Chapter 688: Chanxi, are you willing?

Xu Youyu was utterly exhausted tonight.

From six in the evening until half past nine, she had been bustling about at the Administration Building of the Literature College, handling recruitment for the External Relations Department.

Although Li Luo had come by midway and weeded out many newcomers who just wanted to flirt with upperclassmen or gawk at pretty girls, fresh students still kept streaming in.

The recruitment event, originally scheduled to end at nine, was dragged out until half past nine.

Afterward, it took another ten-plus minutes under the leadership of Department Head He Hailu to tentatively finalize fifteen candidate selections.

The final list of recruits won't be fully confirmed until after tomorrow night's second recruitment session.

But tomorrow's session is usually just for filling gaps, and the intensity will be much lower than today's.

After finishing her duties in the External Relations Department, Xu Youyu was too tired to go on; thinking she still had to write tonight, she sighed.

She didn't want to go back to the dorm.

After all, writing there meant battling with her roommates for space, and the chair was uncomfortable.

So Xu Youyu turned around and went back to Bihai Lanting, planning to take a good shower and quickly finish today's update.

But as soon as she opened the door, she noticed two extra pairs of shoes by the entrance.

"Hm?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, then her expression cleared with realization.

She had assumed Li Luo's claim that he'd go accompany Ying Chanxi tonight meant just a casual walk around campus.

She hadn't expected the two had secretly slipped back to sneak off together.

Thinking of this, Xu Youyu immediately guessed something, a smile spreading across her face; after slipping on slippers, she glanced curiously toward the master bedroom.

She barely suppressed the urge to eavesdrop, deciding to give them more space, so she skipped showering and tiptoed back to her own room.

Ying Chanxi was too easily shy—if she knew Xu Youyu had come home, even halfway through, she'd probably be too embarrassed to continue… Xu Youyu thought of this and moved as quietly as possible, not wanting to ruin their moment.

But not long after, as Xu Youyu opened her computer, a knock came at the bedroom door.

"Hm?" Xu Youyu turned around and saw Li Luo opening the door; she asked curiously, "What are you doing here? Where's Chanxi?"

"Cough… something unexpected happened." Li Luo gave a helpless look, then asked, "Why did you come back?"

"I was too tired today; coming home to sleep is more comfortable." Xu Youyu stretched, then asked, "What happened? Did Chanxi get her period? I thought it wasn't these days."

"Not her period, and we didn't plan anything like that." Li Luo rolled his eyes. "She slipped and fell while showering."

"Ah?" Xu Youyu froze, startled, then asked anxiously, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, not too serious." Li Luo shook his head. "When I first heard her scream for help, I thought something terrible had happened—I got a fright."

"Oh… so you went in while she was showering?" Xu Youyu immediately zeroed in on the key point, grinning mischievously.

"She said she couldn't get up, so what else could I do but go in and help?" Li Luo spread his hands. "I washed her."

"Wow~" Xu Youyu burst out laughing, jumping up eagerly and heading toward the master bedroom, pushing the door open to look at the bed.

Ying Chanxi, seeing it was Xu Youyu, felt embarrassed: "Senior…"

She had originally planned to sneak back with Li Luo for a quiet night alone.

Now, not only had she slipped and fallen, but she'd also been caught red-handed by Xu Youyu, who'd unexpectedly come home.

"Are you okay?" Xu Youyu came to the bedside, asking with concern.

"I-I'm fine." Ying Chanxi gave a slight nod. "A little rest will fix it."

"I thought you two were doing something." Xu Youyu snickered, noticing Li Luo had followed in; she leaned close to Ying Chanxi's ear and whispered, "How was it, showering with Li Luo?"

"Senior~" Ying Chanxi's face flushed crimson. "Don't say things like that."

"Still shy?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "Where did he touch you? When I took you to the hot spring last time, what did I tell you? How did it feel?"

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi was too embarrassed to speak, pulling the blanket over her head and refusing to say more.

Seeing her so flustered, Xu Youyu couldn't help laughing for a moment before finally letting her off: "Alright, alright, I've got to go write. Rest well, and remember to ask your class assistant for leave."

