Chapter 101: Everyone

Whiskey at 40 degrees can be considered a strong liquor.

Mixed with soda and ice, it perfectly masks that intense flavor.

It tastes just like cola, and with the carbonation’s effect, the alcohol takes hold of the body quickly.

This mixed drink has a special name.

It’s called a Coke Bucket.

Like rice wine boiled with fruit in Gui District, it’s sweet to drink and leaves you dizzy afterward.

Without realizing it, it can make anyone drunk.

“Two classmates.”

Li Luo raised his glass first, nodding to Huang Sheng and Bian Xiaoxiao respectively: “This is just the beginning. I believe that with our own efforts, we’ll all reap a bright tomorrow.”

“To both of you—smooth sailing on this path!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers~~~”

The two women cheered and clinked their glasses together.

They had only been sipping tentatively at first, but soon realized it tasted just like cola, and immediately gulped down the entire mixture.

Li Luo also smiled and drained his glass.

The poker game continued.

With alcohol fueling the mood, they played even more happily.

Added to Li Luo deliberately letting them win, the two female classmates kept shouting with excitement.

Looking at the thick pile of small bills in front of them.

Combined with the alcohol’s stimulation, their faces quickly flushed pink.

Their cheeks were rosy, the room’s heating was strong, and beads of glistening sweat kept forming on their skin, sliding down their long necks and dampening their T-shirt collars.

Unconsciously, half the pitcher of mixed drink was gone.

Bian Xiaoxiao was truly drunk.

She could hear her own heart thudding heavily, and her skin felt slightly numb.

“My head is spinning.”

At Li Luo’s glance, she tossed her cards aside, staggered to her feet while clutching her forehead, then collapsed like a felled statue onto the large sofa.

“Xiaoxiao.”

Huang Sheng shook her dizzy head, walked over, and shook her: “Get up first—go to your room to sleep.”

As host, Li Luo had arranged rooms for them.

It was for the sake of discretion.

But no matter how much she shook her, Bian Xiaoxiao remained motionless, breathing heavily and deeply, as if utterly plastered.

“She’s drunk.”

Huang Sheng steadied herself, turned back, and said: “Why don’t you carry her back?”

As she spoke, halfway through.

Her gaze grew fixed.

While she had been shaking Bian Xiaoxiao, Li Luo had already stepped beside her; his defined abs glistened with sweat, and that conqueror’s aura crashed over her like a tidal wave.

“Are you crazy?”

Huang Sheng bit her lip and frantically gestured to the side: “She’s right here!”

“She’s drunk, just like last time.”

Li Luo smiled, wrapped his arms around her, and stared into her dazed eyes: “Shengyi, I’ve missed you. It’s been over a week—you’ve lost a little weight, haven’t you?”

Bian Xiaoxiao, pretending to be drunk, muttered inwardly.

This bastard.

He doesn’t even care if I’ve lost weight.

Still, she kept her breathing steady, her expression unchanged.

“You haven’t lost weight, have you?”

The caring words, combined with the alcohol, quickly softened the Shanghai girl’s attitude.

She couldn’t help but sway her slender waist.

“Let me check.”

With the spirit of scientific exploration and a commitment to facts, Li Luo conducted a thorough, in-depth investigation into the serious question of whether she had truly lost weight.

The living room suddenly fell silent.

Bian Xiaoxiao perked up her ears.

Listened closely.

Soon, a faint squelching sound reached her ears, making her heart pound wildly.

Two minutes later.

Li Luo looked at his middle and ring fingers.

He grinned, revealing white teeth.

So smooth~

Huang Sheng gave up entirely.

She bit her lip.

Slowly pulled up her T-shirt.

Her snow-white waist gradually appeared before Li Luo’s eyes.

Restraint.

Everything felt intensely restrained.

Sometimes she couldn’t hold back—sudden, muffled gasps erupted in the living room, then vanished instantly.

Huang Sheng gripped the sofa, staring at Bian Xiaoxiao, so close.

She bit her teeth hard.

Afraid of waking her.

At first she resisted—after all, this was her best friend and classmate; if she accidentally woke her, the embarrassment afterward would be unbearable.

But that resistance quickly melted away.

Humans, after all!

Deep down, they all love to court disaster.

Watching her friend, drunk and lying right in front of her, felt more intense than the one behind her.

This ever-present danger of being caught.

Caused adrenaline to surge.

Impossible to stop.

When Huang Sheng’s eyes grew utterly glazed.

