Chapter 809

December 19, Tuesday.

In the afternoon, Yan Zhusheng drove his own Mercedes from the music academy across Yinjiang to the Ningshan campus.

The other members of the "Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" band had already been waiting in the club activity room for a long time.

Yan Zhusheng strode through the activity room's entrance, glanced around casually, and his gaze instantly landed on Li Luo, after which he ran over to him.

In front of the other members, Yan Zhusheng unreservedly flung herself into Li Luo's arms for a hug, rubbing against his chest for a long while.

"Can you two please tone it down? At least consider the feelings of this lonely old man?" Niu Qingling helplessly covered her face, "If you're going to hug, don't hug this long!"

"I saw him on Monday across the way, and now it's been a day and a half," Yan Zhusheng poked her head out from Li Luo's arms to look at Niu Qingling, her face serious, "Hugging a bit longer is normal."

"Besides, you probably only get to hug like this in front of us," Xie Shuchen chuckled from behind the electronic keyboard, "You two are public figures now. We won't gossip, but you still need to be careful about other students on campus."

"True, you two should be more discreet on campus," Shao Youpeng, holding the bass, added.

They were all graduates of Fuyi High School and members of the rock club, so they knew exactly what that dog Li Luo got up to behind the scenes.

The three of them had read the Fuyi High School bible cover to cover, so Shao Youpeng and Niu Qingling both roughly knew about Li Luo's relationships with three girls.

Especially Xie Shuchen—he remembered clearly how, at their high school graduation ceremony, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had completely dropped all pretense, clinging to Li Luo one after the other.

Yan Zhusheng had even publicly kissed Li Luo in front of everyone, leaving a shocking impression on their graduating classmates.

"By the way, aren't you two planning to officially announce it?" Niu Qingling asked curiously, "I've seen plenty of fans online shipping your CP."

"No need," Li Luo coughed, "I'll mostly be working behind the scenes anyway—the fewer times I show up, the better."

Whether as an Online Novel writer or a songwriter, these are inherently low-profile professions.

It's just that Li Luo's background is so extraordinary that he's now wildly popular online.

After all, someone so young yet so accomplished—a true polymath, excelling across multiple fields—is exceedingly rare.

"You really know how to hold back," Shao Youpeng muttered, secretly admiring Li Luo.

If he were in Li Luo's position, he'd be floating on cloud nine by now.

"Alright, enough talk, let's begin," Niu Qingling clapped her hands as Yan Zhusheng pulled away from Li Luo, "The New Year's Eve gala is only a little over ten days away—let's practice hard."

After their outstanding performance at the last music festival, the "Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" band was naturally invited by the student union to perform at the New Year's Eve gala, securing one song slot.

Li Luo simply pulled out a song from "Kaiduan," perfect for a debut at the gala, and also to record a TikTok video to earn more from TikTok.

With a guaranteed several hundred thousand yuan in royalties plus future splits, it was a sweet deal.

Now that "Kaiduan" has started filming, various behind-the-scenes rumors have gradually spread under Ying Zhicheng's deliberate control.

Although the premiere is still far off, promotional efforts are already beginning to ramp up.

But since the premiere is still so far away, they obviously couldn't perform the theme song directly.

So the song they'd perform this time became one sung by Li Luo, while Yan Zhusheng picked up the guitar, willingly playing the supporting role.

"Don't you think the audience might be disappointed?" Li Luo picked up the microphone and grinned, "Everyone probably came here for Zhusheng—then suddenly a guy starts singing."

"Are you nervous?" Yan Zhusheng turned to ask, "Afraid of criticism?"

"Not really…" Li Luo laughed, "I've sung on Yuan Auntie's concert stage before—why would I worry about this?"

"It's just that being the lead singer in our band is my first time."

"Standing in the center still feels a bit strange."

"I think it looks great," Yan Zhusheng watched Li Luo with the microphone, stepped back two paces, and sized him up, "Really handsome."

"Stop complimenting him," Xie Shuchen sighed, "Love is blind—let's just get started. Senior Shao has a date this evening."

"What about you?" Niu Qingling asked. "Oh right, your little girlfriend's still at Fuyi High—she only gets out on weekends."

"Don't mention it," Xie Shuchen grimaced, "We broke up."

"What happened?" Shao Youpeng asked in confusion, "Weren't you two fine during the music festival?"

