Chapter 876

The alarm clock at 9 a. m. rang precisely on time.

Li Luo had slept less than six hours; when he opened his eyes, he still felt half-asleep, but remembering that Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling would be visiting this morning, he immediately scrambled out of bed.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were still fast asleep in bed, clearly exhausted from staying up late last night.

Looking at Xu Youyu, who was sleeping beside him, Li Luo reached out and gently pinched her cheek; seeing her frown slightly and mumble unconsciously, he smiled and let go.

Since Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling weren't arriving that early, Li Luo decided to let the three girls sleep a little longer.

So Li Luo got up carefully, trying not to wake the three girls, changed his clothes, and tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

After washing up in the bathroom across the hall, he went downstairs and ate a simple bowl of congee to fill his stomach before lunch.

Just as he finished eating, the sound of a car came from the courtyard below.

Hearing the sound, Li Luo's heart skipped a beat; he immediately set down his chopsticks and hurried to the balcony, where he saw Xu Rongsheng's car pulling into their courtyard.

This made Li Luo's heart drop—he was about to turn and rush upstairs when Lin Xiuhong blocked his path.

"Is it your Aunt Cui coming?" Lin Xiuhong pulled Li Luo to a stop, glanced outside the balcony, then said, "Come on, come with me to welcome them."

"Uh… I need to use the bathroom…" Li Luo said nervously, his voice low.

"Use the bathroom?" Lin Xiuhong rolled her eyes. "Can't you hold it? Look, they've already gotten out of the car and brought so much stuff—go help them carry it inside."

"... Fine."

Li Luo suppressed the guilt and anxiety in his eyes and walked downstairs with heavy steps, greeted Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling, then took the New Year's gifts from Cui Suling's hands.

"You two really shouldn't have brought so much," Lin Xiuhong said, taking Cui Suling's arm with a smile. "You've already brought so much yesterday—why bring more now?"

"It's different," Cui Suling replied cheerfully. "When visiting, you always bring something. It's just food and drinks—just take it."

At this moment, Li Guohong arrived from the neighboring courtyard, greeted Xu Rongsheng, and the group went upstairs together to carry the New Year's gifts to the second floor.

Then Li Luo helped carry Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling's suitcases upstairs; beside them, Lin Xiuhong took the lead, guiding them upward: "We've already prepared your rooms—let me show you. Same rooms as before."

The past two years, Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling had also visited here, so they were quite familiar with the place and followed Lin Xiuhong upstairs without hesitation.

Seeing this, Li Luo hurried after them, afraid Lin Xiuhong might suddenly decide to show them his bedroom.

Though unlikely, it was better to prevent disaster before it happened.

Three girls were sleeping in his room—if they saw them, the bomb would detonate prematurely.

Though he'd already planned to come clean these past two days, an unexpected explosion like this was unwise; the shock for Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling would still be too great.

For the sake of the elders' heart health, he needed to proceed with caution.

So Li Luo followed them up to the third floor, watching Lin Xiuhong lead Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling into the room next to his before finally exhaling a sigh of relief.

But just after they settled in, Cui Suling asked curiously, "By the way, where's Youyu sleeping?"

"The three girls are all at Chanxi's place," Lin Xiuhong said with a smile. "They have plenty of empty rooms there."

"So she's still sleeping in?" Cui Suling clicked her tongue. "It's already past nine—why isn't she up yet? Which room is she in? I'll go wake her."

"Cough… Aunt Cui, maybe don't bother," Li Luo quickly interrupted. "We went to the temple for blessings last night and didn't sleep until three a. m. —let them sleep a little longer."

"There was that?" Cui Suling paused in surprise.

Lin Xiuhong chimed in, nodding: "True, the kids must be exhausted. Let them sleep more—it's fine to wake them at lunchtime."

"Mm." Xu Rongsheng seemed to sense something; he glanced at Li Luo, then nodded. "Let it be, Suling. You said yourself on the way here you haven't played mahjong in days and your fingers are itching—go downstairs and play a few rounds."

