Chapter 637: Xixi: Why Is There an Extra School Uniform?

After lunch, the original plan was for the four of them to go out together to purchase supplies needed for the motorhome trip the day after tomorrow.

But Xu Youyu was still somewhat exhausted, so she merely listed her needed items on WeChat, then returned to her room to catch up on sleep.

Li Luo clearly knew Xu Youyu was truly worn out, so he said nothing more, took Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng with him, and left.

Butler Liu, who had been notified in advance, had already been waiting downstairs for a long time, driving the Audi A6 that Yin Zhicheng had given to Li Luo, ready to pick them up.

"Why does Senior seem even more tired than usual? Could she be sick?" Ying Chanxi asked, still worried as they went downstairs, "Don't let it affect tomorrow's trip."

"Probably stayed up late again last night," Li Luo coughed to mask his guilt, "She'll be fine after some more sleep."

Once seated in Butler Liu's car, the three quickly arrived at a nearby large supermarket and made a swift purchase.

They had originally planned to buy dinner ingredients too.

But midway, Li Luo received a call from Lin Xiuhong, saying she and Cui Suling had nothing to do today and planned to come over to cook dinner for them.

So Li Luo saved the effort of buying groceries, stuffed all the purchased supplies into the trunk, and then went to Tianjie.

At the floor-to-ceiling window of KFC, Xu Yinghuan spotted them walking in and immediately smiled brightly, "Why are you here?"

"Tomorrow's the 30th—Li Luo's 'Little Joys' is premiering," Yan Zhusheng said to her good friend as she walked over, "Li Luo asked if you'd like to join us for dinner and watch the movie together tomorrow night."

"Sure!" Xu Yinghuan nodded vigorously and agreed with a grin, "I'll ask Rongjun and Xinyan—they usually finish work by evening, so they should be free."

"Also, ask Xinyan to make two ice cream cones," Li Luo said to Xu Yinghuan, glancing at her thoughtfully.

"Got it~" Xu Yinghuan bounced over to the counter, chattered excitedly with Qiao Xinyan, then quickly took two ice cream cones from Qiao Xinyan's hands and ran back, "Here, Boss, don't forget to pay."

Seeing Xu Yinghuan about to hand the cones directly to Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo immediately reached out to stop her, took the cones from her hands, and personally handed them to the two girls.

Seeing this, Xu Yinghuan stared blankly: "Why not just give them to the girls directly?"

"Is that the same thing?"

"Does it taste sweeter because you touched it?" Xu Yinghuan raised an eyebrow and teased.

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng extended her pink little tongue to lightly lick the cone, then nodded at Xu Yinghuan, "It's sweeter."

Xu Yinghuan: "... Not sweeter—you're hopeless."

Yan Zhusheng ignored her, turned, and held the cone she'd licked a few times to Li Luo's mouth.

Li Luo opened his mouth and took a bite, then quickly took another bite from Ying Chanxi's side.

Seeing this, Xu Yinghuan felt a pang of longing, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward the KFC kitchen, still muttering: "No wonder you only bought two cones—I thought you weren't eating."

"When you're in love, if you can buy just one, don't buy two," Li Luo said cheerfully, "Sharing it tastes the best."

"W-why are you saying that to me?" Xu Yinghuan avoided Li Luo's gaze, feeling guilty, "I'm not in love."

"You'll be someday," Li Luo said casually.

After meeting Xu Yinghuan and the others at KFC and confirming their plans for tomorrow night's dinner, Li Luo stayed with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng until they finished their cones, then took his leave.

When they returned home in the evening, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling were already busy in the kitchen.

Seeing the three return from outside, Cui Suling asked curiously, "You went out shopping—why didn't Youyu come with you?"

"Youyu's at home writing," Li Luo made up an excuse for Xu Youyu, "She's stockpiling drafts before the trip so she can enjoy it more."

"A trip?" Cui Suling pressed, "That salon, right? The one they hold every year?"

"Yeah, partly," Li Luo nodded, "Didn't Youyu tell you? We're planning to use this chance to take a motorhome trip."

"Huh?" Cui Suling was surprised, "She hasn't mentioned it to me."

"What motorhome?" Lin Xiuhong poked her head out from the kitchen to ask.

"It's a big vehicle where you can sleep overnight," Li Luo explained to Lin Xiuhong, "Youyu rented one—we four will go on a trip, about half a month."

"When are you leaving?" Lin Xiuhong asked curiously, "Four people sleeping in one vehicle—won't it be too cramped?"

"We leave on the first, head to Changning City first for the salon, then go to Suzhou," Li Luo said simply, "We already tested it once on Youyu's birthday—it fits, theoretically six people can sleep in it."

But if six people really slept in it, the experience would be terrible—the space would be suffocating.

Actually, even four people were already cramped, but Li Luo and the others were used to squeezing together on beds, so it was manageable.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Cui Suling muttered, dissatisfied, walked to Xu Youyu's bedroom door, knocked, then pushed it open to peek inside, "Huh?"

