Chapter 557: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

November 6, Saturday, morning.

Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong got up early, washed up briefly, then went together to the market to buy groceries before driving to Bihai Lanting community.

"I made plans with Suling—she'll come over this morning to help me make lunch. You and Lao Ying go to the parent-teacher meeting." Lin Xiuhong said from the passenger seat.

"Got it." Li Guohong nodded. "I'll make breakfast—you can help out a little."

"It's been a long time since you cooked breakfast yourself—haven't you forgotten how?" Lin Xiuhong teased with a chuckle.

"Forty years of practice—you think a couple years will ruin it?" Li Guohong snorted. "Ask Xixi and the others how it tastes later—you'll see."

The couple parked downstairs, picked up several large bags of fresh ingredients, and headed upstairs.

It was only half past five—Li Luo and the others were still asleep.

As they climbed the stairs to Apartment 1502, Lin Xiuhong pulled out her key and opened the door. Li Guohong followed behind, slipped on slippers, and both went straight into the kitchen to get to work.

Meanwhile, in Li Luo's bedroom, the four of them slept peacefully.

At exactly six a. m., his internal clock woke Yan Zhusheng first.

She blinked awake, then climbed onto Li Luo's body.

The movement roused not only Li Luo but also Ying Chanxi on the other side—only Xu Youyu remained fast asleep.

The three of them wriggled around on the bed for a while before finally getting up.

After brushing their teeth and washing their faces together in Li Luo's bathroom, they left his bedroom.

Just then, Lin Xiuhong walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of freshly made tossed noodles and turned to see Li Luo's bedroom door open.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng followed right behind Li Luo, still wearing their panda pajamas and pink pajamas—fully visible to Lin Xiuhong.

Li Luo, walking at the front, froze in place.

"Mom… why are you here?"

"It's parent-teacher day—I figured your dad and I should come early and make you breakfast." Lin Xiuhong glanced at her son, then at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, saying nothing more. "Get up and eat—just made it, was about to come wake you."

"Good morning, Lin Yi," Yan Zhusheng said calmly, showing no sign of embarrassment. As she passed the kitchen, she greeted Li Guohong inside, then sat quietly at the table, ready to eat.

In contrast, Ying Chanxi's face was already flushed red, her lips moving silently without a sound.

She trailed closely behind Li Luo until she neared Lin Xiuhong, then whispered: "I—I just went to Li Luo's room to wake him up…"

"Oh, I see." Lin Xiuhong nodded calmly, not exposing Ying Chanxi's flimsy excuse. She patted Ying Chanxi's head with a smile. "Go eat—your Uncle Li made it. Haven't tasted it in a while, right?"

"Y-yes! Yes!" Ying Chanxi thought she'd gotten away with it, beaming as she sat beside Li Luo and stared at the lavish breakfast.

At that moment, Li Guohong stepped out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of wontons, then added a steamer of xiaolongbao and a small dish of vinegar.

"Minced pork noodles, shrimp wontons, pan-fried dumplings, xiaolongbao," Li Guohong pointed at the table, smiling. "Try them—my cooking hasn't gotten worse, has it?"

Ying Chanxi had already taken a bowl of minced pork noodles and was eagerly stirring it with her chopsticks as she spoke:

"I love Uncle Li's tossed noodles and fried noodles—they're amazing!"

Yan Zhusheng didn't usually like noodles for breakfast, so she picked up a bowl of shrimp wontons, carefully bit a small hole in one, blew on it to cool it, then swallowed it whole.

Enjoying the flavor, Yan Zhusheng unconsciously closed her eyes in pleasure: "Delicious."

Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong now sat down, and the five of them ate breakfast together.

"Where's Youyu? Should we wake her up to eat?" Lin Xiuhong asked.

"She's sleeping in—no class today. Don't bother her." Li Luo, eating dumplings and xiaolongbao, replied. "Dad, your cooking's still great—way better than the breakfast place downstairs."

"If you like it, eat more." Li Guohong loved praise—he brightened up, waved his hand, and said, "If you want, I can come over every morning and cook for you."

