Chapter 273

At 4:30, Li Luo finished six dishes, which Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu carried one by one to the dining table.

This was Xu Yinghuan's first time visiting Bihai Lanting.

Looking at the lavish spread, she couldn't help whispering to Yan Zhusheng: "Is Li Luo this good at cooking?"

"Mm, very good," Yan Zhusheng nodded seriously. "And delicious."

As everyone prepared to sit, Li Luo took out drinks he had bought at the supermarket.

Xu Youyu slipped into her bedroom and dragged out a case of beer.

Li Luo chuckled at her helplessly. "Senior, are you really drinking today?"

"It's such a great day—how can we not drink?" Xu Youyu said as if it were obvious. "Are you two drinking?"

Zhao Rongjun shook his head vigorously.

Qiao Xinyan also waved her hand to decline.

Yan Zhusheng's eyes sparkled; she raised her glass and signaled to Xu Youyu: "Senior, I'll have some."

"Just a little to taste," Li Luo reminded her.

"Hehe, coming right up." Xu Youyu opened a can for Yan Zhusheng, placed it before her, then turned to Ying Chanxi and Xu Yinghuan. "What about you two?"

"Give me one too," Xu Yinghuan said, seeing Yan Zhusheng drink, and reached for a can.

Ying Chanxi nodded lightly. "Mm, I'll have some too."

Li Luo sighed and took a can from Xu Youyu, then filled drinks for Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan, who didn't drink.

After everyone was seated, Li Luo raised his cup first, holding it high above his head with a grin. "Today is Ying Chanxi's sixteenth birthday—we've gathered to celebrate."

"You talk too much," Ying Chanxi said, raising her cup to clink with his. "Just eat already. Snacks aren't filling."

"Fine," Li Luo shrugged. "Happy birthday, Xixi."

"Happy birthday!"

The others raised their cups; seven of them clinked together, then each took a big sip.

Yan Zhusheng swallowed a large gulp of beer, stuck out her tongue secretly, and felt the taste was strange.

Seeing this, Li Luo poured her a glass of drink. "If you can't drink it, don't."

At that moment, Xu Yinghuan had already eagerly picked up chopsticks, grabbed a bite, savored it, then her eyes lit up.

"So delicious!" Xu Yinghuan tried a few more dishes, unable to hide her amazement. "Li Luo, you're incredible! When did you learn?"

"Self-taught."

"You must've been a master chef in your last life!" Xu Yinghuan praised.

Li Luo: "..."

Who praises someone like that?

"By the way, after dinner, have you decided what to play?" Xu Youyu asked while eating. "You're not just going to keep playing cards, are you?"

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately grew wary. "Just say it outright—did you prepare another weird little game again?"

"What's weird?" Xu Youyu pouted. "I thought last time's hide-and-seek was fun, so I've got a brand-new version—definitely fun!"

"I'd believe you if I had ghosts."

Li Luo's forehead darkened with sweat, recalling last time's hide-and-seek—disaster after disaster.

Of course, purely for him, it had been... uh... rather alluring.

Thinking of it, Li Luo unconsciously lowered his gaze to Xu Youyu's full chest.

But the next second, he consciously pulled his eyes away—only to meet Xu Youyu's half-smiling gaze, making him guiltily look elsewhere.

"What's this new version?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously from across the table; her expression seemed eager.

"What's hide-and-seek?" Xu Yinghuan, who had never played before, asked too.

"It's still about picking one person to wear a blindfold and chase the others, and then..." Xu Youyu grinned, leaping up and dashing into her bedroom, returning with a small bell, waving it twice. "We each get a little bell, tied to our ankles—when we walk, it makes noise."

"Then the chaser listens for the sound to locate everyone else."

"Of course, since the bells are on our ankles, we can move freely—if we walk slowly, we can keep them silent, but if we move fast, they'll definitely ring."

"Of course, since a bell is tied to your foot, everyone can move around freely—if you walk very slowly, you can keep the bell from ringing, but if you move at any decent speed, the bell will definitely sound."

Li Luo stared at the bell in her hand, utterly speechless. "I remember you bought a whole bag of these bells before Women's Day—I thought you were buying them for your mom."

"Not for my mom, but still for Xixi," Xu Youyu grinned. "So after dinner, let's play this? Good for digestion and exercise."

Everyone else looked interested, so Li Luo nodded in agreement.

Then Xu Youyu turned to Ying Chanxi, suddenly remembering something. "Oh right—today's the Birthday Person's day, so you won't wear a bell—you can walk freely around the living room. You get it, right?"

Then Xu Youyu turned to Ying Chanxi and suddenly remembered: "Ah right, today is Xixi's birthday—so you won't need to wear a bell, and you can walk around the living room freely. You get what I mean, right?"

"The one who gets caught has to take a punishment," Xu Youyu grinned, pulling out a small box from her pocket. "Truth or Dare—I just bought this two days ago."

