Chapter 251: Qing Mei Is Invincible!

After the New Year's Eve celebration ended, the elders could no longer hold out and returned to their rooms to sleep.

The others, however, were still full of energy; even if somewhat sleepy, they were swept up by the festive atmosphere and had no intention of sleeping anytime soon.

Besides, at dawn, the Li family had the custom of visiting the temple to offer worship.

So after the New Year's countdown, people either played mahjong on the second-floor living room, played cards, or went next door to play pool.

Around 1:30 a. m., Auntie began calling everyone together to head collectively to Fuyuan Temple on the eastern edge of the village to burn incense and pray.

This was also a special ritual unique to New Year's Day.

Nearly twenty people in total, perfectly divided into four cars driven by Yin Zhicheng, Li Guohong, Li Guoru, and Chen Hailin, each packed to full capacity.

This time, Yin Zhicheng's car finally had his own daughter inside, though it also carried Li Luo and Li Xiang.

The uncle and nephew had both been kicked out by their parents for being too crowded in their own cars.

Ying Chanxi pulled Li Luo to the back seat and told Li Xiang to sit in the front passenger seat.

Li Xiang was very good at reading the room—he had already walked straight to the front passenger door before Ying Chanxi even spoke to him, showing excellent awareness.

After driving for about ten minutes, they arrived at Fuyuan Temple, where people from several surrounding villages had already gathered at this hour.

It was nearly two a. m., yet the temple entrance buzzed with noise and swarmed with crowds.

Yin Zhicheng had to wait in line for several minutes in the parking lot before finally snagging a parking spot.

The cars behind—Li Guohong's and the others—simply gave up on parking and pulled over along the roadside outside, then gathered at the temple entrance.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi followed Lin Xiuhong into the temple, and as their mother instructed, bought a bundle of incense and a few small candles at the entrance.

After entering through the temple's main gate, the main hall stood directly ahead; stepping over its threshold, the imposing presence of the massive statue of Sakyamuni Buddha surged forward, radiating solemn power.

Li Luo pulled out a lighter, gave three sticks of incense each to his father, mother, and Uncle Yin and Ying Chanxi, lit them, then joined the queue to offer prayers.

Next came Maitreya Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

Further on were the Eighteen Arhats and the Four Heavenly Kings.

Bowing before each statue one by one, the group quickly finished touring the main hall.

They then exited through the back door and headed toward the side halls.

"What did you pray for?" On the way to the side halls, Ying Chanxi asked curiously.

"Guess."

"Guess whether I'll guess or just hit you?"

"Fine, it's just some ordinary wishes for happiness and safety—what else could it be?" Li Luo said casually. "What about you?"

"Not telling you," Ying Chanxi huffed, following Lin Xiuhong into the Medicine Buddha Hall to pray for her family's health in the coming year.

After leaving the left-side Medicine Buddha Hall, they arrived at the main event of this year's Li family pilgrimage.

As Li Luo followed Lin Xiuhong over, he saw his aunt Li Xuexian pulling Chen Yongqi and lecturing him earnestly: "Just do as I say—walk three circles clockwise around Guanyin Bodhisattva, then three counterclockwise, then bow nine times normally."

"You know the Cao family behind us, right? Their son Zixuan did exactly this last year—and look, this year he found a wife and got married. We even ate at their wedding banquet. You're the same age as him."

"Just do it my way—it's incredibly effective. Give it a try."

Chen Yongqi stared blankly at his mother, as immovable as a mountain, and said: "I've already prayed. Can't you just leave it at that?"

"Doing it again won't cost you a single ounce of flesh. Hurry up!" Li Xuexian tugged at Chen Yongqi's arm, trying to drag him into Guanyin Bodhisattva's Marriage Hall, but couldn't budge him—her temper flared. "Why are you so stubborn?! You're twenty-six—can't you be more sensible?!"

Seeing the argument about to escalate, Li Luo quickly poked his mother's waist and urged her, then stepped forward immediately.

Lin Xiuhong instantly understood, stepped in to pull Li Xuexian away, and soothed her gently, urging her to calm down.

Li Luo then pulled Chen Yongqi aside, whispered a few words to him. Chen Yongqi looked skeptical, hesitated, listened to more from Li Luo, and finally gave a reluctant nod.

Under Li Xuexian's slightly stunned gaze, Li Luo smoothly led Chen Yongqi into Guanyin Bodhisattva's Marriage Hall and, following Li Xuexian's instructions, walked three circles clockwise, three counterclockwise, then approached Guanyin Bodhisattva to pray.