Seeing Cui Suling approach Xu Youyu's bedroom door, Li Luo's heart sank—he had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, as soon as Cui Suling opened the door, she frowned: "Youyu, why are you still sleeping? Did you sleep all day? Clothes are scattered everywhere—why are you still wearing Fuyi Middle School's uniform?"

Saying this, Cui Suling stepped into the bedroom, bent down, and picked up the scattered uniforms from the floor.

But the next second, her expression changed slightly; she glanced around, then walked to the trash bin beside the bed and peered inside.

"Ugh… don't bother me… I just slept a little… I was writing this afternoon…" Xu Youyu struggled on the bed, covering her head.

It was no surprise—she was the one who could merge with Li Luo; in lying, she was perfectly in sync with him.

Hearing this, Cui Suling, recalling what Li Luo had said earlier, believed her a little, especially since her attention was now fully drawn to the trash bin.

"I'll wash these clothes for you," Cui Suling said, her eyes darting around the room searching for more clues, then fixed on the pillow beside Xu Youyu, her gaze sharpening, "By the way, what's this uniform doing here?"

To examine it closely, Cui Suling asked another question, leaning closer to Xu Youyu's pillow—finally seeing clearly what it was.

Strange… why is it different from the brand I gave her last time?

Did she buy a new one after using the old one?

So she's done this multiple times already?

Cui Suling muttered to herself, various suspicions flooding her mind.

This seems like just one?

Cui Suling crouched down, lifted the trash bag, gave it a quick shake, saw no other suspicious items, and said to Xu Youyu, "I'll take out the trash—dinner's coming soon, get up."

"Okay, okay…" Xu Youyu, completely unaware of her mother's detective-like instincts, waved her hand lazily on the bed, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

"You child…" Cui Suling was speechless, thinking: You only did it once with Li Luo and you're already this exhausted—your physical condition is terrible, "You really need to exercise more regularly."

Xu Youyu pulled the blanket over her head, refusing to respond at all.

Cui Suling rolled her eyes, carried the trash bag out, tied the opening tightly to seal in the odor, placed it beside the kitchen waste to be taken downstairs, then shoved the two sets of uniforms into the washing machine.

But when she returned to the living room and saw Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng sitting beside Li Luo, Cui Suling's face once again wore an expression of mild headache.

Her own daughter was perfect in every way, except she was utterly clueless about this sort of thing.

You're already that close to Li Luo—can't you just remind him a little more?

Li Luo is also like this—he's already so intimate with your daughter, why is he still so close to other girls?

Cui Suling wanted to say something, but remembering Xu Rongsheng's usual warnings, she thought it over and said nothing, pretending she saw nothing.

Otherwise, if things got truly unpleasant, Xu Youyu would be the one left struggling.

What a mother, exhausted from worrying so much.

As Cui Suling thought this, she returned to the kitchen and suddenly had an idea. She turned to Lin Xiuhong and said, "Why don't we go on a trip too?"

"Huh?" Lin Xiuhong blinked, then realized, "You and me?"

"Not exactly," Cui Suling said. "I mean, if Li Luo and the other three go on a normal trip, I'd feel at ease."

"But they're going out in that Motorhome—doesn't that feel a bit unsafe?"

"They've all just gotten their licenses and are driving a big vehicle on the highway."

"I was thinking—why don't we go along too?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiuhong felt a flicker of interest.

But she actually preferred giving her son and the three girls more private space—it would better help her dream of having three daughters-in-law.

Still, she couldn't say that in front of Cui Suling.

So Lin Xiuhong carefully chose her words and said, "Didn't Li Luo just say the Motorhome can technically sleep six people?"

"But that would be way too cramped—I don't think it's a good idea."

"We'd better not disturb them."

Hearing this, Cui Suling laughed. "I never said we'd ride in the same vehicle. Don't we two just rent another Motorhome and follow them?"

"They do their thing, we do ours."

"We just travel together—keep an eye on them, look out for each other, right?"

Learning Cui Suling's plan, Lin Xiuhong became quite interested—it didn't sound bad at all.

Especially since she'd been dragged on trips by Li Luo these past two years, Lin Xiuhong truly enjoyed the feeling of flying across the country, seeing worlds she'd never known before.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuhong nodded. "Then shall we ask them later?"

"Yes, mention it at dinner," Cui Suling said. "And ask Youyu where she rented that Motorhome."

…

At dinner.

Xu Youyu was finally lifted from bed by Li Luo.

By then, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had already taken their seats.

Cui Suling carried dishes out of the kitchen and caught sight of Li Luo carrying her daughter bridal-style toward the bathroom.

This was the first time she'd seen such intimacy between the two—Cui Suling's face lit up with delight, almost giddy.

Good, good! Xu Youyu, you're doing great!

