Chapter 551: The Correct Way to Open the Memory Palace

"Ah!!"

"Y-You've left!"

When Li Luo re-covered Xu Youyu with the blanket, awkward yet reluctant, he stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door—Xu Youyu's mind was still dazed.

Yesterday, she had thought Li Luo's promise to her mother to take her jogging was merely a token gesture to appease Cui Suling.

But she never expected this kid was serious.

And he even pulled off the blanket outright!

The day before yesterday, in Li Luo's hotel room in Jingzhao City, she'd found sleeping like that quite comfortable, so last night she tried it again.

True, she'd worn underwear—but… but…

Xu Youyu, under the blanket, face flushed crimson, hugged her chest tightly with both hands beneath the covers—yet if one could see through the blanket, the effect was even more alluring.

Besides… when the blanket had just been yanked off, Xu Youyu hadn't had time to cover herself.

So Li Luo had definitely seen everything clearly!

Just thinking of it, even Xu Youyu—who was used to driving like a pro—was still fundamentally a virgin, and being seen naked, even by someone she liked, made her cheeks burn and her whole body flush.

She was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Fortunately, it was only a moment—Xu Youyu snapped back to herself and immediately covered up, while Li Luo reacted in time and hastily re-covered her.

But even so…

Xu Youyu's gaze turned toward the bedroom door, her emotions growing complex; she gently bit her lip.

I wonder what Li Luo's feeling right now? Maybe he's secretly delighted?

Xu Youyu let out a quiet whimper, then couldn't help but feel like a little girl, anxious and uncertain.

She cupped her chest with both hands, sinking into thought.

Don't guys all prefer bigger ones?

Right? Right?

Oh well, since he already saw everything, I might as well have let him look longer earlier.

After her heart settled, Xu Youyu began muttering to herself again.

But given what happened this morning, Li Luo clearly wouldn't come to take her jogging anymore.

In the end, it was Ying Chanxi—who still knew nothing—who was sent by Li Luo to the bedroom door to call out to Xu Youyu; then the three of them left for the affiliated middle school.

As for Xu Youyu…

Though physically still sleepy, her mind was wide awake—she couldn't fall back asleep for the life of her.

Finally, she mustered her resolve, got out of bed, hastily dressed, sat at her desk, turned on the computer, cleared her mind, and started typing.

Near noon, Xu Youyu emerged from her typing trance, looked at the eight thousand words she'd written in one go, and instantly felt refreshed and invigorated.

Her mental state had fully shed the morning's shyness and awkwardness.

After all, Li Luo was hers eventually—so what if he saw everything?

Once she'd made peace with it, Xu Youyu stopped dwelling on the incident, checked the time, and made plans with her roommates for lunch.

At this moment, Xie Xiuying had just finished her morning part-time job, and Zhao Letian had returned from the badminton court, showered, and was about to eat lunch.

Jiang Feiya had gone back to Bailu City during National Day and hadn't returned to campus yet, so the three of them arranged to meet at a small restaurant beside Qian's South Gate.

With Xu Youyu's current income, she never minded paying for meals—especially since her roommate Xie Xiuying came from a poor family, so Xu Youyu always found ways to treat her.

"Actually, I'm fine eating the school cafeteria," Xie Xiuying muttered quietly after they met at the gate.

"Oh come on, I'm just craving it—this place's Maple Tofu is only slightly worse than Li Luo's, and it's still delicious," Xu Youyu said with a grin, looping an arm around Xie Xiuying's neck, "Come have lunch with me."

Pulling Xie Xiuying into the restaurant, Xu Youyu motioned Zhao Letian to sit and told her to order.

Northeastern girls never haggle over such things—Zhao Letian didn't bother being polite with Xu Youyu and ordered several meat dishes.

While waiting for the food, the three began chatting.

"Didn't Li Luo come with you today?" Zhao Letian asked curiously, "Didn't you two go to Jingzhao City for vacation a few days ago?"

"Yeah," Xu Youyu nodded at the mention of Li Luo, her cheeks flushing slightly as she recalled the morning's incident, "We stayed four days there, came back yesterday. He had things to do the last few days—we couldn't be glued together all the time."

Li Luo was a second-year student in the Computer Science Department; having other obligations during National Day—like school events or department tasks—was perfectly normal.

