Chapter 321: Ying Chanxi

July 19th.

Morning.

Under the blaring alarm, Li Luo forced his eyes open and turned off his phone's alarm.

Just as he was about to get up, he felt something clinging to him like a sloth; he turned his head and saw Yan Zhusheng's sleeping face.

Sighing, Li Luo rubbed his weary brow and patted Yan Zhusheng's cheek, signaling her to wake up.

But because her skin felt so soft, he pinched her twice more, until she furrowed her brows and blinked open her eyes drowsily.

"Li Luo… good morning."

"It's already morning." Li Luo said as she muttered good morning and closed her eyes again; he immediately warned her, "If you wait any longer, the others will wake up. If they see you in my room, I won't be able to explain."

"We're good friends." Yan Zhusheng hugged tighter, burying her head into Li Luo's shoulder, inhaling his scent—it was deeply comforting.

"Tell someone we're good friends so we sleep together, and see if anyone believes you," Li Luo said darkly.

"They just don't understand." Yan Zhusheng shifted her thigh, finding a comfortable spot on Li Luo's stomach—then her calf bumped into something strange, "Huh? Li Luo, there's something hard under the blanket."

Saying this, Yan Zhusheng curiously reached out her hand.

Li Luo gasped as her leg brushed against him; seeing her move, he grabbed her small hand instantly, then flipped off the bed in one swift motion, escaping her grasp.

"Get up quickly. Let's go for a morning run."

As he spoke, Li Luo grabbed his pants and pulled them on.

Yan Zhusheng was reluctant—she'd gone to bed very late last night.

It wasn't that they'd done anything; after bathing, Li Luo had simply gone to sleep on the bed beside hers.

Then Yan Zhusheng had followed him over.

Li Luo couldn't stop her, but he wouldn't let her misbehave—he told her to lie still and sleep quietly beside him.

But in the middle of the night, after finally finishing her bath with Xu Youyu, Li Luo's phone rang again—it was Ying Chanxi calling, wanting to continue their unfinished phone chat.

This meant Ying Chanxi could talk to Li Luo, but Li Luo had to endure Yan Zhusheng's disturbances.

To prevent Ying Chanxi from noticing anything odd, Li Luo had to swallow his frustration.

They chatted all the way into the late night, until Ying Chanxi grew increasingly drowsy and finally fell asleep mid-conversation.

Yan Zhusheng, beside him, was also tired from playing; once Ying Chanxi fell asleep, she lost all amusement and drifted off too.

Only Li Luo remained awake, struggling for hours before finally slipping into a drowsy sleep.

"Pull me up."

Yan Zhusheng lay in bed, extending both hands toward Li Luo.

Li Luo had no choice but to reach out and yank her up from the bed.

After getting up, the two walked into the bathroom, side by side, brushing their teeth, and left the room before seven.

After jogging a few laps around the fish pond to warm up, they went to the dining area for breakfast, preparing to gather at eight with the group to visit the nearby orchard and pick fruit.

But what puzzled Li Luo was that Xu Yinghuan hadn't shown up by eight.

So he told Yan Zhusheng to go check on her.

Soon after, Xu Yinghuan, still half-asleep, jogged over with Yan Zhusheng.

When they assembled on the small square, she was yawning, clearly exhausted from staying up late.

"What did you do?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"What else?" Xu Yinghuan sneered, "Of course I was reading our class monitor's masterpiece."

Li Luo's face darkened instantly: "Enough. Don't say another word. Say one more, and I'll let Zhusheng stuff a sock in your mouth."

"Ohhh, I'm so scared," Xu Yinghuan rolled her eyes, walked over to Yan Zhusheng, wrapped her arm around hers, and followed the group off toward the orchard.

After a four-hour speed-read overnight, Xu Yinghuan had figured it out.

The novel titled "I Am Really Not a Star" should have been called "I Am Really Not a Scumbag."

He kept saying "no, no," but everything he did perfectly matched the standards of both "star" and "scumbag."

