Chapter 274: I Love It Most!

At Ying Chanxi's bedroom door.

Four girls huddled together, faces full of gossip, pressing against the room's door to listen for sounds inside.

Zhao Rongjun stood alone a short distance down the hallway, watching this scene, silently munching on a bag of chips.

"Let go of me! Ah! Don't!"

"You ran pretty fast just now—keep running."

"I'm the Birthday Person today!"

"I'm hitting the Birthday Person."

Slap!

"Ah!"

"By the way, what's the line again?"

"How come you're not listening to Mom again!" Xu Youyu kindly reminded from outside the door.

Qiao Xinyan half-covered her face, finding it hard to imagine the scene inside the bedroom, yet still pressed her ear to the door, unable to stop listening.

In her mind, she already pictured Ying Chanxi pinned over Li Luo's thigh, getting her bottom spanked—adorable.

"Oh right." Li Luo nodded inside the room, "How come you're not listening to Dad again!"

Slap!

"Ah!" Ying Chanxi got another smack on the butt, and immediately protested, "Senior sister said it's Mom! Why are you changing the line?!"

"I'm male—I'm definitely Dad."

Slap!

"Still not listening to Dad?"

"You've hit me three times! Let me go!"

Slap-slap-slap!

Three more crisp sounds.

"Dad will spare your life—for now."

Before the words had fully faded, the bedroom door flew open.

Li Luo burst out suddenly, colliding into Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng: "Holy shit, why are you both here?"

"Li Luo, don't run!"

Ying Chanxi chased after him, face flushed with anger.

After quickly steadying Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo shot off to the living room and hid behind the desk.

Ying Chanxi chased after him to the desk, and the two began a game of circling the pillar like Qin Wang, making Ying Chanxi stomp her feet in fury.

"Don't run!"

"I won't run if you don't chase me."

"You hit me three extra times—let me hit you back!"

"I was just comforting you because I was afraid the earlier hits hurt—you think I was really spanking you?"

◆ttkΛn◆C〇

"Then I'll comfort you too."

"My butt doesn't hurt."

"Alright, alright." Xu Youyu walked over, holding back laughter as she blocked Ying Chanxi, "It's Li Luo's turn to wear the blindfold now."

"Senior sister, I haven't even scolded you yet," Ying Chanxi grumbled, pouting. "Li Luo was supposed to be punished—why did I end up getting punished instead?"

"Cough… That's how the dare works," Xu Youyu patted Ying Chanxi's shoulder to soothe her. "That's what makes this game fun."

"Exactly, exactly." Li Luo grinned from across the desk. "Don't be a sore loser, Birthday Person."

"Hmph!" Ying Chanxi glared at him, then immediately urged, "Hurry up—put on the blindfold!"

"Coming, coming." Li Luo took the blindfold from Zhao Rongjun and tied it over his eyes. "Thirty seconds—hurry up."

As he spoke, Li Luo felt a smack on his butt.

"Holy crap!" Li Luo covered his butt and laughed in mock outrage, "You're doing this, huh? Ying Chanxi, you're gonna pay."

"It wasn't me!" Ying Chanxi cried out, watching Xu Youyu smack Li Luo's butt—she'd been falsely accused, and now she was frantic. "It was Senior Sister!"

Xu Youyu had already ducked behind the sofa, hand over her mouth, stifling laughter.

"Who are you fooling? I'll catch you first."

Meanwhile, the others were all hiding, and Li Luo's ears were filled with the jingling of bells—he couldn't tell if anyone was near him, so he still assumed it was Ying Chanxi.

Ying Chanxi was furious at being wrongly blamed, and decided she wouldn't let it go—she dashed behind Li Luo and gave his butt a smack.

"Ouch… again?" Li Luo turned around, covering his butt, expression flat. "That was you this time, right?"

"You blamed me," Ying Chanxi huffed. "I only hit you once—earlier was definitely Senior Sister."

Just seconds after she spoke, Li Luo made another "Hm?"

Someone else had smacked his butt—this time with less force than the previous two.

