Chapter 411: Is It Exciting?

The New Year's event in Annex One.

In the morning, there were class-level games, and everyone's activity range was mostly limited to their respective grade's teaching building.

In the afternoon, it was the club experience activity.

Each club applied for a booth along Houde Road, or, like the basketball club, badminton club, rock club, already had fixed venues.

Then, club members prepared activities they normally did in their clubs, allowing visiting students to experience the fun of different clubs.

For example, the basketball club could teach you how to play basketball.

The rock club could teach you to play instruments.

The calligraphy club could let you write with a brush on rice paper.

The photography club could let you try taking photos with the club's cameras.

Each club had different activities, and corresponding stamps could be collected to encourage everyone to visit more clubs, collect all stamps, and earn rewards.

Amid this lively atmosphere, Li Luo accompanied Ying Chanxi, becoming my lord's hound, staying by her side, patrolling the entire venue.

"The table tennis club wanted to move a few tables directly onto Houde Road this year, but one table broke halfway."

"Got it, I'll go tell Teacher Hu to tell them not to touch the broken table, and to move the others first," Ying Chanxi said to the student union member who brought the news, "There are only three tables total, right? Have them make do with the two good ones."

"Understood."

"Senior Ying, the astronomy club and photography club are arguing—they say their booth locations overlap, mainly because both brought equipment: telescopes and camera tripods, all crammed together outside the previously designated areas."

"Understood, I'll go check."

"Senior, at the basketball court, a boy from Class Six, Grade One, got into an argument with a Grade Two senior from the basketball club, saying the girl he likes got hit on the shoulder by a basketball, and then…"

"I'll handle this one," Li Luo yawned, patting Ying Chanxi's shoulder.

After both had finished handling their matters and returned to meet in the middle of Houde Road, Li Luo smiled and said, "My lord is indeed busy—thanks for your hard work."

Saying this, Li Luo walked behind Ying Chanxi and began massaging her shoulders.

Ying Chanxi blushed, feeling classmates staring, and quickly shook her shoulders to make him stop, whispering, "Everyone's watching—give me a massage at home."

"Alright, alright," Li Luo chuckled, "So where to now? Nothing else urgent, right?"

"Problems usually only happen at the start of setting up booths—now that everything's out, things should be quieter. Let's go check the basketball court again," Ying Chanxi said. "How did things go with the earlier argument?"

"Oh, nothing much," Li Luo shook his head. "The guy from Class Six just acted impulsively."

"What exactly did you do?"

"I asked first what happened with the basketball hitting the girl," Li Luo smiled. "Turns out the Grade Two club member missed a three-pointer—it bounced off the rim and hit her directly."

"Before he could even apologize, the guy from Class Six charged over and started yelling, making the club member angry and refuse to apologize."

"You can only say youth is full of fire."

Ying Chanxi heard this and rolled her eyes: "Don't act like you're ancient."

"Maybe my mental age is older."

"Hmph, you were so childish in middle school."

"You don't get it," Li Luo stroked Ying Chanxi's head and whispered with a smile, "Sometimes a man grows up overnight—suddenly, his mind matures."

"So when did you suddenly grow up?"

"The day before the high school entrance exam, the moment I pushed you to the ground."

"You still remember that?" Ying Chanxi smiled. "I was so mad—I slapped you."

"Yeah, that slap woke me up."

"You don't know what I was thinking when I saw you come running to apologize."

"What were you thinking then?"

"I was looking at the handprint on your face," Ying Chanxi covered her mouth, stifling a laugh, and poked his other cheek. "I thought, if one slap worked so well, what if I gave you the other side too? Would the effect double?"

"... I really owe you thanks."

"So you haven't told me yet," Ying Chanxi pressed on. "How did you resolve things at the basketball court?"

"First, I pulled them apart—I've got some face," Li Luo pointed to his own face, then continued, "I called the girl over, told the Grade One boy to stay quiet, and made the Grade Two basketball club member apologize to the girl first."

"The girl accepted the apology. I asked about her shoulder—still a little sore, but nothing serious."

"But for safety's sake, I asked the Grade Two member: since you hurt the girl, wouldn't you take her to the infirmary?"

"The Grade Two guy didn't mind, but the Grade One boy got anxious first—he said he didn't need the club member to take her, he'd take her himself."

"So I let the girl choose—who she wanted to take her to the infirmary."

"And then?" Ying Chanxi, hooked by his pause, urged, "Go on."

