Chapter 641: Wasn

In Li Luo's bedroom, Yan Zhusheng was already fast asleep, but Ying Chanxi was still awake.

Because she wanted to hug Li Luo before sleeping, she was now holding her phone under the covers, scrolling through netizens' comments on "Little Joys" on Weibo.

After the first two episodes aired, plus the early-bird streaming of episodes three and four on Tencent Video, the internet was overflowing with praise for "Little Joys."

Especially the three families central to the plot—whether the parents or the children, nearly everyone who watched the drama could find someone they identified with.

Students exclaimed that the director and screenwriters truly understood—they saw their own parents exactly as portrayed, a one-to-one replica.

Parents, too, felt deeply resonant; from the perspective of the parents in the show, they couldn't help but sigh again: children never understood their parents' painstaking efforts, never realized how much work went into raising them.

Ying Chanxi couldn't help tapping furiously on her screen, posting her opinions online, until she looked up and realized it was already past midnight.

Seeing the time, she immediately frowned, thinking: Wasn't it agreed he'd be back before midnight? Why was he still not back?

Thinking this, Ying Chanxi reached for the edge of the blanket, ready to pull it back and get up to ask whether they'd finished yet.

Just as she was about to lift the blanket, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Xu Youyu shuffled in, yawning while clutching her waist, her steps feeling odd, though she couldn't quite say why.

Ying Chanxi watched Xu Youyu approach the side of her bed and asked curiously, "Senior, are you okay? You look exhausted."

"Uh…" Xu Youyu sank weakly onto the edge of the bed, greeted Ying Chanxi, then offered a casual excuse: "I sat too long typing, forgot to stand up, and now my lower back's stiff—Li Luo gave me a massage, but it didn't help much."

"Sitting too long does cause this problem," Ying Chanxi believed her and added concernfully, "If it's serious, you should really see a doctor."

"Mm, I know. It's nice of you to care, Chanxi," Xu Youyu smiled, then glanced at Li Luo, "Unlike someone who only knows how to bully others."

Li Luo awkwardly grinned, walked toward Yan Zhusheng's side of the bed, still savoring the earlier pleasure, and let Xu Youyu scold him.

After all, they'd originally agreed it would be just once.

But in the shower, he couldn't resist—making Xu Youyu suffer even longer.

Thinking this, Li Luo reached the bed and prepared to climb in and sleep.

On the other side, Xu Youyu lay down beside Ying Chanxi, letting out a long, contented sigh—she was clearly exhausted.

Just as Li Luo carefully slipped past Yan Zhusheng's position, rolled over, and settled between the two girls, Yan Zhusheng, who had been asleep, woke up from his movement.

Opening her eyes and seeing Li Luo had returned, she mumbled sleepily and snuggled into his arms.

This made Ying Chanxi, who had just been about to crawl into Li Luo's arms, pout.

"Aren't you asleep, Zhusheng?" Ying Chanxi poked Yan Zhusheng's cheek, trying to get her to move over.

But Yan Zhusheng opened her eyes, glanced at her, then climbed straight onto Li Luo.

Enraged, Ying Chanxi forgot to ask why Li Luo was so late—she began wrestling Yan Zhusheng under the covers for space in Li Luo's arms.

Then, as both girls had their heads gently pinned by Li Luo's hands and pulled into his embrace, Ying Chanxi heard soft snoring coming from behind.

She turned—and saw Xu Youyu had already fallen asleep.

"Why does Senior seem so tired?" Ying Chanxi asked.

Hearing her, Li Luo guiltily turned his gaze to the window, then adjusted the blanket and closed his eyes, saying casually, "Probably just tired from typing—sitting too long at the computer makes your back and neck ache."

"What about you?" Ying Chanxi asked, concerned. "If you're uncomfortable, I can give you a massage."

"I'm fine," Li Luo yawned, patting Ying Chanxi's head. "Sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

…

Early the next morning, Lin Xiuhong arrived at the market before dawn and met Cui Suling at the entrance, buying plenty of fresh ingredients.

