Chapter 260: Sisterly Affection

On the fifth day of the month, at 5:30 a. m.

In Li Luo's room, the familiar and annoying alarm clock sound rang out again.

After being woken by the alarm, Li Luo rubbed his eyes, ready to turn it off and get up immediately.

But the next second, a massive bulk suddenly blocked his sky, plunging him into darkness, cutting off his breath as air was stifled in his nostrils, leaving him gasping.

"So noisy…" Xu Youyu leaned her entire upper body over Li Luo's head and grabbed his phone.

But because her half-closed, drowsy eyes couldn't focus clearly, her fingers slid repeatedly across the screen, taking several seconds before she finally managed to turn off the alarm.

Only after she pulled back and snuggled down on the pillow to resume her sweet sleep did Li Luo regain his sight, gasping for air, staring blankly at the ceiling as he reached up to touch his nose and mouth.

Then he turned his head to look at Xu Youyu, who had changed into a light pajama after her bath last night, silently bent his knees and shifted his hips back.

Li Luo took a deep breath, wiped his face, rubbed his eyes, and finally became fully awake—though his mind still felt foggy.

Both of you leaned over to turn off the phone, yet people are so different… Yan Zhusheng never had this problem.

Xu Youyu, with her built-in brake pads, really packs a punch.

Li Luo quickly got out of bed, didn't bother changing clothes first, and rushed straight into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

After washing up, he ran back to his bedroom, shook Xu Youyu's body gently, and whispered: "Senior, senior, wake up."

"Mmm… what?" Xu Youyu frowned, still with her eyes shut, turning irritably away from him, "Don't bother me, I'm sleeping."

"Go back to your own room and sleep," Li Luo reminded her. "You should've gone back last night."

"What's the difference… we've slept together before," Xu Youyu mumbled, then immediately slipped into dramatic mode, "Do you dislike me now? You slept with me and now you won't acknowledge me?"

"I've lowered myself, asked for nothing but a sliver of your love…"

"Can't you even grant me this small wish?"

Li Luo's face darkened: "... Act normal. You're still half-asleep and you're still pulling this act? I can tell you're wide awake."

"I don't wanna move. So sleepy," Xu Youyu wriggled under the covers. "This side's warm and cozy. Going back means warming up the bed all over again."

"Still better than someone finding you sleeping in my room," Li Luo rolled his eyes, shaking her again. "Hurry up, get up."

"No," Xu Youyu pulled the blanket over her head. "Just go downstairs. No one comes up here anyway."

"Just in case," Li Luo stared at her, speechless—her behavior was like a child throwing a tantrum. He sighed, arms crossed, torn between laughter and exasperation. "If you don't get up, I'm going to force you."

"Come on then. You gonna hit a girl? Be gentle, big brother~"

Li Luo: "..."

Taking a deep breath, Li Luo leaned down, grabbed her and the blanket together, and lifted her up.

Xu Youyu instinctively shrieked as she felt herself lifted into the air, then Li Luo carried her, blanket and all, down the hallway and back to her own bedroom.

He tossed her onto the bed, picked up her cotton quilt, and smiled as he left: "I'll leave you the quilt—it's still warm. Saves you from having to warm up your own bed again."

After speaking, Li Luo walked out of the bedroom, kindly closing the door behind her, then carried the quilts from Xu Youyu's room back to her own and tossed them onto the bed.

Since all the cotton quilts and covers in her grandfather's house were handmade by her grandmother, and all had the same pattern, switching quilts without close inspection would make no difference at all.

So Li Luo felt completely at ease; after changing the quilts, she clapped her hands, nodded in satisfaction, then headed downstairs to prepare for breakfast.

At this time, Grandma had already cooked the white porridge as usual; Li Luo poured three steaming bowls of porridge and fried three eggs just like yesterday.

After placing them on the dining table, she checked the time—it was already past five forty in the morning.

It looked like the two next door hadn't woken up yet.

I wonder what happened yesterday—Yan Zhusheng never came over, leaving Li Luo constantly anxious, fearing that Xu Youyu might be doing something reckless in her room while Yan Zhusheng sneaked in unexpectedly.

But the entire night passed without incident.

Last night was also a peaceful night.

Still, having someone come to her room in the middle of the night to cause trouble on rotation was truly exhausting.

After sipping two mouthfuls of porridge, Li Luo remembered the quarrel with Ying Chanxi that morning, so she put down her spoon, stood up, and went to knock on the neighbor's door first.

Walking casually over to the neighbor's place, she greeted Grandpa Ying in the courtyard, then headed up to the third floor.

The room closest to the staircase was Yan Zhusheng's.

But when Li Luo knocked and peeked inside, she was surprised to find the room empty!

Huh?

Li Luo paused, wondering if Yan Zhusheng had just gotten up.

But the bathroom was also empty; she glanced at the opposite bathroom and thought back to the path she'd taken—she hadn't seen Yan Zhusheng anywhere.

Could she have gone out through the rooftop again?

With this question in mind, Li Luo walked over to Ying Chanxi's door and pulled out her phone, planning to call Yan Zhusheng.

But as soon as she dialed, before she even knocked on Ying Chanxi's door, the phone's ringtone echoed from inside the very room she was standing in front of.

For a moment, Li Luo fell into deep thought.

She quietly hung up the call, then knocked gently on the door; hearing no response, she softly pushed it open to take a look.

On the single bed, two young girls slept peacefully.

