Chapter 749

Wednesday morning.

Li Luo accompanied Ying Chanxi to the classroom to attend the elective together.

The two sat in the farthest corner, and Li Luo took Ying Chanxi's small hand in his palm and played with it.

"The Audi 4S shop just called me—they said we can pick up the car anytime this afternoon," Ying Chanxi said, letting Li Luo squeeze her hand under the desk, her palm warm from his touch, enjoying it as she spoke.

"Mm." Li Luo nodded. "Then I'll drive you there this afternoon, and you take the new car back?"

"Hmm…" Ying Chanxi hesitated, then whispered, "It's my first time driving a new car—could you sit in the passenger seat and keep me company?"

"What about the car we're riding in?"

"Ask Senior Xu to come along?"

"Nah, I'll call Butler Liu." Li Luo said. "He'll drive us there and bring our car back."

"That works." Ying Chanxi nodded happily. "But don't you have class this afternoon?"

"Skipped it."

"... That's not good, is it?"

"What's wrong with it? It's just a water class." Li Luo squeezed her hand, grinning. "What's more important than spending time with my Chanxi?"

"Hmph~" Ying Chanxi felt sweet inside, her smile slipping free, her whole body brimming with delight.

After the elective class "Astronomical Observation and Cosmic Exploration" ended, Li Luo accompanied Ying Chanxi to the school cafeteria for lunch.

Then, hand in hand, they arrived at the school gate, where Butler Liu was already waiting, parked in Li Luo's Audi A6.

Li Luo led Ying Chanxi straight into the back seat; after watching them get in and close the doors, Butler Liu slowly started the car and drove toward the city's auto park.

"How's the villa coming along?"

After the car started, Li Luo asked Butler Liu.

"All the furniture's been installed. The cat villa on the second floor is finished too. A professional formaldehyde-removal company moved in on Monday."

Butler Liu reported methodically, "It'll take about two months. We'll install long-term formaldehyde monitors on every floor to ensure levels don't rebound later."

"So we should be able to move in before your birthday?" Ying Chanxi asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, no problem." Li Luo smiled, stroking Ying Chanxi's head and pulling her into his arms, leaning close to her ear to whisper, "Have you decided what gift to give me yet?"

"Hmph~ Even if I have, I'm not telling you ahead of time." Ying Chanxi blushed as Li Luo hugged her, glancing shyly at Butler Liu in the front.

Seeing him stare straight ahead, completely unaware of the backseat, Ying Chanxi exhaled in relief and settled comfortably against Li Luo's chest.

Butler Liu sat upright against his seatback, eyes fixed forward, perfectly embodying the professionalism of a butler.

"How many times have you driven since getting your license?" Li Luo asked. "Don't mess up when you drive the new car."

"You're underestimating me?" Ying Chanxi gave his chest a light punch, then bumped her head against him twice. "I drove the motorhome during summer break—how could I forget so fast?"

"My Audi A6's plate is registered in the school system, so I can drive it onto campus." Li Luo said. "Your new car isn't registered yet—you'll need to ask Uncle Xu if he can add it."

Ying Chanxi didn't want to trouble anyone, but if the new car could enter and leave campus, that would be ideal.

So she said nothing, nodding quietly against Li Luo's chest.

"My car's registered under my aunt's name," Li Luo mused, stroking his chin. "I'll check if any of her colleagues haven't bought a car yet—maybe ask them to help."

Saying that, Li Luo pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Jian Chun first; if that didn't work, he'd ask Xu Rongsheng.

Soon after, Jian Chun replied.

【Jian Chun】: Each faculty or staff member can apply for one vehicle to be registered as their daily commuter vehicle.

【Jian Chun】: Your car is indeed registered under my name—Vice Dean told me to handle it earlier.

【Jian Chun】: If you want to register a new car, I can ask my colleagues, but it won't be free.

【Li Luo】: No problem—that's like renting a parking spot. We can agree on a monthly rent.

【Li Luo】: Since faculty slots sit unused anyway, earning some extra cash isn't bad, right?

【Jian Chun】: True—tutors' salaries aren't great, haha. I'll ask around for you.

【Jian Chun】: What rent amount do you think is reasonable?

【Li Luo】: Around a thousand a month—or you can first ask what your colleagues expect.

【Jian Chun】: Okay, I'll let you know when I have news.

【Li Luo】: Three parking spots—ask more people.

【Jian Chun】: Huh? Three?

【Li Luo】: Yeah—Chanxi, Zhu Sheng, You Yu—I bought each of them a new car. They all need parking spots.

【Jian Chun】:...

【Li Luo】: Want one yourself, Auntie?

【Jian Chun】: No way—I'm always driven by your uncle. I don't even drive.

【Jian Chun】: I'm busy now—I'll get back to you tonight.

【Li Luo】: OK, thanks, Auntie.

Hearing him call her "Auntie" so naturally, Li Luo realized Jian Chun had fully accepted the term—Lin Xiufeng's marriage seemed all but settled.

Li Luo was deeply pleased.

Setting up his uncle's milk tea shop beside the university back then had clearly been a wise decision.

Compared to his past life's failures, Lin Xiufeng this lifetime had no great achievements—but steady income, a happy life, and a wife who was a Qianjiang University student.

Jian Chun had just graduated with her master's this year, barely twenty-six; Lin Xiufeng was thirty-five—nine years apart.

The age gap was acceptable; Lin Xiufeng took good care of himself, had worked hard outdoors for years, and since returning to Yinjiang District, occasionally exercised.

He looked like a man in his early thirties, and walking with Jian Chun, they looked quite matched.

But thinking of how his uncle had already entered the workforce when he was in college, while Jian Chun was probably still in elementary school, Li Luo found it hard to reconcile.