Zhao Letian didn't think twice; she had no idea Li Luo was still a pure-hearted high school boy next door at the affiliated middle school.

"You two really get along well. So, what did you visit in Jingzhao City?" Zhao Letian asked.

"Just the usual spots," Xu Youyu counted off on her fingers, "The Forbidden City, watching the flag-raising at Tiananmen, the Great Wall—oh, and I saw Yuan Wanqing's concert too."

"The Yuan Wanqing who sings 'Under the Flying Cloud' and 'Light'?" Xie Xiuying's eyes lit up—rarely did she interject so eagerly, whispering to Xu Youyu.

"Yeah," Xu Youyu looked surprised, then smiled, "You like her?"

Xie Xiuying nodded, then shook her head: "I—I just really like those two songs."

"She sang both at the concert—so beautiful," Xu Youyu said. "Next time, we can go together."

"No no no," Xie Xiuying immediately shook her head and waved her hands, "Tickets are way too expensive."

Even the cheapest mountain-top tickets usually cost at least one or two hundred yuan.

Front-row inner-court tickets? Easily thousands—buying from scalpers? Even more, sometimes over ten thousand.

For someone like Xie Xiuying, such spending was utterly unaffordable.

Even the cheapest ticket—two hundred yuan—was more than a week's living expenses for her.

Xu Youyu didn't press further.

She could easily have bought Xie Xiuying a ticket—even used Li Luo's connections to get in free—but this was just casual chat; no need to take it seriously.

When the dishes arrived, the three began eating.

They chatted about campus gossip while savoring the food.

Xie Xiuying treasured these meals paid for by her roommate, but she didn't wolf them down—instead, she chewed slowly, savoring every bite, her eyes shining with happiness.

And just as the three of them were nearly finished eating, a message arrived in their dorm WeChat group.

None of them moved their phones—clearly, it was Jiang Feiya's message.

【Jiang Feiya】: Are you free this evening on the 7th? Song Yu wants to treat us to dinner.

【Zhao Letian】: I'm free, sure, but if you're letting him treat us, does that mean you two are officially together now?

【Jiang Feiya】: Don't overthink it—he insisted on treating us, it has nothing to do with me.

【Xu Youyu】: You should still stop him from spending money.

Xu Youyu had learned plenty about Song Yu from Li Luo, and found this brother utterly baffling.

Of course, she also didn't hold much regard for Jiang Feiya's fishing tactics.

Whenever a guy pursued her, Xu Youyu always tried to reject him as quickly as possible, doing everything she could to make him give up early and stop bothering her.

But for Jiang Feiya, being pursued and surrounded by guys felt like an extra treat.

【Jiang Feiya】: Oh come on, it's just one meal—didn't Li Luo treat us before too?

【Xu Youyu】: That hotpot place is his dad's—he eats for free. Besides, he's not short on cash, unlike Song Yu.

【Jiang Feiya】: Anyway, he's already picked the restaurant—just come along and have dinner with us, it's not some fancy place.

【Jiang Feiya】: Oh, by the way, don't forget to invite your Li Luo too.

Xu Youyu frowned at the chat log, saw Jiang Feiya had made up her mind, and stopped refusing.

She just hoped that guy named Song Yu would wake up to reality soon.

No one else would go this far just to please someone.

Thinking of this, Xu Youyu seized the opportunity to send Li Luo a message.

……

At that moment, Li Luo had just finished lunch with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng in the cafeteria of Fuyi Middle School, and was strolling back to his classroom for nap time.

After the two girls returned to their seats, Ying Chanxi turned around in front of Yan Zhusheng and handed Li Luo one of her earbuds.

Whether or not the two had privately agreed on something, every day at nap time, they now took turns lending him the earbud—so Li Luo no longer had to suffer.

No mistakes, no skipped songs, no missing content—every single one listened to!

Taking Ying Chanxi's earbud, Li Luo slipped it into his left ear, pulled out the blue pillow Yan Zhusheng had won in a lottery, placed it on his desk, and prepared for his nap.

Then he began to stare into space.

"What are you thinking about?" Yan Zhusheng turned to look at him, curious.

"Oh… nothing." Li Luo turned his head, met Yan Zhusheng's gaze, then instinctively glanced down—and immediately looked away, shaking his head.

