Chapter 758: Another Day Ying Chanxi Wins

"Scholarship?" Li Guoru, upon hearing the term, raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked curiously at Li Luo, "You have this idea?"

"Hmm… it's just a sudden whim of mine." Li Luo thought for a moment, then gave a brief explanation, "I had this thought before, so I asked Uncle Xu about it."

"You're still a student yourself—why are you thinking about giving others scholarships?" Lin Xiuhong frowned. "How much money would that take?"

"Ah… a few million a year."

"That much?!" Lin Xiuhong gasped, instantly distressed, "Don't treat money like it's nothing!"

"It's still just an idea for now," Li Luo said helplessly, knowing his mother would surely oppose it if he mentioned it.

But it didn't matter—it was his own money, and no matter how much Lin Xiuhong objected, it wouldn't change anything.

Fortunately, Li Guoru was present; after pondering carefully, he stroked his chin and calculated, then asked Li Guohong and Li Luo, "I remember Uncle Xu that Li Luo mentioned—isn't he a professor in the College of Literature at Qian University?"

"Yes, Xu Rongsheng—he's also the Vice Dean of the College of Literature," Li Guohong added.

"Oh right." Li Guoru nodded in understanding. "I remember he came to our village for New Year's dinner and we chatted then."

"Yeah, that happened," Li Guohong nodded. "Youyu's father."

"Mm." Li Guoru thought for a while, then said, "There's still considerable room to maneuver here—it all depends on whether you two, Li Luo and Xu Rongsheng, have deeper intentions."

"I don't have any deeper intentions—it's just a simple idea," Li Luo shook his head. Giving scholarships felt to him like pure repayment.

Rebirth was a gift from heaven; now, after starting over, Li Luo had already fulfilled nearly all the regrets he'd wanted to mend.

After that, the money he'd earned thanks to his foresight from rebirth—he couldn't possibly spend it all himself.

So why not do something meaningful for society?

Students from poor families who still had the ability to enter Qian University were clearly the most suitable recipients of such scholarships.

Li Guoru clearly held a different view.

After weighing his words, he looked at Li Luo and warned, "Of course, you can have pure intentions—that's a good thing."

"But your Uncle Xu might not."

"Hasn't he held the position of Vice Dean for several years now?"

"At his age—forty-something—if he wants to be promoted further, he'll need achievements in every area."

"If your scholarship can be tied to his name—or better yet, if he leads and pushes it forward—it would certainly benefit him greatly."

Listening to Li Guoru's words, Li Luo fell into deep thought.

He hadn't considered this before, but with Li Guoru's reminder, he immediately realized there was indeed considerable room for maneuver here.

He himself didn't care—but if he could truly help Xu Rongsheng, that would be even better.

"You can take some time to find out," Li Guoru said simply. "For example, how often does the College of Literature's Dean change? What are the evaluation criteria?"

"If conditions allow, offer some appropriate support—your Uncle Xu will naturally remember your favor."

As he spoke, Li Guoru cast a meaningful glance at Ying Chanxi, who had been quietly eating beside him.

Li Guoru spent every New Year in the village—he naturally noticed things.

For years now, Li Luo had brought back three girls every New Year.

Judging by the way those three girls looked at him, they all clearly had feelings for his nephew.

And Li Luo had been living with all three girls for years—if there wasn't something going on, Li Guoru didn't believe it.

In his youth, he'd traveled far and wide, building a substantial fortune—he was the most experienced and worldly person in Li's generation.

What scenes, what people hadn't he seen?

Li Luo stepping on three boats? That was nothing unusual.

Girls were easy to fool—the real challenge was convincing their parents.

Wasn't Li Guoru giving Li Luo the perfect opportunity right now?

But Li Luo hadn't thought that far—he'd never believed helping Xu Rongsheng become Dean would make him agree to Li Luo and Xu Youyu's relationship.

Simply being able to help Xu Rongsheng was enough to spark Li Luo's imagination.

Thinking of this, Li Luo nodded firmly, raised his wine cup, and said to Li Guoru, "Thank you so much, Uncle."

"Heh, as long as it helps you, that's all that matters," Li Guoru raised his cup and clinked it against his nephew's.

After three rounds of wine, Li Guoru had finished all his instructions, felt content, and after dinner, chatted a while longer before rising to leave.

Li Luo saw him downstairs, called him a driver, and saw him off safely home.

