Chapter 577

January 16, 10:00 a. m.

After finally dragging Xu Youyu out of bed, Li Luo waited for her to finish washing up and change clothes, then took the three girls out of the house toward the nearby Sky Ridge Elegant Residence.

The parents had also made plans to meet, but only for dinner.

So only the kids were here for lunch.

Xu Youyu drove her red BMW X3, picked up Li Luo and the other two, entered the address for Sky Ridge Elegant Residence, and followed the navigation there.

This place was not far from Qianjiang University, also at the foot of Ningshan, just slightly farther west.

It was only about a kilometer from Bihai Lanting, and within minutes, Xu Youyu arrived.

After explaining the specific building to the security guard at the gate, Xu Youyu's car was allowed in and drove into the underground garage entrance.

Yan Zhusheng also called Xu Yinghuan at the right moment, and under her directions, they easily reached the parking spot beneath her building.

"Here, here!" Xu Yinghuan stood in the middle of the driveway, wearing a beige down jacket, waving enthusiastically toward Xu Youyu's approach, "Park right here~"

"Can all these spots park here?" Xu Youyu asked, opening her window as she prepared to park.

"That one over there, and these two across the way," Xu Yinghuan said. "My dad won't be home at noon—just park right here."

She pointed to the empty spot beside the entrance to the basement level one and told Xu Youyu to pull right in.

Once the car stopped, Li Luo got out from the front passenger seat and looked around curiously.

Sky Ridge Elegant Residence was a small villa community, with a layout unlike ordinary residential areas.

There was no open-air parking lot; the entire community had only underground parking, and each household had a basement level one, with direct access to the garage.

The spot where Xu Youyu was parking now was essentially Xu Yinghuan's family's own free garage.

In addition, the two parking spots across the driveway were also purchased by their family.

Thus, after parking, you could step out and walk straight into the house—it was indeed very convenient.

Everyone followed Xu Yinghuan up a half-story-high staircase to the entrance of her basement level one.

After changing into slippers, they were led inside by Xu Yinghuan.

"Junge and Xinyan have been here before; they're still on the way, so I'll show you around first~"

As she spoke, Xu Yinghuan pointed to the fitness equipment: "Hmm… this is a clothesline, haha~"

"No one ever uses the treadmill or elliptical machine anymore. My mom bought them saying she'd use them every day, but they just gathered dust."

"In the end, I used them the most."

Passing through the small living room where fitness equipment had been placed near the entrance, Xu Yinghuan led them to the staircase.

At this point, she pointed toward the deeper area and said: "That's the nanny's room—she sleeps here and rarely goes upstairs except during work hours."

"And this is the elevator—very small, barely fits five or six people at once."

"Let's take the stairs up."

As they climbed the stairs to the first floor, the view suddenly opened up.

Before them was an open-plan tea room on the first floor.

To the left of the tea room was the dining room and kitchen; to the right was a larger, more spacious living room.

East of the living room was the main entrance of the villa.

"The second floor is the study, where my grandparents also have their bedroom."

"The third floor is my parents' and my bedroom; the fourth floor has a mahjong room and other spaces."

As Xu Yinghuan spoke, she saw a message from Qiao Xinyan saying they had arrived at the gate, so she rushed Li Luo and the others to the front door.

"Xinyan and Junge are here—let's go check out the yard."

The group followed Xu Yinghuan out the front door, descended a set of steps, and took two more steps to reach the garden gate.

Qiao Xinyan and Zhao Rongjun were already waiting outside the iron gate, waving at them.

"Here you are~" Xu Yinghuan ran over, opened the gate for them, then led them around the house.

The front yard was small; Xu Yinghuan had installed a swing beside the living room window, where she often came to daydream when bored.

The backyard was much more spacious; a small plot of land had been cleared in the eastern corner of the lawn and fenced off.

Xu Yinghuan pointed to the vegetable garden and laughed: "When my dad first wanted to bring my grandparents to live in the city, Grandpa wasn't happy."

"After staying here a few days, he asked if he could grow things in the land behind the house."

"My dad said he could grow anything—he agreed to move in."

