Chapter 692: You Are Mine

Li Luo received the external relations department's membership notification before lunch on Monday.

Along with the formal congratulations on his successful interview and admission to the external relations department, the message included the department's QQ group.

But just as Li Luo was about to search for the QQ group number and request to join, Xu Youyu had already pulled him in directly.

After being pulled into the 【College of Literature External Relations Department】 group, Li Luo glanced at it twice and realized there were quite a few familiar faces.

This year's new intake for the external relations department totaled eleven people; besides Li Luo, there were ten other members, with a gender ratio of two men to eight women.

Among the eight women, three were old acquaintances from Fuyi High School: Xu Yinghuan, Ren Zheng, and Shen Shuhua.

In addition, there was Wu Xuanyi, their Humanities Class One's organizational committee member—also a familiar face.

The other two men and four women, Li Luo didn't know well; two of the women he'd seen in the political work group, but since they were from other teams and Li Luo usually spent his time slacking off, they had little interaction.

After Li Luo joined the group, Minister He Hailu and all the new members had entered, and she began speaking.

【He Hailu】: I'm delighted to be with all of you in the external relations department; I'm your department head, a third-year student.

【He Hailu】: This is our vice-head, @Xu Youyu, and the other five second-year staff members.

【He Hailu】: If you have something to ask me but I don't reply in time, you can also reach out to our vice-head or the other seniors.

【He Hailu】: Since military training still has over five days left, we'll just focus on it for now.

【He Hailu】: After the military training parade ends Saturday morning, we'll meet in the afternoon to reserve a classroom in the administration building for our first official meeting, to get to know each other.

【He Hailu】: Then we'll have dinner together in the evening.

【He Hailu】: I'm letting everyone know in advance—please try to keep your schedule free for then.

【He Hailu】: Oh, by the way, please send your military training formation location to @Jiang Feiya; our external relations department will prepare a welcome gift for all new members~

After reading Minister He Hailu's long message, Li Luo simply replied "Received."

Soon the group became a sea of "Received+1."

People like Xu Yinghuan, who were more active, enthusiastically chatted with the seniors after receiving the message, tossing out cute emoji packs effortlessly.

Having someone like Xu Yinghuan in the group was quite nice—at least it wouldn't suddenly go dead.

Li Luo was the type who only lurked; even in various author groups, he rarely spoke, content to remain a ghost.

But shortly after he sent "Received," Xu Youyu sent him a private message.

【Xu Youyu】: Where are you right now?

【Li Luo】: Eating lunch with my roommate in the cafeteria.

【Xu Youyu】: You saw the group message, right?

【Li Luo】: Yes.

【Xu Youyu】: This afternoon, Sister He doesn't have class; she'll buy eleven bubble teas and deliver them to your new recruits' training site to give you some refreshment.

【Xu Youyu】: When you send your location, ask Sister He what time she'll arrive—don't have her show up while you're off at the political work group.

【Li Luo】: Isn't it going to be my beloved Sister Youyu delivering it herself?

【Li Luo】: What a pity.

【Xu Youyu】: Stop joking—just be glad you'll get something to drink.

【Li Luo】: Compared to bubble tea, I'd rather drink Sister Youyu.

【Xu Youyu】: Get lost.

【Li Luo】: Will Sister He be the only one coming to deliver the bubble tea?

【Xu Youyu】: Yeah, most of us second-years have classes.

【Li Luo】: Then I'll just help out—I got in through backdoors anyway, and I can buy the bubble tea from my uncle's place.

【Xu Youyu】: That's not impossible, but the bubble tea's already going to your uncle's place—we've stockpiled plenty of discount coupons through the student union.

【Li Luo】: Then tell Sister He for me—call me when you're heading out to buy the bubble tea.

【Xu Youyu】: OK.

After chatting with Xu Youyu, Li Luo finished lunch with his roommate and wandered toward the sports field.

That afternoon, Li Luo took leave from military training by asking Jian Chun, then headed to his uncle Lin Xiufeng's bubble tea shop, where he met up smoothly with He Hailu.