Li Luo didn't want her to say anything, so she had no intention of telling him what she thought.

Walking ahead with Yan Zhusheng, Xu Yinghuan eagerly shared her thoughts.

"Zhusheng… this book Li Luo wrote has three female leads, right?"

"Yes." Yan Zhusheng nodded.

"Mo Qinghan is you."

"Mm."

"Shen Dongdong is Chanxi, right?" Xu Yinghuan asked. "I knew it the moment I saw her."

"Mm."

"Jiang Mingyue—maybe the others in class can't tell, but do you think I don't know who she is?" Xu Yinghuan chuckled. "She's an exact copy of Senior Xu."

In Fuyi Middle School, almost no one had ever seen what Xu Youyu was like at home.

Xu Yinghuan hadn't known either, until she joined their seven-person study group and realized Xu Youyu was completely different at school versus at home.

At school, Xu Youyu was the golden girl everyone admired—top grades, decisive and sharp in style, an outstanding president of the student council.

If a teacher gave her a task, they never had to worry about it again.

Unlike ordinary girls, she always went alone—unlike other girls who paired up to use the restroom or gathered in groups to eat.

Yet this brilliant, independent girl—most people would never guess—when at home, she loved sleeping in, was lazy and gluttonous, and sometimes enjoyed teasing and flirting.

Especially with her evil skills in hide-and-seek and Monopoly.

Only because Xu Yinghuan had seen Xu Youyu's other side could she recognize Jiang Mingyue's prototype as Senior Xu.

Otherwise, from the perspective of the other students in Class Eight, it would be nearly impossible to connect the two.

After Yan Zhusheng nodded again in confirmation, Xu Yinghuan stared blankly, then turned to glance at Li Luo, who trailed behind them.

This makes Li Luo's intentions seem extremely sinister.

He even wrote all three of his closest girls into the same novel, making the male protagonist constantly vacillate between the three female leads, maintaining ambiguous ties with each.

If this were written by any other man, Xu Yinghuan would find it disgusting—clearly a sleazy guy using this method for spiritual harassment.

Just thinking about it sends a chill down the spine.

But if the author of this book is a guy named Li Luo…

Xu Yinghuan sighed, glancing at Yan Zhusheng beside her, then thought of Ying Chanxi, and even Xu Youyu, and let out a sharp click of her tongue.

Li Luo.

Her class monitor.

President of the Fuyi Chinese Literature Society, guitarist of the rock club.

The only top student in the entire school who consistently ranks in the top 40 despite being in a parallel class.

Skilled at composing songs, singing and playing, while also writing novels.

He has a humorous and lively personality, acts decisively, is humble and unpretentious, and treats others with politeness and gentleness.

Xu Yinghuan, who often wandered aimlessly through the dorms of the girls' dormitory, knew very well Li Luo's reputation among the girls at Fuyi.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the number one男神 of this grade.

Privately, many girls secretly liked Li Luo, and some even handed him love letters.

If Li Luo wanted to, he could simply gesture with a finger around campus and have a crowd of girls willingly become his girlfriend.

But then again… Xu Yinghuan glanced at Li Luo and thought this guy had rather picky tastes.

Whether it was Yan Zhusheng, Ying Chanxi, or Xu Youyu, all three were universally recognized by most students as top-tier beauties.

Although no official poll had ever been held, everyone tacitly accepted this consensus.

In short, when boys and girls chatted privately about who was handsome or beautiful, if certain names kept appearing frequently, they were unquestionably in the school's top-tier beauty/handsome category.

And yet these three girls—Li Luo wrote in his novel that he wanted all of them.

Damn it!

"Don't you think something's off?" Xu Yinghuan whispered. "He didn't just cast you as the female lead—he cast Xixi and Senior too! And he even kissed them!"

"It's just a novel," Yan Zhusheng said, glancing at Xu Yinghuan in confusion. "What's the problem?"

