Chapter 358: It

October 3rd.

Seven in the morning.

At the breakfast shop below the Bihai Lanting residential complex.

Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan met at the shop entrance, walked in together, ordered their breakfasts, and carried their trays to a window seat.

"Did your family watch yesterday's show?" Zhao Rongjun asked quietly, glancing at Qiao Xinyan.

"No, my parents don't usually watch music programs," Qiao Xinyan shook her head. "Why?"

"My grandparents watched it yesterday," Zhao Rongjun said. "After Aunt Yuan sang 'Ru Yuan,' my grandfather cried. I told him the song was written by Li Luo, and he didn't believe me."

"Of course normal people wouldn't believe it," Qiao Xinyan covered her mouth and laughed softly. "I suggest you recommend Li Luo's novels too."

Zhao Rongjun: "... He'd probably kill me."

The two ate breakfast while chatting casually.

The current Zhao Rongjun was no longer the same man he once was; at least when facing Qiao Xinyan, Xu Yinghuan, and a few other girls, he could now chat normally.

After finishing breakfast, the two shouldered their backpacks and headed toward the entrance of the Bihai Lanting complex.

Just then, a car passed by and suddenly stopped beside them. Xu Yinghuan pushed open the door and called out to the person inside: "You can drop me off here! I'm walking with my classmates! Bye!"

Then Xu Yinghuan grinned and sidled up to the two, tapping each on the shoulder: "Hey hey! Good morning~"

Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan greeted the ever-energetic Xu Yinghuan, and the three set off together toward 1502.

"Hey, did you know? My dad actually watched yesterday's show," Xu Yinghuan chattered. "He even praised 'Ru Yuan'—when I told him Li Luo wrote it, he took forever to believe me, then he went straight to read Li Luo's novels, haha~"

"If Li Luo finds out, he might beat you up," Qiao Xinyan laughed.

"He dare?" Xu Yinghuan huffed twice. "I'll just hide behind Zhusheng—he won't dare hit me."

The three chatted and laughed, soon arriving at the door of 1502 and ringing the bell.

But after a long while, the door finally opened.

And only a crack was opened—Li Luo's head peeked out, coughed awkwardly, and said: "Uh, I haven't changed out of my pajamas yet. Take it slow coming in—I'll go change first."

After saying that, Li Luo turned and slipped back into the bedroom.

Zhao Rongjun and the others exchanged glances; after a few seconds, they pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The living room was empty; the sound of Li Luo closing his bedroom door came from the hallway.

Xu Yinghuan looked around but saw no sign of Yan Zhusheng or the others, and asked curiously: "Where is everyone? Why is no one here?"

"Senior probably overslept," Qiao Xinyan smiled. "Chanxi and Zhusheng—I don't know what's going on with them."

Zhao Rongjun, however, fell silent, quietly turning his head toward Li Luo's bedroom, a suspicion forming.

After all, this familiar scene—he'd seen something like it before.

While the three were guessing, Li Luo had already changed clothes and stepped out of the master bedroom, inviting them to sit down so they wouldn't see Chanxi and the others emerging from his room.

The living room desk was near the window, so the hallway movements were hidden from view.

But Qiao Xinyan, having just eaten breakfast, felt the urge to use the restroom, so she stood up and headed toward the hallway bathroom.

As soon as she finished and stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a door opening to her left.

She turned—and watched in disbelief as Ying Chanxi walked out of Li Luo's bedroom.

She wore a panda-patterned pajama set, rubbing her eyes sleepily, clearly just woken up, leaving Qiao Xinyan stunned.

Qiao Xinyan glanced at the bedroom door on the right—wasn't that Chanxi's room?

Why was Chanxi coming out of Li Luo's bedroom?

The thought struck her—her eyes widened, her face filled with shock, and she whispered: "Chanxi... you're not..."

Hearing her name, Ying Chanxi lowered her hand from her eyes and looked toward Qiao Xinyan.

Recognizing who it was, Ying Chanxi suddenly realized what had happened—her face flushed crimson, and she quickly pushed open her own bedroom door, feigning she'd just come from there: "Uh... Xinyan... I was just..."