After picking up the bubble tea from Lin Xiufeng, the two headed together to the sports field to deliver the refreshments.

But while delivering them, Li Luo was recognized by Instructor Zhang—who knew he'd claimed sick leave, yet here he was, perfectly healthy and even delivering bubble tea.

So Li Luo, extremely unlucky, was dragged back and forced to run several laps around the field as punishment.

He Hailu stood awkwardly nearby, and after Li Luo finished running, she immediately apologized.

Li Luo waved it off—it was just a warm-up for him.

But when Xu Youyu found out, she laughed at him for a long time on WeChat.

Li Luo replied that she'd see how funny she'd still be laughing by nightfall.

After this minor incident, military training returned to its usual calm.

Li Luo followed his routine, enjoying university life: waking up in bed each morning to cook breakfast for Ying Chanxi.

In the morning, he diligently attended military training, then at nine a. m. slipped off to the political work group to slack off, quickly finishing paperwork before driving to the Music College to listen to music.

He had lunch with Yan Zhusheng, then drove back to continue military training; by three p. m., he officially claimed to be heading to the political work group, but actually went straight home.

He wrote while keeping Ying Chanxi company as she recovered.

After dinner, he returned to the sports field for evening training.

Evening training was light, with longer breaks and a talent performance segment.

Li Luo had long passed the stage where he needed such occasions to show off, and remained consistently low-key.

Still, classmates goaded him into singing two songs during the event.

Without a master like Yan Zhusheng to suppress him, Li Luo handled these small scenes with ease.

After three years of training under Professor Yan, though their lessons were often overly cloying, Li Luo had still learned plenty of real skills through his Memory Palace.

His singing ability has gradually progressed from merely above-average to crossing the threshold of professionalism.

As military training dragged on day by day, Saturday arrived before anyone realized it.

To avoid too many regrets in university, after feeling she was nearly ready, Ying Chanxi chose to rejoin the formation on Friday.

Unfortunately, she had missed several days of military fist training, and her original spot had already been taken by another freshman.

Thus, during Saturday morning's military training parade, after marching through the formal routine and returning to the field to stand by, Ying Chanxi still felt a flicker of envy as she watched the military fist formation perform.

Li Luo, however, fixed his gaze on Wen Zexuan.

Wen Zexuan hadn't just joined the national flag guard unit—he had also been outstandingly selected as the flag bearer, carrying the national flag with proud, vigorous strides.

Combined with his upright posture and handsome appearance, the military uniform transformed his entire demeanor.

If filmed, this would surely melt the hearts of countless girls in the future.

Amid this lively atmosphere, the military training parade officially concluded at half past ten in the morning.

Afterward, Li Luo drove Ying Chanxi to the music college to pick up Yan Zhusheng, then returned to Bihai Lanting to shower and change into clean clothes.

At noon, he took both girls, invited Xu Youyu along, and the four of them—rarely all together since the semester began—went out to buy fresh ingredients and cooked a meal together.

After enjoying a delicious meal, Xu Youyu lay back contentedly on the sofa and said to the other three: "After military training ends, there's basically no more mandatory overnight stay."

"Should we still come back here to sleep whenever we can?"

"Oh right, Zhusheng still has a bit of trouble—she has to drive across the bridge; we can't keep picking her up every day."

"I've already signed up for driving lessons," Yan Zhusheng said seriously.

"Don't you want me to introduce you to someone?" Xu Youyu exclaimed. "Li Luo and Xixi both got their instructors through my dad."

"No need," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "I signed up with my roommate."

"Then study hard and try to get your license as soon as possible," Li Luo walked over to Yan Zhusheng, who sat on the single sofa, pinched her cheek, and encouraged her. "But stay safe—when you pass, I'll buy you a car?"

"No need," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "Don't you remember? My mom has an idle car sitting unused."

"Buying one you like would be better."

"I don't like any car," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "I only like you."

