Chapter 521

"Ahh~ So tired!"

The first thing Xu Youyu did upon returning to the hotel was to collapse onto the bed.

"I know you're exhausted, but why did you just throw yourself onto my bed?" Li Luo looked at Xu Youyu, completely sunk into his mattress, and couldn't help but wear an exasperated expression. "Go take a shower first."

"No way~ Later, okay?" Xu Youyu weakly flailed on the bed, rolled over, and stared up at the ceiling, looking utterly drained.

Although Li Luo and the others were also tired, they still seemed to be holding up fine—Xu Youyu was genuinely on the verge of collapse.

She'd never been physically strong; today she'd wandered around all afternoon, then climbed up and down Hongya Cave after dinner. If not for the second half of the trip, when she walked alone with Li Luo and leaned on him, she felt she wouldn't have made it back.

"That tired?" Li Luo came out of the bathroom and glanced at Xu Youyu, who was breathing heavily on the bed, then chuckled. "What are you going to do? There are still several more days ahead."

"I feel like my legs aren't mine anymore." Xu Youyu gently wiggled her feet, still dangling over the edge of the bed; they ached and throbbed, and even the slightest movement was painful.

Seeing this, Li Luo thought for a moment, then called the hotel front desk.

Not long after, a knock came at the door. Li Luo took a basin from the attendant, filled it with hot water in the bathroom, and carried it to the bedside.

"What are you doing?" Xu Youyu, resting on the bed, saw Li Luo standing by the bed with the basin, about to touch her, and raised an eyebrow.

"Let me give you a foot soak—relax a bit."

As Li Luo spoke, he patted her legs. "Lie still. Don't move your feet."

"Oh." Hearing this, Xu Youyu immediately stopped moving and began to enjoy it.

She felt Li Luo's hand grip her right ankle, while his other hand gripped the back of her shoe and gently pushed—slipping it off.

Soon, the other shoe was also removed from her feet and placed on the floor beside the bed.

"Maybe I should take off my socks myself…" Xu Youyu suddenly realized she'd walked all day; having Li Luo help her remove her socks felt embarrassingly intimate.

Her two bare feet, still wrapped in white socks, rubbed against each other slightly near the floor, betraying her shyness.

But Li Luo showed no hesitation—he gripped her ankle and simply pulled the socks right off.

"After your soak, once you feel better, go take a shower. Have the attendant collect your dirty clothes—the hotel has laundry and drying service." Li Luo placed the socks beside the shoes, then lifted her feet and slid the basin beneath them.

"Test the water temperature."

"Mm."

Xu Youyu lightly touched the water's surface with her toes, tested it, found it slightly hot but bearable, then submerged both feet fully into the warm water.

The next second.

Feeling the cool air-conditioning of the room and the warmth rising from her feet, Xu Youyu sighed in relief, every pore of her body seeming to open up.

The next instant, as she closed her eyes, she felt a kneading sensation along her calves.

Opening her eyes, she saw Li Luo crouched beside the bed, massaging her calf muscles.

He started at her calves, moving upward to her thighs.

As he rubbed, squeezed, tapped, and pressed, Xu Youyu truly felt her muscles relax.

It was already much better than when she'd first returned to the hotel.

Thinking this, when Li Luo finished massaging her thighs and crouched again to knead her feet, after enjoying his service, she whispered softly: "I feel my hands are tired too."

"Your hands are tired too?" Li Luo laughed, but didn't refuse. He wiped the water from his hands, then rose and returned to the bed. "Which hand?"

"Both hands." Xu Youyu grinned, lifting both hands toward Li Luo.

As Li Luo reached out to grasp her hands, Xu Youyu suddenly gripped his hands tightly and yanked hard—pulling Li Luo fully into her arms.

Even lying flat, Xu Youyu's ample chest made Li Luo acutely aware of her presence.

Forced to lie atop her, surprised by her sudden move, Li Luo looked down at her smiling face and couldn't resist—his lips met hers with perfect aim.

