Chapter 465: Stealing Each Other

The next morning.

Grandpa and Grandma, who had gone to bed at dawn, still woke up early.

Those who had gone to the temple for blessings the night before, having returned home only at three a. m., mostly slept until nine or ten in the morning before gradually getting up.

At nine a. m., Ying Zhicheng got out of bed, checked his phone, and received a message from Yuan Wanqing.

【Yuan Wanqing】: Up yet?

【Ying Zhicheng】: Just woke up.

【Yuan Wanqing】: My flight is at noon, arriving at the airport at two p. m.

【Ying Zhicheng】: Should I pick you up?

【Yuan Wanqing】: The driver's coming for me.

【Ying Zhicheng】: It's rare for the New Year—let him rest. I'll pick you up.

【Yuan Wanqing】: That's too much trouble. It'll take nearly an hour just to get to the airport, two hours round trip.

【Ying Zhicheng】: I want to see you sooner.

【Yuan Wanqing】: Then I'll wait for you at the airport.

【Ying Zhicheng】: You'll sleep in the bedroom next to mine tonight. Xixi and the others are on the other side, far away.

【Yuan Wanqing】: What are you planning? Be careful you don't get caught.

【Ying Zhicheng】: If I'm careful, nothing will happen. You're staying until the fifth—how can I possibly wait?

【Yuan Wanqing】: You're impossible.

…

After chatting with Yuan Wanqing, Ying Zhicheng got up, washed his face and brushed his teeth, then went to Ying Chanxi's bedroom door, knocked as usual, and called out to wake the two girls.

There was no response. When Ying Zhicheng pushed the door open and saw the empty bed, he froze.

"Up early, huh…" Ying Zhicheng muttered, then turned and went downstairs to borrow breakfast from next door.

At this time, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong had also gotten up and come to the second floor for breakfast.

Seeing Ying Zhicheng arrive, they greeted him; Lin Xiuhong even got up to serve him a bowl of porridge.

Ying Zhicheng thanked her, sat down, and asked: "Where are Xixi and Zhusheng? I saw they were up—aren't they here with you?"

"They got up this early?" Lin Xiuhong asked in surprise, since she had just asked Li Luo's grandmother and learned no one else had risen for breakfast yet.

She and Li Guohong were the earliest.

"Yeah, I went to wake them, but the room was empty," Ying Zhicheng said, sipping his porridge.

He spoke without thought; she listened with intent.

Hearing this, Lin Xiuhong immediately recalled the scene she had seen early that morning in Qiongzhou City, and fell into thought, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward the upper floor.

This kid… never gives anyone peace.

"Probably had breakfast and went upstairs to play with Li Luo," Lin Xiuhong said vaguely, sipping her porridge.

Ying Zhicheng didn't think much of it—he knew how clingy his two daughters were to Li Luo.

If they weren't on the second-floor living room, they must've gone to find Li Luo.

Thinking this, Ying Zhicheng couldn't help sighing.

But since Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng's close bond might well be thanks to Li Luo, he couldn't say anything more.

After all, if the two girls didn't know each other well, revealing his relationship with Yuan Wanqing might make things harder to accept.

But now Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were as close as sisters, even sleeping in the same room.

So even after Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing explained their situation, their resistance probably wouldn't be too strong.

As he weighed this, Ying Zhicheng suddenly realized he might actually owe Li Luo a thank-you.

And not just that—Yuan Wanqing's comeback and Huayue Film and Television's upcoming TV dramas all depended on Li Luo.

Without realizing it, he felt his life, family, and career were all intricately tied to this kid.

Thinking it over, Ying Zhicheng couldn't help sighing again.

Excluding his two daughters' special feelings for Li Luo, this guy really was his good luck charm.

And not just his—Yuan Wanqing's too.

As Ying Zhicheng sipped his porridge, lost in these thoughts, he forgot to press further about his daughters' whereabouts.

After finishing breakfast, Ying Zhicheng returned to his place, handled some company matters, and only went back to the neighboring house's second floor near noon to eat lunch before heading to the airport to pick someone up.

While Ying Zhicheng was handling company matters, upstairs in Li Luo's bedroom on the third floor.

It wasn't until just before noon, past eleven, that Ying Chanxi woke from a drowsy sleep.

She had probably fallen asleep around four a. m. —after sleeping over seven hours, she was well-rested.

