Chapter 476: Xixi: Won!

At that moment, Ying Chanxi stood up, overcoming her usual shyness in such matters, cradling the water cup Li Luo had made for her, wishing everyone in class could see it.

But she simply couldn't bring herself to announce aloud that Li Luo had made her a special mug today.

So she could only do what she was doing now—create a little commotion during class to satisfy her urgent desire to show off.

"Alright, alright." Qiao Xinyan smiled helplessly, standing up to make way.

Ying Chanxi then carried the cup, strolling slowly to the water dispenser by the window near the podium, bent down to fill it with warm water, and strolled back just as slowly.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi faced the back of the classroom and met Yan Zhusheng's gaze directly.

Then she noticed Yan Zhusheng's eyes fixed on the cup in her hands; seeing this, Ying Chanxi secretly rejoiced, feeling a flicker of superiority.

Only after sitting back down did Ying Chanxi break free from that state and realize how strange her earlier emotions had been.

When had she become such a girl who craved comparison and showing off?

Ying Chanxi tapped her head, frowning in annoyance, then turned to look at Li Luo and glared at him.

It's all his fault!

Li Luo was baffled by her sudden glare, completely clueless about what had happened.

Had the cup broken?

"Why are you glaring at me?" Li Luo glanced around at their classmates and whispered.

"Nothing." Ying Chanxi whispered back, then glanced at Li Luo's desk and immediately puckered her nose in dissatisfaction, softly reminding him, "What about yours? Take it out too."

"I was planning to open it at home."

"No way." Ying Chanxi puffed out her cheeks. "Take it out."

"Alright, alright."

Li Luo had no choice but to pull a gift box from his backpack, nearly identical to the one Ying Chanxi had just shown.

Qiao Xinyan and Yan Zhusheng both noticed the commotion and turned to look—only to discover there was another one.

"Isn't it Ying Chanxi's birthday?" Yan Zhusheng whispered. "Why do you have one too?"

"He took me to do crafts during the day," Ying Chanxi blurted out before Li Luo could answer. "So we each made a cup—mine was made by him, his was made by me."

After hearing this, Qiao Xinyan couldn't help but tut-tut twice, shook her head in disbelief, and turned back to her studies, unwilling to eat more dog food during class.

But Yan Zhusheng pursed her lips, watching as Li Luo placed the gift box on his desk, carefully unwrapped it, opened the lid, and pulled out a black mug.

On the black mug was painted a yellow puppy; on the other side was written a phrase—

For the puppy's exclusive use: drink more water~

To Li Luo.

—Ying Chanxi.

Around it were "Wang Wang Wang" sound effects and cute little emoticons decorating the design.

Li Luo glanced at the words and was speechless—he now understood why she hadn't let him see it earlier; she'd been waiting for this moment.

Good thing he'd gotten all poetic and written a poem on Ying Chanxi's cup.

Whatever. If it's for the puppy, then it's for the puppy. After all, the Birthday Person comes first—Ying Chanxi's happiness mattered most.

Li Luo didn't mind at all; after all, calling each other "puppy" and "kitty" was their private understanding.

But Yan Zhusheng watched it all and suddenly felt a little unhappy.

She'd assumed Li Luo's solo outing with Ying Chanxi was just dinner, a stroll, maybe a movie.

That's why she'd generously given up her seat this morning—it was Ying Chanxi's birthday, after all.

But Yan Zhusheng hadn't expected Li Luo's preparation to involve handmade crafts.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had both knitted scarves for Li Luo, but Li Luo had never made anything for them personally.

This was probably his first time ever.

Yan Zhusheng didn't care about anything else—only firsts mattered to her.

After seeing the mugs in Li Luo's and Ying Chanxi's hands, she narrowed her eyes slightly, yet remained silent.

Li Luo didn't notice Yan Zhusheng's mood; after taking out the mug, he copied Ying Chanxi's actions and went to the water dispenser to fill his cup.

The two of them, one after the other, picked up their cups and took a small sip.

Though the water was still plain mineral water, it tasted faintly sweet in their mouths.

It wasn't sweetness on the tongue—it was a sweetness rising from deep within their hearts.

Having finished showing off, Ying Chanxi finally felt satisfied, placing her cup in the upper-left corner of her desk, directly in front of the stationery bag Li Luo had won in a lottery during freshman year, and to her right, the fountain pen Li Luo had given her, also won in a lottery.

Arranged like this on her desk, Ying Chanxi quickly slipped into study mode.

Behind her, Li Luo drank some water and placed his cup in the same upper-left corner of his desk.

Just as he was about to settle down and begin evening self-study, a note slid over from Yan Zhusheng's side.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Did you two spend the whole day doing crafts?

Li Luo glanced at it, then picked up his pen and replied honestly.

【Li Luo】: Not exactly.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Then what else did you do?

【Li Luo】: We went to the bathhouse at noon, had lunch there, then had dinner at a Western restaurant in the evening.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Bathhouse?

【Li Luo】: It's a place where the first floor has baths and showers, and floors two through four are public recreation areas. It's kind of fun—next time I'll take you both.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Did you bathe with Ying Chanxi?

