Chapter 234: Living Together with the Senior

Past six in the evening.

Although the banquet prepared here would continue serving food until seven, by this time, the authors, full and satisfied, had already left in groups to go out.

The male authors went wherever they pleased, while the female authors held hands and went out to shop and explore stores.

Only Li Luo, this minor, was forgotten at the banquet.

Of course, he was quite happy with that.

Relying on the advantage of his young age, Li Luo asked the waitress beside him to pack a stack of egg tarts and roasted wings for him, took away several bottles of drinks, and also swiped a few cans of beer.

If this were done by other big-shot authors, it would be somewhat unsightly.

But placed on Li Luo, this sixteen-year-old child, it was completely understandable.

The waitress even worried he might feel it wasn't enough and asked if he wanted anything else.

But Li Luo was already quite full, so he didn't ask for more, waved his hands repeatedly, politely thanked her, and then followed Qianzhou out of the restaurant.

"You really are unscrupulous," Qianzhou glanced at the egg tart in his hand, couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, "You're a big author earning 370,000 a month, yet you're still greedy for such small gains."

"I just think wasting food is more shameful; I couldn't bear to see these foods wasted like this," Li Luo said with a thick face.

"Then you're worrying for nothing," Qianzhou said. "Whatever isn't finished at the buffet will definitely be given to the waitstaff; they'd be delighted if you ate less."

"Want one, Editor?" Li Luo handed him an egg tart.

Qianzhou looked at it, then touched his stomach; after all, he was an editor and had just shamelessly chatted with quite a few authors.

Borrowing the face of Chief Editor Hongdou, he had added many writers as friends, and in the meantime had just casually eaten a few bites, so now he actually felt a bit hungry.

So he reached out, took the egg tart, and took a bite.

Adding those authors as friends was certainly not to poach other editors' clients.

But sometimes, authors have their own circles; occasionally, an author's familiar friend might want to start writing a book and would recommend a few reliable editors.

Anyway, whether it's useful or not, add them first and see.

Especially some big shots; if their new book fails several times, they might feel too embarrassed to stay under their original editor.

If they want to change their pen name and secretly start a new book, they might seek out a new editor like him.

Previously, when Qianzhou had pulled "Chong Ran" from the new book pool, he had already suspected whether "Chong Ran" was a pen name of some big shot's reincarnation.

So this probability wasn't impossible.

"Come with me to the eighth floor first," Qianzhou said after entering the hotel elevator and pressing the button for the eighth floor. "The certificate and bonus for sleeping early are still with me; come get them with me, and then I'll pack my luggage to catch the high-speed train."

"OK," Li Luo nodded, eating an egg tart while following Qianzhou to his room to get the certificate and bonus belonging to Xu Youyu.

However, after receiving them, he didn't tactlessly leave immediately; instead, he stayed in Qianzhou's room to help him pack his luggage, then saw him all the way downstairs and bid farewell at the hotel entrance.

"Next time we meet, I hope it will be at Wen Yue Group's annual meeting," Qianzhou waved at him with a smile before getting into the taxi. "By then, it will be the moment to announce you becoming a Qidian Great God."

"I'll take your good words," Li Luo waved back and bid farewell to the editor.

After watching Qianzhou leave in the taxi, Li Luo returned to the hotel and went back to his own room.

After a simple shower, he heard the sound of knocking outside the bathroom.

"Coming."

Li Luo, wearing a bathrobe and tightening his belt, walked to the door and opened it, only to see a walking corpse, lifeless and swaying, walk in from outside without even looking at him, heading straight for his bed and collapsing onto it with a thud.

Li Luo blinked, a bit unable to react.

She went out for dinner, and how did she end up like this?

Closing the room door, Li Luo walked to the bedside, curiously bent down, and looked at Xu Youyu's profile from the side.

He saw Xu Youyu with a look of having no will to live, staring blankly ahead with unfocused eyes.

"What's wrong?" Li Luo waved his hand in front of her eyes. "Did your novel-writing business get exposed?"

Probably this sentence triggered some sensitive nerve in Xu Youyu, and her eyeballs suddenly moved.

Her lips moved slightly, responding weakly: "It wasn't exposed, but it's still terrible."

