Chapter 490

At nearly seven in the morning, just before morning self-study was about to begin, Li Luo hurried to the classroom with his backpack on his back.

The classmates noticed Li Luo entering the classroom and were somewhat surprised—they hadn't expected Li Luo to come in alone today without Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng.

Li Luo ignored the classmates' glances, walked straight to his seat, set down his backpack, and said to Yan Zhusheng: "I'm going to Miss Xu Youyu's class to ask for a leave for her; if Teacher Kong asks later, please let him know on my behalf."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently and watched Li Luo leave.

Not long after, Li Luo quickly headed toward the Grade Three building and arrived at the classroom on the first floor, Room 16; he peered through the back door but didn't see the homeroom teacher.

At the podium was Qin Yawei, the Chinese class representative, and one of the two former vice presidents of the literature club during Li Luo's first year.

Because Li Luo had declined Qin Yawei's invitation to join the club but accepted Xu Youyu's, their relationship had always been lukewarm.

As top students in Room 16 and both former vice presidents of the literature club, Qin Yawei's academic performance was quite strong, consistently ranking in the top five of her class.

Now she was overseeing morning self-study at the podium; her gaze swept across the room and landed on Xu Youyu's empty seat, her brow slightly furrowed in confusion—she couldn't figure out what had happened to Xu Youyu.

She was late—rarely.

But she was already used to Xu Youyu arriving right at the deadline every morning; occasional tardiness wasn't unusual.

Until she noticed a figure lingering at the door; Qin Yawei turned her head and caught sight of Li Luo.

And when Li Luo realized Qin Yawei was looking at him, he didn't bother with formalities—he even waved at her.

"What are you doing in our class?" Qin Yawei asked, puzzled, walking down from the podium to the classroom door.

"Senior Qin, which office is our homeroom teacher in?" Li Luo asked. "I need to see Teacher Cao."

"Fifth floor, Room 501," Qin Yawei said. "Why are you looking for Teacher Cao?"

"To request leave for Miss Xu," Li Luo added, then turned to leave. "Thanks, Senior Qin—I'll go up now."

"Oh…" Qin Yawei stared at Li Luo's retreating back, her expression dazed; then suddenly she realized, "Xu Youyu is on leave… why is this guy the one coming to ask the homeroom teacher?"

And… he called her "Miss Xu"?

Eww~

Qin Yawei made a disgusted face, suddenly recalling the work she'd read after learning about something earlier, and couldn't help but tug at her lips.

"Morals are declining," Qin Yawei muttered under her breath. "What a pair of lovers—could all those things he wrote in his novel really be true? Are you really that willing to take advantage of a younger brother?"

Unlike when Li Luo was in his first year, after nearly two years, Qin Yawei's attitude toward him had changed somewhat.

Although she looked down on online novels, the fact that he was making real money couldn't be denied.

Moreover, the song Li Luo composed for Yuan Wanqing had appeared on the stage of "Singer," and the novel's crossover collaboration had sparked heated discussion across the entire school—almost no one was unaware of it.

Such a prominent figure was no longer the simple freshman who had once declined her club invitation.

One could only say—he had every right to refuse.

Qin Yawei sighed inwardly, but when she returned to the podium, her gaze inevitably fell again on Xu Youyu's seat.

But some people… actually wrote online novels, and wrote such indecent content—don't they even feel ashamed?

The moment Qin Yawei recalled the fragments she'd read, she couldn't help but click her tongue twice.

Although the classic literature she read daily also contained similar passages, they didn't come as frequently as in "Literary Era," where it happened every few pages.

He had quite a few tricks.

Xu Youyu always seemed so proper at school—never expected that behind closed doors…

Just as Qin Yawei was quietly speculating about someone in her mind, Li Luo had already hurried to the fifth floor and found Teacher Cao's office.

He knocked on the door, then pushed it open.

Inside, besides Teacher Cao, there were several other subject teachers; seeing Li Luo walk straight to Teacher Cao's desk, they lowered their heads and returned to their own work.

Teacher Cao, however, looked at Li Luo in surprise: "You're Li Luo, right? What do you need?"

As a school celebrity, Li Luo was currently at the peak of his fame.

Not to mention his personal reputation on campus, just walking through the school gate every morning, the giant screen outside constantly played a documentary about the rock club and literature club.

At least half of the footage featured Li Luo.

It was hard not to recognize his face.

Not to mention Teacher Cao often played basketball with Teacher Kong from Class 8, Grade Two—he was naturally even more familiar with Li Luo.

But he never expected that so early in the morning, Li Luo would come to his office.

"Teacher Cao, this is it," Li Luo said plainly. "Your student Xu Youyu has a fever and is sick; she asked me to request leave for her—she's resting at home today."

"Huh?" Teacher Cao froze for a moment, taken aback, then asked, "She's sick? Why did she send you to request leave?"

"Ahem… she lives off-campus in a rented apartment, and luckily my family owns a house nearby—she's renting that one," Li Luo coughed and explained. "I also live there when I come to school; last night she had a fever, and I took care of her, so today I came by to request leave on her behalf."

Teacher Cao: "…"

"Don't I remember another little girl living in your house?" Teacher Cao gave him a strange look. "Ying Chanxi from Grade Two, right?"

"Ahahaha…" Li Luo chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Teacher Cao, you've got a great memory."