She stretched under the covers, turned her head to look at Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng still fast asleep beside her, and recalled the events of last night.

Hadn't she fallen asleep while watching a movie?

She wondered whether Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had finished the movie after she dozed off.

If they'd watched it through, they'd likely have slept only after five or six a. m. —it made sense they hadn't woken yet.

Ying Chanxi stared at Li Luo's sleeping profile and quietly extended a finger, gently poking his cheek twice.

Seeing no reaction, she couldn't help tilting her face, leaning in silently, and pressing her soft lips against his cheek, leaving a faint trace.

After stealing a kiss, she darted back under the covers like a cat caught stealing cream, her cheeks slightly flushed, secretly delighted, hiding under the blankets as she stifled a giggle.

After a few moments of silent laughter, her cheeks still red, she pressed closer to Li Luo's body, draping one leg over him, closed her eyes, and savored his scent a little longer.

Then she reached beside her pillow, found her phone, and checked the time.

Seeing it was already past eleven a. m., Ying Chanxi suddenly realized—it was time for lunch.

If Lin Yi and the others saw this scene in the room, she'd be utterly mortified.

So Ying Chanxi stopped sneaking around and quickly shook Li Luo's shoulder, whispering, "Li Luo, wake up, it's time to get up."

Li Luo had only fallen asleep around six in the morning after a long night, and had barely slept five hours when Ying Chanxi shook him awake—he was dazed and struggled to rouse himself.

After a long while, he finally cracked open one eye, frowning heavily: "What's wrong?"

"It's eleven already, we have to go downstairs for lunch," Ying Chanxi whispered urgently. "What time did you two finish watching the movie last night? Still not enough sleep?"

"Uh…" Li Luo, hearing the question, recalled the tender moments of last night and was at a loss for words.

Yan Zhusheng's desire to practice singing had been too intense; later, fearing she'd wake Ying Chanxi, the two got out of bed, pulled on their down jackets, and ran up to the rooftop terrace to sing.

They didn't return until dawn, when they were too exhausted to stay awake.

It was essentially an all-nighter—how could they possibly have slept enough?

But facing Ying Chanxi's question, Li Luo still said, "The movie was only two hours long—we didn't sleep until six."

"That's way too late—I'm amazed you two held out," Ying Chanxi said, sighing in disbelief. "I fell asleep after watching a bit."

"You were sleeping so soundly—I pinched your cheeks and you didn't react," Li Luo laughed.

"You're such a bad person," Ying Chanxi blushed slightly and hit him.

But Li Luo hadn't pinched her—he'd wanted Yan Zhusheng to stop when he kissed Ying Chanxi, worried he'd wake her.

But Yan Zhusheng, lying on top of Li Luo, reached out and pinched Ying Chanxi's cheek anyway.

"Look, even like this, Xi Xi doesn't wake up," Yan Zhusheng's serious expression was utterly adorable; the next second, Li Luo pressed her head down again, helping her keep singing.

Ying Chanxi, fast asleep, naturally knew nothing.

Now awake, she secretly delighted in having stolen a kiss from Li Luo just now.

So when Li Luo said he'd wake Yan Zhusheng, Ying Chanxi's mind went hot—she grabbed Li Luo's hand, leaned in, and lightly kissed his lips.

Faced with this sudden softness, Li Luo clearly froze slightly—he never expected Ying Chanxi to be so suddenly forward.

This kind of thing would be normal coming from Yan Zhusheng or Xu Youyu, but from Ying Chanxi, it felt especially unusual.

Even strangely stimulating.

But Ying Chanxi only kissed him once, then blushed furiously and pulled back under the covers, leaving only her eyes visible, blinking nervously and avoiding Li Luo's gaze as she mumbled from inside the blankets:

"This is just practice for the MV content—I plan to film a scene like this when we wake up next time."

"Mm."

Li Luo touched his lips, gazing at the shy Ying Chanxi, lost in thought—then he pulled back the covers, bent down, and returned the kiss.

Their lips met and parted, meant to be a simple good-morning kiss, but before they knew it, they sank deeper and deeper.

Yan Zhusheng, stirred by the noise beside her, rubbed her eyes and looked at Li Luo's back, half-pressed against Ying Chanxi, and asked drowsily, half-asleep: "Li Luo, what are you doing?"

Hearing Yan Zhusheng's voice, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi instantly panicked and pulled apart.