"If it wasn't exposed, that's good; what else could be terrible?" Li Luo said this, then picked up the second-prize certificate for the "Entertainment Dream, Urban Spring and Autumn" essay contest, placed it before Xu Youyu, and solemnly announced—

"The work winning the second prize in this essay contest, 'Literary Era', and its author, Sleep Early and Grow Tall, please come to the stage to receive the award!"

After speaking, Li Luo held the certificate with both hands and respectfully handed it to Xu Youyu.

Seeing her imitate him so properly, Xu Youyu's mouth corner twitched.

Seeing she still had no reaction, Li Luo then took out the red envelope containing the cash bonus, patted it in his palm, opened the envelope, and took out a full hundred red banknotes.

"The certificate is one thing, but do you not want the bonus either? If you don't want it, maybe give it to me."

In a flash, Li Luo couldn't even see which hand it was.

Anyway, by the time he reacted, the banknotes in his hand had vanished, and Xu Youyu had stuffed them under her stomach, pressing them down firmly.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Li Luo was speechless. "If you don't explain the situation, I'll go ask Uncle Xu."

"No!" Hearing this, Xu Youyu seemed to have a stress reaction, screamed loudly, and immediately bounced up from the bed, hugging Li Luo tightly, afraid he would go find her dad the next second.

Being hugged by her, Li Luo was stunned for a moment: "I was just saying; why such a big reaction?"

"Who knows if you're serious?" Xu Youyu's tragic tone carried a hint of crying. "I'm really about to wish I were dead; it feels no different from being dead."

"So what exactly happened?"

"It's all my dad's fault," Xu Youyu cried on Li Luo's shoulder. "After dinner, he suddenly said I should read some web novels carefully during winter break, opened Qidian, pointed at my book, and specifically said he would read this one."

Speaking to this point, Xu Youyu felt even more sorrow; after letting go of Li Luo, she lay back on the bed again, rolling back and forth with "Ahhh, ahhh."

Seeing her like this, Li Luo immediately felt amused.

However, he still got up, walked to the bedside, took the egg tarts and chicken wings from the table, opened two cans of beer, and comforted Xu Youyu on the bed: "Eat something, and have some alcohol; I'll keep you company."

"I'm not very hungry," Xu Youyu touched her stomach, but seeing the beer in Li Luo's hand, she took it without hesitation and gulped down more than half a can.

By the second sip, she had finished the whole can of beer.

With the slight stimulation of alcohol, Xu Youyu felt much better.

Li Luo timely handed over an egg tart; seeing her take it and bite a small piece, he continued to comfort her: "This kind of thing, as the editor said, your parents will find out eventually."

"Since Uncle Xu's attitude toward web novels is still quite good, even if he really finds out, he probably won't stop you from continuing to write novels."

"After all, you've always been ranked first in the grade; the college entrance exam isn't a big problem at all, so there's no reason to block you from writing novels."

Xu Youyu bit the egg tart; hearing Li Luo say this, she immediately frowned and said dissatisfied: "You know my worry isn't purely about this, right?"

"I understand." Li Luo nodded and said, "It's just that you drive too much in your book, with dirty jokes coming one after another, more of an old driver than the old drivers themselves; if your parents discover your true nature, it will definitely be very shameful."

"Stop talking!" Xu Youyu let out a shriek of "Ah!", stuffed the egg tart into her mouth in one bite, covered her head, and mumbled, "Just thinking about it is unbearable! I'm really going to die!"

"But Uncle Xu doesn't know that 'Literary Era' was written by you, so just pretend this never happened."

"Isn't that just covering one's ears while stealing a bell?" Xu Youyu swallowed the egg tart and said with puffed cheeks.

"But sooner or later you have to face it." Li Luo helplessly spread his hands. "Writing web novels is originally about exposing those so-called dirty, dark, and ugly desires in one's heart, and then using various means to satisfy them."

"Wanting absolute power, a lofty status, beautiful women in luxury cars, gold and silver treasures—these are all perfectly normal human desires."

"Senior sister, the happier you are when writing web novels, the more awkward it is when you truly appear before acquaintances; this is also a fact that web novel authors must face."

"Sometimes you can escape, but when you can't escape, it's better to learn to face it sooner."

Xu Youyu rolled over, lay on her back, glanced at Li Luo, and said: "Is this your realization after dying socially multiple times?"

