Chapter 306: Sister

Xu Youyu's bedroom was originally the study of this apartment.

Before renting it out, Li Luo's third grandfather had turned the study into a bedroom—essentially just by adding a bed.

The desk, bookshelves, and everything else were still fully preserved.

When Xu Youyu first chose to rent this place, this was part of the reason.

Since childhood, under her father's influence, she had formed a bond with the study, and she loved spending entire days there, randomly pulling a book off the shelf.

Whether she understood it or not, she could read it with great delight.

Even when moving out to rent a place, she preferred choosing a study as her bedroom.

The books on the left shelf were those left behind by her third grandfather and others, which Xu Youyu had sorted out.

The right side held the new books she had gradually added over the past year.

Sometimes, when typing became boring or she needed to look up information, she would pull a book from the shelf and flip through it.

She cherished the feeling of creating alone in her own little world.

At home, she hated it when her parents suddenly burst into her room.

Xu Rongsheng respected his daughter's wishes, so he usually knocked first.

But Cui Suling didn't have this good habit, so Xu Youyu preferred living at Bihai Lanting.

However, if Li Luo walked into her room…

Xu Youyu sat on the chair, propping her chin with both hands, watching Li Luo carefully prepare all the cocktail equipment on the desk; she tilted her head, a faint smile curling at her lips.

"What do you want to drink?" Li Luo placed the ice cubes he had frozen the night before into a small cooler he had prepared, then turned to Xu Youyu beside him and asked with a smile.

"I don't know," Xu Youyu shook her head. "I usually just drink beer—I've never tried what cocktail tastes like."

"Never tried it?" Li Luo was surprised.

In his memory, in his past life, when he first met Xu Youyu, she was already intimately familiar with all kinds of cocktails.

She often made them herself at home to drink.

All the cocktails Li Luo knew how to make were taught to him personally by Xu Youyu in his past life.

For Xu Youyu's birthday this time, the gifts Li Luo prepared—including the glasses and the cocktails he planned to make—were all things he remembered she loved.

Especially the five glasses: they were her five most frequently used everyday cups, each carefully selected by Li Luo.

Hearing Xu Youyu say this now, Li Luo suddenly realized.

After all, the seventeen-year-old Xu Youyu before him now was still eight years away from the twenty-five-year-old Xu Youyu he had met in his past life.

Thinking of this, Li Luo unexpectedly felt a strange sense of nurturing.

As if he were now, in person, reshaping the young Xu Youyu before him into the woman he had known so well in his past life.

Thinking of this, Li Luo's heart stirred slightly, then he said: "Then pick one glass first."

"This one's fine," Xu Youyu selected a tall, slender Collins glass from the five clean ones—it was a perfect cylinder, its rim slightly larger than the circle formed by her thumb and index finger.

Li Luo took the glass from her hand and asked: "What color do you like?"

"Red?"

"Alright." Li Luo nodded, using tongs to place several ice cubes into the glass, stacking them nearly to the rim.

Then he slowly stirred the ice with a stirrer to chill the glass.

Under Xu Youyu's quiet gaze, he added 15ml each of four spirits: vodka, white rum, gin, and another.

Then he cut a lime: squeezed half to extract the juice, and sliced the other half.

He made a slight cut, wedging the largest slice into the rim as decoration, stirred the drink evenly, then poured in lemon soda until the glass was full.

One cocktail was done.

"What's this called?" Xu Youyu took the glass, gazed at the drink glowing amber-red under the light, took a small sip—the sweet-and-sour taste carried no strong alcohol flavor, tasting like an ordinary soft drink; she couldn't help taking another big gulp.

"Long Island Iced Tea," Li Luo smiled. "It's said to be a drink boys often order to impress girls."

"Oh? Any special reason?" Xu Youyu gave him a teasing smile. "Are you hinting at something, little junior?"

"I'm just sharing knowledge with you," Li Luo tapped the glass, producing a clear chime, then said, "Long Island Iced Tea uses plenty of soda, which effectively masks the alcohol taste—girls trying cocktails for the first time will love it and won't be turned off."

"But its actual alcohol content isn't low, and the serving size is quite large."

"If someone drinks it all down like a regular beverage, even a girl with low tolerance will be drunk after just one glass—or even half."

"Really?" Xu Youyu swirled her glass. "I don't feel it."