After purchasing a large amount of goods, the two went to the entrance of Bihai Lanting, found their motorhome in the compound, loaded the ingredients needed for the trip into the fridge, then carried the rest upstairs.

Just as they stepped into the elevator, they ran into Li Luo and the other two returning from their morning run.

Cui Suling looked left and right, not seeing her daughter, and sighed in exasperation: "Where's Youyu? She told me she'd be joining your morning runs now—was that all a lie?"

"Cough…," Li Luo looked at Cui Suling, searching for a way to make excuses for Xu Youyu: "Senior Xu stayed up late typing last night and was too exhausted to get up… Oh, by the way, Auntie Cui, don't disturb her when you go upstairs—let her sleep more. I'll wake her when I get back."

Li Luo thought of Xu Youyu still lying in his bed, so he added those last two lines, fearing Cui Suling might find Xu Youyu wasn't in her own room.

But his words sounded suspiciously like covering up the truth.

So after following Lin Xiuhong upstairs, Cui Suling immediately went to Xu Youyu's bedroom door, opened it, peeked inside—and saw no one there.

Back in the kitchen helping Lin Xiuhong prepare breakfast, Cui Suling used a trip to the bathroom as an excuse, walked deep into the hallway, and quietly opened Li Luo's bedroom door.

When she closed the door and turned to walk back, her face wore an expression of "I knew it."

These two kids—knowing they were leaving on a long trip today, still fooling around past midnight…

…

Around seven in the morning, Li Luo and the others finished their morning run and returned for breakfast.

Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling had already eaten; seeing them return, they brought out the still-warm breakfast from the kitchen.

Li Luo walked straight to his bedroom as soon as he entered, sneaking a glance at Cui Suling—seeing her expression unchanged, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then hurried into his room.

Xu Youyu, still sound asleep, was woken by Li Luo tapping her bedside.

"Senior Xu, wake up," Li Luo whispered, crouching by the bed. "Your mom's outside—hurry up."

Xu Youyu had been mumbling and wriggling in bed, reluctant to rise—but hearing her mother was waiting, she instantly opened her eyes, snapped awake, and sat up with a sharp motion.

"Does my mom know I'm sleeping here?"

"Probably not," Li Luo said. "I told her not to wake you—said I'd come get you after my run."

Xu Youyu exhaled slightly in relief, then glared at him: "It's all your fault. You insisted on doing it twice yesterday—wasn't it agreed it'd be just once?"

"Cough… Isn't it because Senior Xu is just so charming?" Li Luo chuckled, still savoring the memory. "If you hadn't been so tired, it might've been more than twice."

"How dare you say that?" Xu Youyu swatted him irritably. "It was fine in bed, but afterward in the bathroom, I could barely stand—I was about to collapse."

Saying this, Xu Youyu immediately rolled out of bed, rubbed her aching lower back, went to the bathroom to freshen up, changed into fresh clothes in her own room, then joined Li Luo and the others in the living room for breakfast.

After breakfast, the six of them packed up inside the house, loaded everything not yet on the motorhome, checked the apartment one last time, confirmed everything was fine, and finally headed downstairs to depart.

At the two motorhomes, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling took one; Li Luo and the other four took the other.

Li Luo and Lin Xiuhong, mother and son, took the wheel first, driving the motorhome out of the Bihai Lanting gate toward the highway entrance to Changning City.

During the motorhome's journey, passengers must not move around freely; they must remain seated and fasten their seatbelts.

Xu Youyu, still half-asleep, collapsed onto his chair as soon as he boarded, propped his feet up on the opposite seat, slipped on an eye mask, and went back to sleep.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had nothing to do, so each pulled out their phones to check the latest updates online about "Little Joys."

Due to the phenomenal success of "Little Joys" upon premiere, Qianjiang Television and Oriental Television both adjusted their schedules, allocating an additional time slot in the morning exclusively for reruns of "Little Joys."