Li Luo tugged at the corner of his mouth: "You could say so."

"In that case, I won't hide it from you anymore." Xu Youyu nodded and shared with a smile that didn't reach her eyes: "Although my dad said he would read my book, the first web novel he is reading right now is actually your 'I Really Am Not a Celebrity'."

"He has only read twenty or thirty chapters, but he can already analyze it thoroughly while eating."

"I estimate that after he finishes reading, he might really use your book as the main argument to write a thesis as his research result."

"Huh?" Li Luo, hearing Xu Youyu's words, was momentarily stunned, "No... why didn't you say anything when you just entered the room?!"

Xu Youyu blinked: "You didn't ask. I decided to tell you because I saw you seemed to be in a good state of mind right now."

"You damn well shouldn't have told me at all!" Li Luo jumped with anger. "I comforted you out of kindness, and this is how you repay me?"

"Haha~" Xu Youyu, seeing his flustered and furious appearance, couldn't help but laugh out loud; then she imitated Li Luo's tone from just now and said with a serious face, "Sometimes you can escape, but when you can't escape, it's better to learn to face it sooner."

"Get lost!"

After the two made a scene in the room and vented at each other, their moods were considerably calmer.

Since things had come to this, there was no turning back.

After accepting reality, Li Luo and Xu Youyu gathered their spirits, sat in a row at the desk, and began tonight's typing enterprise; the sound of "pa pa pa" immediately echoed continuously in the room.

However, just after Li Luo typed for a while, the QQ avatar at the bottom of his computer screen began to flash.

Li Luo thought it was another message from Ying Chanxi, but when he clicked to open it, he found it was from Yan Zhusheng.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Are you typing?

【Li Luo】: Yes, typing.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Then may I disturb you?

【Li Luo】: Yes.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Was the symposium fun?

【Li Luo】: It was okay; I had a fight with someone.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Huh? Did you win?

【Li Luo】: Of course I won.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Then did you miss me?

Li Luo glanced at Xu Youyu beside him and silently turned the computer screen to a slight angle.

【Li Luo】: If you miss me, I will reluctantly miss you a little.

【Yan Zhusheng】: I only chat with you because I miss you.

【Li Luo】: Then it seems you don't miss me much, contacting me only once every few days.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Then can I chat with you every time I miss you?

【Li Luo】: If I have time.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Oh.

【Li Luo】: Did you do your physical examination?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Yes.

【Yan Zhusheng】: The doctor said that except for some high blood pressure indicators, everything else looked quite normal; he told me to maintain a regular schedule, eat well, and persist in moderate exercise.

【Yan Zhusheng】: If you are really worried, you can go to the hospital for regular checkups.

【Li Luo】: That's good.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Are you worried about me?

【Li Luo】: Obviously.

【Yan Zhusheng】: (Happy. jpg)

【Yan Zhusheng】: The gloves you gave me are very warm; I like them very much.

【Li Luo】: As long as you like them; roughly when will you return?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mom said that on the 9th, a friend will come to see her; we made an appointment with the friend to return to the country together on the 15th of this month.

【Li Luo】: After returning to the country, how do you plan to spend New Year's Eve?

【Yan Zhusheng】: I don't know; Mom didn't say; it should probably just be staying at home and having a meal.

【Yan Zhusheng】: What about you?

【Li Luo】: I am going back to the countryside with my parents to celebrate the New Year.

【Yan Zhusheng】: After New Year's Eve? Will you return very soon?

Li Luo: "That's hard to say; it depends on my parents. Sometimes I come back early, sometimes I stay a bit longer."

Yan Zhusheng: "Alright."

Li Luo: "If you want, you can come to the countryside to play too."

Li Luo: "We call it the countryside over there, but with the urban expansion these years, it's long since become a suburban fringe. It's only about thirty or forty minutes by taxi."

Yan Zhusheng: "Can I go?"

Li Luo: "Of course you can."

Yan Zhusheng: "Okay, I'll remember that."

"You've got your computer set up so awkwardly; how can you write?" Xu Youyu was stuck on her writing at the moment. She turned her head, saw Li Luo acting strangely, forcing the computer screen to tilt away, and immediately asked in confusion.