"Yes, yes!" Lin Xiuhong laughed, taking Cui Suling's hand and heading outside. "Play some mahjong, then we'll have lunch together."

Seeing this, Li Luo immediately followed, secretly letting out a long breath behind them.

But just as they stepped out of the corridor and the others had already entered the stairwell, Li Luo's bedroom door suddenly swung open.

Xu Youyu, still in her pajamas and rubbing her eyes, stumbled out sleepily; when she saw Li Luo at the door, she instinctively grinned: "Hehe~ Husband~ Good morning~"

She then wrapped her arms around his neck, completely unaware of the elders standing in the stairwell, snuggling against his chest and cooing, "I can't walk—carry me to wash my face~"

Li Luo stood frozen in place, turning his head toward the three elders in the stairwell, feeling the softness and elasticity against his chest, his face twisted in a forced smile, hands unsure where to go.

Lin Xiuhong glanced at her son, then at Xu Youyu nestled in his arms; her expression shifted from shock to sudden understanding, then to awkwardness as she stole glances at Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling. Seeing they weren't overly startled, she relaxed slightly.

Cui Suling, however, showed no anger—only suppressed laughter; seeing how affectionate her daughter was with Li Luo, she felt deeply satisfied.

No wonder she was her daughter—she had a natural talent for winning men.

Cui Suling nodded with great contentment, thoroughly pleased with how things had turned out.

Xu Rongsheng, meanwhile, remained calm, as if he'd expected this all along; after a few glances, he looked away and said calmly, "Li Luo, help Youyu wash up first—we'll go downstairs."

At these words, Li Luo felt the soft body in his arms instantly stiffen.

Xu Youyu, leaning against him, seemed unable to believe it—and yet had to accept it—slowly turning her head.

When her gaze met the three elders, she screamed, tore herself from Li Luo's arms, and bolted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Cui Suling and Lin Xiuhong exchanged a smile, said nothing more, and went downstairs to play mahjong.

Xu Rongsheng waved at Li Luo and followed them down.

After watching the three elders leave, Li Luo went to the bathroom door and, suppressing his laughter, knocked gently: "Can I come in? They're all gone now."

"Don't bother me!" Xu Youyu shouted from inside, angry. "I don't want to see you right now!"

Though she said that, when Li Luo turned the doorknob, he found she hadn't locked it.

He pushed the door open and saw Xu Youyu crouched against the wall, hands covering her face, staring at the wall in shame.

Seeing this, Li Luo couldn't help laughing.

"You're still laughing?!" Xu Youyu squirmed, still covering her face. "Stop laughing!"

"Alright, alright, I won't laugh," Li Luo said, suppressing his amusement, walking over and crouching beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "It's not the first time—why be so embarrassed?"

"Remember when we went to the writing contest award ceremony three years ago? You opened my door and said something so embarrassing, and Uncle Xu heard it."

"Look, even your dad's used to it by now—what's there to be shy about?"

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Xu Youyu snapped, finally dropping her hands, glaring at Li Luo, standing up, and kicking him. "You didn't even warn me! Now I said all that!"

"How was I supposed to know you'd be so groggy right after waking up?" Li Luo said innocently, pulling her into his arms. "You never wake up at this time—why did you get up today?"

"You forgot I set an alarm for nine-thirty?" Xu Youyu leaned against Li Luo's chest, raising her head with a plaintive look. "Just now the alarm woke me up—I thought my parents might have arrived, so I hurried up to wash up and get ready, but they were already here."

"Then there's nothing I can do." Li Luo looked helpless. "The deed's done—just toughen up a bit."

"Hmph! You think I'm you, with skin thicker than a city wall?" Xu Youyu gave him a head-butt, then sighed lifelessly. "I feel like I died right then and there."

"Then what's this in my arms?"

"Just a walking corpse."

"Is that so?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "Let me test that."

"Test what, you jerk?!" Xu Youyu swatted his sneaky hand away, turned, and pulled out of his embrace, walking to the sink. "I'm brushing my teeth!"

