Chapter 480: Physical Endurance Matters More Than Anything

March 29, early morning.

Half-asleep, Li Luo felt he had dreamed of being crushed beneath the Five Fingers Mountain, unable to turn over no matter how hard he tried.

Only when he could no longer bear it did he suddenly open his eyes and discover the true reason he couldn't turn over.

Li Luo lay in bed, helplessly staring at Yan Zhusheng sitting on his chest, and patted her butt: "Alright, alright, get off already, it's time to get up."

Yan Zhusheng nodded but didn't rush to get up; instead, she glanced sideways at Ying Chanxi, confirmed that Xixi hadn't woken up, then leaned down and stole a good morning kiss from Li Luo's lips.

Only then did she happily roll off Li Luo and head obediently toward the bathroom to wash up.

Li Luo, lying in bed, watched Yan Zhusheng's slender back in her pajamas, pursed his lips, savored the moment briefly, then turned to look at Ying Chanxi, pinched her cheek, and whispered: "Little lazy cat, wake up, come on, wake up."

Ying Chanxi was half-asleep when Li Luo woke her; she struggled slightly under the covers, murmured softly, rolled onto her side, and snuggled into Li Luo's arms, rubbing her face against his chest.

Li Luo stroked Ying Chanxi's head, then gently tilted her chin upward and kissed her.

That woke Ying Chanxi fully; she looked around nervously, glancing left and right like a thief caught in the act.

After confirming Yan Zhusheng had already gone to the bathroom and Xu Youyu was still sound asleep beside her, Ying Chanxi finally relaxed, then boldly kissed him back.

Whether from habit or not, after kissing so many times, none of them bothered making excuses anymore.

Still, whenever Ying Chanxi kissed him, she silently told herself it was just for MV practice—nothing else meant.

And honestly, the thrill of sneaking kisses with Li Luo right under Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng's noses had become addictive for Ying Chanxi.

But she'd never admit it; after the good morning kiss, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom too.

Probably because they'd mentioned last night that today was the Ningshan March, Yan Zhusheng hadn't woken Li Luo too early—it was already half past six.

They weren't jogging this morning, so they'd sleep a little longer to conserve energy; they wouldn't be too tired during the march and climb.

After Ying Chanxi also went to the bathroom, Xu Youyu's alarm clock on the bedside table rang on schedule.

Li Luo sat up in bed, turned to look at Xu Youyu, and saw she was still sound asleep despite the alarm—his respect for her deepened.

To sleep through an alarm ringing? Youyu-jie was truly a marvel.

Li Luo leaned over the bedside table, reached past Xu Youyu's body, and turned off her alarm, then patted her cheek: "Youyu-jie, wake up."

"Mmm… let me sleep a little longer," Xu Youyu rolled over, burying her head under the covers, her voice muffled.

"It's already morning—the alarm just rang."

"Five more minutes."

"When we go jogging in the morning, could you even get up if you slept five more minutes?"

"You're so annoying," Xu Youyu turned in the blankets and wrapped her arms tightly around Li Luo. "Stay with me a little longer."

Li Luo had no choice but to hold Xu Youyu, deciding to wait until Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng finished washing up before waking her.

But just a few minutes later, Xu Youyu's phone on the bedside table rang again.

Li Luo peeked over and couldn't help laughing, then reached over and turned off the 6:35 alarm.

He picked up Xu Youyu's phone, entered the password 0608, unlocked it, opened the alarm app, and discovered she'd set an alarm every five minutes starting at 6:30, all the way until 6:55.

Seeing this, Li Luo turned off the phone and looked again at Xu Youyu in his arms—now he was torn between laughter and exasperation.

So even if she woke up at 6:55, she still thought she had time to make it to school?

Probably didn't even wash her face or brush her teeth—just jumped up, threw on clothes, and sprinted straight to school.

And with Xu Youyu's fish-like stamina, if she actually did that, she'd collapse into a puddle by the time she reached the classroom.

Li Luo looked at Xu Youyu with amusement, lifted the blanket again, and stopped bothering to call her; he simply scooped her up with both arms and lifted her off the bed.

Xu Youyu, still nestled in her warm blanket, suddenly felt herself lifted into the air and instinctively screamed, clutching Li Luo tightly.

Once she realized she'd been torn from her beloved bed, she angrily slapped him: "You're going to scare me to death!"

"I didn't even say anything about you writing novels and someone finding out—you're already feeling guilty."

"Hmph!" Xu Youyu wiggled her feet in midair, turning her head with a pout. "You think I'm stupid? That trick works once or twice, but if you try it again, I won't believe you."

"Alright, alright," Li Luo chuckled, setting her down. "Put on your slippers and go wash up in the bathroom outside—the one inside is taken by Xixi and Zhusheng."

"Oh, no rush," Xu Youyu glanced toward the bathroom; since Xixi and Zhusheng were using it, the door was closed.

So Xu Youyu pulled Li Luo out of the room, into the hallway, and shoved him against the wall.