Seeing her best friend's desperate act, Qiao Xinyan was speechless, then couldn't help asking: "... I saw it. You just came out of Li Luo's room, didn't you? Did you sleep in his room last night?"

"I—I... this..." Ying Chanxi had no defense. She wanted to explain, but saying they all slept on the same bed would sound even stranger.

So she blushed, pushed Qiao Xinyan away, and whispered: "Just don't tell anyone. I—I'm going to freshen up now."

A few minutes later, Ying Chanxi finished freshening up, changed clothes, sat at the desk, leaned close to Li Luo, and whispered reproachfully in his ear: "Xinyan and the others are here—why didn't you warn me?"

"You were seen?" Li Luo asked in surprise.

"It's all your fault," Ying Chanxi pouted and hit him lightly, blushing as she whispered: "Xinyan just saw me coming out of your room—I didn't know how to explain!"

"Cough." Li Luo finally realized—no wonder Qiao Xinyan's gaze had been strange when she returned from the bathroom.

Li Luo hadn't anticipated that Qiao Xinyan would run into Ying Chanxi just while using the restroom. Now that it had happened, he accepted reality and murmured teasingly: "So what if she saw? We're close—we've slept together so many times. It doesn't matter if she knows."

"What kind of thing is that to say?" Ying Chanxi's face turned bright red; she hit him again, annoyed, but secretly felt a shy joy—still, she insisted: "W-what do you mean 'slept together so many times'? That sounds awful."

A little while later.

It was Xu Yinghuan's turn to use the restroom.

Before she even reached the bathroom, she saw Yan Zhusheng walk out of Li Luo's bedroom in a light, revealing pajama set.

Compared to Ying Chanxi's earlier reaction, Yan Zhusheng was far more natural.

When she saw Xu Yinghuan, she nodded, then walked straight into the bathroom—so casually that Xu Yinghuan, following behind, almost believed Yan Zhusheng had come from her own room.

"Wait..." Xu Yinghuan sat on the toilet after closing the door, watching Yan Zhusheng wash her face and brush her teeth, and couldn't help asking: "Do Chanxi and Senior know you sleep in Li Luo's room? Or did you sneak in late at night? That's so bold—what if they find out?"

"What are you talking about, Huanhuan?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, looking at Xu Yinghuan in the mirror. "We all sleep together. It's not just me."

Xu Yinghuan: "????"

"You didn't know?" Yan Zhusheng asked. "Didn't you just see Chanxi come out? Senior's still asleep."

"They're both in Li Luo's room???" Xu Yinghuan stared, utterly incredulous.

"Yes," Yan Zhusheng nodded.

Even though she'd heard Yan Zhusheng say before that all four of them slept together.

But Xu Yinghuan always felt Yan Zhusheng was joking with her.

Now she realized, this didn't seem like a joke at all…

It's actually true?

Xu Yinghuan's face was filled with shock, she nearly forgot she needed to use the restroom.

When she came out of the restroom and returned to the living room desk, Xu Yinghuan sat down, her gaze fixed on Li Luo across from her, her eyes brimming with an expression too complex to believe.

Hadn't even reached the "big bed, four people" achievement in the novel yet—yet in reality, Li Luo had already accomplished it first?

Of course, novels still need logic; reality doesn't care about logic at all!

Zhusheng, Xixi, and the senior—how could all three of them sleep in the same bed with Li Luo without a single argument?

Huh?!

Could she be dreaming?

"Is there something on my face?" Li Luo touched his own face and asked Xu Yinghuan.

"No," Xu Yinghuan immediately looked away, suppressing her expression—though her lips still twitched slightly.

After Yan Zhusheng's prolonged information bombardment, she was already somewhat numb.

It just felt like… that's how it was.

It's just one guy with three girls.

Zhusheng and the other two got along well enough, and Li Luo wasn't bad either.

Thinking about it like this… maybe… it's acceptable?

Especially since Xu Yinghuan had caught up to the latest chapters of Li Luo's novel and hadn't yet seen anything oily or repulsive.

Though stepping on three boats is a bit excessive, each romantic thread clearly showed the male lead's genuine feelings for each heroine, and each had undeniable reasons to be cherished.

How to put it…

Xu Yinghuan thought the comment by an old bro on the forum made perfect sense.

