Chapter 384: Did You Like Your Senior

At night, the streets were nearly empty.

On the road between Fuyi Middle School and Qianjiang University, only Li Luo and Ying Chanxi's shadows remained, stretched long under the streetlights and overlapping.

As the end of December approached, Yuhang City had been cooling for days; at night, it was barely three or four degrees Celsius.

Li Luo wrapped the orange scarf Yan Zhusheng had given him today around his neck again, feeling noticeably warmer.

He turned to look at Ying Chanxi and saw she was still dressed in a sweater and school jacket; he couldn't help asking, "Cold? Want to wear the scarf?"

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi glanced at the scarf around Li Luo's neck, then shook her head. "Not cold."

She was a little cold, but her heart burned hot—so she didn't need the warmth of a scarf.

Besides, it was a birthday gift from Zhusheng to Li Luo; if she were in his place, she wouldn't want her own scarf around another girl's neck.

So she firmly refused.

Just recalling the kiss they'd shared under the camera's gaze was enough to make her cheeks burn.

Her body warmed too—she wasn't cold at all.

But thinking of it, she couldn't help stealing a glance at Li Luo, her gaze falling to his lips, her breath quickening, her eyes growing hot.

Some things are like Pandora's box—once opened, it's hard to close again.

Having experienced that sensation, Ying Chanxi now recalled the scenes Li Luo had written in his novel.

Especially the intense kiss between Li Yang and Shen Dongdong, justified as a filming scene, made Ying Chanxi's body tremble unconsciously.

It wasn't from cold—just pure excitement she couldn't control.

The blend of fantasy and reality felt dreamlike, so much so that she wondered if it had all been a dream.

So she wanted to hurry home to save the footage from the camera, to prove it was real.

But she also wanted to walk slower, slower still, to stretch their private time together.

This conflicting, tangled emotion nearly left her unsure how to walk.

Until, at one moment, her small hand was suddenly clasped by a warm, large one—her conflict and hesitation vanished instantly.

She stared blankly at Li Luo, then looked down at his hand, lost in thought.

Li Luo beside her spoke calmly: "Cold?"

He rubbed her slightly icy fingers, warming them slightly.

"Mmm… it's fine, not cold."

"Your hands are frozen."

"My hands aren't usually warm."

"I'll warm them for you."

"Oh…"

They walked like that, hand in hand—Ying Chanxi no longer needed to decide whether to hurry or linger.

She only needed to follow Li Luo's pace.

"Do you remember when we were little?"

Ying Chanxi swung their clasped hands back and forth, her feet stepping on the raised bars of the tactile paving, as if walking a tightrope.

"Remember what?"

"Of course, when we were in elementary school," Ying Chanxi said. "When Lin Yi and the others let us go to school by ourselves—do you remember?"

"I remember," Li Luo smiled, glancing at their joined hands. "But back then, you were the one who first took my hand—slightly different from today."

Even without his memory palace, Li Luo could still recall this moment.

It was one of his precious childhood memories.

And most of his precious childhood memories were tied to one person.

"Hmph, it's because someone was too clumsy," Ying Chanxi huffed. "The first time, I already noticed Lin Yi following us."

"Unlike some people who kept running around."

"If I hadn't grabbed your hand, you'd have gotten scolded by Lin Yi again when you got home."

"But didn't we hold hands every day after that?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "I remember we stopped only after fourth grade."

"We were just kids then—it was pure, nothing else," Ying Chanxi pouted. "It was just Lin Yi's request to keep an eye on you. Who else would hold your hand?"

"So now you're still a kid?" Li Luo smiled, lifting her small hand under the streetlight—it was pale and delicate, with an excellent texture.

"Now, now… it's just that my hands are cold, so you're helping warm them," Ying Chanxi averted her gaze, fearful he'd let go, and gripped tighter, adding, "Also practicing for when we shoot the MV later."

"Looks like our Director Ying is truly visionary and prepared."

"Hmph, obviously."

They chatted all the way.