"Don't you think… Li Luo… he…" Xu Yinghuan couldn't find the words, racked her brain, then勉强 said, "What does this even mean? Does he want to date all three of you? Juggling three relationships?"

"Don't say nonsense, Yinghuan," Yan Zhusheng immediately tightened her face and corrected her, "We're just good friends, not dating. Early romance is wrong."

"…" Xu Yinghuan stared at her serious expression, speechless, covering her face and not knowing what to say, "You're only fooling yourself with that."

"Actually, three people isn't a problem, right?" Yan Zhusheng thought for a moment and added, "We're already living together as four. What's the difference?"

"Huh?" Xu Yinghuan was stunned by Yan Zhusheng's logic, momentarily unable to respond, since in her mind, this wasn't even a question worth considering.

"Zhusheng."

"Hmm?"

"Co-renting and cohabiting are two different things."

"What's the difference?"

"Co-renting means several people pool money to rent a house together, each living in their own room, no interference—just like you do now," Xu Yinghuan explained patiently. "Cohabiting means two people, after confirming their relationship, sleep in the same bed."

"I slept in the same bed with him last night," Yan Zhusheng blinked.

Hearing this, Xu Yinghuan was left speechless, then whispered, "…Last night was just to comfort him? How did you end up sleeping in the same bed? There were two beds in the room, weren't there?"

"Li Luo insisted on sleeping on my bed," Yan Zhusheng said, stating a simple fact.

After all, before Li Luo took a shower, Yan Zhusheng had already crawled into the covers of Li Luo's bed.

So after Li Luo finished showering, he lay down on the bed originally meant for Yan Zhusheng.

Therefore, Yan Zhusheng's statement wasn't entirely without logic…

Li Luo, walking behind them, watched the two girls whispering, then suddenly received a glare from Xu Yinghuan turning around—he had no idea what he'd done to upset her.

After turning back, Xu Yinghuan couldn't help asking, "If you two are already like this, can you accept him writing about two other girls in his book?"

"Why not?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously. "Xixi and Senior have both slept with him too."

"What?!" Xu Yinghuan's eyes widened in shock, exclaiming aloud.

Nearby classmates turned to look in confusion.

Xu Yinghuan quickly covered her mouth and waved her hands, signaling everything was fine.

Once everyone turned away, she whispered to Yan Zhusheng for confirmation: "All… all of them?"

"Yes, all of them," Yan Zhusheng nodded.

"None of you three… had any objections?" Xu Yinghuan felt her mouth go dry.

Her seven-member study group had secretly contained this hidden truth, and she had never noticed it before.

"Maybe Xixi did a little," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "But all four of us have slept together."

Xu Yinghuan: "?"

"Many times."

Xu Yinghuan: "???"

Good heavens…

Xu Yinghuan stared at the bright sky above, feeling as if the world were collapsing.

Deep inside her, she could almost hear something shattering.

"What's wrong with her?" Li Luo, led by the agritourism guide to the orchard entrance, glanced at Xu Yinghuan's dazed expression and asked Yan Zhusheng in confusion.

"Yinghuan didn't sleep well last night. Let her rest a bit," Yan Zhusheng tugged Li Luo's sleeve. "Let's go pick fruit."

…

The fruit-picking activity in the morning ended smoothly at around ten o'clock.

After last night's bonfire party, Li Luo now didn't want to see any of those guys.

But since things had come to this, he could only accept reality.

Still, whenever he was with the classmates from Class Eight, he always felt their gazes at him were strange—he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

"Everyone seems to be watching us," Yan Zhusheng whispered on the way back to the farmstay.

"You feel that too?" Li Luo exclaimed. "I thought I was just overthinking."

"Could it be they found out about me sneaking off to sleep with you?"

"Comrade Yan Zhusheng, please be more precise with your wording from now on," Li Luo said seriously. "You merely spent one night sleeping over at my place—don't reduce it to just 'sleeping'."

"Is there really a difference?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head.

