Chapter 44: +1: Keep It Secret for Now

A famous writer once said.

To win a woman’s heart, you must first win her inner what.

Regarding this point.

Li Luo handled it quite well.

So if you just act a bit more dominant, many things will naturally fall into place.

After a soft kiss, Yu Feihong completely surrendered, her hands gently caressing Li Luo’s face, utterly captivated.

“I have to go to class.”

After a moment of tenderness, Li Luo let her go, seizing the moment: “Tonight, you’re having dinner with me. Look me in the eyes—I want you to promise right now.”

“If you don’t agree.”

A mischievous smile flickered on his lips: “I’ll run naked through North Electric and shout to everyone that you bullied me last night!”

“It was you who bullied me.”

Yu Feihong burst out laughing, then bit her lip and punched his solid chest: “You little rascal.”

“Will you agree?”

Playing with her delicate earlobe, Li Luo stared steadily at her.

“Mm.”

The ice on her usually composed and cold face melted completely.

She became just like last night.

Full of springtime charm.

Night arrived, and amid Li Luo’s eager anticipation.

Yu Feihong kept her promise.

The woman had dressed up carefully, wearing a black long dress that accentuated her fair skin, her earrings swaying and glinting with every step.

They ate a Western meal.

Li Luo silently pressed the elevator button to go straight to the hotel upstairs.

This time.

It felt entirely different.

Unlike last night’s fiery passion, Yu Feihong was extremely shy; when the black dress slipped from her body, she clutched her vital parts tightly with both hands, her innocent high-school-girl demeanor making him groan in disbelief.

Another night passed in silence.

In the following period, Li Luo could be described as thriving on both fronts.

Though he felt guilty toward Xu Qing.

But that thought was swiftly smothered—he had been reborn, so there was no need to overthink; everything he enjoyed was a bonus.

When life is good, seize the joy; don’t let the golden cup face the moon in vain.

North Electric.

Tightening his shoulder bag, Li Luo yawned and headed toward the lecture hall.

He’d been incredibly busy lately—juggling two dazzling women, studying novels, memorizing screenplays.

Even with his boundless energy, he felt worn thin.

Though exhausted, he had to work harder to make The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber a success.

He’d stayed up too late reading the script last night; if not for Professor Huo Xuan’s class, he’d have slept until noon—after all, a life without skipping class isn’t complete.

“Oh my god!”

A cry rang out from inside the classroom: “Come here quick—big news!”

Hearing the commotion,

Li Luo hurried into the classroom and saw classmates who had arrived early clustering toward a corner.

Curious, he joined them.

At the center of the crowd,

Bian Xiaoxiao tapped the newspaper spread on the desk and pointed: “According to reports, the famous Taiwanese actress Jia Jingwen will play Zhao Min in the newly planned adaptation of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.”

“This major work by Jin Yong will be co-produced by stars from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, with an incredibly strong cast.”

“The total investment is expected to exceed twenty million.”

She took a deep breath and continued: “The director is Lai Shuiqing, whose classic version was the Ma Jingtao adaptation; this reboot will surely bring us new surprises from Director Lai.”

“So what?”

Jia Naiming rubbed his nose: “Aren’t there plenty of wuxia dramas being made now?”

“Jia Jingwen.”

His eyes gleamed with longing: “Isn’t she Sun Xiaohong from The Little Li Flying Dagger?”

“Don’t interrupt.”

Bian Xiaoxiao’s attention didn’t waver; she cleared her throat and pointed loudly at the paper: “The most anticipated choice for Zhang Wuji is said to be Su Youpeng.”

“But there’s another rumor—that Director Lai will boldly cast talented young actors.”

“According to private leaks from Director Lai,”

“The actor who portrayed Lin Pingzhi in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer this year—Li Luo—he’s highly impressed. He thinks Li Luo’s performance was spot-on and greatly admires his solid martial skills.”

The sentence ended abruptly.

“Ssshh~”

The onlookers all drew a sharp breath in unison.

They hadn’t expected a classmate’s name to appear in the newspaper—this was The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, a twenty-million-dollar production, no small affair.

Zhang Wuji.

Impossible!!!

Standing behind them, Li Luo calmly scratched his cheek.

So this was the start of the promotional hype.

As for Su Youpeng,

Wu Dun was probably using his name to stir up buzz.

Placing their names together created a false impression of equal status, making outsiders curious about who this Li Luo really was.

“No way.”

Huang Shengyi snatched the newspaper, staring in shock at the text: “This kind of gossip is definitely made up.”

She simply couldn’t believe it.

That arrogant jerk had once again leaped ahead of everyone.

“Holy shit!”

Another male classmate suddenly remembered: “Hey, didn’t you notice? Li Luo’s been reading The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber in every theory class these past few days.”

The room fell utterly silent.

There was no such thing as coincidence.

None of those present were fools; all faces turned stunned.

While they were all struggling as freshman rookies, that guy was already landing the male lead!

At that moment,

Huo Xuan entered the classroom.

“Li Luo.”

He casually greeted him, patting Li Luo’s shoulder: “Your last assignment was well done. What are you all looking at?”

As he spoke, he peered curiously inside.

But the group clustered together turned their heads in perfect unison at the sound,

startling him badly.

A dozen unreadable gazes first landed on Li Luo’s face, then instantly locked onto the novel clutched in his hand—as if it were a priceless treasure.

“Hehe.”

Li Luo tugged at his lips and hid the novel behind his back: “If I said it was a coincidence, would you believe me?”

Eight heads nodded in perfect unison.

The scene

carried an odd, amusing charm.

“What are you talking about?” Huo Xuan was dying to know, glancing around curiously.

“Is it true?”

Jia Naiming asked first.

“Zhang Wuji?” Bian Xiaoxiao’s eyes sparkled.

Huang Shengyi didn’t speak, but her tightly clenched grip on the newspaper betrayed her emotions.

“Stop asking.”

Facing his classmates, Li Luo couldn’t lie outright; he could only grin sheepishly: “I really don’t know anything. This has to be kept secret for now—I can’t tell you.”

Film studios have promotional strategies.

I have an obligation to cooperate.

These matters were all written into the contract and could only be officially announced after being stirred up into a frenzy; before that, he could neither confirm nor deny them.

He had no idea how Wu Dun had persuaded Su Youpeng to cooperate with the publicity.

But it was entirely beneficial to him with no downside.

He had no reason to oppose it.

"Oh~~~"

The classmates all wore peculiar expressions and spoke in unison: "So it's supposed to be confidential~~~"

"Hahaha."

Li Luo scratched his head, his smile clear and innocent.