Chapter 649

July 8th, morning.

Li Luo had a dream: he floated on the sea, cradling a piece of driftwood in his arms.

A seagull flew in from the horizon and landed precisely on his head; when Li Luo looked up, he felt the bird's beak pecking at his face.

It seemed as if feathers had gently brushed his forehead.

Only when his strength gave out and he could no longer hold the driftwood, sinking completely into the sea, did Li Luo jolt awake—his eyes flew open to see Yan Zhusheng lying atop him.

Yan Zhusheng held a strand of his long hair in her hand, occasionally brushing it across his face.

Seeing Li Luo awake, she lowered her head and pecked his lips: "Good morning."

"Thanks to you, I had a nightmare," Li Luo said, pinching her cheek.

"What nightmare?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, curious.

"I dreamed I was floating on the sea, then a seagull landed on my head and pecked my face, and I drowned."

After hearing this, Yan Zhusheng thought for a moment, pulled out her phone, typed furiously—no one knew what she searched for—then spoke seriously to Li Luo:

"Floating on the sea represents your inner desire for freedom, yet also feelings of confusion and lack of clear direction for the future, symbolizing helplessness and powerlessness in life, an inability to control the whole situation, and deep anxiety."

"Being stepped on by a seagull on your head signifies external pressure and attacks, possibly also self-doubt and self-denial, hinting that you feel disrespected, bullied, or unfairly treated in certain relationships."

"Drowning to death indicates you're experiencing intense emotional repression, unable to release it, and also suggests you wish to escape your current difficulties or problems."

Yan Zhusheng said a great deal, her expression growing heavier with each word, then looked at Li Luo with clear concern: "You should see a psychologist. It seems pretty serious."

Li Luo stared at her, dumbfounded, and slapped her small butt: "I think you bought too many bamboo shoots yesterday and just want meat-stewed bamboo shoots."

"I'm just concerned about you," Yan Zhusheng said, pouting.

"So I should thank you, then?" Li Luo rolled his eyes at her.

But Yan Zhusheng asked again: "What does 'meat-stewed bamboo shoots' mean?"

"Didn't I just feed it to you?" Li Luo slapped her butt again. "Was it good?"

"Mmm…" Yan Zhusheng squirmed, sensitive to the touch, her cheeks faintly flushed. She whispered, "It was good… can I have a few more bites?"

Li Luo was utterly amused by her reaction, laughing out loud, giving her butt a few more slaps until she whimpered, then glanced at her phone and asked, "Where did you get all that from?"

"A dream interpretation website," Yan Zhusheng said, cheeks flushed, breath slightly uneven, turning her phone to show him.

"You believe this stuff?" Li Luo was surprised.

"Yeah, because I used to have dreams often," Yan Zhusheng nodded, still lying on him. "So I looked up what my dreams meant."

"So what dreams did you have?"

"Dreamed kissing Li Luo in bed, in the classroom, on the road, on the sofa, in the kitchen, in the car…" Yan Zhusheng seriously counted off each scenario on her fingers, then told Li Luo, "I looked it up—it means I like you."

When Li Luo heard her say this, he froze, then felt as if a soft little claw had gently scratched deep inside his chest—tingly, ticklish.

For some reason, whether due to her personality or something else, Yan Zhusheng always spoke with a blunt, innocent tone.

The words sounded like cheesy love lines, but coming from Yan Zhusheng, paired with her serious expression, they felt refreshingly cute—making him want to pull her into his arms.

Li Luo thought it, and naturally did it.

He cupped her face and kissed her thin, crescent-shaped lips: "I like you too."

"I already knew that," Yan Zhusheng hugged his neck tightly, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "You don't just like me—you like Chanxi, you like Senior."

Li Luo felt awkward.

Fortunately, the alarm rang precisely at six.

Ying Chanxi, who had been sleeping on the bed, got up immediately and walked quickly toward the back of the motorhome.

Hearing Ying Chanxi's footsteps approaching, Yan Zhusheng, who had just begun to slide off Li Luo, stopped and clung back tighter.

When Ying Chanxi reached the side bed at the rear of the vehicle and peeked in, she saw her little sister lying atop Li Luo, actively seeking kisses—her eyes narrowed, fists clenched, teeth gritted as she snapped: "The alarm's ringing, get up already!"