"There's a huge difference."

After returning to the farmstay, everyone enjoyed their final meal in the dining area.

In the afternoon, everyone remained free to enjoy the last bits of fun from the class-trip.

At three o'clock, Li Luo called everyone to return to their rooms and pack their luggage.

At half past three in the afternoon, the bus arrived at the entrance of the farmstay to pick up the students of Class Eight for their return journey.

After loading their luggage into the storage compartment beside the bus, Li Luo gathered everyone into three rows beside the vehicle and asked Uncle to take a few group photos.

After saying their goodbyes, everyone boarded the bus and began their journey home.

Yan Zhusheng still sat with Li Luo, letting him take the window seat while she sat across the aisle from Xu Yinghuan.

Probably because she was so exhausted from last night, Xu Yinghuan had barely gotten on the bus before falling into a drowsy sleep—even before it started moving.

Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo weren't far behind; in the blink of an eye, the bus had already returned to Yinjiang District.

Yan Zhusheng's head rested against Li Luo's shoulder, while Li Luo's head lay atop Yan Zhusheng's.

The two slept affectionately pressed together until the bus arrived at the entrance of Bihai Lanting.

Ying Chanxi, who had known the bus's arrival time in advance, had been counting the minutes at home since four in the afternoon.

By five in the evening, she could no longer sit still—she got up, went downstairs, and waited right at the community gate.

At this time, many parents from Class Eight had already arrived to pick up their children, waiting in their cars nearby.

Ying Chanxi held her phone, staring at the message she'd sent to Li Luo—no reply yet. She pursed her lips slightly, dissatisfied, and unconsciously puffed out her cheeks.

After waiting about ten minutes, she finally spotted the bus's front end turning into the intersection from afar.

Those十几 seconds as the bus approached felt longer than the entire afternoon she'd waited.

Ying Chanxi silently counted every second in her mind, finally watching the bus come to a stop at the community gate.

The door opened, and passengers began disembarking one by one.

Seeing Ying Chanxi waiting there, Lin Xiuhong was surprised, then immediately grabbed her hand and smiled: "Why are you waiting here? It's just a few steps—you could've waited upstairs."

"It's fine," Ying Chanxi smiled faintly. "I was just bored upstairs. I thought I'd wait to meet your husband and aunt, then we could go buy groceries together."

"Oh, that's true," Lin Xiuhong nodded. "Let them take the luggage upstairs first, then you and I can go buy some vegetables—we'll eat here tonight."

"Sounds good."

As Ying Chanxi spoke, her gaze shifted to the next group of students stepping off the bus.

But what puzzled her was why every Class Eight student, upon seeing her, looked at her with such strange expressions?

When she saw Jin Yuting step down, she quickly grabbed her and asked, confused: "Tingting, where's Li Luo? Why hasn't he gotten off yet?"

"Oh… Li Luo…" Jin Yuting didn't know how to explain to Ying Chanxi, so she whispered, "You'd better go up and see for yourself."

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's heart skipped a beat.

Seeing most people had already disembarked, she immediately stepped onto the bus and hurried toward the back.

There, she saw Li Luo's figure.

Of course, she also saw Yan Zhusheng, sleeping pressed against him.

Hmm… Xu Yinghuan was also fast asleep beside them, but Ying Chanxi's eyes clearly didn't register anyone else at all.

She took a deep breath, walked to the aisle beside Yan Zhusheng, and stared at the two of them, affectionately cuddled together in sleep—her chest suddenly filled with a bitter ache.

She gently pushed Li Luo's head.

Li Luo frowned, mumbled in his sleep, and looked as if he hadn't had enough rest.

Seeing him like that, Ying Chanxi's anger flared—she shoved his head harder, forcing it away from Yan Zhusheng's.

This finally woke Li Luo up.

"Who…?" Li Luo rubbed his head, blinking sleepily. He noticed the bus had stopped and muttered confusedly, "Are we there already?"

