Chapter 727

Time painfully crawled to dawn.

Xu Youyu lay on the bed, utterly drained, as if her soul had been completely siphoned out, limp and staring at the ceiling above.

Li Luo took another shower, and when he returned, he found her still in the same position, motionless; he couldn't help but chuckle, walking to the bedside and pinching her cheek.

"Youyu, the morning run still has its effect," Li Luo smiled reassuringly. "At least today you spent more time on your knees."

"Aww!" Xu Youyu, her cheek pinched, grew angrier by the moment; hearing Li Luo say that, she twisted her head and bit down hard on his finger.

Li Luo didn't pull away, letting her bite; this made Xu Youyu pause, reluctant to press harder, so she instinctively sucked twice, then spat it out with two sharp "Pfft!" sounds.

"I worked hard running in the morning—was this really what I signed up for?" Xu Youyu glared at him furiously. "I told you to let me lie down, but you dragged me up anyway—killed me!"

"We have to test the results of the training, after all," Li Luo rolled onto the bed, pressed against Xu Youyu's side, and pulled her into his arms.

With his other hand, he brushed the sweat-damp strands of hair clinging to her cheek back behind her ear, then added:

"Besides, seeing you—clumsy, stubborn, yet begging for mercy—it's exactly what I love."

"Get lost," Xu Youyu shoved him away, swatting his grubby hands off her chest, grumbling as she burrowed under the covers, refusing to look at him.

"Remember to shower again."

"I'm dead."

"Then I'll carry you to wash."

"Hey! Wait—"

Feeling herself suddenly lifted, Xu Youyu thrashed twice in Li Luo's arms, but was ultimately carried into the bathroom.

Before long, her pleading cries echoed again from the bathroom: "Didn't you say we'd just rinse off?"

…

The next morning.

Li Luo woke on time, turned to look at Xu Youyu still asleep beside him, and gently shook her awake.

"Mmm… what now? What time is it?"

"Six," Li Luo said. "Today's Friday; Saturday's a make-up day too, and before National Day, these are the only two days left. Just hold on a bit longer—come jogging with me?"

"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Xu Youyu stared at him with a resentful expression. "Look what you did last night—I feel like my waist's broken!"

"Is it really that bad?"

"I'm not going," Xu Youyu turned her back to Li Luo. "Stay far away from me—I don't want to see you right now."

"So cold-hearted—use me and toss me aside," Li Luo chuckled, leaning onto her shoulder and kissing her cheek. "How about a morning stretch?"

"Get lost, get lost!" Xu Youyu couldn't handle Li Luo's relentless pace; hearing this, she panicked and unleashed a rapid-fire kick barrage, forcing him back to the other side of the bed.

Li Luo got out of bed, stood and chuckled at her for a moment, then let her off the hook and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Watching Li Luo's retreating back, Xu Youyu exhaled slightly, feeling a quiet sense of relief.

Thank goodness I've got two sisters—otherwise I'd never survive this guy.

Thinking this, she rubbed her aching waist, muttering pitiful complaints, already considering how to stop Li Luo's fitness obsession.

If Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng don't fully join the fight soon, I'm alone against him—and he keeps getting stronger.

How am I supposed to live through the coming weeks?

Sure, it's nice… but it's also genuinely exhausting.

Truly painful yet joyful.

…

National Day begins this Sunday, with Saturday and next Sunday serving as make-up days to cover Monday and Tuesday's missed classes.

Including the weekend already within National Day, the actual holiday duration is only five days.

Even so, National Day remains unquestionably the country's biggest holiday.

Though Spring Festival usually lasts seven days, most people return to their hometowns, and their free time is consumed entirely by New Year rituals.

Only National Day is truly personal, unclaimed vacation time.

On Friday morning, after accompanying Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng on their morning run, Li Luo first dropped Yan Zhusheng off across the river, then returned to attend class with his roommates.

"What are your plans tomorrow?" Li Luo asked his three roommates after sitting down. "Any free time after class?"

"What's up, Brother Luo?" Cheng Xin asked curiously.

"Let's get together for a meal," Li Luo said. "Before National Day, let's eat together—you're all going home for the holiday, right?"

