Chapter 559

Ying Chanxi felt her emotions were a mess.

After spending over ten minutes in the bathroom, washing her face with cold water several times, she finally broke free from the inexplicable irritability and regained her calm.

By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, lunch had already ended.

Today it was Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng's turn to clear the dishes, but when Ying Chanxi saw them, she silently joined in to help.

It seemed that only by keeping herself busy could she occupy her mind's space and prevent herself from overthinking.

Li Luo didn't notice anything unusual about Ying Chanxi; he simply asked, "Why were you in the bathroom so long?"

"... My stomach's upset," Ying Chanxi forced out an excuse to brush it off.

"Did you eat something bad?" In the kitchen, Li Luo reached out and pressed his hand against Ying Chanxi's stomach, then gently pinched it, "Feeling better now?"

"I'm fine now," Ying Chanxi's face flushed red; she glanced toward the living room, confirmed that from this angle the sofa couldn't see them, then relaxed and enjoyed Li Luo's touch.

But when Li Luo heard she was fine, he pulled his hand away.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi immediately grabbed his hand back and pressed it against her stomach, then whispered, "I suddenly feel a bit unwell again."

"Touching makes it better?" Li Luo chuckled, then walked behind Ying Chanxi, wrapped his arms around her soft, petite frame, and placed both hands on her small belly, gently stroking and kneading, "Better now?"

"Mmm..." Ying Chanxi leaned lightly against Li Luo, feeling a touch of comfort, her heart warm and soft, the earlier chaos in her mind gradually easing.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng entered the kitchen carrying dishes from the dining table; seeing this scene, she paused, then walked calmly to the sink and placed the dishes inside.

Perhaps thinking of something, Yan Zhusheng glanced at Ying Chanxi, then volunteered, "I'm going to practice piano for a while—Xixi, you wash the dishes for me."

Yan Zhusheng's unusual willingness to step back, without insisting "I want to too" and forcing herself in, surprised Li Luo.

But when Ying Chanxi saw Yan Zhusheng's expression, she instantly understood her thoughts and attitude.

She pressed her lips together, gave Yan Zhusheng a slight nod, and unexpectedly felt a faint pang of guilt.

Yet after Yan Zhusheng left the kitchen, Ying Chanxi quickly sank back into Li Luo's embrace, turning to hug him tightly.

When Li Luo pinned her against the wall and kissed her fiercely, the thought that their elders were all sitting in the living room sent a strong thrill through her, leaving her dazed and breathless.

The longing in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks formed a scene of beauty that stirred pity and affection.

In the end, the dishes took over half an hour to wash.

And in the living room, Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing hadn't left yet, saying they had the whole day off and could stay here.

So Cui Suling suggested going to their place.

Recently, a retired professor from Qianjiang University had returned to his hometown, and this house had a mahjong machine he couldn't take with him.

After hearing about it from Xu Rongsheng, Cui Suling simply bought the secondhand mahjong machine.

Seeing everyone was still free in the afternoon, Cui Suling invited everyone over to their home for a visit, and they could even have dinner there.

Since the afternoon offered no real obligations, and Bihai Lanting had little entertainment beyond a TV in the living room.

So everyone readily agreed and went downstairs to Bihai Lanting.

Ying Zhicheng had one car, Li Guohong had another, and Xu Youyu had one too; ten people drove to Qianjiang University's faculty housing and arrived at Xu Youyu's home.

Cui Suling placed the mahjong machine in the study.

Lin Xiuhong called out to Yuan Wanqing to follow, then pulled Ying Chanxi along, and immediately claimed the mahjong machine for themselves.

Seeing this, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu stood aside to watch; Xu Youyu also turned on the study's computer to see if there were any games to pass the time.

Meanwhile, the three men left in the living room sat on the sofa watching TV, chatting as they watched.

Three grown men—one a film company CEO, one a literature professor at Qianjiang University, one a hotpot restaurant owner—somehow had plenty to talk about, laughing frequently.

In the study, Xu Youyu, having found no interesting games, sat back down beside his mother.

Yan Zhusheng quietly took her seat between Yuan Wanqing and Lin Xiuhong.