"You drink beer regularly," Li Luo gave her a look. "You wouldn't get drunk even if you finished the whole glass."

"Then why don't you try a sip?" Xu Youyu took another small sip, then held the glass to his lips, winking at him.

"You've already drunk from it…"

"You're disgusted by me?"

"Not at all."

"I'm not disgusted by you either—I'm the Birthday Person today, so you have to follow my orders," Xu Youyu said with a beaming smile.

"Can't you just pour it into another glass?"

"One glass, one cocktail—I'm drinking five today, and each must be different," Xu Youyu huffed. "Stop talking. Drink."

Li Luo had no choice but to lower his head and take a sip.

He had to admit, his skill was still solid—this Long Island Iced Tea truly tasted excellent.

Seeing him drink obediently, Xu Youyu nodded in satisfaction, then took back the glass to enjoy her drink, while selecting another pretty glass and handing it to Li Luo.

"What color?"

"Blue?"

"Alright."

This time it was a hurricane glass: its stem was short, only half the length of a finger, while the body was long and bulging at the middle, narrowing at the waist before flaring into a trumpet-shaped rim, its curved walls uniquely shaped.

Li Luo added ice cubes to the cocktail shaker, poured in the required base liquor and coconut milk, then added fruit juice, and shook it evenly.

He placed ice cubes in the hurricane glass as well to chill the cup walls, then slowly tilted and poured along the cup wall, and a pool of blue, glowing liquor fell into it, entwining with the ice cubes.

Finally, he used the earlier lime slice as a garnish on the rim, and a glass of Blue Hawaii was done.

Because of the ice cubes, the blue of the Blue Hawaii showed a gradient color, dazzlingly brilliant under the lights.

? ￠〇

Xu Youyu shoved the Long Island iced tea, of which she had drunk more than half, into Li Luo's hands, and could not wait to taste this glass of liquor.

Unlike the previous sweet-and-sour taste, because of the added coconut milk and fruit juice, the Blue Hawaii had a sweeter, mellower mouthfeel.

The flavor, different from the Long Island iced tea, made Xu Youyu narrow her eyes slightly as she savored it.

Li Luo, meanwhile, picked up the Long Island iced tea and took a small sip.

Seeing this, Xu Youyu immediately raised her glass and smiled, gesturing to Li Luo.

The two held up their glasses and clinked them in mid-air, producing a light, crisp ring; exchanging a smile, each tasted the fine liquor.

"Feels like it's still missing some music," Xu Youyu smacked her lips at the flavor and said, clicking her tongue.

"Then how about I make you a glass of liquor that comes with its own music?"

"Hmm?" Xu Youyu blinked, a bit slow to react. "How can liquor come with its own music?"

"Just wait." From the remaining three glasses, Li Luo picked out a relatively ordinary-looking highball, and as he began to make the drink, he started humming a song.

"Trouble give my lover a Mojito~ I love reading her eyes when she's a little tipsy~"

He put fine sugar and lime juice into the highball.

"And my coffee~ doesn't need too much sugar~ this world is already too sweet because of her~"

He dropped in a few fresh mint leaves and gently muddled them to release the fragrance.

"There's no cigar as rich as her smile~ so don't waste time introducing it, put it away~"

He added ice cubes up to half the glass, stirred gently to chill the cup walls.

"The arcade's murals~ the old city's graffiti~ all the colors fall silent because of her~"

He poured in white rum and soda water until the glass was full.

"This love never ends~ a kingdom where worries are forgotten~ wherever you are~ loneliness is conquered~"

He inserted a stirring rod and slowly stirred the liquor evenly.

"Iron-cast signs~ scattered like~ love letters the city dedicates to the sky~"

Finally, he cut the lime slice into a new shape, garnished it on the rim, and with a smile pushed the Mojito in front of Xu Youyu, softly singing:

"When the streetlights come on~ strolling through Havana~ this is the world's most beautiful pair-dance~"

"One Mojito, please enjoy."

Xu Youyu's eyes glimmered as she watched Li Luo's performance; she felt her heart thumping and dancing, her mood soaring with it, her mind seemingly filled with bubbles gurgling noisily, and the corners of her mouth could not help but curve up into a smile.

