Chapter 264

At two in the afternoon, Li Luo's family and Ying Zhicheng's family departed on time.

After bidding farewell to the elders at home, the trunk was packed full of various local specialties from Grandpa and Grandma, and they drove out of Li Family Village.

This time, however, Ying Chanxi finally got her wish.

Because Li Guohong's car had Lin Xiuhong sitting in the front passenger seat, only three people could fit in the back.

If the extra person had to ride in Ying Zhicheng's car, it would be awkward for everyone except Ying Chanxi.

So from the start, Li Luo headed toward Ying Zhicheng's car, planning to sit there.

That way, even if all three girls wanted to sit there, they could still squeeze in.

Xu Youyu had no intention of competing with Ying Chanxi or Yan Zhusheng for a seat; she simply opened the front passenger door of Ying Zhicheng's car and chose to sit up front.

Ying Chanxi naturally sat beside Li Luo in the back.

What surprised Li Luo was that Yan Zhusheng shook her head at him outside the car and said there was no need to squeeze—she'd sit in the other car.

Then she got into the front passenger seat of Li Guohong's car, leaving Li Luo stunned and Ying Chanxi beside him equally astonished.

Watching Yan Zhusheng settle into the back seat of the neighboring car, they didn't think much of it and soon forgot about it, preparing for the post-holiday return to city life.

The two cars first dropped off Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng at their homes, then drove straight back to Jincheng Community.

That evening, Li Guohong discussed it with Lin Xiuhong.

They agreed unanimously to keep the business closed for these few days, first meet with the intermediary for the Xijie shop, get a sense of the situation there, and see if they could secure a store first.

Only after completing that would they consider opening the breakfast shop.

Li Luo, of course, wholeheartedly approved.

Even if his parents immediately retired into leisurely old age right now, Li Luo would gladly vote in favor.

In his past life, they had labored their entire lives—he longed for them to begin enjoying peace and comfort in this one.

Yet changing the older generation's mindset still required time and patience.

So Li Luo wasn't in a hurry; now, he'd use the purchase of a storefront as a way to help his parents slowly grow accustomed to not running a grueling breakfast shop.

Maybe once they got used to this relaxed, business-negotiating lifestyle, they'd find running a breakfast shop itself uncomfortable and unbearable?

Then Li Luo could naturally and smoothly help his parents put down the breakfast shop and embrace a new life.

"Oh, by the way."

After discussing the storefront purchase at home, Lin Xiuhong said to Li Luo, "There's another thing I need to tell you."

"Huh? What is it?" Li Luo asked, puzzled, just as he was about to return to his room to write.

"It's about Zhusheng," Lin Xiuhong said with a smile. "She mentioned it to me at lunch, and we talked about it again on the way back—I thought it was fine, so I agreed."

"Huh? Agreed to what?"

o￠o

"About moving into your Bihai Lanting place," Lin Xiuhong said. "But not fully moving in—just staying there on weekends."

"Today she asked me whether that empty little room would be rented out to someone else later."

"If you're not planning to rent it out yet, could she rent it?"

"She still has to live in her dorm during the week, but she'd stay there on weekends to avoid the long trip home after school."

"Besides, her mom seems really busy and is usually not home anyway—it's better for her to stay with you."

"She also said that even though she'd only stay on weekends, she'd still pay regular rent."

Here, Lin Xiuhong laughed and shook her head. "This girl is so honest—she's only staying on weekends, yet she still wants to pay rent."

"She still needs to pay," Li Guohong coughed twice to remind them. "Xu Youyu pays rent too. If we don't charge Yan Zhusheng, it wouldn't make sense—either we don't charge anyone, or we charge everyone. After all, she's not like XiXi."

"That's true," Lin Xiuhong nodded.

Hearing this, Li Luo was speechless with a wry smile—he realized Yan Zhusheng hadn't sat with him today because she'd been planning this…

She could've just asked him directly—why go through his parents?

"Since you've agreed, let her move in. She's stayed over in that room before when she came to visit us."

Li Luo said, "As for rent, neither Zhusheng nor Xu Youyu's families are short on money—charge what's fair, and use it for utilities and such."

Any extra can go toward groceries and snacks.

……

On the afternoon of the last day of the month, Ying Chanxi packed her luggage and rode with Li Luo in Li Guohong's car to Bihai Lanting.

They were returning to Bihai Lanting 1502 to prepare for tomorrow's school registration.

Li Guohong was heading there incidentally, having arranged to meet the intermediary and inspect the storefronts already listed for sale on Xijie.

