Chapter 894: At Least Get the Certificate

Xu Youyu didn't get home until after nine, quietly pushing open the door, only to find no one in the living room.

A steady drip-drip sound came from the bathroom—someone was clearly showering.

Light also leaked in from the balcony direction; Xu Youyu glanced over and knew her father was smoking out there, meaning the person showering must be her mother.

Thinking this, Xu Youyu planned to slip back to her room, but the glass door on the balcony suddenly slid open—Xu Rongsheng, cigarette in mouth, waved at his daughter.

"Dad."

Xu Youyu walked over, a little embarrassed; thinking about spending nearly an hour in Li Luo's car, her cheeks flushed slightly.

"Sit." Xu Rongsheng paid no mind to it, pointed to the chair Li Luo had sat in that afternoon, and said to Xu Youyu, "Let's talk."

"Okay." Xu Youyu sat down obediently; in front of her father, she was usually relaxed and at ease.

Because she knew her father wouldn't do anything to her—unlike Cui Suling.

To Xu Rongsheng, there were no unreasonable arguments, only positions one refused to accept.

"We've thought about your situation for days now," Xu Rongsheng crushed the nearly finished cigarette in the ashtray, blew out the last wisp of smoke toward the window, then looked at Xu Youyu. "I want to know what you truly feel."

"Didn't I already say all this when I first came home?" Xu Youyu blinked.

"Not now—earlier," Xu Rongsheng said, his gaze deep. "Your four of you are close now—I understand that. But what about before?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Youyu tried to play dumb.

But Xu Rongsheng gave her no escape—he asked bluntly: "When did you realize you liked Li Luo?"

"Uhh—" Asked this, Xu Youyu struggled, scratching her head, unsure how to answer. "At first I just had a little fondness. If you're asking when I truly liked him—it was probably during winter break of first year, when we went together to collect the essay prize."

"Really—" Xu Rongsheng sighed. "Then why didn't you act on it back then?"

"I was plenty forward, thank you very much," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "It's just that someone was too greedy."

"So Li Luo had this plan from the start?"

"I don't know," Xu Youyu shook her head. "He's known Chanxi since childhood—they've always been close. I really didn't want to be the one to break them up."

"If you didn't want to, why get involved at all?" Xu Rongsheng sighed softly. "You could've just moved out—rented another apartment back then."

"It's too late now," Xu Youyu grinned. "Didn't you say yourself that the meaning of life is something you have to find yourself?"

"As for love, I don't chase marriage, happiness, raising children, or any of that."

"I want that feeling of a soulmate—where a single word lets you understand each other, with zero barriers to communication."

"Where you know exactly what the other is thinking, where your souls naturally fit together, and just being together—no matter what you say—is never a burden."

"How many such people even exist in this world?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to gamble the rest of my life on finding another."

"Even if something bad happens, as Mom fears—so what?"

"I've already gotten what I want."

"Life isn't only about love. If Li Luo ever lets me down, I'll leave."

"But what if?"

Here, Xu Youyu smiled brightly at Xu Rongsheng, her expression serious. "What if this is the entrance to happiness? Must I abandon it to walk the safer path Mom talks about?"

"Look at how she acted today—she doesn't seem like she'd let go of Li Luo."

After hearing his daughter's words, Xu Rongsheng sighed again, as if exhaling every sigh he'd ever held in his lifetime.

He felt both pride and helplessness.

Pride, because Xu Youyu had truly grown into the kind of girl he'd hoped for—charming, confident, full of character.

But helplessness, too—because his own upbringing and guidance had only served to make Li Luo the beneficiary.

This feeling—hard to define.

"Since you've said this," Xu Rongsheng glanced at the sky, recalling his earlier conversation with Li Luo, and smiled helplessly. "Then so be it."

For some reason, he felt Xu Youyu and Li Luo shared remarkably similar outlooks—it was no wonder she thought they were soulmates; both saw this side of life with startling clarity.

But neither Xu Rongsheng nor Xu Youyu knew one thing.

Li Luo hadn't always been like this—he became this way only after being shaped by Xu Youyu's influence in his past life, then reinforced by the natural confidence of his rebirth.

Or rather, Li Luo could become Xu Youyu's soulmate only because of her careful nurturing in his past life.

It perfectly echoed Xu Rongsheng's words.

A person is both the Little Prince and the Rose.

Li Luo, this rose, had been watered in turn by three girls in his past life—until he grew into what he is now.

How could he not fit her perfectly?

On the other side, Li Luo arrived home.

As he stepped out of his car and entered the basement entrance, he saw Yan Zhusheng crouched by the wall, hugging her knees, waiting quietly.

Hearing the door, Yan Zhusheng looked up happily, quickly trying to stand.

But her legs had gone numb from squatting too long—she collapsed back onto the floor.

Li Luo found it amusing. After slipping on slippers, he walked to Yan Zhusheng, crouched down, scooped her entire body into his arms, cradling her small buttocks as he carried her upstairs.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "You said you'd be back, so I came down to wait."

"Uh—around eight."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded, leaning against Li Luo's chest, then asked, "If the family compound and Sky Ridge Elegant Residence are this close, how come you drove for an hour? Traffic jam?"

Li Luo: "—Yeah. Got stuck by Youyu."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng instantly understood, then puffed out her cheeks. "Senior's mean. Now how am I supposed to handle tonight?"

"You've been stuck at home with me all this time—do you really care about one night?" Li Luo jiggled her light frame, laughing. "Don't be so stingy. Your sister's stingy—I think you're the stingiest one."

"No I'm not, I'm generous!" Yan Zhusheng immediately denied it, as Li Luo carried her all the way to the second-floor study and sat her down.

