Chapter 581: Embarrassment

January 26, the day before New Year's Eve.

Ying Zhicheng drove to the airport in the southwest of Yuhang City to pick up Yuan Wanqing, who had returned from out of town.

To avoid attention, Yuan Wanqing had told him not to meet her at the arrivals gate, but to wait for her in the parking lot.

After getting in the car, Yuan Wanqing took off her mask and sunglasses, turned around, and gave Ying Zhicheng a big hug.

"How are you feeling?" Ying Zhicheng kissed her, then leaned over to fasten her seatbelt before starting the car. "You've got one last interview this afternoon."

"Minor issue," Yuan Wanqing said, brushing her hair while lowering the front mirror to touch up her makeup. "Then we'll head back to our hometown after this?"

"Mm."

"What about Chanxi and Zhusheng?"

"They've already gone back with Guohong's family."

"With Li Luo?" Yuan Wanqing smiled, then sighed helplessly. "Why do I feel like someone's stealing both our daughters?"

Ying Zhicheng took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, forcing himself to set the issue aside for now.

Right now, something more urgent awaited his attention.

If he mishandled it, this year would be miserable.

"Kids' affairs—they'll naturally understand each other better as they grow up."

Ying Zhicheng assumed it was simply because Li Luo was so outstanding that he drew affection from Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng.

After all, they spent every day together in Bihai Lanting, and Ying Chanxi had grown up alongside Li Luo since childhood.

The feelings were obvious.

But once they got older and encountered more people and experiences, their feelings for each other would eventually settle.

When that time came, no matter which girl Li Luo chose, Ying Zhicheng would support him.

Hmm…

More than two years ago, if his own daughter had wanted to be with Li Luo, Ying Zhicheng would have instinctively resisted.

But now… he couldn't think of a single reason to refuse.

In this regard, Ying Zhicheng, preparing for a second marriage, was clearly more open-minded—he wanted his daughter to choose her own future spouse.

Li Luo was clearly an excellent candidate.

? CO

"Have you told Li Luo yet?" Yuan Wanqing asked. "We're planning to lay everything out with Chanxi and Zhusheng during the New Year, right? You said you'd let Li Luo know."

"I'll talk to him when we get back today," Ying Zhicheng said, driving. "Then we'll celebrate New Year's Eve as usual."

"Guohong said Xu Youyu's family will come over for a few days on the first day of the New Year."

"So my plan is to wait until the Xu family leaves, then have a proper talk with Chanxi and the others—first, let's have a good New Year."

After hearing his plan, Yuan Wanqing nodded in agreement, finalizing the arrangement.

Ying Zhicheng first drove Yuan Wanqing back to the company; after lunch together, she headed off for her interview.

The job wasn't difficult—the questions had been pre-arranged, the answers pre-screened and restricted, leaving no room for Yuan Wanqing's improvisation.

Most of the time was spent on styling and makeup.

By the time she finished, it was already four in the afternoon.

"Want to grab dinner before heading home?" Ying Zhicheng asked as he drove her out of the company.

"Just go straight home," Yuan Wanqing said, tying her hair into a braid, revealing her fair neck. "I bought gifts for Zhusheng and Chanxi."

"Alright."

Ying Zhicheng nodded, turned the steering wheel, and headed toward their hometown.

…

"This is way too dry… No plot twists, no emotional continuity—it feels like you're writing a boring diary."

In Li Xiang's room, Li Luo sat at his desk, reading through his nephew's online novel at the boy's request.

Then he gave him a merciless professional critique.

He didn't even offer revision suggestions.

Because there was literally nothing worth revising.

If he really had to fix it, it'd be better to rewrite it from scratch…

In Li Luo's view, Li Xiang had committed every mistake a new online novel writer could make.

Put simply, he had no idea what elements or content an online novel even required.

He had ideas in his head but couldn't convey them accurately through writing.

This was a common ailment among new online novel authors.

If he truly wanted to write, he should just stick with it patiently, accumulating experience slowly—perhaps then there'd be a glimmer of hope.