As for Li Luo, he glanced at Lin Xiuhong, then at Ying Chanxi across from him, and finally pulled over a stool to sit beside her.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi pressed her lips together, glanced at Li Luo beside her, and felt surprisingly content.

"Wanqing, are you going to stay with Xiuhong's place for the New Year again?" Cui Suling asked while playing mahjong, making casual conversation.

Yuan Wanqing smiled and nodded: "The kids are close; with just me and Zhusheng at home for the holiday, going over there makes it livelier."

"Xixi's family only has three people too; we've always spent New Year's together in the past—it's better when it's lively," Lin Xiuhong chuckled, "Besides, a big star coming to our place for New Year's? That's quite the honor."

Across from them, Ying Chanxi listened to the three aunts chatting, lips pressed tight, silently playing mahjong.

Li Luo sat beside her, peeled an orange, and fed it to her by hand.

Normally, given Ying Chanxi's nature, she'd be embarrassed if Li Luo fed her like this in front of so many people.

But now she willingly opened her mouth, and after he finished feeding her one segment, she quietly urged him for another.

Watching the intimate interaction between Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, Cui Suling grew anxious inside and couldn't help glancing at her own daughter.

But Xu Youyu pointed at her mahjong tiles and said, "Mom, why didn't you play this one? All the tiles it could eat are gone."

"Don't meddle if you're just watching," Cui Suling snapped, "Peel me an orange."

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng had already brought fruit to her mother, and didn't forget Lin Xiuhong either, peeling her an orange too.

Lin Xiuhong happily accepted it, and soon after, she was eating grapes from Xu Youyu's hand.

Ying Chanxi discarded a nine of bamboos for her to declare a kong, triggering a kong-then-win.

This mahjong game was utterly delightful.

"Where did they go?" Cui Suling said mid-game, "Li Luo, go check?"

The study door was open, offering a direct view of the living room, but the three men who had been watching TV on the sofa were now gone.

Li Luo rose as instructed, stepped out of the study, and scanned the living room—then spotted three figures leaning against the balcony railing.

Getting closer, he realized they were smoking.

Xu Rongsheng stood in the middle, Ying Zhicheng and Li Guohong on either side, leaning against the railing and gazing toward Qianjiang University in the distance, cigarettes between their fingers, occasionally drawing a puff.

Because the balcony's glass door was closed and the wind outside was strong, Li Luo couldn't hear what they were talking about.

But as Li Luo approached, he noticed Li Guohong's profile looked startled—even shocked.

"What are you talking about?" Li Luo opened the balcony door and asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Yuan Wancheng flicked ash from his cigarette first, "Just chatting about some entertainment industry gossip."

"Hmm… indeed." Li Guohong's expression was complex, his eyelid twitching involuntarily. Xu Rongsheng, however, remained calm, occasionally stealing glances at Yuan Wancheng, as if still processing some news.

Li Luo didn't suspect anything, stayed on the balcony chatting with the three fathers, and when they finished their cigarettes, turned back to the study.

"They just went out to smoke on the balcony."

"Oh." Cui Suling nodded, "Then ask them if they want to play mahjong? We'll probably stop around three and go buy groceries."

"Alright."

Soon, it was three in the afternoon.

Cui Suling originally planned to take Xu Youyu out to buy groceries by themselves.

But Lin Xiuhong wanted to come too, and Ying Chanxi and Zhu Sheng both offered to help, so Yuan Wanqing joined them.

The women set off together to the market, leaving only the men at home.

Li Luo nearly got dragged along by the girls.

!

But once the mahjong table was free, the three fathers couldn't play without a fourth, so Li Luo stayed behind to keep them company.

While playing mahjong, Xu Rongsheng said, "We can't make it for New Year's Eve—we need to gather our own family here."

"I'll bring Suling and Youyu over on the first day of the new year."

"Since school's on break, visiting relatives isn't urgent—we can stay a few extra days."

Hearing this, Li Guohong smiled and nodded eagerly: "Of course, we've got plenty of empty rooms."

"Mm." Yuan Wancheng also nodded, "There's an empty room upstairs at old Li's place—you and your wife can sleep there."

