Chapter 462

If Li Luo were to say it, among all the things he'd changed for the better since his rebirth, sticking to morning runs would certainly count as one.

This was all thanks to Yan Zhusheng.

After rebirth, he returned from a thirty-five-year-old body plagued by chronic subhealth issues to this young, healthy one.

Li Luo felt it deeply.

As a child, he hadn't really noticed, because he'd never experienced what it was like to be physically weak.

Some things, often, are only cherished after they're lost.

But right after rebirth, Li Luo's mind was entirely focused on how to stop his parents from investing in Wei Dongrong's project.

Then he kept pondering how to earn his first pot of gold.

Although he was aware of the body's importance, he still neglected it.

Until Yan Zhusheng personally invited him to morning and evening runs; relying on his healthy body, he ended up sticking with it.

Li Luo vaguely remembered that in his past life, after being hired by Yan Zhusheng, his family's old house was sold by his father to pay for his mother's treatment.

With nowhere to live, after Yan Zhusheng learned he needed to rent nearby, she directly let him stay at her place.

At that time, Yan Zhusheng still maintained her daily morning run habit; seeing Li Luo sleep until work time every day, she invited him to join her.

But back then, Li Luo's physical condition had already deteriorated—he ran once with Yan Zhusheng, gasping for breath, his chest heaving like a bellows.

Later, feeling too embarrassed, he stopped joining her for morning runs.

Now, reborn, feeling his legs fly effortlessly, in the cold winter village, Li Luo exhaled clouds of white vapor yet felt no fatigue—instead, his body felt an inexplicable lightness and vitality.

Yan Zhusheng, of course, needed no explanation—though in her past life she suffered a heart attack in her thirties, she'd shown no obvious symptoms for decades prior.

Her body had always been extremely healthy.

Combined with her far longer record of consistent morning runs, Yan Zhusheng's physical fitness was indeed excellent—energetic, with tremendous endurance.

After Ying Chanxi joined their morning runs, though she didn't run as often as Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, she still gained noticeable benefits.

At least she was far better than that lazy fish.

When the three returned from their morning run, Li Guohong and his group had already bought groceries and driven back to the courtyard.

Li Luo and the others helped carry the groceries from the trunk to the kitchen upstairs.

With Chen Hailin as the head chef, plus Li Xuexian and Lin Xiuhong assisting, there was no need for Li Luo and the others to do anything in the kitchen.

So Ying Chanxi helped Li Luo's grandmother with the spring cleaning.

Although Yan Zhusheng was nominally a guest, she clearly didn't treat herself as one; seeing Ying Chanxi helping clean, she joined in beside her.

After cleaning came pasting window decorations, couplets, and hanging lanterns.

Li Luo stood on a stool to hang two lanterns at the gate, then jumped down.

He stepped back two paces, looked up at his handiwork, then his gaze settled on his grandmother and Ying Chanxi by the gate.

His eyes turned inward, seeing Li Guohong and Li Guoru chatting on the living room sofa.

Li Xuefeng and Li Xuemei, along with Chen Lu and Chen Sijia, were playing mahjong.

Li Xiang sat alone on a single sofa, scrolling on his phone.

Chen Yongqi was called into the kitchen by Li Xuexian to deliver sliced fruit to everyone.

Turning again, he saw his own grandfather sitting in the courtyard chatting with the neighbor's Grandpa Ying.

Everything was so lively and harmonious.

? ￠O

Such a warm scene occurred less than once a year.

Even though this was already the second New Year since his rebirth, when Li Luo saw this scene at home, he still felt an urge to burst into tears.

But his face still wore a simple smile, hiding his inner turmoil.

He only wished time would slow down, letting him savor it fully, never again to let twenty years slip away like his past life, leaving him with nothing.

After lunch.

Probably because he'd stayed up late writing last night and been woken early today, Li Luo felt drowsy after eating, so he got up to nap upstairs.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, seeing him go to sleep, followed him upstairs.

Not long after, Li Luo lay in bed, hugging the two girls, and sighed: "Suddenly I don't feel that sleepy anymore."

He said that, but holding Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng made him fall asleep easier than hugging a pillow last night.

He'd clearly gotten used to it.

But their midday nap lasted only about half an hour when someone knocked on the door.

Lin Xiuhong's voice came from outside.

"Li Luo! Your classmate's here looking for you! Waiting downstairs!"

"Is Chanxi and Zhusheng in there too?"

Woken by Lin Xiuhong's knocking, Ying Chanxi scrambled out from under the covers, terrified Lin Xiuhong might walk in and see all three of them sleeping together.

