Chapter 353: Xixi: Hehe

"Wake up, wake up, don't sleep anymore."

Li Luo reached out to adjust his underwear, slapped away the feet tucked under the blankets, and shouted at the three girls.

Seeing all three grumbling and groaning, unwilling to get up, Li Luo sighed, thinking that anyway, it was too early, and he definitely wouldn't be going for a morning run today.

Thinking this, he began shifting his body, intending to first sit up, then pull his legs out of the blankets, and finally stand and get off the bed.

But he got stuck right at the first step.

On his left, Yan Zhusheng clung to him like a sloth, one leg draped over him, showing no intention of letting go.

On the other side, Ying Chanxi had merely been half-reclining against Li Luo's chest, making no overly intimate moves.

But after being woken by Li Luo, half-asleep and half-awake, she suddenly felt a foot kick her calf, and blinked in confusion.

After a moment of thought, she realized it must be Yan Zhusheng's foot.

But Yan Zhusheng was on the opposite side…

Realizing this, Ying Chanxi immediately puffed out her cheeks, shut her eyes tight, and pretended to keep sleeping, planting her knee squarely on Li Luo's stomach.

She pressed her whole body against him, hugging his arm tightly.

Once locked in by both girls, Li Luo couldn't move an inch.

Their two legs wriggled over his body like two agile little snakes—dangerous and irresistibly tempting.

Ying Chanxi wore her panda pajamas; the pants were long, so that was fine.

But Yan Zhusheng's pajama pants ended at her thighs, and her bare, smooth leg rubbed back and forth against Li Luo's.

The young man's morning energy was already high, and now there wasn't even a hint of it fading.

If he could just sleep another half hour, that'd be fine.

But being stuck in this state—unable to get up, unable to sleep—was truly unbearable for Li Luo.

Fortunately, neither girl was as broad-minded as their senior, and when hugging his arm, they didn't offer much temptation.

Even so, being held by two sweet, soft girls was still a severe test of his steadfast Dao heart.

Luckily, Ying Chanxi still had some modesty; after just a few minutes of hugging, she felt something touch her calf and blushed, quickly pulling her leg back.

Blushing, she sat up on her own and whispered, "I—I'm going to the bathroom."

Saying this, she crawled off the foot of the bed and hurried into the bathroom to ease her nervousness and embarrassment.

After all, having thoroughly read I Am Really Not a Star, even if Ying Chanxi had once been pure as snow, after reading Li Luo's novel, she now knew exactly what she'd touched.

Thinking of this, her face flushed crimson, and she no longer dared to cling to Li Luo.

But just as Li Luo thought that now that Ying Chanxi had left, he could escape the demon's grasp once he freed himself from Yan Zhusheng's grip, a supremely soft body pressed against him from the side.

It instantly froze him in place.

"Senior… you've been awake this whole time, haven't you?"

"No way," Xu Youyu nuzzled into his arms, hugging his arm tightly, "I'm so sleepy, I just want to sleep a little longer."

"Then you're awake," Li Luo felt the softness of his arm sinking into tender comfort, then turned to look at Yan Zhusheng beside him, whose touch felt ordinary, "You're awake too—stop pretending to sleep."

"I'm asleep," Yan Zhusheng said, eyes closed, still clinging to him, her lips barely moving as she whispered, "I can't hear what you're saying."

Ying Chanxi at least had some modesty; these two were worse and worse.

Li Luo sighed, confirmed they were all awake, and stopped being polite.

While Ying Chanxi hadn't yet returned from the bathroom, he quickly broke free from their grips and scrambled off the bed.

Seeing Li Luo had escaped, Yan Zhusheng stopped pretending to sleep and obediently got up too.

Only Xu Youyu was genuinely sleepy; she remained on Li Luo's bed, snoring loudly, and after Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had risen, she sank back into deep sleep.

It wasn't until the other three had finished their morning routines and the time reached half past six that Li Luo dragged Xu Youyu off the bed.

While waiting for Xu Youyu to wash up, Li Luo sat on the living room sofa and sighed to the ceiling, "I think we should just replace the master bedroom bed with a four-person one—it'll save us from squeezing together like this."