【This novel is a harem, but really only has three heroines; each romantic thread is well-set-up, the three heroines are interconnected and get along well—I'd call this pure love harem fiction.】

In the past, Xu Yinghuan would never have imagined "pure love" and "harem" could ever be paired together.

But after seeing Li Luo's relationship with Zhusheng and the other three, Xu Yinghuan suddenly felt uncertain.

If something like this could happen in reality, why couldn't it be written in a novel?

Thinking this way, Xu Yinghuan gradually began to accept the premise.

At this moment, Yan Zhusheng had finished washing up, changed clothes in her room, and came to sit beside Li Luo on the other side.

After all six members of the study group—Gao Er—were gathered, Li Luo began systematically advancing their studies, continuing to prepare for the early November selection exam.

But when the clock struck nine, the door to Room 1502 opened again.

Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling, the two mothers, walked in carrying large and small bags of ingredients, laughing and chatting as they entered the kitchen to cook for them.

Seeing only Li Luo and the other six in the living room, Cui Suling immediately frowned: "What's wrong with Youyu? It's nine o'clock—still not up?"

Hearing this, Li Luo was startled—he checked the time and realized it was already nine.

He'd been so focused on explaining problems to Yan Zhusheng and Xu Yinghuan that he'd forgotten Xu Youyu was still sleeping in his room.

Seeing Cui Suling head toward the study room, Li Luo quickly stood up and guided her toward the kitchen: "Auntie, I'll go wake her up—you and my mom start cooking."

"Li Luo, you can't keep spoiling her like this, you understand?" Cui Suling didn't go herself, but said, "Whatever time you wake up and whatever you do, make Youyu follow the same routine."

"If she disobeys, just call me—I'll teach her a lesson."

"She never listens to me at home; at least now she listens to you—please help Auntie keep an eye on her."

"Yeah, yeah…" Li Luo kept a smile on his face, carefully hiding any signs of unease, playing the perfect good boy in front of Cui Suling: "I understand, Auntie, don't worry."

After finally coaxing Cui Suling into the kitchen, Li Luo slammed the kitchen door shut, then dashed into his bedroom and yanked off the covers.

"Senior! Get up! Your mom's here!"

"What the hell!"

Xu Youyu, still groggy from being woken, instantly jolted awake upon hearing her mother had arrived.

"Where? Where is my mom?"

"She's in the kitchen! Get up right now!"

"Huh? She didn't come here?"

"I got her distracted to the kitchen—she should be safe for now."

"Oh~ I see." Hearing this, Xu Youyu's urgency vanished; she grinned, grabbed Li Luo's arm, and pulled him onto the bed.

"Senior, what are you doing?!" Li Luo was forced onto Xu Youyu's body, his hands braced on the mattress, feeling the pressure against his chest—his breath quickened.

"Since Mom isn't coming right now, there's no rush," Xu Youyu chuckled. "And think—if she walked in and saw us like this, what would she think? Hmm?"

As she spoke, Xu Youyu tugged at Li Luo's collar, pulling him even closer.

Li Luo could even feel Xu Youyu's breath on his face.

"…Auntie Cui might come at me with a cleaver."

"How could she?" Xu Youyu snorted. "You don't know how highly she thinks of you—she likes you way more than me, her own daughter."

"Really?" Li Luo blinked in surprise.

Honestly, among all the elders, Li Luo felt the most distant from Cui Suling.

Mainly because in his past life, she'd privately summoned him a few times, and their conversations were never pleasant.

Back then, Xu Youyu didn't know about it, and Li Luo never mentioned it to her—but it remained a thorn in his heart.

After his rebirth, when he met Cui Suling again, he didn't dwell on it much.

After all, she was only thinking of her daughter's future; in his past life, he truly hadn't been good enough for Xu Youyu—her criticism was understandable.

Yet precisely because of that, when Xu Youyu now said he had a good reputation with Cui Suling, Li Luo felt momentarily dazed.

"It's not just that," Xu Youyu couldn't help complaining, "you've already become the standard 'other people's child' in our family."

"Good grades, regular schedule, exercises regularly, writes novels, composes songs, knows how to behave, capable, and high emotional intelligence."

