Chapter 269

The next morning, Li Luo woke up on time and, before even washing up, went straight to knock on Ying Chanxi's door and entered her room.

Seeing her still fast asleep, Li Luo walked to the bedside, crouched down, and smiled as he poked her cheek: "Little lazy pig, wake up."

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi woke up groggily, her eyes barely cracking open before she muttered irritably and rolled over, turning her back to Li Luo, "Let me sleep a little longer…"

Seeing how exhausted she was, Li Luo sighed helplessly: "Didn't we agree you'd start waking up early for morning runs? Did you stay up late again last night?"

"This is so annoying…" Ying Chanxi frowned.

"It's all your fault…"

Why was it his fault?

"Then keep sleeping," Li Luo said, standing up. "I'm heading to school for the run. Don't oversleep—there's an exam today."

Leaving Ying Chanxi's room, Li Luo quickly washed up, dressed neatly, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and headed toward Fuyi High.

At the school playground, Li Luo met up with Yan Zhusheng, who had already been waiting. Li Luo stared for a moment at the earphones Yan Zhusheng handed him.

Because previously, Yan Zhusheng had always just put them on him directly.

On the way to the school cafeteria after the run, Li Luo glanced at Yan Zhusheng and asked:

"You don't seem to be in a good mood?"

"Fine."

"Really?"

"Fake."

Li Luo chuckled: "So what's going on?"

"When are you going to write the scene where Mo Qinghan and the protagonist kiss?" Yan Zhusheng turned to stare at him, her unhappiness clear on her face. "I reread the latest chapter again—did you revise your draft?"

"Huh?"

"The draft you showed me before didn't describe it in this much detail," Yan Zhusheng frowned, dissatisfied. "Now it's a forced kiss, wall-hug—before, Mo Qinghan only stole one little kiss!"

Hearing this, Li Luo felt awkward.

"Every day when I write, I naturally polish the next chapter before posting," Li Luo coughed lightly and explained quietly. "The day before yesterday, I had a lot of inspiration, so I refined the details—plot-wise, it's no different from the draft I gave you."

"So when will it be Mo Qinghan's turn?" Yan Zhusheng asked, her face tight. "You can't play favorites."

"Next time, next time for sure," Li Luo shifted his gaze away guiltily.

Mainly because the plot is still stuck in Shen Dongdong's TV drama phase, and he'd promised Ying Chanxi that on March 14, he'd weave "Wait for You After Class" into that day's storyline.

So for this past half-month, everything has revolved around Shen Dongdong and this TV drama.

The main plot involving Mo Qinghan probably won't come until the second half of the month.

Still, as an adult soul with mature rationality, Li Luo had thoroughly mastered the art of skillfully dangling promises.

"Aren't I supposed to help Aunt Yuan promote her new album in the novel?" Li Luo said. "When that happens, Mo Qinghan will be the one singing those songs in the story."

"At least eight songs—tied into key dramatic moments. It'll take dozens of chapters to finish, one climax after another."

"Then every moment will be Mo Qinghan's spotlight."

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng's mood lifted slightly.

But when they reached the cafeteria line, she added seriously: "If there's a sad ballad later, let Mo Qinghan ask Li Yang for help—get her in the right emotional state."

"... Alright, I'll note that down."

…

On March 2, a not-so-explosive rumor spread.

Ying Chanxi, the top student in Grade 11 Class 1, was over half an hour late for the morning Chinese exam.

Soon after, classmates in Class 1 whispered that this opening exam might be the best chance for the top ten students in the grade to rise.

If Ying Chanxi failed the Chinese exam, someone might actually snatch the top spot.

Though the title of top student in the opening exam carried little weight.

But given Ying Chanxi's usual performance, if they didn't seize this chance now, they might never get another opportunity in the next two and a half years of high school.

But Li Luo wasn't concerned with any of that.

"So you didn't set an alarm?"

At lunch, Li Luo looked at Ying Chanxi with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Seeing her dark circles, he shook his head helplessly: "I woke you up this morning—you just couldn't get up yourself."

"Then why didn't you just drag me out?" Ying Chanxi pouted, poking her rice with her chopsticks, clearly sulking. "I didn't even get to class until almost nine—I was so embarrassed."

