Chapter 409

The senior high building, Li Luo vaguely remembered he'd never really come here.

Although he passed by it every day on his way to the cafeteria, he'd hardly ever stepped inside.

At this moment, he walked along the second-floor corridor of the senior high building, accompanied by Xu Youyu.

He didn't know whether it was because he was wearing the sophomore uniform, or because most senior students recognized him, or simply because everyone knew Xu Youyu.

In any case, the two of them walking down the corridor effortlessly drew the attention of nearly everyone.

"Should I take off my uniform jacket?" Li Luo whispered to Xu Youyu. "I feel out of place walking around here in senior high."

Xu Youyu glanced at the "2014" label on his jacket, indicating Li Luo enrolled in 2014, and laughed. "You seem to have no idea how famous you are at school."

"Even though you're indeed the most famous student in sophomore year, your novels are known throughout the entire school."

"After Aunt Yuan's collaboration with you, the outside world might not know you attend Fuyi High, but all our classmates know for sure."

"Just the guys in our class all read your books, and some girls read them too."

"Not to mention every school event, you and Zhusheng always perform on stage—how could anyone not know you?"

Being famous at school, Li Luo should be happy about this.

But after hearing Xu Youyu's words, Li Luo only sighed. "I wish Chanxi were as famous as I am."

"You've got bad intentions," Xu Youyu smiled sweetly at him, pinching his waist. "If you don't want a mysterious murder case reported from Bihai Lanting 1502 tomorrow, behave yourself."

"You're terrifying," Li Luo quickly grabbed her wrist, prying her fingers off his waist, and changed the subject. "Let's just hurry up and play the game—we still need to collect your stamps."

"Forget the stamps," Xu Youyu shook her head, pointing to the clock behind Class Twelve. "It's already ten. There's only one hour left—sixteen stamps are impossible."

"Then what game do you really want to play?" Li Luo glanced around; most students had stopped watching them, so he subtly squeezed her small hand. "I'll go with you."

"Hmph." Xu Youyu smirked at him, then shook her head. "I'm not really into these games—they're boring. Nothing compares to the excitement of Monopoly."

"Then why did you just say you wanted me to come along?"

"I was just teasing Chanxi," Xu Youyu sighed with amusement. "I never expected her to suddenly become so agreeable—before, she'd always make up excuses to keep you from coming with me."

Hearing Xu Youyu say something nearly identical to what Yan Zhusheng had said before, Li Luo fell silent.

Chanxi… since celebrating his birthday, she's clearly changed in some way.

"So what do we do now?" Li Luo chuckled. "Just wander around like this?"

"Follow me," Xu Youyu thought for a moment, then smiled at him. "I'll take you somewhere."

"Where?"

"You'll see when we get there."

Watching Xu Youyu stride quickly toward the staircase, Li Luo immediately followed.

Following behind her as they climbed the stairs, Li Luo noticed she didn't stop at the fourth floor and asked, "Up ahead is the teachers' office, right?"

"Why ask so much?" Xu Youyu turned and grinned at him, then at the corner between the fourth and fifth floors, extended her hand toward him.

Li Luo glanced back to confirm no one was watching, then reached out and took her hand.

Though they'd secretly held hands on campus before, this was the first time they walked openly through the school stairs, fingers intertwined, never letting go.

Though Li Luo's mental age was mature, having spent over a year as a student since his rebirth, this still felt thrilling.

Especially now, as they reached the fifth floor, where the teachers' offices stretched before them.

If any teacher stepped out of their office to use the restroom, they'd instantly see Li Luo and Xu Youyu holding hands.

But they were lucky.

As Xu Youyu pulled him up the stairs toward the sixth floor, no teacher emerged from any office.

So Li Luo was led all the way to the sixth floor, and still she didn't stop—she kept climbing the stairs until they reached the rooftop door.

Seeing the locked rooftop door, Li Luo frowned. "Why did you bring me here? It's locked—we can't get out."

"Relax," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, pulled him to the door, and pointed above the frame. "Feel up there—you'll find the key."

Skeptical, Li Luo reached up and brushed his fingers along the top of the doorframe, gathering dust—then his fingers touched something.

He pulled it down: a small brass key, clearly meant for this door.

Xu Youyu took the key, quietly unlocked the lock, then pushed open the rooftop door.

Winter wind was already biting; as the door swung open, a gust rushed in, whipping Xu Youyu's hair into the air.

Braving the cold, she stepped onto the rooftop, turned, tucked her hair behind her ear with one hand, and reached the other toward Li Luo, curling her finger. "Come on."

"How did you know there was a key here?" Li Luo stepped onto the rooftop, curious.

"When I was in freshman year, the vice principal had a promotional video assignment," Xu Youyu said, gripping his hand as they walked across the rooftop. "One shot needed the rooftop. I saw the teacher just reach up and pull the key from the frame—I learned it then."

"Isn't that dangerous? What if other students found out?"

"At Fuyi High, nothing dangerous ever happens," Xu Youyu grinned, knowing his concern. "You probably don't know—our current principal, when he first took office, ran a semester of military-style discipline."

"That was right before I enrolled. Not only did academic results drop, but some senior students developed psychological issues—it nearly turned into a scandal."

"After that, our principal settled down, reverted to the old management style, and our school scores improved again."

Principal Wang had been a soldier; even after becoming principal, he still carried some military traits, differing from previous principals' approaches.

But students aren't soldiers, and education isn't meant to turn them into standardized machines.

"Learning is mostly about building basic understanding of the world, honing logic and thinking skills," Li Luo said, leaning on the railing with her, gazing out. "What specific knowledge you gain is secondary."

On this point, Li Luo felt it deeply.

