Chapter 252: The Enemy Army Is About to Reach the Battlefield

It was different from the snow the past two nights.

The snow during New Year's Eve was heavy.

Although it stopped for a while at dawn, by morning the snowflakes began falling again with a soft rustling.

When Li Luo and Ying Chanxi hurriedly climbed out of bed and tiptoed downstairs, it was already snowing heavily outside.

A thin layer of meltwater had already gathered on the ground.

Chen Lu had only gone back and forth to the next room, and his head was already dusted with snow.

"Have you seen Xixi?" Chen Lu asked the people inside, strangely, "Why didn't I find her in the bedroom?"

Before anyone else reacted, Ying Zhicheng, as her father, immediately frowned: "Not there? I got up around ten, and haven't seen her come down since."

"Maybe she got up early and went out to play?" Li Xuexian asked. "Call her."

Li Xiang, who had already returned to the living room sofa, gave a faint, humorless smirk and said nothing.

Ying Zhicheng pulled out his phone and called his daughter.

Before the call could connect, they heard the ringtone coming from the staircase.

Everyone turned their gaze that way and saw Li Luo and Ying Chanxi walking out from there.

"Dad, why are you calling me?"

"LuLu went to your room and couldn't find you," Ying Zhicheng said, watching his daughter come downstairs with Li Luo. "When did you go to find Li Luo?"

"I—I just this morning," Ying Chanxi said, blinking nervously.

"Aren't you the one who went upstairs to call Li Luo? How come you didn't see Xixi?" Aunt asked her grandson.

"I didn't go in," Li Xiang scratched his head. "I just knocked and called out. When I heard him answer, I came down."

Hearing Li Xiang say that, everyone let it go. Lin Xiuhong then called everyone to sit down for lunch.

After lunch, Ying Chanxi, seeing the snowy landscape outside, excitedly pulled Li Luo out the door to seize the remaining moments alone together.

Li Luo walked with her through streets and alleys, snow covering his hair, scarf, and clothes.

Ying Chanxi would occasionally grab a handful of snow from roadside bushes, squeeze it in her palm, and hurl it at Li Luo's head.

After being ambushed several times, Li Luo finally decided he'd had enough—he grabbed a large handful of snow, seized Ying Chanxi's collar, and shoved it down her clothes.

"Aaaah! Li Luo!"

Ying Chanxi immediately shook her body to shake the snow out of her hem, then flushed red with anger and chased after Li Luo to hit him.

Thanks to half a year of martial arts training, she beat him back step by step until he begged for mercy.

Unfortunately, happy moments are always brief.

The first day of the Spring Festival passed quickly amid such playfulness.

On the morning of the second day, Li Luo boarded a car with his parents and headed to his maternal grandparents' home.

Ying Chanxi was left alone at home, clutching her phone and continuing to read Li Luo's novel, searching for scenes with Shen Dongdong to soothe herself.

While reading the comments section, Ying Chanxi noticed a reader who had previously strongly supported Jiang Mingyue—yesterday, they posted a declaration of defection, insisting the childhood friend was the best.

This made Ying Chanxi somewhat happy, and she specifically noted the person's nickname, hoping to see them continue supporting Shen Dongdong.

At her grandparents' home, as soon as Li Luo stepped out of the car, Lin Xiufeng smiled warmly and came forward to greet him.

He reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a large red envelope, shoving it straight into Li Luo's arms.

Li Luo pinched the thickness and was surprised: "Uncle, are you being this generous this time?"

"All thanks to you," Lin Xiufeng said warmly, wrapping an arm around Li Luo's neck and patting his chest, leaning close to whisper, "Sold fried rice for over half a month—made nearly ten thousand."

"Impressive," Li Luo praised, accepting the red envelope without guilt, then smiling, "So, found a girlfriend yet? Are Grandpa and Grandma nagging you?"

"You're still saying this in front of me?" Lin Xiufeng glared at him. "I just gave you a big red envelope—still can't shut your mouth? At dinner today, say more nice things about me."

"Got it."

After Li Luo's family arrived, Lin Xiufeng finally breathed easier, because the dinner table's topic was clearly centered entirely on Li Luo.

Especially Lin Xiuhong—probably pent up too long at the Li household—she rushed to share good news with her parents over dinner.

How Li Luo ranked 27th in the whole school on his midterms, 15th on monthly exams, 17th on finals—Qianjiang University was a sure thing, their family was producing a top 985 student.

Then how Li Luo wrote a novel, won a major writing contest, earned over fifty thousand yuan in prize money.

She even mentioned his last month's royalty payment was a full 370,000 yuan!

She added he wrote songs for a popular singer—three songs sold for hundreds of thousands.

Unlike the Li household, where the family was large and eyes everywhere, Lin Xiuhong dared not exaggerate for fear of provoking envy.

But back at her parents' home, where only her father, mother, and brother were present, Lin Xiuhong couldn't hold back—she spilled everything at once.

Her parents and uncle Lin Xiufeng stared, stunned, thinking Lin Xiuhong had lost her mind.

But when they saw Li Guohong nodding beside them, confirming it was all true, they fell into long silence, unable to process it.

Lin Xiufeng remembered that just during summer vacation, his older sister's family had hesitated over whether to buy a house.

He had personally helped move Li Luo's belongings.

How could such a drastic change have happened in just over half a year?

