Chapter 925

Xu Youyu couldn't grill well, always misjudging the heat, so after Li Luo brought out all the skewers, she returned to the motorhome's dining area and sat by the window.

She opened the car window, leaned out, and could clearly see the barbecue grill placed perpendicular to the vehicle's side, and Li Luo standing before it, marinating some skewers.

"Boss, are you doing barbecue over here? How much per skewer?" Xu Youyu turned her eyes toward Li Luo's profile and asked with a grin.

Li Luo heard this, paused slightly, then immediately understood—Xu Youyu was in a playful mood—and chuckled, "Yeah, barbecue. Want some? Very cheap."

"How cheap is cheap?"

"Depends on what you want to eat."

"I want lamb skewers and pork belly," Xu Youyu pointed at the nearby skewers.

"Lamb skewers and pork belly? Those are cheap—lamb skewer: two hugs per skewer, pork belly: one kiss per skewer."

"?" Xu Youyu blinked, stunned by the price, then smirked, before instantly switching to a shy, wounded expression. "Boss, you're so mean—bullying a girl like me. Who ever pays for barbecue like this?"

"What? Isn't this fair? Don't you want a few skewers?" Li Luo turned to look at her, smiling. "They're delicious."

"Can't I just pay money?"

"You can pay if you want," Li Luo sighed. "Lamb skewer: ten yuan each, pork belly: eight yuan each."

"Why so expensive?"

"Take it or leave it."

"Then give me five lamb skewers and five pork belly skewers," Xu Youyu said.

"Can you afford it?"

"Who are you looking down on?" Xu Youyu huffed, pulling out her phone. "Give me your payment code—I'll pay upfront, fine."

"Alright, scan here." Li Luo pulled out his phone and actually displayed the payment code.

But after scanning, Xu Youyu's face turned awkward. She muttered softly, "Boss, this is way too expensive—I only have forty yuan on me, I can't pay."

"Then what now?" Li Luo had already picked up five lamb skewers and five pork belly skewers and started grilling. "I've already started cooking—you can't back out now."

"This—"

Xu Youyu's expression turned troubled.

Then she suddenly looked as if she'd just thought of something, and whispered, "Boss, is your earlier price still valid?"

"What price?"

"The one—uh—the lamb skewers, two—uh—two of those—"

"Of course it's still valid," Li Luo chuckled. "So your ten skewers mean ten hugs and five kisses."

"No no no!" Xu Youyu shook her head vigorously. "Kisses are out! I'm still single, never had a boyfriend, my first kiss is still intact—I can't do kisses!"

"Then what?"

"C-can I just do hugs?" Xu Youyu ventured. "Ten hugs for lamb skewers, ten hugs for pork belly too?"

"No. Kisses are kisses—they can't be changed."

"Then this." Xu Youyu gritted her teeth. "Pork belly: eight yuan per skewer—five skewers is forty yuan. I'll pay that in cash. And lamb skewers—I'll pay with hugs. Is that okay?"

"This—"

Li Luo looked slightly disappointed.

But he nodded. "Alright, fine."

After agreeing on the price, Xu Youyu paid Li Luo forty yuan, then bit her lip, cheeks flushed, and asked shyly, "S-so… how do I pay the hugs?"

"Come here," Li Luo said. "Hugs aren't hard."

"But how exactly does one hug count?" Xu Youyu asked warily. "Don't you dare hug for ages and then say it only counts as one."

"Five seconds each," Li Luo said. "Ten hugs is fifty seconds. But since you're already hugging, why not round it up to a full minute? I'll grill you two extra skewers."

"Mm—alright, I guess."

Xu Youyu glanced longingly at the lamb skewers—they smelled delicious—and figured fifty seconds versus a minute didn't matter much, so she nodded in agreement.

After finalizing the rules, Xu Youyu finally stood up, stepped out of the motorhome, and approached Li Luo.

"Boss, h-how exactly do you want me to hug?" Xu Youyu whispered.

"I'm busy grilling, so just hug me from behind," Li Luo said.

