Chapter 753

Li Luo initially thought only Xiao Wen would drive over to pick them up; only after getting in the car did he realize Yuan Wanqing had also come, and he couldn't help asking curiously.

Yuan Wanqing turned her head toward Li Luo and smiled in greeting: "Xiao Wen said she's coming to pick up Zhusheng at school to go with you to pick up your new car."

"Since we're all heading into the city anyway, I told the nanny van's driver not to come—just ride with you."

"I might as well stop by to meet the Dean of the Music Academy."

"Oh, I see." Li Luo nodded in understanding and didn't ask further; after sitting in the seat behind Xiao Wen, he turned to look at Yan Zhusheng, who insisted on squeezing in beside him.

Yan Zhusheng's own mother was sitting right in the front passenger seat, yet she clung to Li Luo so intimately, with no pretense—he felt genuinely uneasy.

Especially when Yuan Wanqing glanced over at him, then silently turned back—Li Luo noticed and couldn't help coughing once.

Between the four of them right now, there was truly an unspoken understanding.

Yuan Wanqing knew Li Luo was stepping on two boats, trying to win over both sisters.

Li Luo knew Yuan Wanqing knew about it, yet he still sat close and affectionate with her daughter right in front of her.

But none of them intended to openly expose this.

Everything was understood without words.

Xiao Wen was purely an outsider; she only knew Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo were close, and that they were secretly dating—but had no clue about Xu Youyu or Ying Chanxi's relationships with Li Luo.

Right now, she was just enjoying the sugar.

"Then I'm off!" Xiao Wen said energetically. "First stop: the auto park. Let me check the navigation—Zhusheng, is this the place?"

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng, seated in the middle of the backseat, leaned forward to glance at Xiao Wen's phone navigation, then nodded. "Go ahead, Xiao Wen-jie. Just drive slowly—it's not urgent."

"Relax, relax—I drive very steadily." Xiao Wen patted her chest in assurance, then started the car and followed the navigation toward their destination.

After the car started, Li Luo remembered what had happened at lunch and turned to Yan Zhusheng: "I asked my auntie about the school's teachers and rented three parking permit slots."

"Once we register your three new cars' license plates in the campus access system, you'll be able to come and go freely."

"That way, it'll be more convenient for you to drive to and from school."

"Huh?" Yan Zhusheng froze at this, then glanced at Yuan Wanqing in the front seat and said to Li Luo, "Didn't I mention this before?"

"Mom knows the Dean of the Music Academy, so the license plates can be registered directly—no need to rent parking spots."

"Right, Mom?"

Yuan Wanqing, who had been resting with her eyes closed in the front passenger seat, heard her daughter's words and gave a light nod. "Mm. Earlier, when I arrived with Xiao Wen, I already spoke with the Dean."

"Just send her your license plate number—she'll handle it for you."

"If Li Luo's side has extra parking slots, cancel one as soon as possible."

"I completely forgot." Li Luo nodded in realization. "I'll tell Auntie."

Although Li Luo possessed the Memory Palace, he didn't actively retrieve such trivial details unless he made an effort.

So he pulled out his phone, intending to open WeChat and tell Jian Chun.

But then he changed his mind and abandoned the idea—no need to cancel the parking slot after all. Let it be.

"How long will the drive take?" Yuan Wanqing suddenly asked Xiao Wen.

Xiao Wen immediately replied: "About forty minutes."

"Then I'll nap a bit." Yuan Wanqing pulled an eye mask from the glove compartment, placed it over her face, adjusted her seat angle slightly, and prepared to sleep in the car.

Yan Zhusheng, who had been sitting quietly against Li Luo's side, now watched her mother put on the eye mask and looked up curiously at Xiao Wen in the driver's seat.

Xiao Wen occasionally glanced in the rearview mirror, noticed Yan Zhusheng's gaze, and asked curiously: "Zhusheng, what's wrong? You've been staring at me."

"Xiao Wen-jie is prettier." Yan Zhusheng said this with perfect seriousness, though it was nonsense.

"What are you saying?" Girls couldn't resist being told they were beautiful—Xiao Wen's eyes curled into a smile. "How can you compare to Qing-jie?"

They chatted casually for a few moments, then Yan Zhusheng rolled her eyes and suddenly raised a hand to cover her mouth, yawning.

Then she said to Xiao Wen: "I'm a bit sleepy too—I'll nap for a bit. Xiao Wen-jie, drive slowly."

"Mm, no problem." Xiao Wen nodded, gripping the steering wheel tightly, striving to keep the car steady and maintain a steady speed.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng leaned sideways, her buttocks still on the seat, but her upper body slumped onto Li Luo's thighs, pretending to fall asleep.