"W-what are you talking about?" Ying Chanxi glared at him angrily upon hearing this, "That was a special case yesterday—no one would ever sleep with you four people normally."

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng nodded in agreement, "No need to change it; this size is fine."

"I was just joking," Li Luo yawned, pulling out his phone to check his author backend.

Yesterday he updated the plot involving I'm a Singer—Mo Qinghan performed "Under the Flying Clouds" and won first place that night, then he ended the chapter, planning to observe today's online reactions before deciding whether to revise today's update.

On the reader comments side, everyone had been eagerly awaiting the update.

As soon as yesterday's plot dropped, countless people sat in front of their TVs, pausing their reading the moment Mo Qinghan began singing.

Then, when Yuan Wanqing took the stage to sing "Under the Flying Clouds," they watched the TV and read the novel simultaneously—this full 3D experience was pushed to perfection.

【Another masterpiece! Holy shit! This song is even better than the last one, "Light"】

【I was too loud before—Ran Shen, I bow to you!】

【Unbeatable, seriously—hardly heard a song this good in the past two years. And unlike the previous "Empty Heart," this one isn't about romance—it's about homesickness. Almost made me cry】

【Dude, are you serious? Are all nine songs on Yuan Wanqing's new album really written by you?】

【Even if the remaining six songs are mediocre, these three alone make this year's album the undisputed champion】

【I still prefer "Empty Heart"—this one feels less emotionally intense】

【Feeling it's less intense is your luck—here's a screenshot for you to feel it yourself, check the top comments on Weibo】

【I can't listen to this song while working away from home—it made me cry at midnight, and I still have to work tomorrow】

【Isn't tomorrow Saturday?】

【I have to work on Saturday, damn it! Don't even mention it!】

【I finally get it—this original song wouldn't have had such an effect if it were just written in the novel or sung by the author himself, but now Yuan Wanqing performs it on a top-tier stage like I'm a Singer, delivering perfect audiovisual immersion that hits every single pleasure point of the text-copying genre!】

【This truly gave me a thrill! A text-copying novel reaching this level can truly be called a divine book】

After reading yesterday's latest comments with great enjoyment, Li Luo exited and opened Weibo, wanting to see how the online public opinion was trending.

When he saw "Yuan Wanqing: Under the Flying Clouds" trending at number three, his face lit up with joy.

But when he saw that the tenth trending topic was again "Who is Chongran?", his face instantly darkened.

But the good news was that everyone was guessing wildly—true and false rumors piled up together, which actually worked in Li Luo's favor.

After all, even if someone who knew Chongran's real identity leaked it, it would be drowned in the flood of information and hard to verify.

"These people are really bored, spending all day wondering who I am—why bother?" Li Luo muttered with a deadpan expression. "Isn't it enough that the songs sound good?"

Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi leaned over curiously to take a look; Ying Chanxi couldn't help laughing. "If you're this talented, isn't it normal for people to be curious?"

"So our vice-class president has learned to flatter, huh?" Li Luo chuckled. "Say a few more lines—let your class president feel even happier."

"Get lost," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes. "I'm just telling the truth, okay?"

"Ah, yes, exactly," Li Luo nodded in satisfaction. "That was a well-placed compliment."

"Get out! You're so full of yourself," Ying Chanxi blushed slightly and shoved him, annoyed. "Keep acting like this, and I'll expose you online."

"Cough… that's really unnecessary," Li Luo quickly stopped her.

Beside them, Yan Zhusheng spoke up: "Xixi, if you expose him, lots of girls will like Li Luo."

"L-like him? So what? I'm not stopping them," Ying Chanxi retorted stubbornly, chin raised. "Even if they like him, what's the point? Once they really get to know him, they'll see how awful Li Luo is."

"True," Yan Zhusheng nodded in agreement. "Li Luo is awful."

Li Luo: "... Are you defaming me to my face? Can't you show a little empathy for the victim?"

"What are you defaming him for?" Xu Youyu stepped out of the bathroom after washing up, puzzled.

"They say I'm awful—what do you think, senior?"

"That's definitely awful," Xu Youyu blinked, recalling the awful thing her foot had touched that morning, then grinned mischievously. "Isn't it common knowledge that you're awful? You slept with three girls—anyone who hears that won't call you anything but a scoundrel."

