Chapter 589: Poaching

After returning to Bihai Lanting from his hometown, Li Luo contacted Xu Yinghuan's father and the contact information Li Guoru had previously given him.

The result was somewhat unexpected, yet perfectly logical: the real estate developer behind Tianlu Yaju, where Xu Yinghuan's family lived, was precisely the same person Li Guoru had introduced to Li Luo before.

Li Luo had once stayed in one of this developer's seaside villas in Qiongzhou City while attending the Wenxue Group's annual meeting, and had truly enjoyed his time there.

He never expected to connect with him again this way.

Thanks to the connections with Li Guoru and Xu Rongbin, plus the fact that Li Luo had once written a popular song for him, there was at least a little goodwill between them.

So the day after he returned home, Li Luo was contacted by the developer's representative, who said he could visit any villa at any time.

Within the entire Yuhang City area, there were about a dozen suitable villa communities, and the representative offered him free choice among them.

All would come with certain discounts and preferential terms.

Li Luo had no interest in villas outside Yinjiang District.

On one hand, they were too expensive; on the other, they were too far away.

Yinjiang District was still somewhat distant from Yuhang City's downtown, but property prices there weren't as outrageous.

After narrowing the scope to Yinjiang District, Li Luo's options shrank considerably.

There were only four small communities with villa units, and one had an old building age—eliminated immediately.

Of the remaining three, only Tianlu Yaju was located north of Ningshan.

The other two communities were one in the southwest near Yuhang City's urban area, and another east of the South Station.

How to put it?

Purely in terms of location, the community east of the South Station was undoubtedly the best.

In a few years, a Yintai City would be built there, making it the most prosperous commercial district in all of Yinjiang District—without exception.

Moreover, the South Station was currently the terminus of Metro Line One; although the line had been extended, that wouldn't happen for another one or two years.

In Li Luo's memory, future metro lines in Yinjiang District would all use the South Station as a transfer hub.

Behind the South Station was Yinjiang District's First People's Hospital, and nearby were some of the district's best schools, including Xinda Primary and Junior High.

So purely in terms of location and surrounding amenities, this community was the best.

But then again…

Obviously, whether Li Luo or the other three girls, they all still preferred Tianlu Yaju.

On one hand, it was closer to Qianjiang University—even if they moved into a villa later, commuting to school would be convenient.

On the other hand, Tianlu Yaju's amenities weren't bad either.

The Shidai Tianjie across Xijie from Qianjiang University was about to be completed.

The metro line was nearly finished and expected to open next year.

Nearby was a private junior high on par with Xinda, as well as Fu Yi Middle School and Qianjiang University.

Moreover, Xu Yinghuan's family lived here—so if possible, Tianlu Yaju was naturally better.

Still, keeping an open mind to compare options, Li Luo took the three girls to visit all three properties.

When the real estate agent brought him to the entrance of a villa in Tianlu Yaju, Li Luo suddenly paused, turning his head toward the entrance of the neighboring villa.

"Butler Liu?"

"Hmm?" A middle-aged man in a suit, his hair and beard meticulously groomed, turned toward Li Luo, his face showing surprise, then a smile as he nodded, "Mr. Li, long time no see."

Li Luo waved off the agent accompanying him and walked over to Butler Liu, greeting him with a smile before asking curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"The villa in Qiongzhou City was sold by the boss recently," Butler Liu said with a smile. "I'm originally from Yuhang, so I came back and took over another villa to manage for him."

"Is this also Mr. Yu's property?" Li Luo asked.

"Yes," Butler Liu nodded, then asked with curiosity, "Mr. Li, what brings you here?"

"Looking at villas," Li Luo pointed to the nearby unfinished villa. "Maybe we'll be neighbors?"

Li Luo joked.

Butler Liu laughed, then said, "There are about four or five unfinished units here—I'd recommend you check out the one on the east side, near the center of the community."

"This one's closer to the mountain foot—should have better views, right?" Li Luo said.

"But there'll be more mosquitoes," Butler Liu kindly warned. "If you really want views, the rooftop overlooks Ningshan—it's all the same."