"Okay." Hearing she didn't have to hug him face-to-face, Xu Youyu visibly relaxed, then moved behind him, cautiously extending her arms to gently wrap around him.

"You're not even touching me," Li Luo felt only her hands resting on his waist—nothing else—and urged, "Hold tighter."

"You didn't say how to hug," Xu Youyu said stubbornly from behind him. "This counts as a hug. We agreed on one minute—fifteen seconds already passed."

"Is that so?" Li Luo suddenly spun around, yanking Xu Youyu into his arms and squeezing her tightly.

"Ah!"

Xu Youyu's head was buried in Li Luo's chest, completely enveloped in his embrace, and she squirmed.

"Y-you—how did you suddenly—"

"You said it yourself—you didn't specify how to hug, so this way's fine, right?" Li Luo grinned mischievously, holding her close, his hands wandering up and down her back.

Xu Youyu immediately grabbed his hands.

Her cheeks burned red, her eyes welled up as if she might cry.

"Just hug me, don't do this—waaah—"

"Alright, alright, I wasn't groping—just a normal hug. Don't cry," Li Luo said, turning her around to face the grill, picking up the freshly grilled pork belly skewer, and holding it to her lips. "Here, eat one. You'll stop crying."

"Is the time up?" Xu Youyu sniffled, pretending to sob into his arms. "Feels like a full minute already."

"Nope, only forty seconds," Li Luo said. "I'm timing it."

"Really? It's been a minute, right?"

"Don't rush," Li Luo held her close, offering the skewer. "Try it first—my grilling's pretty good."

"Mm—"

Xu Youyu sniffed the aroma of five-spice pork, flaring her nostrils.

She'd planned to wait until the time was right to eat, but couldn't resist, so she opened her mouth and took a bite.

"Too hot, too hot————"

Though she said it was hot, Xu Youyu still slurped and sucked down the entire skewer, feeling it was delicious beyond words.

"Still hot?" Li Luo reached out, pinching her chin as if concerned, leaning close—then suddenly smacked a kiss right onto her lips.

"Ah!" Xu Youyu jumped in shock, shoving him away hard, clutching her mouth and staring at him in disbelief, "Y-you did what?! Didn't we agree to just hug?!"

"Aw, you're just too beautiful—I couldn't help it," Li Luo grinned mischievously. "What's the harm in one kiss? I'll give you another skewer of five-spice pork if it bothers you."

"Is this just about one skewer of five-spice pork?!" Xu Youyu burst into wailing sobs, pounding his chest with tiny fists, "That was my first kiss! I've never even had a boyfriend!"

"Cough, cough———— How about a few more skewers then?"

"Is my first kiss worth only a few skewers of five-spice pork?"

"Then how about this—I'll waive the entire barbecue bill tonight. What else do you want grilled? I'll make it for you."

"No way!" Xu Youyu turned away angrily and stomped back into the Motorhome. "I'm calling the police. I'm pressing charges for sexual harassment."

"There aren't any cameras around here," Li Luo muttered, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you agreed to the hugging. I just kissed you because the mood was right—what's the big deal? Even if you report me, it won't help. Better off eating free barbecue."

With that, Li Luo plated the freshly grilled lamb skewers and five-spice pork, passing them through the window. "Here, try them—they're delicious. Tell me if you want anything else."

Xu Youyu put on an angry face, but the scent of the barbecue overwhelmed her. She couldn't resist, reaching out to grab a lamb skewer and biting into it fiercely.

"Tasty, right?" Li Luo leaned against the window, grinning as he watched her eat. "How's that? Was it worth the kiss?"

"How dare you say that!" Xu Youyu glared at him, then suddenly remembered something, pulling out her phone and flashing a payment code at him.

"What's this mean?" Li Luo blinked in surprise.

"Pay me back!" Xu Youyu huffed. "You said the barbecue was free—so give me back the forty yuan you owe me."

"Still worrying about that?" Li Luo chuckled, pulling out his phone and sending her forty-eight yuan.

"Why did you send eight extra?"

