Chapter 444: Mom and Dad Came to Call Their Son to Wake Up

The light in the bedroom was turned off, and the room plunged into complete darkness.

The four of them lay on the bed chatting, then each pulled out their phones and idly scrolled through them.

Perhaps because the room had finally grown dark and no one could see their expressions, Ying Chanxi finally poked her head out from under the covers and checked her QQ.

But with Xu Youyu lying beside her, Ying Chanxi dared not open those fan groups—she only glanced at the class group chat.

Li Luo, lying beside them, was reading reader comments on the comment section of his novel, and seeing Ying Chanxi check the class group, he asked: "Is there anything going on in class?"

Ying Chanxi shook her head, scrolled through the class group's chat history, and said: "Yinghuan took Xin Yan and Zhao Rongjun into the city to hang out—nothing else happened."

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately asked for details, looked at the photos Xu Yinghuan posted in the group, and wore a smug, gossiping grin.

Besides that, everyone else in the class had shared what they'd been doing over winter break.

For example, Ren Zheng and Hua Xiuxiu had both traveled.

Jin Yuting had already returned to her hometown early.

Zhang Guohuang and Zhu Yufei had gathered several male classmates and had been gaming together for days straight.

What surprised Ying Chanxi a little was that Shao Heqi seemed to be traveling with his family in Qiongzhou City too—he'd even shared some beach photos in the class group today.

But none of the four cared much about these things.

Yan Zhusheng, lying beside them, grew bored and rolled over, propping herself up on Li Luo, then looked at Ying Chanxi and said:

"Xixi, I've been reading a novel recently—I can recommend it to you. Want to read it?"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi was startled—she hadn't expected Yan Zhusheng, besides reading Li Luo's novel, to read anything else.

So she asked curiously: "What are you reading?"

"I'll tell you the title—you can search for it," Yan Zhusheng said.

Hearing this, Xu Youyu, lying beside the bed, had gone pale and wished she could fly to the other side and stuff Yan Zhusheng's mouth shut.

But she could do nothing—she could only curse inwardly: this damn Li Luo, why won't he stop Zhusheng? If Xixi reads her novel too, Xu Youyu truly feels she can't take it.

But the moment Yan Zhusheng named "Literary Era," Ying Chanxi's face showed surprise—she hadn't expected Yan Zhusheng to be reading this book too.

So when Ying Chanxi searched for the title on Qidian App, Xu Youyu clearly saw the words "Already in Shelf" displayed brightly on Ying Chanxi's phone screen.

In an instant, Xu Youyu felt her head spin and struggled to breathe; she blurted out unconsciously: "Xixi, how come you already have this book in your shelf?"

Ying Chanxi blinked, suddenly remembering how Xu Youyu had mimicked her tone when they first entered the room, saying those embarrassing things.

A mischievous smile flickered in her eyes, then vanished instantly; she put on a serious face and said:

"Actually, I gave Li Luo a 'Grand Patron' donation, then noticed two other people had also donated 'Grand Patron' to him."

"One was named 'Shengsheng Buxi'—obviously Zhusheng's username—and the other was the author of this book, 'SleepEarlyGrowTaller.'"

"I thought to myself: you two both knew about Li Luo writing Online Novel before I did. One's Zhusheng—could the other be you, Senior?"

"I thought the same thing," Yan Zhusheng chimed in at this point.

"H-How could that be..." Xu Youyu broke into cold sweat at their words, her back already soaked.

But she still kept her composure, forcing her face to remain calm: "How could I write something like this?"

As Xu Youyu struggled to respond, Li Luo, sandwiched between Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, was barely holding back his laughter.

Xu Youyu noticed Li Luo's expression and felt furious—this damn guy wouldn't even help her, and now he was secretly enjoying her misery.

But she dared not show any emotion, afraid Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng would notice—she forced herself to keep her face expressionless.

Fortunately, Ying Chanxi had no intention of exposing Xu Youyu.

Noticing Xu Youyu's micro-expressions, Ying Chanxi felt deeply satisfied with her maneuver—she'd finally gotten back at Xu Youyu for earlier, and won this round.

Thinking of this, Ying Chanxi said: "Later I asked Li Luo who 'SleepEarlyGrowTaller' was, and found out they'd known each other since they first started writing."

"They even attended the same symposium and that salon event together."

"Didn't she come to this year's annual meeting too, right?"

As she finished, Ying Chanxi turned to Li Luo and asked.

Li Luo, under Xu Youyu's threatening glare, nodded: "Yeah, she came to the annual meeting this year—we had dinner together yesterday."

To help Xu Youyu conceal the truth, Li Luo had done his small part.

Besides, everything he said was true—he hadn't lied to Ying Chanxi or Yan Zhusheng.

Hearing Li Luo confirm it again, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng nodded, seemingly accepting the answer, with no intention to dig deeper.

This made Xu Youyu finally exhale in relief.

But when she saw the book's detail page on Ying Chanxi's phone, with the note "Read to Latest Chapter," Xu Youyu's vision went black.

The thought that Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had both already finished reading her novel made her feel ants crawling all over her skin—she was mortified.

Fortunately, Li Luo had covered for her—though Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had suspected her, they hadn't exposed her.

Confirming this, Xu Youyu finally relaxed completely, silently took a deep breath, and her tense body, previously stiff on the bed, loosened.

But at this moment, Li Luo felt something was off.

He glanced at Yan Zhusheng, then at Ying Chanxi; with his rich experience in social embarrassment, he instinctively sensed this wasn't as simple as it seemed.

But the topic had ended—if he said more now, he might accidentally expose Xu Youyu's novel-writing.