"True enough," Li Luo nodded, then fell into thought, studying Butler Liu again.

Butler Liu noticed Li Luo's gaze, slightly puzzled, wondering if he'd done something improper.

But soon, Li Luo pulled out his phone and said to Butler Liu, "Let's add each other on WeChat? I haven't thanked you properly for your hospitality in Qiongzhou."

"Oh, that was just my duty," Butler Liu said, but didn't refuse—he pulled out his phone and added Li Luo as a WeChat friend.

After some small talk, Li Luo took his leave and took the three girls to see the villa Butler Liu had recommended.

"What are you doing?"

On the way home, Ying Chanxi saw Li Luo typing on his phone, glanced at the screen, and realized he was messaging Butler Liu. "Isn't this… not very good?"

"What's wrong with it?" Li Luo chuckled.

Yan Zhusheng leaned over curiously, glanced at the screen: "Li Luo, aren't you poaching?"

"You know what 'poaching' means?" Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes at her.

Yan Zhusheng ignored the hidden barb in her sister's tone and nodded: "Poaching's great—I support you."

Ying Chanxi: "..."

"What are you two talking about?" Xu Youyu, driving ahead, asked curiously.

"I'm asking Butler Liu if he'd consider switching jobs," Li Luo laughed.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu paused, then understood. "You want him to work for us?"

"Yeah," Li Luo nodded. "Back in Qiongzhou, I thought he was great."

"If we buy a villa, we'll need renovations—but we're in school all day and won't have time to supervise."

"Let my mom keep an eye on it too, but wouldn't it be better if we could recruit Butler Liu?"

"What do you think?"

Ying Chanxi and the others had no objections.

After all, once you buy a villa, someone has to manage it.

Butler Liu is already familiar, so there's no need to find someone else.

"But will Butler Liu agree? He's already employed somewhere, and his salary isn't low, right?" Xu Youyu asked again.

"Asking won't cost anything," Li Luo said with a smile. "Just give it a try."

……

On Sunday, February 26th, the First Affiliated High School reopened.

Li Luo and the others had mostly decided on the villa they wanted to buy—just choose one of the two available units in Sky Ridge Elegant Residence.

Interestingly,

when Butler Liu first received Li Luo's invitation, he had outright refused.

But for some reason, as they kept talking, perhaps one remark had touched him, or maybe it was something else.

In any case, on the day school reopened, Li Luo received a message from Butler Liu, saying he was willing to consider it.

That evening, after Li Luo returned home, Xu Youyu—who hadn't started school yet—heard the news and exclaimed in surprise: "You actually got him?"

"Perfect. Once we decide which house to buy, we can hand over all the details to Butler Liu," Li Luo said cheerfully. "Including renovations and everything else."

"Don't worry about that yet," Ying Chanxi said beside him, having washed some fruit and placed it on the coffee table. She sat down next to Li Luo. "Tomorrow's the entrance exam—don't mess up."

"You seem full of confidence?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "But I don't have any obsession with being number one in grade. Just beating you once is enough to make me savor it for life."

"You just know you can't beat me," Ying Chanxi huffed. "You're already scared before the battle even starts."

"So what?" Li Luo laughed, pinching her cheek. "I've been busy lately—dealing with the house, and helping with promotion for 'Little Joy.'"

"Aunt Yuan's concert in May will feature Zhusheng performing one of the songs from 'Little Joy' to promote it alongside the college entrance exam."

"I also need to weave this plot into my book for a crossover."

"Then there are two new books coming up—one a long novel—and I need to coordinate with Qidian about a new feature going live."

"Oh, by the way, after your birthday, we still have to go get our driver's licenses."

"Shall I buy you a new car then?"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi shook her head vigorously. "I don't want one—cars are too expensive, and I never drive anyway."

"Then will you learn to drive?"

"Of course I'll learn," Ying Chanxi nodded. "You never know when you might need it."

"Exactly," Xu Youyu chimed in with a grin. "You really should learn how to drive properly."

Hearing this, Li Luo rolled his eyes.

