Rekindling the Youthful Era

Chapter 874 The Battle of the Sisters

Xu Rongsheng cooked dinner, and Ying Zhicheng went in to help. With the experienced chef Li Guohong watching over things, there wasn't much to worry about.

However, Li Luo still went in and took a look, and even showed off his skills.

Finally, Xu Rongsheng prepared a three-way fish dish, Ying Zhicheng also cooked a dish, and the remaining dishes were left to Li Luo and Li Guohong.

The four men worked busily in the kitchen to prepare dinner, and by six o'clock in the evening, they finally brought the food to the living room and invited everyone to eat.

After everyone was seated at the table, they began to eat as soon as Grandpa Li Luo picked up his chopsticks.

Everyone at the table was chatting idly, each with their own topics, creating a lively atmosphere.

When talking about the Spring Festival Gala, Yuan Wanqing shared many interesting behind-the-scenes stories, as well as some gossip about celebrities.

Who doesn't get along with whom, who has personality problems in private—since they're all family, Yuan Wanqing just chatted casually.

When they were half full, Lin Xiuhong suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Li Luo: "Did you know that your uncle brought a girlfriend home this year?"

"I know," Li Luo nodded matter-of-factly. "What's wrong?"

"I heard from your grandmother that your uncle's girlfriend is still..."

"Yeah," Li Luo said with a smile, "I'm your advisor, and I even graduated with a master's degree from Qianjiang University."

"Speaking of which, she also has a close relationship with Uncle Xu."

“When my aunt was a graduate student at Qian University, she was one of Uncle Xu’s students.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Rongsheng immediately raised his eyebrows, realizing who Li Luo was referring to: "Jian Chun, right?"

“Yeah, that’s right.” Li Luo chuckled. “Teacher Jian and my uncle are quite destined for each other. Back when I was a graduate student, I worked part-time at my uncle’s milk tea shop. We hit it off and started dating.”

"Hmm, not bad at all." Xu Rongsheng nodded slightly. "Jian Chun's family isn't well-off; both her parents are from the countryside. The fact that she was able to get into Qianjiang University is already extremely impressive."

“If Old Xu said so, then this girl must be good.” Lin Xiuhong nodded with relief. “Besides, she’s a counselor at Qian Da University now, so her job is stable. I just don’t know about her parents…”

"Is there something you're worried about?" Xu Rongsheng was quite concerned about his student. Seeing Lin Xiuhong's hesitant tone, he thought she was looking down on Jian Chun's parents for being from the countryside.

But Lin Xiuhong only asked, "Does Lao Xu know where her hometown is?"

“It’s in Yunnan and Guizhou,” Xu Rongsheng said. “It is indeed a bit far.”

“That’s not a big problem,” Lin Xiuhong said, shaking her head. “It’s just that it will be a bit inconvenient for her to travel back and forth to her hometown since she married so far away. It would be much better if we could bring her parents over, and the whole family would be happy.”

“I don’t know about that. You’ll have to ask her and her family for their wishes,” Xu Rongsheng said, shaking his head. But his gaze softened as he looked at Lin Xiuhong.

Li Luo's family members all have personalities that fit Xu Rongsheng's requirements, and they get along very comfortably and harmoniously.

He was just overthinking things.

“That’s what I was thinking too,” Lin Xiuhong nodded and said. “So I was thinking that I could take some time tomorrow morning to go to my mother’s place, have lunch with them, and talk about things like the engagement.”

Lin Xiuhong has been extremely worried about her younger brother.

Lin Xiufeng refused to find a partner and get married, and even went to work in another province for a time, unwilling to come back.

He eventually came back after much persuasion, and his family didn't dare to urge him any further. Before he knew it, he was over thirty.

In the end, it was his own son who was capable enough to lure Lin Xiufeng to the milk tea shop so that he could get to know the female college students from Qianjiang University.

To my surprise, it actually worked.

Apart from their significant age difference of nine years, the two seemed to be a good match in other aspects.

Although Lin Xiufeng's education level isn't great, Li Luo's maternal grandfather was a prominent figure in the village when he was young. Back then, when housing prices were cheap, he bought two houses in Yinjiang District.

One of the apartments was given to Lin Xiufeng to live in, while the other small one-bedroom apartment was rented out to collect rent.

Lin Xiufeng used to work as a delivery driver for a relative's company, earning several thousand yuan a month. With rent to cover the cost, he could make a considerable amount each month.

He owns his own house, and he does live a pretty carefree life.