"What… are you addicted to this now?"

"It wasn't me!" Ying Chanxi widened her eyes, watching Yan Zhusheng sneakily crawl behind Li Luo—she moved so well, her leg bells made almost no sound.

Then she raised her small hand and gave Li Luo's butt a light tap.

"This time it's Zhusheng!"

"Didn't realize you were so good at lying," Li Luo clicked his tongue. "Thirty seconds's about up—I'm starting."

"You're going to drive me insane," Ying Chanxi stomped her foot, exasperated.

Meanwhile, Yan Zhusheng, who had been lying on the floor, quietly rolled under the desk, looked at her hand, and thought the touch had felt pretty good.

But when it came to Li Luo's turn to catch someone, things weren't as smooth as with Zhao Rongjun.

Ying Chanxi always liked to interfere with Li Luo's judgment at the last moment by shaking her bell, causing him to miss countless opportunities.

Finally, according to the rules, if the person wearing the blindfold failed to catch anyone within the one-minute countdown, they lost.

Thus, Li Luo lost again, bitterly removing his blindfold to see Xu Youyu walking over with a beaming smile, leaving him speechless.

"This time, truth or dare?"

"Oh?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow. "No more dares? You might still draw a card that lets you punish someone, just like before."

"We should switch things up a bit," Li Luo chuckled, reaching into the truth-or-dare deck and pulling out a card, handing it to Xu Youyu.

"Let me see," Xu Youyu took the card and read aloud, "Among all the girls your age you've ever known, who do you have the closest bond with?"

"Ying Chanxi."

"Oh~" Xu Youyu nodded with a sly grin. "You didn't even hesitate, did you? Xi Xi, you heard that, right?"

"I—I heard," Ying Chanxi blinked, glancing around shyly, scratching her cheek, avoiding Li Luo's gaze as she muttered softly, "We've just known each other longer, that's all."

"Then who's second?" Yan Zhusheng whispered beside him.

Li Luo glanced at her, half-amused, half-exasperated: "Guess."

"Guess what?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled.

"Nothing," Li Luo shook his head, then said, "It's your turn to pick someone to wear the blindfold."

After losing, Li Luo no longer had to catch anyone; instead, the other six played rock-paper-scissors to choose the next blindfolded player.

This time, Qiao Xinyan was chosen—but thanks to Ying Chanxi's antics, she failed to catch anyone, leaving Qiao Xinyan furious. After tearing off her blindfold, she chased Ying Chanxi to tickle her.

In the end, she reluctantly chose truth and was asked: What kind of opposite-sex person do you like best?

Qiao Xinyan thought for a moment: "Someone who knows how to care for others, acts with restraint, and has stable emotions."

Ying Chanxi nodded thoughtfully: "Don't worry, Xin Yan, I'll keep an eye out for you."

"What are you talking about, Xi Xi!" Qiao Xinyan's cheeks flushed, quickly cutting her off.

After that, several more rounds of hide-and-seek passed pleasantly.

Yan Zhusheng lost once and immediately chose dare.

"Let me see what I drew," Xu Youyu took the card Yan Zhusheng pulled, then burst out laughing. "Choose one opposite-sex person present and feed them a cookie mouth-to-mouth."

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng froze.

Ying Chanxi instantly realized the implication, her heart skipping a beat, her eyes instinctively darting to Li Luo beside her.

Clearly, Yan Zhusheng's gaze settled on Li Luo. She blinked at him: "Li Luo."

"Does it really have to be opposite-sex?" Li Luo frowned, leaning close to Xu Youyu to check the card—and confirmed it did.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you questioning me as the referee?" Xu Youyu huffed, annoyed. "I carefully selected every item—guaranteed fun and thrilling."

"But this one's a bit extreme," Li Luo said, exasperated.

"I didn't say you had to kiss," Xu Youyu replied. "Just use a bigger cookie. You don't even need to eat it all—each of you bites off half."

"Fine," Li Luo reluctantly agreed.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi quietly picked up the largest soda cracker on the coffee table and handed Yan Zhusheng a full piece—about half the size of her palm.

