Chapter 712: Whoa! How is it you?!?!

They chatted about adopting a kitten, and Xu Youyu grew more and more enthusiastic—clearly, she really wanted to own a cat.

When Li Luo had asked her before, she'd said she wasn't that keen, and besides, Bihai Lanting was Li Luo's home; she was just a tenant, so keeping a pet wasn't appropriate.

But now it was completely different.

The small villa at Sky Ridge Elegant Residence could already be called "our new home."

And with so much space, wouldn't keeping a cat be more than enough?

After getting Li Luo's approval, Xu Youyu's mind sprang to life, already eager to act.

But after some thought, she still said, "No need to rush—it's only just been born."

"The Qingxi stray cat management team has a good relationship with the dorm supervisor of Building 5—they borrowed a small storage room as a temporary base."

"Whenever they find a cat needing sterilization or already pregnant, they find a way to bring it there."

"Whether it's recovery after sterilization or giving birth to kittens, everything can be handled there."

"The kittens haven't been weaned yet, and they still need several more vaccinations."

"Only after all that's taken care of will they post adoption notices, so it's still too early."

Here, Xu Youyu paused, then continued, "Our new home just got renovated—we need to let the formaldehyde air out too. We can adopt by year-end or next year, no rush."

"Fine, whatever you say." Li Luo nodded. "But you can go take a look first, pick the one you like, and reserve it early."

"Mm!" Xu Youyu nodded happily. "Then you'll come with me, right? Consider it routine work for the External Affairs Department."

"How could I refuse an order from the vice-department head?" Li Luo chuckled. "Just call me when you're ready."

"It's settled then." Xu Youyu finished the entire plate of rice with delight—faster than Li Luo—and finally patted her belly with a contented sigh. "Oh, by the way, there's a Hundred Clubs Night performance at the Cultural Square tomorrow evening."

"Last year I went with my roommate—it was really nice. Don't miss it this year."

"It's organized by the more famous clubs, specifically to recruit new members."

"Do you want to go, Youyu?" Li Luo asked. "We four can go together."

"Sure." Xu Youyu chuckled. "As long as someone has the guts."

"Cough… Just act like normal friends, right?" Li Luo said, sounding a bit guilty. "In public, we should mind our image."

"Hmph~ You know to be afraid now?" Xu Youyu gave him a light kick under the table. "You were enjoying yourself just fine when it mattered."

"Aren't you the same?"

"I'm always exhausted—where's the enjoyment?"

"Then why are you always so eager and active? You're just a pushover."

"You'll see." Xu Youyu slammed the table. "Don't force me to finish this semester's Sunshine Run! When I transform myself, you'll regret it!"

"I'm so scared," Li Luo said, utterly unfazed.

Since going to the gym last Tuesday, Li Luo now goes every other day.

But when Thursday came, Xu Youyu found every excuse to refuse.

One can only say that when someone is full of ambition, they never think ahead to the future version of themselves who'll back down and run away.

If she actually completes 32 long-distance runs this semester and her stamina improves a tier, Li Luo will accept his fate.

Let him be drained—fine.

But Li Luo didn't believe it for a second.

After bantering back and forth, Xu Youyu waved goodbye after lunch and headed back to her dorm to nap.

Before leaving, Li Luo couldn't help asking, "Has Chanxi told you about borrowing your car this evening?"

"She told me," Xu Youyu waved her hand. "I gave her the keys—when you need it, just go home and drive it."

"OK."

Li Luo watched Xu Youyu's back disappear, then walked toward the opposite side of Qiuzhen Lake, finding the pavilion on its western shore.

He sat and waited a moment, then spotted a small figure approaching from afar.

Soon, the distant figure clearly noticed Li Luo, quickened her pace, then broke into a run, hurrying toward him.

Li Luo stood up in time, smiled, and stepped forward, arms open, wrapping Ying Chanxi's petite frame into his embrace.

"Why rush so much? You've got all afternoon," Li Luo teased. "Are you really that eager to see me?"

"I just hate keeping people waiting," Ying Chanxi murmured into his chest, rebutting softly after hearing his words.

"Is that so?" Li Luo hugged her soft, delicate body, ruffled her hair, and whispered, "You hate keeping people waiting, so you rush to throw yourself into my arms the moment you see me? That logic doesn't quite add up."

"You…" Ying Chanxi's face flushed red; she angrily pushed at him.

But Li Luo pinned her waist with one hand and her head with the other, holding her tight against him, refusing to let go. Ying Chanxi buried her face in his chest and muttered, "You only know how to bully me."

They hugged in the pavilion for a while, finally parting after more than ten minutes.