But Yan Zhusheng showed no fear at all—she opened her eyes when woken, then closed them again and snuggled deeper into Li Luo's arms, clearly not done sleeping.

Fortunately, since the Qiongzhou trip, Lin Xiuhong rarely opened her son's door without permission, afraid of seeing scenes that would make her both overjoyed and anxious.

Li Luo sat up in bed and called out to the door.

Once certain Li Luo had heard, Lin Xiuhong went downstairs, telling them to come down soon.

A few minutes later, in the living room on the second floor.

Zhao Rongjun and Jin Yuting sat on the sofa; when they saw Li Luo and Ying Chanxi come down, they were about to greet them—then noticed Yan Zhusheng following behind, and their eyes widened.

Last New Year, Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu had both appeared here.

But that was after the Lunar New Year's Eve.

How come Yan Zhusheng was already at Li Luo's house before this year's New Year's Eve had even passed?

"Why is Yan Zhusheng here too?" Jin Yuting looked from Yan Zhusheng to Ying Chanxi, asking in confusion.

Zhao Rongjun would never dare ask such a question outright—Jin Yuting had just become his voice.

Upon hearing the question, Zhao Rongjun immediately perked up his ears.

"You all know Yan Zhusheng's mother, right?" Ying Chanxi smiled. "Aunt Yuan is going to perform at the Spring Festival Gala, so she won't be home for the New Year—I invited Zhusheng to spend it here with us."

"Huh? Really?" After hearing Ying Chanxi's words, Jin Yuting froze, struggling to process the information.

Zhao Rongjun was also surprised: "Aunt Yuan is going to the Spring Festival Gala? That's amazing!"

The Spring Festival Gala.

Though everyone says it's worse every year, most families still turn it on every New Year's Eve.

To appear on the Spring Festival Gala—especially someone like Yuan Wanqing, who sings live on stage—is truly extraordinary.

To many, Yuan Wanqing had previously competed on a singing stage and finished as runner-up, and her voice was undeniably beautiful.

But most people had no real sense of just how high Yuan Wanqing stood among domestic singers.

If Yuan Wanqing could just appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage this time, she would instantly become a Spring Festival Gala singer.

Her status would instantly change.

Yet for Zhao Rongjun and Jin Yuting, the news of Yuan Wanqing's upcoming Spring Festival Gala appearance was merely a momentary surprise.

Once they thought about it, it made perfect sense.

After all, among this year's newly released songs, only Yuan Wanqing's album had exceptional quality—unusually so.

Songs like "Ru Yuan" were especially suited for the formal stage of the Spring Festival Gala.

But the fact that Yan Zhusheng was spending the New Year here left Zhao Rongjun and Jin Yuting speechless.

It was said that Ying Chanxi had invited Yan Zhusheng to spend the New Year.

But the Ying family and the Li family have always celebrated the New Year together…

Didn't this mean Yan Zhusheng was effectively spending the New Year at Li Luo's house?

Zhao Rongjun glanced from Ying Chanxi to Yan Zhusheng, opened his mouth, then his gaze settled on Li Luo—his admiration for his best friend surged like an endless river, impossible to contain.

In Zhao Rongjun's memory, last year Ying Chanxi often reacted with jealousy whenever other girls appeared near Li Luo.

How had this year suddenly turned into her actively inviting a beautiful girl like Yan Zhusheng to spend the New Year with them?

Zhao Rongjun was utterly baffled.

If Zhao Rongjun couldn't understand it, Jin Yuting certainly couldn't either.

In ninth grade, Jin Yuting was in Class Eight, while Ying Chanxi was in Class One; in tenth grade, Ying Chanxi moved to Class Eight, but Jin Yuting, having chosen liberal arts, ended up in Class Sixteen.

The childhood best friend from middle school had grown distant in high school, reverting to mere acquaintances.

So Jin Yuting had no idea what Ying Chanxi was thinking.

Still, as a guest, Yan Zhusheng had come—Jin Yuting and Zhao Rongjun said nothing more.

The five of them gathered in the living room, chatted briefly, then went out to buy some fireworks and firecrackers.

Hearing that Li Guohong and Ying Zhicheng had gone fishing by the lake outside the village, Li Luo grinned, grabbed some fruit, and told Zhao Rongjun to carry their firecrackers as they headed to the lake.

From afar, they spotted Li Guohong and Ying Zhicheng by the lake; Li Luo led the others to sneak up quietly.

