Chapter 625

When Ying Chanxi hears the words "maid outfit," she instantly goes into a panic, her face flushing crimson as she recalls yesterday's humiliation.

Xu Youyu stood at the kitchen doorway, seeing Ying Chanxi's reddened face, and assumed she'd been caught—she chuckled, squinting: "So you really wore it."

Li Luo couldn't help but smile.

"Someone seems to be enjoying this," Xu Youyu glanced at Li Luo. "Shouldn't you thank me? I bought this for Xixi."

"Hmm… yeah, I should thank you," Li Luo choked back laughter. "Otherwise Xixi wouldn't have suffered such a social death, haha."

"Say that again!" Ying Chanxi angrily punched Li Luo twice in the chest; just thinking about how she'd acted when she met Lin Xiuhong made her skin crawl.

"What's 'social death'?" Xu Youyu's social-death radar triggered—she instantly grew alert and curious.

"Her," Li Luo pointed at Ying Chanxi. "She tricked me into going downstairs to buy soy sauce, slipped into this maid outfit, stood by the door waiting for me to come back and call her 'master'—but it was my mom who walked in. She saw everything."

"Aaaah!" Ying Chanxi panicked, jumping frantically into Li Luo's arms, trying to clamp her hands over his mouth.

What a pity—Li Luo only needed to exert a little force to easily grip both of her delicate wrists, and then he finished recounting the entire incident.

After hearing it, Xu Youyu froze, imagining the scene, and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Ying Chanxi.

But she couldn't hold back a snort of laughter.

Then she laughed louder and louder, finally clutching the doorframe, howling with mirth, nearly losing her balance.

"Senior!" Ying Chanxi cried out in fury. "Stop laughing! It's all your fault!"

"I just bought you the clothes," Xu Youyu struggled to suppress her grin. "Whether you wore them or not was up to you."

"But you're the one who said it!" Ying Chanxi stomped her foot, pouting. "You told me to put on the maid outfit, stand by the door, and call him 'master'…"

"Whoa, you actually said it?" Xu Youyu's expression shocked, looking at Ying Chanxi as if seeing a new person—she scanned her up and down. "I didn't think you'd take me seriously, Xixi. I was just joking!"

Ying Chanxi's face stiffened; she suddenly realized she'd let slip too much. Finally, she clenched her jaw, turned away, and pretended she'd never said it.

But Xu Youyu had no intention of letting her off—she leaned close, pressing for details: "So when you called him 'master,' Lin Yi walked in right then? Did she hear you? Wow~"

"Oh no, Senior, stop talking!" Ying Chanxi's memories of social death surged again—she couldn't take it anymore. She dropped the apron and bolted straight back to her bedroom.

Watching Ying Chanxi flee in panic, Xu Youyu couldn't help laughing again.

Just as she was about to chase after her, Li Luo grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?"

"Xixi ran off—who's going to help me?" Li Luo pulled her into his arms, picked up the apron she'd dropped, and slipped it over Xu Youyu. "Stay and help me cook."

"Cook what?" Xu Youyu blinked, blushing as she leaned against him, whispering with warm breath.

Li Luo: "... Cooking, don't mess around."

"I think someone's body is less honest than his mouth," Xu Youyu chuckled, wiggling her hips—immediately feeling something press against her like a gun.

Li Luo couldn't take it anymore. He threw the spatula aside and pinned Xu Youyu against the kitchen doorframe.

Several minutes passed before they finally pulled apart.

Li Luo tossed the burnt dish from the pot and resumed cooking.

Xu Youyu helped him intermittently, meanwhile pulling out her phone and typing rapidly.

Soon after, Li Luo heard the front door open, followed by hurried footsteps.

Ying Chanxi's face flushed crimson as she stormed into the kitchen, furious at Xu Youyu: "Senior! Why did you post it in the group?"

"Huh? What group?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"Just the four of us," Xu Youyu said innocently.

