Chapter 533: Not the Mother-in-Law, But the Mother-in-Law

Bringing two boxes of foam plastic containers over and delivering them to the formation of Class 3, Freshman Year, Literature Department, this act was highly conspicuous.

At least, people from several surrounding formations already knew that a girl in Class 3 had a boyfriend who brought a box of ice pops and a box of milk tea to reward the entire class.

This move instantly made those in nearby formations envious, jealous, and resentful.

Meanwhile, many also noticed Xu Youyu.

After seeing her stunning face and graceful figure, which even military training uniform couldn't hide, they were left utterly spellbound.

It became perfectly understandable why her boyfriend would willingly run over in this sweltering heat to deliver gifts.

This wasn't just about caring for his girlfriend—it was a declaration of sovereignty.

Any male who had seen Xu Youyu's face found it hard not to harbor covetous thoughts.

But seeing how perfectly matched they were and how deeply devoted they seemed, most simply backed off, sighing inwardly.

The gap between people is this vast—you have to admit it.

You haven't even had your first relationship yet, but this beautiful girl just entering university was already snatched up long before you could blink.

Damn it!

Xu Youyu always understood men's subtle intentions, so she openly and unashamedly clung affectionately to Li Luo in broad daylight.

This tactic alone could repel at least 99% of daily harassment.

It also solidified the public perception of their romantic relationship.

Xu Youyu's lips curled upward; her mood was extremely pleasant.

Even if their relationship was fake in private, what they truly felt for each other—well, those who understand, understand.

Too bad he still had to go through Gao San.

Thinking of this, Xu Youyu sighed helplessly, hoping just this one year would pass a little faster.

As Xu Youyu returned to the formation and resumed military training, Li Luo had already slipped out through the western training ground's exit and was preparing to leave Qianjiang University.

But just then, he ran straight into an acquaintance.

"Senior Li Luo!" Song Yu, dressed in military training uniform, ran over from nearby and waved enthusiastically upon seeing Li Luo.

"Oh, hi." Li Luo, with his Memory Palace, naturally remembered him—the number one sycophant of Jiang Feiya, "Aren't you supposed to be in military training?"

"Cough…" Song Yu coughed nervously, glanced around, then whispered, "I told the instructor I had severe stomach pain and slipped over from the eastern training ground."

"Oh, I see." Li Luo nodded, glancing at the mineral water bottle in Song Yu's hand, then said, "If you came to deliver water, you don't need to go anymore."

"Huh? Why not?" Song Yu looked puzzled.

"I just delivered a box of ice pops and milk tea to their class—everyone got some, including Jiang Feiya. They probably aren't short on water now." Li Luo said simply.

But Li Luo knew that even if he said this, Song Yu would still go anyway.

After hearing Li Luo's words, Song Yu was stunned—he hadn't expected such a move.

Compared to his own yesterday's act of delivering milk tea to Jiang Feiya's three roommates, Li Luo's gesture was clearly far grander.

"Then I'll try it tomorrow too!" Song Yu's spirits lifted, feeling he'd learned a new trick, and said, "Ice pops and milk tea, right? Xiao Ya's whole class has 27 people—each milk tea costs over ten yuan, so that's…."

Doing the math, Song Yu's face immediately twisted in dismay.

Three or four hundred yuan was pocket change to Li Luo, but for a freshman, it was still a significant expense.

His family gave him only two thousand yuan per month for living expenses—already quite generous—but spending three or four hundred yuan at once was still too much for him.

"I'll deliver every day during military training, so you don't need to go," Li Luo reassured him. "Just delivering to Jiang Feiya alone is already plenty."

Li Luo felt somewhat sympathetic toward this little fish in Jiang Feiya's pond and wanted to help him minimize his losses.

But after hearing this, Song Yu looked down at the mineral water in his hand, clenched his teeth, and said: "It's just milk tea! I'll deliver once! Senior, please, let me deliver just once! We won't run into each other."

Li Luo fell silent, watching Song Yu's determined expression, his lips twitching slightly.

His mind was made up…

Then so be it.

Li Luo silently pulled two items from his pocket and shoved them into Song Yu's hand.

"Senior, what's this…?" Song Yu blinked in surprise, looked down, and realized they were two discount vouchers.