"Here, light it and throw it over there," Li Luo whispered, handing a firecracker to Yan Zhusheng.

Yan Zhusheng blinked, nodded obediently, waited for Li Luo to light it, then tossed it toward Li Guohong.

Crack!

Li Guohong jumped in surprise.

He turned and saw Li Luo grinning mischievously—his face twisted in exasperation: "You brat! How old are you now? Still acting so childish!"

"I didn't throw it," Li Luo pushed Yan Zhusheng forward. "She did."

"Uncle, I threw it," Yan Zhusheng said honestly, then lifted the fruit and brought it over to Li Guohong and Ying Zhicheng.

Li Guohong looked at the fruit, then at Yan Zhusheng's innocent face, cleared his throat, and said: "... It's fine, fine. Have fun."

Joyful moments are always brief.

After playing in the afternoon, everyone prepared to return home.

But on the way back, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng spotted Jin Yuting again in a mysterious QQ group.

【Little Empress Mo Qinghan Fan Club】

【Jin Yuting】: Guess what I saw?

【Ren Zheng】: What? Something happen?

【Jin Yuting】: I'm back home now, same village as Li Luo and Xixi.

【Zhang Guohuang】: If it's about the vice-class monitor, shouldn't you post it in "Dongdong the Cutest in the World"?

【Jin Yuting】: So why do you think I'm posting here?

【Zhu Yufei】: You didn't see Yan Zhusheng, did you?

【Jin Yuting】: Not only did I see her—she's spending the New Year at Li Luo's house.

【Ren Zheng】: Huh? She's not going home?

【Jin Yuting】: Her mom's performing on the Spring Festival Gala tonight, no one's home to keep her company, so Xixi invited Yan Zhusheng to spend the New Year here.

【Lin Yuan】: What kind of plot twist is this? Actively inviting a rival to ruin your two-person world?

【Jin Yuting】: I don't get it either.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Cough… Xixi is kind-hearted; this is perfectly normal, nothing to be shocked about.

While Ying Chanxi, Yan Zhusheng, and Jin Yuting were all staring at their phones, Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun leaned on each other's shoulders, chatting.

"Where did you go for winter break?"

"... Nowhere."

"Spill the beans," Li Luo chuckled. "Xu Yinghuan and Qiao Xinyan both said you held hands?"

"You're full of shit!" Zhao Rongjun retorted immediately. "I just went with them to the city for a bit—no holding hands!"

"So you didn't go anywhere?" Li Luo eyed him sideways.

"..." Zhao Rongjun fell silent.

"Where in the city did you go?" Li Luo asked curiously. "I didn't know anything—only heard from Chanxi that you went out."

"We walked around Xihu," Zhao Rongjun scratched his head. "Then we went to the amusement park."

"Did you hold hands?"

"No!" Zhao Rongjun firmly denied it, then added, "But they kept linking arms."

"You really can't hold onto anything, can you?"

"Hold onto what, exactly?" Zhao Rongjun's face darkened. He glanced at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help snapping, "Do you think I'm you?"

"So, did you have fun?" Li Luo ignored his remark and asked again.

"Uh... I guess so," Zhao Rongjun scratched his head. "I was kind of nervous—luckily, I was just tagging along beside them. I even sat behind them on the roller coaster."

"Did you take photos?"

"..." "Yeah, we did."

"Let me see," Li Luo jabbed Zhao Rongjun in the ribs.

Zhao Rongjun sighed and pulled out his phone, scrolling through the photos for Li Luo.

Most were group shots of Xu Yinghuan linking one arm with Qiao Xinyan and pulling Zhao Rongjun in with the other.

But as he flipped through, when he reached the last photo, Zhao Rongjun's expression changed—he quickly closed the album.

Too late—Li Luo had his Memory Palace; he reviewed the memory just now and clearly saw what the photo showed.

It showed Zhao Rongjun standing in front of a fountain, with Xu Yinghuan and Qiao Xinyan each on one side of him, having asked a stranger to take their group photo.

It wasn't overtly intimate, but it did look slightly ambiguous.

Xu Yinghuan was laughing heartily, giving a victory sign toward the camera.

Qiao Xinyan smiled gently, her right hand lightly brushing her hair.

Zhao Rongjun stood in the middle, face tense, looking like doom was upon him, forcing a weak smile.

After studying it, Li Luo clicked his tongue twice: "That's not bad at all—who do you actually like?"

"Don't say nonsense! I just want to focus on my studies right now."

"Fine, fine, go ahead and study then."