Chapter 258

When Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng returned, they didn't see Ying Chanxi in the living room.

Seeing them come back, Li Xiang kindly reminded, "Uncle, Ying Chanxi came by earlier for breakfast and asked where you were."

"Huh?" Li Luo paused, then asked, "When?"

"Six-thirty?" Li Xiang thought back, "After asking, she drank a bowl of porridge, stood on the balcony for a bit, then left."

"Left?"

"Yeah, she left."

Li Luo's brow twitched; he had a bad feeling.

After Yan Zhusheng trotted after him back to the third-floor bedroom, Li Luo told her, "Wait here for me a moment."

"Okay."

After settling Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo headed toward the next room, but halfway there he turned back, swapped his shoes, removed his gloves, then left again.

He walked all the way to Ying Chanxi's bedroom door and gently knocked.

No response; he turned the doorknob.

It was locked from inside—couldn't open.

This was troublesome.

Li Luo scratched his head, knocked again, and called inside, "Xixi? Are you awake?"

"Still sleeping?"

"Should I come back at nine? You rest a bit longer."

After speaking, Li Luo fell silent and stomped his feet a few times near the door, pretending he had left.

Within seconds, movement came from inside—a quick footstep approaching the door.

Then came the sound of unlocking, and the next moment, the door opened quietly.

Before Ying Chanxi could even peek out, Li Luo had already shoved one foot into the gap, grinning, "Huh? You're not asleep?"

Seeing Li Luo's smiling face, Ying Chanxi startled, then blushed faintly, annoyed, and tried to shut the door.

But his foot held the door firmly open.

"Hey hey hey! Don't close it, don't close it!" Li Luo shouted, "You'll crush my shoes! I just bought them a few days ago!"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi looked down and realized he was wearing the pair she had given him—she instantly felt a pang of regret and softened her push.

Thinking of how he'd worn those same shoes jogging with Yan Zhusheng this morning, her mood lifted slightly.

Thus, with her grip weakened, Li Luo easily slipped inside.

Finally inside, Li Luo finally exhaled in relief.

But Ying Chanxi huffed, rolled back onto the bed, pulled the blanket over her head, and still refused to acknowledge him.

Li Luo shut the door, walked to the bedside, poked the small head buried under the blanket, and laughed, "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad—it's my own fault for not getting up. It's all my problem," Ying Chanxi mumbled.

"It's my fault—I should've come to wake you up," Li Luo said. "But Zhusheng came to call you this morning—do you remember?"

"Did she?" Ying Chanxi lifted the blanket, frowning, thinking hard. "Maybe she did… I was so sleepy this morning…"

"She said you were exhausted and wanted to keep sleeping, so she didn't wake you."

"Was… was that it?" Ying Chanxi rubbed her head; she couldn't clearly recall anything from early morning.

Li Luo pressed on: "So what did you do last night? I thought you went to your room by ten? Bathing would've been eleven—what time did you sleep?"

Asked this, Ying Chanxi grew embarrassed, stammered for a long while, then finally said, "It's all your fault—I got lost reading your novel and didn't fall asleep until past three."

Li Luo: "..."

So now he was to blame for this too?

"So what now?" Li Luo chuckled. "Should I take you jogging again?"

"Are you crazy? I don't need to jog with you," Ying Chanxi pouted.

"Then if you're tired, sleep more," Li Luo stood up, brushed his pants, and said, "I won't disturb you. Sister probably's still sleeping in too—we'll hang out this afternoon."

"Wait…" Ying Chanxi immediately reached out a small hand from under the blanket, gripping his hem tightly, head bowed, whispering, "You didn't wake me for morning jog—now you're punished to stay here with me."

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Can't I sleep and have you stay?" Ying Chanxi patted the empty space beside her, pulled the blanket snugly over herself, and kept one hand clutching his hem, afraid he'd slip away. "Just like this."

"You're so childish," Li Luo said, half-laughing, half-exasperated. "You act like a kid."

"Mind your own business," Ying Chanxi huffed. "Don't talk. I'm sleeping."

"Alright, sleep well," Li Luo lifted her hand holding his hem, tucked it under the blanket, and said, "I'll sit here. I won't leave."

Ying Chanxi opened her eyes, saw him sitting still, no intention to go, then closed them in relief.

Li Luo rested his right elbow on the nearby desk, pulled out his phone to check.

But he hadn't slept well last night either.

Yan Zhusheng had kept him up until past one, and he'd woken at five-thirty—he'd only slept four hours.

After breakfast and morning jog, his body was weary; without conversation, scrolling his phone made him gradually doze off, his head nodding slightly.

In contrast, Ying Chanxi, though eyes closed, kept feeling Li Luo might slip away, so she kept opening her eyes to check on him—and couldn't sleep.

Soon, Ying Chanxi noticed Li Luo was dozing off.

She sat up and poked his face.