When they arrived at the entrance of Bihai Lanting, Ying Chanxi got out with Li Luo and dragged her suitcase all the way to 1502.

Xu Youyu had already returned yesterday.

She was now lying on the sofa eating a small pudding, and upon seeing Li Luo and Ying Chanxi enter, she grinned and greeted them: "Hi~ Long time no see~"

"It's only been two days," Li Luo chuckled as he changed into slippers. "It's winter—why are you eating ice cream?"

"Generally speaking, December, January, and February are winter," Xu Youyu argued. "March is spring—tomorrow's March 1st, so eating ice cream a day early is fine."

"I don't care," Li Luo said as he put his suitcase in the bedroom and came back out. "Just don't scream in pain when your period comes."

"Carpe diem, enjoy the moment," Xu Youyu sniffed. "That's my life motto—future troubles are for future me to worry about."

"No wonder you can't save your drafts."

"Shh!" At this, Xu Youyu tensed up, shushing him urgently, glancing toward Ying Chanxi's room. Seeing she hadn't come out yet after putting her luggage away, she sighed in relief and glared at Li Luo. "Don't say things like that when there are other people around!"

"Then don't come to me for material when there are other people around either."

"How can you say that?" Xu Youyu frowned, displeased. "Don't worry—I won't let XiXi find out."

"Didn't I just say I didn't let XiXi find out either?"

"Tsk." Xu Youyu couldn't argue further; she immediately jumped off the sofa, making Li Luo scramble backward until he reached Ying Chanxi's bedroom door, where he finally felt safe.

Xu Youyu looked at him with a amused expression: "Why are you running? Am I that scary?"

"I just needed to find Chanxi," Li Luo pulled at his mouth, then simply opened Ying Chanxi's door to ensure his own safety.

The next second, a scream came from inside: "Ah! Li Luo, what are you doing?!"

With a bang, the door slammed shut again.

Li Luo caught only a glimpse of the bed covered in all sorts of clothes, naturally including some intimate ones.

"I'm organizing my closet! Don't you know to knock before opening someone's door?!"

"Cough… sorry, my fault," Li Luo quickly apologized, then the next second was shoved against the wall by Xu Youyu.

"Shh…" Xu Youyu whispered in his ear, "Don't move. A little louder and Chanxi will hear."

Li Luo dared not move under her threat, forced to silently endure the "bullying" from the senior sister.

But in truth, Xu Youyu hadn't done anything—she'd merely pressed a little closer.

Still, teasing Li Luo, watching him flustered, amused Xu Youyu immensely; every chance she got, she couldn't resist trying it.

The two stood like this for a while, until Xu Youyu heard Ying Chanxi's footsteps approaching the room, then immediately turned and left, letting Li Luo off the hook.

Soon after, Ying Chanxi's bedroom door opened and she poked her head out, seeing Li Luo still leaning against the wall, "standing in penalty," and asked in confusion: "Why are you standing here all the time?"

"Nothing. Just bored, standing around."

Ying Chanxi didn't think much of it, only told him: "I made plans with Xinyan tonight—she's coming over to review and finish the last remaining test paper."

"She hasn't even finished her winter break homework?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"She planned it by the number of papers," Ying Chanxi said. "Do you think everyone's like you, finishing everything before the break even started?"

"Winter break homework is just for keeping your touch—doing one or two papers a day to stay sharp is perfect."

"Xinyan only has one paper left—tonight she'll finish it easily."

Li Luo nodded, then added: "But I noticed you finished your winter break homework early too."

"I have the competition problems from Teacher Sun," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes at him. "I don't even need to do the winter break homework—Teacher Sun won't care about me anyway."

"So this is the luxury of a top student…"

"What nonsense are you talking? If you didn't do your winter break homework, do you think your homeroom teacher would let you off?" Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes again. "Anyway, I've made plans with Xinyan tonight—I'm just letting you know."

"Alright," Li Luo nodded. "Let's review together tonight—I'll invite Zhao Rongjun too."

"Sure," Ying Chanxi nodded, then hesitated before adding, "What about Zhusheng? But her home is far from here—making her come over just to review tonight isn't really necessary."

"Uh… well…" Li Luo, hearing her mention this, suddenly remembered he hadn't told her yet, and decided to inform her ahead of time.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Ying Chanxi, hearing the bell, walked to the door in confusion, opened it, glanced outside—and instantly looked astonished: "Zhusheng? What are you doing here?"

Outside, Yan Zhusheng, dragging two suitcases, blinked her eyes, then tilted her head and said: "I'm moving in. Didn't you know, Chanxi?"