As for Jian Chun, although her family was not well-off, she got into Qianjiang University through her own efforts and even pursued a master's degree.

Now she is a counselor at Qianjiang University, and her household registration has been transferred to Yuhang City. In terms of her own conditions, she and Lin Xiufeng are quite a good match.

The key is that the two are in love, and in this respect, Li Luo feels that his uncle's good looks played a significant role.

Although he is already in his thirties, he is different from those middle-aged bald corporate slaves who have big bellies as they get older.

Lin Xiufeng enjoys a comfortable life with little pressure and has a regular exercise routine, so he maintains a great physique. Also, because he is a bit older, he has a mature and weathered look.

Jian Chun probably finds Lin Xiufeng's charisma and looks quite appealing.

“Then I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Li Luo said to Lin Xiuhong.

"Okay." Lin Xiuhong nodded, then apologized to Cui Suling, "Then I won't be able to keep you company tomorrow at noon. Don't be shy here, just ask Lao Li if you need anything."

"It's just for a morning, it's fine, go ahead." Cui Suling waved her hand and smiled, "Your brother's wedding is important, Jian Chun will definitely have to give Lao Xu wedding invitations, and we're waiting to attend the banquet."

“Yes, yes, yes.” Lin Xiuhong laughed along, “That makes sense, we’ll see each other at the wedding.”

At this moment, Li Luo felt his leg being touched. He turned his head to the right and saw Ying Chanxi gesturing to him with his eyes.

Li Luo suddenly remembered something and immediately turned to her mother, saying, "Mom, let Xixi and the other two go with us tomorrow morning."

“Youyu and Zhusheng haven’t been to my maternal grandmother’s house yet, so I’ll take them there.”

"After all, they are very familiar with our area, so going to their maternal grandmother's house is a bit of a novelty for them."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuhong paused for a moment, then nodded: "If they can get up, they can go together. Your uncle and aunt know the three of them. I'll just tell your grandmother."

"Then it's settled. Let's leave at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"no problem."

Having agreed on a time, Li Luo continued eating.

The others didn't think much of it, since it was common for the four of them to travel together, and the elders on both sides didn't see anything wrong with it.

As dinner was almost over, Yuan Wanqing suddenly remembered something and asked Ying Zhicheng, "Isn't my studio's affiliation contract with Huayue Film and Television about to expire in six months?"

"Yes." Ying Zhicheng nodded. "It expires in August, less than half a year away."

“Then we’ll have to move to Li Luo’s place.” Yuan Wanqing said to Li Luo with a smile, then looked at Ying Chanxi, “Xixi, remember to prepare the contract as soon as possible.” “Okay.” Ying Chanxi nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of the handover of not only the contract, but also the employees in Mom’s studio.”

“There are still some things to keep in mind when you hand over the work, Xixi,” Ying Zhicheng said. “Although the studio’s affiliation contract has expired, it will be directly integrated into Reign Culture at that time.”

"But there are still some other contracts or agency agreements with Huayue Film and Television."

"For example, there are regular contracts for variety shows, agency contracts for concerts, and endorsements for certain brands."

"When these things are handed over, we must make sure to reconfirm the timeline to avoid future disputes."

"As the company's CEO, I certainly can't bring these things up with you openly. So you have to ask for them first before I can cooperate with you."

After listening, Ying Chanxi nodded to indicate that he understood: "I know, I will be careful then."

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room on the second floor. Some played mahjong, some watched TV, and some chatted and played cards on the sofa.

They might chat about serious matters briefly, but the conversation quickly veers off to things like stock market trends and international affairs—the topics range from the most mundane to the most trivial.

Li Luo doesn't understand stock trading, but he knows very well which stocks are top performers.

So in the past two years, he has made a lot of money just from the stock market, which would probably shock other people if he told them.

However, Li Luo didn't have much interest in this money; it was originally just one of his fallback options.

Now that the funds are no longer needed, he used part of them to provide scholarships and grants to Xu Rongsheng.

If those who have been fleeced in the stock market knew that the money they lost was ultimately spent on the future of the nation, they would probably feel much more at ease.

Around 9 PM.

Li Luo took three girls downstairs to play with fireworks, making up for all the fireworks they hadn't finished playing on New Year's Eve.

Cui Suling hadn't experienced fireworks in the city for many years, but she came down to join in the fun.

When it was 10 o'clock, Xu Youyu said he had to go back to his room to write, so he got up and went back to the next room.

