Chapter 650: Xixi

After being assigned a secret mission by Ying Chanxi, Li Luo returned to the tent outside the motorhome and helped his mother and Aunt Cui prepare dinner.

Since this was a motorhome trip, the two motorhomes each had two induction cooktops inside, plus two pull-out gas stoves outside.

So the three of them divided the tasks, each responsible for two dishes, and everything went smoothly.

Early that morning, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling had gathered plenty of good finds from Zhangjia Village nearby.

Li Luo chopped the fresh local black pork he bought, blanched it to remove the gaminess, then slow-simmered it into a pot of red-braised pork.

He then took out the pickled bamboo shoots Lin Xiuhong had bought, added the leftover blanched pork cubes, finely minced them together, and planned to use them as topping for a steamed egg dish.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling each prepared two dishes as well; by six-thirty in the evening, the six of them gathered under the tent and set the six dishes on the table.

The tent below was thoroughly cooled by the air conditioning from both motorhomes, much cooler than outside.

After sitting down, Xu Youyu immediately opened a can of beer, then, under Cui Suling's gaze, reluctantly handed half of it to Li Luo.

But after a few rounds of drinks, once Xu Youyu finished her own cup, Li Luo quietly swapped his cup with hers.

Xu Youyu chuckled slyly, gave a subtle kick under the table in thanks, then dodged Cui Suling's gaze and sneaked another cold beer, instantly feeling much more relaxed.

"This black pork is really good—makes for chewy, juicy red-braised pork, not dry at all," Lin Xiuhong commented, picking up another piece and popping it in her mouth. "Looks like we didn't buy wrong."

"This bamboo-tube rice is quite fragrant too," Cui Suling said. "It really is different from rice steamed in a regular rice cooker."

Whether or not it was a psychological illusion, the meal certainly tasted delicious.

After all, these were ingredients bought directly from rural elders, and dishes prepared ourselves in the motorhome—no matter if the taste was truly this good, the feeling was undeniably different.

"So we're staying here one more day tomorrow?" Ying Chanxi asked while eating. "Then leave for Qiandaohu on the tenth?"

"We don't have to stay here," Xu Youyu mused. "We've pretty much seen everything here in two days—we could find another campsite in between, then head to Qiandaohu."

"I'll search tonight then, see if there's a suitable campsite," Ying Chanxi nodded.

"Won't Yinghuan and the others be coming too?" Yan Zhusheng suddenly asked. "Where will we meet up?"

"The location's already set—we'll just send them the address," Li Luo said. "They can rent a motorhome to stay overnight there; our vehicle can park nearby."

"Yinghuan and the others are coming too?" Lin Xiuhong asked, surprised. "All three of them?"

"Yeah," Li Luo smiled and nodded. "Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan had been working recently, earned some pocket money, and decided to come find us with Xu Yinghuan."

"That'll be lively then."

The dinner ended.

Since Li Luo and Xu Youyu needed to write at night, and they were halfway up the mountain, it wasn't like before by the lake where they could go out for a stroll late at night.

So Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling, after cleaning the table and dishes, took Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng back to the other motorhome to wash up and rest.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng returned to the vehicle, saw Li Luo and Xu Youyu both focused on writing, didn't disturb them, washed up, then quietly went to the cross bed at the rear.

Today was the eighth, and it was Xu Youyu's turn to sleep with Li Luo, so Li Luo and Xu Youyu would sleep on the head bed.

The two sisters lay down on the cross bed, pulled out a laptop, found the latest episode of "Little Joy" that had just updated, and watched it together.

"Xixi, do you think the school goddess Li Luo wrote into 'Little Joy' as the protagonist's secret crush was based on me?" Yan Zhusheng suddenly asked.

"Impossible," Ying Chanxi instinctively rebutted. "The protagonist and his goddess aren't desk mates."

"But I'm just as beautiful as his goddess."

"You can actually say that?" Ying Chanxi stared at her, speechless. "I don't know if it's based on you, but Qiao Yingzi is definitely based on me—she's the protagonist's childhood friend."

"But your dad never pressured you to study like Song Qian did, and you never had that kind of psychological issue," Yan Zhusheng pounced on the loophole. "Nothing alike."

"Artistic creation can't be identical," Ying Chanxi argued.

"Then I'm the protagonist's goddess."

Ying Chanxi twitched her lips: "…Fine, goddess is goddess. But the protagonist isn't Li Luo—he's the bottom-of-the-class slacker. Even in middle school, Li Luo wasn't this bad."