But for this nephew of his, Li Luo had no desire to help.

There's an old saying in the online novel world: persuading someone to write web fiction is a sin worthy of being struck by lightning.

If you're only in it for the money, this isn't an easy path at all.

To outsiders, the entry barrier seems nonexistent, but hidden walls abound—most people only end up with bloody noses.

Under Li Luo's critique, Li Xiang's last shred of hope vanished, and he accepted he simply lacked the talent.

Then he cheerfully turned to playing games.

After the torment of online novel writing, even games he'd grown tired of now seemed deliciously appealing.

Just then, Li Luo heard the sound of a car driving by outside.

He glanced out the window, saw Ying Zhicheng's car, perked up immediately, said goodbye to Li Xiang, and left his room.

He ran downstairs, went to the courtyard next to the next one, and greeted Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing as they stepped out of the car: "Uncle Ying, Auntie Yuan."

"Li Luo." Yuan Wanqing got out of the car, saw Li Luo, and smiled, then glanced beside him and asked curiously, "Where are Xixi and Zhusheng?"

"They're… " Li Luo coughed once and explained to the two elders, "My mom's doing a big spring cleaning today, so they went to help out. They're probably still upstairs busy. Should I go call them down?"

"Oh, no need." Ying Zhicheng heard this and immediately shook his head, looking at Li Luo, opening his mouth as if to speak, then hesitating.

Seeing this, Yuan Wanqing gently spoke for Ying Zhicheng: "We have something important to discuss with you alone. Do you have time now?"

"Of course, I'm free." Li Luo nodded, then suddenly realized something. Seeing Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing turn and walk upstairs, he immediately followed their backs.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were still helping clean Li Luo's house.

Grandpa Ying had gone out for a stroll and gone to play xiangqi with neighbors nearby, so there was no one else from the Ying household now.

Ying Zhicheng went up to the second-floor living room, sat on the sofa, and gestured for Li Luo to sit as well.

Yuan Wanqing walked around, found a few teacups, poured water for all three, then sat down beside Ying Zhicheng.

"Uncle Ying, is there something you want to say?"

"Mm." Ying Zhicheng nodded, paused for a moment in thought, then turned to look at Yuan Wanqing.

"You're hesitating now, at this point?" Yuan Wanqing chuckled helplessly. "Li Luo knows his limits. Even if you tell him, it won't be a problem."

"Is it about you and Aunt Yuan?" Li Luo knew clearly that only this matter could make someone like Ying Zhicheng hesitate so much. "I actually have something to tell you too."

"What is it?" Ying Zhicheng asked in confusion.

"Let Uncle Ying speak first."

"... Alright." Ying Zhicheng did not refuse. At this point, he still needed to inform Li Luo in advance.

After mentally rehearsing several times, Ying Zhicheng finally spoke carefully: "You already know about the relationship between me and Aunt Yuan."

"Originally, we planned to tell Xixi and Zhusheng clearly after they both got into university—that is, next New Year."

"But now their relationship has grown closer, and Aunt Yuan has already come for New Year a second time, so I thought Xixi might not resist this too much."

"Besides, she has no interest in Tsinghua or Peking University. If she's just applying to Qianjiang University, even if her performance is affected, it won't really matter much."

"The same logic applies to Zhusheng."

"So I thought, since Aunt Yuan is coming back for New Year again this year, why not seize this chance and stop hiding it from them?"

"Just tell Xixi and Zhusheng everything clearly, clear the air once and for all, and avoid letting things drag on."

Here, Ying Zhicheng paused, looked up at Li Luo, saw his expression hadn't changed, then took a deep breath and continued.

"This matter, Aunt Yuan and I still need your help."

"You're closest to them, and they both trust you deeply."

"So if possible, when we talk to them, we hope you'll be beside us and help say a few good words."

"Xixi lost her mother early, and I've never had much time to spend with her. Li Luo, you've spent the most time with her—your words might mean more to her than mine."