When they reached the entrance of Bihai Lanting, Ying Chanxi suddenly snapped back to reality—she hadn't noticed they'd already returned, and a pang of disappointment settled in her chest.

As the elevator rose, the floor numbers climbing steadily, she knew their private time with Li Luo was ending.

When the elevator doors opened, their hands were still clasped.

When they reached her door, they naturally let go.

Li Luo pulled out his key, opened the door, and stepped inside with Ying Chanxi to change into slippers.

In the kitchen, Xu Youyu heard the door open and peeked out; seeing the filming equipment in their hands, she looked surprised.

"You really went to shoot the MV?" Xu Youyu asked curiously. "Why at this hour? We were shocked when we noticed you two were gone."

"Some scenes work better at night," Li Luo explained for Ying Chanxi. "And you two were showering—we had nothing else to do."

"Heh, if you had nothing to do, why not wash the dishes?" Xu Youyu gave him a look. "Go shower quickly, then play Flying Chess."

"Why are you so obsessed with Flying Chess?"

"How about Monopoly?"

"... Let's play Flying Chess instead."

Ying Chanxi greeted the two of them, then went straight to the bathroom to shower.

Li Luo was passing through the kitchen when Yan Zhusheng stopped him.

Upon seeing the orange scarf around Li Luo's neck, Yan Zhusheng's expression softened slightly, and her mood improved a bit.

Li Luo showered quickly and came out of the bathroom in about ten minutes.

Since many people had eaten dinner, there were plenty of bowls and chopsticks on the table, plus the cake on the desk—it would be a hassle to clean up.

After showering, Li Luo came over to help clean up.

Once everything was tidy, Li Luo took some fruit from the fridge, washed and sliced it, then arranged it on plates and brought them out.

At this point, Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng had already wandered over to the master bed.

Li Luo glanced at the scene inside his room and was momentarily speechless.

"Where did you even get that little table?"

"I bought it," Xu Youyu chuckled, then spread Li Luo's blanket over the small table on the bed, making it look just like the heated tables in anime.

After laying the blanket directly over the small table, Xu Youyu pulled out a small tabletop board and placed it on top—perfectly done.

Now Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng had taken seats facing each other, lifted the blanket, and tucked their legs underneath—suddenly much warmer.

Seeing this, Li Luo placed the two plates of fruit on the tabletop board but didn't sit down right away; instead, he waited a moment until Ying Chanxi finished her shower.

Ying Chanxi was still wearing her panda pajamas, but now the summer lightweight version had been swapped for the winter cotton version.

After entering Li Luo's room, Ying Chanxi paused in surprise, then sat on the bed and copied the others, pulling the blanket over her legs.

Li Luo then took out the hair dryer and helped dry her hair.

At this moment, Xu Youyu had already eagerly unrolled the Flying Chess board and placed everyone's planes in position.

"Come on, come on! Don't waste time! Let's start~"

"I'm still drying my hair..." Li Luo knelt on the bed behind Ying Chanxi, watching Xu Youyu's impatience, and sighed, "At least respect the Birthday Person's rights."

"Alright then, let me explain the rules first," Xu Youyu cleared her throat and said seriously.

"What rules could Flying Chess possibly have?" Li Luo retorted.

"Don't underestimate Flying Chess!" Xu Youyu glared at him, then huffed, "The basic rules are obvious—I won't repeat them. What I'm adding are tonight's special rules."

Saying this, Xu Youyu grinned.

Ying Chanxi looked thoughtful; Yan Zhusheng's eyes brightened slightly.

Only Li Luo's heart skipped a beat—he had a bad feeling.

"The rule is simple," Xu Youyu raised one finger and grinned. "The Birthday Person has a special privilege: if their plane deliberately collides with another player's plane, it triggers the 'Winged Together' effect."

"Once 'Winged Together' is triggered, whichever plane is involved will carry the other along as they fly."

"The Birthday Person can cancel the 'Winged Together' effect at any time; others can only accept it passively and cannot cancel it themselves."