Li Luo instinctively reached for Ying Chanxi's hand—but she pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

"Umm…" Ying Chanxi hesitated, then whispered, "There are too many people at the Cultural Square—if we run into your classmates, it'll be awkward."

"Then what should we do?"

"Just… walk normally," Ying Chanxi tugged his sleeve and stepped forward. "Hand-holding? We can do that when we go out to dinner tonight."

"Alright." Li Luo nodded, walking beside her toward the Cultural Square.

The Cultural Square was already bustling.

Over a hundred clubs had set up camp there, rows of red canopies neatly arranged in orderly lines across the square.

At the eastern edge of the square stood a temporary stage.

Clearly, this was where tomorrow night's Hundred Clubs Night performance would take place.

"Let's first find the clubs you're interested in," Li Luo said. "Check their membership requirements, see if you can apply, then we can browse slowly?"

"Sure!" Ying Chanxi nodded happily, following Li Luo through the crowd, clutching the school's free club recruitment handbook, matching the red canopy numbers to find the positions of the clubs she wanted to join.

The two walked through the Cultural Square; though the crowd surged, it could not hide Ying Chanxi's beauty.

Added to that, Li Luo himself was quite handsome; together, they formed a striking scene, causing many to glance at them twice as they passed.

Soon, Ying Chanxi found the clubs she wished to join and asked about each one in turn.

Among them, except for the Future Entrepreneurs Club, which primarily recruited master's and doctoral students, the other clubs' requirements were not high.

Especially after learning Ying Chanxi was this year's provincial top scorer of Qianjiang Province, she received a green light all the way—it looked like there would be no problem.

After spending less than an hour accompanying Ying Chanxi to visit five or six clubs and completing their membership applications, Li Luo took her to stroll around the Cultural Square.

Qianjiang University now had nearly two hundred clubs; even if every recruitment booth in the entire Cultural Square were filled, it still wouldn't be enough.

Thus, the three-day Hundred Clubs Battle saw some small clubs granted only one day for recruitment.

Meanwhile, well-known clubs rated four or five stars could occupy the best spots for all three days.

He had to admit, after a quick walk around, Li Luo couldn't help but sigh to himself—this was the college life he had imagined.

Back in his previous life, his vocational college's clubs were purely about collecting membership fees, with barely any actual activities. The so-called "hundred-club battle" was really just a handful of clubs, many of which didn't live up to their names.

Nothing like Qianjiang University, where over a hundred clubs were scrambling for recruitment spots, each one starting with a roster of twenty or more members.

It was lively and bustling; after just one quick lap, everything was dazzling and overwhelming—he couldn't even pick.

"Are you really not planning to join any other clubs?" Li Luo asked. "Look at Zhusheng—she's planning to join a badminton club for fun. Why don't you join one too?"

"I'll pass." Ying Chanxi shook her head. "Zhusheng probably just wants to join with the two of us. I don't really like playing badminton anyway. You go with her."

"Then what do you like more?" Li Luo asked again. "How about the astronomy club? Didn't we both take that elective?"

"No." Ying Chanxi shook her head again. "Stop worrying about what I like or don't like. If I want to learn about astronomy, I'll just buy a telescope at the new place and play with it."

"Think about whether there's something you're actually interested in."

"If there is, I'll join one with you."

Hearing this, Li Luo took a deep breath and couldn't help but pat Ying Chanxi on the head.

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed slightly. She quickly swatted his hand away and muttered softly, "There are so many people here. What if someone we know sees us?"

"So what if they do?" Li Luo smiled. "We can't keep it a secret forever anyway."

"Hmph~ I don't want that." Ying Chanxi quickly shook her head. "Let's just keep it between us."

After their playful banter, the two continued browsing, checking out each club one by one.

Qian Da had way too many clubs—it was impossible to take them all in.

Clubs like the "Career Development Association" didn't interest Li Luo, so he skipped right past them.

But there were also clubs like the Hanfu Club, the Esports Club, and the Magic Club that looked pretty interesting.

Apparently, the Esports Club even formed dedicated college teams to compete in professional gaming tournaments, and some of their results were reportedly quite impressive.

You really can't underestimate these top students...

Don't be fooled by how focused they were on studying in high school, looking like they were just good at academics.

But when they actually put their minds to leisurely pursuits, they could pick those up with ease too.

Not to say every one of them has some extraordinary talent, but if you're just comparing how fast they pick up a hobby, many top students learn at an absurd pace.

After walking around once, Li Luo was quite impressed. Then he seemed to hear someone calling his name.