"Cough… that's not necessary," Li Luo coughed and immediately declined.

After all, things in Bihai Lanting had gotten increasingly unrestrained among the four of them—there was no need for his parents to stumble upon anything too intimate.

But Li Guohong was just joking.

Occasional visits like this were still a pleasure and a novelty.

If he had to wake up every morning to cook, he couldn't handle it.

After all, it's hard to go from luxury back to frugality.

He now earned a modest ten to twenty thousand a month just from his hotpot restaurant—and once the subway entrance is built and the Times Street commercial zone opens across the street, foot traffic will surge even more.

His current life was sweet—he could never go back to those days of waking up early and working late just to run a breakfast stall.

And all of this was thanks to the underage boy standing right before him.

Every time he thought of it, Li Guohong felt a deep sense of emotion.

"We'll head to school after breakfast," Li Luo said. "You two rest here—the parent-teacher meeting starts at 8:30."

"Got it, got it." Lin Xiuhong waved her hand. "Your Uncle Ying and Aunt Yuan will come over here first—then your dad will go with them to find you in the classroom."

"Alright, I understand."

After breakfast, Li Luo and the two girls changed into their uniforms and left for school.

Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong watched the three children leave, exchanging a glance, both feeling a quiet sense of wonder.

"What's going to happen with their relationship…?" Lin Xiuhong sighed, rubbing her temple. "Will Xixi and Zhusheng get jealous of each other?"

"I think they get along fine," Li Guohong blinked. "And they're still kids—maybe they're not that emotionally mature yet?"

"Hmph, you're clueless," Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes. "When we're around, they'll behave perfectly—I'm talking about when we're not here."

"Then ask your precious son," Li Guohong said helplessly. "But I bet by the time they get to college, things will sort themselves out—unless your son's greedy and refuses to let go of either one."

"I have no idea what's going on in that boy's head," Lin Xiuhong sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. "I can't bring myself to ask—it gives me a headache."

"Let it unfold naturally," Li Guohong sighed too, beginning to clear the table. To lighten the mood, he teased: "What if he really does bring home three daughters-in-law—would you take them all?"

"Stop talking nonsense," Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes, too tired to respond.

"I'm just hypothetically asking—it won't hurt."

"Hmph." Lin Xiuhong snorted. "If he really manages to bring them home, I'll take them all!"

"You're greedy too," Li Guohong chuckled.

……

After clearing and cleaning the dining table, the couple also tidied up the living room.

Considering the children were all grown up and needed their privacy, they didn't help clean the bedrooms.

Mainly because they were afraid of seeing something they shouldn't.

Around eight-thirty, Yin Zhicheng drove Yuan Wanqing to Bihai Lanting to meet Lin Xiuhong and her husband.

Seeing the time was right, Li Guohong set off with them toward the affiliated No. 1 High School.

Lin Xiuhong stayed behind in 1502, waiting another ten minutes or so until Cui Suling arrived.

Although Xu Youyu was now in college and didn't need to attend parent-teacher meetings anymore.

But given the relationship between the four families, and since Yin Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing were coming to the meeting today, the Xu family naturally couldn't miss it.

Cui Suling came over early and helped Lin Xiuhong prepare lunch in the kitchen.

With ten people from four families, the meal required considerable preparation; starting now meant it would be just about ready by noon.

Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling were highly skilled in this, working together with great tacit understanding, moving quickly and efficiently.

As they cooked, they chatted and laughed, so it wasn't boring.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Li Guohong and the other two arrived at the entrance of the affiliated No. 1 High School and, guided by the student union, walked toward the Grade 12 teaching building.

Because of her celebrity status but wanting to avoid attention, Yuan Wanqing took off her usual sunglasses and switched to black-rimmed, lensless glasses.

Her long hair hung loose on both sides, her makeup minimal; unless one looked closely, it would be hard to recognize her as Yuan Wanqing, the frequent TV personality.

The three of them walked straight to Class 8 of Grade 12, entered, greeted the homeroom teacher, then took their seats under Li Luo's guidance.

