Chapter 781: Rivaling for Li Luo

At nine p. m., after finally finishing work, Ying Chanxi exited the hotel's conference room with colleagues from Yuan Wanqing's studio business department and Lawyer Tian, all taking the elevator together.

Everyone else's elevators stopped at the seventh and eighth floors, but Ying Chanxi headed straight to the top floor; after bidding them farewell at the elevator entrance, she stood alone in the elevator lobby, quietly waiting for the elevator to ascend.

When the elevator doors opened again, she stepped out eagerly and hurried toward the room where Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng were.

By the time she reached the room door, her key card was already in hand; she swiped it swiftly, and the lock clicked open.

"I'm back."

Ying Chanxi stepped inside, shut the door behind her, changed into slippers by the entrance, and walked straight toward the living room.

The presidential suite of this five-star hotel was spacious: upon entering, there was a bathroom first, then a small sitting area.

Between the sitting area and the larger living room behind it, a screen partition blocked the view, so upon entering one could only see a tea table and two small sofas on this side of the screen.

Used primarily for temporary guests.

Only after passing the screen could Ying Chanxi see the living room.

Against the wall hung a large flat-screen TV; in front of it stood a standard long sofa, two armchairs on either side, and a long rectangular coffee table in the center.

By the window was Li Luo's office desk.

The desk faced the huge floor-to-ceiling window, offering an immediate view of the bustling night scenery of Jingzhao City.

Tall buildings stood shoulder to shoulder, lights glowing, cars streaming, crowds thronging.

Sitting at such a desk to work made one feel unusually broad-minded, as if one had somehow conquered the city itself.

But none of this was what Ying Chanxi cared about.

She walked to the entrance of the living room, glanced around, and saw only Li Luo's back as he typed; she didn't see her own bratty sister, so she asked curiously, "Where's Zhusheng? Gone to bed?"

"Mmm…" Li Luo emitted a muffled sound, as if answering Ying Chanxi's question was difficult.

But Yan Zhusheng didn't let Ying Chanxi wonder long—she soon crawled out from under the desk, still on the floor, and waved up at Ying Chanxi.

Still, she didn't speak right away; only after standing up did she say to Ying Chanxi, "Good evening, sister."

Ying Chanxi stared at her bratty sister crawling out from under the desk, a retort stuck in her throat, unsure what to say, and finally blurted out with a dark expression: "... I don't feel good at all. What are you doing crawling under Li Luo's desk? Didn't I tell you not to disturb him while he's writing?"

"I didn't disturb him," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "I was just giving him a massage."

"Whose massage requires crawling under a desk?"

"My massage requires it," Yan Zhusheng nodded, then suddenly leaned close to Ying Chanxi, gently exhaling on her cheek. "I'm going to brush my teeth now."

Yan Zhusheng turned and walked toward the bathroom; Ying Chanxi, however, stood frozen in place, unable to snap out of it.

Mainly because of that scent… strange, yet oddly familiar…

Ying Chanxi turned her gaze toward Li Luo—and just then, their eyes met as he turned to look at her.

She glanced at the bathrobe Li Luo was wearing, then leaned closer to inspect the open front of his clothing; she instantly understood what had just happened, puffed out her cheeks, and gave him two light punches.

"While I'm away, you two do this, is that it?" Ying Chanxi huffed. "You said you were going to write, but it's all lies."

"Cough… I did write," Li Luo coughed, quickly pulling Ying Chanxi into his arms, and solemnly showed her his writing log. "At least eight thousand characters—efficiency's top-notch."

"Hmph." Ying Chanxi turned her head away. "You always do this when I'm not around. Is crawling under the desk exciting for you? And what about in the car? Next time, when you're playing piano at home, will you do the same?"

Hearing the last part, Li Luo, prompted by Ying Chanxi, couldn't help but raise his head slightly and muttered, "The last one actually wasn't bad…"

"Bad your head!" Ying Chanxi angrily gave him two more punches.

Just then, Yan Zhusheng walked out of the bathroom, still brushing her teeth, and overheard their conversation; she asked curiously, "What wasn't bad?"

"Nothing," Ying Chanxi immediately covered Li Luo's mouth, afraid of giving her bratty sister new ideas, and added, "You're not allowed to say anything either."