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng kissed him several more times before turning her head to Ying Chanxi beside the bed, blinking. "Sister, you're awake?"

These words instantly sent Ying Chanxi back to a few days ago—the déjà vu was overwhelming.

She vaguely remembered: after the first night in the motorhome, she'd done something improper with Li Luo in the morning, then washed her hands in the bathroom when she greeted Yan Zhusheng exactly like this.

Thinking of it, Ying Chanxi instinctively glanced at the trash bin beside the bed and the bathroom, sniffed the air, confirmed no suspicious paper balls or odd smells, and saw the rear door hadn't been opened—only then did she nod in relief.

As for Yan Zhusheng kissing Li Luo right in front of her, Ying Chanxi simply pretended not to see it.

It wasn't the first or second time—get used to it.

She'd just kiss him back just as hard later, right in front of her.

Since shifting from a defensive mindset to an offensive one, Ying Chanxi suddenly felt the world was vast and life was beautiful.

Her mind was already planning how to kiss Li Luo fiercely right in front of her little brat.

"Get up," Li Luo slapped Yan Zhusheng's butt again; once she climbed off the bed, he rose and followed her into the bathroom.

After these days of motorhome travel, Cui Suling had come to accept reality: her daughter showed zero interest in exercising.

Li Luo spoiled her so much he wouldn't force Xu Youyu out of bed, and Cui Suling had no way to stop it.

So these past mornings, everyone left Xu Youyu sleeping in the vehicle, washed up, then gathered under the canopy outside to jog together nearby.

The Luoxin Valley in Mount Mo has developed into a famous local eco-resort, now highly commercialized.

Around Luoxin Valley, many ordinary small villages remain.

The campsite where Li Luo's motorhome was parked sat on a hillside between the highway and Zhangjia Village.

Morning sunlight pierced through the bamboo forest, falling on the mountain path; Li Luo and the other five walked slowly along the road outside Zhangjia Village, jogging into the village entrance.

The village was mostly populated by elderly residents, who woke up early.

As Li Luo's group jogged through the village, they saw many elderly people already working in their fields.

Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling only pretended to jog, stopping halfway to stroll slowly through the village, greeting and chatting with the elders they met.

If they spotted something fresh in someone's home, they'd casually ask about it, returning with plenty of newly harvested local ingredients.

"What did you bring back?" After finishing the morning run, Li Luo called his mother, meeting her at the village entrance as they walked back toward the motorhome; seeing what they carried, he asked curiously.

"These are pickled bamboo shoots," Lin Xiuhong said with a smile, raising one arm to gesture toward Li Luo. "And the black pork jerky here is great for stir-frying."

"I also got two fresh pieces of black pork," Cui Suling added with a chuckle. "They're raised by their family—slaughtered just yesterday." "Oh, and this too."

As she spoke, Cui Suling handed over another bag in her hand.

Ying Chanxi took it curiously, opened it, and let out a soft "Huh?" in surprise.

Li Luo leaned over to look: "Why are these all bamboo tubes?"

"They use them to make bamboo rice," Cui Suling said. "These were made just these past two days—I bought them. We can try making some tonight."

"That sounds interesting," Li Luo said, smiling and nodding.

He'd trained as a chef in his past life, but it was all proper kitchen skills—he'd never made bamboo rice before, and had no idea how it would taste.

Back at the Motorhome, they stored all the ingredients they'd gathered, woke Xu Youyu up from bed, had a quick breakfast, then walked to the nearby Luoxin Valley.

At the entrance of Luoxin Valley's eco-resort, they rented several mountain bikes and rode slowly along the village's mountain trails.

Whenever they passed a pretty camellia garden or a scattered clump of bamboo groves by the roadside, they stopped the bikes and, under Ying Chanxi's direction as the camera master, took one photo after another.

Once, because Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling had already biked ahead a short distance, Ying Chanxi specifically pulled Li Luo aside and kissed him right in front of Yan Zhusheng, snapping a selfie with her phone.

This move made Ying Chanxi smug all morning—she practically held her chin up to the sky.