"Please~" Li Luo walked over and squeezed toothpaste onto her brush himself, handing it to her.

After Xu Youyu finished brushing, Li Luo had already prepared hot water, letting her wash her face comfortably.

After washing up, the two returned to Li Luo's room, woke up Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, and reminded them not to go downstairs directly—they had to respond to their family's side first, then come over from that courtyard.

Then Li Luo brought Xu Youyu downstairs, sat on the sofa, watched Lin Xiuhong and the others play mahjong, and chatted idly with Xu Rongsheng and Li Guohong on the sofa.

Xu Youyu still felt awkward and didn't dare sit beside her own father—she sat instead in the farthest corner of the sofa, away from everyone else, right next to Li Luo.

But for the elders, Li Luo and Xu Youyu were clearly suited for each other; sleeping in the same bed late at night was perfectly normal.

After all, Xu Rongsheng and his wife had long known these two had slept together, so this small matter meant nothing to them.

To them, with the two families so close and Li Luo and Xu Youyu's relationship so natural, their earlier intimacy was entirely expected.

In the future, when the two families became one, it was a foregone conclusion.

But Li Luo felt immense pressure—he thought of what he planned to do in a few days, and facing Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling now, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

Fortunately, Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling didn't notice his unease—one played mahjong with Lin Xiuhong, the other chatted idly with Li Guohong on the sofa.

Not long after, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng came over from next door, followed by Ying Zhicheng.

The three girls gathered around the mahjong table, watching Lin Xiuhong and the others play, washing fruit and pouring tea—sweet and obedient.

The sofa side became the men's domain: four of them sat there, watching TV, chatting about recent hot topics, and time slipped by quickly.

"Uncle Xu, since you've come this time, you'll stay several days, right?" Li Luo asked. "When does Qian Da start work?"

"All the relatives we needed to visit for New Year's greetings were already paid off before New Year's Eve," Xu Rongsheng said simply. "We'll probably stay until the seventh day of the New Year, then return to school to continue advancing the Research Center's work."

"Research Center? What research center?" Ying Zhicheng asked curiously. "Aren't you a professor in the College of Literature?"

"Yes, mainly research on employment directions for humanities graduates," Xu Rongsheng said simply. "Li Luo helped a lot. After this semester starts, I plan to apply for approval—if the results are good, we might even secure provincial-level research center funding."

"Then Uncle Xu will become Dean of Qianjiang University's College of Literature," Li Luo said cheerfully.

"That's impressive," Li Guohong couldn't help exclaiming. "A Dean of a college—you'll have to treat us to dinner then."

"Definitely impressive," Ying Zhicheng nodded. "If you get appointed Dean, won't you eventually move up to the University Council after stepping down?"

"Those are uncertain things—nothing's that easy," Xu Rongsheng laughed, waving his hand. "My chances aren't high; the other Vice Dean has more advantages, so it's still unclear."

"In any case, I'll fully support you," Li Luo smiled. "For humanities graduates' employment, I have many ideas—I've already prepared special scholarships and grants."

"Oh, by the way," after saying that, Li Luo turned to Ying Zhicheng across from him. "By the way, the copyright for my novel 'The Great Gan Night Patrol' is also under negotiation."

"If things go smoothly, we might actually secure a certain percentage of investment—Uncle Ying, didn't you say earlier…"

"Really?" Ying Zhicheng's eyes lit up. "Will Tencent agree?"

"Let's try—it's still possible," Li Luo said. "Chanxi has been negotiating lately; with pressure from iQIYI and Youku, the chances seem promising."

"If it really happens, I can use this opportunity to help you secure a portion of Huayue Film and Television's equity," Ying Zhicheng said, eyes blazing—just imagining the chance to fully control the company, his heart surged.

Looking at the eager Ying Zhicheng and the expectant Xu Rongsheng, Li Luo took a deep breath.

To bind his beloved future father-in-law to the wagon of shared interests, Li Luo had truly gone all in.

(End of Chapter)