Chapter 726: While Washing, While Eating

At three in the afternoon, Li Luo sat on a bench beside the swimming pool lobby's entrance, finally waiting for Xu Youyu, who had just finished showering and dried her hair.

Xu Youyu, her shoulder-length hair still damp and loose, carried a faint scent of shampoo as she approached Li Luo.

"Let's go, sorry for keeping you waiting," Xu Youyu said, linking her arm through Li Luo's as he rose.

"Chanxi is waiting by the administration building—let's drive over and pick her up," Li Luo said, leading Xu Youyu out the swimming pool's main door toward the Audi parked nearby.

They had left their dorm at 1:30 p. m., completed their forty-five-minute swimming check-in at the pool, and Xu Youyu hadn't lingered a second—she'd soaked in the water for exactly forty-five minutes, then immediately got out to shower.

Yet even just showering took her half an hour, leaving Li Luo waiting a long time.

"After we see the kittens, remember to say you're going back to your own dorm," Xu Youyu said as she opened the front passenger door, "First trick Chanxi back to her dorm, then tonight you drive me home."

After saying this, Xu Youyu suddenly remembered something, closed the passenger door, walked around to the rear door, opened it, and sat in the back seat, leaving the front passenger seat empty.

Li Luo glanced at the rearview mirror, where Xu Youyu, freshly showered, looked radiant, and hearing her words, his heart warmed—he nodded, started the car, and drove toward the administration building of Zhu Academy.

Soon after, Li Luo pulled up in front of the main entrance of Zhu Academy's administration building.

As soon as Li Luo turned the corner, Ying Chanxi, who had been waiting inside the lobby under the air conditioning, had already run out, descended the steps, and waited by the roadside.

The moment Li Luo stopped, Ying Chanxi effortlessly opened the front passenger door and slid in.

Seeing her seated, Li Luo leaned toward her and fastened her seatbelt.

"Sis, you actually went swimming today?" Ying Chanxi, whose seatbelt had left a faint, cute indentation on her skin, turned to look at Xu Youyu in the backseat and asked with a smile.

"Chanxi, I don't like hearing that," Xu Youyu replied, slightly annoyed, "Like going swimming is some rare event."

"Isn't it?" Li Luo muttered as he drove.

Xu Youyu crossed her arms and huffed twice, expressing her displeasure, but didn't press further.

Li Luo didn't push further, instead chuckling: "Today's still progress—you actually completed it once. At least your morning run progress has moved forward a step."

"Of course it is," Xu Youyu puffed out her chest proudly, "Lately, my total exercise volume has exceeded what I did in an entire year before."

"That exaggerated?" Ying Chanxi couldn't help laughing, then asked, "By the way, how many times have you finished morning runs in the last two weeks? I remember it's been quite a few."

"Six! Exactly six!" Xu Youyu raised her right hand, gesturing emphatically—her entire demeanor shifted, radiating confidence and boldness, "I'm terrifyingly strong now!"

"Hmm," Li Luo chuckled softly, not disputing her—let her have this small triumph.

But then it suddenly occurred to him—no wonder Xu Youyu had started deliberately teasing him during swimming. Was she under the impression that six morning runs had drastically improved her stamina?

Li Luo glanced at Xu Youyu in the rearview mirror and said nothing more.

When they got home tonight, he'd let her face reality.

…

The three of them chatted and laughed in the car, returning from Ningshan Campus to Qingxi Dormitory.

Li Luo parked the car, and all three got out, walking to the entrance of Building Five.

After getting the key to the small storage room from the dorm supervisor, Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu rushed to the storage room door, opened it, and went inside to the cages holding the four kittens and their mother.

Li Luo followed them in, watching the two girls crouch before the cages, peering at the cats, and smiled warmly.

"How are the kittens doing?" Li Luo asked from beside them.

"All good," Xu Youyu smiled. "They're about three weeks old now, slowly learning to walk, though still a bit clumsy."

"Your little black one learned fastest—walks pretty steadily."

"Already bullying the other kittens."

"Don't call it 'Little Black,'" Li Luo corrected sternly, "Its name is Baijiu—don't get the name wrong."

"Then the formal name is Baijiu, the nickname is Little Black," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes.

"You're asking for trouble," Li Luo clicked his tongue, too lazy to argue, "What about the other three?"

"Baijiu and Ali are lively, Zhusheng's Tangtang is quiet, and Chanxi's Ju Bao looks a bit slow," Xu Youyu summarized.

"What's slow about it?" Ying Chanxi immediately pouted in protest, "Ju Bao's just well-behaved—how can you call it slow?"

"I've come by several times before—every time, I saw Ju Bao pinned under the others, never fighting back," Xu Youyu chuckled behind her hand, "What else would you call that?"

"It's just that the others like to bully Ju Bao," Ying Chanxi huffed, "It's your kittens that are too mean."

Li Luo watched the two girls bicker, smiling, then joined them at the cage, observing the kittens up close—all appeared healthy.

"National Day is in two days," Li Luo said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, "During the holiday, we should make time to visit the villa."

"Most of the renovation's done, but you two still need to confirm the furniture you want."

"It'll take another two or three months to remove formaldehyde—I've had Butler Liu arrange for a company to handle it."

"Actual move-in won't be until the end of this year."

Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu both nodded.

Then Xu Youyu added, "The kittens still need over a month before their first vaccine."

"So by the time the villa's formaldehyde is cleared, the kittens will have finished all their shots."

"Then they can move in with us."

"Hmm, that's convenient," Li Luo nodded lightly, "When we visit the villa for National Day, remember to plan a space for the kittens' activity area—add some features."

"We can set aside a specific spot and build them a cat villa," Xu Youyu said, her eyes lighting up, "The villa's so big—we can't let them roam everywhere. Limiting their space is better."