Li Luo leaned over curiously to look—and burst out laughing.

The four-person group included only them three and Yan Zhusheng.

After Xu Youyu shared Ying Chanxi's social death story, Yan Zhusheng had seen it.

【Yan Zhusheng】: No wonder she's your sister.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Last night she even video-called me to show me footage of her kissing Li Luo.

"Didn't know you were this open," Xu Youyu chuckled upon reading Yan Zhusheng's message. "Xixi, you showed him but not me?"

Ying Chanxi was now utterly humiliated. She bolted back to her bedroom again, unable to face Xu Youyu's questions.

"Someone's pretty happy now," Xu Youyu smirked at Li Luo. "Was Xixi's maid outfit cute?"

"She refused to wear it after yesterday's social death," Li Luo shrugged helplessly. "I never even saw her in it."

"Oh? That's a shame," Xu Youyu grinned, leaning close to Li Luo. "Should I buy one too, and wear it for you?"

"Why not buy one for Zhusheng too? Let all three of you wear them for me," Li Luo suggested boldly.

"You wish," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him.

But knowing the personalities of her two younger sisters, if Li Luo really wanted it, it wouldn't be hard.

Yan Zhusheng would definitely agree. And if Ying Chanxi saw them both wearing it, she'd inevitably fall for the bait—pouting, but slipping on the outfit anyway.

In the end, it'd all benefit this annoying guy.

"Only one dish left," Li Luo said. "Go call Xixi out for dinner."

"OK," Xu Youyu nodded, tiptoeing to kiss Li Luo before walking out of the kitchen, heading to Ying Chanxi's bedroom to tease her further.

At lunchtime.

Xu Youyu idly swung her feet, secretly brushing her toes against Li Luo's under the table, then asked: "Any plans for the weekend? So boring."

"Want to join a typing contest?" Li Luo chuckled. "The one who types fewer words gets punished."

"Just say it outright if you want to punish me," Xu Youyu huffed, pressing her foot harder.

Li Luo took a deep breath, barely keeping his expression calm.

Beside them, Ying Chanxi hadn't noticed anything amiss. She kept eating, then suggested: "How about we go to Tianjie this afternoon? I haven't visited since it opened."

"You haven't been yet?" Xu Youyu was surprised, then nodded. "Sure, I've eaten there with my roommate before."

"Fine," Li Luo agreed. "Zhao Rongjun and the others are working part-time there—we can drop by."

……

In early June, Shangcheng officially opened.

But so far, only thirty percent of the shops in the entire mall have been rented out, and its name has not yet become well-known, so foot traffic remains low.

Especially since the subway entrance at the front gate has not yet been built or opened, Shangcheng's current popularity relies almost entirely on students from Qianjiang University.

Recently, after the Gao San students from Fu Yi High School finished their college entrance exams, quite a few classmates came here together to hang out.

Walking along Ningshan Avenue, passing by Li Guohong's hotpot restaurant, Li Luo looked at the subway entrance taking shape at the street corner, then followed Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi across the road to Shangcheng's Southeast Gate No. 1.

Looking at the familiar entrance before him, Li Luo was momentarily lost in memory, his face tinged with nostalgia.

In Li Luo's memory, although Shangcheng was built and opened in 2017, it didn't truly become popular until after 2020.

On one hand, its location near the university, plus the subway opening, guaranteed a basic flow of people.

On the other hand, over these years, Yinjiang District has continuously been planning economic development north of Ningshan.

Many people gradually moved here to settle, work, and live; the ecosystem around Shangcheng slowly took shape, turning it into the commercial center of northern Yinjiang District.

Li Luo had recently been considering whether to buy two storefronts here, since prices would surely rise in a few years—a guaranteed profitable investment.

But since he turned eighteen, a portion of Chongran Culture's cash flow had been invested by him into the stock market.

Based on his memory of future stock trends, he invested in a few absolutely safe, long-term stable stocks.

