Chapter 620: I

Lying on the forehead bed, after chatting casually with Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo closed his eyes.

Probably because he had expended so much energy yesterday, and had gotten up at three a. m. to climb the mountain, Li Luo was truly exhausted.

So after closing his eyes for just over half a minute, he began to emit soft snores.

Yan Zhusheng, however, wasn't very sleepy—after all, she had gone to bed at nine-thirty last night and had slept over six hours.

She had originally planned to kiss Li Luo, but seeing him fall asleep instantly, she didn't disturb him.

Quietly lying beside Li Luo, finding a comfortable position, Yan Zhusheng snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes to pretend to nap.

Below, Ying Chanxi, after lying down beside Xu Youyu, tossed and turned unable to sleep.

Finally, she got out of bed outright, sneaked over to the forehead bed, climbed the ladder, and curiously poked her head up, wanting to imitate Yan Zhusheng's behavior and see what the two were doing up there.

But when she peeked up, she saw they were simply sleeping.

For some reason, Ying Chanxi felt a sigh of relief, yet also a faint sense of disappointment.

She had already mustered up the courage in her heart, thinking that if Yan Zhusheng was sneaking kisses with Li Luo, she would copy Zhusheng's move and forcibly squeeze in so Zhusheng wouldn't have it easy.

But now, nothing had happened at all.

Ying Chanxi simply couldn't sleep, so after climbing down the ladder, she got up and walked out of the motorhome, heading toward the nearby farmstay.

At just past six, daylight had fully brightened, though the sun had not yet fully risen over the eastern ridge.

Ying Chanxi breathed in the fresh air blowing down from the mountains, stretched her arms, and gazed into the distance.

A light mist hovered slowly among the trees, like a few cotton candies carelessly tossed aside.

The two pine trees flanking the farmstay's entrance bent under morning dew, their needle-tipped branches drooping, water beads clinging to their tips, hovering as if about to fall, fracturing the eastern sunlight into tiny glittering patches that landed on Ying Chanxi's delicate, adorable face.

Listening to the cooing and chirping birds around her, Ying Chanxi arrived at the farmstay's entrance.

The owner had already risen early and was now preparing breakfast.

Seeing Ying Chanxi walk in, recognizing her as the young girl who had slept in the motorhome beside them last night, the owner's expression turned slightly odd.

Because until late into the night, she had never seen the one man and three women from the motorhome come to stay in their guest rooms.

She had originally thought that among the four, the man must have brought one girlfriend and was out having fun with two other girls.

So if two people slept on the motorhome and the boyfriend and girlfriend stayed in the guest room, that arrangement would make perfect sense.

But last night, all four of them never came to the guest room—they all slept inside the motorhome.

This couldn't help but make the owner think more.

Now, seeing Ying Chanxi, many speculations flashed through her mind, yet she still warmly greeted: "Want some breakfast?"

"Mm." Ying Chanxi nodded lightly, walked into the farmstay, picked a few breakfast items, and sat down at a nearby table to eat.

The window seat had a great view.

Ying Chanxi ate a little breakfast to fill her stomach, then sat by the window enjoying the scenery.

At just past seven, sunlight slanted into the valley, fully illuminating the farmstay's courtyard; several chickens clucked loudly in the yard, probably waking many guests.

Some guests who had stayed overnight last night woke up, got dressed, and came outside for breakfast; the number of people at surrounding tables increased considerably.

Some hikers descended from the mountain—they had gone to Wangchen Pavilion on the main peak, watched the sunrise, and now returned to the farmstay to enjoy a steaming bowl of soy milk, biting into fried dough sticks and baked pancakes, thoroughly delighted.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi's beautiful face finally drew attention.

Two boys bought breakfast from the owner, then spotted Ying Chanxi's direction, walked over to her table, and asked: "Mind if we sit here?"

Ying Chanxi glanced left and right—there were indeed no other empty tables—so she politely nodded.

She had already finished eating and was about to get up and return to the motorhome, when the bald-headed boy who had just sat down chuckled and asked: "Are you here alone?"

Ying Chanxi didn't want to respond, so she simply shook her head, indicating she had come with friends.

The bespectacled boy beside him tugged his friend's arm and whispered two words.

The bald-headed boy waved it off, saying it was fine, then continued flirting with Ying Chanxi; after just a few sentences, he pulled out his phone and asked: "Want to add WeChat?"

"I have a boyfriend," Ying Chanxi glanced at his phone, then remembered Xu Youyu's earlier trick, and politely declined.