But the surroundings were too noisy, and for a moment he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.

"Is someone calling me?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"Seems like it." Ying Chanxi furrowed her brow and looked around.

But she wasn't very tall, so her looking around didn't help much.

In the end, it was Li Luo's sharp eyes that finally spotted a familiar figure under a canopy, waving and shouting toward him.

Seeing the person's face, Li Luo immediately broke into a knowing smile and walked over with Ying Chanxi.

"Niu-senpai, long time no see." Li Luo walked up to the recruitment booth of a music club called "Free Seven Notes" and greeted Niu Qingling, who was sitting behind the table.

"Li Luo, long time no see." Niu Qingling greeted him cheerfully, then looked at Ying Chanxi. "President, long time no see too."

"Don't call me president." Ying Chanxi quickly waved her hand. "Just call me Xixi, senpai."

Niu Qingling had been the president of the Rock Club back when Li Luo was in his first year of high school. Later, when Li Luo was in his second year and Niu Qingling moved up to her third year, she stepped down according to the rules and handed the presidency to Yan Zhusheng.

She later got into Qianjiang University, and today at the club recruitment fair, she happened to run into someone she knew.

"Quick, quick, quick! Here's the application form!" Niu Qingling hurriedly shoved a form at him and said, "Where's Zhusheng? Get her to join too."

"Oh, she didn't come today. Maybe tomorrow." Li Luo didn't mind and bent down to fill out the form.

Joining a club didn't come with clear-cut tasks like the student council did.

Participating in club activities was entirely voluntary.

Since he had a familiar face here, Li Luo was naturally willing to join.

"Qingling, didn't you do the routine screening before handing out the application form?" a senior beside her reminded her. "We don't want anyone without a musical background."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Niu Qingling laughed at this and pulled Li Luo over to introduce him to the other club members. "This is Chong Ran! The Chong Ran who wrote songs for Yuan Wanqing! Weren't you the one praising his lyrics and compositions?"

"Huh?"

The senior was clearly stunned. Because the surroundings were so noisy, he thought he must have misheard.

"What did you say?"

"He's Chong Ran!" Niu Qingling emphasized again. "Didn't I mention him before? Chong Ran is my junior from high school, and he was definitely getting into Qian Da this year."

"Holy crap!" After confirming it, the senior immediately jumped up from his chair, excitedly circled around from inside the canopy to outside, and gripped Li Luo's hands with both of his. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't recognize you earlier. You absolutely have to join us!"

Li Luo was a bit embarrassed and quietly pulled his hand back. "Uh... you don't have to get this worked up. I've already filled out the application form."

Niu Qingling called the overly excited senior back under the canopy, then continued to Li Luo, "Remember to drag Zhusheng here tomorrow too. I haven't seen her in ages."

"Sure." Li Luo nodded, waved to Niu Qingling, and continued browsing with Ying Chanxi.

After that, Li Luo took Ying Chanxi to fill out several more applications for clubs he found interesting.

Whether to join or not, let's see how things develop—first, just apply for it.

Holding this thought, Li Luo applied for four or five clubs that looked interesting, and by then it was already past four in the afternoon.

"I'll let Xinyan and the others know—we'll meet at the south gate," Ying Chanxi said eagerly, "then I'll go home to pick up my senior's car."

"Alright, I'll drop you off." Li Luo's car was still parked in the underground lot beside the classroom building; now he got in with Ying Chanxi and drove toward Bihai Lanting so she could take Xu Youyu's BMW.

The two of them, each in their own car, arrived at the south gate quickly.

Ying Chanxi got out of her car and ran over to Li Luo's window, stopping to say: "Jiang Lai said she'll ride with us—just pick up her boyfriend."

"Huh?" Li Luo blinked. "Aren't she and her boyfriend riding together?"

"Then I'd have five people in my car—it's too cramped," Ying Chanxi said. "Just take him, okay?"

"We don't know each other—it'll be awkward—but I don't mind picking him up," Li Luo nodded and agreed.

Then Ying Chanxi returned to Xu Youyu's car.

Not long after, Lin Zhixia and Qiao Xinyan arrived together.

On the other side, Jiang Lai stepped out from inside the campus, accompanied by a tall, slender, handsome figure.

"Hey, Brother Luo."

Wen Zexuan strolled up to the window with a smile and greeted Li Luo in the driver's seat: "Today I'll need your guidance, for sure."

The term "Brother Luo" sent a shiver through Li Luo.

When Li Luo saw Wen Zexuan beside Jiang Lai, he jolted violently, eyes wide as he stared at him.

"What the hell? How is it you?"

(End of Chapter)