After savoring the scene in his mind for a long while, Li Luo heard the nap bell ring, finally lowered his head, and silently marveled.

The Memory Palace is truly a wonderful thing.

Xu Youyu thought he'd only caught a fleeting glimpse of the view.

But for Li Luo, who possessed the Memory Palace, a single instant was eternity.

Though secretly admiring it inside the Memory Palace felt a bit sleazy, Li Luo still couldn't help replaying it a little longer.

After all, he hadn't paid attention in class at all today.

Xu Youyu's figure was just too unfair.

And for Li Luo, this was likely the first time in both his lives that he'd seen such a sight with his own eyes.

Hmm… not counting the ones in videos.

The impact was too great—he still hadn't recovered.

I wonder if Xu Youyu is angry…

Should I find a chance tonight to apologize when I get home?

As Li Luo thought of these things, Ying Chanxi's earbud played "Little Dimples," while his mind endlessly looped the unbidden, uncontrollable scene.

Finally unable to sleep, Li Luo quietly reached into his desk and pulled out his phone to check.

There was a message from Song Yu.

Li Luo opened it, just to distract himself.

【Song Yu】: Senior, I'm treating everyone—including Jiang Feiya and her roommates—to dinner on the evening of the 7th. You absolutely must come.

Holy crap.

I'm technically Xu Youyu's official boyfriend—fine, treating her roommates is one thing.

But you and Jiang Feiya aren't even close—why are you treating her roommates too?

Li Luo's reaction to this message was nearly identical to Xu Youyu's.

He'd planned to refuse, to spare him some expense.

But then he received another message from Xu Youyu.

【EarlySleepGrowsTaller】: Can you get out of school on the evening of the 7th?

【EarlySleepGrowsTaller】: Song Yu insists on treating our whole dorm to dinner and wants you there too—if you can make it, come; if not, don't bother.

Seeing Xu Youyu reach out to him, Li Luo raised an eyebrow and felt a quiet sigh of relief.

Looks like Youyu-jie isn't too mad after all.

【Chongran】: I'll definitely come—even if our homeroom teacher won't grant leave, I'll sneak out over the wall.

【EarlySleepGrowsTaller】: Please, if you ask for leave, do you think your homeroom teacher won't approve?

【Chongran】: If I say I'm going out with my girlfriend, he probably won't.

【EarlySleepGrowsTaller】: Hmph! Come if you want, that's it.

【Chongran】: Where are you now? Still at home? Did you eat lunch?

【EarlySleepGrowsTaller】: Eating now—with my roommates.

【Chongran】: Are you staying in the dorm tonight or going home?

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: Why? Are you planning to come again tomorrow morning and pull the blanket off again? I haven't settled accounts with you yet.

【Chongran】: Cough… It was my fault this morning. I won't do it again.

Xu Youyu, still eating, frowned at Li Luo's reply, slightly annoyed.

What do you mean "won't do it again"?

I never said you couldn't look.

You're so dumb.

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: I usually wear pajamas. Last night was an accident—I forgot to put them on.

Li Luo stared at this reply and fell silent.

Is Youyu-jie telling him not to pull the blanket… or telling him to?

But it doesn't matter—so long as she's not truly angry.

【Chongran】: What do you want for late-night snacks? I'll cook for you tonight.

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: Fried noodles? Fried rice? Or…

【Chongran】: …Are you speeding?

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: Hahaha~

Seeing Xu Youyu still had the energy to joke, Li Luo finally relaxed and smiled helplessly.

【Chongran】: Be serious.

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: I bought some instant noodles and haven't finished them. I want fried instant noodles—with chicken wings added, ideally. That'd be perfect.

【Chongran】: Fine, but you buy the chicken wings yourself and put them in the fridge.

【SleepEarlyGrowTall】: Okay~ I'll buy extra—Xixi and Zhusheng will probably want some too.

The two chatted on their phones, and the noon passed quickly.

When the end-of-nap bell rang, Li Luo realized they'd been chatting for over half an hour.

"Earphones," Ying Chanxi, sitting in front, turned around after nap ended and softly extended her hand to remind Li Luo.

Li Luo silently removed his earphones, still playing "A Little Sweet," and returned them.

Ying Chanxi took them happily, stored them away, and casually turned off the loop on her phone's QQ Music playlist titled "Nap Special."

(End of Chapter)