"Oh, really?" The bald-headed boy didn't immediately put his phone away. "So you came with your boyfriend? Why isn't he eating breakfast with you? Just making friends—adding WeChat wouldn't hurt, right?"

"I said no."

Just as Ying Chanxi was about to say something, she suddenly froze, turning to see Li Luo standing behind her.

Li Luo held a fried dough stick stuffed inside a baked pancake, chewing it with a bite, glanced at the bald-headed boy's phone, and grinned: "How about adding my WeChat?"

"Cough." The bald-headed boy, seeing the real boyfriend had arrived, finally sheepishly withdrew.

Li Luo ignored the guy, patted Ying Chanxi's shoulder, and said: "Go get me a bowl of soy milk, and bring some breakfast back for Zhusheng too."

"Mm." Ying Chanxi immediately stood up, followed Li Luo to the owner's counter to buy breakfast, then asked, "Aren't we getting anything for Senior Sister?"

"She's still asleep, no rush," Li Luo took another bite of breakfast, turned to look at Ying Chanxi's cute, pink cheek, and smiled. "Just now I heard someone say she has a boyfriend?"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's face instantly flushed red, then she punched Li Luo twice hard: "You were here the whole time, weren't you? You eavesdropped! Why didn't you come help me sooner?"

"I just walked in and saw you sitting there, so I queued up to buy breakfast first," Li Luo shrugged helplessly. "Who knew that in the blink of an eye, those two guys sat down at your table? I hadn't even bought the soy milk—I ran straight over to you, okay?"

"Hmph." Ying Chanxi huffed, though inside she felt a little pleased.

This was the first time she had ever publicly admitted she had a boyfriend.

Thinking about it made her a little excited.

But Li Luo, feigning curiosity, leaned close to Ying Chanxi's ear and asked: "So who's your boyfriend, Xi Xi?"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's ears instantly burned hot, her head drooping as she muttered softly: "Y-You know already… why ask?"

"I can't guess," Li Luo grinned. "So who is it? Hard to figure out, right?"

"Go die!" Ying Chanxi punched him twice again, her face flushed with embarrassment; after hitting him, she dashed over to the owner's counter to buy breakfast, refusing to speak to him further.

Watching Ying Chanxi's adorable form, Li Luo smiled and strolled slowly after her.

The minor unpleasant incident moments ago was quickly forgotten by both of them.

Bringing the breakfast back to the motorhome, Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo sat on the living room chairs eating.

Along the way, Yan Zhusheng wanted to use the restroom, but Ying Chanxi was already inside, so he had to get out and go to the farmstay nearby.

Not long after, Li Luo saw Yan Zhusheng returning by the window, but was stopped by two boys approaching him.

Hmm… again, those familiar guys.

Li Luo chuckled and shook his head, stood up, and got out of the motorhome to walk toward Yan Zhusheng.

Just as he drew near, he heard Yan Zhusheng point seriously in Li Luo's direction and say: "My boyfriend came to find me."

The buzzcut boy: "?"

The glasses boy: "???"

"Dude…," the buzzcut boy stared blankly at Li Luo, then at Yan Zhusheng, "Don't you know he's dating two people?"

"I know," Yan Zhusheng nodded naturally. When Li Luo drew closer, he ran up to him, wrapped her arms around his, and said to the two boys, "My sister and I both like him—why can't we both be his girlfriends?"

The two boys froze, their entire worldview seemingly shattered.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng paid them no further attention and turned back toward the motorhome.

"So earlier, my sister also told them she's your girlfriend?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously after returning.

"No, she didn't," Li Luo said with a smile.

"She didn't? Then why did those two say that?"

"Xixi only said she had a boyfriend. When I asked who it was, she refused to tell me."

Just then, Ying Chanxi stepped out of the restroom, heard this, and shot Li Luo a glare.

But Yan Zhusheng turned to her sister and asked, "So who's your boyfriend?"

"Too many questions. Eat your breakfast."

"My boyfriend is Li Luo," Yan Zhusheng wrapped her arms around Li Luo again, speaking seriously, "If you've got a boyfriend too, please stay away from mine from now on."

Ying Chanxi: "...?"

Out of consideration for Yan Zhusheng being her little sister, Ying Chanxi suppressed the urge to punch her twice.

Unfortunately, Pikachu suffered the consequences—Ying Chanxi secretly took out her frustration on it, leaving one side of its face slightly deformed.

At this moment, Xu Youyu was still fast asleep on the rear bunk, seemingly not waking up anytime soon.

After finishing breakfast, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, Ying Chanxi suggested taking a walk nearby and taking some more photos.

