Chapter 25: I Just Don

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi held an umbrella together and walked side by side toward the entrance of Jincheng Community.

After chatting casually for a few moments, they had already forgotten the earlier incident at the bus stop.

When they reached the community gate, they happened to meet Li Guohong and his wife returning from the breakfast shop.

"Huh?" Lin Xiuhong paused, asking, "Why are you two here?"

"She took the bus home after school and didn't bring an umbrella," Li Luo pointed to Ying Chanxi and explained simply, "I came to the stop to bring her one."

"That's perfect then," Li Guohong nodded. "Let's go home and eat together."

With that, the four of them headed toward home.

But what puzzled Ying Chanxi was that once all four reached the fourth floor, Li Luo and the others all stopped simultaneously, neither reaching for their keys to open the door nor moving forward—instead, all their gazes turned toward her.

Ying Chanxi was stunned: "Uh… aren't we going to your house for dinner?"

"Don't ask so much—just open the door," Li Luo pressed her shoulder and turned her toward the door of 402 next door.

So Ying Chanxi dumbly pulled out her keys and opened her own front door.

Before she even stepped inside, a rich aroma drifted from the living room, making her appetite surge.

Smelling the scent from the kitchen, Ying Chanxi halted—then, as Li Luo nudged her inside, she saw the figure bustling about in the kitchen.

"Dad! You're back?"

Joy lit up Ying Chanxi's face; she quickly slipped on slippers and dashed to the kitchen, plopping into her father's arms with a thump.

After all, she was still a fifteen-year-old girl—and rarely saw her father. Now that he'd finally returned home, even the usually reserved and polite Ying Chanxi couldn't contain her joy.

Li Luo watched the scene with a grin, expertly pulling two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet and tossing them to his parents, then slipping on his own blue slippers and walking into the living room.

"Uncle Ying, are the dishes reheated yet?"

"Mm, two more need reheating," Ying Zhicheng patted his daughter's shoulder, a smile on his face. "Alright, alright—there are guests here. Let me reheat a few more dishes."

"Mm," Ying Chanxi pulled away from her father's arms, obediently fetched bowls and chopsticks from the cabinet, and placed them one by one on the dining table, inviting Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong to sit.

A few minutes later, the five sat in a circle around the living room.

Ying Zhicheng pulled out a bottle of baijiu from the sideboard and grinned at Li Guohong: "It's been ages since we ate together—tonight, drink a couple of glasses with me. No objections from your wife, right?"

"What objections could she have?" Li Guohong waved his hand, tapping the rim of his cup. "Fill it all up!"

Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Beside them, Ying Chanxi smirked quietly and whispered to Li Luo: "Uncle Li is most arrogant only at times like this."

"My mom gives him more respect," Li Luo whispered back to Ying Chanxi. "If he drinks too much, he'll probably have to kneel on the washboard tomorrow."

Ying Chanxi burst into laughter twice, then asked, "Did you already know Dad was coming back? You didn't tell me when we got home."

"I wanted to give you a surprise," Li Luo said. "Try this—these dishes were all made by your dad this afternoon."

Ying Chanxi picked up a cola chicken wing, her expression hesitant.

After all, she was well aware of her father's cooking skills.

They were frankly not commendable.

But the moment she took a small bite, her eyes lit up; she wolfed it down in a few quick mouthfuls.

Then she grabbed several more pieces of tomato scrambled eggs and minced pork with eggplant—her favorite flavors.

"Are your dad's dishes tasty?" Li Luo asked.

"Delicious!" Ying Chanxi nodded eagerly.

Hearing this, Li Luo nodded in satisfaction: "Good."

At the table, the two kids and Lin Xiuhong ate quickly—each finished one bowl of rice and ate mostly dishes, their stomachs full soon enough.

The two men, however, because they were drinking, chatting, and boasting, wouldn't stop for at least two hours.

Lin Xiuhong sat beside them, and when Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had eaten enough, she quietly signaled they could get up and play.

But Li Luo wanted to hear what the adults were talking about, so he stayed put at the table.

Seeing he didn't leave, Ying Chanxi stayed seated too, listening to her father and Uncle Li chat.

"By the way," Ying Zhicheng said, his gaze settling on Li Luo. "Someone came today to deliver the acceptance letter—young Li Luo is impressive. He got into Fuyi High School."

"Oh, that?" Li Guohong couldn't help grinning. "It's alright, I guess. This kid's just average—not nearly as good as your Xi Xi."

"Modest, modest, huh?" Ying Zhicheng glanced at him, seeing his lips curling toward the ceiling. "Drink a cup as punishment—you didn't even tell me about this right away."

"Alright, alright," Li Guohong downed his cup in one gulp. "Mainly because telling you feels pointless—you've got your Xi Xi right there."

"I'd only go bragging to people whose kids didn't do as well as Li Luo."

"That's when bragging gets fun."

Ying Zhicheng laughed: "You're playing favorites—so shameless."

"I'm being modest," Li Guohong set down his cup and pointed at Lin Xiuhong. "You don't know how your sister-in-law was—she called all our relatives that night to throw a celebration banquet, didn't let me make a single call—she did all the bragging herself."

"What are you talking about?" Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes. "You were tired from work all day—I just helped you out a bit, is that wrong?"

"Heh." Ying Zhicheng chuckled twice, then raised his cup. "Anyway, congratulations to Li Luo—now you're both at the same high school as Xi Xi. Let's aim for the same university—Qianjiang University."

"Good!" Li Guohong slammed the table and raised his cup. "Bottoms up!"

After that topic ended, Ying Zhicheng suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, have you heard how housing prices are doing lately on Qiu Shan Street? And Yingbin Road and Zhenxing West Road?"