"Artistic creation can't be identical," Yan Zhusheng replied flatly. "So Li Luo must feel about me the way he feels about the goddess."

"You…" Ying Chanxi fell silent, exasperated and annoyed. "Why don't you just ask Li Luo directly? He's right here."

"He'd be too embarrassed to admit it—I won't put him in that position," Yan Zhusheng shook her head.

"You're awfully considerate, huh?"

"Of course I am."

The two sisters watched the drama, chatted and teased each other, lying on the bed, swinging their feet, verbally attacking, kicking each other's feet, occasionally giving a sudden kick.

Li Luo, mid-writing, came to use the restroom and saw their feet tangled together—truly a sight to behold.

Especially since both girls were wearing pajamas, their pajama pants ending above the knees.

Two pairs of pale, slender legs stretched out on the bed were undeniably eye-catching.

Yan Zhusheng's legs were especially pale—a classic cold-white tone that seemed to lower the temperature at a glance.

Paired with her unmistakably long legs, slender and perfectly proportioned.

One couldn't help but want to reach out and play with them.

In comparison, Ying Chanxi's legs looked far cuter—her skin wasn't as translucently pale as Yan Zhusheng's, but a soft, lustrous white, as if you could squeeze out water with a pinch.

Though not as long as Yan Zhusheng's, when Li Luo's gaze followed her pale calves down to those tiny, adorable feet, he found he couldn't look away.

I should've let Xixi use her feet… back when we slept together before.

A wicked thought flashed through Li Luo's mind, then quickly suppressed.

To be fair, both Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng had previously used their feet on him.

Yet Ying Chanxi, whose feet were the most beautiful, had made zero progress in this regard so far.

Li Luo felt it was necessary to even things out—couldn't show favoritism.

"Finished writing yet?" Ying Chanxi noticed Li Luo by the bed and turned to ask.

Li Luo immediately shook his head: "Not yet. You're watching 'Little Joy'?"

"Yeah," Ying Chanxi nodded, wiggling her pale feet. "Tencent Video's early access has updated to episode 20."

"Oh, already up to this?" Li Luo nodded in understanding, then smiled. "Make sure to check Weibo after you finish—the reactions should be pretty good."

In Li Luo's memory, Episode 20 of "Little Joy" was also a major turning point.

It was the first time all the children and parents from the show's several families gathered together in a major climax.

Many absurd and hilarious incidents occurred, successfully easing the tensions among family members.

The conflicts from the first half of the plot had been preliminarily resolved, and the story officially moved toward its middle and later stages.

After speaking, Li Luo still couldn't resist reaching out, under the pretense of stopping them from kicking each other, and groping Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng's legs and feet.

After satisfying himself, he turned back to his seat and continued typing.

"Li Luo just kept sneaking touches on my legs," Yan Zhusheng said, her cheeks slightly flushed, whispering to Ying Chanxi in a boastful tone.

"He touched my feet too," Ying Chanxi glanced at her annoying little sister, thinking, What's so impressive about that?

"He squeezed hard several times—almost slid his hand up my pant leg."

"Almost means it didn't happen," Ying Chanxi snorted, retorting, "He sneaked several squeezes on my feet too—he always plays with them like that."

"Sis, you're so perverted, letting Li Luo play with your feet."

"He's the one who likes touching! What's it got to do with me!" Ying Chanxi's face flushed red as she shouted back, then added, "Aren't you the one letting him touch your legs? How dare you criticize me?"

"Touching legs is normal, isn't it?" Yan Zhusheng blinked innocently. "Go ask online—do couples touch legs more or feet more?"

"W-well, it's just because your feet are ugly!" Ying Chanxi huffed.

"Maybe your only good feature is your legs," Yan Zhusheng struck hard. "That's why Li Luo can only play with yours."

"You dare criticize me?" Ying Chanxi widened her eyes and poked Yan Zhusheng's chest. "You've got nothing but your legs! My chest is way bigger than yours!"

Struck right where it hurt, Yan Zhusheng finally stiffened her face: "Even if it's bigger, it's not as big as Senior's—what's the point?"

"Has Li Luo touched yours?" Ying Chanxi, now heated, sat up and puffed out her small chest, lips pursed.

This question instantly silenced Yan Zhusheng; she opened her mouth but couldn't speak.