"Mm," Bai Haoran nodded faintly. "I need to go home with my sister."

"Same," Cheng Xin nodded. "I've already told my family, but I'll probably be back by the fifth or sixth."

"Everyone's going home for National Day?" Wen Zexuan raised an eyebrow, surprised. "How can you waste such a glorious time?"

"How's going home a waste?" Bai Haoran shot him a look. "Aren't you going?"

"Why go back?" Wen Zexuan chuckled. "Day one: 'Ah, Xuanxuan, you're back!' Look, you've lost weight."

"Day two: 'Xuanxuan, wake up! It's already seven—still sleeping? Do you sleep like this at school too?'"

"Day three: 'Wen Zexuan! Look at you! Still sleeping past ten? At home you're like this—what's the world coming to at school?'"

"Why go back and torture myself?"

Watching Wen Zexuan's spot-on imitation, even Bai Haoran's face cracked.

After all, this was practically a nationwide standard.

Li Luo, stifling laughter, asked: "If you're not going home, what will you do? Nothing to do here, right?"

"What do you mean nothing? I've got plenty to do," Wen Zexuan pulled out his phone and showed his roommates his "fish pond." "See? I've scheduled all seven days of National Day—already planned up to day four. The last three days I'll keep flexible."

"Wait…" Cheng Xin stared at the phone, covered in red dots from WeChat messages, stunned. "You're chatting with this many girls at once? And why are so many not replying?"

"Do you reply to every girl instantly?" Wen Zexuan looked at Cheng Xin, baffled.

"W-Well, of course! If I see it, I have to reply—otherwise it's rude," Cheng Xin scratched his head.

"Then you just don't get it." Wen Zexuan clicked his tongue twice. "The timing and frequency of replies—that's all about finesse."

"Of course, even if I told you, you wouldn't learn it."

"Different types and personalities of girls have very different needs in this regard."

"Take this one," Wen Zexuan opened one girl's chat window and gave Cheng Xin a detailed explanation. "Her personality is soft—clearly the type who easily submits to others. Every time I send a message, she replies instantly."

"So I usually don't wait too long—reply after about half an hour is enough to make her glance at her phone occasionally, eagerly waiting for my reply."

"Now take this one." Wen Zexuan opened another girl's WeChat chat window. "She's the kind who's hard to tame, so you need to give her a sense of unpredictability."

"The time between replies must never be too consistent."

"Sometimes reply instantly, sometimes wait two or three hours, sometimes even wait a day or two, then find an excuse to reply again."

"This is called pulling back and forth."

"But what if she gets angry?" Cheng Xin asked, worried.

"If she gets angry, soothe her. If you can win her back, it'll work even better. If you can't, then move on to the next one." Wen Zexuan spread his hands. "I've got so many options here—losing one or two doesn't matter at all."

Cheng Xin: "..."

"Wait..." Li Luo, listening to Wen Zexuan's articulate lecture, was thoroughly baffled. "Aren't you dating Jiang Lai?"

"Oh, you mean that?" Wen Zexuan waved his hand dismissively. "We broke up. Just yesterday."

"Luo-ge wasn't in the dorm last night, so he doesn't know," Cheng Xin added. "Bai Hao and I only found out yesterday too."

Li Luo: "... How did you break up again? I thought it hadn't even been half a month?"

"Cough..." At this, Wen Zexuan grew slightly embarrassed, leaning close to Li Luo's ear to whisper. "No choice—Jiang Lai's too hard to handle."

"What do you mean?"

"Hard to get anywhere with her," Wen Zexuan sighed. "Half a month and we haven't even slept together—just a few kisses. I didn't sign up to play house with her."

Li Luo: "..."

Although Cheng Xin had already been subjected to Wen Zexuan's dating philosophy last night, hearing it again now still left him speechless.

"So you really have to aim for that?" Cheng Xin scratched his head. "Just date properly, okay? I think Jiang Lai's actually a really nice girl."

"Didn't you buy those sneakers from her WeChat Moments?" Wen Zexuan gave him a sidelong glance. "I remember warning you not to."

"I didn't buy them," Cheng Xin said. "My shoes still last me a long time. I just think it's admirable that she's so driven."