Ying Chanxi followed behind Li Luo and mimicked the same actions quietly—but Li Luo spotted her.

"I told my brother to do this—it's for romantic luck. What are you praying for?" Li Luo asked after finishing his prayer, puzzled.

"Why do you care so much?" Ying Chanxi's face flushed. "Why can't I pray? Can't I pray for my math husband, physics husband, chemistry husband to treat me better? Aren't you praying too?"

"I prayed for my Chinese wife, English wife, history wife to treat me better," Li Luo replied with a chuckle, copying her tone.

"Hmph," Ying Chanxi sniffed, then asked curiously in a whisper, "So what did you say to your brother just now? I saw he wasn't willing at all—how did a few words from you suddenly make him agree?"

"Nothing much," Li Luo coughed twice and whispered, "I just told him that virtual wives are still wives—if you pray for romantic luck, maybe it'll increase your drop rate."

"What drop rate?" Ying Chanxi looked utterly confused.

"You don't understand—don't ask," Li Luo said mysteriously, arms crossed behind his back. After watching Chen Yongqi finish his prayer, he vanished into the background, then joined Lin Xiuhong as she walked toward the prayer cauldron outside the main hall.

Besides playing single-player visual novels, Chen Yongqi's recent favorites were the hot new gacha mobile games that had swept the market over the past two years.

After all, cyber wives are still wives—why shouldn't he pray for love?

Even Guanyin Bodhisattva must keep up with the times—she should expand her services, broaden her business, and improve her performance metrics.

These days, everything's about "Internet+"—even the Buddha can't be left behind, or he'll soon be washed ashore by the new wave of cyber trends.

Following behind, Li Xuexian looked proudly at her son, then at Li Luo, and couldn't help telling Lin Xiuhong: "Xiuhong, Li Luo has really grown up—he's become sensible."

"Even though our Qikai is ten years older, in some things he's not as good as Li Luo!"

"You really should let Qikai learn more from Li Luo."

Chen Yongqi had long been immune to his mother's remarks—he pretended not to hear a word.

Li Luo felt slightly embarrassed hearing his aunt praise him so highly.

After all, in his past life, after graduating university, he'd been treated just like Chen Yongqi—constantly nagged until his thirties.

Lin Xiuhong, however, listened happily but still smiled and said: "Sister, don't say too much—Qikai is still very excellent. Didn't Li Dao praise him for being diligent?"

"I'm just worried," Li Xuexian sighed. "If he could find someone on his own, would I have to spend every day thinking up ways for him?"

As for Li Xuexian's anxiety, Li Luo could only say: this is how the new generation is.

In the dating market, unless you're insanely lucky and happen to meet someone who truly sees you and reciprocates sincerely, most potential partners are already claimed by the sea kings and sea queens.

And the truly longing singles? They're trapped on isolated islands, forever unable to meet or even know each other.

Someone like Chen Yongqi isn't short on family resources; aside from being a bit dull-witted, he spends most of his free time immersed in games and has few other faults.

He doesn't smoke or drink, has no tendency toward domestic violence, works diligently, and has no bad habits.

If he cleaned up his appearance, he'd actually be quite handsome.

But no matter what, he just can't find a partner.

It was just like Li Luo in his past life… even when he'd had chances before, he never managed to hold onto them properly.

If he hadn't been reborn, he'd have ended up living a relatively failed life.

"What are you thinking about?" Ying Chanxi lit a candle and placed it beside the prayer tripod, turning to look at Li Luo, who was staring blankly. "Lost in thought after being complimented?"

"Nothing." Li Luo shook his head, then said, "I was just wondering—if asking once isn't enough, would asking Guanyin Bodhisattva several times let me marry more wives?"

"If you want to get scolded, just say so outright," Ying Chanxi replied coldly, eyes narrowed.

…

After circling the temple to offer prayers, the time had already drawn near three in the morning.

The group left the temple, took a car back to their courtyard, exchanged greetings, then each returned to their rooms to wash up and sleep.

Only Li Luo's side saw Ying Chanxi, after confirming that Ying Zhicheng had gone to his room, slip into Li Luo's bedroom, startling Li Luo, who had just half-undressed.

"Don't you knock before entering?" Li Luo quickly pulled his sweater back on. "You saw everything—I'm holding you responsible."

"I've seen it before," Ying Chanxi muttered, cheeks faintly flushed, still savoring the sight she'd just seen. "What exactly are you expecting me to be responsible for?"