When he returned upstairs, Ying Chanxi had already helped Lin Xiuhong clean the living room and kitchen.

"Xixi says you two are staying here tonight?" Lin Xiuhong walked out of the kitchen and asked Li Luo.

Li Luo paused slightly, then hesitated and nodded: "Yeah, since we're back anyway, we might as well stay one night before heading back."

"Alright, I'll change your quilt," Lin Xiuhong said. "Your room still has last winter's thick cotton quilt."

Li Luo rarely came home to stay—his bedroom quilt was still the one he'd changed during last year's New Year visit.

It was only mid-to-late October; the weather in Yuhang City was nowhere near cold enough for thick cotton quilts, so Lin Xiuhong had to change it.

"Then I'll head back across the hall," Ying Chanxi said, stepping out of the kitchen with a pretense of formality, then tiptoeing to Li Luo's ear to whisper, "I'll sneak over later."

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately grabbed her wrist and laughed, "Why leave at all? Just stay."

"This…," Ying Chanxi blushed at his words and quickly whispered, "What are you saying? Lin Yi's still here!"

"Ahem…" Lin Xiuhong glanced at her son, surprised he'd become so brazen. "Xixi, stay a while longer—go back later. It's not even late."

With that, Lin Xiuhong went to fetch Li Luo's quilt, changed it for him, and just as she finished, Li Guohong came out of the bathroom, dressed in pajamas after his shower.

Lin Xiuhong then immediately went to bathe, finished, returned to her bedroom, closed the door, and pretended to know nothing.

Ying Chanxi, pulled into the bedroom by Li Luo, heard the sounds outside and quietly opened a crack in the door—outside, all lights were dimmed, leaving only a sliver of light leaking from under the master bedroom door.

"Did my mom go to her room?" Li Luo, lying on the bed idly, asked Ying Chanxi by the door.

"Mm…" Ying Chanxi nodded lightly, cheeks flushed, and whispered to Li Luo, "Should I… should I go back first, then sneak over later?"

"What are you playing at, pretending not to know?" Li Luo laughed, sat up, and ruffled Ying Chanxi's hair. "Your parents probably knew long ago—it's just you still pretending to be clueless."

"Oh no, I'm so shy!" Ying Chanxi murmured, her little face flushed red. "It's all your fault—why did you say something like that just now? It's so embarrassing!"

"What does it matter?" Li Luo hugged Ying Chanxi and opened the door, leading her toward the bathroom.

"Y-You're doing what?"

"Taking a bath."

"Wait—" Ying Chanxi was pulled into the bathroom, watching helplessly as he shut the door. Her cheeks burned instantly. "W-We... shouldn't we let you go first? Or maybe I should go back to the other side and finish washing there—"

"What does it matter?" Li Luo laughed, grabbing her firmly. "Back in elementary school, didn't you sometimes come over to bathe with my mom? She even scrubbed your back for you."

"Don't say that anymore!" Ying Chanxi leaned against Li Luo, her face blazing red, feeling some strange emotion rising from deep within her heart.

This was completely different from when they were at Bihai Lanting.

There, it was their private space—though Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng were also there, everyone understood without saying it.

But here...

In this place where they grew up. In this home filled with memories of their childhood together.

Ying Chanxi bit her lip, gazing at the familiar bathroom—and somehow, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

By the time she came to her senses, Li Luo had already stripped her bare.

In fact.

Li Luo's own heart was also wildly stirred.

This was an emotion he could not control at all—just like the first time he had won over Xu Youyu.

The vast difference from his past life, and the overlapping, tangled memories of the past, made Li Luo feel profoundly unreal right now.

Yet the moment he held Ying Chanxi tightly, the utterly real sensation reminded him constantly.

All of this was truly happening.

In his own home, the very house where he and Ying Chanxi had grown up, in this bathroom he'd entered and left countless times—he was now holding Ying Chanxi, about to bathe with her.

Even at Bihai Lanting, they had bathed together countless times.

But here, it was different.

They stayed in the bathroom for a long time.

Only when Ying Chanxi was nearly dizzy from the bath did Li Luo dry her off and carry her out.

She still wore Li Luo's short-sleeved shirt, the hem nearly covering her knees.

After all, it had been sudden—Ying Chanxi hadn't brought pajamas back, nor had she gone across to fetch her own clothes, so Li Luo had simply carried her into the bathroom like this.

She could only make do with Li Luo's clothes.