Probably because Ying Chanxi kept stealing the covers during the night, Yan Zhusheng had simply curled up beside her, hugging her tightly with her head resting on Ying Chanxi's shoulder, both of them pressed closely together under the quilt so Ying Chanxi couldn't monopolize it alone.

Watching this scene, Li Luo thought: Is this really the correct way to sleep with Xi Xi?

Although Yan Zhusheng sometimes seemed a bit clueless, she was surprisingly clever in certain matters.

Li Luo chuckled and shook his head, stepped into the bedroom, walked to the bedside, and gently poked both girls' soft cheeks: "Wake up, both of you."

"Mmm…"

The two girls woke up almost simultaneously; Yan Zhusheng, still hugging Ying Chanxi, stretched her body, causing Ying Chanxi to feel cramped and quickly push her away: "Zhusheng, move over a bit, it's too tight."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng shifted slightly inward and released her hold on Ying Chanxi.

Then Ying Chanxi stretched out, sat up, reached for her socks and thermal leggings from the nightstand, handed Yan Zhusheng's pair over first, then picked up her own to put on.

As she dressed, Ying Chanxi turned to look at Li Luo, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Go outside! You're not seriously planning to watch us get dressed, are you?"

"Oh okay, I'll go back to the next room for breakfast. You two get ready and come over when you're done."

Li Luo nodded, about to leave, when he saw Yan Zhusheng casually pull back her blanket, revealing a pair of snow-white, almost glowing long legs—and deep along her thighs…

"Zhusheng!" Ying Chanxi noticed this and quickly pulled the blanket back over her. "Li Luo's still here—be more careful!"

Li Luo, now quite embarrassed, quickly turned and walked toward the door, clearing his throat twice. "I—I'm off then. See you later."

Remember, when they slept on their own side before, Li Luo only asked them to take off their coats and socks, or if they wore cotton undergarments, to remove their sweaters too.

Things like thermal pants? They had to keep them on.

Or else change into proper pajamas, like Xu Youyu did.

Otherwise, this big guy Li Luo really couldn't handle it.

But Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, sleeping together, clearly had far fewer scruples.

Their upper bodies still wore clothes, but their legs? Nothing at all—just a tiny pair of underwear.

This was the first time in Li Luo's life he'd seen a girl dressed like this.

Especially since Yan Zhusheng usually wore her school uniform; though he knew her long legs were striking, this was one of the rare chances he had to see their full length—and he nearly got lost staring.

It truly unsettled his Dao heart.

Just like the face wash this morning.

Though Yan Zhusheng had obvious flaws, her strengths were just as striking.

Li Luo silently repented in his heart for underestimating Yan Zhusheng this morning.

Everyone has their strengths; he should pay more attention to others' virtues, or he'd form a biased view.

Thinking this, Li Luo had already returned to the next room and gulped down a bowl of porridge.

Soon after, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng came walking over, arms linked.

Clearly, after sleeping together last night, their relationship had grown much closer.

Li Luo pulled out chairs for them to sit and drink porridge, then took out his phone and idly scrolled.

But when he opened the comments section of I Am Really Not a Star, he saw a post that had been pinned above the top three Silver Patron posts.

This piqued his curiosity. He checked the post by the user named 【Sister Kicked Me】 and read the insane rants supporting Jiang Ming—couldn't help but chuckle.

Then he clicked into the comment section below, glanced down—and froze. He instinctively glanced at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng beside him.

【Xixi Not Xixi】: I saw you supported Qingmei before? Why'd you stop? You can't be so fickle!

【Shengsheng Not Ceasing】: The guy upstairs is right.

【Xixi Not Xixi】: If you'd stuck with Jiang Ming from the start, fine. But jumping back and forth like this? Doesn't that make you look ridiculous? Your will is so weak!

【Shengsheng Not Ceasing】: I agree.

【Xixi Not Xixi】: If you supported Dongdong before, you must've seen her goodness, thought she was worth it—why change your mind now?

【Shengsheng Not Ceasing】: And Mo Qinghan too.

【Xixi Not Xixi】: Your wall-flipping behavior is hilarious. It just shows you're flighty and unstable. Honestly, I can't tell how much you really like Jiang Ming.

【Shengsheng Not Ceasing】: Exactly right.

Li Luo watched the two sisters team up to gang up on someone—and nearly burst out laughing.

Even though he held it in, his mouth still twitched as he stifled silent giggles.

Ying Chanxi noticed Li Luo's odd expression and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, keep eating," Li Luo forced his expression back, managing to look mostly normal, though still smiling faintly. "Just saw something funny—it made me laugh."

"What funny thing?"

"Uh… Zhao Rongjun sent it to me. It's a guy thing—you wouldn't get it," Li Luo said with a perfectly straight face, making it up.

"You're so childish," Ying Chanxi snorted.

After breakfast, the three rested in the living room for a while, then set out together, beginning their morning run along the village path.

Ying Chanxi glanced at Li Luo's sneakers—the pair she'd given him—and smiled in satisfaction.

Yan Zhusheng looked at Li Luo's sneakers, frowned slightly, unhappy—but when she saw the gloves on his hands, the ones she'd given him, her brow slowly relaxed.

The two girls walked one on each side of Li Luo, stepping out from the courtyard gate and beginning to jog around the village path.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang had just been woken by his grandmother, stretched lazily at his window as usual—and saw this scene below.

Li Xiang: "…"

Last night it was Xu Youyu, this morning it's Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi, huh?

Uncle, you're really busy…