The remaining funds were kept for future investment into copyright development.

If the upcoming "Little Joys" becomes a huge hit and gains fame, then for the next script prepared for Yin Zhicheng, Li Luo could secure a larger share of funding.

One shouldn't be too greedy, Li Luo thought, so he decided to stop pursuing real estate and similar things.

Now, arriving at Shangcheng's Southeast Gate with Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi, Li Luo followed the street to find the entrance of KFC.

But before they even stepped inside, the three of them stopped beside KFC's floor-to-ceiling glass window, seeing Xu Yinghuan frantically waving at them.

After Li Luo and the other two entered, Xu Yinghuan waved them over to sit, smiling brightly as she asked, "Why are you here?"

"We heard Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan are working part-time here, so we came by to check it out." Li Luo said, then glanced at Xu Yinghuan's ice cream cone, "What about you?"

"I came to deliver their sales performance," Xu Yinghuan chuckled. "They're on day shift and finish work in the evening; we've already made plans to have dinner together."

"Then join us?" Li Luo asked.

"Sure," Xu Yinghuan nodded, then asked, "By the way, where's Zhusheng? Why isn't she with you?"

"She went with Aunt Yuan to a concert; she won't be back for a while."

"That explains it," Xu Yinghuan said, understanding.

After the four found a table and sat down, Li Luo and the others weren't hungry since they'd just finished lunch, so Li Luo ordered ice cream cones for his two girlfriends.

When their number was called, Ying Chanxi got up to collect them, taking the ice cream cones from Qiao Xinyan's hands.

"Xixi, you're here too?" Qiao Xinyan said, surprised and delighted.

Ying Chanxi greeted her with a smile, then looked around curiously, asking, "Where's Zhao Rongjun?"

"He's working inside," Qiao Xinyan pointed toward the kitchen, "I'm handling the front desk."

"Oh, okay," Ying Chanxi nodded. "We're all having dinner together later—I just made plans with Huanhuan."

"Sounds good."

Back at the table, Ying Chanxi handed one ice cream cone to Xu Youyu.

Halfway through eating, Xu Youyu naturally held out her cone to Li Luo's mouth; Li Luo instinctively leaned down and licked it.

Seeing this, Xu Yinghuan immediately pretended not to notice, turning her head toward the window, but her peripheral vision caught Ying Chanxi, in a pout, shoving her own cone toward Li Luo's mouth too.

Watching the three of them in such sweet harmony, Xu Yinghuan's expression grew wistful; suddenly, she blurted out, "Senior."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think a person should act impulsively or rationally?"

"That depends on what kind of thing you're talking about," Xu Youyu thought for a moment, her gaze thoughtful as she looked at Xu Yinghuan, then glanced toward Qiao Xinyan busy at the front desk. "But we're still young—unless it's something illegal, being a bit impulsive isn't necessarily bad."

"Is that so…" Xu Yinghuan lowered her head, licking her ice cream. "I actually worked part-time with them too at first, but I quit after one day—it was just too tiring. Do you think I'm too soft?"

"Given your family's circumstances…" Xu Youyu sighed with a wry smile. "The fact that you haven't developed any spoiled rich-girl habits already shows you have a good character."

Li Luo looked at Xu Yinghuan and slowly realized something.

But these were her private matters; Li Luo chose not to point it out.

By evening,

Qiao Xinyan and Zhao Rongjun finished their shifts, and the six of them went together to dine on the fourth floor of Shangcheng.

Upon hearing that Li Luo and the others planned to travel by motorhome this summer, Xu Yinghuan's eyes lit up instantly. "Where exactly will you be going?"

"First to Changning City for the platform's salon," Xu Youyu said simply. "Then to Suzhou, then Huxing City, finally to Qiandaohu—after that, we'll head home."

"Then let's go to Qiandaohu too?" Xu Yinghuan suddenly turned to Qiao Xinyan and Zhao Rongjun. "We could meet up with them."