Since Li Luo's seat was directly behind Xiao Wen, Xiao Wen couldn't see this angle even through the rearview mirror—she could only see Yan Zhusheng's lower half still seated, while her upper half leaned toward Li Luo.

Remembering how affectionate the two usually were, Xiao Wen found nothing strange—she thought this was exactly how sweet it should be, making her drive today worthwhile.

Even Li Luo nearly believed she was really going to sleep.

When she rested against his thighs, he reached up to stroke her soft, long hair—then the next second, his expression froze, then changed drastically.

Feeling someone secretly unzip his underwear, Li Luo quickly reached down and pinned her mischievous hand in place.

But Xiao Wen was driving, and Yuan Wanqing was pretending to sleep—Li Luo couldn't speak aloud.

The car was so quiet that even a whisper would be clearly heard by the other two.

So he could only press down on Yan Zhusheng's hand while vigorously shaking his head, signaling her to stop.

But Yan Zhusheng only blinked at him innocently, then swiftly extended her other hand and, with lightning speed, freed him.

Li Luo had no time to stop her—she devoured him whole like a greedy little cat, and he hissed sharply.

"What happened?" Xiao Wen, still driving, heard Li Luo's sudden strange sound and asked curiously.

"Uh… nothing." Li Luo pressed down on Yan Zhusheng's head, forced his expression calm, and quickly explained to Xiao Wen: "Just a cramp in my calf. I'm fine."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng lifted her head slightly and said to Xiao Wen: "I'll massage him—it'll be fine."

"Oh, okay." Xiao Wen didn't suspect a thing and continued driving attentively, thinking nothing more.

In the backseat, Yan Zhusheng continued her earnest tasting, forcing Li Luo to hold his breath and turn his gaze toward Yuan Wanqing in the front passenger seat, who seemed deeply asleep.

If Yuan Wanqing woke up now and turned to see this scene… Li Luo couldn't even imagine the image.

But just the thought of it sent a jolt of thrill through him.

His breathing grew heavy, yet he struggled to control it, afraid Xiao Wen up front would notice.

Just as time passed and Li Luo neared his peak, Yuan Wanqing's phone rang—startling him, he instantly grabbed a thin windbreaker beside him and pulled it over Yan Zhusheng's head.

Though it felt a bit like trying to hide something by drawing attention to it, it was better than nothing.

Yan Zhusheng seemed startled too, curiously turning her head to glance at her mother's movements.

Only when Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng realized Yuan Wanqing was simply feeling for her phone in her pocket by memory, still wearing her eye mask, and answered the call without removing it, did they finally exhale.

Just as Li Luo was about to tell Yan Zhusheng to tone it down and let her off for now, she pulled her coat back over her head.

Li Luo: "..."

"Hello?" Yuan Wanqing had already answered the call. "Who is this?" The voice on the other end said something, and soon made Yuan Wanqing laugh.

"Got it. I'll be there today, just a bit late."

"Yeah, I'm at the Auto Park right now—I need to stop by the auto district first to accompany Zhusheng to pick up a car."

"It's not mine. Li Luo bought it for her."

"Huh? Xi Xi has one too? You didn't know?"

Hearing this, Li Luo knew the person on the other end had to be Ying Zhicheng.

"Xi Xi's with you, then? You're a pretty uncaring father," Yuan Wanqing teased with a laugh. "You didn't even know your daughter got a new car."

Listening to Yuan Wanqing chat with Ying Zhicheng, and hearing that Ying Chanxi was right there with him, Li Luo felt the situation grow even more intense.

At that moment, he pressed Yan Zhusheng's head tightly against his chest through her coat, her occiput tilting slightly back, his spine rigid, his breath heavy yet forcibly restrained.

His entire body was taut as a drawn string.

"Right. We'll head over after picking up the car—probably another hour or so."

Yuan Wanqing's voice on the phone still echoed in his ears, now distant, now near, wavering unpredictably.

Only when Li Luo snapped back to awareness did the voice regain clarity and steadiness.

"Understood. I'll tell him to go find you when he arrives." Yuan Wanqing was still talking to Ying Zhicheng.

Meanwhile, Yan Zhusheng had sat upright again and asked the front-seat Xiao Wen: "Xiao Wen, is there any tissue in the car?"

"Sure." Xiao Wen reached into the right-side drawer and pulled out a pack of tissues, handing them to Yan Zhusheng.

"I drooled in my sleep and got it on Li Luo's pants—I need to wipe it off." Yan Zhusheng licked her lips, her expression innocent and clueless.

"Why do you drool when you sleep?" Xiao Wen glanced at her in the rearview mirror and saw a faint sheen at the corner of Yan Zhusheng's mouth; she burst out laughing.