Though society claims everyone is equal, once cognitive gaps form, they become nearly impossible to bridge later in life.

The knowledge learned in school fades after a few years—most of it forgotten—but the way one learns, the method of acquiring knowledge, becomes deeply ingrained.

Especially in this life, Li Luo had mostly self-studied his high school material, asking Ying Chanxi or Xu Youyu whenever he had questions.

At school, he asked teachers.

The knowledge gained this way was clearly more flexible than the rigid, memorized facts he'd learned before.

"Hey, do you know?" Xu Youyu turned to Li Luo, her eyes sparkling.

"Know what?" Li Luo turned his head in confusion, meeting Xu Youyu's gaze.

"Sometimes I just feel it's incredible," Xu Youyu leaned close to Li Luo, her cheek brushing his, eyes blinking up at him. "The things you say sound like they should come from someone like my dad."

"... Is it really that exaggerated?" Li Luo laughed.

"For a normal high school student, just studying hard is already pushing their limits—how could they have time to think about these things?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "I don't know where you get all this energy."

Writing books, writing songs, and still keeping up with studies…

Though Xu Youyu herself was already impressive, managing her studies while writing "Literary Era."

Yet she barely kept up, churning out four thousand words a day, sleeping in every morning and catching up on weekends.

Li Luo, by contrast, had such boundless energy—he had tens of thousands of words in reserve, and still found time to write an eighty-thousand-word "Little Joy"—he was practically not human.

But Li Luo knew his own situation: without the Memory Palace, even with his rebirth, he wouldn't have been especially wealthy during high school—maximum he could manage was having enough pocket money.

Only after entering university, once he came of age, would he exploit the information gap from his rebirth to make money.

The restrictions on minors were still too many.

Even writing a book required family household registration as guarantee, let alone anything else.

"So we're staying here for an hour?" Li Luo breathed in the cold wind; thanks to Yan Zhusheng's scarf, he didn't feel cold. "Really not going downstairs to play games?"

"No." Xu Youyu gripped the railing and pointed far off. "That's Qianjiang University—ten times bigger than Fu No. 1 High. Next year I'll be studying there."

"I see," Li Luo gazed over and smiled. "The year after next, it'll be our turn."

"I'll go ahead and scout the way for you," Xu Youyu grinned. "Don't forget you still owe me a punishment."

Li Luo: "... I thought you'd already forgotten."

"How could I? I remember perfectly." Xu Youyu wrapped an arm around Li Luo's shoulder and tilted his chin up with the other hand, chuckling. "Just wait—you'll see. A bet's a bet."

As Xu Youyu made this gesture, Li Luo felt his arm sink into some deep, soft valley, tender and evocative.

"Can't you just tell me what it is ahead of time?" Xu Youyu had kept this secret for months without a single hint—Li Luo was driven mad with curiosity, utterly clueless about what she planned.

"Don't rush," Xu Youyu hummed. "I already said I'd tell you once university starts—it's still far off."

"Then at least stop teasing me with hints? You keep bringing it up but never say what it is—that's unfair."

"I'm just afraid you'll back out," Xu Youyu pressed herself fully against him, eyes shimmering, lips curved in a smile. "Don't worry—it won't be hard. For you, it'll be easy."

"The more you say that, the worse my premonition gets." Li Luo felt her body close, instinctively reached out, and clasped her slender waist, pulling her into his arms.

"No couple's experience today," Xu Youyu laughed softly as his hand traced her waist, yet she didn't pull away—she leaned into him, not the slightest intention to escape.

"Then I'll get on the bus first and apply," Li Luo tightened his hold, embracing her tightly on the rooftop, whispering in her ear. "Is there a couple's experience today?"

"Nope~" Xu Youyu hummed, then added with a mischievous grin, "But how about a lover's experience?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Literature Club president and the Student Council president are the couple everyone envies," Xu Youyu whispered. "But no one knows that someone secretly already got together with the former Student Council president."

"Whenever they had free time, they'd sneak up here to meet."

"Meanwhile, the current Student Council president remains completely unaware—still patrolling during the New Year's event."

"At this moment..."

Xu Youyu lifted her head from Li Luo's chest, smiling sweetly at him, deliberately pressing herself tighter against him, then chuckled. "I haven't even finished telling the story—and you're already this excited?"

Li Luo: "... It's a normal reaction. Any healthy, mentally sound person would react this way."

"So, how do you like my lover's experience?" Xu Youyu grinned. "How does it compare to the couple's experience before?"

"... A bit thrilling," Li Luo admitted honestly, hugging her full figure and taking a deep breath.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Youyu laughed even more brightly, her expression tinged with mischief.

"Hey," Xu Youyu lingered in his arms for a moment, then whispered softly into his ear, "It's rare we come up here—want something even more thrilling?"

"What do you mean, senior?"

"Remember when you played flight chess on your birthday?" Xu Youyu's voice dropped, clearly embarrassed. "You forgot?"

When Li Luo turned to look at her, she dodged away, hiding her now blazing red face.

"N-No, that's not a good idea..."

"Why not? No one ever comes up here," Xu Youyu grinned wickedly. "Don't worry—Chanxi is patrolling. She won't find us."

"This..." Li Luo's head spun, the rooftop's cold wind doing nothing to cool him—he breathed faster. "Then... senior..."

"Haha~" Hearing Li Luo's strained voice, Xu Youyu suddenly broke free from his arms, laughing as she sprinted across the rooftop, stopping at the far edge and turning to face him with a grin. "Lover's experience time's up—no refunds."

At that moment, staring at Xu Youyu's smile, Li Luo froze, then helplessly laughed.

She'd left him hanging—uncomfortably, frustratingly so...