Ying Chanxi buried her flushed face under the covers, refusing to show herself; Li Luo quietly drew back his upper body, cleared his throat twice, and said, "I'm waking Xi Xi up."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded, glancing at the bundled-up Ying Chanxi. "But doesn't it look like Xi Xi hasn't woken up yet?"

"She's awake, just lazy to get up," Li Luo replied.

Then a leg inside the blankets was kicked.

"You're awake too? Then get up," Li Luo continued. "It's already noon—we need to go downstairs to eat. And you two should go back to the other room from the rooftop, not down directly from my room."

In Li Luo's mind, if he got up and walked downstairs with two girls, it would be an instant exposure.

But when Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng got up, washed up, and returned to the other room, they ran straight into Ying Zhicheng as he stepped out of his room—he froze.

Because last night, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had gone to Li Luo's room after bathing, wearing only pajamas, with down jackets thrown over them.

Now, caught by Ying Zhicheng like this, he naturally felt puzzled: "Why are you two back wearing down jackets?"

"We—we just got up," Ying Chanxi, caught by her own father, panicked and spoke without thinking.

Ying Zhicheng, hearing this, didn't believe it for a second—he remembered going to their room at nine this morning and finding no one there.

You say you just woke up now—did you sleep in Li Luo's room?

Ying Zhicheng knew his daughter well—though she'd grown increasingly attached to Li Luo lately, she still had good judgment.

She wouldn't do something so out of bounds as sleeping in Li Luo's room.

Besides, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were together—could two girls possibly sleep with Li Luo?

It was unthinkable.

So Ying Zhicheng didn't think much of it—he assumed the two girls had gotten up in a hurry, hadn't changed clothes, and just threw on down jackets to go play with Li Luo.

Girls, after all, were shy—they wouldn't admit it outright, so they claimed they'd just woken up.

So Ying Zhicheng didn't expose their lie; instead, he turned to Yan Zhusheng and said, "Your mother's flight lands at two this afternoon—I'll go pick her up."

Then he looked at Ying Chanxi: "If you're free after lunch, come back and tidy up the other room—Yuan Wanqing will be staying here until the fifth."

Yuan Wanqing had mentioned this before when she came over for dinner; Ying Chanxi nodded without giving it much thought.

After all, Yuan Wanqing was Yan Zhusheng's mother, and her studio was affiliated with Huayue Film and Television; coming over for the New Year with Yan Zhusheng, staying at their place was perfectly normal.

The two returned to their room, changed clothes, and headed toward the second floor next door.

Everyone was now getting up; Lin Xiuhong reheated yesterday's leftovers and added a few new dishes—lunch was a makeshift affair.

Over lunch, Li Luo heard Ying Zhicheng was going to pick up Yuan Wanqing, turned to Yan Zhusheng, thought for a moment, and asked: "You're leaving for overseas on the fifth—when will you be back?"

"Recovery should take at least half a month—to complete full checkups and rehabilitation," Yan Zhusheng said. "If we left today, we'd probably return just as you get back to Bihai Lanting."

"But if we leave on the fifth, we'll likely only return right before school starts."

As Yan Zhusheng said this, she felt a pang of reluctance—even considered asking Yuan Wanqing to go overseas alone, since she herself wasn't sick.

But Li Luo only nodded, offering no further protest; instead, he reminded her: "Since you're going, get checked up with your mom too."

Li Luo had said the same thing last New Year.

Yan Zhusheng didn't think much of it—she took it as Li Luo's concern, felt sweet inside, and nodded obediently: "Mm, I know."

But Li Luo wasn't just concerned—he was worried.

After all, he didn't understand heart disease well; according to ordinary people's logic, how could Yan Zhusheng, who exercised daily, possibly get heart disease?

And it struck suddenly at age thirty-five.

But he wasn't a medical student and didn't understand the underlying principles, so he could only urge professional institutions to give Yan Zhusheng more thorough checkups.

In short, discovering the problem early was certainly best.

"Will you be gone that long?" Ying Chanxi hugged Yan Zhusheng's arm, looking very affectionate and somewhat reluctant.

"I don't have to go," Yan Zhusheng said. "Should I ask Mom when she arrives?"

"No no no," Ying Chanxi quickly shook her head. "Yuan Auntie would be too lonely traveling abroad alone—you should go with her."