"The song was lovely." Xu Youyu handed the Blue Hawaii to Li Luo, then raised the pale-green Mojito before her and clinked it gently with his, taking a small sip. "The drink is also very good."

"As long as you're satisfied." Li Luo tasted the Blue Hawaii flavored with his senior's lips.

At this moment, Xu Youyu tilted her head and asked softly, "I didn't quite catch the lyrics just now — how did the first line go?"

Li Luo was briefly stunned, then sang again: "Trouble give my lover a Mojito~ I love reading her eyes when she's a little tipsy~"

"Oh~" Xu Youyu nodded meaningfully, stood up with a playful grin, then pulled Li Luo to sit on the chair, while she herself sat sideways on his lap, holding her glass in one hand and looping the other around his neck, teasing, "Lover, hm?"

"Ahem…" He hadn't thought too much about it while singing, but only now did Li Luo realize the content of the lyrics, and he guiltily averted his gaze from Xu Youyu's. "Just lyrics, just lyrics…"

"I really like this verse," Xu Youyu said with a grin, leaning close to Li Luo's face, then set her glass on the table, cupped his face in both hands, and looked at him with an unwavering gaze. "So do you think my eyes right now count as tipsy eyes?"

"…Right now your eyes are the eyes of someone teasing an innocent young man."

"And you count as innocent?" Xu Youyu laughed softly, her fingertip tracing across his face before finally tilting his chin up. "Keep singing, I want to hear it one more time."

Teased by the Birthday Person, Li Luo had no choice but to perform another song.

After he finished singing, Li Luo used the excuse of making the remaining two drinks for her and finally escaped from the chair.

He stood up and checked the time — it was now close to midnight, just before zero hour.

Remembering that Xu Youyu hadn't updated that night, Li Luo raised an eyebrow, thinking this should be a sure win.

Making his senior happy while also winning the bet and eliminating the risk of being bullied by her if she won — that counted as killing two birds with one stone.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Li Luo made another Margarita and a Martini.

"I know these two." After hearing Li Luo's introduction, Xu Youyu suddenly smiled ambiguously. "I've read some cocktail books before too. These two drinks — one is the Queen of Cocktails, the other is the King of Cocktails. Quite the choice, junior."

"I just made you two fairly classic cocktails, that's all." Li Luo coughed twice to cover his embarrassment.

"Mm-hmm~" Xu Youyu smiled, tasted both drinks one by one, then handed him the Margarita in her hand. "I like drinking the Martini, you have this one."

"Sure."

The two clinked glasses once more.

Both of these drinks had very distinctive glasses.

The one in Xu Youyu's hand was a Martini glass — a stemmed glass with an inverted-cone shaped bowl, said to be named after the Martini cocktail.

And the Margarita in Li Luo's hand was served in a Margarita glass, which evolved from the saucer-shaped champagne coupe and is also famous for holding the Margarita cocktail.

"Don't move." Halfway through her drink, Xu Youyu was struck by a whimper — she stood up from the chair, walked over to Li Luo, had him raise his glass, then looped her arm through his, forming the posture of an arm-linked wedding toast. "Hehe, let's drink like this once."

"Isn't… that a bit improper?"

"What's improper about it? It's just like playing house when we were kids." Xu Youyu pouted playfully. "Just for reference material, indulge me."

Hearing the words "reference material," Li Luo was as if struck by some charm spell, and quickly nodded, reluctantly agreeing to the request.

So the two each raised the fine liquor representing the King of Cocktails and the Queen of Cocktails, and took a sip of the arm-linked toast.

After that sip, Xu Youyu was still not satisfied — she directly turned on the bedside lamp, adjusted the brightness to a faint glow, then switched off the bedroom's main light.

The room instantly fell dim, with only the warm yellow glow of the bedside lamp barely providing a sliver of light.

Under this lighting, the atmosphere inside the room grew ambiguous.

Xu Youyu smiled seductively at him, returned to his side, and tasted the wedding wine once more.

Whether from too much wine or something else, two faint blushes rose on Xu Youyu's cheeks, appearing especially beautiful in the dim light, making Li Luo's gaze grow dazed.

I have to say... although Xu Youyu is only 17 this year, she actually already has the charm and allure of a 25-year-old.

Only occasionally could one still detect a hint of youthfulness on her face, intertwined with the seduction and maturity in her eyes, creating an unusual thrill.