"She kept coming out to meet me on weekends and stopped focusing on her studies—her midterm grades dropped badly," Xie Shuchen sighed, "Once the teachers and parents found out about the relationship, that was that."

"Then why not tutor her on weekends?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head.

"When you're with your girlfriend, how can you possibly focus on teaching her?" Xie Shuchen looked exasperated, "I'm not a saint—I can't help touching her, we're all normal guys, how can we resist?"

"Li Luo can," Yan Zhusheng innocently pointed at Li Luo, "He often tutors me, and he hardly ever touches me."

Li Luo heard this and twitched his lips: "... Enough talking, let's start."

…

Around four-thirty in the afternoon, Xu Youyu finished class, bid farewell to his roommates, and walked alone toward the club complex.

He pulled out his phone, checked WeChat, and began typing on the screen.

【Xu Youyu】: I just got out of class—have you finished practicing? 【Li Luo】: Just one final run-through.

【Xu Youyu】: Then I'll come over? I'll ride back with Zhusheng's car—walking there takes about the right amount of time.

【Li Luo】: Sure, just walk right in when you get here.

【Xu Youyu】: Uh… no need to come in—where's Zhusheng parked? I'll wait for you in the parking lot.

【Li Luo】: Huh? Why not just come in? 【Xu Youyu】: Ugh, you're so annoying—just send me the parking spot already.

【Li Luo】: Next to the east staircase—you're really not coming up? 【Xu Youyu】: No way, no way! That's settled.

In the club activity room, taking a short break, Li Luo stared at the chat log, utterly baffled—why was Xu Youyu so reluctant to show up here?

But he didn't dwell on it; after finishing the WeChat chat, he picked up the microphone again and called out to the resting group: "One final run-through, then we're done for today."

Everyone stood up and returned to their instruments.

A few minutes later, the song ended.

Shao Youpeng answered a call, then his expression changed—he hurriedly told the others, "My girlfriend got into an accident on her electric scooter—I have to get there right away!"

"What?" Li Luo froze, then immediately asked, "Where?"

"By the south gate."

"Then come with us," Li Luo said at once, "Zhusheng's here with the car—he can drop you off; otherwise, running over there would take several minutes."

Their club's comprehensive building is on the north side of campus, directly opposite the south gate—one north, one south—and it would be tough for Shao Youpeng to reach the south gate quickly.

Hearing Li Luo say this, Shao Youpeng nodded quickly and followed Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng downstairs toward the underground parking lot.

Xu Youyu, waiting beside the Mercedes, looked up toward the staircase as footsteps approached.

Seeing Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, Xu Youyu smiled.

But when she saw Shao Youpeng following behind, her expression subtly changed, becoming slightly awkward.

Once Shao Youpeng got into the car, Xu Youyu took the front passenger seat, then turned to ask the two men in the back: "Why is Shao Youpeng here?"

"His girlfriend got into a collision while riding her electric scooter at the south gate—I'm giving him a ride to get there fast," Li Luo explained simply.

"Oh oh…" Xu Youyu nodded in understanding, then fell silent, brushed a strand of hair from her ear, and turned to look out the window.

Shao Youpeng didn't react much; although Xu Youyu had indeed been his high school crush, that dream had long since shattered.

Now that his girlfriend had gotten into trouble, he had no energy to think about anything else—he just wanted to get to the scene as soon as possible.

But for Xu Youyu, the reason she chose to wait by the parking lot was mainly because she didn't want to see Shao Youpeng.

After all, last time in the backseat of the BMW, she and Li Luo had been doing something improper, and Shao Youpeng had passed by with Shao Heqi, just a window away.

Even though the windows had privacy film, so people outside couldn't see inside.

But thinking back on that scene—back then it had been thrilling, now it was just embarrassing.

So she figured it was best not to see Shao Youpeng's face at all if she could help it.

Otherwise, it just felt weird.

Fortunately, today Yan Zhusheng was driving; her BMW was still parked at Bihai Lanting, or it would've been even more awkward.

Yan Zhusheng started the car and soon arrived at the south gate.

Fortunately, Shao Youpeng's girlfriend wasn't seriously hurt—just a minor scrape.

Upon arriving at the scene, Shao Youpeng confirmed his girlfriend was fine, then quickly thanked Li Luo and the others.