After recalling it herself, she realized Li Luo had never touched hers…

Seeing her little sister's expression, Ying Chanxi suddenly felt an unprecedented joy.

Who knew winning a verbal battle like this could be so satisfying?

So Ying Chanxi pressed her advantage, adding unconsciously: "Anyway, Li Luo has touched mine—and he really likes it."

Yan Zhusheng fell silent, quietly turning her gaze back to the laptop screen, pretending to focus on the show.

Ying Chanxi let out two rare chuckles, her face beaming with triumph.

She actually won a verbal fight against Yan Zhusheng—she felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

Happier than when she ranked first in the entire school.

But she wasn't the type to gloat; seeing Yan Zhusheng wouldn't argue back, she dropped it and continued watching "Little Joy" together.

After finishing the two latest episodes' early access, they searched Weibo—and sure enough, just as Li Luo had said, tonight's plot had surged to trending, creating several new memes.

Dong Wenjie's nephew's drunken ramblings were turned into emoji packs and widely shared online, providing a wave of laughs.

As the sole blockbuster drama of the summer, "Little Joy" had monopolized nearly half a month's worth of internet trending topics.

Almost every episode sparked fresh debates, one after another, with endless traffic, becoming a social phenomenon and gradually gaining momentum to break beyond its niche.

By the time they finished scrolling through Weibo's praise for "Little Joy," it was already past ten at night.

Li Luo finished typing first, took a shower, saw Xu Youyu hadn't finished, and squeezed over to the cross bed to chat with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng.

But when Yan Zhusheng leaned against him, she suddenly grabbed his hand and pushed it toward her chest.

"What are you doing?" Li Luo pulled his hand back, half-amused, half-exasperated.

"Nothing," Yan Zhusheng noticed Ying Chanxi smirking from the other side, sulked, turned her back to Li Luo, and said, "I'm going to sleep."

Ying Chanxi, rarely seeing Yan Zhusheng flustered, laughed so hard she trembled in Li Luo's arms.

Li Luo looked baffled and asked Ying Chanxi what was going on, but she refused to say.

When it was past eleven, Xu Youyu finished typing and showered, then came over to the cross bed, gestured to Li Luo with a finger: "Come on, let's go back to sleep."

Watching Li Luo get up and let Xu Youyu take his hand toward the forehead bed, Ying Chanxi pressed her lips together, feeling a sour pang inside.

Though they rotated nights, it still meant two nights alone.

Well, not exactly alone—Ying Chanxi glanced at Yan Zhusheng, who had shut herself away in bed from being too upset.

As she watched Li Luo and Xu Youyu climb onto the forehead bed and pull the curtain shut, Ying Chanxi finally looked away, turned off the light, and closed her eyes to sleep.

…

She didn't know how long she'd slept, but felt it hadn't been long when she woke up from a sudden urge to urinate.

She got up, went to the bathroom, and planned to rush back to bed—when suddenly, suspicious breathing sounds came from the forehead bed.

Curious, Ying Chanxi turned and walked slowly toward the forehead bed, but the sound had vanished.

Just as she thought she'd imagined it, Xu Youyu let out a sharp cry.

"Ah… mmm…"

Like a cry stifled mid-sound, it made Ying Chanxi's heart jolt; she hurried closer, nearly reaching directly beneath the forehead bed.

"Senior… are you okay?" Ying Chanxi hesitated, then whispered.

"I-I'm fine…" The curtain of the forehead bed parted slightly; Xu Youyu's face twisted in pain as she peered down, breathing heavily. "My calf's cramping… I couldn't hold back…"

"Oh? Are you alright?" Ying Chanxi, seeing her suffering, asked with concern. "Should I massage it? Is Li Luo awake?"

"He's asleep," Xu Youyu gripped the railing of the forehead bed, struggling to breathe, clearly in severe pain. "Go back to sleep—I just overexerted myself today. I'll recover soon."

"Oh… good," Ying Chanxi nodded uncertainly, deciding not to climb up and investigate, afraid Xu Youyu would think her petty. "I'm going back to sleep. If you're still in pain later, just call me."

"Mm~" Xu Youyu hummed through her nose, lips tightly shut, still enduring the cramp. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ying Chanxi turned toward the cross bed, but couldn't help glancing back.

The curtain had been pulled shut again.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Ying Chanxi felt the curtain, bathed in moonlight, seemed to be trembling slightly.

Maybe it's from the air conditioning.

(End of Chapter)