So he stayed silent, finished reading the comments on his novel, put his phone down, lay flat, and adjusted his blanket: "It's late—go to sleep."

Yan Zhusheng obediently put her phone away, lay beside Li Luo, and snuggled into his arms. On the other side, Ying Chanxi noticed Yan Zhusheng's move and wouldn't be outdone—she lay down too and snuggled into Li Luo's arms, hugging him sideways.

Li Luo helplessly wrapped his arms around both of them, his right hand secretly held by Xu Youyu—he could only endure the torture of four people sharing one bed.

At this moment, Yan Zhusheng, nestled in Li Luo's arms, turned to Ying Chanxi and asked: "Xixi, for the next Sun MV shoot, can Li Luo and I use our tongues in the kiss scene?"

Before Ying Chanxi could respond, Li Luo's face darkened—he slapped his hand over her head and growled: "Go to sleep and stop talking nonsense."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng replied, obediently closing her eyes.

Finally, the bedroom fell completely silent—only their breathing could be heard.

Soon, exhausted from the day's fatigue, the four said nothing more and sank deeply into sleep.

……

The next morning, Lin Xiuhong woke up early and patted Li Guohong, who was still sound asleep beside her.

After waking her husband, Lin Xiuhong got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, saying, "We're going diving today—hurry up and get up."

Woken up, Li Guohong groggily climbed out of bed and followed her into the bathroom.

As they brushed their teeth, Lin Xiuhong looked at herself and her husband in the mirror and sighed involuntarily.

"Why are you sighing?" Li Guohong asked, puzzled.

"Every morning when I wake up, I feel like I'm dreaming," Lin Xiuhong laughed. "I never thought I'd ever get to go diving in my whole life."

"It's all because you gave birth to such a good son," Li Guohong chuckled. He had always thought he'd die working at his breakfast stall—some things are simply unimaginable until they happen.

They chatted as they finished brushing their teeth, then stepped out of the room.

The maid in the hallway saw them and led them down to the dining room.

But when they reached the third floor, Lin Xiuhong checked the time and said to Li Guohong, "Go wake up Li Luo—he needs to get up early. I'll go wake up Chanxi and the others."

"Alright," Li Guohong nodded and walked toward Li Luo's room, while Lin Xiuhong went to Ying Chanxi's door and knocked.

When there was no response, Lin Xiuhong called inside, "Chanxi, I'm coming in."

Without waiting, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

At that moment, Li Guohong had already reached Li Luo's door. Following the same routine, he knocked, heard no reply, then opened his son's door.

But the moment he stepped in, Lin Xiuhong noticed Ying Chanxi's room was empty. She stepped out, puzzled, and asked the maid, "Has Chanxi gotten up already?"

"No, you and Mr. Li are the first ones up today," the maid replied.

"Huh?" Lin Xiuhong looked confused.

If she and Li Guohong were the first up, why wasn't Chanxi in her room?

Thinking this, Lin Xiuhong hurried to Li Luo's door and saw Li Guohong standing inside, stunned, staring at something.

The next second, Li Guohong hurried out and shoved Lin Xiuhong's shoulder, trying to pull her away.

Lin Xiuhong frowned, "Why are you shoving me? What did you see?"

"Shh," Li Guohong hissed. "Keep your voice down. Don't wake them up."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuhong's face filled with shock—she suddenly understood.

"What do you mean?" she still couldn't believe it. "I just saw Chanxi's room was empty—does that mean they…?"

Before finishing, Lin Xiuhong rushed into the room and stared sharply at the bed.

The next instant, her mind went blank. Even as Li Guohong pulled her out of the room, she remained dazed, unable to process what she'd seen.

Li Guohong quietly closed the door and led his wife downstairs to the dining room.

Only after sitting down in the dining room did Lin Xiuhong mutter under her breath to Li Guohong, "You raised a good son!"

……

At 6:30 a. m., Li Luo woke to his alarm, fumbled sleepily on the bed, and turned off his phone.

He reluctantly stretched in the cramped bed, sat upright, glanced at either side, and patted the girls' soft cheeks. "Wake up, wake up."

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng woke up, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Xu Youyu groaned twice, pulled the blanket over her face, and tried to go back to sleep.

"Youyu, wake up," Li Luo leaned over, pulled the blanket from her face, and patted her cheek.

Xu Youyu groaned again, rolled onto her side, hugged Li Luo, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled, "Chanxi and Zhusheng are still brushing their teeth—I'll go after they're done."

"Then let go of me," Li Luo laughed, gently tapping her hand.

Xu Youyu giggled twice, clung tighter to Li Luo, pulled him back down, leaned in, and smacked a kiss on his lips, leaving him stunned.

"They're still in the room—don't do anything reckless," Li Luo whispered.

"Aren't they in the bathroom? No one can see," Xu Youyu grinned mischievously, snuggled back into Li Luo's arms, and didn't get up until Chanxi and Zhusheng finished brushing their teeth.

After brushing their teeth, the three girls returned to their rooms to change clothes, then came downstairs with Li Luo to the dining room.

The four parents had already finished breakfast and were waiting for them.

After seating the three girls, Li Luo ate breakfast while listening to his parents and Uncle Xu and Aunt Cui chat.

He couldn't shake the feeling—was it his imagination? —that his parents were looking at him strangely today, almost with complicated expressions?

Li Luo assumed he was overthinking it, didn't dwell on it, and quietly slapped away Yan Zhusheng's sneaky hand that had crept under the table, then went back to eating.

After breakfast, under Butler Liu's guidance, they boarded a minibus and headed toward a nearby private port to begin their diving trip.