"What about Xu Youyu?" Li Luo turned to her beside him. "Didn't you wake her up this morning?"

"I thought you two went running together," Xu Youyu blinked, looking helpless. "I woke up at seven-thirty—I jumped right up, washed up, and left. I didn't even check if anyone was in Xi Xi's room."

Because the past three days were opening exams, with only one major subject each morning, starting at 8:30.

The school only required students to arrive before 8 a. m.

It was meant as a three-day adjustment period after winter break, letting students who stayed up late during the holidays gradually reset their sleep schedules.

After the opening exams ended, they'd return to morning self-study at 7 a. m.

Who could've expected that even with this relaxed schedule, Ying Chanxi would still be late—arriving at the exam hall around nine?

When the proctor for Class 1, Teacher Sun, noticed Ying Chanxi's seat was empty, he was stunned.

He called Ying Chanxi's father, Ying Zhicheng, who said he had no idea.

Ying Zhicheng then called Ying Chanxi, but no one answered, so he called Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong.

Li Guohong and his wife then called Li Luo.

But Li Luo was already sitting inside the Class 1 exam hall, taking the test.

Eventually, Li Luo volunteered and mentioned it to Teacher Sun, who lent him his phone to call Ying Chanxi again.

By then, the exam had already been going on for over ten minutes.

After several calls, Ying Chanxi finally answered. After Li Luo woke her up, she rushed frantically to school.

Thinking of walking into the classroom and seeing nearly all the examinees stare at her in shock, Ying Chanxi immediately covered her face: "This is so embarrassing—I won't even know how to face the class when I get back."

"What's the big deal?" Li Luo shook his head and chuckled. "You've never been late before, that's why. You just lack experience. Once you've been late a few times, you'll get used to it."

"Go die! You're actually hoping I'll be late more often?" Ying Chanxi glared at him and kicked hard under the desk.

Li Luo calmly blocked her entire attack, then clamped his legs together, even trapping one of Ying Chanxi's feet.

Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed red. She tugged her foot, but couldn't pull it free. She glared at him again, but couldn't say anything aloud over the desk.

Finally, Li Luo let her go, refusing to keep tormenting her in the cafeteria. Instead, he asked, "So, did you finish your Chinese exam paper?"

"I finished it."

"You finished that too?" Li Luo looked astonished.

"I didn't even have time to check," Ying Chanxi pouted. "I barely finished the essay and handed it in right away."

Li Luo: "..."

Alright, the world of a study god really is beyond ordinary comprehension.

Although Li Luo and Ying Chanxi's rankings differed by only a dozen places, the gap between them might be even wider than the gap between Li Luo and students ranked hundreds below him.

After the minor incident of being late, the three-day entrance exam ended smoothly.

When the results were posted on Friday, Jian Zhenyuan, ranked second, let out a deep sigh as he watched Ying Chanxi still firmly holding the top spot.

Even though Ying Chanxi's Chinese performance was slightly off, her total score still outpaced him by nearly ten points.

Once you reach the level above 950 points, every single point becomes incredibly hard to gain.

Not to mention a whole ten points!

In his limited high school career, Jian Zhenyuan felt he had no hope whatsoever of surpassing Ying Chanxi.

As for Li Luo, he looked at his school-wide rank of 23rd and felt no emotional fluctuation.

After rank 40, it's mostly about individual performance, exam difficulty, and question trends.

Li Luo's performance this time was no different from before—it was just that others might have performed slightly better.

Of course, some performed worse.

For example, Lu Jiahao from Class Eight didn't do well this time; he'd made it into the school's top 40 in the last final exam, but now dropped to 45th.

Thus, among the school's top 40, the parallel class still had only Li Luo as its lone representative.

And within the top fifty, besides Lu Jiahao, only Shen Shuhua from Class Sixteen could barely squeeze in.

On Saturday, Li Luo received the thank-you letters written by the class representatives for Women's Day.

After carefully reading them, he made minor revisions, changing a few inappropriate phrases, then returned them to the representatives, asking them to rewrite them neatly.

After finishing that, Li Luo spoke with Hua Xiuxiu again about buying gifts and flowers, and handed her the money.

"Class president, this is too much," Hua Xiuxiu said, startled as she looked at the money Li Luo gave her. "We won't need that much."