Li Luo stared at her thorough preparations, laughing and groaning. "You really came prepared."

Xu Youyu tilted her chin up proudly, humming in satisfaction with her planning.

After dinner, everyone cleared the table, rested briefly, then Xu Youyu eagerly handed out the bells.

"I bought over ten bells—we can each take two, tie one on each ankle," Xu Youyu grinned. "Xixi doesn't need one—this bell you can hold and use for mischief."

"I just bought over a dozen bells—we can each take two, binding one on each foot," Xu Youyu said with a grin. "Xixi doesn't need to tie any—this bell you can just hold and use for mischief."

Ying Chanxi thought for a moment, quickly grasping the bell's clever use.

"Li Luo," Yan Zhusheng tugged his sleeve quietly, holding up her bell with an innocent expression. "I can't tie it—help me?"

Li Luo had just finished tying his own; hearing this, he took the bell, knelt before Yan Zhusheng, and tied it to her ankle.

Feeling the tickle on her ankle, Yan Zhusheng wiggled her toes, pretending not to notice Ying Chanxi's gaze, then whispered thanks when he finished.

Xu Yinghuan, sneaking candy beside her, grinned like a fool.

Xu Yinghuan snuck candies on the side, a silly grin spreading across her face.

After everyone was tied up, the seven of them drew lots to choose who would wear the blindfold.

Zhao Rongjun was luckily chosen as the first blindfolded player; he obediently took the blindfold from Xu Youyu, sighed helplessly, and put it on himself.

Although the rules allowed free movement, once they actually began walking around the living room with bells attached, everyone realized the sound was remarkably noticeable.

Ding ling ling, ding ling ling—it would be easy to pinpoint someone's location even with a blindfold on.

So everyone tried their best to hide in corners.

Li Luo crawled under the desk and used chairs to block all sides.

Zhao Rongjun, being such an honest person, would hardly move the chairs himself, so he wouldn't bump into Li Luo underneath.

Li Luo had planned this perfectly; he secretly smiled with satisfaction.

But when the thirty-second countdown ended, Zhao Rongjun, blindfolded, began slowly feeling his way around the living room, gradually approaching the desk—just as he was about to leave without finding anyone.

Suddenly.

A bell, pinched by a small hand, dropped from above the desk right into Li Luo's view.

Then, the bell's owner gently shook it once.

Ding ling ling~

Zhao Rongjun's ear twitched; he quickly identified the sound's source, and his body, which had already turned away, swung back.

Seeing this, Li Luo cursed inwardly and turned to look behind the desk—Ying Chanxi had just retracted her mischievous hand, covering her mouth as she stifled two giggles.

Watching Zhao Rongjun crouch down and begin trying to move the chairs,

Li Luo quickly stepped back two paces, attempting to escape from the side of the desk.

But Ying Chanxi, ever thoughtful, crouched behind the desk, blocking Li Luo's escape route.

"You…" Li Luo stared wide-eyed at Ying Chanxi, pushing her away with both hands.

The two nearly tumbled into a scuffle; Ying Chanxi, holding back laughter, blocked him—until, just as Li Luo was about to flee, Zhao Rongjun successfully grabbed his leg from the other side.

"Who's this?"

After touching someone, Zhao Rongjun immediately tore off his blindfold and looked under the desk.

Then he froze: "What are you two doing?"

At that moment, Li Luo, desperate for escape, had pressed his entire body onto Ying Chanxi.

One on top, one below, Ying Chanxi clung tightly to Li Luo, preventing him from slipping away.

After being caught, Li Luo scrambled to his feet, scowling, and tapped Ying Chanxi's head: "You're targeting me, aren't you? How do you even come up with so much mischief?"

Ying Chanxi blinked innocently: "Today I'm the Birthday Person—how dare you speak to me like that?"

"Cough… This is precisely the charm of this new version of hide-and-seek," Xu Youyu chuckled from the side. "It's not just a battle of physical strength and intellect—it's a reflection of human relationships."

"Think about it."

"Why does the Birthday Person target only you and not anyone else? Isn't it because you've done something wrong lately?"

Li Luo: "... You've got a whole lecture prepared, huh?"

"Please draw your card," Xu Youyu said with a chuckle, pulling out the deck of Truth or Dare cards and offering them to Li Luo. "Truth or Dare?"

Li Luo hesitated for two seconds, then said: "Dare."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow. "People who choose Dare usually have some secret they really don't want revealed."

"Sis, you talk too much."

"Then draw."

Li Luo pulled one card from the Dare pile.

Xu Youyu took it and read aloud: "Choose one friend present and strike their butt three times hard, then shout loudly: 'Why won't you listen to Mommy!'"

Li Luo: "...?"

His mind froze for a moment, then his gaze swept the room, a smirk forming as it landed on Ying Chanxi beside him.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi's face changed instantly; she stepped back rapidly, then bolted for her bedroom: "I'm the Birthday Person! Don't you dare come near me!"

"Don't run! Stop right there!"