Chapter 420

Ying Chanxi's handwriting was elegant and lively, delicate and charming, pleasing to the eye.

Li Luo's gaze passed over the opening salutation and landed on the first sentence below.

【I have a fairy tale I want to share with you】

This opening made Li Luo pause for a moment, slightly taken aback.

【Once upon a time, there was an animal kingdom, where a kitten and a puppy were neighbors living next door to each other】

【Since childhood, whenever they went to animal school, they were in the same class, and their bond was very strong】

【One day, they both got accepted into a prestigious animal school and were about to attend a new one】

【But this time, the kitten and the puppy were not placed in the same class】

【As a result, besides the kitten, the puppy gradually made other close animal friends—little lambs, little rabbits, and others】

【Everyone enjoyed school together and soon became good friends】

【But whenever the kitten saw the puppy playing happily with other animals, especially the lamb and the rabbit, she would feel a little unhappy】

【Because in the kitten's eyes, the puppy had been her childhood companion, and their bond should have been the strongest】

【Now, many joyful moments were no longer just between the kitten and the puppy—they were shared with the lamb and the rabbit too】

【This sudden change left the kitten unprepared】

【After all, they had maintained that relationship for over a decade—why, in just a few months, had everything changed so drastically?】

【Wasn't the bond between the kitten and the puppy unique? Why could others also do all these things with the puppy?】

【The kitten was heartbroken; sometimes she sulked quietly and threw little tantrums】

【But later, the kitten suddenly realized that doing these things only made her disliked and pushed the puppy further away, serving no other purpose】

【So, having awakened to this truth, the kitten decided she should recognize the puppy's excellence, understand that as he grew even better, other outstanding animals would naturally gather around him】

【All these animals were good—whether the lamb or the rabbit, each had their own strengths; the kitten had her own strengths too, but she was not unique】

【The kitten once wanted to be the only best friend beside the puppy, but now she suddenly felt that the more she craved exclusivity, the farther she drifted from it】

【All these animals are still in school; later they will attend animal university, and only after graduation will they enter the animal society and truly decide which outstanding animal to walk with】

【So the kitten decided to improve herself, stop being petty, and strive to be the most thoughtful best friend beside the puppy】

【The kitten believed in herself—if she worked hard enough, the puppy would naturally see who truly cared for him the most】

【When the time finally came for the puppy to make his choice, the kitten had confidence she would be his first choice】

【Hmm…】

【This story isn't finished yet】

【Of course, it's just a story—don't overthink it】

【We're going to Qiongzhou City for a trip soon, and then it'll be the New Year~】

【We all need to be well, stay happy, and not dwell on other things】

【I hope one day I'll have the chance to finish writing the fairy tale above】

【—Your exclusive director】

Li Luo had been leaning against the headboard reading.

Halfway through, he sat upright on the bed.

After finishing, he got off the bed, sat at his desk, and read it again carefully, word by word.

He carefully stored the letter, returned to bed, and stayed awake for a long time.

He didn't fall into a light sleep until much later.

……

January 29th, Friday.

In the morning, Li Luo was called to the office by Kong Junxiang; as soon as he entered, Kong Junxiang handed him a report card.

"You've improved again," Kong Junxiang smiled at Li Luo, gesturing for him to look.

Li Luo glanced at the Gao Er Class Eight report card and then smiled too.

"Though your elective score of 300 out of 300 helps, your main subjects—Chinese, Math, and English—have also improved compared to before," Kong Junxiang said. "Keep it up. Even if you don't get into Tsinghua or Peking University, a higher rank makes me, your teacher, look good."

"Since I only focus on main subjects, improvement is normal," Li Luo replied modestly. "Too bad I didn't get first place."

"Tell that to Ying Chanxi," Kong Junxiang chuckled. "Take the report card, go paste it on the blackboard, and hand out these winter break booklets."

"Got it."

"That's all—go on."

"OK." Li Luo tucked the report card away, picked up the winter break booklets from the desk, greeted Kong Junxiang, and went downstairs to Class Eight.