"That's exactly why it's a problem," Wen Zexuan sighed. "Especially after Li Luo mentioned TikTok—she's been obsessed with it lately, has no time for proper dates."

Li Luo hadn't expected he'd accidentally helped trigger the breakup; he felt a flush of shame.

But Wen Zexuan had no shortage of girls, so Li Luo didn't feel too guilty.

"I think I'll just learn from Luo-ge," Cheng Xin said earnestly. "Your tactics are too hard to master. Look how well you and Xu Xuejie get along."

"I don't ask for much—even if my girlfriend isn't as outstanding as Xu Xuejie, as long as our relationship is like yours and hers, that's enough."

"If you're going to date, date properly. No need to be fickle."

Wen Zexuan chuckled softly at this, glancing at Li Luo.

Their eyes met. Li Luo stayed silent. Wen Zexuan patted Cheng Xin's shoulder with solemn gravity and sighed deeply: "You'll understand when you grow up a bit more."

"Don't think mine's hard to learn."

"But Luo-ge's side? That's the real mastery."

"If you want to learn from him, it'll be far harder than mine."

"Cough..." Li Luo quickly cleared his throat to interrupt. "Don't say things like that. Let's talk about tomorrow's meal instead."

"Me and Cheng Xin both have afternoon train tickets," Bai Haoran said. "We don't have class this afternoon, so we can just leave."

"Then let's eat at noon," Li Luo said. "I'll treat you to something good."

Everyone knew Li Luo wasn't short on money, so they didn't refuse, all agreeing readily.

By Saturday noon, after finishing their morning classes, Li Luo and the others prepared to go to the nearby Shidai Tianjie for a good meal.

Li Luo drove his three roommates toward Shidai Tianjie.

On the way, Cheng Xin, squeezed into the middle of the back seat, couldn't help whispering: "Why are you sitting in the back, Xuan-ge? The front passenger seat's empty."

"Since you're a lifelong solo, I'll generously explain," Wen Zexuan glanced at him. "The front passenger seat is only for Luo-ge's girlfriend."

"Ohhh..." Cheng Xin instantly understood, nodding vigorously. "So it's Xu Xuejie's special seat."

"..." Wen Zexuan twitched his lips, at a loss for words.

He hadn't said it was Xu Youyu's seat—he'd only said it was Li Luo's girlfriend's seat...

But he'd promised Li Luo not to speak out, so he'd kept the secret—even Cheng Xin and Bai Haoran still didn't know what their pure-love Luo-ge had really been up to.

Every time he thought of it, Wen Zexuan didn't know what to say.

After driving his roommates to Shidai Tianjie, Li Luo parked the car in the underground lot, and the four of them went upstairs to a restaurant.

Private rooms were rare at Shidai Tianjie, and since they were four guys, they didn't bother with formality—choosing a window seat instead.

Li Luo told them to scan the QR code to order. After Cheng Xin and the others finished, he glanced at the menu and added a few expensive dishes.

Soon, dishes were brought out by the waitstaff.

Just as Li Luo and the others were eating and chatting merrily, four girls walked into the restaurant, causing Li Luo's expression to change.

Wen Zexuan, noticing the newcomers, also wore a complex expression.

Cheng Xin couldn't help whispering: "Xuan-ge, isn't that Jiang Lai?"

Meanwhile.

At the restaurant entrance.

"Huh? Isn't that Li Luo?" Lin Zhixia spotted Li Luo, then paused, glancing at Jiang Lai. "And Wen Zexuan."

"Don't look at me—we broke up amicably," Jiang Lai waved her hand carelessly, seemingly unfazed, then turned to look at Ying Chanxi beside her. "Shall we go say hello? We could eat together."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi heard this and froze, suddenly becoming hesitant.

But Li Luo was right over there—if she, as his girlfriend, didn't even say hello, it would be too strange.

"Let's find a seat first," Qiao Xinyan clearly noticed Ying Chanxi's dilemma and said to Lin Zhixia and Jiang Lai.

"Yeah, yeah," Ying Chanxi nodded rapidly. "You guys sit down first—I'll go say hello and come right back."

(End of Chapter)