"Mm… got it." Ying Chanxi nodded obediently, then peeked out from under the blanket with a pair of blinking eyes, watching Xu Youyu leave the room before finally exhaling in relief.

Li Luo saw Xu Youyu off, closed the door, and returned to his computer: "If you're tired, sleep first—I'll write a bit longer."

"Okay." Ying Chanxi nodded, picking up her phone from the nightstand. "I'll message the class assistant, then sleep."

"Good." Li Luo resumed typing; after Ying Chanxi finished messaging, he added, "Stay home these next few days—don't go to campus."

"Whoever's free at mealtime—me or Xu Youyu—will come back to bring you food."

"Once this week's military training ends, even if your hands and feet aren't fully healed, you should be able to walk a bit without missing class."

"Mm." Ying Chanxi nodded, though she still felt a pang of regret. "I really liked the military fist techniques—I only trained for three or four days."

"You liked that?" Li Luo was surprised. "I thought you were just after the merit points."

"I'm in college now—I don't care about that stuff." Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes. "I just thought it was fun."

After all, during three years of high school, Ying Chanxi had trained martial arts diligently, steadily improving.

Now that she'd encountered authentic fist instruction, naturally she'd been delighted, eager to absorb its essence and learn from it.

To have that wish shattered, it was understandable she felt disappointed.

"With those tiny fists of yours, I suggest you only ever use this fist set on me." Li Luo chuckled. "Besides stirring up your opponent's desire to conquer you, it's not exactly useful."

"What are you talking about!" Ying Chanxi pouted. "If I weren't injured, I'd show you right now—you'd see how strong I am."

"Alright, alright—when you're healed, let me see Master Ying's fist techniques."

"Hmph."

After chatting awhile, Li Luo returned to typing, while Ying Chanxi watched his focused profile and drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

Time quickly reached half past eleven.

Li Luo stretched, feeling it was about time, and paused to rest.

Just then, he noticed Xu Youyu's "Gu Dao Changqing" had just updated; he raised an eyebrow, glanced at Ying Chanxi sleeping on the bed, then quietly rose and left the bedroom.

At that moment, Xu Youyu had just finished writing, stretched, and was about to get up and shower—when she heard the bedroom door open.

Seeing Li Luo walk in, Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "Leaving Chanxi behind to sneak over here—what are you up to?"

"Mm, go ahead."

Li Luo nodded, then walked straight up to Xu Youyu, scooped her up in one motion, and tossed her onto the bed.

"Ah!" Xu Youyu was startled by his eagerness, laughing as she pushed at him, "What are you doing? Is Chanxi asleep?"

"She's asleep."

"Then why are you in such a rush?"

"I'm about to burst."

"Hahaha~ Did you get worked up washing Chanxi?"

"You know it well."

"Then go to Chanxi to solve it—why come to me?"

"She's injured. How could I possibly trouble her?"

"So you come to me, the replacement?" Xu Youyu put on a pitiful pout, "Only when Chanxi can't do it do you turn to me—how heartbroken."

"You're the best, Youyu—never a replacement." Li Luo leaned down and kissed her forehead, pinched her cheek, and said with deep affection.

"But I feel it's kind of thrilling being the replacement." Xu Youyu instantly switched expressions, winking at Li Luo, shoved him away, then got off the bed and pulled him toward the door.

Li Luo didn't understand, let her drag him all the way to the bathroom in the hallway, where she stripped off her clothes, stepped into the shower, turned on the spray—and suddenly cried out, "Ah~!" and fell to the floor.

"Li Luo~"

"Help~!"

Xu Youyu lay on the floor, looking utterly helpless, reaching out her hand toward Li Luo.

Li Luo stood at the bathroom door, unable to suppress a twitch of his lips—but seeing this scene so familiar, it instantly unlocked his inner potential.

He shed his pajamas, stepped into the shower, and picked Xu Youyu up.

"Where are you injured?"

"Here... here... and... here..." Xu Youyu bit her lip lightly, leaning against Li Luo.

As he caressed her "injured" spots, Li Luo chuckled softly, "Why is it that every time you fall, you hurt exactly these places?"