Hearing this, Li Luo smirked and pointed to the red plane's finish line on the board. "So if I get 'Winged Together' with you and reach this point, and I don't cancel it, won't you just drag me all the way here?"

"Exactly," Xu Youyu nodded. "You can choose to reach the finish line together with me."

"What if I drag you past this boundary?" Li Luo asked again. "Won't you be locked out?"

"Then it's like you wasted a whole lap—you'll have to start over," Xu Youyu chuckled. "It all depends on how cruel someone is willing to be."

After hearing this rule—highly favorable to himself—Li Luo nodded in satisfaction.

After drying Ying Chanxi's hair, he set the hair dryer aside, climbed onto the bed, and sat across from her.

"I'm not done yet," Xu Youyu continued. "That was just the Birthday Person's special effect. Now there are additional rules to add."

"Why do you have so many gimmicks?" Li Luo sighed. "You're playing Flying Chess, not staging a drama."

"What's the point of just playing Flying Chess?" Xu Youyu huffed. "If the Birthday Person deliberately hits one of us, it triggers 'Winged Together.' But if any of us three hit someone else's plane, it's still the same old rule—we blow up their plane."

"So my plane gets blown up too?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it trigger 'Throw Yourself Into My Arms' instead?"

"You wish," Ying Chanxi shot him a look. "What good would 'Throw Yourself Into My Arms' even do?"

"Sitting in Li Luo's lap?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head and asked.

At this, Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi's eyes flickered slightly—no one objected.

Instead, Li Luo immediately cut in: "Forget it! Let it blow up! Otherwise I'll be practically invincible—it won't be fun anymore."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu chuckled, didn't tease him further, and added: "If you successfully blow up someone else's plane, you can ask them a truth question."

"Finally, when the game ends, the first person to finish can assign one grand dare to the last person still unfinished."

"If the Birthday Person loses, they must complete three grand dares—one from each of the other three."

"What the hell? Why?" Li Luo protested. "If you lose, you get one dare. Why do I get three? I'm the Birthday Person!"

"Exactly," Xu Youyu nodded matter-of-factly. "You've got the 'Winged Together' ability—if you still end up last, you're just pathetic. The punishment should be heavier."

Li Luo: "..."

It made too much sense. Li Luo didn't know how to argue back.

But with the 'Winged Together' ability, he didn't need to worry too much.

His own luck was bad, but if he hitched a ride on someone else's plane, the two of them flying together—he didn't believe he could still lose, given their luck.

Thinking this, Li Luo looked at the three girls sitting on the bed, already pondering what grand dares he'd assign them later.

Tonight, the three girls, likely because of winter, were all dressed quite warmly.

Ying Chanxi wore panda pajamas; Yan Zhusheng wore cotton pajamas too, though still in shorts—her legs were covered by the blanket, so Li Luo couldn't see them anyway.

But Xu Youyu's outfit surprised Li Luo.

In his memory, last winter, Xu Youyu had stubbornly worn those thin nightgowns and cranked up the air conditioning in her room.

Even when she got cold walking to the bathroom at midnight, she refused to change her habit.

Yet today, she'd changed—she wasn't wearing a nightgown at all, but a thick pajama set, even full-length pajama pants reaching her heels, completely covered.

I wonder if da mao xian can make them take off their clothes?

Li Luo thought this, but only in his mind… then quickly shook his head, banishing the wicked thought to the back of his mind.

"Alright, alright, let's officially begin!" Xu Youyu finished explaining all the rules and could no longer contain herself; she immediately shoved the dice into Li Luo's hands and urged, "Birthday Person, hurry up—start with you."

"OK." Li Luo nodded, tossed the dice—it showed a 4—"Hmm… I'll just hold off for now."

"You couldn't move even if you wanted to." Xu Youyu chuckled, snatched the dice back, tossed it simply—and rolled a 6, launching smoothly.

After several rounds, Li Luo watched as the three girls all launched their planes, one after another flying past his front, while his own four planes remained parked at the airport for maintenance; he sank into deep silence.