Li Luo covered his face and sighed—he figured this wasn't the first time, so let his mom enjoy it; otherwise, she'd burst.

His grandparents certainly wouldn't read his novel.

His uncle… well, let it be. If he read it, he read it.

Given his relationship with his uncle, he trusted he'd understand.

Fortunately, after dinner, Lin Xiuhong reminded them again not to spread these things around, which eased Li Luo's mind slightly.

But Lin Xiufeng had already stomped over to Li Luo's side, slapped his shoulder hard, and grinned: "How about you give that red envelope back to me?"

"Uncle, once you give a red envelope, you can take it back?" Li Luo stared at him, dumbfounded. "Aren't you embarrassed?"

"You're making 370,000 yuan a month!" Lin Xiufeng gritted his teeth. "Do you know how hard I work for ten thousand? I slave every night—and you make more with a single finger."

Of course, returning the red envelope was just a joke.

But it clearly showed how dazed Lin Xiufeng still felt at this moment.

He had originally thought Li Luo was just smarter than most, and that it was thanks to him—selling belts with him, teaching him to sell fried rice outside the dormitory compound—that he'd made so much money.

But compared to Li Luo's hundreds of thousands in royalties, that was nothing at all.

No wonder this kid looked down on the meager earnings from fried rice.

Lin Xiufeng clicked his tongue, finally realizing why Li Luo had been able to stop selling fried rice at just the right time after making money.

Turns out there were even more profitable things to do!

While Lin Xiufeng was enjoying this intimate uncle-nephew interaction, Li Luo had been quietly pulled into the stairwell by his grandmother that afternoon, who pulled out an absurdly thick red envelope and shoved it into his arms.

Li Luo squeezed it—it was at least half a finger thick—and gasped, quickly pushing it back: "Grandma, you're giving too much! Who gives ten thousand in a New Year red envelope?"

"Don't talk nonsense, who said ten thousand?" his grandmother whispered. "I packed you 8888. Take it quickly, don't let your mom see."

Li Luo couldn't help but laugh and sigh at the same time.

"Grandma, didn't you hear what my mom said? I'm making tens of thousands a month now. You keep this money—spend it on yourself."

"So what if you make tens of thousands? No matter how much you earn, it doesn't change me giving you a red envelope for the New Year," his grandmother frowned. "And you're surely just managing money your mom gave you, right? Take this envelope—buy whatever you want."

Li Luo pushed back several times, but seeing how stubborn his grandmother was, he reluctantly accepted it.

Seeing Li Luo tuck the envelope into his down jacket, his grandmother smiled happily, patted his chest, and said: "With your grades, you'll get into Qianjiang University—I'll be thrilled, and so will your grandfather. Study hard. Money matters less."

People in Qianjiang Province all had a certain fanaticism toward universities.

Especially Qianjiang University, the undisputed top-tier institution in the province—any family whose child got in would have the whole neighborhood ringing bells and beating drums to celebrate.

His grandparents were delighted too, giving their grandson 8888 for good luck.

That night, Li Luo opened the envelope and found it filled with brand-new bills—clearly withdrawn from the bank in advance.

This made him recall in his Memory Palace, and he remembered that in his past life, his grandmother had also slipped him 8888.

But back then, she'd said she knew his parents had paid a lot for his school placement, and that he probably didn't get much pocket money—so he should keep it for snacks and such.

Comparing past and present, the love from his elders was never withheld even slightly.

It never changed based on whether he excelled or failed.

As long as his grandparents wanted to, they could always find a reason to make Li Luo accept the red envelope.

What the reason actually was didn't matter at all.

Li Luo lay on the bed prepared by his grandmother, sighed inwardly, chatted for a while with Ying Chanxi, who called at midnight, then fell into a deep sleep.

Until the next morning, Li Luo was woken by his phone vibrating; half-asleep, he fumbled for it, answered, and heard a familiar voice.

"Li Luo."

"Huh… what's up?" Li Luo was still drowsy, squinting in bed as he listened to Yan Zhusheng's voice.

"My senior and I are on our way—we'll be there in half an hour."

"What?!" Li Luo shot upright, instantly wide awake. "Wait—I'm still at my grandfather's house! Why are you leaving so early?"

"I was going to say the same thing…" came Xu Youyu's yawn from the other end. "I got dragged out of bed this morning by Zhusheng, and my mom even made her breakfast before she left."

"It's already the third day of the New Year," Yan Zhusheng said seriously. "Didn't we agree to come on the third day?"

"Why didn't you come at midnight then?" Li Luo couldn't help complaining.

"You can't get a taxi at midnight," Yan Zhusheng replied honestly. "And it's unsafe."

"Then you're smart after all," Li Luo chuckled. "But I can't go back this early—I won't leave until eight or nine."

"If you get here early, call Chanxi first—she'll host you."

"I'll put your senior in the spare room next to mine. Zhusheng, you stay in Chanxi's empty room."

After hearing this, Yan Zhusheng couldn't help asking: "Can't we choose our own rooms?"

"No. Guests follow the host's arrangement," Li Luo flatly refused. "Chanxi arranged everything—when you get there, follow her instructions."

"Oh…" Yan Zhusheng's mood visibly sank, clearly unhappy.

But Xu Youyu was perfectly satisfied with the arrangement: "Alright, got it. We'll call Chanxi first. Don't forget to come back early."