Li Luo sat down at the computer, preparing for tonight's writing session; Yan Zhusheng propped her legs on his thighs and stopped disturbing him, quietly waiting for him to write while scrolling on her phone beside him.

Midway, Li Luo told Yan Zhusheng to open the cat channel.

Soon after, cats began sprouting on the desk.

When Li Luo grew tired from writing, he pinched Yan Zhusheng's calves or reached out to pet the cats, and the writing time passed quickly.

Near eleven at night, after Li Luo finished writing, Yan Zhusheng beside him said, "Li Luo, Mom has something to tell you—remember to reply to her message."

"Hm?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, then pulled out his phone and checked—it was Yuan Wanqing who had sent a message.

【Yuan Wanqing】: I've already made plans with your Ying uncle—he'll accompany me to dinner with the director of a sponsorship project on the 26th.

【Yuan Wanqing】: There really was such a project, but the dinner date got postponed; he doesn't know yet. You get what I mean, right?

【Li Luo】: Understood. I'll arrive on time. Thank you, Aunt Yuan.

Li Luo replied.

Yuan Wanqing saw it and immediately replied.

【Yuan Wanqing】: When you get there, find a place to wait first—don't enter the private room. Wait until I bring him to his seat, then come in. I'll send you the address the day of.

【Li Luo】: Got it.

After finalizing the dinner time with Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo exhaled deeply, then took another deep breath.

Xu Youyu's side is already half-solved; if he can convince Xu Rongsheng, Cui Suling won't be so hard to handle.

But with Ying Zhicheng—Yuan Wanqing can't make decisions on his behalf; he must be persuaded directly.

Just thinking of this, Li Luo felt a headache coming on.

But Yan Zhusheng didn't care about any of that. Seeing him finish writing and finish talking with his mother, she eagerly straddled him, her eyes sparkling: "Li Luo, it's time to shower."

Late at night.

In the main bedroom of the Xu household.

Cui Suling lay in bed scrolling her phone, sighing as she scrolled.

After Xu Rongsheng finished showering and got into bed beside her, Cui Suling glanced at him; seeing he said nothing, she elbowed him under the covers.

"What are you doing?" Xu Rongsheng put on his reading glasses, picked up the book on the nightstand, turned on the bedside lamp, and was just about—

to read before sleep, when the elbow jolted him, and he turned to ask.

"You still have the heart to read?" Cui Suling couldn't help complaining. "Your daughter's situation isn't settled yet—how can you be so calm?"

"The matter has already happened. All we can do now is accept it," Xu Rongsheng said calmly.

"Accept? Accept what?" Cui Suling's expression changed instantly; she grabbed Xu Rongsheng's arm and shook it. "What do you mean? You're really going to agree to your daughter being with two other girls?"

"It's not about whether I agree or not," Xu Rongsheng glanced at her, patted her hand, then spoke slowly, "it's about thinking clearly: if we disagree, what will happen?"

"What could happen? In matters of marriage, can't parents still decide? Especially since there are four of them—"

"And then?" Xu Rongsheng continued guiding her forward. "Given your daughter's personality, what do you think she'll do if we refuse?"

"This—"

At this, Cui Suling's face darkened; she angrily slapped Xu Rongsheng. "It's all your fault for raising such a good daughter!"

"You should know, it already surprised me that Youyu didn't come to us with a swollen belly to lay it all out," Xu Rongsheng closed the book in his hand and set it aside, turning to Cui Suling. "Once she wants something, she makes it happen."

"But she didn't do that."

"Do you think it's because she didn't want to?"

"Then what else?" Cui Suling sneered. "It means she still has some conscience."

3

"No," Xu Rongsheng said. "It's because Li Luo didn't want it."

"How do you know? Did Li Luo tell you?"

"No," Xu Rongsheng shook his head. "I guessed."

"Are you just making excuses for him because you want to keep your Dean position?" Cui Suling grew angrier by the moment, blurting out an angry remark.

But Xu Rongsheng wasn't upset—he only smiled. "Do you really think so?"

Yes, exactly like that—Xu Rongsheng's temperament was always so gentle, making Cui Suling easy to manipulate.

Cui Suling quickly realized her words were wrong; she took a deep breath. "I know you're not like that—but this matter—if we agree, how will my parents see it?"

"I've already spoken to your father," Xu Rongsheng said calmly.

"What?! When?"

"The second day we got back."

"What did Dad say?"

"He said to handle it as I see fit."

"He knows Li Luo's identity, right?" Cui Suling couldn't help complaining. "He knows Li Luo has helped you behind the scenes, even given you a chance to become Dean."

"Your father still dreams of you taking over his seat on the School Committee."

"Otherwise, at his age, he could've retired long ago—he's just waiting eagerly for you to take over."

Thinking of this, Cui Suling cursed, "Men are all no good!"

"Alright, alright," Xu Rongsheng patted Cui Suling's shoulder. "You've seen the kids' attitudes—and the final outcome isn't settled yet."

"What if Ying Zhicheng refuses? Maybe Youyu could be alone with Li Luo then."

"As long as we don't give in, you yourself aren't willing to let go either—so let it be."

"What kind of thing is that to say?" Cui Suling leaned into Xu Rongsheng's arms, annoyed. "What do you mean I'm 'not willing to let go'? I'm just thinking about Youyu's future."

"Yes, yes," Xu Rongsheng gently patted her shoulder to soothe her. "You've worried yourself to death for her—but now the situation is what it is. Even if we refuse, the best we can do is wait for Youyu to come back with a swollen belly. What's the difference? Can you bind her forever?"

"It's all your fault—you raised such a good daughter!"

"Yes, yes, it's my fault, my fault."

"I don't care—even if he agrees, we can't let Li Luo off so cheaply," Cui Suling said. "At the very least, make him go with You Yu to pick up the certificate."