"One skewer of five-spice pork is eight yuan—or one kiss," Li Luo teased. "Since I kissed you just now, I'll give you eight extra yuan."

"You————"

Xu Youyu was furious, gnashing her teeth into the lamb skewer in her hand.

Then she glanced at the skewers on the table outside and snapped, "Keep grilling! Grill everything on that table for me!"

"Got it," Li Luo replied, getting busy again, and called out to her, "Want some alcohol? I'll pour you some."

"What kind of alcohol?"

"Homemade cocktail."

"Then give me one to try."

"OK."

They ate until full, drinking several cocktails.

The atmosphere inside the Motorhome grew hazy.

Xu Youyu's cheeks flushed red, as if drunk. Without realizing it, she found Li Luo had climbed into the vehicle and was holding her in his arms.

"Y-you're going to do what?"

"What's wrong?" Li Luo murmured into her ear, arms wrapped around her. "I only said the barbecue was free—I never said the drinks were. Now it's time to collect payment."

"————Huh?"

Xu Youyu seemed drunk, yet still half-aware.

"What do you mean—wasn't it free? Why do I have to pay for the alcohol?"

"I only said the barbecue was free."

"Y-you—how much for the alcohol?"

"I'm afraid you can't afford it."

"I only had three drinks—how much could that possibly cost?"

"Cocktails are expensive," Li Luo chuckled. "Twenty-five yuan per glass."

"Are you robbing me?"

"That's not expensive. If you drank at a bar, it'd cost you way more."

"I don't have that much————"

Xu Youyu mumbled in his arms, "I'll pay for only two glasses."

"What about the third?"

"J-just pay with hugs," Xu Youyu whispered. "Ten yuan for two hugs—so twenty-five yuan for five hugs."

"That's not how it works," Li Luo said. "The five-spice pork was one kiss per skewer."

"Then what do you want?"

"One drink, five kisses."

"No way!"

"What's the difference? You already gave me your first kiss—what's a few more?" Li Luo pulled her closer, sneaking a kiss while she wasn't looking.

"Ah! I didn't agree! How could you just kiss me?!"

"I was just demonstrating," Li Luo coaxed. "See? One kiss isn't a big deal. Just four more, and you're done."

"Mmm————"

Perhaps she was truly drunk—Xu Youyu thought his logic made sense, and nodded slightly.

"T-then hurry up. I'm going to sleep."

"Alright, here I come."

Saying this, Li Luo pinched Xu Youyu's cheek and leaned in to kiss her forcefully.

The kiss lasted several minutes, until Xu Youyu could no longer breathe and shoved him away, finally breaking their lips apart.

"Y-you kissed for so long!"

"You never said how long counts as one," Li Luo grinned mischievously. "That counted as one. Three left."

"N-no, not anymore————"

Xu Youyu moaned.

"At most I can only————"

"Mmm————"

Before Xu Youyu could finish, Li Luo kissed her again, sealing her lips shut.

After the three kisses ended, Li Luo spent over half an hour working, until Xu Youyu's body went limp and her mind grew hazy.

Xu Youyu didn't even know when she ended up lying face-down.

When she came to, everything had already happened.

"Mmm~"

"Good girl, don't move," Li Luo stroked Xu Youyu's head. "From now on, whenever you come to my place for barbecue, it's free forever."

Long silence.

The Motorhome finally fell quiet.

Xu Youyu leaned back against Li Luo's chest, breathing heavily, her face flushed. "You're terrible, bullying an innocent girl."

"Didn't you start it?"

Li Luo laughed. "I could tell you enjoyed it."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu huffed, then giggled a few times, collapsing fully against Li Luo, still savoring the scene they'd played out. "Aren't you enjoying it too?"

"I was just going along with you."

"You make it sound like only I'm having fun. If that's how it is, I won't act anymore."

"That won't do," Li Luo immediately shook his head. "You have to keep acting."

"Then do you like it?"

"I do."

"That's better~" Xu Youyu nodded happily, then rolled her eyes and asked, "So what'll we act out tonight?"

"Whatever the Birthday Person wants."

"Oh come on, let me think~"