When he rolled a 2 and once again missed a 6 by a hair, he finally cracked.

o￠O

"Are these dice fake?! Why can't I roll a 6?!"

"If you're no good, don't blame the road." Xu Youyu laughed heartily and rolled another 6. "Oh my, look look—it's so easy! My planes are all out, and I'm even wasting these 6s."

Li Luo clicked his tongue, sat cross-legged with his chin propped on his hand, watching the scene, too exhausted to speak.

Ying Chanxi, seeing how pitiful he looked, tossed her dice and said, "How about I roll for you later?"

"No way," Li Luo said. "What if I roll a 6 next time?"

"It's fine," Yan Zhusheng picked up a grape and slipped it into Li Luo's mouth, soothing him. "Even if you lose, I won't give you a too-extreme da mao xian."

"Hey? I still have plenty of extreme da mao xian." Xu Youyu grinned mischievously.

Hearing Xu Youyu say that, Li Luo shuddered, a bad premonition stirring in his chest.

But when his next turn came and he rolled the dice to see a 6 appear before him, he excitedly punched the air: "Nice!"

Li Luo launched his plane, rolled again—another 2—and hopped forward six spaces.

But when it was Yan Zhusheng's turn, she first rolled a 6, closing in on Li Luo's lone plane, then rolled a 3—perfectly able to sink it.

Seeing this, Li Luo's heart leapt to his throat; he hurriedly pleaded, "Zhusheng, look, you still have three other pieces you can move—no need to touch this one. Don't you think?"

"Destroying a plane lets you ask one truth question~" Xu Youyu smiled sweetly from across, goading him.

"Hey hey hey! A true gentleman doesn't interfere while watching!" Li Luo quickly covered Xu Youyu's mouth. "Don't interrupt!"

"I'm a girl, not a gentleman! Besides, this is Flying Chess, not Xiangqi or Weiqi." Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, dodging Li Luo's hand.

"Flying Chess is still chess! I won't let you look down on it!" Li Luo declared solemnly.

But no matter what, it couldn't change Yan Zhusheng's resolve.

Amid Li Luo's agonized expression, Yan Zhusheng advanced three spaces and mercilessly sent Li Luo's lone plane back to base.

"What did you two do when you went out just now?" Yan Zhusheng asked.

"We just went to shoot a music video," Li Luo answered easily. "Didn't I say so on the phone? I didn't lie—you really thought we went to sneak food?"

"Who knows?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "Truth questions must be played seriously—if anyone lies, their future child won't have an anus!"

"... Can you be that cruel?"

"So you're guilty?"

"Of course not," Li Luo said seriously. "Right, Chanxi? We just shot a music video—maybe chatted a bit on the way there and back."

"Mm-hmm," Ying Chanxi blushed, nodding vigorously, whispering, "W-we only shot the MV. Didn't do anything else."

Kissing? That was all part of filming the MV, right?

So they weren't lying.

Their future child would still have an anus…

Ying Chanxi thought of these things, and the more she thought, the redder her face became—she grew even more embarrassed.

But the more she acted like that, the more suspicious Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu became—they were certain the two had done something improper late at night.

Soon, Xu Youyu seized an opportunity, destroyed Ying Chanxi's plane, and smiled sweetly: "So how did you shoot the MV?"

"W-we just used a camera," Ying Chanxi stammered.

"I mean, what was your scene?"

"Hey hey hey," Li Luo interrupted. "That's your second question—violation!"

"Tsk." Xu Youyu glanced at Li Luo, then stopped pressing.

Finally, Li Luo rolled another 6 and successfully launched.

This time his luck improved—he sailed smoothly, but kept narrowly missing Xu Youyu's and the others' planes, never once managing to take one down.

Until he reached the finish line, he never rolled another 6; one plane cleared the course, while three remained stranded at home, unable to launch.

But the good news was the three girls were now fiercely battling each other, constantly destroying planes—when they got the chance, they showed zero mercy.

Midway, Ying Chanxi destroyed one of Xu Youyu's planes and, remembering Xu Youyu's novel Literary Era, curiously asked, "Senior, have you ever kissed someone?"