But Yan Zhusheng didn't seem worried about kissing at all; her eyes even sparkled with anticipation.

She opened her mouth and bit off nearly a third of the cookie, then leaned forward toward Li Luo.

In front of everyone else, Li Luo felt distinctly embarrassed.

Yet Xu Yinghuan had already crept close, gripping her fists tightly, tenser than Yan Zhusheng herself.

At that moment, Li Luo also leaned in, slightly opening his mouth.

But he wasn't as bold as Yan Zhusheng—he only gently nipped at one corner of the cookie.

Even so, the distance between their lips was now only two or three centimeters.

They could clearly feel each other's warm breath.

As the Birthday Person of the day, Ying Chanxi bit her lip, watching silently, her small fists clenched tight.

Fortunately, Li Luo acted decisively. Once he confirmed he had bitten the cookie, he pulled back slightly, snapping it cleanly in half, quickly distancing himself from Yan Zhusheng, and swallowed his half.

Yan Zhusheng obediently tucked her half into her mouth, chewing the salty soda cracker—but somehow, a sweetness spread through her taste, making her eyes softly close.

After this interlude, the game continued.

After much maneuvering, Ying Chanxi finally won the right to choose a dare, selecting it in front of Xu Youyu.

"You all seem obsessed with dares," Xu Youyu laughed, slightly disappointed. "I prepared so many fun truth questions."

But when she saw the card Ying Chanxi drew, Xu Youyu couldn't help but chuckle, then said: "Choose one person present, pick them up in a bridal carry, walk around once, lock eyes with them, and say, 'Darling, will you marry me?'"

"Sis, you're really something," Li Luo leaned over to look, then sighed. "Where did you even find this?"

"Why do you care so much?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "Xi Xi, who are you picking?"

Ying Chanxi said nothing, her gaze fixed steadily on Li Luo.

Li Luo, who had been ready to watch the show, noticed her stare and instinctively stepped back half a pace: "Wait… why are you looking at me?"

Ying Chanxi said nothing, only walked toward Li Luo.

This terrified him—he retreated several steps until his back hit the wall, forced to stop: "Hey hey hey, I weigh over a hundred and thirty pounds. Are you sure you can carry me? You won't be able to."

"No problem," Xu Youyu chimed in, grinning mischievously. "If Xi Xi can't carry you, just skip the walking-around part. You two can do the bridal carry right on the sofa."

"Don't run!" Ying Chanxi lunged forward the moment she saw him trying to escape, grabbing his arm. "Didn't you have fun slapping my butt earlier? Now you're scared? I'm not even going to hit you!"

"You might as well hit me," Li Luo groaned, imagining himself being bridal-carried.

"A bet's a bet," Ying Chanxi pouted, dragging him to the sofa. Once seated, she waved him over. "Come closer."

Li Luo reluctantly lay down on the sofa, then glanced at the others: "Maybe you should step out for a bit?"

"We're not doing anything scandalous—why should we leave?" Qiao Xinyan giggled. "When you were slapping our Xi Xi's butt earlier, you were so bold. Now you're shy?"

Li Luo sighed and resigned himself, sitting sideways on the sofa before leaning into Ying Chanxi's arms.

Ying Chanxi wrapped one arm around his back and slid the other beneath his knees, lifting them up until she held him in a princess carry on the sofa.

She then lowered her head to look at Li Luo, her silken hair falling beside her face and brushing lightly against his cheeks.

After about fifteen seconds of solemn silence, Ying Chanxi gazed at Li Luo with deep emotion—but just as she opened her mouth to say "you," she cracked up laughing.

"No no no… I can't say it, it's too weird!"

"Can you even do it?" Li Luo looked utterly unimpressed. "How long are you planning to hold me like this?"

"I can't say that kind of thing when I look at your face."

"If you can't, then we just drop it?"

"Hey hey hey," Xu Youyu interrupted, quickly stepping in to patch things up. "How about we change the line?"

"What line?"