"In the end, the girl said she was fine and didn't need to go to the infirmary."

"So that's it?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled.

"Of course not," Li Luo grinned. "Then I made the Grade One boy apologize to the club member."

"Why?"

"He acted too impulsively—I found him cursing when I arrived. I checked with nearby student union members; it was confirmed he was the one yelling the whole time," Li Luo said. "The girl was watching too—he eventually apologized."

"That's all?"

"This kind of issue is mostly about emotion," Li Luo nodded. "Once you control the emotion, clarify the logic, explain the facts clearly, and don't favor either side, you can handle it from the moral high ground."

"Do you think anyone here is absolutely right or absolutely wrong?"

"The Grade Two member accidentally hit someone with a three-pointer—it was unintentional, but his action did hurt someone."

"The Grade One boy stood up bravely—his intentions were good—but his approach was too aggressive and extreme."

"The girl was the victim, but she stood by the whole time, never stepped forward to stop the Grade One boy from cursing."

"Math problems have absolute correct answers and right or wrong, but most events in the world don't have absolute right or wrong sides."

"If right and wrong were truly clear-cut, the world would already be at peace."

Ying Chanxi walked beside Li Luo along Houde Road, enjoying how he spoke such grand principles.

It simply felt comforting to hear.

When the two arrived at the basketball court, they found the boys and girls from Class Six, Grade One still there.

They were playing one-on-one with a member from Grade Two.

Li Luo led Ying Chanxi to the sideline and waved to the Grade One girl: "Wei Yue, did they fight?"

"Senior," Wei Yue, with a cool expression, turned her head toward Li Luo, glanced at Ying Chanxi beside him, then shook her head. "Only Tong Shihua is a bit unconvinced, challenging that senior."

"As long as they didn't fight, that's fine," Ying Chanxi nodded. As long as no fighting occurred, the Student Union had nothing to do with it.

Yet Li Luo couldn't help smiling at the physical collisions on the court—clearly, the earlier anger hadn't fully faded.

Moreover, Tong Shihua clearly knew how to play basketball; his technique was excellent, and after multiple maneuvers and breakthroughs, he had been consistently dominating the basketball club member.

In the final three-step layup that sealed the game, Tong Shihua finally regained that spirited, confident aura. He walked over to Wei Yue at the sideline and grinned at her: "How's that? Not worse than back in middle school, right?"

"Mm." Wei Yue nodded faintly. "Pretty good."

At that moment, Tong Shihua turned to look at Li Luo standing nearby—he realized this was the same senior who had come to break up the fight earlier.

His gaze then shifted to Ying Chanxi, and he could barely tear his eyes away. After forcing himself to look back at Li Luo, he couldn't help saying: "Senior, wanna play? One-on-one. Three shots."

At these words, Ying Chanxi stared at him strangely.

The Grade Two boy nearby, upon recognizing Li Luo, also couldn't suppress a smirk.

Li Luo, however, didn't mind. He glanced at Ying Chanxi, saw her nod, then took off his jacket and joined Tong Shihua on the court.

Tong Shihua generously handed him the ball, then spread his legs, bent low, arms outstretched, ready to defend.

But Li Luo simply dribbled a few times, stood outside the three-point line, found a familiar angle from memory, and calmly released a standard three-pointer.

Tong Shihua clearly froze, turned around, and saw the ball strike the center of the hoop with a clean swish—every motion elegant and precise.

A cheer rose from the sidelines, causing Tong Shihua's expression to shift slightly.

When the ball was passed back to Li Luo and he began idly drifting along the three-point line again, Tong Shihua denied him any space to shoot, stepping forward immediately to guard.

But the moment he advanced, Li Luo seized his opening, accelerated past him in a flash, and executed a smooth three-step layup—easily scoring.

On the third possession, Tong Shihua refused to give Li Luo another chance, sticking to him tightly the entire time.

Yet when Li Luo dribbled to a certain spot, he executed a simple hook shot, releasing the ball with effortless grace—leaving no opening whatsoever.

After sinking all three shots, Li Luo patted Tong Shihua on the shoulder, smiled, took his jacket from Ying Chanxi's hands, and walked away with her.

"You've got to pick your sparring partner wisely," the Grade Two basketball club member chuckled nearby. "That guy was last year's basketball tournament champion captain—he ended a game with a ridiculously long three-pointer, and his hook shot is downright annoying. You losing is normal."