"Why do you care so much? Just write your words."

"You're chatting with Xixi, right?" Xu Youyu leaned over to peek, but Li Luo hugged the laptop and moved it away so she couldn't see. "So secretive. You're not saying something unspeakable, are you?"

"This is normal personal privacy. Please respect that," Li Luo said solemnly.

"Sigh..." Hearing this, Xu Youyu immediately covered her face and wept softly. "After all, the wild flower smells better than the house flower. I don't know how to salvage this relationship. I just want to ask you one thing: Do you still love me?"

Li Luo: "... What kind of tragic soap opera are you acting out here?"

"I'm stuck on my writing, it's so boring," Xu Youyu composed her expression, kicked her pair of bare jade feet, leaned back in her chair, and sighed. "I'm borrowing some inspiration from you."

"Is that how you borrow inspiration?"

"Oh, you don't get it," Xu Youyu pointed at her writing interface. "I just wrote a scene for a movie where the protagonist, while filming, plays a cheating husband, torn and struggling between his wife and his true love. I'm looking for that feeling, trying to figure out from what angle to describe it to get the flavor right."

"And then?"

"And then... and then... damn it!"

Xu Youyu suddenly jumped up from her chair, ignored Li Luo completely, and dove straight to the computer to start typing, clearly having suddenly found inspiration.

Li Luo watched her look as if possessed, speechless. Seeing she didn't intend to continue talking, he lowered his head to look at the laptop in his arms.

Yan Zhusheng: "Do you have any new drafts these past few days? I finished the last one; it was so short."

Li Luo: "I've only stored thirty or forty thousand words these past few days. Are you sure you want to read them now?"

Yan Zhusheng: "Hmm... then let's wait a bit longer. Send me the new ones when it's Chinese New Year."

Li Luo: "Last time was because I took your computer to show someone a movie. What about next time? What excuse will there be?"

Yan Zhusheng: "A New Year's Eve gift?"

Li Luo: "Alright then..."

Yan Zhusheng: "Then keep up the good work on your writing; I won't disturb you."

Li Luo: "Okay."

After chatting with Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo returned to his writing state.

Meanwhile, Xu Youyu beside him was typing furiously, inspiration gushing out like a spring.

It continued for over half an hour before Xu Youyu, as if she had just finished intense exercise, slumped back into her chair, let out a long sigh, her face filled with satisfaction.

"Li Luo, you're amazing."

Li Luo: "... In what way exactly am I amazing?"

"Thanks to the inspiration you gave me," Xu Youyu chuckled. "Didn't I just say I needed an angle to describe the protagonist acting?"

"But just now I suddenly thought of how to indirectly highlight the details of a cheating man."

"For instance, a cheating man is clearly in the same room as his wife, the two chatting about trivial family matters, yet he is writing a letter at the table."

"This letter is for his lover outside."

"And right beside his hand is a letter sent to him by that lover."

"There are many details to depict here, indirectly describing the guilt, the deliberate coping, the perfunctory attitude, and the occasional remorse a cheating man reveals when facing his wife's concern."

"Perfect, absolutely perfect!" Xu Youyu, upon saying this, couldn't help but jump up from her chair, excitedly hopping around Li Luo, venting her joy at having just written an excellent plot.

Xu Youyu was writing about the film industry of the early century, when art films were popular, followed by going abroad to win awards.

Many art films contained similar scenes.

But when Xu Youyu copied movie plots for her writing, she disliked copying them completely; she always liked to make changes in places she felt could be optimized, then use various methods to describe the exquisite acting skills the protagonist displayed after making those changes.

This served to underscore the authenticity and rationality of the protagonist later winning the Best Actor award.

Also, because her changes were always so brilliant, readers who followed along often became her loyal fans, reading with rapt attention, unable to help but clap their hands in admiration.

It was definitely something Li Luo could never figure out or write no matter how hard he tried.

But.

"Why do I always feel you're criticizing me by attacking the mulberry tree?" Li Luo narrowed his eyes and said irritably. "So you can even find inspiration for a cheating man from me?"

"Oh, it's just material," Xu Youyu patted his shoulder and comforted him with a smile. "It's only right to make a sacrifice. Next time you have any needs, I can help you act it out too."

"... You're actually pretty nice."