He still remembered something from before Li Luo even enrolled in Grade One.

"Does her family know she's sick and has a fever?" Teacher Cao changed the subject briefly, then returned to the question.

"They don't know yet."

"I see," Teacher Cao pulled open a drawer, rummaged through it, retrieved a student information form, found Xu Youyu's entry, took out his phone, and looked at Li Luo. "I'll need to call her parents."

"Oh, okay," Li Luo nodded.

Teacher Cao was following procedure—he couldn't just let Li Luo request leave for someone so casually.

After all, if anything happened, the teacher would be held responsible.

So Teacher Cao dialed Xu Youyu's mother, Cui Suling; soon, the call connected.

"Teacher Cao?" Cui Suling asked, surprised on the other end. "Is there something wrong?"

"This is it," Teacher Cao continued, recounting what Li Luo had just told him. "…Would you like to confirm the situation further, or how would you like to proceed?"

Although Teacher Cao trusted both Li Luo and Xu Youyu—both were top-performing students—he still preferred to be cautious and have the parents check on their child's condition if possible.

But after listening, Cui Suling fell silent for a few seconds, then asked: "Is Li Luo still there? Teacher Cao, could you let him take the call?"

"Sure." Teacher Cao nodded, turned his gaze to Li Luo, handed him the phone, and gestured with his eyes: "Xu Youyu's mother wants to speak to you."

"Oh." Li Luo nodded and took the phone. "Hello, Aunt Cui?"

"Li Luo." Cui Suling greeted him cheerfully, then asked, "What happened to Youyu?"

"Sister Youyu had a fever last night—38.2°C. I gave her some fever-reducing medicine. This morning it dropped a bit, but it's still 37.9°C," Li Luo said. "I told her to rest at home and came to ask for leave on her behalf."

"I understand. Thanks for your help," Cui Suling said. "Hand the phone back to Teacher Cao."

"Alright."

Teacher Cao took the phone again.

Then Cui Suling's voice came through the line: "Li Luo is still very reliable. Could you please issue a leave slip? I'll go check on Youyu myself at noon."

"Mm, okay," Teacher Cao nodded in confirmation. "No problem from my side. I hope Xu Youyu recovers soon—it's still over a month until the college entrance exam; she must take better care of her health."

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Cao. I'll hang up now."

After hanging up, Teacher Cao issued a leave slip for Xu Youyu.

But after seeing Li Luo off, Teacher Cao stared at his retreating back, his expression slightly odd.

To be fair, if Xu Youyu herself was sick, shouldn't she have called her parents first, then called Li Luo to request leave?

Why is it always Li Luo who handles both her care and the leave request?

Their relationship is truly unusual.

Cui Suling's attitude shows she trusts Li Luo deeply.

Thinking of this, Teacher Cao let it go.

Meanwhile, after securing Xu Youyu's leave, Li Luo returned to his own class for the next lesson.

During the break before the last class of the morning, Li Luo rose again and went to Kong Jun's office to request leave.

"Going home for lunch?" Kong Jun asked, puzzled. "Why?"

"My roommate, Xu Youyu, has a fever and is sick. I'm going to bring her lunch," Li Luo replied honestly. "I'll be back before afternoon class."

Kong Jun trusted Li Luo even more after hearing this and promptly issued a leave slip.

He knew where Li Luo lived—Bihai Lanting was right across the street from school, just a few steps away.

So Kong Jun approved Li Luo's leave.

After the last morning class ended, Li Luo turned to Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng and said: "I'm going home for lunch. You two eat in the cafeteria—I'll bring back lunch for Sister Youyu."

Since Xu Youyu was sick, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had no objections. They nodded quietly and watched Li Luo leave.

Soon after, Li Luo arrived at the school gate with his leave slip, showed it to the security guard, and was let out.

At a restaurant below the residential building, he ordered several dishes Xu Youyu liked, then carried the food boxes back to Bihai Lanting 1502. He brought an extra chair, walked to Xu Youyu's door, and knocked before entering.

"Huh? You're back?" Xu Youyu was lying in bed, not asleep—she'd probably slept enough already that morning.

She held her phone, staring at something, half-sitting against the pillows, looking quite comfortable.

"I brought you lunch," Li Luo said, placing the chair beside the bed and dragging the desk chair over to join it, creating enough space for the food boxes. "Do you feel any better?"

"Not as bad as last night," Xu Youyu leaned over the edge of the bed. "But I still feel a bit feverish."

"Eat first, then take your medicine. After that, I'll check your temperature again," Li Luo said, lifting the lids off each food box. The room instantly filled with aroma.

"Okay~" Xu Youyu replied obediently, then lay flat on the bed like a puppy, opening her mouth toward Li Luo. "Ah~ Feed me~"

"You want me to feed you by hand?"

"I'm sick, aren't I? You have to take care of me," Xu Youyu grinned. "Come on, come on~ Brother's the best~"

"... I think your illness is almost cured."

"Ah~" Hearing this, Xu Youyu immediately clutched her forehead, frowning in apparent distress. "My head hurts, my throat's dry, and my chest feels tight..."

"Open your mouth," Li Luo said, deadpan, picking up a piece of chicken and holding it to her lips.

At once, Xu Youyu snapped back to life and bit down with a loud "Ah-wu!"

"Still hurt?"

"Not anymore, hehe~"