The three of them got out together, locked the motorhome, and wandered around with the camera, breathing in the fresh air.

After climbing a few minutes up the mountain steps, they reached a viewing platform, where they stayed until just after nine in the morning before returning to the motorhome.

At this moment, Xu Youyu had just woken up. Hearing the motorhome door open, she sat up groggily, rubbed her eyes, looked at Li Luo and the others, then squinted and asked, "Where did you three go?"

"We went for a walk," Li Luo said. "Now that you're awake, have a little breakfast, then we'll head home."

"Oh," Xu Youyu got off the bed and leaned close to Li Luo. "Did you go do something bad behind my back?"

"We just went out to take photos," Li Luo tapped the person's forehead. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Some soy milk," Xu Youyu winked at him.

Ying Chanxi didn't catch Xu Youyu's innuendo and said, "I'll go buy it for Senior. You wash your face first," then got out and walked toward the shop owner.

Li Luo stared blankly at Xu Youyu, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Do you also want to taste a hot dog first?"

"That wouldn't be bad," Xu Youyu chuckled, and taking advantage of blind spots, she sneakily touched Li Luo.

"You're becoming more and more of a female delinquent," Li Luo helplessly grabbed her wrist. "Can't you be a little more reserved?"

"I can be reserved if it's just one-on-one," Xu Youyu chuckled. "But when three monks are fighting over water, how can you stay reserved?"

"Mm-hmm, that makes sense," Yan Zhusheng nodded vigorously beside them, as if she'd learned something.

Unfortunately, Ying Chanxi—the one who most needed to learn this lesson—wasn't here right now.

…

Leaving halfway up Yinshan Mountain, Ying Chanxi drove the motorhome toward Bihai Lanting in Yinjiang District.

Li Luo sat in the front passenger seat, propping his chin as he gazed at the scenery outside, then glanced twice at Ying Chanxi, who was driving.

After confirming she had no major issues, he relaxed slightly.

Originally, Xu Youyu had wanted to drive, but Ying Chanxi hadn't touched the steering wheel in a long time and was curious about how the motorhome handled, so she volunteered to try.

Xu Youyu had no objections, only asked her to be careful and said it was good to get some practice first.

"Aren't there always salon events every summer?" Xu Youyu said from the back seat. "This year it seems they're holding it again in Changning City, in July."

"So I was thinking—should we try a long-distance motorhome trip then?"

"Depart from Yuhang City, go to Changning City for the salon, then circle around the surrounding areas."

"That's not impossible," Li Luo nodded, then looked at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng. "What do you two think?"

"Sure," Yan Zhusheng nodded enthusiastically, her face lit with anticipation.

"I'm fine with it," Ying Chanxi also nodded in agreement, with no objections. "But how long would we be gone?"

"About half a month?" Xu Youyu calculated. "We'll just circle around Changning and Yuhang to get used to motorhome travel first."

"Once we're familiar with it, if we like it, we can buy a new one later, customized to our needs."

"In the future, we could even drive farther for self-guided trips."

"No rush," Li Luo said. "Let's rent first. We don't use it regularly anyway."

"Got it," Xu Youyu replied.

"For this salon, remember to ask Qianzhou," Li Luo remembered and reminded her. "Although the big-name list is finalized at year-end, screening already begins in mid-year."

"I'll help you ask too. When we attend, I'll have dinner and chat with other editors—get familiar with them."

"When competing for big-name status, editors vote—but they don't necessarily read every contender's book."

"If you can make a prior impression, you'll have an edge during voting."

"Is this bribery?" Xu Youyu teased with a grin.

"Your performance was never bad; I just wanted to be safe." Li Luo asked, "How many average subscriptions do you have now?"

"About eighteen thousand."

"Then it's basically secured."

It was still 2017, before Qidian's main site had implemented anti-piracy measures; average subscription numbers had not yet exploded, and for an ordinary writer, reaching ten thousand subscriptions with two or three books already made one a strong contender for master status.

"Too bad I'm still just competing to become a master," Xu Youyu sighed wistfully. "Meanwhile, some people have already earned their Platinum status—how envious!"

"Didn't you already taste Platinum?"

"Huh?" Xu Youyu paused, then understood, her face instantly flushing red. She laughed and scolded, punching him once. "You've gotten so naughty!"

"You're the one who corrupted me," Li Luo laughed, dodging her punches, his gaze falling on her soft, rosy lips—he unconsciously revisited the tender intimacy of last night in his Memory Palace's collection.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, listening to their playful bickering, still didn't understand and were utterly baffled, completely clueless about the hidden meaning behind their banter.

(End of Chapter)