Seeing there was no serious issue, Li Luo waved goodbye and told Yan Zhusheng to drive off—they went to the market, bought some vegetables, and returned home to cook dinner.

"Youyu, come help me in the kitchen—Zhusheng can just go play."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently and went to the piano room to practice.

Xu Youyu followed Li Luo into the kitchen.

But as soon as she stepped inside, Li Luo pulled her into his arms and pinned her against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Xu Youyu laughed. "Planning to do something bad? You even sent Zhusheng away—thinking about kitchen play? What if Chanxi comes back?"

"Chanxi's no problem—she said she's still working late tonight and won't be back for dinner," Li Luo chuckled, lifting her chin with his finger. "I just realized—you didn't want to go to the club earlier, was it because of Shao Youpeng?"

"Y-you're talking nonsense…" Xu Youyu immediately looked away, guilt flashing in her eyes.

"I knew it," Li Luo grinned wider. "Youyu, you're thinking about last time in the BMW, aren't you? Seems like you're still savoring it."

"You're terrible," Xu Youyu pushed him playfully. "It's all your fault—and thank goodness we weren't caught back then."

"When Shao Youpeng and Shao Heqi were standing outside the car, you were…"

"Stop it!" Xu Youyu quickly covered Li Luo's mouth with her hand, her face flushed—she silenced his reckless words. "Hurry up and cook! I'm starving!"

"Then let me feed you something first, to tide you over?" Li Luo grinned, lowering his head to kiss her.

"Mmm…"

The three-person dinner took Li Luo a full hour and a half to finish.

Three dishes and a soup—normally, he'd have finished in under an hour.

The reason for the delay didn't need explaining.

"Seriously… even when showering, you wanted a second round," Xu Youyu muttered while fetching bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen. "Good thing we used them all up…"

"Wait, you really used them all?" Li Luo asked, turning with a bowl of soup in hand.

"What else would it be?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him. "Chanxi's box had fifty, plus twelve free—since July, that's almost half a year already."

"About one every three days—that's normal."

"Still, it's amazing Chanxi never noticed."

"I actually wonder if she's known all along."

"She doesn't seem like it," Li Luo scratched his head. "But you never know."

Chanxi isn't Zhusheng—if she knew, she wouldn't necessarily say anything.

Zhusheng, if not for Yuan Wanqing's disapproval, would've already burst out long ago.

Chanxi isn't the little girl she was anymore—over three years, she's matured a lot.

She's no longer the girl who threw a tantrum because Li Luo told others about his writing but not her.

Li Luo really couldn't tell what Chanxi was thinking now.

"But you're really holding back," Xu Youyu grinned. "Two gorgeous beauties like Chanxi and Zhusheng are always around you—and you're still holding back?"

"Well, you're here," Li Luo said, though he wasn't actually in a rush about Zhusheng and Chanxi.

After all, comfort isn't only found in that kind of thing…

Zhusheng, though forbidden by Yuan Wanqing, still had plenty of other tricks—when the three bathed together, she'd nearly corrupted Chanxi.

"By the way, now that we're moving—even if Chanxi didn't notice before, she'll probably figure it out now, right?" Li Luo suddenly thought of this and turned to Xu Youyu.

"Probably," Xu Youyu blinked. "Tomorrow we move—when she comes back tonight, she'll start packing. Should I apologize to her then? 'Chanxi, I'm so sorry… I accidentally used them all up~'"

"Cough…" Li Luo covered his face and sighed at her smug expression. "Don't joke around—I'll watch her reaction when she packs."

"Don't worry so much," Xu Youyu chuckled, patting his shoulder. "I bought a new box—I'll replenish her tonight."

"…Is that the issue?"

"I don't care," Xu Youyu smirked. "When you lost your first kiss to Chanxi, I didn't think it was unfair to take your first time, did I?"

Li Luo: "…"

That first kiss was back in Gao Er time.

Li Luo had thought Xu Youyu never cared, but never imagined she'd remembered it this long.

"I thought Sister Youyu was truly carefree."

"Being truly carefree doesn't mean you don't get jealous," Xu Youyu grumbled, sticking her finger into Li Luo's chest and jabbing him twice hard.

"So Zhu Sheng never got one at all?" Li Luo laughed.

"Well…" Xu Youyu tilted her head, actually thinking for a moment, then grinned slyly, "I'll let her have the first pregnancy?"

Li Luo: "…"

(End of Chapter)