"I don't know~ Just rub more, rubbing makes it stop hurting."

"Like this?"

"Mm~"

"Youyu... "

"Shh." Xu Youyu turned around, raised her hand to block Li Luo's lips, and whispered with a wink, "Call me Chanxi."

Li Luo: "..."

Fine, fine, fine—you're playing this way, huh?

"Chanxi?"

"Mm." Xu Youyu lowered her head, snuggling into Li Luo's arms, mimicking Ying Chanxi's tone, "Li Luo, stop touching me like that... always taking advantage when I'm vulnerable, sneaking around to bully me."

Li Luo's expression twisted oddly, yet his heart thrilled with excitement.

He couldn't help but pull Xu Youyu tighter, leaning close to her ear, "Do you like it?"

"I-I don't like it!" Xu Youyu muttered softly, mentally calculating how Chanxi would respond—she was doing it remarkably well.

Li Luo took a deep breath, washed Xu Youyu thoroughly, then finally couldn't hold back—he grabbed a towel, dried them both off, and carried her toward Xu Youyu's bedroom.

"Ah! W-what are you doing..." Xu Youyu was tossed onto the bed, watched him immediately pounce on her, and pushed against his chest with both hands, whispering in protest, "This is my senior's bedroom—why did you bring me here?"

"Isn't this more thrilling?" Li Luo grinned wickedly as he leaned down, fully immersed in the role Xu Youyu had drawn him into.

Xu Youyu grew more enthusiastic by the moment, imitating Ying Chanxi's slight pride and shy reserve, effortlessly stoking Li Luo's fire to full blaze.

"W-what are you planning to do... isn't this too soon?"

"Don't you want to?"

"I... I don't know..."

"I've already done it with Senior."

"What?! Really?"

"Mm."

"Then I want to too!"

The moment she said it,

Li Luo finally broke—he burst out laughing right on top of Xu Youyu.

Xu Youyu froze, seeing Li Luo laughing uncontrollably, and snapped, "What are you doing! Don't break character! Isn't my acting right?"

"It's not wrong..." Li Luo laughed so hard he trembled, "It's just... too perfect—it makes me want to laugh."

In that instant, Li Luo had almost imagined exactly how the real Ying Chanxi would react—how her cheeks would flush crimson.

That half-resisting, half-enticing look—truly heart-stopping.

"Seriously." Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him, "So—are we doing this or not?"

"Not this one." Li Luo waved his hand, "Let's switch."

"Switch?" Xu Youyu blinked, thinking hard, "I haven't gotten my military training uniform yet—then how about..."

As she spoke, Xu Youyu flipped over, straddling Li Luo, her gaze instantly softening into tender, seductive allure.

"Your Majesty~ Tonight, let your humble servant attend to you~"

Past midnight, Li Luo was kicked off the bed by Xu Youyu.

"You have military training tomorrow—once is enough, right?!"

"I think I'm still fine."

"No way, no way!" Xu Youyu kicked him weakly several times, "I'm already exhausted today—I need to sleep early. Go back and keep XiXi company."

"I promise, it'll be quick."

"I believe you, huh!" Xu Youyu snorted, "If you don't leave now, I'll yell—XiXi will hear."

Li Luo, hearing her use that as a threat, immediately wore a helpless expression: "You really won't come?"

"Won't come."

"Cold-hearted woman—you have your fun and then just abandon me."

"Say what you want," Xu Youyu grumbled, "you didn't miss out on your fun either."

"Sigh…" Li Luo saw it was hopeless and didn't press Xu Youyu further; he let out a long sigh, waved his hand, and left, returning to the main bedroom.

He got into bed from the other side and lay down beside Ying Chanxi.

Just as he was about to sleep, he heard Ying Chanxi stir sleepily, her eyes half-open, looking at him with dazed confusion: "Did you just finish writing? Or did you go to the bathroom?"

"Mmm… just finished going to the bathroom," Li Luo said, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her forehead, "Sleep now."

"Mmm," Ying Chanxi didn't think twice, snuggled into Li Luo's arms, and fell back into deep sleep.

(End of Chapter)