But precisely because of that, Ying Chanxi now radiated a certain charm.

Carried back to the room, Ying Chanxi lay on Li Luo's single bed, her face flushed yet filled with happiness, her eyes shimmering as she gazed at Li Luo.

The thought that Lin Yi and Li Shu both knew she was sleeping in Li Luo's room made her heart flutter with both shyness and excitement.

She couldn't suppress that indescribable feeling at all.

After all, she had slept in Li Luo's room before—even sneaking into his bedroom to sleep with him during the New Year.

But those times, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong had never known.

Tonight, however, sleeping here was something Lin Xiuhong and the others knew about.

Just thinking of it made Ying Chanxi feel as if she had received some kind of approval.

Her heart grew calmer, more grounded.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Luo lay down, pulling Ying Chanxi into his arms, smiling softly. "You look so happy—what good thing happened? Share it with me?"

"There's nothing good," Ying Chanxi murmured, burying herself deeper into Li Luo's arms, hugging him tightly and nuzzling like a kitten.

Li Luo rolled onto his side, half-pinning her beneath him, smiling as he tilted her chin up and leaned down to kiss her.

Lying pinned beneath him on this bedroom bed, Ying Chanxi's eyes grew hazy and unfocused, her whole body trembling slightly.

The bed Li Luo had slept on since childhood.

Ying Chanxi had slept on it as a child too.

But back then, it was nothing like this.

The scenes she had once imagined in her mind were now unfolding one by one.

Especially now—being kissed by Li Luo while he pinned her to his bed—she had imagined this more than once.

Maybe since middle school?

Too bad back then, Li Luo had been too immature—only caring about basketball and video games, never understanding a girl's quiet thoughts.

Thinking of it, Ying Chanxi grew even more passionate, gripping his neck tightly and pressing her soft lips to his.

They rolled together on the bed.

Only when Li Luo's phone began to vibrate did they finally snap back to reality.

"Phone call," Ying Chanxi whispered, her face flushed as she lay atop Li Luo.

"Ignore it."

"No, we can't," Ying Chanxi had already picked up his phone, saw the caller ID, and even smiled faintly. "You can ignore others—but you must answer this one."

"Huh?" Li Luo thought she'd changed her nature—why would she say something like that? But when he saw the caller ID, he nearly lost his composure.

"I'll answer it for you. Hold on." Ying Chanxi pressed the answer button and handed the phone to his ear.

Li Luo reached out and took the phone, hearing a cool voice on the other end.

"Li Luo, where are you?" Yan Zhusheng asked. "Senior said you went home for dinner—why aren't you back yet?"

"Hmm... since we're back here, I decided to just sleep here with Chanxi and go back tomorrow," Li Luo explained to Yan Zhusheng on the phone. "My parents don't come over often anymore—I should spend more time with them."

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng reluctantly accepted it—but sounded a little upset: "Then what am I supposed to do about sleeping tonight?"

"You can't sleep without me?" Li Luo chuckled.

"I can't sleep." Yan Zhusheng spoke plainly, never hiding his thoughts.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi seemed to find this insufficient, picked up Li Luo's phone, and tapped the speaker button.

Now she could hear Yan Zhusheng's voice too.

"Just for today, we'll go back tomorrow," Li Luo said, then noticed Ying Chanxi acting strange.

The girl had directly crawled under the covers and reached out her hand.

The next instant, Li Luo's eyes widened, and he involuntarily sucked in a breath.

"What's wrong?" Yan Zhusheng sensed something off in Li Luo's voice and asked in confusion.

"N-nothing." Li Luo held his breath, then added, "If there's nothing else on your end, I'll hang up."

"There's one more thing," Yan Zhusheng said. "Huanhuan asked if we're free tomorrow to visit her place."

"Why again?" Li Luo's breathing quickened slightly, but he held it back, striving to remain calm.

"She said she got an ad job on TikTok," Yan Zhusheng said. "But she doesn't know how to shoot it properly and wants us to help her decide."

"Oh? So she landed an ad?" Li Luo was surprised, then relaxed. "Alright, since tomorrow's Sunday and we've got nothing else to do, let's go."

"Then I'll tell Huanhuan."

"Mm." Li Luo nodded. "Anything else?"

"I miss you."

"Mm, I miss you too," Li Luo replied. "Good girl, hang up now. Go to sleep early."

"Okay."

(End of Chapter)