……

After school reopened, the students of the First Affiliated High School faced the usual semester-opening exam.

On Friday, when results were posted, many crowded around the notice board, searching for their rankings and scores.

After having lunch with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo strolled over to the board.

Xu Yinghuan spotted it first and shouted toward the notice board: "Zhang Guohuang! Check my rank!"

"Let me see!" Zhang Guohuang, already packed into the crowd, scanned the top hundred names and quickly found Xu Yinghuan's: "Xu Yinghuan! Ninety-first!"

"Nice!" Xu Yinghuan cheered, jumping up and raising her hand toward Zhao Rongjun beside her.

Zhao Rongjun blinked, then reacted, raising his hand to slap hers in celebration.

Then Zhang Guohuang called out again toward Li Luo and Ying Chanxi: "Class monitor! You've been crushed by the vice monitor again!"

Li Luo turned to look at Ying Chanxi at the sound.

Ying Chanxi, sensing his gaze, looked back at him—they exchanged a glance.

Li Luo smiled; Ying Chanxi huffed, her expression saying, "Of course this is normal."

"Ah, so it was just a fleeting moment after all?" Li Luo sighed. "I thought the former prodigy was finally falling."

"What nonsense are you talking?" Ying Chanxi shot him a look. "I just slipped last time."

Now that her emotional block was gone—after clearing everything up with Ying Zhicheng during the New Year—Ying Chanxi no longer distracted herself during exams, and naturally claimed the top spot again.

Even with his Memory Palace, Li Luo found it nearly impossible to surpass Ying Chanxi, a true academic god, unless he deeply studied and exploited it.

Still, Li Luo said: "Winning or losing now means nothing—the Gaokao decides everything. If you don't beat me then, I'll see you crying."

"I'm not a crybaby—why would I cry?" Ying Chanxi retorted. "With all the things you've been juggling lately, your grades not dropping is already a miracle."

"Want to bet again?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "Last time, I wasted a chance because of you and Uncle Ying—I was going to…"

"Going to do what?" Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes at him. "You're definitely planning something bad!"

"How can you call it bad?" Li Luo shook his head. "What I'm thinking of are great things."

"What great thing?" Yan Zhusheng leaned over to ask. "If XiXi won't, I'll take it."

"Zhusheng, don't butt in," Ying Chanxi was growing increasingly impatient with her younger sister.

"Sister's so mean," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Li Luo, let's make a bet too—if you score higher than me on the Gaokao, I'll do anything you want."

Ying Chanxi stared, baffled: "Why even bet?"

"Why not?" Yan Zhusheng said. "You look down on me—what if I study hard this semester and ace the Gaokao?"

"You'd have better luck believing you won't sleep in the master bedroom tonight," Ying Chanxi huffed.

"That's even harder," Yan Zhusheng shook her head, seriously analyzing. "The odds of acing the Gaokao are higher."

Ying Chanxi: "..."

"By the way," Qiao Xinyan, watching the three of them, asked curiously in a low voice. "I've been meaning to ask—why has Zhusheng been calling XiXi 'sister' so often lately?"

"What's going on?" Xu Yinghuan asked in confusion. "Zhusheng is definitely younger than Xixi."

When Yan Zhusheng heard her best friend say that, she immediately looked down at herself, her expression slightly unhappy.

"But I don't remember Zhusheng ever calling her that before," Qiao Xinyan said.

"This is a long story," Ying Chanxi coughed, subtly warning Yan Zhusheng not to speak carelessly.

At least the fact that Yin Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing were together must not be revealed to outsiders.

So Ying Chanxi simply explained: "During the recent New Year visits to relatives, we discovered that Zhusheng is my cousin—somewhat related by blood."

At these words, Qiao Xinyan and Xu Yinghuan froze in surprise.

Zhao Rongjun, beside them, glanced left and right in astonishment, then his gaze settled on Li Luo in the center.

Seeing the faint, hard-to-suppress curve at Li Luo's lips, Zhao Rongjun's eyelid twitched, and he fell into stunned silence.

(End of Chapter)