"Won't say, won't say," Li Luo sighed with a smile. "You're done for the night too—go take a shower. I'll finish today's writing, then go to sleep."

"You both already bathed, right?" Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes.

"Mmm… yes."

"But you just…" Ying Chanxi sat on Li Luo's lap, squirmed her hips slightly, and whispered into his ear, "Shouldn't you clean again?"

"You've got a point," Li Luo glanced at Yan Zhusheng brushing her teeth, then stood up from his chair, picked up Ying Chanxi, and headed toward the bathroom. "Then let's bathe again."

"Next time, just bathe together," Yan Zhusheng said from the side. "Otherwise Li Luo has to bathe twice—it's such a hassle."

"No way," Ying Chanxi wrapped her legs around Li Luo's waist, leaned fully against him as he carried her toward the bathroom, and stuck out her tongue at Yan Zhusheng. "Go brush your teeth in the bathroom by the door. Don't come in."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng didn't care either way; she watched Li Luo carry her sister into the bathroom, then walked toward the door bathroom.

After she finished brushing her teeth and came out, the steady sound of running water from the master bathroom never stopped; Yan Zhusheng pressed close to the door and could hear Ying Chanxi's soft moans.

Judging by the sound, she was probably muffling them with her hand.

Yan Zhusheng didn't bother further; she walked straight into the master bedroom and went to warm the bed first.

…

That night, after bathing, Ying Chanxi was limp in Li Luo's arms as he carried her out of the bathroom.

It was already past ten p. m.; seeing the hour, Li Luo decided not to write anymore, carried Ying Chanxi into the master bedroom, and laid her on the bed.

He climbed onto the bed, pulled both girls into his arms, kissed each on the cheek, then smiled and said, "Time to sleep?"

"Mm," Ying Chanxi nestled into Li Luo's arms, found a comfortable position, and obediently closed her eyes.

But the next second, she heard a soft *pop*; she opened her eyes to find Yan Zhusheng hadn't planned to sleep at all—while Ying Chanxi's eyes were shut, she'd sneakily started kissing Li Luo.

"Go to sleep," Ying Chanxi grumbled, pushing Yan Zhusheng's shoulder. "All day long you only think of doing this. Aren't you childish?"

Yan Zhusheng, pushed by Ying Chanxi, didn't resist much—but still let herself fall backward, resting against Li Luo's other shoulder. "Li Luo, sister's bullying me."

Li Luo: "..."

Ying Chanxi: "You call that bullying?"

"I just kissed him," Yan Zhusheng leaned over from the other side. "If you're jealous, you can kiss him back too—I'm not stopping you."

"I never said I wanted to kiss him," Ying Chanxi insisted.

"Then if you don't want to kiss him, why stop me?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head. "Just sleep your own sleep."

"You…" Ying Chanxi couldn't argue with Yan Zhusheng, her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

Li Luo patted Ying Chanxi's shoulder, then pulled her sideways and bent down to seal her lips with his own.

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi struggled slightly, but soon sank into Li Luo's kiss; her gaze gradually grew hazy, her pushing hands drooping onto his shoulders, unknowingly transforming into an embrace.

In the past, if someone had been watching, Ying Chanxi would never have dared kiss Li Luo this long.

But now that she remembered the person beside them was her own bratty little sister—and that this time, Li Luo had initiated the kiss—she felt a surge of vengeful courage, gripping his neck tightly and kissing him even harder.

As Li Luo kept kissing, his hands soon grew restless.

Ying Chanxi felt her pajama hem being lifted, her entire body effortlessly taken over by Li Luo; her head spun, lost to the world.

Only when Li Luo released her lips did Ying Chanxi slowly come back to herself, her cheeks flushed pink, tender and dewy, like a blooming rose.

"I told you to sleep, yet you kissed me so long," Ying Chanxi smiled sweetly, though her words still sounded reproachful.

The next second, Li Luo was pulled away by Yan Zhusheng, and Ying Chanxi could only watch helplessly as Yan Zhusheng climbed onto Li Luo, taking her place.

"Eh…"

"Sister, be quiet," Yan Zhusheng glanced over briefly, then immediately plunged back into the heat.

