Chapter 91

After one in the afternoon.

The two walked along Ningshan Avenue, holding milk teas, passing through this one of the few still-busy pedestrian streets in Yinjiang District's northern end.

Especially the central stretch of this street directly cut through the entire main campus of Qianjiang University, splitting it in two.

The southern campus, built against the foot of nearby Ningshan Mountain, primarily served as Qianjiang University's dormitory zone.

The northern campus, built along Yinjiang River, was where students attended classes and held activities.

Though people often said Fuyi Middle School sat right next to Qianjiang University.

In truth, the correct description was that Qianjiang University stood at the center, with a cluster of supporting facilities built around it.

Though both were schools, their sizes differed drastically.

Qianjiang University's land area was at least ten times that of Fuyi Middle School.

Simply walking through Qianjiang University from Ningshan Avenue alone took over ten minutes.

"Let's go for a stroll in Ningshan Park?" Ying Chanxi, sipping the warm milk tea Li Luo had bought her, walked briskly beside him and said.

"Mm." Li Luo nodded. "Let's go."

Inside Qianjiang University's southern campus, near the foot of Ningshan Mountain, there was a well-known spot called Ningshan Park.

Since the campus itself was open to the public, the two easily passed through the southern campus gate, entered the dormitory zone, and strolled leisurely toward Ningshan Park.

Even though it was National Day holiday, many students still remained on campus instead of going home.

On the streets, one could still see university students moving about.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi walking here weren't particularly noticeable.

Only Ying Chanxi's beautiful face and slender figure occasionally drew glances from passersby.

Walking through the dormitory zone, Li Luo's gaze casually swept over the various shops beneath the dorm buildings.

Small supermarkets, restaurants, cake shops, breakfast stalls, fruit stands, hair salons—all were present.

Internally, it was essentially a miniature commercial residential district.

Though small, it had everything.

For instance, during the earlier military training, the clothing store across from Fuyi Middle School made a quick fortune in just a few days by supplying belts to these small supermarkets in the dormitory zone.

Though this place usually had few outsiders, its consumption level was still decent.

On one hand, the economic level of Jiangsu Province wasn't poor; on the other, university students weren't especially sensitive to spending.

And often, they were easier to deceive.

The same hair salon, if opened inside a university, had far higher success rates in convincing students to buy membership cards.

But Li Luo only thought about it.

The best locations within the zone had already been snapped up by others.

Especially those high-traffic small supermarkets—without some connections, you definitely couldn't get them.

"Li Luo, take a few photos for me."

The two passed through the dormitory zone and arrived at Ningshan Park.

Called a park, it was in fact just one of Ningshan's hiking trail entrances.

But after renovation, the entrance featured a tranquil emerald lake, dotted with lotus leaves, and a winding stone path linking both sides of the water.

Backed by the scenery of Ningshan, it had a unique charm.

"Alright, alright, don't step back anymore—watch out, you'll fall in," Li Luo said, taking photos with Ying Chanxi's phone, reminding her as he shot.

Tourists like them visiting here were quite common during National Day.

So Ningshan Park was lively.

Elderly locals living nearby also liked to hike up the mountain from here for exercise.

Walking through the dormitory zone, one could almost sense a whiff of youthfulness.

Besides that, Ningshan Park was an essential rendezvous spot for Qianjiang University students.

Every evening, tossing a stone into the lake would surely startle countless mandarin ducks along the shore.

"Miss, could you take a photo for us?" After Li Luo finished taking pictures, Ying Chanxi took back her phone, glanced at it, then politely asked a nearby tourist auntie for help.

The auntie smiled and took Ying Chanxi's phone.

Ying Chanxi quickly pulled Li Luo to the lakeside: "Hurry up, let's take a picture together."

As she spoke, Ying Chanxi had already pulled him into position, yet her hand didn't let go—pretending to forget, she still rested it on Li Luo's arm.

As the auntie pressed the shutter, the photo captured Ying Chanxi seemingly leaning against Li Luo.

"Thank you, miss!"

Ying Chanxi ran back to retrieve the phone and bent down to examine the photo closely.

Li Luo, curious, leaned over to look—but Ying Chanxi covered the phone with her hand.

"I can't see it yet?"

"Come on, come on," Ying Chanxi put away her phone. "We've finished the park—let's go see the river."

"Alright."

The two exited the southern campus from another direction, then followed the school's western wall all the way north toward Yinjiang River.

On the way, Li Luo's gaze landed on a large empty plot across from them.

In his memory, in another year or two, Longhu Tianjie here would begin construction.

At that time, a subway entrance would be built here, and another one would appear east of Fuyi Middle School.

With the subway entrances and commercial complex built, property and shop prices around here would skyrocket.

Currently, the shops on the west side of Qianjiang University had low prices and cheap rents because foot traffic was concentrated on Ningshan Avenue's pedestrian street.

But once Longhu Tianjie across the way was completed, foot traffic here would surge rapidly, making it even busier than Ningshan Avenue.

If one simply looks at it from the present perspective, an ordinary person would never imagine such a change.

To be honest, anyone who could buy a few shops on Xijie in the past two years would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their life.

"What are you looking at?" Ying Chanxi followed Li Luo's line of sight, looking at the shops along the street, but couldn't make out anything special.

"Nothing." Li Luo shook his head, then asked with a smile, "I was just thinking about a question — what should a person do after becoming financially free?"

"Of course, go pursue the things you like." Ying Chanxi said playfully.

"Is there anything you like?"

"Of course there is." Ying Chanxi thought carefully, "If I were really financially free, I'd probably become a photographer?"

"You like taking pictures?"

"Not just taking pictures — it could also be filming a video, recording life, or acting out a story."

"Then that would be a director."

"Haha, that's not impossible either." Ying Chanxi put her hands behind her back and skipped lightly a couple of times, "When the time comes, I'll invite you to be my male lead."

"My acting fee is very expensive."

"I'm already financially free, would I still be afraid of that?" Ying Chanxi raised an eyebrow and waved her hand grandly, "I could even keep you as a sugar baby without any problem."

"Quite the sweet dream you're having."

"What about you, Li Luo?" Ying Chanxi asked, "If you were financially free, what would you want to do?"

When Ying Chanxi asked this question, Li Luo fell into rare contemplation.

Then he realized that he didn't really seem to have any clear answer.

"Hope for world peace, I guess."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"What else then?"

"I thought you'd say you wanted to play on the computer for the rest of your life."

"That's not out of the question either."

The two chatted as they walked, enjoying the breeze by the Yin River, and an afternoon slipped quietly away.

By a little past four in the evening, the two first returned to Bihai Lanting, then went their separate ways.

Ying Chanxi went to find Qiao Xinyan for dinner and shopping.

Li Luo, on the other hand, strolled home.

"Hey, Mom."

"Are you coming back?"

"Yeah, Mom, I miss you."

"…Why on earth are you saying something like that all of a sudden? You didn't run out of your pocket money, did you?"

"Can't you hope for something better?" Li Luo said, exasperated, "Can't I just miss you for no reason?"

"Just don't cause trouble at school." Lin Xiuhong said over the phone, "How much longer until you're home?"

"About half an hour." Li Luo said as he walked into a nearby bank, "I'll definitely be there before five."

"Alright, got it."

He hung up the phone.

Ten minutes later, Li Luo walked out of the bank and headed home.