"What?" Li Luo jolted awake, blinking at Ying Chanxi.

"You're about to fall asleep," she said, scooted over, patted the space beside her, and pulled back the blanket to invite him, "Come sleep with me."

They'd shared this bed many times before; Li Luo wasn't fussy—he took off his jacket and slid under the covers.

The bed was warm and cozy.

Li Luo had barely lain down when he fell into a deep, drowsy sleep.

It wasn't until around nine in the morning that he woke up shivering from the cold, opened his eyes, and found his blanket had been stolen again by Ying Chanxi while he slept.

Li Luo: "..."

Compared to this, Yan Zhusheng was far better—she at least slept peacefully; this constant blanket-snatching in winter was truly unbearable.

Li Luo yawned in bed, turned his head, and saw Ying Chanxi sleeping soundly; he got up, put on his coat, and quietly slipped out of the room.

Stretching as he walked back to the living room next door, Li Luo glanced at the sofa and saw Li Xiang still hunched over his phone, absorbed in something.

At the mahjong table sat Lin Xiuhong and Li Luo's three aunts, happily enjoying the festive joy of the New Year.

The kind of leisurely, full-day mahjong sessions like this only came around during the New Year holiday.

But Li Luo thought that if he worked just a little harder, he could make it possible for his mother to play mahjong whenever she wanted.

Since the breakfast shop closed, these past few days—even though the New Year period had been busy—Li Luo could clearly see that both Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong had improved their spirits by more than a notch.

Clearly, years of rising before dawn and working past dusk had taken a heavy toll.

Just a few days of rest had already noticeably improved their complexion.

If only they had let go of the breakfast shop sooner, perhaps Lin Xiuhong wouldn't have fallen seriously ill in her previous life.

"Why are you alone?" Lin Xiuhong asked, noticing Li Luo returning from outside. "Where are Xi Xi and the others?"

"Asleep in bed," Li Luo replied, leaning over to his mother's mahjong table. Seeing it was her turn to draw, he reached out and drew a tile for her. "Watch closely—self-draw!"

Lin Xiuhong panicked the moment he touched the tile, looked down, and saw it was another East Wind—she burst out in exasperation: "What self-draw? Don't go drawing tiles randomly! I was about to win!"

Seeing the tile he'd drawn, Li Luo felt a bit embarrassed, but then he declared confidently: "Mom, don't be superstitious. The tile was already there—whether I draw it or you draw it, it's still the East Wind. The outcome was already decided. Don't blame me."

"Then why's your hand so nosy? Go away, go play with Xi Xi and the others. Don't interrupt my game," Lin Xiuhong waved him off with disgust.

Rejected by his own mother, Li Luo shuffled over to Li Xuexian, grinned sheepishly twice—prompting Li Xuexian to immediately shield her tiles and scold: "You've already tormented your mom, now you're coming for me? Get lost, get lost!"

Li Luo, now universally disliked, snorted coldly and turned toward the stairs.

When he reached his bedroom door and pushed it open, he found Yan Zhusheng lying quietly on his bed, fast asleep and peaceful.

Seeing this, Li Luo found it amusing—he thought Ying Chanxi's prepared bedroom was truly wasted.

So she just picked his bed to sleep on, huh?

But as soon as Li Luo entered the room, Yan Zhusheng woke up to the sound of the door, blinked her eyes, and reached both arms out toward him.

"What?"

"Pull me up."

"You're acting like a child…"

Li Luo reached out and pulled Yan Zhusheng up from the bed.

Then she threw back the covers and pointed to her socks, laid neatly on the chair.

Li Luo picked them up and handed them to her, but she didn't take them—instead, she lifted her bare feet toward him.

"... Where did you even learn this?"

"From your books," Yan Zhusheng replied honestly, blinking.

As she spoke, her delicate, glistening toes wiggled playfully, tapping lightly against his stomach, urging him to hurry.

Li Luo had no choice but to sit on the edge of the bed, grip her warm, smooth little feet, stretch open the socks, and carefully slip them on with serious focus.

"Don't move," Li Luo tapped her thigh, telling her other foot—which always liked to interfere—to behave.

Compared to Ying Chanxi's tiny, dainty feet, Yan Zhusheng's—she was 1.7 meters tall—were noticeably larger, appearing especially long in Li Luo's hands.

Especially her toes: glistening, pink, slender and fair, they looked like exquisite works of art.

Once the socks were on, they obscured their brilliance, far less striking than when bare.

"Li Luo, you really like feet," Yan Zhusheng half-closed her eyes, as if uncovering a secret.

Li Luo went cross-eyed: "You're the one who asked me to put your socks on—don't turn around and accuse me falsely!"

"Then why did you sneakily touch me while putting them on?"

"I didn't!" Li Luo widened his eyes, indignant.

At most, I just brushed against her slightly!

And where was it sneaky…?

How can you put on socks without touching the feet?