Watching the two lost in passion, Ying Chanxi fell silent, wondering: had Yan Zhusheng watched her like this just now?

For some reason… she had just finished kissing Li Luo, and now it was Zhusheng's turn; though a little jealous, she found it less unbearable than before.

After all, their relationship had long been this way—only now it was visible. If they kissed each other, so be it.

Thinking this, Ying Chanxi unconsciously, without realizing when, was pulled back into Li Luo's arms and kissed again.

The three tumbled on the bed until, once, Ying Chanxi nearly suffocated from Li Luo's kiss; in the brief pause, she instinctively glanced to the other side—but Yan Zhusheng was gone.

When she turned again and saw Yan Zhusheng had slipped under the covers, Ying Chanxi shrieked: "Zhusheng, what are you doing?!"

"Nothing much," Yan Zhusheng's head popped out from under the covers. "Want to join, sister?"

"I—I don't want to!"

Just kissing together a moment ago was one thing—but this? That went beyond Ying Chanxi's current limits.

She leapt off the bed, hurriedly fled the room, slammed the door shut, and shouted from outside: "You—call me when you're done!"

…

The next morning.

Still a little before six, Li Luo opened his eyes and glanced at the two girls sleeping beside him.

He then carefully sat up, slipped out of the blankets, got off the bed, walked into the bathroom, and quickly washed up.

Standing at the sink, after finishing his routine, Li Luo couldn't help but rub his lower back.

Though the sensation wasn't strong, he felt he ought to start taking better care of himself.

He hadn't noticed it before.

But the past two days had been spent with Xu Youyu in the hotel, rolling in bed; today, back at the hotel, Yan Zhusheng had squeezed him for lemon juice twice.

In just these three short days, he'd truly overworked himself.

Fortunately, Ying Chanxi was conservative and shy, sparing him from overexertion.

Even so, imagining the future when all four were together—if Ying Chanxi gradually became more liberated—Li Luo felt he truly couldn't handle all three.

For the sake of his future happiness, Li Luo decided he needed a proper health regimen.

Otherwise, he feared he'd be drained dry by the three girls before he even reached the age he'd been at in his previous life.

"Why did you sneak out of bed?" Ying Chanxi's voice came from the bathroom door.

She walked in, approached the sink, and asked Li Luo.

"It's not six yet. I was going to wake you up a bit later," Li Luo said, already squeezing toothpaste onto her brush and handing it to her.

Ying Chanxi took the toothbrush and obediently began brushing; Li Luo stood beside her, running hot water, preparing a clean Mao Jin, and gathering her morning skincare items like facial cleanser.

After finishing, Ying Chanxi noticed Yan Zhusheng still asleep on the bed, then rushed into Li Luo's arms for a hug.

The two lingered tenderly in the bathroom for a while, until Ying Chanxi finally couldn't help whispering: "When you're writing, do you really like it… like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like… when Zhusheng crawls under the desk…" Ying Chanxi mumbled. "If you want, I could try it next time too."

"Don't force yourself," Li Luo whispered softly into her ear. "I've told you before: being your own Xi Xi is the girl I love. You don't need to compete with Zhusheng."

"Then why can she?" Ying Chanxi bit her lip, whispering.

"Zhusheng… she's just more eager to learn," Li Luo's mouth twitched, unsure how to judge. "Not everyone's the same."

"Hmph." Ying Chanxi gave him two quick punches, knowing he liked it—but since Li Luo said that, she changed her mind, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Then what about that thing we talked about last time—the mask and such? I think we could try it."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't deny his heart stirred.

But he still prioritized his health, holding her close and saying: "This trip to Jingzhao City is about serious business. Let's talk about this after we return to Yuhang City."

"You're right," Ying Chanxi blushed, having already reached her limit just by saying that.

"Don't overthink it," Li Luo smiled, pinching her cheek. "You're the older sister—why compete with your little sister? Just treat her like a child."

"True, Zhusheng is really childish," Ying Chanxi nodded in agreement. "You think so too?"

"Mm…"

Zhusheng was childish… but in certain ways, you two were evenly matched… Li Luo thought this silently, of course never saying it aloud.

"You're so capable now—far more impressive than Zhusheng."

(End of Chapter)