On the west side of the yard was a small pavilion, with a stone table and four stone benches; the center of the table was carved with a Chinese chess board.

Xu Yinghuan walked to the stone table, pulled out a drawer from underneath, and inside was indeed a set of Chinese chess.

"When my dad has free time, he plays chess with Grandpa. I can play too, but Grandpa says my game's terrible and refuses to play with me."

"Junge is pretty good at Chinese chess," Xu Yinghuan said, turning to Zhao Rongjun. "Didn't you play a little with Grandpa last time? He actually praised you afterward."

Hearing this, Li Luo raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at his best friend.

Under the gaze of everyone, Zhao Rongjun grew flustered and waved his hands frantically: "Don't talk about that—aren't we supposed to eat lunch soon?"

"Oh, right."

Xu Yinghuan nodded and led them back to the living room, telling them to sit for a bit while she ran to the kitchen to ask the nanny if lunch was ready.

Xu Yinghuan's grandparents had returned to the countryside to visit relatives, and her mother had gone with them, so she was alone at home.

Today's visit from Li Luo and the others had made the villa feel lively again.

At this moment, Li Luo sat on the living room sofa, glanced around, nodded slightly in satisfaction, and when Xu Yinghuan returned to say they'd have to wait a few more minutes for lunch, he asked: "Huanhuan, are there still any units for sale in your community?"

"Huh?" Xu Yinghuan paused, then her face lit up with delight. "Are you thinking of buying a house here?"

"Just asking," Li Luo shook his head. "Still too early to decide."

If he truly wanted to buy, he'd need to consider carefully.

But Sky Ridge Elegant Residence really was quite good—close to Qianjiang University, the villa layout was excellent, and it had stirred some interest in Li Luo.

"You'll have to ask my dad about that," Xu Yinghuan said. "I'll ask him tonight—he knows the boss of the local real estate developers."

Watching the conversation between a self-made millionaire and a second-generation heir, the others couldn't chime in.

Fortunately, the cook moved quickly, walking over from the kitchen to announce lunch was ready, and Xu Yinghuan immediately called everyone to the table.

"By the way, are we eating dinner here tonight or going out?" Ying Chanxi asked after sitting down. "If both our parents come, it'll be a bit too many people."

"Oh, no problem," Xu Yinghuan shook her head with a grin. "There's an empty room on the second floor with a table—we'll eat there."

"Let the adults eat downstairs. Sitting all together would be awkward."

"Besides, I'm the worst student here—I'll get dragged out and scolded by my dad. It'll drive me crazy."

As they ate, the group chatted casually, planning what to do in the afternoon.

After lunch, Xu Yinghuan led them upstairs to the fourth floor.

Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun lagged behind, stepping on the exquisite, jade-like staircase. Li Luo turned to Zhao Rongjun and smirked, then whispered, "If you married her, you'd skip a hundred years of struggle."

"W-what are you talking about…" Zhao Rongjun's face flushed instantly. "Don't say nonsense—what if Huanhuan hears?"

"You're only afraid she'll hear—but you still have thoughts, right?" Li Luo teased.

"I don't have any such thoughts," Zhao Rongjun shook his head rapidly. "Besides, you can't pursue someone just for their family wealth."

"True enough," Li Luo grinned, slapping Zhao Rongjun's shoulder hard a few times. "After graduation, come work with me—I'll make sure you eat well and live well. How's that?"

"You write novels and songs—what can I even help you with?" Zhao Rongjun shook his head again. "First, fix your own life."

"What's wrong with my life?"

Hearing Li Luo's retort, Zhao Rongjun looked up at the backs of Ying Chanxi and the others, then turned back to Li Luo.

The meaning was clear.

"You're meddling too much," Li Luo pulled at his mouth.

"You started meddling," Zhao Rongjun sighed. "I'm just friends with Xinyan and Huanhuan. But you? Dare you say you're just friends with Xixi and the others?"

"Why not?" Li Luo looked utterly reasonable. "We're perfectly legitimate friends."

Zhao Rongjun: "... You're a master at being shameless."

"If you had half your charm with Xinyan and Huanhuan that you have with me, you'd be fine," Li Luo chuckled.