"Youyu can sleep with us—Ying Chanxi and Zhu Sheng are both there, they can keep each other company."

Li Luo listened as the three men planned their New Year arrangements and raised an eyebrow: "Uncle Xu, you're staying for a few days over the holiday?"

"Yeah," Xu Rongsheng chuckled, "Your countryside place has nice surroundings—we'll come bother you for a few days."

"Then this year's New Year will be even livelier," Li Luo laughed, hoping the elders' relationship would grow even warmer.

The four continued playing mahjong, then Xu Rongsheng suddenly said, "By the way, since you rarely come to our house, I should cook a couple dishes for you."

Hearing this, Li Guohong perked up: "Showing off your knife skills before Guan Gong? I haven't cooked in ages either."

"This…" Yuan Wancheng hesitated, "I could make one dish too."

Knowing Yuan Wancheng's cooking skills, Li Luo felt uneasy, then rolled his eyes and said outright: "Let's not let Mom or Aunt Cui cook tonight—we'll cook ourselves, so they can keep playing mahjong when they get back."

"Not a bad idea," Li Guohong chuckled.

Xu Rongsheng looked slightly embarrassed: "That'd be too much trouble."

"Not trouble," Yuan Wancheng shook his head, "I'll just make one dish—the rest is up to you."

"Uncle Yuan, what are you planning to cook?" Li Luo asked curiously.

"Ying Chanxi likes tomato and egg, so I'll make that."

"Fine," Li Luo nodded, "I'll help you then."

Yuan Wancheng was about to say he didn't need help, but then remembered Li Luo's cooking skills and nodded: "Alright, just watch me."

After agreeing, when Cui Suling returned with the women, they explained the plan, brought the ingredients into the kitchen, and took over the space.

The women were happy to have an easy time and returned to the study to keep playing mahjong.

Meanwhile,

Xu Rongsheng personally cooked two home-style dishes, and Yuan Wancheng, with Li Luo's help, finished the tomato and egg.

The remaining seven or eight dishes were divided between Li Luo and Li Guohong.

Li Guohong ran his own restaurant kitchen, and Li Luo had been a chef in his past life—both cooked quickly.

By six-thirty in the evening, a lavish feast was ready.

The ten people from four families gathered again around the table to enjoy dinner.

They also entered the "Guess the Chef" round.

"This is definitely old Xu's work, and this one too," Cui Suling picked up a piece of chili stir-fried pork and pointed to the sour-spicy potato shreds, smiling, "He only knows how to make these two."

"Just say if it's tasty or not," Xu Rongsheng glanced at his wife and sighed, "You always make these two too spicy—mine are better."

"It's your taste that's too bland," Cui Suling shot him a look and tried another dish.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi picked up chopsticks, took a bite of tomato and egg, and savored it slowly.

Yuan Wancheng noticed and kept watching her reaction.

"Is it good?" Li Luo asked beside her.

"Mm, delicious," Ying Chanxi nodded.

Yuan Wancheng exhaled deeply, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

"That's your dad's cooking—tasty, right?" Li Luo grinned.

Ying Chanxi glanced at him and muttered softly: "I know it's Dad's."

If Li Luo or Li Guohong had made it, it would've been even better.

But this reminded Ying Chanxi of the summer over two years ago, right after her middle school exams, when Li Luo cooked a whole table of dishes for Yuan Wancheng and asked if her dad's cooking was good.

When Ying Chanxi later found out, she'd been slightly annoyed and embarrassed.

Now, recalling it, she couldn't help smiling.

"What are you thinking about? Smiling so happily?" Li Luo picked up a piece of cola chicken wing he'd made and placed it in her bowl.

Ying Chanxi lowered her head, chewing the wing, savoring its flavor, then glanced at Li Luo—her heart felt as if it had found a forever-steady harbor.

"Guess?"

"I guess..." Li Luo now truly fell into thought, then suddenly smiled and leaned close to Ying Chanxi's ear, whispering, "I guess you're wondering whether this dish was made by the real father or the fake father."

At these words, Ying Chanxi realized that Li Luo, like her, had recalled a past amusing memory.

And so, a sweet, tender flavor instantly bloomed within her heart's bud.

(End of Chapter)