"Maybe because I sleep on my side," Yan Zhusheng said, pulling out one tissue to wipe her mouth, then two more to wipe Li Luo's leg, and finally rolled down the rear window, "It's stuffy—I'll open the window a bit."

"Oh, okay." Xiao Wen replied.

The howling wind outside rushed into the car, carrying away the stagnant air.

When Yuan Wanqing finished her call and removed her eye mask to look back at Li Luo, the two in the back had already returned to normal.

"Li Luo."

"Huh?" Li Luo looked at Yuan Wanqing with guilty eyes, thinking she'd noticed something strange.

But Yuan Wanqing merely reminded him: "Your Uncle Ying said you should go find him in his office when you get there."

"Oh, oh okay." Li Luo snapped to attention and nodded quickly. "Got it. I'll go see him right away."

Yuan Wanqing nodded in response, then put her eye mask back on and went to sleep.

After confirming Yuan Wanqing hadn't noticed anything unusual, Li Luo finally let out a long breath, then pinched Yan Zhusheng's cheek with no small amount of irritation, leaning close to her ear to whisper: "You're in for it. I'll deal with you when we get home."

"How are you going to punish me?" Yan Zhusheng turned to face him, her eyes glinting faintly, her tone almost eager.

Li Luo: "..."

Faced with Yan Zhusheng like this, Li Luo had no idea what to do—punishment and reward seemed identical to her.

It was truly frustrating.

"Li Luo clearly enjoyed it," Yan Zhusheng whispered into his ear. "When Mom was on the phone just now, I felt how hard you got."

Hearing that, Li Luo instantly stiffened.

If there hadn't been others in the car, he would've pressed her head down again.

Before two in the afternoon, the white Land Rover finally arrived smoothly at the Auto Park.

Unlike the previous two days, when Butler Liu and Ying Chanxi had simply dropped off Li Luo and his female companion to pick up a car, Xiao Wen and Yuan Wanqing also got out, intending to see what car Li Luo had bought for Yan Zhusheng.

After entering the Mercedes-Benz 4S store, the salesperson warmly greeted the four of them; Yan Zhusheng asked for a bottle of mineral water to rinse her mouth, then proceeded to the rear garage to see her new car.

Yuan Wanqing felt nothing special—after all, her own car and Ying Zhicheng's weren't cheap.

For Li Luo's wealth, buying a high-end Mercedes was more than sufficient.

But when Xiao Wen saw the car and quietly checked the amount Li Luo paid in full, she felt another shock.

Buying a million-yuan luxury car for your girlfriend... what kind of tycoon drama is this?

Xiao Wen's eyes were practically sparkling with hearts.

Yan Zhusheng, meanwhile, slid into the driver's seat of the Mercedes, familiarized herself with the basic functions, then waved at Li Luo, signaling him to get in.

"Then let's go," Yuan Wanqing said from outside the window. "See you at the studio later."

"Okay." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently, gave her mother an OK sign, then started the car and drove out of the garage, leaving the Auto Park under the salesperson's watchful gaze.

"I'll go find Uncle Ying first—I bet it's about the 'Begin Again' project and he wants to talk to me," Li Luo said to Yan Zhusheng. "Wait for me at the studio for now?"

Yan Zhusheng shook her head after hearing this: "I'll stay right beside you."

"Fine."

Li Luo nodded and agreed.

After Yan Zhusheng parked the car in Huayue Film and Television's underground lot, Li Luo led her straight to Ying Zhicheng's office and knocked on the door.

Hearing Ying Zhicheng's voice call "Come in," Li Luo pushed the door open and politely greeted, "Uncle Ying."

Beside him, Yan Zhusheng glanced at Ying Chanxi sitting on the sofa, then moved to sit beside Ying Zhicheng and sweetly called out: "Dad."

"Hmm..." Ying Zhicheng paused slightly, then couldn't help but laugh happily. "Zhusheng's here too? Where's your mom?"

"She should be arriving soon," said Yan Zhusheng, glancing at Ying Chanxi beside her and winking at her older sister.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi let out a light huff and turned her head away, too lazy to look at her.

But when Yuan Wanqing stepped into the office moments later, Ying Chanxi unexpectedly rose to greet her, taking Yuan Wanqing's arm and whispering, "Mom... you, you sit here."

At this moment.

Whether it was Yuan Wanqing.

Or Ying Zhicheng.

Or Li Luo.

All of them froze.

Yan Zhusheng on the sofa paid no mind, picking up a candy from the coffee table, peeling it, and popping it into her mouth—as if she had expected this scene all along.

(End of Chapter)