Butler Liu drove the Audi A6 to the entrance of the auto park. After they got out, Li Luo told Butler Liu in the driver's seat: "Go back now. Don't wait for us."

"Alright." Butler Liu nodded, watching Li Luo and Ying Chanxi enter the car park before driving off.

Li Luo led Ying Chanxi into the Audi 4S store; the salesperson immediately approached them upon seeing the two, warmly guiding them to the rear garage to pick up the car.

After sitting in the driver's seat, Ying Chanxi listened carefully as the salesperson explained the car's various functions and details once again.

After verifying everything was in order, Li Luo paid the final balance in full, then took the front passenger seat beside Ying Chanxi.

"Let's go." Li Luo glanced at Ying Chanxi, sitting upright in the driver's seat, and couldn't help laughing. "Why so nervous?"

"It's over a million yuan..." Ying Chanxi shifted slightly, still feeling uneasy; she leaned back against the wide seat and adjusted the angle. "Let me get used to it first."

"Fine, we've got time—no rush." Li Luo fastened his seatbelt and fell silent, giving Ying Chanxi all the time she needed.

Sitting upright in the driver's seat, adjusting for a long while, Ying Chanxi finally took a deep breath and started the car, slowly pulling away from the car park.

The Audi 4S store salesperson saw them off all the way to the entrance, watching until they were gone.

Once on the road, Ying Chanxi, filled with quiet excitement and joy, steadily drove Li Luo toward the Yinjiang District.

I have to say, this feeling really is different.

【71】 Honestly, this felt completely different.

Previously, Li Luo had bought her a Fit, but from Ying Chanxi's perspective, that car was bought only because Li Luo was helping Lin Xiuhong get one, and he'd persuaded her to play along.

So Ying Chanxi had always thought of the Fit as Lin Xiuhong's car—she never once believed it was something Li Luo had bought especially for her.

Now, the million-yuan top-spec Audi A8 she was driving was a luxury new car Li Luo had personally given her.

The feeling was entirely different.

Ying Chanxi, who had grown up with Li Luo since childhood, had imagined many future scenarios—but she had never imagined this moment occurring while they were still in college.

Driving the car Li Luo had given her, Ying Chanxi drove with extreme care, afraid that even a minor scratch or bump would make her heart ache for days.

"By the way, why did you choose the black Audi?" Li Luo asked. "I thought white would suit you better."

"Black looks more dignified, and the style is more business-oriented—better for meeting clients," Ying Chanxi explained.

But what she truly thought was: once Li Luo grew tired of his own Audi A6, she could swap cars with him.

If she had to pick a color that matched Li Luo best, black was definitely the more dignified choice.

Ying Chanxi drove the new car all the way back to Bihai Lanting, moving far slower than Butler Liu; it took over an hour to reach the gated community.

After parking beneath the building, she turned off the engine and finally exhaled a long breath.

The next moment, she heard a door open next door.

Seeing Li Luo preparing to get out, Ying Chanxi quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Hey, wait!"

"Hm?" Li Luo turned back, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Um... this... that..." Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed as she remembered the stories Yan Zhusheng had shared with her last night; she stammered.

In the end, she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, so she fumbled randomly across the dashboard controls—accidentally playing a song. "I want to listen to music and test the car's sound system. Stay with me a little longer, okay?"

"Sure." Li Luo didn't suspect a thing and nodded cheerfully.

After all, he'd already skipped his afternoon water class; there was nothing else to do, so staying with Ying Chanxi in the car for a while was fine.

Thinking this, Li Luo adjusted the recline of his seat, leaned back halfway, and sighed comfortably.

Ying Chanxi looked at Li Luo in the passenger seat, her eyes softening; silently unfastening her seatbelt, she crept toward him while he closed his eyes to rest.

By the time Li Luo realized it, Ying Chanxi had already crawled halfway over him.

"What are you doing?"

"N-nothing!"

Seeing he'd noticed, Ying Chanxi hurriedly climbed fully onto him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing against his chest. "Just a hug, okay?"

"So that's why you held me back," Li Luo chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "You just wanted to cuddle in the car?"

"I didn't!" Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed; her secret thought exposed, she felt too shy to meet his eyes.

But Li Luo reached out, deliberately tilting her chin upward, and gently kissed her, then forced her to look into his eyes. "Feeling guilty?"

Ying Chanxi, flustered by his gaze, quickly turned her back to him, still sitting in his lap, leaning against him.

Li Luo didn't tease further; he smiled and wrapped his arms around her slender waist—then his hands began to wander.

Ying Chanxi clearly felt his mischief—not just his sneaky fingers slipping under her clothes, but also the troublemaker beneath her buttocks.

Remembering Yan Zhusheng's stories from last night, Ying Chanxi's cheeks burned, her heart pounding; pressed against Li Luo's chest, her right hand quietly slid downward.

Just as Ying Chanxi mustered her courage, a few people passed by outside the car.

A little kid ran past the window, laughing and shouting, followed by a married couple.

Though the outsiders paid no attention to the car—especially since the windows were tinted and completely opaque from outside—

Ying Chanxi was still startled; her face instantly buried itself into Li Luo's chest, and her sneaky hand snapped back, too frightened to move again.

"What's wrong?" Li Luo glanced at the passing family, then looked down at Ying Chanxi in his arms; he leaned close to her ear and whispered with a chuckle, "You're blushing?"

Li Luo assumed she was embarrassed because he'd been touching her, afraid someone outside might notice.

He had no idea what Ying Chanxi had actually intended to do.

"Let's go back," Ying Chanxi murmured softly. "Or... should we take a shower?"

"It's only half past three," Li Luo said, exasperated. "Shower this early?"

"Not showering?" Ying Chanxi poked him gently, whispering, "It seems like it wants to."

"... You've got a point."

(End of Chapter)