On the way back.
Chen Luo went to the supermarket on the basement level of the mall and bought groceries, along with chicken bouillon, salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings. By the time he got home, it was a little past 11.
Perfect timing for cooking.
For lunch, he simply made tomato and egg stir-fry and green pepper stir-fried pork. After lunch, Chen Luo wanted to relax a bit, so he went into the bedroom and lay down on his soft bed.
Then he opened a certain novel website and searched for the ID 『Loves Eating Chicken Butts』 (Xu Anping’s pen-name ID).
He started reading his novel.
Of course, a roll of tissues was an indispensable companion.
Time passed quickly.
Before he knew it, Chen Luo had spent an hour reading and finished all the backlog he had saved up over the past few days in one go. He had to admit, it was genuinely satisfying.
After finishing it.
Chen Luo, as usual, left a comment on the last page urging for updates.
『I Want to Be the Person Behind You』 『Hurry up and update! Otherwise I’ll tie you to a tree and let little chickens peck your bird!』
Update request complete.
Chen Luo got up and went to the living room to work out for half an hour. He did one set of ab exercises and one set of glute exercises; those two routines were specifically for training core strength.
After the workout.
Chen Luo was covered in a light sheen of sweat. In the past, he would have walked into the bathroom, taken off his shirt, taken a mirror selfie, and then posted a WeChat Moments update.
The caption would have been: 『Day X of Self-Discipline』.
Of course, now…
Chen Luo was ready to turn over a new leaf, so he went straight to the bathroom to shower.
After showering.
Chen Luo blow-dried his hair, returned to the bedroom, lay down in bed, and comfortably took a midday nap. He woke up naturally a little past four in the afternoon.
He looked at the sunset outside the window.
Snapped a photo.
Then he called his best bro, Xu Anping.
“Old Xu, let’s get some skewers tonight!”
Chen Luo said.
“You’re treating?”
Xu Anping asked directly.
“Of course you’re treating!”
Chen Luo said helplessly. “Yesterday you treated me to barbecue, and then you ran halfway through. That was way too unethical!”
“In that situation, if I didn’t run, what the hell was I supposed to eat?”
Xu Anping shot back.
“Exactly!”
Chen Luo said righteously, “You’re treating me to another meal tonight!”
“Fine then.”
Xu Anping paused before saying gloomily, “Let’s go somewhere farther away to eat tonight.”
…
In the office of the Chenguang Basketball Training Center.
The middle-aged man who had received Chen Luo had just made a mysterious phone call. After it connected, he spoke respectfully.
“Boss, Chen Luo has already been hired at Chenguang. Once the renovation is finished next Monday, we can open for business.”
“Okay.”
A soft loli voice replied.
Then she hung up the phone.
She sat up from a large, exquisite bed and admired herself in the mirror beside the bed. She was wearing nothing but underwear, and her slender build was on full display.
Long, slender, fair legs.
Black lace-trimmed panties hugged her perky buttocks, and the outlines of her shoulder blades were visible.
Looking upward.
There was a flat, smooth abdomen and a proudly upright chest.
A head of long, straight black hair spilled down to her waist.
Her face was small and cute.
For a textbook loli like her, she looked perfectly normal when she wasn’t smiling, but once she smiled, she became eerie.
Just like now.
The loli face in the mirror gave off a dark, terrifying feeling.
With that expression.
If she were cast as the female lead in a horror movie, you could say she was playing herself.
“Brother Luo, one day you’ll understand me… right?”
The girl muttered to herself in front of the mirror.
At the same time, the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
“Of course! Once he learns everything, he’ll fall deeply in love with you! He won’t be able to get away…”
The girl in the mirror, smiling with a “bright, sunny” expression, replied.
“He definitely will!”
Luo Qingqing said happily.
Still smiling.
Luo Qingqing picked up the phone from the bed and made a call. The person on the other end was Meng Yue, who was working in her office. When she saw the unknown number, she hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
“Hello, who’s this?”
Meng Yue greeted politely.
“Chen Luo got a job as a children’s basketball coach at the Chenguang training center near Linjiang. Duoduo is at just the right age to play basketball now, so you might want to sign Duoduo up for a training class. That way, the two of you will have more chances to interact.”
Luo Qingqing suggested.
“…Who are you?”
Meng Yue’s face changed in alarm, and she quickly asked.
That casual sentence from the other side revealed several important pieces of information.
She knew where Meng Yue lived.
She knew how many people were in her family.
She knew about Chen Luo and her relationship, and she knew Meng Yue still couldn’t let him go.
“That’s not important.”
Luo Qingqing said in a “good person” tone: “What’s important is that I’m here to help you. Do you want to win back Chen Luo’s love? Then hurry up and take Duoduo to sign up!”
“Chen Luo will officially start teaching classes next Monday!”
After saying that.
Luo Qingqing decisively hung up. Meng Yue stared at the disconnected call, lost in thought for a moment.
Who was that person?
Why would she help her pursue Chen Luo for no reason at all?
She racked her brains.
But soon, her thoughts shifted from “Who is that person?” to the problem of “taking Duoduo to sign up.”
“Should I go?”
…
Time flashed by.
12,345 days passed.
Monday afternoon.
After school.
Meng Yue took Duoduo to the Chenguang training center. Following the navigation, they reached their destination in a little over ten minutes. When they got to the second floor, they saw eight or nine children.
Training in a basketball gym.
Chen Luo stood off to the side watching them, wearing a black-and-white basketball uniform. He had a pure white tank top on, with “No. 7, CL” printed on the back, and black knee-length shorts on the bottom.
His prominent biceps and long, straight legs were on full display.
So handsome!
Meng Yue stood outside, staring blankly, as if her memories had flashed back to college, where she saw the silhouette of Chen Luo playing on the court.
“Auntie Meng, are you peeking at Brother Chen Luo?”
Duoduo asked with a smile.
“How could I?”
Meng Yue came back to her senses at once. Looking down, she saw Duoduo staring up at her with a grin on his face, and she couldn’t help but blush.
She awkwardly covered it up: “You wouldn’t understand grown-up matters.”
After saying that, she took Duoduo to the office nearby to sign him up. The tuition for one semester was 1,980 yuan. Honestly, that price was unbelievably cheap.
In the bustling metropolis of Jiangcheng.
Any random training class would cost several thousand or even tens of thousands, but this Chenguang training class only charged 1,980 yuan per semester. Meng Yue had been prepared to spend a fortune before coming.
After paying and signing up.
Zhang Chao, the boss of the Chenguang training center, led Meng Yue and Duoduo into the training hall.
“Little Chen, come over here for a second.”
Zhang Chao waved and called out.
Chen Luo turned around at the sound.
Then he saw Meng Yue walking over with Duoduo. Duoduo was even wearing a little kid’s basketball uniform.
Seeing this setup.
Chen Luo immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“Little Chen, Duoduo is joining our training class from now on. This is Teacher Meng Yue, Duoduo’s aunt. She’ll be responsible for picking Duoduo up from now on. You two should get acquainted.”
Zhang Chao said.
“No need for that.”
Meng Yue cut in, “We already know each other.”
“Your friend?”
Zhang Chao looked at Chen Luo in surprise and asked.
“…Sort of.”
Chen Luo replied awkwardly.
After saying that.
His gaze shifted to Meng Yue, quietly sending her a signal with his eyes: “Sis, don’t mess with me.”
But Meng Yue simply turned her head and ignored him.