Bian Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes fluttered, and slowly opened her eyes, meeting Huang Sheng’s gaze.

“You two?”

She had acted in a movie—Bian Xiaoxiao’s eyes held seven parts shock and three parts panic, darting rapidly between the two beside her.

Adrenaline exploded instantly.

Huang Sheng shuddered violently, like she’d had a spasm.

Panic.

Utter, complete panic.

She stared, dumbfounded, at Bian Xiaoxiao; a strand of saliva slipped unconsciously from the corner of her mouth.

Hold your waist.

What the hell are you still doing now?!

What do we do?

What on earth do we do?!

Huang Sheng’s mind raced, desperately searching for a plausible excuse.

But no matter how hard she tried to justify it.

She couldn’t explain why they were doing this right in front of someone else.

Her head rang.

Seeing Bian Xiaoxiao’s panicked face, Huang Sheng leaned forward quickly, grabbed her head, and awkwardly kissed her.

To hell with it.

If we’re all in this together, we don’t need to explain anything!!

This act.

Also startled Bian Xiaoxiao.

Though secretly amused, she feigned helplessness and passivity.

Everything had gone smoother than expected.

Watching Huang Sheng and Bian Xiaoxiao’s lips meet, Li Luo’s eyes turned bloodshot—You’ve already soared like a steed riding the clouds; now watch how, in years to come, you’ll strike the waters like a kunpeng!!

Alone in joy is not as good as sharing joy with others; feel the great happiness of life.

Celebrate success.

Reward: Immune Body (Intermediate).

To forge iron, you must be strong yourself; immunity to most common diseases, including but not limited to. A healthy body is the foundation of all endeavor—keep going, young man!

Looking at the slightly cringey description, Li Luo smiled and closed the panel.

He leaned back comfortably against the pillow.

He spread his arms out to either side.

He wrapped his arms around two exhausted female classmates.

On the left.

Was the mute girl from Kung Fu.

On the right.

Was Su Meng of Zhengyang Gate.

Thinking of this, he felt reinvigorated—sometimes you must summon your last strength to chase down the fleeing enemy.

You must crush the enemy completely in one blow.

Get used to it!

Next time, it’ll come naturally.

Snowflakes continuously drifted down from the night sky, daring not to approach the window, afraid of being melted by the spring warmth within; after swirling once, they scattered toward the thousands of homes in Zhuozhou.

The 11th, Saturday.

The machine malfunction remains unresolved; the launch ceremony is postponed again.

Nothing happened that day.

Li Luo didn’t get out of bed all morning.

In the afternoon.

He didn’t leave the house.

That evening, he finally received notice that filming could begin tomorrow.

He tossed aside his Nokia and continued his revelry.

Early the next morning.

Seeing the increase of one hundred points in acting, sixty in line delivery, and thirty-five in physicality experience, he smiled, left the two still sound asleep, grabbed his belongings, and walked out of the room with light steps.

He’d claimed he’d attend the launch ceremony—waking up before noon would be a miracle.

In the makeup room.

People came and went, bustling with activity.

All actors already on set had to attend the launch ceremony; though most were unknown, the spectacle still had to be staged.

“Good morning, Brother Luo.”

“Good morning, Li Luo.”

“Have you eaten?”

As soon as he stepped through the door, greetings came from all sides.

Li Luo responded warmly in kind, even greeting Han Xue—who now wore a red-and-white outfit and was trying on a fluffy hat with two tall feathers sticking up from the top.

He looked good.

A touch of playful cuteness.

A few minutes later, Li Luo stepped out of the dressing room, wearing black leather boots, a pale blue robe with a pure white inner lining visible at the collar, and over it a dark blue long coat.

To showcase his physique, he naturally couldn’t wear too much.

Otherwise, he’d look bulky on camera.

Fortunately, the fabric was thick enough to keep him warm.

Once he put on the wig, a young scholar with a face like polished jade finally appeared before the makeup mirror.

His previously sun-tanned skin.

Had fully recovered during this time.

In the original novel’s Chapter Sixteen, Yun Lei described Zhang Danfeng as tall, elegant, handsome, and radiating a carefree, otherworldly aura—Li Luo’s current pale complexion matched perfectly.

His skin condition was so good, the makeup artist had rarely seen its like.

Many actors.

Looked great on TV.

But without makeup, dull skin was the best case—some were so rough they couldn’t even be looked at closely.

Li Luo’s skin, however, had a radiant glow, full of vitality.