"Sure, I'm fine with that," Qiao Xinyan agreed happily.

Zhao Rongjun naturally had no objections.

"So you're…" Li Luo asked curiously.

"We also made plans to travel this summer, but we hadn't decided where," Xu Yinghuan said. "When exactly will you be heading to Qiandaohu?"

"Around mid-next month, we'll get there."

"Perfect~" Xu Yinghuan beamed. "They've been working part-time for exactly a month—they'll get their wages and can leave together."

After dinner, the four girls walked ahead, strolling on the third floor of Shangcheng, while Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun followed behind.

"Our Brother Zhao is really living the good life now—traveling with two beautiful girls," Li Luo teased.

Zhao Rongjun looked helpless. "Don't make fun of me—you've already been traveling in a motorhome with Xixi and the other two."

"Want to give it a try?"

"No way," Zhao Rongjun shook his head vigorously.

"Xin Yan and Yinghuan—who do you like more?"

"I…" Zhao Rongjun opened his mouth, his eyes clouded with confusion; then he remembered something and looked at Li Luo, pondering for a long while before finally blurting out, "Yinghuan said she has something to tell me after the college entrance exam results come out—what do you think…?"

"Huh?" Li Luo was startled, glancing at Xu Yinghuan's back ahead, falling into deep thought. "Doesn't that mean she's going to confess?"

"Could I be overthinking it?" Zhao Rongjun couldn't help doubting himself.

Li Luo gave him a sidelong glance, speechless.

But after thinking it over, he asked: "So you want both of them?"

"How could I!" Zhao Rongjun turned pale, shaking his head violently. "I'm not you!"

Li Luo: "... You make it sound like I'm some kind of monster."

"Aren't you?"

"Shut up—I'm the one asking you," Li Luo snapped. "Think again—deep down, who do you lean toward?"

"Both of them are wonderful Misses. Whoever you end up with, it'll be your luck."

"I suggest you seize the chance."

Don't end up like last life… Li Luo added silently in his heart.

"I understand…" Zhao Rongjun's face was hesitant, his mood heavy.

Li Luo had no way to help. This kind of thing, he could only let Zhao Rongjun decide for himself.

After his rebirth, he'd done everything he could for his good brother. Whether he could grasp the bright future ahead still depended on Zhao Rongjun himself.

…

When he got home that night.

Ying Chanxi quietly found Li Luo and whispered: "What were you talking about with Zhao Rongjun behind us this afternoon?"

"Life, ideals," Li Luo replied offhandedly. "Why?"

"Hmm…" Ying Chanxi hesitated, unsure whether to speak.

After much thought, she finally whispered: "After I tell you, you can't tell anyone—especially not Zhao Rongjun, and not Yinghuan either."

"Go ahead—I won't tell a soul," Li Luo said, his curiosity ignited. He pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms, afraid she'd change her mind and run off mid-sentence.

Ying Chanxi didn't overthink it, leaning against Li Luo's chest as she whispered carefully: "It's Xin Yan who told me today."

"Aren't the three of them planning to meet us at Qiandaohu next month?"

"Xin Yan's idea is… to find the right moment during the trip to confess to Zhao Rongjun!"

"Today she asked me if I could help create an opportunity so she could be alone with Zhao Rongjun for just a little while."

"Huh?" Li Luo froze when he heard this.

When he snapped back to reality and realized what Ying Chanxi had said, his mouth twitched.

Brother Zhao… did you save the galaxy in your last life?

Otherwise, why would heaven send you back to reverse your romantic luck?

"What are you thinking?" Ying Chanxi poked his chest, seeing him stare blankly. "Say something."

"Huh? Oh… yeah…" Li Luo came to, nodding. "No problem—I'll help."

But… Xin Yan, you might be a little late… Li Luo muttered inwardly.

(End of Chapter)