"We're here," Ying Chanxi smiled. "Did you sleep well? Time to wake up."

Hearing that familiar voice, Li Luo turned his head and stared—nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Holy shit! What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes. "I figured you'd be arriving soon, so I came down to check."

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng also woke up, rubbed her eyes, saw Ying Chanxi, and immediately wrapped her arms around her waist, nuzzling her cheek against her stomach: "Xixi, it's been so long."

Ying Chanxi was momentarily stunned—Yan Zhusheng's reaction was so adorable she didn't know how to be angry anymore.

She pursed her lips and whispered, "Let's go—I still need to go shopping with Lin Yi."

Both of them stood up. Yan Zhusheng woke Xu Yinghuan, and the four of them stepped off the bus together, retrieving their luggage.

Seeing Lin Xiuhong and Ying Chanxi heading to buy groceries, and remembering how upset Ying Chanxi had looked earlier, Li Luo quickly stopped them: "We've got so much luggage—let's take it upstairs first. We can buy groceries later. There's nothing urgent tonight—we can eat later."

Lin Xiuhong thought it made sense, so she pulled Ying Chanxi back to Bihai Lanting to drop off the luggage first.

But now, Lin Xiuhong no longer asked Ying Chanxi to join her for shopping—she simply called Li Guohong downstairs and headed straight for the market.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi didn't insist on going with them—but as soon as she thought back to what she'd seen on the bus, she immediately pursed her lips again.

"Cough… uh, that thing." Li Luo said to Ying Chanxi, "Didn't you buy me new pants? Where are they?"

"In your room. Go see for yourself," Ying Chanxi huffed. "I put them in your closet."

"How would I know how you put them?" Li Luo laughed and quickly pressed his hand on Ying Chanxi's shoulder, nudging her toward the bedroom. "Besides, you bought all my clothes—you should tell me what matches best."

"What are you doing…" Ying Chanxi was reluctantly shoved toward the bedroom, but her steps offered no resistance—only her words remained stubborn. "Just look for yourself."

But the next second.

Li Luo pushed her into the bedroom and shut the door.

Ying Chanxi felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace.

She was held.

"Y-You're doing what…?" Compared to her earlier "What are you doing?", her tone had softened noticeably—like a hedgehog exposing its soft belly—her cheeks flushed crimson.

"Didn't you say so yourself?" Li Luo whispered in her ear. "We agreed—you'd comfort me when I got back. You didn't forget, did you?"

"I-I didn't…" Ying Chanxi muttered, blushing. "But if I'm comforting you, why are you hugging me from behind? Shouldn't it be me hugging you?"

"Then what do you mean?"

"Hmm…" Ying Chanxi turned in Li Luo's arms, lowering her head, her ears burning, yet she opened her arms and gently wrapped them around his waist. "Like this?"

"Is this comfort?" Li Luo leaned his head against her shoulder and smiled softly.

"Then what else do you want…?" Ying Chanxi murmured, then strained to shift from holding his waist to wrapping her arms around his back, finally brushing one hand lightly over his head. "... Like this?"

"Mm." Li Luo closed his eyes and nodded gently.

Ying Chanxi felt Li Luo's heartbeat and breath, her own heart pounding fiercely—she wondered if he could hear it.

But just then, Yan Zhusheng arrived at the door and knocked, curious: "Li Luo, what are you doing?"

Li Luo, hearing the voice, instinctively moved to release Ying Chanxi.

But the next second, Ying Chanxi clung tightly to him, shoving him against the door, pressing her lips firmly shut and refusing to let go.

"N-Not done comforting yet," Ying Chanxi whispered. "Don't let go."

"Mm." Li Luo swallowed, then called toward the door. "I'm checking out the new pants XiXi bought me. If you're free, Zhusheng, go wash the fruit we brought back from the farmstay—later, let XiXi and the senior taste it."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng glanced at the doorframe that had just made a muffled thud, pouted unhappily, but still obediently replied and turned to wash the fruit.