The makeup artist couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch it—but under Li Luo’s steady gaze, she laughed awkwardly and pulled her fingers back; supporting actors could be touched casually, as part of checking their base skin.

The lead? No such liberties.

She tidied his eyebrows and carefully applied light makeup—his entire aura became even more striking.

The entire look was complete.

“Hmm.”

Kou Zhanwu circled him once, chin raised: “I thought I was handsome enough, but you’re even better-looking. I fully accept you as the male lead.”

“Hahaha.”

Before Li Luo could speak, laughter erupted in the makeup room.

Kou Zhanwu’s fierce appearance made everyone initially wary of him.

But once you spent time with him.

You’d find he was hilarious, never shy about joking or self-mockery.

Everyone finished their makeup.

Led by crew members, they boarded a minibus bound for the nearby film base—the launch ceremony would take place inside Zhang Zongzhou’s mansion.

The biggest-name actor hadn’t yet joined the cast.

As the male lead, Li Luo naturally stepped forward to speak on behalf of all the actors.

The procedure was identical to before.

Burn incense, worship the gods.

Uncover the red cloth.

Unlike last time, Li Luo now stood directly behind the director and firmly inserted the three incense sticks into the censer.

Receiving the red envelope? Unquestionably, he was first.

It seemed insignificant.

But these small details represented an actor’s status on set.

There were few well-known actors in this drama, “The Shadow of the Prowling Hero”; as the male lead, Li Luo, though recently popular online, only had one notable role: Lin Pingzhi.

And Fan Shuangbing wasn’t here.

As a result, the launch ceremony for “The Shadow of the Prowling Hero” had little news value, so only a handful of media outlets showed up.

Compared to “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber,” it could be called pitiful.

At the time, never mind anything else.

Zhang Guoli’s “Iron Triangle” alone was newsworthy enough.

Li Luo couldn’t change this situation—he could only cooperate fully with interviews, since as the male lead, the drama’s success would greatly affect him.

Promotion, naturally, required extra effort.

Not only did he accept interviews.

He also guided reporters to take numerous elegant photos around various corners of Zhang Zongzhou’s mansion.

“That guy.”

Watching Li Luo hold a long sword and strike poses before a tree of silver blossoms, Han Xue couldn’t help complaining: “He really loves the spotlight.”

Last time, her agent had urged her to apologize.

Though she hadn’t uttered a single word of regret, she’d still felt uneasy.

Since then, whenever they met.

They only maintained superficial politeness.

Now seeing Li Luo going all out to charm the reporters, she felt a bit contemptuous.

“It’s not about loving the spotlight.”

Sun Hao, who played Yun Zhong, crossed his arms and shook his head slowly: “Shuangbing isn’t here; the production has no buzz. If Li Luo doesn’t step up, this press event will be dead.”

He’d spoken without thinking.

He glanced at Han Xue and subtly stepped away.

The male lead was working hard for the production, yet this woman called him attention-seeking.

Someone like that.

Not worth deep friendship.

Sun Hao’s small gesture went unnoticed by Han Xue.

Or perhaps she simply didn’t care.

A flicker of embarrassment passed through her eyes, then she boredly kicked at the piled snow.

"Friends."

Li Luo spun a sword flourish and grinned at the several media reporters before him: "How was that? Want another one—Golden Rooster Stand?"

"No, no."

"We’ve got enough footage, no need to trouble you further."

"Thanks for your effort, Li Luo."

The reporters quickly waved their hands, rejecting his offer with overlapping voices.

It was rare to find an actor so cooperative for an interview.

He cooperated perfectly—no need to treat him like a monkey.

The reporters’ expressions showed clear satisfaction; respect is mutual. If the lead actor performs so well, even if the transportation fee is a bit less, they could still write a few more positive remarks.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the media."

The assistant director stepped over from the side, smiling warmly: "We’ve prepared a modest banquet at the hotel—please join us, thank you!"

After some polite refusal.

The reporters, shouldering their long lenses and cameras, exchanged glances and reluctantly hurried toward the launch banquet venue.

Li Luo sheathed his sword.

He handed it to a crew member standing nearby.

He’d overestimated how much these clothes would help; if not for all that activity,

he’d have been freezing.

"Xiao Luo."

As he was about to move, He Qun, wearing a knit cap, stepped out from the side, exhaling white mist:

"Let’s go together."

"Sure."

"Your performance just now was good."

"Thank you, Director."

The two of them crunched through the snow, walking slowly and steadily toward the minibus.