"Sister is so childish," Yan Zhusheng said flatly, watching Ying Chanxi's proud little expression.

Xu Youyu chuckled beside her, simply watching the show.

They spent the morning wandering through Luoxin Valley, riding mountain bikes, taking many photos, trying horseback riding at the stable, and weaving through bamboo groves—it was all fresh and fun.

By noon, the group arrived at the resort's farm-style restaurant and sampled its signature free-range chicken hotpot and white tea-smoked fish.

Midway through the meal, Li Luo received a message from his good friend Zhao Rongjun.

【Zhao Rongjun】: I'm leaving with Yinghuan and Xinyan on the 10th morning, arriving around noon.

【Zhao Rongjun】: When we meet up, how do we handle accommodation? Your Motorhome won't fit all of us, right?

【Li Luo】: There's a Motorhome campsite near Thousand Island Lake—they rent out ready-made Motorhomes. We'll just park ours next to yours.

【Zhao Rongjun】: Huh? We're renting a Motorhome too?

【Zhao Rongjun】: Yinghuan originally wanted to do what you did—rent a Motorhome and drive over to find you three.

【Zhao Rongjun】: But only Yinghuan has a license, so her dad said no.

【Li Luo】: I mean the "Motorhome" you rent is just a little cabin on wheels—it looks like a Motorhome but has no engine, can't drive.

【Zhao Rongjun】: Ohhh, so that's what you meant. Then we're all set.

【Li Luo】: OK, then see you the day after tomorrow. We'll contact again then.

After chatting with Zhao Rongjun, Li Luo finished eating and rested for a while with Ying Chanxi and the others in the restaurant's courtyard.

After a light walk to aid digestion, they tried the local specialty: bamboo forest spa massage.

When choosing masseurs, Ying Chanxi specifically picked a male therapist for Li Luo.

I have to say, the male technician really has strong hands and great technique; the massage was quite comfortable.

【91】 The male therapist's pressure was strong, his technique excellent, and the massage quite comfortable.

After over a week of traveling in the Motorhome, this kind of massage was a nice way to relax.

After his massage, Li Luo went to find Ying Chanxi and the others, only to discover Xu Youyu had fallen asleep during hers—clearly, she'd been worn out from all the fun these past few days.

By four-thirty in the afternoon, the group finally headed back to the Motorhome, took out the fresh ingredients bought that morning, and began preparing dinner.

But while cooking, Ying Chanxi quietly pulled Li Luo aside into the Motorhome, ducked behind the rear bunk, and whispered to him: "I want to talk to you about something."

"What's up?" Li Luo asked, puzzled—he thought she might want to sneak a kiss again, but this didn't seem like it.

"You know, the thing I mentioned before," Ying Chanxi glanced around, confirmed no one was eavesdropping, then whispered further. "Xinyan wants that—she's asking if we can help create an opportunity."

"Oh…" Li Luo fell silent at her reminder. He hesitated, unsure whether he should say something.

But Ying Chanxi kept going: "She doesn't want to wait any longer. She asked if I can help clear everyone away on the 10th night so she can get a chance to talk alone with Zhao Rongjun."

"I think this is pretty simple—you get Zhusheng to take Yinghuan off somewhere, and then we'll distract everyone else."

"That'll give her a chance to be alone with him."

"What do you think?"

"Uh…" Li Luo snapped back to reality, unsure how to answer.

Mainly because Zhao Rongjun had never told him anything specific about his relationship with Xu Yinghuan.

So Li Luo was mostly guessing—he couldn't be certain of the current situation.

If he guessed wrong and messed up Qiao Xinyan's big confession, it would be terribly awkward.

After thinking it over, Li Luo nodded heavily: "Alright, I'll tell Zhusheng?"

"No no no," Ying Chanxi quickly grabbed his arm. "Don't tell Zhusheng directly."

"Only you and I need to know about Xinyan's matter."

"Just improvise on the spot—get Zhusheng to call Yinghuan away."

"Alright," Li Luo nodded. "Just remember to tell me ahead of time."

"No problem!" Though it wasn't her own confession, the thought of her best friend finally summoning the courage made Ying Chanxi giddy—she couldn't help raising her hand to slap his palm. "It's settled!"

(End of Chapter)