Only when the bathroom door inside opened did Xu Youyu reluctantly let him go, then whispered: "Did it taste good this time?"

"Delicious."

"Hmph," Xu Youyu smirked and turned toward the bathroom.

To be fair, older people—or those with poor digestion—often have bad breath right after waking up before brushing their teeth.

But maybe because they were all young and healthy, Li Luo noticed Ying Chanxi and the others didn't have this problem.

Just goes to show how great being young is.

Thinking this, Li Luo turned back toward the bedroom and saw Yan Zhusheng just stepping out of the bathroom.

Li Luo told Yan Zhusheng to change into her school uniform, then walked to the bathroom door.

But the moment he opened it, Ying Chanxi screamed: "No! I'm using the toilet!"

Luckily, Li Luo reacted quickly and slammed the door shut.

Only after he heard the sound of water running did Ying Chanxi open the door, face flushed red, head bowed, and say to Li Luo, who was sitting at the desk: "I—I'm done. You go now."

Living together so long, these things were simply unavoidable.

After all four washed up, changed into their uniforms, packed their bags, went downstairs for breakfast, and arrived at the gate of Fuyi High School before seven.

Today was Fuyi High's Gao Er students' Ningshan March.

The name sounded nice, but it was just hiking and climbing—similar to a spring outing.

They'd circle most of Ningshan, enter from the southern trailhead, climb to the summit for a picnic and cherry blossom viewing, then descend from an exit near Qianjiang University in the afternoon and return to school.

The whole trip was still exhausting.

But for Gao Zhongsheng, being given one day off from their dull, repetitive studies? They'd do anything.

Li Luo brought Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng to the classroom and sat down; not long after, Kong Jun entered through the door and walked up to the podium, counting the number of students.

At seven-thirty in the morning, all sixteen classes of Gao Er gathered in a chorus of assembly music, lined up, and descended to the playground to assemble.

School leaders delivered a speech from the podium, and it wasn't until over eight o'clock in the morning that they finally set off from the playground in class order.

As the sports committee member of Class Eight, Yan Zhusheng and Zhu Yufei walked at the very front of the line, taking turns holding the red flag of Gao Er Class Eight to prevent classmates from getting lost.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, as class monitor and deputy class monitor, walked at the very end of the line, responsible for bringing up the rear and ensuring no students fell behind.

If someone collapsed from exhaustion or encountered another emergency, being at the rear allowed them to see the situation ahead clearly and respond promptly.

But for Ying Chanxi, the most important thing was walking alongside Li Luo.

Thinking of Yan Zhusheng's slightly resentful glance before lining up, Ying Chanxi couldn't help but smile, and after leaving the playground, she moved even closer to Li Luo.

"If you're tired, give me your backpack," Li Luo said to Ying Chanxi after they exited the school gate.

"I'm fine, I'm not tired," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "Don't underestimate me—I'm the one who runs with you every morning and night."

"Just let me know if you get tired," Li Luo smiled, his gaze sweeping around.

It was eight-thirty in the morning; there were still some pedestrians on the road, and passing vehicles, upon seeing the spectacular sight of this long line, all turned their heads to look.

From the lead of Gao Er Class One at the front to Gao Er Class Sixteen at the rear, the students of Fu Yi Middle School formed a hundreds-of-meters-long dragon, winding along the northern foothills of Ningshan in Yinjiang District.

Ningshan in Yinjiang District wasn't large; geographically, it was barely a hill, just a small mound.

At the summit stood a local permanent military base; slightly lower down was the well-known Donglai Pavilion, one of the few minor attractions on Ningshan.

Leaving the Fu Yi Middle School gate at just after eight in the morning, the long line of Gao Er students walked for less than two hours, circling nearly half the base of Ningshan, covering nearly ten kilometers, before finally reaching the southern entrance at the mountain's foot.

Although she had consistently run morning jogs, by the time Ying Chanxi reached this point, she felt utterly exhausted.

Especially upon arriving at the mountain entrance, as teachers required, every class had to stop temporarily, recount the students, and only then could they officially begin ascending.

This rest, however, only made everyone feel even more tired.

Looking up at the mountain path at the entrance, Ying Chanxi placed her hand on Li Luo's shoulder, breathing slightly hard: "No wonder it's called 'Yi Xing'… it really is tiring…"

"You've done great," Li Luo patted Ying Chanxi's head and smiled. "Several girls in the class have already fallen behind, and even one boy couldn't keep up."

"You don't seem tired at all?" Ying Chanxi looked at Li Luo skeptically. "How come you're not even breathing hard?"

"I am tired, but walking alone doesn't consume much energy."

As Li Luo said this, he assessed himself—he realized that after long-term running training, his endurance had improved significantly.

It really was worth sticking to exercise.

His goals were high now; if he ever achieved them, a healthy, strong body would be more important than anything else.

"Ready to climb?" Kong Jun finished counting, waited for the latecomers to catch up, confirmed all students from Class Eight were present, and called out: "Let's go."