"Not just my mom—even my dad's been won over. He's practically treating you like the designated son-in-law."

"Huh?" Li Luo blinked, still unaccustomed to this shift.

"What? Being our family's son-in-law is beneath you?" Xu Youyu smiled sweetly.

"Cough… I'm still a Gao Zhongsheng… why are you saying this, senior?"

"Pfft, I was just teasing you. You actually took it seriously?" Xu Youyu snorted, watching Li Luo climb off her, then getting up herself, "High school's no good—so you'd finally say yes in college?"

"It's still too early to talk about this now."

"Hmph." Xu Youyu laughed, following Li Luo out of the room without pressing further.

But when they reached the hallway, she suddenly got a whim, grabbed Li Luo's hand, yanked him over, and pinned him against the wall.

Li Luo was startled by her move, leaning against the wall as Xu Youyu pressed tightly against him.

"Senior… what are you doing?" Li Luo whispered. "There are people in the living room and kitchen."

"That's exactly what makes it exciting," Xu Youyu whispered in his ear, "I haven't gathered material in ages—today's perfect to try it out."

…

At noon, Li Guohong and Xu Rongsheng came over to piggyback on the meal.

Eleven people at the table—squeeze in, and they all fit.

At dinner, when they brought up yesterday's singer show featuring Yuan Wanqing, Xu Rongsheng couldn't help praising: "Li Luo, your song is truly excellent. I recommended it to other professors at the institute first thing this morning, and many said they'd already heard it—and all gave high praise."

"Cough… Professor Xu is too kind," Li Luo said modestly while eating.

"Oh, you guys don't know," Cui Suling chimed in, smiling at Li Luo, "when your song was sung by Yuan Wanqing, your Uncle Xu cried so hard he turned into a mess—tears just kept flowing."

"Hey hey hey! Don't bring up the sore spot!" Xu Rongsheng's face flushed red; he quickly interrupted his wife, "We're having a conversation—don't butt in."

"Dad, you really cried?" Xu Youyu asked curiously. "I've never seen you cry before."

"Don't listen to your mom," Xu Rongsheng's face darkened as he denied it, then redirected the topic: "I love the lyrics of Li Luo's song. After we resume classes, I'll play it again in lecture for my students."

"Is it really that good?" Lin Xiuhong asked, surprised. "I watched it yesterday—it's definitely catchy, but I didn't expect you to rate it so highly, Uncle Xu."

"You haven't carefully felt or studied the lyrics," Xu Rongsheng said seriously. "If you really ponder them, you'll realize Li Luo's song can truly be called a New Era Red Song."

"Or rather, New Era Red Songs ought to be written like this."

"The perspective in this song is completely different from those of old Red Songs."

In fact, Xu Rongsheng's line of thought was simple.

Old Red Songs praised the motherland, honored martyrs, and celebrated great figures and their heroic deeds.

They always adopted a positive, top-down perspective to extol and promote patriotic spirit.

But Li Luo's "Ru Yuan" is entirely different.

He speaks from the viewpoint of a new-generation youth, conversing in a gentle, intimate tone with the motherland, the great figures, and the martyrs—laughing and chatting beneath the radiance of a prosperous age.

"I shall see the world you never saw, write the poems you never wrote."

This spirit—of affirmation through vow, of inheritance through declaration—evokes a soaring, uplifting momentum: an unbroken lineage, a torch passed endlessly forward.

From small love to great love, this lyricism truly made Xu Rongsheng unable to put it down.

"Dad," Xu Youyu, raised in this environment, understood her father's feelings, and couldn't help teasing again, "Can you write a paper on this song too?"

Hearing this, before Xu Rongsheng could respond, Li Luo already rolled his eyes.

But Xu Rongsheng nodded: "Writing a full research paper just on one song is probably overkill."

"But I can mention it in my Modern Poetry Appreciation elective. It can even be included as a research subject for course papers."

"I think this lyric alone could stand perfectly as a modern poem."

Li Luo hadn't expected Xu Rongsheng to rate the song so highly.

He didn't know if it was a case of loving the person and thus loving their work.

But he didn't yet know.

Not only Xu Rongsheng—right now, or rather since last night—the Weibo trending topic for this song "Ru Yuan" had already climbed to number one.