"So why did you come to my room in the middle of the night, wide awake?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to hang out with you," Ying Chanxi plopped onto Li Luo's bed, settling in with no intention of leaving.

Thinking that Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu would arrive on the third day of the new year, and that Li Luo had to go with his uncle and aunt to his grandparents' house during the second day, Ying Chanxi felt time was running dangerously short.

She'd originally thought this would last until the eighth day.

"What are we going to do? It's the middle of the night." Li Luo yawned. "How about we watch a movie?"

"Sure."

Ying Chanxi didn't care what they did—she just lay down against the wall, crawled under Li Luo's blanket, then patted the space beside her, signaling him to get in quickly.

Li Luo shook his head with a smile, climbed onto the bed with his laptop, picked a movie neither had seen, and started playing it on his lap.

They called it watching a movie, but both were already extremely sleepy.

Barely had the opening credits begun when Li Luo felt his shoulder grow heavy, then quickly drifted into sleep himself.

…

The next day, the sun was high in the sky.

At noon, Chen Hailin reheated last night's leftovers in the kitchen and added a few new dishes.

Seeing the cooking nearly done, Lin Xiuhong called out to Li Xiang and the others in the living room: "Go call everyone—dinner's ready."

"Li Xiang, go upstairs and wake Li Luo. Lu Lu, go to the neighbor's and call Uncle Ying and the others—also check if Xi Xi's up."

"Jia Jia, go call Qi Qi—stop playing on the computer and come eat."

The three kids received their tasks and immediately set to work.

Chen Lu went to the neighbor's, greeted Grandpa Ying and Uncle Ying in the courtyard, then went upstairs to find Ying Chanxi.

But when she pushed open Ying Chanxi's door, the room was empty—she froze in surprise.

Meanwhile,

Li Xiang didn't think much at all—he walked straight to the third-floor door of Li Luo's bedroom, knocked, then pushed it open without waiting.

The next instant, he froze completely, as if paused, then rewound, swiftly retreating and slamming the door shut again.

After standing at the door, calming himself for several seconds, taking deep breaths, and shaking his head hard to confirm he wasn't dreaming, he opened the bedroom door once more.

This time, he was certain.

He had definitely not imagined it.

Li Luo lay on the edge of the single bed, uncovered, fast asleep.

Beside him, Ying Chanxi was wrapped in a thick quilt, her round, plump face rosy and peaceful as she slept against the wall.

Li Xiang stared at the scene before him and instinctively stepped back half a pace, still struggling to believe it.

He'd thought he'd understood the relationship between Li Luo and Ying Chanxi when they set off fireworks in the courtyard yesterday.

Who could have guessed their relationship was even more explosive than he'd imagined!

Does Uncle Ying know about this?

Thinking of this, Li Xiang suddenly felt a toothache, mixed with a faint sourness.

It was barely noon, they hadn't even eaten yet, and he'd already been hit with a full bucket of dog food.

All these relatives are here—aren't you two being a little too reckless?

Li Xiang grumbled inwardly, but Li Luo and Ying Chanxi on the bed showed no sign of waking.

After much deliberation, to avoid being murdered, Li Xiang quietly backed out of the bedroom, gently closed the door, and took another deep breath.

Slowly exhaling the heavy air from his chest, Li Xiang finally raised his hand and pounded loudly on the door, shouting: "Uncle! Wake up! Lunch is ready! If you don't get up, I'm coming in!"

Inside, Li Luo jolted awake, sitting up abruptly, then turned to see Ying Chanxi also opening her eyes in slight panic.

Li Luo leapt off the bed, grabbed the doorknob, and called out: "Got it, got it! I'm up! Wait downstairs!"

"OK, I'm outta here," Li Xiang sighed with relief and hurried downstairs.

On the way down, he couldn't help sighing, then filled with envy—even his inner beliefs began to waver.

Back in the second-floor living room, Li Xiang thought and thought, then finally pulled out his phone, opened the comments section of I Am Really Not a Star, and posted a thread.

【SisterKickMe】: I declare—Shen Dongdong is the real meta! I've defected! It's not that Sister isn't sweet enough—it's just that the childhood friend mechanic is too overpowering!

After posting, Li Xiang felt instantly relieved, letting out a long, quiet sigh.

After two days of observation, he finally understood: there's no such thing as a latecomer being better than the childhood friend.

There's no way we can fight like this!

They're already sleeping in the same bed, and you're still not rushing to go all-in on the childhood-friendship stock?