177: Chapter 177 Agree? Of course I agree!

Lu Li sat on the edge of the bed, lowering his head to stare at a certain floor tile for quite a while, zoning out.

What he said just now was quite natural, and his tone was casual; he shouldn't have given himself away, right?

But the problem was...

His reaction just now seemed a bit too big.

"Sigh, this is tricky."

Lu Li sighed.

To be honest, once this money really came through and Shen Qingxue got her fair share, would she think...

It was time to move out?

After all, Shen Qingxue really didn't have any money in the beginning, so it was understandable for her to temporarily stay at his place.

But now that they had both more or less stabilized, what reason did she have to continue living here?

The more Lu Li thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He fell backward, his whole body crashing onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He was never a sentimental person, but at this moment his mind was filled with images of Shen Qingxue packing her suitcase and preparing to leave.

Just thinking about that image made his chest feel stuffy.

"Damn."

Lu Li rolled over and buried his face into the pillow.

But it was to no avail; he still couldn't help thinking about those scenes, and because his face was buried too deep, he almost couldn't breathe.

With a dark face, Lu Li sat up from the bed, took a deep breath, and silently chanted "Amitabha, Wuliang Tianzun" three times facing the direction of the bedroom door.

Then he stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

In the living room, Shen Qingxue was still sitting on the sofa, holding the ledger and writing something on paper with a pen.

Hearing the footsteps, she raised her head to glance at him, teasing intentionally.

"You came out so fast? I thought you went into your room to cry."

Lu Li's mouth twitched.

"Who's crying? Am I that kind of person? Don't slander me."

Shen Qingxue didn't reply, but the meaningful smile on her face already explained everything.

Lu Li walked over as if nothing was wrong, sat down opposite her, nonchalantly picked up his phone, and opened Douyin.

A trending video popped up on the screen, reviewing the songs from this Guofeng chain challenge by some music blogger again.

The praise was extravagant to the extreme, but unfortunately, he couldn't take in a single word.

On the other side, Shen Qingxue kept her head down and continued writing, the tip of her pen rustling softly on the paper.

The living room was quiet for a moment.

"Lu Li."

"Hm? What is it?"

Lu Li raised his head.

Shen Qingxue didn't look up at him, her tone somewhat casual.

"I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead."

Lu Li put down his phone. Although he put on a calm facade, the string in his heart was already taut.

This was going to...

Showdown?

"I calculated this month's income back and forth, and it definitely adds up to more than you expected."

She paused and continued writing.

"And then... after deducting daily expenses, there will still be quite a lot of money left over."

Hearing this, Lu Li's heart skipped a beat.

It was coming.

What was supposed to come had finally come.

He instinctively tensed his body, opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know where to start.

Shen Qingxue finished the last stroke, closed the ledger, and looked up at him with her usual calm expression.

"So I was thinking..."

Without waiting for her to finish, Lu Li instinctively interrupted her.

"Uhm... actually, you don't have to rush to move out."

The living room fell silent for an instant.

Shen Qingxue blinked and looked at him with a rather odd expression.

"...Move out?"

"Yeah."

Lu Li suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, but still tried his best to make his tone sound casual.

"Look, even though you have money now, finding a house and moving is quite troublesome, and the transportation here is convenient."

"More importantly, if you stay, it will be much more convenient for our duo's musical development..."

The more Lu Li spoke, the more flimsy he felt his excuse was, and his voice gradually trailed off unconsciously.

Shen Qingxue stared at him for several seconds.

Then she put down the ledger, leaned forward slightly, her gaze falling on his face with a playful smile.

"Who told you I was going to move out?"

Lu Li was instantly stunned.

"Didn't you say... the money was calculated, and then..."

"I was thinking that the money has been calculated, so we can upgrade our equipment further."

Shen Qingxue's tone was calm, but her eyes clearly carried a trace of amusement.

"The equipment we bought a while ago is enough for now, but if we want to make higher quality songs, it's still a bit lacking."

"I plan to take advantage of having some spare cash on hand to change the sound card and speakers."

Lu Li opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Ah... just that?"

"What else?"

Shen Qingxue tilted her head, her expression innocently appropriate.

"What did you think I was going to say? Moving house? Where did your mind wander?"

Lu Li stared at her for two seconds, his expression practically screaming awkwardness.

"...Nothing."

He said it was nothing, but his heartbeat hadn't completely calmed down yet.

Seeing his reaction, Shen Qingxue's lips curved slightly upwards without pressing further.

She lowered her head and reopened the ledger, but that trace of a smile lingered persistently.

The stone weighing down his heart finally landed, and Lu Li was happy for the peace and quiet to avoid embarrassment.

The living room was quiet for a while longer.

"Lu Li."

"Hm?"

"You said just now, no need to rush to move out..."

Shen Qingxue's tone was still calm, but when she said this, she kept her head down, making her expression unclear.

"Are you afraid I'll move away?"

Lu Li was taken aback, instinctively wanting to deny it.

But with the words on the tip of his tongue, he found that he couldn't actually say the words "no".

He leaned against the sofa, stared at the ceiling, and fell silent for several seconds.

Then he spoke, his tone much lighter than before.

"Yeah... a little bit."

Shen Qingxue's hand holding the pen paused slightly.

She still didn't raise her head, but her voice carried a trace of softness that even she hadn't noticed.

"I didn't plan to move."

Lu Li turned his head to glance at her.

Shen Qingxue finally raised her head, locked eyes with him for a split second, and then quickly shifted her gaze away.

"Actually, I feel... this place is pretty good. Transportation is convenient, grocery shopping is convenient, and..."

She paused, forcing herself to spit it out.

"And the rent isn't expensive either. I'm quite willing to keep living here, it just depends on whether you... agree or not."

Finishing her sentence, she lowered her head to conceal it, but the faint blush on the tips of her ears couldn't be hidden no matter what.

Lu Li was dazed.

He stared at Shen Qingxue for several seconds, that sentence spinning around three times in his head before he finally confirmed he hadn't misheard.

She said she was willing to keep living here?!

"...Are you serious?"

Lu Li straightened up, his voice subconsciously rising by a notch.

Shen Qingxue finally raised her head to meet his gaze. The flush on her earlobes hadn't completely faded, but her expression had returned to its usual coolness.

"When have I ever not been serious?"

Lu Li opened his mouth, his words coming out a bit clumsily.

"No, then... then of course I agree! I agree a hundred percent! A thousand percent! I agree with both hands and feet!"