"Before it was 'Will you marry me?' That might be too hard for Chanxi," Xu Youyu grinned slyly. "What if we switch it to 'Will you marry me?'—wouldn't that be easier?"

"Th-this… that…" Ying Chanxi grew flustered at this. "No way… that's even harder to say!"

"I never said you had to say it," Xu Youyu blinked innocently. "I meant for Li Luo to say it."

"What?" Li Luo's eyes widened. "That's unfair, senior."

"Unfair? It's just a game—hurry up."

"Hmm… I guess that's not impossible," Ying Chanxi muttered softly.

Li Luo: "…"

Having no choice, Li Luo wanted to end this round quickly. He took a deep breath, cupped Ying Chanxi's face in both hands, and gazed at her with deep affection: "Darling, will you marry me?"

"Pfft—"

"Damn it!" Li Luo leapt off the sofa, wiping his face. "Ying Chanxi, are you doing this on purpose?"

"I—I couldn't help it… haha~" Ying Chanxi's face was flushed with suppressed laughter as she collapsed onto the sofa, clutching her stomach.

"Alright, alright," Li Luo said, seeing her laughing like this and everyone else barely holding back their grins. "It's getting dark outside. Let's eat the cake."

"It's almost seven," Xu Youyu checked the time. "Let's get our Birthday Person ready first."

Saying this, Xu Youyu returned to the bedroom and brought out a gift box. "Chanxi, this is your birthday present~"

Yan Zhusheng, seeing this, also retrieved a large box from the bedroom and handed it to Ying Chanxi.

Qiao Xinyan had already given her gift that morning; Xu Yinghuan had only learned of Ying Chanxi's birthday this morning and bought a small present while shopping at noon—now she too pulled it out.

Zhao Rongjun also stepped forward and placed his gift before Ying Chanxi.

"Thank you, thank you all~" Ying Chanxi beamed, then her gaze settled on Li Luo. She tilted her head slightly, as if silently asking:

Where's your gift?

"Don't rush," Li Luo smiled, turning toward the kitchen to retrieve the birthday cake and placing it on the dining table.

He placed the birthday crown from the bakery atop Ying Chanxi's head, then picked up the candles, stuck them into the center of the cake, lit a lighter, and set them alight.

Zhao Rongjun promptly turned off the living room lights. The room plunged into darkness, save for the flickering glow of the candles, casting soft light across every face.

At that moment, a harmonica melody filled the room.

Yan Zhusheng pulled out the harmonica Li Luo had given her and began playing the birthday song.

Accompanied by her rhythm, the others clapped and sang along.

"Happy birthday to you~"

"Happy birthday to you~"

Basking in the warm atmosphere, Ying Chanxi sat happily before the cake.

When the song ended, Li Luo said: "Make a wish."

Ying Chanxi closed her eyes and silently wished.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and blew out the candles in one breath.

The living room plunged into total darkness.

But soon, Zhao Rongjun turned the lights back on.

As her vision returned, Ying Chanxi looked down—and suddenly noticed a small gift box had appeared before her.

"Huh?" Li Luo also looked surprised, pointing at the box. "Looks like your wish came true."

Ying Chanxi blinked, instantly guessing what had happened. She pressed her lips together, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth, her heart glowing sweetly.

But she said aloud: "How do you know what I wished for?"

"I don't," Li Luo replied, pushing the box toward her. "But maybe it does. Aren't you going to open it?"

With quiet anticipation, Ying Chanxi picked up the small box and slowly lifted the lid.

When she saw the delicate bracelet lying quietly inside, her expression froze for a moment—then lit up with delight. "When did you buy this?"

"Guess."

"I thought you'd only bought the one for Lin Yi," Ying Chanxi took the bracelet out of the box and eagerly turned over the jade plaque, the size of a thumb.

When she saw the characters "childhood sweethearts" carved on the front, and "To Chanxi—from Li Luo" on the back, a warm current flowed through her heart.

She clenched her lips tightly, barely holding back tears of emotion.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes! I love it!" Ying Chanxi nodded vigorously, silently adding in her heart: "I love it the most!"