"Huh?" Li Guohong paused, then said, "They've been dropping all this half-year, looks like things aren't looking good—but…"

"But what?" Ying Zhicheng asked.

"My wife and I recently figured it out—we bought a secondhand apartment from my little uncle, near Zhenxing West Road, for just over ten thousand."

"Oh?" Ying Zhicheng hadn't expected this, and couldn't help pressing further. "Aren't prices falling? Why buy now?"

"Ah… it's a bit complicated," Li Guohong shook his head with a smile. "First, my little uncle really wanted to sell cheap—he was in a hurry—and the place was fully renovated, ready to move into."

"Second, this kid Li Luo—he really studied hard this time and got into Fuyi High School."

"The apartment's right next to Fuyi High, so I thought, once Li Luo starts school, he can just live there—convenient for commuting."

As for the third thing... I heard the housing prices there might go up!

"Go up?" Ying Zhicheng raised an eyebrow, his expression surprised.

"I'm just saying this out loud, don't take it seriously," Li Guohong quickly said. "Actually, Li Luo heard it from a classmate of his."

"That classmate's family has good connections—his dad works inside, so he probably has some influence."

"It seems they found out the subway's terminal station in the southern part of Yinjiang District might extend another three or four stops."

"Houses along that subway line will definitely go up in price."

"But the news isn't confirmed yet—nothing's certain."

Brothers should settle accounts clearly, especially when money and investments are involved—it's best to be explicit.

Li Guohong feared that if he spoke carelessly, Ying Zhicheng might actually go buy a house.

If prices didn't rise later, it could damage their brotherly bond.

But after hearing Li Guohong's words, Ying Zhicheng's expression turned slightly odd; after a moment of careful thought, he said, "Brother Li, your lead might actually be right."

"Huh?" Li Guohong blinked, unable to help asking, "What do you mean?"

"I've got some information too," Ying Zhicheng said. "You know my company used to have connections in that area, and I interact with plenty of people—I hear all kinds of rumors over drinks and behind closed doors."

"The terminal station at the southern end really is planned for extension—it's just unclear when it'll start."

"And it's still in the draft stage, but based on my sources, there's solid confidence—so that's why I asked you how housing prices have been lately."

Li Luo sat at the dining table, listening to the adults chat, and fell into thought.

In his past life, at fifteen, he certainly wouldn't have bothered listening to such incomprehensible idle talk.

Back then, he'd have already left the table to play on the computer in the study, with not a single memory of any of this.

Moreover, the information Ying Zhicheng just shared was entirely built upon Li Guohong's earlier mention of the subway route.

He wasn't even sure if Uncle Ying had said those words in his past life.

After all, if he had, his parents wouldn't have poured all their money into Cousin Weidongrong's project.

All he could say was that this tiny butterfly, by flapping its wings slightly, had already blown the fates of many around him toward an unknown future.

As for the subway matter, though Ying Zhicheng couldn't be 100% certain, Li Luo wasn't worried.

Because by the end of this year, during the G20 summit, it would be confirmed that China would host the next summit.

After that, Yuhang City would successfully secure the hosting rights.

And in 2015, Yuhang City also successfully won the bid for the Asian Games, securing the 2022 hosting rights.

After that, not just Yinjiang District, but several other remote areas of Yuhang City also confirmed a series of subway expansion plans.

The subway extension line from the southern station in Yinjiang District began construction at the end of 2015 and was completed and put into use by early 2017.

Paired with the Yintai Commercial City and Shidai Tianjie commercial district along the line, housing prices in the surrounding area immediately surged to 20,000–30,000.

So now that Li Luo's family had secured the house from Third Grandpa's place, all they needed to do was wait quietly and slowly pay off the mortgage.

In a few years, the value of this house could double or even triple—it was a guaranteed windfall.

He only regretted not having the capital—if he'd had it, he'd have bought three or five houses and secured his lifetime comfort.

Li Luo thought this way, but he had no grand ambitions.

In his past life, he'd achieved nothing by thirty-five; this time, reborn, he never dreamed of achieving some grand blueprint.

He just wanted to use his foresight of the times to earn enough wealth for his family's financial freedom, then live well.

"When does Fuyi High School start?" After finishing the housing talk, Lin Xiuhong turned to Li Luo.

"Report to school on August 24th," Li Luo recalled the admission notice he'd read that afternoon. "Then there's a week of military training, and classes officially begin on September 1st."

"This weekend, your dad and I will handle the property transfer, then I'll ask your uncle to help move over bedding and such," Lin Xiuhong said. "Xixi will come too—you two can pick your own rooms."

"Huh?" Ying Zhicheng suddenly paused, then asked, "Xixi's moving in too?"

"Yes," Li Guohong jumped in. "I forgot to tell you—we bought a house next to Fuyi High School. Xixi used to take the bus to school every day—it's so inconvenient. Now she can just live there."

"This..." Ying Zhicheng glanced at Li Luo, then at his daughter, seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, and asked, "Just the two kids?"

"There's another girl," Lin Xiuhong said. "Their previous house was rented out, and a girl had rented one bedroom—we didn't evict her. She's also a student at Fuyi High, and they can study together on weekends."

Hearing this, Ying Zhicheng paused, then nodded: "You're really going out of your way to take care of Xixi—I appreciate it."

"Don't be so formal—you've watched her grow up since she was a baby. That's too distant!" Li Guohong scolded, then tapped the table. "Penalty! A drink!"

"Alright, alright, my fault—I'll drink."

After confirming her father agreed, Ying Chanxi's face lit up with joy; she beamed at Li Luo and winked.

Li Luo leaned close to Ying Chanxi's ear and asked, "When we move, can you bring the computer from home? Say you need it for studying."

"..." Ying Chanxi shot him a disgruntled look, but finally muttered, "I give up on you."