"There's a milk tea shop beside the west gate—these are their discount vouchers. Regular price is 10% off, 20% off for orders over a hundred yuan, 30% off for orders over three hundred yuan," Li Luo smiled. "It'll save you a lot."

"This… thank you so much, Senior!" Song Yu clutched the vouchers tightly, deeply moved.

Li Luo waved him off, thinking that since he was buying milk tea anyway, it might as well boost his uncle's sales.

Don't let the benefits flow to outsiders.

Speaking of which, there are so many sycophants and love-struck fools on campus—maybe later, he could get his uncle to organize events related to couples, romance, or confessions.

Might boost sales.

But after thinking it over, Li Luo still kindly warned: "Jiang Feiya doesn't seem particularly fond of you—I think you should take it slow. No need to invest so much."

"Senior, you don't understand," Song Yu replied with a smug smile, hefting the mineral water bottle and gesturing toward Li Luo. "Do you know what this is?"

Li Luo glanced at the bottle, baffled: "It's mineral water."

"No, this isn't ordinary mineral water," Song Yu said solemnly. "This is Xiao Ya's love for me!"

Li Luo: "…"

Seeing Li Luo's confused expression, Song Yu chuckled and explained: "This morning, I brought Xiao Ya a milk tea, and she'd already prepared mineral water for me—she personally gave it to me this morning."

Li Luo blinked—he hadn't expected such a story behind the water, but then he noticed something odd and asked, "If she gave you this water this morning, why haven't you drunk a single drop yet?"

"How could I possibly drink it?" Song Yu shook his head vigorously. "I have to keep it safe—I'll place it beside my bed at night so it feels like Xiao Ya is beside me."

Hearing this, Li Luo fell silent again, deeply respecting Song Yu's sycophantic devotion.

If Jiang Feiya kept stringing him along, Song Yu might turn this bottle of water into a family heirloom.

Seeing how hopeless the situation was, Li Luo said no more, waved goodbye, and turned to leave.

Song Yu, meanwhile, headed toward a nearby fruit shop, planning to buy some chilled watermelon cubes to deliver to his beloved Xiao Ya.

……

At 3:30 p. m., Li Luo slipped back to Bihai Lanting.

At that moment, five people sat at the living room desk: besides Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, it was Zhao Rongjun and the other two.

Since Xu Youyu finished the college entrance exam, the original seven-person study group had become a six-person group.

Yet among the six, the one under the greatest study pressure was clearly Xu Yinghuan, whose grades still hovered around rank 160 in the entire school.

Though Qiao Xinyan and Zhao Rongjun hadn't scored full marks in all three electives, their Chinese, Math, and English were never weak, and their school rankings had always been among the top. Qiao Xinyan needed no explanation—she had been a top student in Class One in freshman year and now consistently ranked within the top twenty.

Zhao Rongjun had slowly climbed from his original position of sixty to seventy, gradually moving into the school's top forty.

For the two of them, as long as they performed steadily during the college entrance exam, admission to Qianjiang University was virtually guaranteed.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, as the current top two students in the entire school, had more than enough strength to compete for Tsinghua or Peking University, let alone meet the threshold of Qianjiang University.

Yan Zhusheng's academic record was already slightly stronger than Xu Yinghuan's, not to mention being an arts candidate—Qianjiang Music College was a sure thing.

So among the six, the one under the greatest college entrance exam pressure was still none other than Xu Yinghuan.

Thus, the six-person study group mostly spent its time helping Xu Yinghuan plug gaps and shore up weaknesses.

With Ying Chanxi, the academic god, holding the fort, Li Luo stepping out to deliver some ice cream and milk tea was no big deal.

"How was your military training, senior?" Yan Zhusheng put down her pen and turned to look at Li Luo as he returned to his seat.

"Looks like she's about to collapse," Li Luo chuckled. "She never listens when we tell her to exercise more. One day of military training already had her reeling—I wonder if she'll even make it through tomorrow."

No error in one sentence, one sentence, one content, one look!

"Didn't you say there's a political work team?" Ying Chanxi, having just helped Xu Yinghuan solve a problem, turned to ask.

"She joins tomorrow—only half a day of military training," Li Luo said. "But even half a day will be enough to break her."

All six recalled Xu Youyu's usual lazy behavior and exchanged a knowing smile.

But soon, Xu Yinghuan plunged back into her studies.

