Chapter 475

Originally, Li Luo had thought that since it was already 4 p. m., by the time the firing finished, it would be nearing 6 p. m.

They hadn't worn their school uniforms when they went out on their date, and the evening self-study at Fu Yi High School started at 6:30 p. m.

Once they got the cups, they'd have to take a taxi home first, change into their uniforms, grab their backpacks, and rush back to school—there simply wasn't enough time.

It'd be better to come back after evening self-study ends, around 8 p. m., when they'd have more time.

But Li Luo thought this inwardly and showed no expression on his face, turning to look at Ying Chanxi.

How could Ying Chanxi, a model student, possibly do something as irresponsible as be late?

So although she desperately wanted to see her cup come out of the kiln right away, her face showed hesitation, thinking she might as well wait a bit longer—if they truly ran out of time, they could leave then.

But before Ying Chanxi could say anything, Li Luo had already pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Hello?" came the voice of their homeroom teacher, Kong Jun, from the other end, "Li Luo? What's up?"

"Good afternoon, Teacher Kong," Li Luo said. "Today is Ying Chanxi's birthday, and I took her out for a little outing. Something came up and we'll be late for evening self-study—I'm letting you know in advance."

"Oh?" Kong Jun nodded, smiling. "I understand. Say happy birthday to her for me. Don't even bother coming to evening self-study—consider it an approved leave."

The top student in grade and the sixth-ranked student saying they'd be late for evening self-study?

So what?

As long as no one died, Kong Jun couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Still, for safety's sake, Kong Jun asked one more thing: "Where exactly did you two go?"

"We're at a craft experience studio making things," Li Luo answered honestly, with no intention to hide anything. "The cup firing takes time—we're still waiting."

"I see," Kong Jun relaxed slightly. "Then it's fine if you're late—or even if you don't come at all. Just remember to submit a leave slip tomorrow."

"Thank you, Teacher Kong."

After hanging up, Li Luo looked at Ying Chanxi and raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, the shop owner finally realized and couldn't help asking, "You two… aren't still high school students, are you?"

Although she'd thought their faces looked young, she'd assumed they were just naturally youthful-looking.

But now with talk of Teacher Kong and evening self-study—were they really high schoolers?

"Yes," Li Luo smiled at the shop owner. "Could you please fire the cups for us? We'll go for a walk nearby, have dinner, and come back to pick them up."

"Sure, no problem," the shop owner nodded, picked up the tray, and walked toward the back room.

As soon as the shop owner was out of sight, Ying Chanxi finally got her chance to sneakily poke Li Luo's side, her face flushed as she whispered, "Why did you tell Teacher Kong all that? It sounds like we're… you know… together."

"Which 'together'?"

"Ugh, you're so annoying!" Ying Chanxi's face turned bright red; she huffed and turned away, storming out the shop door.

Li Luo followed, chuckling, grabbed her wrist, and interlocked his fingers with hers.

Faced with this gesture, Ying Chanxi offered zero resistance and immediately let him lead her along.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Aren't you the one who planned everything?"

"I've reserved a Western restaurant. May I have the honor of accompanying you, Young Lady?"

"That depends on your sincerity."

"You little brat, talking so much—just come with me," Li Luo pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms, crouched slightly, slid one hand under her knees, and lifted her into a bridal carry, walking straight ahead.

Ying Chanxi, suddenly lifted into the air, gasped in surprise and clutched Li Luo's neck tightly with both arms.

Only when she regained her senses did she realize they'd already walked out of the alley.

"P-put me down… so many people are watching!"

It was the weekend evening, and the commercial street was at its peak crowd hour.

A handsome boy and a beautiful girl walking down the street already drew attention.

Especially when one was being carried bridal-style.

Ying Chanxi could clearly feel the gazes around her, and she buried her face in Li Luo's chest, too shy to look up.

Li Luo carried her all the way, smiling, then asked, "Is my sincerity enough?"

"Enough, enough…" Ying Chanxi mumbled into his chest. "Put me down—I'm so embarrassed."

"How could I let the Birthday Person walk? I must carry you all the way to your seat at the restaurant."

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi imagined the scene and felt utterly mortified, begging frantically, "I'm sorry! Put me down!"

Seeing she was truly overwhelmed, Li Luo finally stopped and set her down.

Once her feet touched the ground, Ying Chanxi, cheeks still flushed, tidied her hair and clothes. Feeling eyes still on her, she clung tightly to Li Luo's arm, lowered her head, and hurriedly pulled him forward.

Since it was only just past 4 p. m., they didn't rush to dinner, strolling for a long time along the commercial street, looking around and occasionally buying small trinkets.

At around 5 p. m., Li Luo brought her to a Western restaurant, where a server guided them into a quiet, elegant private room.

From the entrance of the private room to the dining table, several spots were decorated with pink carnations—clearly carefully arranged.

As they sat down at the table, Ying Chanxi looked out the window and realized the restaurant sat beside the Qianjiang River, offering a sweeping view of a wide, flowing river.

As night approached, the setting sun dipped below the horizon, painting the river's surface with lingering crimson—exquisitely beautiful.

Although Ying Zhicheng was wealthy, he rarely took Ying Chanxi to places like this for meals.

Girls all love romance, and today's itinerary made Ying Chanxi feel deeply touched.

Now, gazing at the sunset over the river and the pink carnations on the table, Ying Chanxi's eyes finally settled on Li Luo's face across from her, her eyes sparkling like tiny stars.