"Of course," Xu Youyu nodded, smiling. "I was adorable as a child—my parents kissed me every day."

When Ying Chanxi heard Xu Youyu's opening answer, her heart skipped a beat—but when she heard the rest, she froze: "... I-I didn't mean that."

"Then it's your second question," Xu Youyu grinned. "Chanxi, wait till next time."

When it was Yan Zhusheng's turn, she successfully destroyed another of Xu Youyu's planes.

Xu Youyu sighed dramatically: "Why is everyone targeting me?"

"I wish someone would target me too!" Li Luo frowned at his three stranded planes, yet still watched Yan Zhusheng eagerly. "Zhusheng, what'll you ask?"

"So, Senior, have you ever kissed someone your own age of the opposite sex?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously.

"Why are you all suddenly asking me this?" Xu Youyu laughed. "Of course not—I hardly even interact with boys."

"I'm not a boy, right?" Li Luo pointed to his own face.

"Have I ever kissed you?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes.

"Cough…" Li Luo cleared his throat in an intentionally suggestive way, feigning guilt. "Can't say that—you didn't destroy my plane, so it's not your turn to ask me a truth question."

Xu Youyu: "... It never happened! Don't try to dodge!"

"Has Li Luo ever kissed anyone?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, curiously asking Li Luo.

"You've got the guts to blow up my plane first," Li Luo instinctively glanced at Ying Chanxi across from him—just as she looked at him too.

Their eyes met for a moment, then both silently looked away, daring not to continue staring.

But if this trend continues, it seems hard to hide anymore…

Sure, lying wouldn't be hard, but if you lie during a game like this when it's supposed to be truth, it's just dull.

After this, Li Luo finally rolled another six, successfully sending his second plane.

And as soon as he stepped out, he landed on Xu Youyu's plane.

"Ohhh~" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, then chuckled, "Now we're flying wing to wing, senior. You've got my back from here on."

"Tch, what a shame," Xu Youyu muttered. "I was hoping to blow you up again."

"Cough… We should coexist peacefully. No more blowing each other up—it's uncivilized."

"Why would you want peace in a game?" Xu Youyu snorted.

"By the way," Li Luo looked at the plane flying wing to wing with his, then asked curiously, "You said you were going to give me a birthday gift—haven't seen it yet. Did you forget?"

"Oh, you mean that?" Xu Youyu's eyes flickered as she heard this, then she shifted her hips, changing her sitting posture. "I already gave it to you. Didn't you receive it? Think again."

"Huh? I really didn't…" Li Luo was puzzled, but before he finished speaking, he felt a foot brushing up against his thigh.

But that wasn't the key issue.

The real issue was… the texture of that foot felt different…

Not the smooth, soft, bare skin kind—instead, it carried a velvety silkiness, a gentle friction.

In that instant, Li Luo instantly realized—his expression changed, and he glanced sideways at Xu Youyu with a strange look.

"Um… I… " Li Luo swallowed hard, feeling the foot slowly climb from his calf to the base of his thigh, forcing himself to keep his face calm as he murmured, "I remember now. I… I did receive it."

"Do you like it? My gift?" Xu Youyu smiled sweetly at Li Luo, covering her mouth as she giggled.

"Mm…" Li Luo's breath quickened; his left hand shot under the blanket and grabbed the mischievous foot, feeling the fine silk of the stocking—his heart fluttered. "I really like it…"

"Ah…" Xu Youyu nodded, cheeks faintly flushed, twisted her waist slightly, stole a glance at Li Luo, then sighed helplessly, pursing her lips. "Glad you like it."

Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi exchanged a glance, utterly baffled by the two of them whispering riddles—completely lost.

"What did senior give you?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled. "I didn't see her give you anything during dinner."

"Mm…" Li Luo squeezed and played with the stocking-clad foot, guessing whether it was white or black silk, forcing a calm expression as he replied, "Just like Zhusheng's—given privately."

Mm.

Indeed.

Privately.