But before they could linger long, a knock came at Li Luo's door.

"Dry your feet." Li Luo handed Xu Youyu the clean towel beside the bed, then rose and walked toward the door.

Xu Youyu remained lying on the bed, pressing her lips together, still craving more—she was annoyed by the knock.

But she could guess who it was.

So she quickly tidied her disheveled clothes, pulled her hem back down to her waist, covering the small belly that had been exposed, then picked up the towel Li Luo had given her and dried her feet.

At that moment, Li Luo had opened the door, and in walked Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng.

"You're here?" Li Luo wasn't surprised, only asked, "Have you showered?"

"Yes." Yan Zhusheng nodded, her expression calm as she entered from the hallway. Seeing Xu Youyu by the bed, she showed no surprise and climbed onto the bed without hesitation.

Ying Chanxi followed behind, nodding silently, saying nothing.

Though her face appeared composed, Li Luo sensed her mood was off.

"Are you upset today?" Li Luo waved his hand in front of her face, assuming she was upset because she'd been forced to split up with him during the Hongya Cave visit.

But Ying Chanxi shook her head. Hearing his concern, a soft spot inside her trembled, and she couldn't help but lean slightly into his arms.

She rested her forehead gently against his chest, her hands hanging loosely at her sides, simply absorbing his presence and breath.

But when Li Luo made no further move, Ying Chanxi shifted slightly and whispered softly: "Hold me."

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately raised his arms and pulled her into his embrace—one hand stroking the back of her head, the other wrapped around her slender waist.

Even so, Ying Chanxi still felt unsatisfied.

She raised her own arms, wrapping them tightly around his waist and back, her small hands clutching his shirt with all her strength.

Li Luo could even feel the pressure of her nails digging into his back.

"Hold me tighter, okay?" Ying Chanxi whispered pleadingly in his arms.

Li Luo had no idea what had happened to her—he simply assumed she was jealous and wanted to cling to him longer, to have him all to herself.

So without overthinking, he tightened his hold as she asked, as if trying to press her entire body into his own.

In this crushing embrace, Ying Chanxi felt completely enveloped by Li Luo's presence.

So safe…

Full of security. No fear of being abandoned.

It was as if Li Luo would never leave her.

"What's going on today?"

Li Luo felt the tightness of Ying Chanxi's embrace and smiled, looking down at the girl burying her face in his chest, gently kissing her forehead.

Perhaps sensing Li Luo's kiss, Ying Chanxi lifted her head, tilting her small face upward and slightly rising onto her toes.

The next moment, Li Luo was pushed against the wall.

This seemed to be the first time Ying Chanxi had pinned Li Luo against the wall.

In the past, it had always been the other way around.

But Li Luo did not dislike it; on the contrary, he enjoyed it.

After kissing him, Ying Chanxi leaned against Li Luo's chest, breathing lightly, her mood clearly improved.

Please… collect… 6… 9… books…!

At that moment, Xu Youyu's voice came from beside them.

"Are you done? If so, I'm going back to take a shower."

Startled by Xu Youyu's voice, Ying Chanxi instinctively pulled away from Li Luo's arms and realized Xu Youyu was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, smiling at them.

"S-senior… when did you get here?"

Logically, Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng had both been lying on the bed, and due to their angle, they couldn't have seen what was happening by the door.

That was why Ying Chanxi had mustered the courage to reverse-pin Li Luo and restore her mood with a kiss.

But Xu Youyu had seen everything.

"It's fine, I just got here," Xu Youyu said cheerfully, yet her expression clearly suggested she had been watching for some time.

Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed slightly, but this familiar feeling brought her greater comfort, her heart settling inexplicably.

"Are you going to take a shower, senior?"

"Mm-hmm," Xu Youyu nodded, stepping out the door and waving at them, "Open the door for me later—I'm going to take a quick shower first."