"The portions here are small—you can try every dish," Li Luo said, then turned to the server. "You may begin serving."

The two began their dinner at 5 p. m.

Since this Western restaurant specialized in high-end, refined cuisine, each dish was small, but there were many of them.

The meal stretched from just after 5 p. m. until nearly 7 p. m. before all dishes were served.

In the end, Li Luo was only about seven-tenths full.

It was said that there was a proper order for serving dishes, but Li Luo didn't care much about it—no matter how refined the order, the food still had to taste good.

But judging by Ying Chanxi's expression, the flavor must have been quite good.

As the time gradually neared six-thirty in the evening, Ying Chanxi felt an increasing sense of urgency and thrill.

As a model student at school, Ying Chanxi had never once been late or left early.

Now, for the first time, she was about to be late—though Li Luo had already informed Teacher Kong, the other classmates didn't know.

When everyone noticed she and Li Luo hadn't arrived on time for school, who knew what they'd guess.

Just thinking about it made Ying Chanxi's cheeks flush and her heart race.

It felt like a good student being led astray, a sense of moral decline.

"By the way," Ying Chanxi said after finishing her meal, gently wiping her lips with a damp tissue, then glancing at Li Luo across from her and asking softly, "Are we still going to evening self-study tonight? Should we go a bit late, or just skip it entirely?"

"Of course we're going," Li Luo laughed. "I've got no other plans after this. Or does the Birthday Person have any orders?"

"After dinner, you usually need to take a walk or something…" Ying Chanxi gazed out the window at the riverside promenade, feeling tempted. "Think about it—self-study starts at six-thirty, ends at seven-ten."

"Walking into class during the lesson would feel awkward."

"But if we walk in after class ends, it'd be much better—less noticeable."

"Since we're going to be late anyway, why not wait until second-period self-study?"

Li Luo chuckled after hearing her. "Then why not just take the day off? We day students only attend two periods of evening self-study anyway."

"We still have to go," Ying Chanxi muttered softly.

She still wanted to hold the cup Li Luo made and drink water in class.

How could she not go?

Li Luo didn't catch her little thought, but still nodded. "Then let's take a walk first, then go get the cup."

"Okay~"

…

While Li Luo and Ying Chanxi were still out having fun, in the Gao Er Class Eight classroom of Fu Yi High School.

As evening approached, Yan Zhusheng walked in alone, backpack on shoulder, and sat down at her desk.

Qiao Xinyan, already seated in front, heard the noise behind her and turned to look.

Seeing only Yan Zhusheng sitting down, Qiao Xinyan froze, glancing toward the classroom door—no sign of Li Luo or Ying Chanxi.

"Where are Xi Xi and Li Luo?" Qiao Xinyan couldn't help asking.

"They went out to play," Yan Zhusheng said flatly. "Not back yet."

"Huh? Not even for evening self-study?"

"They said they'd come a bit late," Yan Zhusheng said calmly, quietly playing with the harmonica Li Luo had given her.

Soon, the bell for evening self-study rang, and students took their seats, settling into study mode.

Someone like Qiao Xinyan could directly ask Yan Zhusheng what was going on.

But the other students, upon noticing Li Luo and Ying Chanxi were absent, began all sorts of speculation.

Many knew Ying Chanxi's birthday was March 14th; tomorrow the 14th was Monday, so celebrating early was perfectly normal.

Coupled with Li Luo's absence too, it was obvious where the two had gone.

Liu Shaowen, seated next to the aisle, stared at the two empty desks and sighed deeply.

Ever since he secretly reported to Teacher Kong last semester, it had done absolutely nothing.

Now it had gotten worse—these two didn't even show up for evening self-study?

The thought that his long-unspoken crush might now be leaning against another boy's chest, eyes soft with affection, made his heart ache, filling him with sorrow.

In contrast, Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang in the back rows simply had a spectator's mindset, quietly chatting in their QQ group.

They waited until the end of the first period of evening self-study, just before the second period was about to begin.

Finally, two familiar figures appeared at the classroom door, backpacks slung over shoulders, hurrying in and quickly returning to their seats.

Liu Shaowen saw Ying Chanxi's flushed cheeks as she followed Li Luo into the classroom—his heart twisted painfully, unsure what emotion he felt.

Qiao Xinyan grinned and moved aside, letting Ying Chanxi sit down, then leaned over curiously. "Where did you two go?"

Hearing the question, Yan Zhusheng in the back instantly perked up her ears.

But just as Li Luo and Ying Chanxi sat down, the bell for the second period of evening self-study rang.

The topic was cut short; everyone returned to study mode.

But Ying Chanxi had no desire to study tonight.

After putting her backpack away, she pretended to take out her stationery case and textbook, fidgeting for a long while before pulling out a gift box from her bag.

Qiao Xinyan noticed it, immediately paused her writing, turned to stare at the box, her eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry.

Ying Chanxi said nothing, only quietly opened the box.

Inside lay a white porcelain mug, its color pure, its surface smooth.

Ying Chanxi reached out, carefully lifting the cup, gazing at the little cat painted on it, and smiled warmly.

"There's writing on it too?" Qiao Xinyan leaned in to admire it, then noticed the other side.

It read—

My lord rode his bamboo horse, circling the bed, playing with green plums.

We grew up together in Changgan Lane, two children, free of suspicion.

For Ying Chanxi.

—Li Luo.

"New Yan, move over," Ying Chanxi clutched the cup, preventing her from seeing more, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She patted Qiao Xinyan's shoulder and stood up. "I'm going to get some water."