Li Luo thought about it and agreed.

Cats, after all, will always find a way to squeeze into the strangest corners if given the chance.

With the villa's vast space, if they slipped into some hidden nook later, they'd be impossible to find—that'd be a problem.

"We'll see then," Li Luo decided simply, "Pick a suitable spot and turn it into their den." …

After seeing the kittens, it was nearly four in the afternoon.

Since Xu Youyu had swum that afternoon and expended considerable energy, she was starting to feel hungry.

So after leaving the storage room, Li Luo drove the two to nearby Tianjie to have dinner.

After finishing dinner past five, when Li Luo indicated he'd return to the dorm, Ying Chanxi, who had hoped they might go home together, didn't dare ask to sleep over with him—she let him drop her off at Zhulu Pavilion in Zhu Academy.

Watching Ying Chanxi walk through the door of Zhulu Pavilion's bedroom, Xu Youyu got out of the back seat with a grin once she vanished around the stair corner, then retook the front passenger seat.

Li Luo turned his head toward Xu Youyu in the front passenger seat, leaned over, and fastened her seatbelt.

Watching the seatbelt sink deeply into the valley, Li Luo nodded in satisfaction.

Xu Youyu naturally sensed his gaze, knew exactly what the guy wanted to look at, and deliberately tightened the belt to make it sink even deeper.

"Is it that nice to look at?" Xu Youyu asked with a smile.

"Cough… cough…" Li Luo reluctantly turned his head away, starting the car as he said, "I wasn't looking."

"I didn't even say what you were looking at, and you already deny it," Xu Youyu chuckled. "That proves you were looking."

Li Luo knew he couldn't outargue her on this, so he bluntly changed the subject: "National Day is in two days. Should we take the chance and go for more morning runs while we still can?"

"No way," Xu Youyu immediately turned her head away, already slightly annoyed with him. "I've already run six times these past two weeks! I only need to run sixteen times total."

"With over ten weeks left, even if I run just once a week, I'll still hit the quota."

"So for these two days, just give me a break and say less."

Li Luo smiled and continued, "That's not how you should look at it."

"Finish these sixteen runs early, and the next few months will be so much easier."

"Besides the sixteen morning runs, aren't there another sixteen waiting for you? Today's swim only counts as one."

"And besides, thirty-two is just passing. If you push harder and hit forty-eight, wouldn't it be better to get full marks?"

"If you can stick with it and turn this into a habit, then…"

"Hey hey hey!" Xu Youyu quickly cut him off. "Don't get any bolder! How are you getting more outrageous by the minute? Hitting the minimum is already my greatest respect for the school—don't even think about squeezing me more!"

"But if you don't train properly, you won't be squeezing me either," Li Luo teased with a chuckle.

"Hmph." Xu Youyu didn't flinch, tilted her chin up, and smiled mischievously. "Don't forget, only two little sisters haven't joined the battlefield yet. When all three come after you, I'd like to see how you handle it."

"Cough… cough…" Li Luo hadn't expected her to be so blunt, and for a moment, he was speechless.

But she wasn't wrong.

Lately, Xu Youyu had been utterly exhausted from morning runs. Except last Sunday—when there were no morning runs on the weekend—she'd secretly dragged Li Luo out for midnight dancing behind the two sisters' backs, and otherwise hadn't squeezed him much.

But Li Luo hadn't been idle either.

For some reason, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had lately been constantly dragging him into the shower with them.

And these showers weren't free—they always came with a tax, and the number of takeoffs wasn't any less than the times he'd sneaked off with Xu Youyu during summer.

In short, if he ever wanted family harmony, Li Luo's fitness and maintenance routines were absolutely essential.

Lately, whenever he had free time, he went to the school's fitness center to train.

After two or three weeks of training, results were already showing.

Back in high school, he'd only done casual jogging—not systematic fitness training.

So the initial results were quite noticeable.

At least lately, Li Luo had been handling Xu Youyu and the other two without trouble.

In short, he couldn't stop training—if he did, he truly feared he'd be drained before his time.

He drove back smoothly to Bihai Lanting.

The two got out of the car and took the elevator back to 1502.

But Xu Youyu didn't rush to eat. Instead, she slipped on slippers and returned to her bedroom.

After all, tonight there were no Ying Chanxi or Yan Zhusheng to interfere or cause trouble—plenty of time.

To avoid being worn out by Li Luo and collapsing into unconsciousness before updating, she needed to stay alert.

So after returning to her room, she poked her head out toward Li Luo in the living room and winked: "Wait for me to write a bit first. I'll update today's chapter before anything else."

Li Luo didn't mind. He nodded and walked to his own bedroom, using the time while Xu Youyu wrote to draft two chapters himself.

Only at around ten at night did Xu Youyu knock on his door with a smile, wrap her arms around his neck from behind, and kiss his cheek: "Darling~"

"Do you want to shower first… or eat me first?" Xu Youyu whispered hot breath into his ear, teasing. "Or… want to shower and eat at the same time?"

Hearing that, Li Luo instantly felt his whole body burn. He shot up from his chair and lunged for Xu Youyu.

But Xu Youyu loved teasing him at this moment—she giggled and darted into the bathroom, making Li Luo chase after her until he caught her in the shower stall.

The next second, a rush of hot water cascaded down over both of them.

Xu Youyu gasped, leaning into Li Luo's arms, drenched from head to toe. Her white shirt turned transparent, clinging tightly to her graceful figure.

"Big brother~ My clothes are all wet," Xu Youyu blinked up at him, hands pressed against his chest, feigning resistance. "What should I do? It seems I have to take them off."

Li Luo, consumed by desire, pinned her against the wall: "Good girl, don't run anymore. Big brother will take them off for you."

(End of Chapter)