No wonder she's my daughter—truly my own flesh and blood.

That's more like it.

In high spirits, Cui Suling placed the dishes on the table and gently told Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, "Go ahead and eat. Don't wait for Youyu—she's slow. The food will get cold."

A few minutes later, Li Luo and Xu Youyu finally emerged from the bathroom and sat down at the table.

During dinner, Lin Xiuhong brought up Cui Suling's suggestion to Li Luo.

Li Luo didn't mind—he knew adding another Motorhome wouldn't affect them much.

By contrast, Xu Youyu was resistant.

"If you two want to travel, just rent a Motorhome and go yourselves—why follow us?" Xu Youyu said helplessly.

"We don't know how to plan trips, so following you young ones is easier," Cui Suling said. "Besides, with us along, you won't have to worry about cleaning the Motorhome, doing laundry, or cooking—how nice is that?"

This made Xu Youyu slightly tempted.

After all, she was a lazybones—if her mother was willing to help, that would be perfect.

But Xu Youyu still said, "We need rules: if you come along, you can't meddle in everything, or we won't enjoy ourselves."

"Don't worry," Cui Suling immediately promised. "I won't even scold you for sleeping in. We'll all follow Li Luo's lead—how's that?"

Seeing Cui Suling agree so readily, Xu Youyu thought it over again and finally nodded. "Then I'll rent another Motorhome. Two vehicles together mean more storage space—I'll find one with a bigger fridge."

"It's settled," Lin Xiuhong smiled, genuinely delighted at the idea of traveling with her son and his three future daughters-in-law.

"What about Dad and Uncle Xu?" Li Luo asked.

"Uncle Xu is busy right now—school activities," Cui Suling waved off. "He's got a full summer ahead—we don't need to worry about him."

"Your dad's busy too," Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes. "He's practically moved into the hotpot restaurant. Lately he's even thinking about renting a shop in Tianjie—his mind's buzzing with ideas."

"Then it's settled," Li Luo nodded, finalizing the plan.

After dinner, once the two mothers had left, Li Luo returned to his bedroom to write, already planning how to coax Xu Youyu into bed after she finished her writing and tease her.

But not long after, Ying Chanxi walked into the room, looking puzzled. "Li Luo."

"Hmm?"

"Why are there still two sets of school uniforms in the washing machine?" Ying Chanxi asked. "One's Senior's—was the other one yours? I swear I hung yours out to dry this morning."

Hearing this, Li Luo broke into cold sweat. His mind raced as he jumped up. "Maybe they're both Youyu's? Did she just toss in another uniform by accident?"

"Impossible," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "The uniforms have the enrollment year stamped on them—one's 2013, the other's 2014. The size's too big to be mine or Zhusheng's."

Here, Ying Chanxi's gaze sharpened as she studied Li Luo up and down. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Of course not," Li Luo forced a calm face, walking toward the hallway to inspect the uniforms Ying Chanxi had pulled out. Then he feigned surprise. "Wait… they're really mine?"

After saying that, he walked to Xu Youyu's room again, knocked, pushed the door open, and asked: "Youyu-jie, Xixi saw my school uniform in the washing machine too, washed together with yours. What's going on?"

Ying Chanxi followed behind Li Luo, poking her head in to look at Xu Youyu, an appraising expression on her face.

Xu Youyu was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then quickly recovered, thought for a second, and said with a smile: "Oh, that was something I took yesterday morning."

"Doesn't Xixi usually use the wardrobe in your room?"

"Yesterday I went to school with you guys, and figured if I needed to wear a uniform, I could borrow one of Xixi's—hers is from the 2014 batch after all."

"I found a set and brought it back to my room, but after putting it on I realized the size was wrong—way too big. It must have been yours."

"I was in a rush to leave with you guys, so I forgot to put it back. Probably my mom just took it to wash a while ago."

"No wonder." Li Luo's face showed a look of sudden realization.

Ying Chanxi beside him also nodded with an "ah, so that's how it is" expression: "Then I'll go hang it up to dry."

Watching Ying Chanxi's back as she went to the balcony to hang the clothes, Li Luo let out a small sigh of relief and gave Xu Youyu a thumbs-up.

Xu Youyu shot him a look, and then Li Luo leaned close to her ear and whispered something.

Hearing that, Xu Youyu's face immediately panicked, and she quickly said: "Let's skip tonight. Once I finish typing, I'll come sleep in your room."

"Huh?" Li Luo looked a little disappointed. "Really not?"

"I don't think I've fully recovered yet." Xu Youyu reached out and poked the unruly bad guy. "If you really can't hold it in, want me to help you out another way?"

"Then forget it." Li Luo shook his head. "Go ahead and keep typing. I won't bother you anymore."

To prove himself to Xu Youyu, Li Luo figured it was better to rest up and conserve his energy first.

For now, he'd retreat and regroup—next time he'd definitely show her what he's capable of!

(End of chapter)