Thanks to the stacking of multiple traffic factors and the solid quality of "Little Joys"' plot, after just one night, the drama's popularity rose instead of declining, and discussion热度 only grew higher.

Around ten in the morning, Li Luo and Lin Xiuhong avoided the height-restricted roads and finally entered Changning City's urban area, arriving at the hotel arranged by Wenxue Group and finding a suitable parking spot.

Although this trip was a motorhome tour, their main purpose in coming to Changning City was to attend the salon event; only after the salon ended tomorrow would they drive to Gusu City, marking the official start of the motorhome tour.

"Chongran, over here!" Upon learning that Li Luo and the others had arrived, the editor Qianzhou waited早早 at the parking lot exit; as soon as they stepped out, he waved enthusiastically.

Li Luo waved back and led the group into the hotel with Qianzhou to check in.

Because Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling were with them, Li Luo didn't dare book just one room for the four of them.

In the end, they booked four rooms: one for Li Luo, one for Xu Youyu, one for Xixi and Zhusheng, and one for the two mothers.

"Why are your three rooms on the same floor, but ours are on the tenth?" Cui Suling asked, puzzled, after receiving her key card.

Qianzhou glanced at Li Luo, then at the three girls beside him, his eyebrow twitching slightly, but he still helped explain: "All the rooms on the eighth floor are fully booked, so we had to assign you two rooms on the tenth."

Lin Xiuhong knew her son's nature well—back home, he probably slept with the three girls every single night.

When she realized her room wasn't on the same floor as Li Luo's, she immediately knew the truth.

So she pulled Cui Suling aside and said, "It's no big deal that we're not on the same floor—we're only staying two nights anyway."

After all, if they were on the same floor, and Cui Suling suddenly got the urge to knock on her daughter's door only to find all three girls inside Li Luo's room, what would happen then?

To prevent such an awkward situation, Lin Xiuhong had already exhausted herself thinking of ways to keep Cui Suling occupied during this trip, so she wouldn't interfere too much with her son's fun.

Cui Suling, however, hadn't thought that far—she didn't mind that their room wasn't on the same floor as Li Luo's; she just hoped Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng's rooms weren't on the same floor as Li Luo's either.

After all, that way, her daughter could slip over to Li Luo's room at night more easily.

In matters of pursuing men, Cui Suling, who had long ago won over Xu Rongsheng, still held considerable authority.

Unfortunately, her daughter still lacked the finesse—after all this, she still hadn't learned to assert her claim over Li Luo against the other girls.

Cui Suling watched it all with growing anxiety, wishing she could step in herself and clear away the obstacles.

Li Luo and the others naturally had no idea how richly the two mothers were dramatizing inside their heads.

After taking the elevator upstairs and settling their luggage in their rooms, the three girls gathered in Li Luo's room.

"A few editors and author friends have arranged to meet me this afternoon," Li Luo told Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng. "You Youyu will come with me—you two stay with my mom and help them explore Changning City."

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently; they knew this was Li Luo's business and didn't pout or beg to come along.

After lunch, the two girls accompanied Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling to visit nearby attractions.

After watching them leave the hotel, Xu Youyu flopped onto the bed with a long sigh: "Alright, alright—this time it's really only once, okay? My body really can't take more."

"You Youyu, what are you talking about?" Li Luo looked at her, amused, as she lay sprawled on the bed. "Get up and get ready—we're heading downstairs. The editors are waiting."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu froze on the bed, momentarily confused.

"You didn't think I was lying to Xixi and the others, did you?" Li Luo said, exasperated.

"What else?" Xu Youyu scratched her head awkwardly. "I thought you were sending them away so you could…"

"Actually, that wouldn't be impossible," Li Luo said, watching her adorable expression, his hands moving toward his belt. "We could just ask Qianzhou and the others to wait a bit."

"No!" Xu Youyu leapt off the bed the moment she saw his gesture, darting out of the room. "Let's go! Let's go downstairs! Don't keep them waiting!"

(End of Chapter)