Chapter 28: Two Girls Meet

Around three in the afternoon, Lin Xiufeng drove into the gated community of Bihai Lanting and pulled up beneath Building 12.

Lin Xiuhong got out first and waved to Ying Chanxi: "Xixi, we'll go up first—let the others carry the luggage."

"Oh, okay." Ying Chanxi nodded, but still picked up her own and Li Luo's backpacks, slinging one on each shoulder, then hugged her enormous panda plush.

Seeing the plush, Lin Xiuhong couldn't help laughing: "I remember this thing."

"It was back when Li Luo graduated elementary school—we went shopping, and if you spent over a hundred, you got a lottery draw."

"Li Luo drew three times and won the grand prize—this panda—unbelievable luck."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi paused mid-step, "... Was it really like that?"

She remembered Li Luo knocking on her door with a mysterious look, saying he'd prepared a special surprise for her.

She'd thought it was a graduation gift he'd bought especially for her.

"Mom, don't bring that up again," Li Luo said, dragging Ying Chanxi's two large suitcases behind him. "A real man doesn't brag about past glories—don't you get that?"

Li Luo remembered this incident clearly.

Back then, during the lottery, Li Luo had actually preferred the second prize—a Transformers model—but bad luck landed him the grand prize: this panda plush.

Fine, it was a plush—when he first won it, he was still happy.

But once he brought it home and put it on his bed, he found it too cramped and hot when he slept.

So he started resenting the plush.

Still, it was a prize—he couldn't just waste it—so Li Luo simply gave it to Ying Chanxi, giving the plush a better home.

At that time, Lin Xiuhong had specifically told Ying Chanxi to keep an eye on Li Luo and stop him from playing computer games all day.

But after Li Luo gave her the panda plush, Ying Chanxi relaxed her supervision, letting Li Luo enjoy a carefree summer vacation.

It was a case of losing something but gaining something else.

The group carried their luggage into the elevator and rode up to the 15th floor.

Lin Xiuhong walked to door 1502, pulled a keychain from her bag, unlocked the door, stepped inside, and said as she walked: "I've made four copies of the keys—you and Xixi each get one, and I'll keep the other two."

"There's another Miss living here too—she's your senior."

"I met her once when I came by earlier—go say hello later. You'll all be under the same roof now, so talk things over and help each other, understood?"

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi both replied, taking the keys from Lin Xiuhong.

Then Li Luo went downstairs with Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Rongjun to carry up the remaining luggage.

Once all the luggage was piled in the living room, Lin Xiuhong was about to help tidy up.

But Lin Xiufeng received a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Now? So urgent?"

"Alright, then I'll be there in about... yeah, twenty minutes."

After hanging up, Lin Xiufeng shrugged helplessly at his sister: "The company has an urgent delivery—I have to go. Should I drop you off first?"

"No need, go ahead," Lin Xiuhong waved. "I'll help them settle in."

"What's there to settle?" Li Luo shook his head, pushing his mother's shoulder toward the door. "We're not kids anymore—we can handle it. Let Uncle drive you home."

"Then what about dinner?" Lin Xiuhong asked as he pushed her to the threshold. "I was going to cook for you."

"We can handle it ourselves—don't worry," Li Luo coaxed her out the door, then turned to his uncle before parting: "Mom's all yours, Uncle—bye."

"Alright, take care of yourselves," Lin Xiufeng smiled, clearly understanding his nephew's thoughts.

After finally moving out to live with a few close friends in their own little space, he naturally didn't want his parents hovering around.

So Lin Xiufeng chimed in, pulling his sister along and heading back.

In the living room, after seeing his mother off, Li Luo stretched out comfortably.

He glanced toward the short hallway—where one room's door was closed, likely the senior tenant's bedroom.

The rest of the doors were open: two smaller bedrooms, a bathroom, and the master bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Which room do you want?" Li Luo turned to Ying Chanxi. "Should I give you the master bedroom?"

Li Luo had low standards for rooms—just a bed was fine. He had no problem letting Ying Chanxi have the master bedroom.

But Ying Chanxi didn't answer right away—instead, she began walking around the apartment.

First, she entered the two smaller bedrooms.

Though not as large as her own room at home, they were certainly adequate, with enough space beside the window for a small desk.

Then she entered the master bedroom: a spacious double bed, two towering floor-to-ceiling wardrobes, a large 1.6-meter desk, and a private bathroom attached.

After leaving the master bedroom, Ying Chanxi walked into the shared bathroom and took a look.

A girl's facial cleanser, toothpaste, toothbrush, cup, shower gel, shampoo, towel, bath towel...

Hmm...

? tTkдn? C〇

Ying Chanxi stared at these items, paused for a moment, then walked into the living room, picked up Li Luo's backpack, and tossed it into the master bedroom.

"You sleep in the master bedroom," she said. "It's too big—scary to sleep alone at night. I'll take one of the smaller rooms."

Saying that, she dragged her suitcase to the smaller room next to the master bedroom—right between the study and the master bedroom, the closest room to it.

"Alright," Li Luo didn't think much of it—he simply assumed Ying Chanxi was being polite, too shy to take the master bedroom as the landlord.

He placed his own suitcase in the bedroom, then helped Zhao Rongjun carry Ying Chanxi's large cardboard box into the smaller room.