"Okay~" Ying Chanxi nodded, then turned to Li Luo, sniffed his chest, and gave him a light push, "You should go wash too—you smell like sweat."

"So disgusted, yet you hugged me so tightly just now?" Li Luo laughed.

"Where was it tight…?" Ying Chanxi avoided his gaze, muttering softly, then shuffled over to the bed in her slippers.

Li Luo walked to the suitcase, pulled out his change of clothes, carried Xu Youyu's foot-washing water into the bathroom and poured it out, then prepared to shower.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi, who had just lain down on the bed, noticed Yan Zhusheng had turned her body toward the bathroom, staring fixedly at it.

Although this hotel's bathroom wasn't as absurd as the one Li Luo had experienced before, it wasn't fully solid—it was separated from the bedroom by frosted glass.

Through the frosted glass, only a faint black silhouette could be seen inside.

Though no details were visible, the human mind is best at filling in the blanks.

Merely watching Li Luo's silhouette in the bathroom made Ying Chanxi's cheeks grow warm, as if she could see right through to the scene inside.

Yan Zhusheng turned her head back, meeting Ying Chanxi's gaze filled with "appreciation," and asked, "Chanxi, do you really want to shower with Li Luo?"

"What are you talking about, Zhusheng… I—I don't have such thoughts!" Ying Chanxi's face instantly turned as red as a boiling kettle.

Just imagining herself and Li Luo showering together made her body flush, her face burning, and she instinctively hugged herself tightly.

Seeing her embarrassment, Yan Zhusheng wasn't shy at all; instead, she said seriously, "We've showered together before—what's the difference if I shower with Li Luo?"

"H-how can that be the same?" Ying Chanxi widened her eyes. "How can a boy and a girl shower together?"

"Then can a boy and a girl sleep together?" Yan Zhusheng countered.

"That…" Ying Chanxi was speechless.

As for sleeping, of course they could—but it depended on the relationship.

Their current situation was an unspoken understanding, yet Yan Zhusheng always fired direct soul-questions that left Ying Chanxi unprepared.

She didn't know how to answer properly.

Fortunately, Li Luo showered quickly, finishing in minutes, drying off, changing clothes, and stepping out of the bathroom.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi scrambled off the bed, avoiding Yan Zhusheng's question, grabbed the hairdryer from the desk, and pulled Li Luo to sit down at the desk.

"I'll dry your hair for you—sit still."

"Mm," Li Luo sat down comfortably, enjoying Ying Chanxi's gentle service, while opening his laptop on the desk.

For this salon event, since it involved a Platinum contract, Editor Qianzhou had no authority to interfere and didn't come to Yuzhong City at all.

Although the salon took place on the weekend, for Qidian's editors, even though the company officially had weekends off, they still didn't rest.

When authors messaged with urgent matters, editors had to reply.

Especially for authors like Li Luo, editors were on 24/7 standby—any message received while awake had to be answered immediately.

After logging into QQ, Li Luo sent several messages to Editor Qianzhou, and even though it was already 10:30 PM, he received an instant reply.

He shared some negotiation outcomes; upon learning Li Luo's progress was smooth, Qianzhou sighed in relief, clearly pleased.

Although after becoming Platinum, Li Luo's communication with the chief and executive editors increased, Editor Qianzhou still gained many advantages.

Especially since Qianzhou had only worked at Qidian for two years and had already mentored a Platinum-level author—this credential was enough to firmly secure his position in the company.

Qidian currently had nine editorial teams, each with at least two or three editors, some even four or five.

Yet only a handful of authors became Platinum each year—each editorial team might not even get one.

The value of this achievement is obvious.

"Are you going to write more?" Ying Chanxi turned off the hairdryer, glanced at Yan Zhusheng on the bed, then plopped down on Li Luo's lap, asking sideways.

Though the girl in his arms smelled sweet, Li Luo still nodded with strong willpower: "Just a little."

(End of Chapter)