secretly coach you while we play—won't it be better if we win together? Double win!"

Ying Chanxi bit her lip, barely holding back a smile: "I just want to see you lose."

The pleasant afternoon passed quickly.

At around five, Chen Hailin returned from the pool table next door and went into the kitchen to start preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

Since the whole family loved eating the New Year's Eve dinner while watching the Spring Festival Gala, just for the atmosphere, Li Luo's family always ate very late.

Starting preparations at five-thirty, Chen Hailin didn't finish the two full tables of lavish dishes until nearly eight in the evening.

During the prep, Lin Xiuhong and others helped in the kitchen; by eight, when the Gala began on time, Li Luo's family—excluding Li Xuemei and Chen Sijia—numbered fifteen people total.

Adding Ying Chanxi's family of three who came over from next door, there were eighteen people altogether, seated at two tables, watching the live Gala broadcast as they began eating.

Outside, the sound of firecrackers occasionally erupted—boom, boom, boom, crackling nonstop.

Li Luo chewed on a chicken leg, his bowl filled with turtle meat Ying Chanxi had placed there for him, surrounded by the noise of his family and the familiar voices of the live Gala broadcast.

Everything felt like a dream.

He thought back to when he had been reborn in June—now half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

This was his first New Year back in the countryside since his rebirth; everything felt familiar, yet slightly strange, and in the end, it all blended seamlessly with his memories from his past life.

"What are you thinking about?" Ying Chanxi raised her hand and waved it in front of his face. "Did you cry?"

"No, must've eaten something spicy." Li Luo blinked, forcing back the mist in his eyes. "By the way, did you bring what I asked you to prepare?"

"I brought it," Ying Chanxi pulled a red envelope from her pocket. "But what are you planning to do with it?"

"Give it to Li Xiang," Li Luo nodded toward her.

"You're really giving it?" Ying Chanxi was surprised, then remembered Li Luo's 370,000-yuan royalty payment and smiled knowingly. She stood up, walked over to Li Xiang, and handed him the envelope. "Here—your uncle's New Year red envelope."

"Huh?" Li Xiang froze, stunned for a long moment. "Wait... you're really giving it?"

It made him feel awkward.

"Just take it," Li Luo said calmly. "But don't even think about asking for a manuscript advance."

Seeing Li Luo hand out red envelopes, everyone else quickly pulled out their own from their pockets.

This year, aside from Li Luo, Ying Chanxi, and Li Xiang, the only one not present was Chen Sijia, who was still in university.

Chen Yongqi and Chen Lu had both graduated and were working, so they normally didn't receive red envelopes.

But since Chen Lu had only just started her job two months ago, Lin Xiuhong and the others quietly decided to give her a small one anyway—making Chen Lu beam with delight.

She had also prepared red envelopes for her younger siblings; though her salary was low, she gave each one a hundred yuan—a token of her heart.

Especially when handing them out, Chen Lu felt a deep sense of emotion, suddenly realizing something.

She had truly grown up—completely left school and entered society.

Even while sitting at the bank counter, she hadn't fully grasped it; now, suddenly, it struck her.

Time really does fly.

Just as Li Luo was overwhelmed by red envelopes, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled it out—it was a message from Yan Zhusheng.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Happy New Year's Eve.

【Yan Zhusheng】: (image)

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mom cooked these dishes herself, but they're not as good as yours.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Don't tell her I said that.

【Li Luo】: Are you two the only ones celebrating New Year's Eve?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mm. What about you?

【Li Luo】: (image)

【Li Luo】: This is our table. Next to us is my dad's table, drinking.

【Yan Zhusheng】: So many people (astonished. jpg)

【Yan Zhusheng】: Everyone looks so happy.

【Li Luo】: You'll see for yourself when you come on the fourth.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mm... could I come on the third instead? Waiting until the fourth feels so long.

【Li Luo】: I'm fine with any day except the second—we're visiting my grandparents. After that, any day works. Ask your senior about her plans.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Oh, I'll ask her later.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Happy New Year's Eve—you haven't said it yet.

【Li Luo】: Happy New Year's Eve.

【Li Luo】: You're really nitpicking.

【Yan Zhusheng】: That's basic manners—it's you, Li Luo, who's at fault.

【Li Luo】: If I'm so bad, why do you want to come early?

【Yan Zhusheng】: I came to play with Chanxi, not to see you.

【Li Luo】: That's really heartbreaking.

"What are you looking at?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled by how long he'd been staring at his phone.

"Just replying to some New Year's greetings—lots of people sent me wishes, so I have to respond." Li Luo put his phone back in his pocket and looked up to see his bowl completely filled with food; he stared, speechless. "Don't just keep piling food on my plate—I can't possibly eat all this."

"Eat more—this shrimp is delicious too." Ying Chanxi added another shrimp to his bowl. "Who else sent you New Year's greetings?"

"Lots—classmates from school, my editor, fellow authors."

"What about Zhusheng and Senior Xu?"

"Zhusheng sent one, but Senior Xu…"

As Li Luo spoke, his phone vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw it was Xu Youyu calling.

He answered immediately and rushed to say: "Senior Xu, Happy New Year's Eve! Chanxi, say hi to Senior Xu too."

On the other end, Xu Youyu froze; the "brother" she was about to say got stuck in her throat.

"Senior Xu, Happy New Year's Eve," Ying Chanxi said sweetly from the other line.

Xu Youyu burst out laughing, then said: "Happy New Year's Eve, Chanxi! See you on the fourth!"

"Huh? What fourth?" Ying Chanxi asked, confused. "Senior Xu, we're not going back until the eighth."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu asked, surprised. "Didn't Li Luo tell you?"

"Oh? Tell me what?" Ying Chanxi's eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned to look at Li Luo beside her.