He placed the winter break booklets on the podium and called out to the back row by the window: "Ying Chanxi! Come here! Help hand these out."

As vice monitor, Ying Chanxi, hearing the monitor's order, let out a soft huff, paused her chat with her deskmate Qiao Xinyan, and walked over.

"Hand one to each person," Li Luo tapped the winter break booklets in his hands, which mainly contained winter break guidelines.

After giving instructions, Li Luo turned and pulled out the report card, pasting it on the blackboard.

Instantly, the report card in his hand drew the attention of most of the class.

"Monitor, is that the report card?" Zhu Yufei asked curiously.

"Yeah," Li Luo nodded, finished pasting it, then clapped his hands on the podium, signaling everyone to look. "Final exam results are out—take a look yourselves."

Hearing this, students sensitive to grades immediately swarmed the podium.

After handing out the winter break booklets, Ying Chanxi glanced once at the commotion, then turned and walked back to her seat.

Li Luo returned to his seat, glanced at Ying Chanxi, then at Qiao Xinyan beside her, and asked curiously: "Xinyan, aren't you going to check?"

"You're right here—why would I look?" Qiao Xinyan smiled. "So, Monitor, what did I get?"

"Learning to slack off now, huh?" Li Luo chuckled. "You improved—13th in the whole school, third in class."

"Thirteenth out of thirteen?" Qiao Xinyan frowned. "Who's second? Liu Shaowen or Xie Shuchen?"

"Why do you seem to look down on me?" Li Luo pointed at himself.

In reality, Li Luo's rank in previous major exams had always hovered between fifteenth and twenty-fifth, so Qiao Xinyan hadn't expected him.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi in front turned curious: "Did you get second?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Holy shit!" The classmates in front, already checking the score sheet, shouted out loud, "Our monitor got fourth in the grade this time!"

Hearing the shouts from the podium, Li Luo, who had been about to show off himself, was spared the trouble of introducing himself. He chuckled, holding up four fingers before them: "Fourth in the grade."

"So impressive," Qiao Xinyan clapped and applauded, then asked, "So what about Xixi?"

"What's there to talk about?" Li Luo rolled his eyes.

"How many points behind are you?" Ying Chanxi asked curiously.

"Eight points behind," Li Luo pouted.

"Oh, not that much," Ying Chanxi nodded. "Getting better."

"That's because our elective subjects are scored out of three hundred—there's no real gap to speak of," Li Luo had self-awareness on this point. "You're already eight points ahead in Chinese, Math, and English—that's significant."

"Then keep pushing yourself," Ying Chanxi turned back, smiling sweetly. "I told you before—if one day you surpass me, I'll agree to any one thing you ask, no conditions."

"Don't get too cocky. There might still be a chance someday," Li Luo clicked his tongue.

Honestly, eight points didn't seem like much.

But Li Luo's math scores were usually over 140, and he always got stuck on minor details or the final big question.

This wasn't something a memory palace could fix anymore.

English was relatively better—usually over 145—with deductions only on the essay, so the gap with Ying Chanxi wasn't large.

Aside from that, Chinese was now consistently over 135.

Even with these three subjects combined, Ying Chanxi still pulled ahead by eight points.

Closing that gap would be truly as hard as climbing to heaven.

Unless one day he got lucky—his Chinese essay scored a perfect again, and he solved the final math problem—then maybe there'd be a chance.

That's only because the three electives use a scaled scoring system; otherwise, there'd be no hope at all.

For this semester's final exam, all three electives followed the new college entrance system: scores were assigned based on class ranking after results came out.

Students who had previously taken the elective exams would pick the two higher scaled scores to count toward their total.

For someone like Li Luo or Ying Chanxi, they didn't even need to take the elective exams—they already had full marks.

"What about me?" Yan Zhusheng asked after listening to their conversation.

"You've improved too," Li Luo reached out and patted Yan Zhusheng's head. "You got 119th this time—almost made the top hundred."

"What about Zhao Rongjun?" Qiao Xinyan asked. "And Yinghuan?"