As he spoke, Ying Zhicheng glanced at Li Luo again, feeling a strange pang inside.

To openly admit that, compared to another man, his own weight in his daughter's eyes was lesser—this was truly painful.

But to help Xixi accept this without too much sorrow, even if it meant saying this in front of Li Luo, Ying Zhicheng still said it.

Li Luo hadn't expected Ying Zhicheng to say something like this.

After all, in Ying Chanxi's heart, her father's weight was still very heavy.

It wasn't nearly as bad as Ying Zhicheng made it sound.

Besides, in his past life, after he and Ying Chanxi fell out, when he returned home for New Year and occasionally met Ying Zhicheng, the old man never gave him a good look.

Though later, when Lin Xiuhong fell seriously ill, Li Guohong had borrowed a lot of money from Ying Zhicheng, and Ying Zhicheng had helped without hesitation.

But back then, Ying Zhicheng wasn't as prosperous as now—he had already been removed from his CEO position, and lending money was already more than generous.

Li Luo didn't know much about this and didn't know exactly how much Ying Zhicheng had lent.

Even when Ying Zhicheng later visited Lin Xiuhong in the hospital, he barely greeted Li Luo.

Now, having lived this life again, hearing such words from Ying Zhicheng made Li Luo feel oddly uncomfortable.

Still, upon learning that Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing planned to come clean during New Year, Li Luo was slightly surprised.

So after hearing their request, he thought carefully, weighed his words, then said: "Uncle Ying, is there a possibility…?"

"Hmm?"

"Have Xixi and Zhusheng already found out about you two?"

"What?!" Yuan Wanqing exclaimed in shock.

Ying Zhicheng, however, had more composure—he merely frowned, felt a jolt inside, but kept his expression calm.

Beside him, Yuan Wanqing was already anxiously asking: "How do you know? Did you secretly tell them?"

"I definitely didn't say anything… not even Yu Jie did." Li Luo added, then sighed and explained, "You two were just too careless. During summer vacation, when you traveled to Chongqing, they saw you two being affectionate."

"H-how could that be…" Yuan Wanqing's face flushed red, embarrassed, her voice weakening as she began to think and recall, "When did they see it? I don't remember…"

Meanwhile, Ying Zhicheng had already guessed. He frowned and asked: "When we got separated at Hongyadong?"

"Yeah." Li Luo nodded, not dragging it out. "According to Zhusheng… Uncle Ying, you kissed Aunt Yuan? They saw the whole thing."

Ying Zhicheng: "..."

Yuan Wanqing: "..."

Even with Ying Zhicheng's deep composure, when Li Luo said this so directly, he couldn't help but blush, his face burning with shame.

Even in normal families, an elderly couple kissing would avoid doing so in front of their children to avoid embarrassment.

Who knew their own daughter would see it?

Ying Zhicheng wiped his face, trying to make his expression seem more natural.

Otherwise, he felt he might crack.

Now, he and Yuan Wanqing faced a serious problem.

How on earth would they face their own daughter during New Year?

Fortunately, Xixi and Zhusheng weren't there when they got out of the car.

Otherwise, if they'd been unaware, they'd have had to pretend to be ordinary colleagues while secretly exchanging glances, and risk their daughters picking up on it—just thinking about it made him embarrassed.

But then they both realized: back when Xu Yinghuan's parents had hosted the meal, Xixi and Zhusheng had already known the truth…

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ying Zhicheng whispered.

"You didn't tell me about revealing everything during the New Year either," Li Luo said helplessly.

Ying Zhicheng: "..."

"Enough, enough," Yuan Wanqing chimed in to defuse the tension, "it's better than walking straight into a confrontation without knowing anything—at least now we know ahead of time."

"That's true," Ying Zhicheng took a deep breath, readjusted his emotions, then exhaled slowly, "if that's the case…"

He paused, turned to look at Yuan Wanqing, then at Li Luo: "We already know everything about each other—there's no need to wait until after New Year."