But at that moment, Yin Zhicheng coughed and said to Li Guohong: "Old Li, you sit in Xixi's seat. I'll sit behind with Wanqing—we still have some things to discuss with her."

"Oh, alright." Li Guohong didn't think much, nodded, and sat in Ying Chanxi's seat, directly in front of Li Luo.

Yin Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing then took the seats once occupied by Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng.

After moving aside, Yan Zhusheng went to pour water for the three parents, then quietly left the classroom to wait in an empty classroom on the roof.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, as class president and vice president, had to stay in the classroom to assist Kong Junxiang in holding the parent-teacher meeting.

As the top student in the entire grade, Ying Chanxi would later take the stage to deliver a speech as a student representative.

But when Ying Chanxi saw her father sitting in Li Luo's seat beside Yuan Wanqing, her expression darkened for an instant.

Yet it returned to normal immediately.

Li Luo on the podium saw this and twitched his lips, barely holding back a smile—he felt Uncle Yin was becoming increasingly bold.

Weren't they supposed to wait until college to reveal their relationship?

Shouldn't you two be avoiding suspicion right now?

Fortunately, Yin Zhicheng knew his daughter was watching, so he simply sat beside Yuan Wanqing without any extra gestures.

The parent-teacher meeting proceeded normally.

For the parents of Li Luo and the other two, attending this meeting posed no challenge whatsoever.

Kong Junxiang also knew these three had little to discuss; most of the time, he focused on the parents of average-performing students.

As for Li Guohong and the other two, all they needed to do was smile and nod whenever Kong Junxiang praised their child.

……

The parent-teacher meeting proceeded without incident.

Meanwhile, at Bihai Lanting 1502, it was past ten in the morning.

Cui Suling had planned to wake Xu Youyu, but went to her room and found her gone, assuming she'd slept at the school dormitory last night.

So she sent Xu Youyu a message reminding her to come back for lunch.

At that moment, Lin Xiuhong felt the urge to urinate, stepped out of the kitchen, and headed for the bathroom.

Just then, Li Luo's bedroom door opened.

Xu Youyu, still in her pajamas and half-asleep, stepped out, yawning with her eyes half-closed, not noticing Lin Xiuhong entering the bathroom.

But before entering the bathroom, Lin Xiuhong caught sight of Xu Youyu emerging from her own son's bedroom.

"Huh? Is someone in there?" Xu Youyu reached the bathroom door on the hallway and found it locked, asking aloud.

"Cough… It's me, Youyu," Lin Xiuhong said from inside. "Wait a moment."

"Oh, no problem, I can just use Li Luo's bathroom." Xu Youyu said, then suddenly realized, "Wait—why are you here, Lin Yi?"

"Today's Li Luo's parent-teacher meeting—we're having a family lunch together. Didn't Li Luo tell you?"

"Oh right, I remember now." Xu Youyu, still groggy from sleep, finally woke up a bit.

After using Li Luo's bedroom bathroom, she stepped out again and spotted her mother at the kitchen door, waving: "Mom, you're here too?"

"Huh?" Cui Suling had been cooking and hadn't heard the hallway conversation; now startled by Xu Youyu's voice, she jumped, "Where did you come from?!"

Xu Youyu: "...?"

"What do you mean 'where did you come from'? I live here—where else would I come from?"

"Nonsense." Cui Suling snapped back, rolling her eyes. "I went to your room to wake you up—you weren't there! Where did you sleep last night?"

"Oh… this…?" Xu Youyu grew nervous, avoiding eye contact, then blurted out an excuse: "I slept with Chanxi last night—I was just in her room."

Lin Xiuhong, having just finished using the bathroom, returned to the kitchen door and heard Xu Youyu's words—she gave the girl a long, knowing look.

But since Cui Suling was right there, Lin Xiuhong couldn't say much.

Could she really tell her, "Your daughter slept in my son's bed last night"?

And it wasn't just the two of them—two other girls were there too.

If she said that, she feared Cui Suling might collapse.

(End of Chapter)