It was like a girl on the verge of adulthood sneaking into her mother's high heels.

They fit her well enough, but at a glance, it was clear they weren't her own.

Xu Youyu now felt just like that.

Perhaps only after being shaped by university life would she gradually become the person Li Luo truly knew in his past life.

But even now, Xu Youyu already had a certain allure—like a rosebud in bud, subtly thorny toward others, yet having withdrawn all her sharpness toward him.

After downing half a martini, Xu Youyu set the glass aside, smiled sweetly at Li Luo, opened a song titled A Thousand Years on the computer, took his hand, and led him to the open space in the center of the bedroom.

"Let's dance~"

She took one of Li Luo's hands and placed his other on her waist, pressed close to him, draped her free hand over his shoulder, and smiled faintly, "Can you dance?"

"Like this?" Li Luo seemed even more skilled than Xu Youyu; as the music swelled, he guided her, slowly stepping through the basic dance moves in the room.

Being led through the simplest ballroom steps, Xu Youyu's expression froze slightly.

Sensing Li Luo's proficiency, Xu Youyu couldn't help whispering, "Where did you learn this?"

"I learned it from my senior in a dream," Li Luo chuckled, then asked, "And you?"

"You're just smooth-talking," Xu Youyu blushed and huffed, then added, "I learned from my parents."

"When I was little, my parents loved this kind of thing—they used to go to dance halls."

"I begged to go too, so they took me to drink soda while I watched them dance below the stage. But I got bored and demanded to learn too. My father couldn't handle me, so he took me up and taught me."

Hearing these words he'd heard once before, Li Luo was swept into a distant memory, his grip on Xu Youyu's hand tightening unconsciously.

Xu Youyu glanced at him curiously, sensing the pressure from his palm, and tilted her head, "What's wrong?"

Li Luo snapped back to reality, gazing at Xu Youyu's flushed face, his eyes momentarily hazy, then smiled and shook his head, "Nothing. Just feels miraculous—and lucky."

"I'm the lucky one," Xu Youyu laughed. Whether from too much wine or not, during the song's climax, she let go of her hands entirely, wrapped both arms around his neck, and pressed her upper body flush against Li Luo's chest.

Her head rested against his shoulder, her rosy lips blowing warm breath against his ear, "Hold me."

Li Luo had also drunk quite a bit; now, without his usual caution, guided by her soft whisper, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her slender waist, holding her tightly.

They continued stepping to the music, but their steps grew slower, more relaxed.

At one moment, her phone in her pant pocket suddenly vibrated.

She mumbled something, lifted her head slightly from his arms, pulled her phone from her pocket, and turned off the alarm she'd set.

Then, still in his arms, she looked up at him with a grin, "It's midnight. Time to reveal the winner."

She opened her author backend on her phone and showed him the current average subscription count for Literary Era—9,999.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow, then playfully tilted his chin upward and smiled seductively, "Looks like I won, little junior~"

Li Luo glanced at her backend, frowned slightly, and muttered, "That doesn't make sense—if you didn't update tonight, you should've still had time."

"Hehe," Xu Youyu saw he was still unconvinced, immediately opened her update list and proudly showed him a chapter posted at 11 p. m., "I scheduled an update too~"

"I could've written another chapter tonight—then I'd have two ready and feel more secure."

"But since you prepared such a nice surprise for me, I only kept one chapter. The rest? Left to fate."

"Looks like the Goddess of Fate favors me a bit more~"

Li Luo twitched his lips, feeling like he'd lost both wife and soldiers—completely screwed.

But Xu Youyu had already tossed her phone onto the bed, wrapped her arms around him again, and giggled in his embrace, "Keep going~ We're not done dancing yet."

Li Luo sighed helplessly and followed the rhythm, continuing to dance.

But the next second, he felt a soft touch on his cheek—light as a dragonfly's kiss, fleeting and gone.

By the time he realized it, Xu Youyu had buried her face against his shoulder, giggling.

"Don't overthink it—this is a thank-you kiss."

"Thank you for spending tonight with me."

"I really like this birthday gift."

Li Luo froze, instinctively touching his cheek, looking down at his senior—her flushed cheeks, the faint smile in her eyes, those tempting lips.

He couldn't tell if she was drunk or not.

But Li Luo felt he was drunk—drunk enough to hallucinate.