"Jun Ge is 53rd. Yinghuan got 198th this time—made the top two hundred. Big improvement," Li Luo said.

The seven-person study group met every weekend for tutoring, and the results were clearly visible.

Not even mentioning Xu Yinghuan, who improved the most, Zhao Rongjun—who had been stuck at sixty or seventy for ages—had climbed to 53rd this semester.

Yan Zhusheng's ranking had improved too.

Qiao Xinyan, who had always been in the top twenty, finally broke into the top fifteen.

Li Luo himself, after securing fourth in the grade, stood taller, smiling at Ying Chanxi with an exasperated tone:

"In our seven-person study group, we won't mention the senior, but all six of us have improved."

"Only one person—after all this time—hasn't improved at all, just standing still."

"I really don't know what to say."

Hearing Li Luo say this, Ying Chanxi simply ignored him, rolled her eyes, and huffed.

…

The last day of this semester passed quickly yet slowly for the students.

Finally, when the last afternoon class arrived, Kong Junxiang, seeing everyone's lack of focus, tossed his textbook onto the podium, sat down, clapped his hands, and decided to chat with the students of Class 8 instead.

When the bell rang, Kong Junxiang said: "Have a happy winter break. Dismissed."

"Goodbye, Teacher Kong!" Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang had already packed their bags and dashed out the moment class ended, waving loudly from the back door.

Li Luo checked the time, stood up, and hurriedly packed his bag.

His flight to Qiongzhou City departed at seven p. m. It was now barely five—still a four- to fifty-minute drive to the airport, so time was tight.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng knew Li Luo had to catch his flight, so they packed quickly too.

The three of them slung their bags over their shoulders, greeted Kong Junxiang, and rushed out of the classroom, meeting Xu Youyu on Houde Road.

Back at Bihai Lanting 1502, Ying Chanxi rolled out the suitcase she had packed for Li Luo the night before.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng noticed Xu Youyu pushing out a suitcase from her bedroom, and feigned curiosity: "Senior, why are you leaving too?"

"Uh… cough cough," Xu Youyu pushed her suitcase to the door and made up an excuse: "Didn't we say we're flying to Qiongzhou together on the first? I'm going home for a few days first, packing up there, then joining you later."

"Oh, I see," Yan Zhusheng nodded, pretending to understand.

Ying Chanxi glanced at Xu Youyu but said nothing.

Seeing how easily the two girls were fooled, Xu Youyu sighed inwardly with relief, completely missing their suspicious glances, and grinned as she stepped forward to give Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng big hugs.

"What's there to hug for? You're not the one flying away," Li Luo patted Xu Youyu's shoulder, nudging her aside, then stepped before Ying Chanxi and opened his arms.

Ying Chanxi snorted: "Who wants to hug you?"

Before she finished speaking, Yan Zhusheng stepped forward and hugged Li Luo tightly.

Ying Chanxi stood frozen for several seconds before slowly coming to: "…Zhu, Zhu Sheng… have you finished hugging?"

"What's wrong?" Yan Zhusheng asked, puzzled. "Aren't you not hugging? I'm hugging for both of us."

Ying Chanxi: "...?"

"Alright, alright." Li Luo released Yan Zhusheng, then pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms. "If you don't see me for three or four days, don't miss me too much."

"W-who would miss you?" Ying Chanxi's face flushed slightly as she nestled against Li Luo's chest, burying her head there and murmuring softly against his chest.

Yet her two small hands gripped Li Luo tightly, unwilling to let go for even a moment.

After holding her for a long time, Li Luo gently patted Ying Chanxi's back and whispered, "If you don't let me go now, I'll be late."

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi reluctantly pulled away from Li Luo's arms and whispered, "Then be careful on the way."

"Mm." Li Luo nodded, pinched her cheek, then turned to Yan Zhusheng. "You two take good care of each other at home. I'm leaving now."

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng saw Li Luo and Xu Youyu to the elevator entrance, watching them step inside. Only after the elevator doors closed did they return to the room.