【Li Luo】: What are you thinking?! It's a public bathhouse—men and women are separated. How could we bathe together?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Aren't there private ones somewhere?

【Li Luo】: Maybe elsewhere, but I've never seen one.

【Yan Zhusheng】: What about the handmade thing?

【Li Luo】: Just a physical handmade experience studio—you can make simple handmade items.

【Yan Zhusheng】: I want a cup too.

【Li Luo】: Next time it's your birthday, I'll take you then, okay?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Oh, but that still feels like a long way off.

【Li Luo】: Just over five months.

Yan Zhusheng looked at the note, then at the cup on Li Luo's desk, and really wanted to sneak over and quietly take a sip.

But remembering that cup was made by Xixi for Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng gave up the idea.

Still, seeing that both Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had a cup on their desks, Yan Zhusheng felt a twinge of envy.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Last year, when we went out alone for my birthday, why didn't you take me to do handmade?

Li Luo saw the note Yan Zhusheng passed over, grinned, turned to look at her, and found her still expressionless—so adorable he couldn't help pinching her cheek.

【Li Luo】: I'll take you next time.

Yan Zhusheng was still easy to appease; after Li Luo pinched her cheek and promised to take her next time, her petty mood vanished, and she just nodded obediently.

Soon, the second evening self-study ended, and the three packed their bags, preparing to go home.

Ying Chanxi specifically took the cup with her, planning to use it at home.

Seeing Li Luo just leave the cup on the desk, she immediately warned: "You should either take the cup home or put it in the drawer—otherwise, if someone accidentally bumps the table, it'll break."

"Oh, right." Li Luo nodded, and simply took the cup along, to prevent some jealous person from doing something sneaky.

The three went downstairs together, met Xu Youyu, then stopped by the iron gate of the opposite dormitory area to buy a few portions of fried rice and fried noodles to take home.

When they got home and sat down for late-night snacks, Ying Chanxi quietly pulled out her little cat cup, took the juice from Xu Youyu that had just come out of the fridge.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu glanced at the cup in Ying Chanxi's hand, curious. "I've never seen this one before—did you buy a new one?"

"Nope." Ying Chanxi struggled to suppress the urge to smile, keeping her expression calm. "Li Luo made it. It's my birthday gift."

"Oh~ His gift?" Xu Youyu nodded in understanding, then suddenly realized: "Wait, what do you mean he made it?"

"Cough… He took her to do handmade during the day." Li Luo pulled out his little yellow dog cup from his backpack, and Ying Chanxi snatched it, pouring him a glass of juice herself.

To be honest, mentioning this in front of Xu Youyu, Li Luo felt a strange pang of guilt.

After all, it was Xu Youyu who had taken him to experience this in his past life.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Xu Youyu looked at Li Luo, squinted, and smiled sweetly. "You've got quite the flair—can I take a look?"

"Of course!" Ying Chanxi was eager for more people to admire it, and placed both cups on the table, pushing them over.

Xu Youyu glanced at the words on the cups and the little cat and dog designs, and for some reason, felt a twinge of envy.

"Eat your snack, eat your snack." Li Luo hurriedly urged them to sit down. "After eating, I still have to write."

"Hmph." Xu Youyu gave a light huff, pushed the cup back, and refused to look again.

Ying Chanxi, outwardly calm, accepted it with quiet delight, feeling as if she'd won a round.

After finishing the snack and returning to her room, she didn't practice her punches as usual—instead, she smiled warmly, hugging Pikachu and Doraemon, stroking their heads.

……

The next morning, Monday, Li Luo woke up as usual, washed up with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, changed into their school uniforms, and prepared to go jogging.

Before they could even step out, the door of 1502 was knocked on.

Yan Zhusheng, walking through the living room, went to open the door.

Outside stood a deliveryman, who asked Yan Zhusheng politely: "Are you Miss Ying Chanxi?"

"Xixi!" Yan Zhusheng called toward the hallway. "Someone's here for you."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi walked out of the bathroom, confused. Seeing the deliveryman, she asked, "I didn't order anything—what's this for?"

"It's a letter." The deliveryman handed her a package. "A letter from Qiongzhou City. Please sign for it."

Hearing the letter came from Qiongzhou City, Ying Chanxi's eyes lit up—she immediately guessed its origin.

Yan Zhusheng, not slow-witted, instantly deduced the letter's source, and silently puffed out her cheeks.

"Thank you, sorry for the trouble." Ying Chanxi signed, thanked the deliveryman, then happily hugged the package and returned to the living room.

"What's going on?" Li Luo, just changed into his uniform, stepped out of the bedroom, puzzled. "Who was that?"

"Delivery guy." Ying Chanxi shook the package. "Says it's a letter from Qiongzhou City~ I wonder who wrote it~"

Hearing this, Li Luo instantly understood. Seeing her cheerful, cute, mischievous expression, he chuckled and pinched her cheek: "Who wrote it? Hard to guess—want to open it now?"

"Nope, let's go jogging first~" Ying Chanxi giggled twice, then ran back to her room for her bag. "I'll read it in class."