"... Did I force you to sleep with me? And I didn't even do anything, right!"

"Then you're worse than an animal," Xu Youyu nodded. "Worse than beasts—that makes you a full-fledged villain."

Li Luo: "..."

In banter, Li Luo could hold his own against Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, but against Xu Youyu's sharp tongue, he was utterly outmatched and had no choice but to surrender.

By the time Xu Youyu changed into her school uniform, it was already past six forty in the morning.

The four of them hurried out the door, walking toward the gate of the affiliated middle school, buying buns and soy milk along the way and eating as they walked.

At this hour, it was the peak rush of students heading to school; a flood of students poured into the school gate.

Among them, Li Luo and the three girls stood out sharply, drawing many glances.

The Gao Er and Gao San students weren't fazed—they'd seen this scene many times over the past year.

But the Gao Yi freshmen, seeing three schoolmates as beautiful as fairies, couldn't control their eyes and kept stealing glances.

At the side of the Gao Er teaching building, they parted ways—Xu Youyu went to her classroom.

Li Luo and the other two headed together to Class 8 of Gao Er and took their seats.

Today was Saturday; the morning session was self-study, for finishing weekend homework.

But Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had already finished most of it during Friday's classes.

By halfway through the first self-study period, they'd completed all their weekend assignments.

In contrast, Yan Zhusheng worked slowly; under Li Luo's supervision, she kept her head down, diligently solving problems.

So starting from the second self-study period, Li Luo began occasionally doing small things with Ying Chanxi in front of him.

First, passing notes to chat.

Ying Chanxi kept her head down solving competition problems; after finishing one, she replied to him once.

With the reward of a reply, Ying Chanxi focused even more intensely on her problems, setting a rule: finish one problem, reply once—and her efficiency shot up rapidly.

By the third self-study period, Ying Chanxi stopped doing problems, opened a book to relax, and deliberately leaned back in her chair.

Soon, she felt her braid being secretly tugged and played with by Li Luo.

Li Luo also picked up some problems to solve, killing time—one hand fiddling with Ying Chanxi's braid, the other writing, quite content.

Then, not long after, Ying Chanxi felt her braid being undone, her hair falling loose.

Ying Chanxi pressed her lips shut, showing no intention to resist, letting Li Luo play with her hair.

But it wasn't over—Li Luo even secretly tapped her shoulder and passed another note.

【Li Luo】: Do you have any extra hair ties?

【Ying Chanxi】: What are you planning?

【Li Luo】: Don't ask, just give me one.

After reading Li Luo's note, Ying Chanxi secretly rolled her eyes but still reached into her desk drawer, pulled out a hair tie, and passed it backward.

Li Luo took the hair tie and, together with the original one, began fiddling with Ying Chanxi's hair.

Soon, he successfully tied her hair into twin pigtails.

Just then, the bell rang for break, and the morning exercise music blared.

Everyone stood up, filed out of the classroom to line up in the hallway; Ying Chanxi didn't have time to fix her braid, so she blushed slightly, turned around, and shot Li Luo a petulant glare, then walked out of the classroom with twin pigtails bouncing.

To be honest, aside from when she was a child, this was the first time Li Luo had ever seen Ying Chanxi with twin pigtails.

Ying Chanxi's hair wasn't as long as Yan Zhusheng's, but it reached about halfway down her back.

Once tied into twin pigtails, the ends fell just below her shoulders, bouncing with each step—adding an extra touch of youthful, adorable charm that left everyone in Class 8 momentarily stunned.

After all, though Ying Chanxi was usually sweet and cute, when tied in a single braid and with her reputation as the top-ranked academic god, most people easily overlooked her outward cuteness.

But now, with twin pigtails, that little-sister-next-door charm overflowed.

"It's all your fault," Ying Chanxi noticed everyone's stares, blushed, and secretly poked Li Luo's waist. "Did you tie it badly? Does it look ugly?"

"Are you doubting my skill, or your own looks?" Li Luo chuckled. "Relax—it's adorable. Ask Qiao Xinyan if you don't believe me."