The others also said it was late and went upstairs to wash up and go to bed.

After returning to his room, Li Luo wrote for a while in his bedroom because Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling needed to use the bathroom in the hallway.

As a result, there was the sound of running water from the bathroom across the street, and my room door was quietly pushed open.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng sneaked in from outside, then quickly closed and locked the door.

Li Luo turned to look at the two of them and immediately chuckled, saying, "Aren't you two afraid of being discovered?"

"It's all my sister's fault for insisting that Uncle Xu and Aunt Cui sleep here," Yan Zhusheng said. "If we let them stay next door and left this bedroom for my senior, wouldn't it be much safer?"

"It's not that safe either," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes at her. "Aunt Lin and Uncle Li are here too."

“But it doesn’t matter if they see us,” Yan Zhusheng said. “Anyway, Aunt Lin and the others probably already know.”

"That won't do either!" Ying Chanxi said, blushing. "Anyway, don't say anything. We're already in here, so what's there to say? Today it's my turn to sleep on the floor."

“No wonder you insisted on coming so early, even without the risk of being discovered by Uncle Xu and Aunt Cui.” Yan Zhusheng climbed onto the bed, too lazy to argue with her. “Tomorrow is my turn, so you can enjoy yourself tonight.”

"What's there to enjoy..." Ying Chanxi blushed and fidgeted, but still crawled into the quilt on the floor without hesitation, not forgetting to ask Li Luo, "How much longer until you finish writing?"

"We have to wait until Uncle Xu and the others finish showering," Li Luo said. "I haven't showered yet."

"You might as well have come and showered with us earlier," Yan Zhusheng said, lying on the bed. "My sister started talking about you while she was showering earlier, and she kept urging me to hurry up. If you had been here, she definitely wouldn't have done that. She would have dawdled for ages."

"What did you say?" Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed even more upon hearing this. She turned around in annoyance, grabbed the bed with one hand, and was about to punch her brat.

However, when Yan Zhusheng rolled against the wall, Ying Chanxi could no longer touch her.

Yan Zhusheng was still able to lift one leg, and taking advantage of her long legs, she launched a counterattack while Ying Chanxi was off guard. She rolled back to the bedside and gently kicked Ying Chanxi in the lower back.

After she finished kicking, she immediately rolled back to prevent Ying Chanxi from retaliating.

Ying Chanxi got anxious and angrily climbed out of his quilt on the floor and pounced on the bed to wrestle with Yan Zhusheng.

However, neither of them used much force; they just pinched and tapped each other, which made Li Luo's eyes fill with spring-like delight and he almost lost his mind to write.

"You two should tone it down a bit," Li Luo said helplessly. "The soundproofing in our hometown isn't good. If you shout too loudly, Uncle Xu and the others next door might hear you."

These words were quite effective; Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng on the bed immediately quieted down.

Ying Chanxi then returned to her makeshift bed on the floor and lay down again, saying angrily, "It's all Zhusheng's fault."

"It was you who started it, sister," Yan Zhusheng reminded her earnestly.

"You provoked me first."

"Was that a provocation? I was just stating the facts."

"You never tell the truth."

"That's still better than my sister always saying one thing and meaning another."

The two sisters stopped fighting and went back to bickering.

Li Luo found it amusing and continued writing.

It wasn't until Xu Rongsheng finished showering and knocked on the door to remind him that Li Luo responded, "Okay, Uncle Xu, you go to sleep first, I'll go shower right away."

"Okay, I'll go back to my room now." Xu Rongsheng replied from outside the door, then turned and went back to the bedroom next door.

At this moment, Li Luo's room was very quiet. Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng obediently kept their mouths shut so as not to be overheard by Xu Rongsheng.

Li Luo had already shut down her laptop, packed a change of clothes, and went to the bathroom across the street.

Not long after, Li Luo returned to the room after taking a shower. To Ying Chanxi's delight, he crawled into the quilt on the floor and pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms.

"Were you just thinking about me coming in to keep you company?" Li Luo teased with a smile as he held Ying Chanxi's soft and petite body.

"No, I didn't." Ying Chanxi whimpered in Li Luo's arms, but her body language betrayed her words as she clung tightly to Li Luo, refusing to let go.

At this moment, Yan Zhusheng leaned off the bed and said to Ying Chanxi, "Sister, if you want to kiss, don't be like your senior, making a lot of noise when you kiss."

Ying Chanxi: "...?"

(End of this chapter)