Downstairs, Xu Youyu let out a long breath, grinning as she dragged her suitcase beside Li Luo to the gated entrance of the complex and hailed a taxi.

"Good thing we fooled them, hehe." Xu Youyu beamed, snuggling close to Li Luo and wrapping her arm around his. "Off to Qiongzhou~"

"Why are you so excited?"

"What? Aren't you excited?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow, hummed, and leaned toward him as if to plop onto his lap. "Let me see if you're excited."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Luo quickly held her back, whispering in her ear, "The driver's watching. Don't act up."

The two took a taxi from Yinjiang District all the way to the airport in the southeastern part of Yuhang City.

Due to evening traffic, the taxi took over an hour to reach the airport entrance.

By the time Li Luo and Xu Youyu hurried into the airport with their suitcases, it was already 6:10 p. m.

They quickly used their ID cards to collect their boarding passes, checked in their luggage, then joined the queue at security.

Once inside the departure lounge, Li Luo exhaled in relief, checked the gate number on his boarding pass, and led Xu Youyu toward the southern side of the airport.

"Why does it seem like you're so familiar with the flight process?" Xu Youyu had followed Li Luo step by step the entire time, copying everything he did—making her feel safe, yet deeply curious. "Have you ever flown before?"

"No, but before coming, I looked up how to fly." Li Luo glanced at her with mild surprise. "You've never flown before, Senior?"

"Never." Xu Youyu blinked. "Isn't that normal? Why are you so surprised?"

"Hmm…" Li Luo's expression flickered—he hadn't expected Xu Youyu had never flown. "I thought Professor Xu had taken you flying long ago."

"My dad only became a professor when I started high school!" Xu Youyu covered her mouth and giggled. "Our family wasn't well-off back then. We usually drove for trips, or took trains for long distances."

"So this is really your first time flying?"

"Yes." Xu Youyu beamed, hugging his arm. "It's our first time together~"

"... Don't say it like that—it's too suggestive."

"Hmm." Xu Youyu gave him a sultry glance, then looked around curiously. "So where are we going now?"

"On our way to the boarding gate." Li Luo pointed to the gate number on his boarding pass, then to the signs everywhere. "Just follow the signs."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu became a curious child, eagerly learning flight procedures.

When they passed a huge transparent window, she gasped and tugged Li Luo over to gaze at the giant planes outside.

Li Luo rarely saw Xu Youyu in this childlike state—he couldn't help smiling, yet his expression grew strangely distant.

Once, when he himself was a naive boy who'd never flown, arriving at the airport for the first time and going through security with Xu Youyu, he'd stared at everything around him with the same wonder.

He hadn't been as wildly excited as she was now, but his heart had still trembled, filled with quiet anticipation and nervousness.

Back then, Xu Youyu had patiently guided him through the airport. With time to spare, she'd even taken him on a tour of the terminals, smiling as she explained every little detail.

But Li Luo never imagined that, after his rebirth, when he and Xu Youyu came to fly together, it would be her first time.

He didn't know how her first flight had been in his past life.

But in this life, Senior Youyu's first flight had him beside her.

Just as she had once stood by his side in his past life.

Thinking of this, Li Luo smiled faintly and reached out to take Xu Youyu's hand.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu looked down, then laughed. "What's this all of a sudden?"

"I'm afraid you'll get lost."

"Hmm, you're underestimating me." Though she spoke that way, Xu Youyu tightened her grip on Li Luo's hand.

The two walked together to the boarding gate waiting area and found seats.

Watching the planes land and take off outside the massive window, Xu Youyu leaned against Li Luo's shoulder and whispered, "This time, no one will interrupt us at the annual meeting, right?"

"Mm." Li Luo wrapped his arm around her slender waist. "Just the two of us."

"Then…" Xu Youyu placed her hand in his.

"Sister-in-law?"

"What sister-in-law!" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "This is a couple's experience!"

"Wife, I'm sorry."

"Haha~ Husband, you're so good~"