Chapter 109: Braving the Boys

About twenty minutes after Xu Youyu called Yan Zhusheng, the doorbell rang.

Xu Youyu, who had been idle in the kitchen, took off her apron and ran to the door to open it for Yan Zhusheng.

The two girls huddled together on the living room sofa, chatting about something unknown.

Only when Li Luo called them in to serve the dishes did their idle chatter stop.

"Have you finished your homework?"

During dinner, Yan Zhusheng looked up at Li Luo across from her and asked this.

"I finished it."

Wednesday through Friday are exam days.

With his Memory Palace, Li Luo had nothing to review.

Teachers usually assign weekend homework right after finishing a subject's exam.

So during free study periods outside exam time, Li Luo had already completed all his homework.

Yan Zhusheng hadn't finished at first, but she completed everything during these two days at home.

So she said: "The president asked me to ask you—if you've finished your homework, can you join us for practice during evening self-study?"

"The rock club?" Xu Youyu asked curiously.

Yan Zhusheng nodded, her eyes filled with quiet anticipation as she looked at Li Luo.

"Sure," Li Luo nodded in agreement. "But can we even go during evening self-study? Isn't that outside the club's scheduled time?"

"The president already applied to the teachers," Yan Zhusheng said. "Since we're performing at the parent meeting and sports day, extra practice and rehearsal time is only natural."

"That's true," Xu Youyu nodded, then frowned as she realized, "Oh right—only Gao Yi parents can watch the rock club's performance. What a shame."

"Can't Gao Er parents come?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"No," Xu Youyu shook her head. "Gao Er and Gao San parents already toured the school during Gao Yi year. The next two years are just parent meetings—everyone comes, listens, and leaves right away."

"School and club tours are usually designed specifically for Gao Yi parents."

"Otherwise it'd be too crowded to manage—mainly to showcase the school's spirit to Gao Yi parents."

"But…" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, "I can get my mom to sneak in. That way she can enjoy your performance."

"Is your mom coming to the parent meeting? What about your dad?" Li Luo asked curiously.

"My dad's too busy," Xu Youyu waved her hand. "He teaches during the week, leads students, and has meetings every weekend. My mom's free."

"Oh, by the way," Xu Youyu remembered something and said to Li Luo, "My mom said that after the parent meeting, she wants to invite you and Chanxi's parents out for dinner."

"Since we live together anyway, she wants to get to know your uncle and aunt better, so we can look out for each other."

"That…" Li Luo rubbed his chin, "Chanxi's dad can't make it on Saturday—he won't be able to come to the parent meeting. Only my parents will be there."

"Oh?" Xu Youyu looked disappointed, then turned to Yan Zhusheng. "What about you? Can't you come with your family too?"

Yan Zhusheng also shook her head: "Probably not—my mom might be busy."

"We'll see," Li Luo said. "If it doesn't work out, we can just all eat together anyway."

After dinner, there was still plenty of time before school's evening self-study.

So Li Luo returned to his bedroom to keep writing.

Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

After washing them, Xu Youyu returned to her room, turned on her computer, and was pleasantly surprised to find someone had gifted her a "Lord" reward.

She looked closer—the ID was Chongran.

Well… so it was this guy, Li Luo.

Xu Youyu's lips curled up. She thought, this kid has some manners after all—he knows how to return kindness.

But when she opened her comment section as usual, she saw Li Luo, under the alias Chongran, had left a comment there.

And it was a long one.

【Chongran】: This novel, Literary Era, is my favorite cultural work this year—without exception.

Then Li Luo detailed why he thought the book was well-written, analyzing its content, writing style, tone, pacing, and even tiny details.

Xu Youyu's eyes sparkled; she felt a surge of joy at Li Luo's praise, especially this reasoned, thoughtful appreciation—it felt far more satisfying than empty flattery.

It was like a mental spa.

One passage about acting made her feel deeply understood, as if she'd found a kindred spirit—she was moved and relieved that Li Luo truly grasped it.

【Chongran】: I write cultural works myself, and if I were to depict an actor's skill, I'd usually have only two methods.

【Chongran】: One is indirect portrayal—describing the emotions of onlookers, shifting from indifference to awe and admiration, to subtly highlight the character's brilliant acting.

【Chongran】: The other is indirect portrayal of the character themselves—again, not describing the acting directly, but focusing on the efforts the character made for the role: a female actor cutting her long hair, a heavy actor losing dozens of pounds in a month, and so on.

【Chongran】: But Literary Era is different—it effortlessly uses both methods, yet dares to directly depict acting, that elusive, abstract thing.

【Chongran】: Like solving a problem, it uses a film-analysis approach, listing the performance requirements of each scene, then directly showing how the actor's subtle body language precisely captures that feeling—snap! —it's all there.

【Chongran】: This direct textual method of recreating "acting brilliance" is something 99% of cultural authors can't do.

Just this point, Li Luo wrote hundreds of words; the entire long review, when counted, must be several thousand words.

Xu Youyu unconsciously bit her lip.

People who don't write can't understand.

Often, even a simple reader comment like "great" can make an author happy for days.

But a long, thoughtful review like this—point-by-point, well-reasoned praise—makes an author feel like they've found a soulmate.

It feels as if her whole heart is trembling, her body tingling with warmth.

"He's pretty good at praising…" Xu Youyu put her feet on the chair, hugged her knees, and reread the long review several times.

She laughed each time she read it—from a restrained smile at first, to her whole face glowing with joy, unaware of it herself.

【SleepEarlyGrowTaller】: Worth it—I gave you the Lord reward and pinned this!

……

At a little past six in the evening, Yan Zhusheng, who had been playing the piano for leisure in the piano room, glanced at the time.

She then stood up, left the piano room, and arrived at Xu Youyu's bedroom door.

But after thinking for a moment, she did not knock; instead, she continued down the hallway deeper, until she reached Li Luo's bedroom door.

Knock knock knock.

"Come in."

Hearing Li Luo's voice, Yan Zhusheng pushed open the door and peered in curiously.

This was her first time entering a boy's bedroom.

Like exploring an unknown world, Yan Zhusheng stepped in carefully, looking toward Li Luo at his desk.

Perhaps because Li Luo already knew Yan Zhusheng knew he was writing a novel, he made no effort to hide from her; he kept typing away, still not turning around, saying, "Just finishing up, sit down for a bit."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng blinked, glanced around, and found no chair to sit on, so she walked to the bed and sat on the edge beside the desk.

The soft mattress lifted her hips, and as she propped her right hand on the bed surface, a faint odd sensation rose in her heart.

"Cough, cough… don't look." Li Luo noticed Yan Zhusheng glancing at his screen, quickly raised his hand to cover it, and said awkwardly, "I can't write when someone's watching."

It was like using the toilet—if someone kept staring beside you, you'd feel something was off everywhere, and even if you had the strength, you couldn't use it.

"Oh…" Yan Zhusheng obediently averted her gaze, placed her small hands neatly on her knees, and waited quietly, though her eyes darted everywhere, eager to steal more glances at Li Luo's bedroom.