…

"I thought your basketball skills might've declined after not playing for a while," Ying Chanxi said as they walked across the playground, her ponytail bouncing with her mood.

"I still play sometimes—during PE class."

"Everyone else plays during the big break—Zhu Yufei and the others do."

"Then why don't you wonder why I don't?" Li Luo gently tapped her head. "Isn't it because you dragged me everywhere to film your MV?"

"Don't tap me, you'll make me stupid," Ying Chanxi grabbed his hand, deliberately lingering a moment before letting go.

"Our grade's top student can afford to be a little dumb."

The two strolled along Houde Road, chatting, occasionally stopping at stalls to try out the experiential activities that caught their interest.

They wandered all the way to the gymnasium, then checked on Yan Zhusheng's situation with the rock band.

Under Yan Zhusheng's guidance, Ying Chanxi tried playing guitar, but was called away halfway by Student Union business.

It was already 2:30 PM. Ying Chanxi told Li Luo to find Xu Youyu and went off to handle her duties.

So Li Luo stayed with Yan Zhusheng for a while, strummed the guitar a bit, then took his leave and headed toward the Grade Three teaching building, finding Classroom Sixteen on the first floor.

The teaching building was quiet.

Everyone had gone to the stalls on Houde Road to play.

Li Luo stood by the window of Classroom Sixteen and peered inside. Besides Xu Youyu, who was asleep with her head on the desk near the window, two Grade Three senior girls were studying intensely inside.

They didn't even go to the New Year's event—choosing instead to stay in the classroom and study. Truly ruthless.

Li Luo thought this, then didn't disturb the two seniors buried in their books. He reached out through the window and gently tapped Xu Youyu's shoulder twice.

Xu Youyu woke up, blinking drowsily, her hair messy. She looked toward the window, rubbed her eyes.

Li Luo reached in and smoothed the stray strands on either side of her head, whispering: "It's almost three. Still not well-rested, Senior?"

"Mmm… You're here?" Xu Youyu grinned sleepily, poking Li Luo's cheek, then stretched out dramatically in her seat.

Yeah… it was a truly big stretch.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

"Let me wake up first." Xu Youyu slumped back down, turning her head to look out the window at Li Luo, then suddenly said: "Come in."

"Huh?"

"I said come in."

"Why should I come in?"

"Sit here." Xu Youyu patted the chair beside her.

"It's someone else's seat… isn't that inappropriate?" Li Luo glanced at the two seniors across the room, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"It's fine—my desk partner's really nice," Xu Youyu urged. "Come sit."

"... Alright."

Li Luo entered Classroom Sixteen, Grade Three.

Unlike Grade One and Two, Grade Three classrooms always carried a suffocating atmosphere.

The towering piles of books on everyone's desks were noticeably much higher.

Xu Youyu's desk looked the cleanest—no books on top, all neatly tucked into the drawer.

Probably to make it more comfortable for an afternoon nap.

And when Li Luo sat down at Xu Youyu's desk, he instantly felt Gaoshan looming before him like a mountain piercing the clouds—so terrifyingly tall it seemed he might accidentally knock over the pile of books.

The moment he sat down, Li Luo felt a hand on his thigh.

"Senior… there's someone behind you. What are you doing?"

"Hehe." Xu Youyu, still lying face-down on the desk, turned her head to look at Li Luo and winked at him. "I'm not interested in the stalls—just stay here and keep me company."

"Won't you disturb the other two seniors?"

"Don't worry." Xu Youyu waved her hand. "They're both workaholics—people who memorize vocabulary while standing in line at the cafeteria. If they were really disturbed, they'd say so outright."

Li Luo turned his head curiously and saw that the two seniors were still sitting quietly, not even glancing his way; he relaxed slightly.

But the next second, Li Luo immediately grabbed Xu Youyu's sneaky hand: "You're going too far!"

"You're the one being improper," Xu Youyu said with a faint blush, smiling softly. "I just touched your thigh, and now you're acting all restless?"

"This is a classroom, Senior. Behave yourself," Li Luo whispered. "Why don't we go for a walk instead?"

"No." Xu Youyu huffed. "I've wanted to experience what it's like being your desk partner—just sit still."

"Does being a desk partner mean touching someone's thigh?"

"Don't you want to?"

Li Luo: "..."

"You hesitated—that means you do." Xu Youyu grinned and reached out, taking Li Luo's hand and placing it on her own thigh. "Isn't that thrilling?"