"You'll have to pack your clothes yourself—we can't help with that."

"Got it," Ying Chanxi replied, preparing to sort her clothes. "Aren't you going to play basketball? Go ahead."

"Alright," Li Luo carried his computer and other things into the master bedroom, placed them on the desk, and claimed them as his own.

He'd sent his mother off early—not because he'd thought as deeply as his uncle had.

I just wanted to move the computer into my room so it's easier to use daily.

If Mom were to arrange it, it definitely wouldn't be like this.

When Mom comes next time, even if she sees it, the deed is done—I'll just say a few nice words and it'll pass.

Thinking of this, Li Luo called Zhao Rongjun to help set up the computer, then grabbed his basketball and admission letter, planning to visit Fuyi High.

Before leaving, Li Luo glanced at the study door, wondering why this tenant senior never came out to take a look.

But maybe she's not home.

Li Luo didn't think more about it—he'd meet her eventually—so he set off with Zhao Rongjun.

Meanwhile, as Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun went out to play basketball, Xu Youyu in the study had just finished her nap and woke up.

Drowsy, she got out of bed, shuffled to the desk, and opened QQ to check.

【Chongran】

【Request to add as friend】

【Awaiting verification】

At noon, the editor sent her Xu Youyu's QQ, so she added him.

But nearly the whole afternoon had passed, and he still hadn't accepted.

She was now very curious about this boy the editor mentioned—she wanted to know what kind of person he was, someone her age who wrote speculative cultural fiction.

She had read his book before and couldn't imagine how a fifteen-year-old boy could have written it.

It was nothing like the middle-aged man she'd imagined as the author.

Xu Youyu patted her face, woke up a little, set the matter aside for now, stood up, stepped out of her room, and headed for the bathroom.

But as soon as she stepped out the door, she heard a sound from the neighboring bedroom and glanced over.

In the bedroom, Ying Chanxi was packing her clothes, placing them one by one into the wardrobe.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway, she looked up curiously and saw Xu Youyu's figure.

"You're…" Xu Youyu remembered—the new landlord had mentioned that two of his children would be staying this summer, first-year freshmen at Fuyi High.

It seemed he'd said it was today, but Xu Youyu had forgotten, and hadn't heard a thing while sleeping.

Seeing her now, Xu Youyu immediately smiled warmly—but then she stared closely and froze:

"You're… you're… Ying Chanxi?"

Hearing her real name spoken outright, Ying Chanxi also froze, then studied Xu Youyu's face carefully, faintly recalling something, and hesitantly asked: "Are you Senior Xu?"

…

The entrance gate of Fuyi High.

Li Luo hugged his basketball, squinted up at the school's distant classroom buildings, his emotions surging with deep feeling.

In his past life, Li Luo had been extremely unfamiliar with Fuyi High.

In his memory, he'd only passed by its gate a handful of times, glancing casually.

Beyond that, he had no further connection to the school.

Now, he was a first-year freshman at Fuyi High.

In half a month, he would begin studying at the top high school in Yinjiang District.

A major turning point in his life was about to begin here.

"You've been standing here for minutes," Zhao Rongjun wiped sweat from his forehead under the sun. "Is it that beautiful?"

"I barely got into Fuyi High—let me look a little longer, is that too much?"

"It's just an ordinary high school."

"Heh, you, a top student, will never understand the world of a struggling student."

"You got into Fuyi High too—you're a top student," Zhao Rongjun corrected, turning to him. "And you got the Outstanding Graduate award from Yucai—I didn't."

"... You've got a point."

After appreciating enough, Li Luo finally stepped forward and walked with Zhao Rongjun to the security desk.

Li Luo showed his admission letter; Zhao Rongjun puffed out his chest, displaying the school badge on his uniform.

The guard didn't obstruct them much—after checking Li Luo's admission letter, he had them sign their names and let them in.

Once inside Fuyi High, Zhao Rongjun took the lead.

Li Luo followed beside him, walking along the wide asphalt road beside the classroom buildings, feeling as if knowledge itself floated in the air.

"So this is Fuyi High," Li Luo gawked like Liu Laolao touring Grand View Garden, glancing left and right, still adjusting to his shift from struggling student to top student.

Especially since he knew his own level.

Even with the Memory Palace helping him cheat, if he hadn't seen the exam questions in advance, he probably couldn't outscore the other students at Fuyi High.

But now he wouldn't think about that anymore.

Li Luo spotted the basketball court in the distance, grinned, and patted Zhao Rongjun's shoulder: "Look, aren't there people playing basketball over there? Don't waste the court on a weekend."

Saying this, Li Luo hurried toward them: "Perfect—we won't need to play one-on-one; just ask if we can join two more."

"Hey… wait," Zhao Rongjun followed behind, but as they drew closer, he clearly saw the faces of the players on the court and hurriedly said, "Li Luo, those guys are…"

"Hey! Classmates! Can we join you for a 3v3?" Li Luo didn't hear Zhao Rongjun—he'd already reached the court and shouted to the four players.

After shouting, Li Luo noticed something and whispered to Zhao Rongjun beside him: "Do Fuyi High students all look this old? Even top students have it rough."

"..." Zhao Rongjun stared at him blankly. "What if they're teachers?"

"Damn, they're still pretty young."