Senior year was coming fast; this coming October, they planned to take the second round of elective exams to boost their scores in the subjects they hadn't yet achieved full marks on.

If they could achieve full marks, it would be perfect.

Only after the elective exams would they get a brief respite, then fully focus on preparing for next year's college entrance exam.

……

That evening, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling cooked dinner for them.

Though Xu Youyu had entered university and no longer came for dinner, Cui Suling had grown accustomed to this routine and still came over to cook as usual.

Whether Xu Youyu was there or not didn't matter—as long as Li Luo was there, Cui Suling was happy to cook for him.

That ungrateful brat of hers never praised a single dish after eating, but Li Luo always knew which dish was made by Lin Xiuhong and which by Cui Suling.

He'd even offer comments, praising how this or that dish was better than before—delicious, truly delicious.

Cui Suling was delighted, and her enthusiasm for cooking each day grew a little stronger.

Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling were now very close friends, almost inseparable.

Either dancing, getting beauty treatments, playing mahjong, or going together to the market to buy vegetables and then returning to Bihai Lanting to cook.

Their bond was so close they might as well sleep in the same bed.

After dinner, Cui Suling, feeling drowsy, simply went to lie down for a nap in Xu Youyu's room.

Li Luo, on his turn to wash dishes, cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, then received a message from Xu Youyu.

He pulled out his phone, glanced at it, smiled wryly, then stepped out of the kitchen and said to Lin Xiuhong on the sofa: "Mom, can you help me?"

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiuhong, eating fruit and watching TV on the sofa, turned to look at him, puzzled.

"At 8:30 tonight, come out with me."

……

At 8:50 p. m., a whistle blew across the west sports field of Qianjiang University.

The first day of military training had finally come to an end.

Xu Youyu, dragging her exhausted body, followed her three roommates toward the south gate.

Zhao Letian glanced left and right, saw how worn out Xu Youyu was, then looked at Jiang Feiya, equally drained, and then at Xie Xiuying, who still looked fine—he couldn't help but laugh.

"You two should learn from Xiuying," Zhao Letian slung an arm around Xie Xiuying's shoulder. "Look at her—she's still holding up. Your stamina is terrible."

"Sports aren't on the college entrance exam," Jiang Feiya sneered, and even took out a small mirror, using her phone's light to check her makeup.

Xu Youyu was too exhausted to speak—she leaned one hand on Zhao Letian's shoulder, the other gripping her waist, feeling her thighs trembling, her feet barely able to hold her up, aching and drained.

But as the south gate drew nearer, she still managed to say to her roommates: "You guys go back to the dorm first—I've got something to do. I'll be back before curfew."

"You're this tired, and you still have something to do?" Zhao Letian raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"Hehe, of course I'm going to rest and recuperate," Xu Youyu smiled. She had reached the south gate entrance and scanned the roadside—immediately locking onto her target, her eyes lit up.

The three roommates, curious, followed her gaze and saw a dark red BMW X3 parked quietly by the curb.

The next second, the passenger door swung open.

Li Luo stepped out, smiling at Xu Youyu.

"My boyfriend came to pick me up," Xu Youyu beamed, whispering to her roommates, then used her last bit of strength to stride straight toward Li Luo.

Zhao Letian's curiosity remained unsatisfied and trailed after her step by step.

Xie Xiuying, still being hugged around the neck, had no choice but to follow.

Jiang Feiya was also curious about the car and followed close beside Xu Youyu to take a look.

"Let's go home and soak your feet to relax," Li Luo opened the rear door for Xu Youyu, urging her in.

At that moment, Lin Xiuhong in the driver's seat also smiled and greeted: "Are these your roommates?"

"Yeah," Xu Youyu got into the car but didn't let Li Luo shut the door yet. She held onto the doorframe, looking out, about to say something.

But Lin Xiuhong had already greeted first: "Hello, everyone! We really appreciate you taking good care of Youyu."

"Auntie, hello."

The three roommates quickly responded politely.

So this was Xu Youyu's mother—Li Luo had come with his mother-in-law? Their relationship was truly extraordinary.

But the next moment, they heard Xu Youyu introduce: "This is Li Luo's mother."

Zhao Letian: "Huh?"

Jiang Feiya: "???"

Xie Xiuying blinked, still confused, not understanding what was going on.

(End of Chapter)