"Eww~" Xu Youyu curled up on the sofa, rubbing her arms covered in goosebumps. "Zhusheng, you're so good at this~"

"She's expressing genuine feelings," Li Luo turned to Xu Youyu and teased with a smile. "Unlike someone whose acting is over-the-top."

"What? Now you're starting to complain?" Xu Youyu huffed and kicked him in the thigh.

He easily subdued her with one hand, and she squirmed on the sofa, crying "Ahhhh!" in surrender.

Ying Chanxi, washing dishes, heard the commotion, peeked out, and saw Li Luo pinning Xu Youyu on the sofa. She frowned and said, "If you're this bored, come help me wash dishes."

"Coming, coming!" Xu Youyu scrambled out from under Li Luo and rushed into the kitchen to help Ying Chanxi wash dishes.

After finishing the dishes, the four of them relaxed on the living room sofa, sliced up fruit, watched TV, and played cards.

Time quickly passed to just after three.

Li Luo and the other two freshmen all joined their respective college student union departments.

Ying Chanxi joined the Secretariat, Li Luo joined the External Relations Department where Xu Youyu was, and Yan Zhusheng accompanied Cheng Jinyan to the Arts Department.

Almost all departments scheduled their first regular meeting for this afternoon.

Seeing the time was nearly up, Li Luo pushed himself up from the floor between the sofa and coffee table, pried off a pair of soft white legs resting on him, and finally stood.

"Let's go to the department meeting."

He dropped Ying Chanxi off at the campus gate first, then drove Yan Zhusheng to the music college, and finally returned with Xu Youyu to park in the underground lot beneath the Literature College administrative building.

"Hey, I'll warn you ahead of time," Xu Youyu said to Li Luo as they climbed the stairs. "There are probably quite a few freshmen who know about us, but still be careful during the meeting."

"Now you're worried about your senior image?" Li Luo chuckled. "If people found out what Senior Xu Youyu is really like behind closed doors…"

"Shut up," Xu Youyu glared at him. "Isn't that all because of someone satisfying you? Don't take your blessings for granted."

"Can I sit with you during the meeting?" Li Luo grabbed Xu Youyu's arm and pulled her into his arms.

Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "New students sit with new students."

"How heartless."

"Enough, enough, time's almost up—hurry up!" Xu Youyu pulled him upstairs, arriving quickly at Classroom 101.

At this point, most other members of the External Relations Department had already arrived.

After entering the classroom with Xu Youyu, Li Luo saw Xu Yinghuan sitting in the center seat, waving happily at them.

He glanced over and walked over to sit in the empty seat beside Xu Yinghuan.

Xu Youyu had intended to avoid showing favoritism in front of the freshmen, but ultimately sat beside Li Luo.

"Alright, everyone's here," He Hailu stepped onto the podium, clapped her hands, and smiled. "Today is our first official gathering."

"There aren't many of us, so I won't waste time with formalities."

"We have just a few things today."

"First, self-introductions—not just the freshmen, but all of us seniors too—everyone will come up and introduce themselves so we can get to know each other."

"Then, a brief overview of our department's daily activities and responsibilities."

"We'll list clearly, in chronological order, what we do each semester and what benefits we offer."

"Then, grouping."

"Before joining the External Relations Department, you should already understand our function."

"Each senior will lead one or two freshmen, responsible for a small cluster of nearby businesses, maintaining basic contact and communication, and updating the latest status of these shops in real time."

"We'll do a blind mutual selection: seniors choose the freshmen they want to mentor, and freshmen can also choose the seniors they want to follow."

"Those who match directly form groups; the rest will go through a second round of screening."

After hearing He Hailu's explanation, Li Luo leaned close to Xu Youyu's ear: "Feels like a matchmaking session."

"The grouping rules change every year—just follow the department head's arrangement," Xu Youyu whispered back. "You're only allowed to pick me."

"Oh?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "I think Minister He isn't bad either. Can't we pick more than one?"

"Heh." Xu Youyu sneered. "Who do you think dares to pick you? In the end, won't they still be my people?"