"Mm-hmm," Qiao Xinyan nodded vigorously, giving Ying Chanxi a thumbs-up. "It's so different from usual—super cute, Xixi."

Beside them, Yan Zhusheng looked at Ying Chanxi, then touched her own braid, her expression thoughtful; after the morning exercise, she couldn't help whispering softly: "Li Luo, would I look cuter with twin pigtails?"

"You?" Li Luo turned to look at Yan Zhusheng, stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It doesn't suit your vibe. Weird."

"Then what would look better?"

"You already look great like this."

"Don't brush me off."

"Then… your hair looks great loose too," Li Luo chuckled. "When you tie it up, you've got that sporty vibe. Let it down, and you're pure cold elegance."

"Like this?" Yan Zhusheng yanked out her hair tie instantly; her long hair cascaded down, reaching her lower back.

I have to say, Yan Zhusheng's long hair is really well-maintained—it's so long yet doesn't split at the ends, and it feels very smooth to the touch.

【127】 Honestly, Yan Zhusheng's hair was in excellent condition—so long yet split-free, smooth to the touch.

Yan Zhusheng gave her head a light shake, and the previously slightly messy hair instantly settled, hanging neatly on both sides.

This version of Yan Zhusheng was rare—only ever seen when she was having her hair blown dry.

Because her hair was so long, she preferred tying it up, otherwise it would get crushed while sleeping.

At night, she'd use a loose tie to bind her hair to one side of her head, letting it flow freely down one shoulder so it wouldn't get pressed.

Now, with her hair completely loose, Yan Zhusheng's cold elegance radiated instantly.

Anyone unfamiliar with her, seeing such a long-haired beauty, would probably dare not approach her.

"Which do you think looks better?" Yan Zhusheng asked seriously.

"Both have their charm, but isn't this style too hot with your hair down?" Li Luo patted her shoulder, turning her around, took the hair tie from her hand, and retied her hair. "Better to tie it up—otherwise it'll get in the way when you're doing homework."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently, touched the ponytail Li Luo had retied, her eyes gleaming with delight. When the class bell rang, she bent back over her homework.

As for Ying Chanxi.

No one knew what she was thinking, but her twin pigtails remained unchanged until the end of the fourth class—she kept them like that.

After class, everyone packed their bags, preparing to head to the cafeteria for lunch, since club activities were scheduled for the afternoon.

Xu Yinghuan, noticing her still wearing twin pigtails, asked curiously, "Xixi, why'd you change your hairstyle midday? I swear you had a single ponytail this morning."

"This?" Ying Chanxi touched her twin pigtails, then pointed at Li Luo with her finger, pouting. "It's all because of this guy—he kept playing with my hair in class and messed it up like this. I was too lazy to fix it back, so I just left it."

"Ohhh." Xu Yinghuan nodded in understanding, then turned to Li Luo. "You're so immature, class monitor. What is this, elementary school behavior?"

"I like it." Li Luo rolled her eyes. "You can ask our Junge to tie yours up too."

"Li Luo, what are you saying?!" Before Xu Yinghuan could react, Zhao Rongjun turned pale, grabbed him, and tried to clamp his mouth shut.

"My hair isn't even that long," Xu Yinghuan touched her hair, which barely reached her shoulders. "I grew it all summer and it's only this far. Twin pigtails would make me look like a kid. Qiao Xinyan's could work, though."

"Me?" Qiao Xinyan blinked, instinctively touching her hair, then glanced at Zhao Rongjun, and covered her mouth with a laugh. "I've never tried it before. I wonder if it'd look good."

"Of course it would." Li Luo slapped Zhao Rongjun hard on the back, nearly knocking him off balance. "Right, Junge?"

"Huh? Uh… yeah… yeah…" Zhao Rongjun, caught off guard, couldn't say no—only nodded frantically, stammering helplessly.

Qiao Xinyan didn't press him, smoothly shifting the topic, and Zhao Rongjun exhaled in relief.

After lunch, Li Luo said to Yan Zhusheng: "I'm heading to the Literature Club first. Once they're done, I'll join you."

"Okay." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently and went alone to the Rock Club.

Li Luo followed Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu straight to the Literature Club's activity room.