"That's for your transportation too," Li Luo said. "Buy yourself and the other class officers some drinks or bubble tea on the way—don't skimp."

Although Li Luo liked to delegate, since he was sending Hua Xiuxiu and the others out on weekend errands, he wouldn't let them go shortchanged.

After all, they were classmates, not subordinates. If money could solve the problem, Li Luo didn't mind spending a bit extra to avoid resentment from the class officers he asked to help.

"Then if there's any leftover money, I'll give it back to you," Hua Xiuxiu said seriously.

"Fine."

Li Luo nodded without objection—he trusted Hua Xiuxiu's ability in this matter.

This girl, though sometimes overly serious, was undeniably efficient. He'd relied on her all last semester, and now they'd fully synced; together, they managed the class smoothly.

Li Luo usually only provided ideas and plans; Hua Xiuxiu handled the execution.

It was a nearly perfect head-deputy class president pairing.

At least for Kong Junxiang, it had saved him a lot of trouble.

Kong Junxiang had originally planned to call Li Luo on Friday to discuss Women's Day arrangements, but Li Luo had already been preparing for it since the start of the term.

This made Kong Junxiang very comfortable—he didn't have to worry at all.

He was now worried that when Gao Er division happened, he might not be able to keep Li Luo as class president.

Once you get used to something this efficient, replacing it feels genuinely painful.

"Want to go shopping with me this afternoon?"

After school on Saturday, Li Luo asked the three girls beside him.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu blinked, thinking she'd misheard. "Why are you going shopping?"

"Tomorrow's Women's Day—I need to buy my mom a gift."

"You've got some conscience?" Xu Youyu laughed. "Then I'll buy one too—give my mom a treat tomorrow."

"Besides, the 14th is Chanxi's birthday," Li Luo said. "It's next Saturday—perfect chance to pick out a gift for her."

"You say that right in front of me? Now there's zero surprise," Ying Chanxi complained. "If you're buying me a gift, do it secretly."

"Then I won't buy you anything, okay?" Li Luo teased.

"Hmph." Ying Chanxi ignored him—she didn't believe he wouldn't buy her anything.

Meanwhile, Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng were both surprised.

"Chanxi's birthday is the 14th?"

"Yeah," Ying Chanxi nodded, then asked, "By the way, when are your birthdays, Senior Xu and Zhusheng?"

"Mine? June 8th," Xu Youyu said.

Yan Zhusheng thought for a moment, then replied: "August 24th."

Ying Chanxi nodded knowingly, silently memorizing the dates.

Li Luo didn't need to remember, since he already knew from his past life.

While chatting idly, the four of them walked out of the school gate, returned once to Bihai Lanting to drop off their backpacks, then headed together to the Nanbian Yintai Shopping Mall.

Whether it was Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng, or Xu Youyu, all of them browsed while planning to pick out a small gift for their mothers.

But Ying Chanxi was by far the most enthusiastic, dragging Li Luo around to pick and choose, finally buying a new dress and pairing it with a silk scarf.

"Maybe I won't buy anything?" Li Luo glanced at the dress and scarf Ying Chanxi had the clerk pack up, and smiled. "Since it's all for my mom, I'll just tag along with you."

"Whatever," Ying Chanxi said indifferently, pointing at the clothes in the bag. "Then you give this, and I'll give the scarf."

"I was just joking," Li Luo laughed, then stepped into a jade carving shop, glanced around casually, and his gaze settled on a bracelet.

"Boss, can you engrave characters on this jade bracelet?"

"Sure. What do you want engraved?"

"On the front, engrave 'Li and Lin.' On the back, engrave 'Grow old together.' Is that possible?"

"No problem. When do you need it?"

"Can I pick it up tomorrow morning?"

"OK."

……

The next morning, Li Luo came to the shop, received the bracelet, and examined its appearance.

The jade pieces in such shops were certainly not high quality, but Li Luo didn't care about that—he just wanted it to look nice.

After admiring the boss's craftsmanship, Li Luo nodded in satisfaction, then said: "Boss, can I order another bracelet from you?"

"Sure. Who's it for?"

"A friend," Li Luo smiled. "Her birthday is coming up."