The two good brothers teased each other all the way to the fourth floor.

Xu Yinghuan opened the mahjong room's door and told them to find seats.

Though called a mahjong room, it was really a multi-purpose entertainment hall.

Against the wall stood a mahjong table, beside it a large screen for karaoke.

On the other side were two computers and gaming consoles—everything you could want.

"You've got stuff like this at home?" Li Luo picked up the gaming console, examining it. "You've got pretty boyish tastes."

"I didn't buy this," Xu Yinghuan rolled her eyes. "My dad loves this stuff—he told my mom he bought it for me, but he's the one who uses it all the time."

"Your dad's kind of cute," Li Luo laughed.

At the parent-teacher meeting, Xu Yinghuan's father had seemed deep and serious.

Yet privately, his interactions with his daughter were surprisingly fun.

Qiao Xinyan and Xu Yinghuan pulled Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng aside—the four girls went to play mahjong.

Xu Youyu had little interest in mahjong; he dragged Li Luo to the computer and started browsing for something fun.

So the karaoke microphone ended up in Zhao Rongjun's hands.

Zhao Rongjun sat helplessly on the sofa, then finally moved to sit beside the mahjong table and watched them play.

Seeing this, Li Luo abandoned the game, picked a few songs, and pulled Zhao Rongjun into singing.

"Friends walk together through life~ Those days are gone~"

"One word~ A lifetime~ A lifetime's bond~ A cup of wine~"

Li Luo shoved a microphone into Zhao Rongjun's hand, wrapped his arm around his friend's neck, and sang loudly.

Xu Yinghuan, still playing mahjong, laughed heartily and clapped for them.

Li Luo sang his way over to Ying Chanxi. When it was her turn to draw a tile, he immediately reached out. "Let me! I draw, you win!"

Ying Chanxi didn't believe his luck, rolled her eyes, but didn't refuse—let him draw once.

The next second, Li Luo slammed a tile onto the table.

A East Wind tile lay clearly revealed!

"Alright, alright, get out of here," Ying Chanxi waved him off like shooing a child. "You should know your own luck by now."

"This mahjong hates me!" Li Luo stared wide-eyed, utterly baffled. "Next time, skip Hangzhou mahjong—try Sichuan style."

"Li Luo, I'm also one tile away," Yan Zhusheng beside him trusted Li Luo. "Draw for me."

"Zhusheng's the best," Li Luo grinned, reaching out without hesitation and slapping another tile on the table.

Another East Wind.

Li Luo: "..."

Xu Yinghuan burst out laughing; Qiao Xinyan covered her mouth, smirking.

Xu Youyu, leaning on Li Luo's back, stifled laughter, his whole body shaking.

"Maybe you should just go back to singing," Zhao Rongjun offered kindly.

"It's definitely not me," Li Luo clicked his tongue, patted Yan Zhusheng's shoulder to make her stand. "Come on, let me play a few rounds—you'll see my real skill."

As evening approached.

Li Luo walked out of the mahjong room with a blank expression, hurried to the bathroom, and washed his hands thoroughly.

Seeing him emerge, Xu Youyu couldn't help laughing. "Don't ever gamble again—your luck's so bad, the dealer doesn't even need to cheat."

"What do you know?" Li Luo snorted. "A person's fortune is conserved; the luck I lack in this matter will naturally be compensated elsewhere."

"For example?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow.

"Women's luck?" Li Luo ventured shamelessly.

"Shameless bastard," Xu Youyu spat.

"Come on, come on," Xu Yinghuan stepped out of the mahjong room, calling everyone downstairs. "My dad's almost back—have Uncle and Auntie arrived yet?"

"On their way," Li Luo glanced at his phone. "They're coming with Youyu's parents."

"Did they all drive?" Xu Yinghuan asked again. "I'll go pick them up at the garage."

"My parents don't have a car," Zhao Rongjun muttered quietly. "They… uh… came on an electric scooter."

"Then I'll just tell the security guard," Xu Yinghuan smiled. "Let Uncle and Auntie park right in our courtyard."

"Hmm…"

(End of Chapter)