Chapter 161: Ying Chanxi, Smiling Sweetly

Li Luo didn't say that just offhand.

Because last life, when he first went to Yan Zhusheng's house for her interview, she had asked him to record her singing video and audio.

As long as the edited video met Yan Zhusheng's requirements, they could sign the contract on the spot.

At the time, Li Luo was only amazed by Yan Zhusheng's beauty, thinking such a beautiful girl must have very high standards.

He was just a part-timer who entered the Online Novel and Short Drama markets halfway, and his video editing skills were beginner-level.

So the simpler and easier the interview seemed, the more Li Luo felt he wouldn't be selected.

So he decided to just listen out of curiosity, treating it as a chance to admire beauty, and set up the camera, microphone, and audio equipment for Yan Zhusheng.

Then, when Yan Zhusheng finished the verse of "The Sky Has No Limits" and suddenly burst into the chorus, Li Luo was instantly stunned.

Even after she finished the entire song, he remained in a daze for a long time.

It was the first time he had ever witnessed such a level of singing up close in person.

He felt it was even better than the concert he'd attended with Xu Youyu.

From that moment on, Yan Zhusheng's rendition of "The Sky Has No Limits" became deeply etched in his mind.

Today, pulling out this song was also an unconscious choice on his part.

But compared to the thirty-something Yan Zhusheng, the sixteen-year-old Yan Zhusheng's version was more captivating for its naturally clear, pure tone.

In last life, when Yan Zhusheng sang this song, besides her clear, spring-like high notes, there was also a touch of personal insight and faint weariness.

It had its own unique flavor.

One could only say each had its own charm—Yan Zhusheng was still young, so one couldn't expect too much.

Even to sing a sad ballad, she had to first confess to Li Luo and get rejected before she could barely summon the right emotion; don't expect her to have more emotional nuance in her songs yet.

Right now, Yan Zhusheng dominates at school partly because very few Gao Zhongsheng can sing at her level.

And partly because her physical condition is currently at one of the peaks of her life, and she's been trained since childhood by her professional singer mother, Yuan Wanqing.

To deepen the emotional detail in her songs, mere practice won't suffice.

……

On Saturday, after the morning self-study class ended, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng packed their bags and went to the door of Class One, fourth floor.

Ying Chanxi saw them and ran to the door, saying to Li Luo: "I have to go to the competition class this afternoon—I won't get home until evening. You go ahead."

"Mm." Li Luo nodded. "I just wrote a new song and plan to go to Yan Zhusheng's house to record it this afternoon. I'll be back by evening. You and the senior should buy groceries."

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi instinctively glanced at Yan Zhusheng, then looked back at Li Luo's face, her expression immediately softening: "Oh, I see. Will Zhuosheng come over for dinner? I'll buy some of her favorite dishes."

"She should eat with her mom tonight," Li Luo turned to look at Yan Zhusheng.

Yan Zhusheng blinked, showing no sign of avoidance, and said seriously: "My mom is busy—she probably won't have time to eat with me tonight."

"Then come with us," Ying Chanxi said with a beaming smile. "I remember Zhuosheng likes eel? I'll go with the senior to the market and buy some."

"Oh, thanks, Xixi," Yan Zhusheng said, visibly pleased—probably because Ying Chanxi remembered what she liked to eat.

"Then let's go," Li Luo said, turning to leave with Yan Zhusheng.

But Ying Chanxi called him back and pulled him around.

She stepped in front of Li Luo, took off his red scarf, and carefully redid it: "How can you wear it like this? It's crooked and ugly."

"You tied it too tight…" Li Luo tugged at his mouth, "trying to strangle me?"

"Hehe." Ying Chanxi smiled sweetly. "How could I?"

She loosened the scarf slightly. "Better now?"

"Much better," Li Luo touched the soft scarf around his neck and said, "I'm off."

"Go," Ying Chanxi waved. "When you get back tonight, sing the new song—I want to hear it too."

"OK, no problem."

After watching Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng go downstairs, Ying Chanxi walked to the corridor railing and looked down.

Soon, she spotted Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng emerging from the first-floor hallway entrance.

As they walked along Houde Road, they chatted quietly, showing no obvious signs of closeness.

But halfway there, Yan Zhusheng suddenly pulled out a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, took one, and shoved it into Li Luo's ear, then put the other in her own.

Watching this, Ying Chanxi's small fists rested on the railing, clenched together involuntarily, fingers rubbing against each other, feeling as if something was missing from her hand.

Finally, she huffed unhappily and returned to the classroom to prepare for the competition class.

"Class monitor, I'm planning to sneak out before class to buy some bubble tea," Xie Shuchen sidled up and whispered, "what flavor do you want?"

Ying Chanxi glanced at him and suddenly asked: "Aren't you guys in the Rock Club supposed to practice this afternoon?"

"We were supposed to," Xie Shuchen paused, then said, "but since I'm attending the competition class, and Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng have things to do this afternoon, we moved it to tomorrow's evening self-study."

"Besides, we've practiced enough these past few days—Li Luo wrote a new song, and we're planning to stun everyone at the New Year's Eve party!"

"You've got to watch closely then, Class Monitor—it'll be amazing!"

Hearing Xie Shuchen's words, imagining Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng standing together on stage glowing with brilliance, Ying Chanxi couldn't help narrowing her eyes.

"Strictly speaking, students aren't allowed to leave campus temporarily after school on Saturdays if they're staying for competition class or club activities," Ying Chanxi said seriously. "I suggest you not do this in front of the class monitor."

Xie Shuchen looked bewildered: "... Huh?"

If you don't want any, why can't I go buy some?

Didn't you always pretend not to notice before?

……

On the other side.

Li Luo, with the earbud in his ear, pulled out his phone and checked QQ, seeing a message from his editor.

【Qianzhou】: I've arrived at the place you mentioned—Yuhang City, Qianjiang University Affiliated No. 1 High School, right?

【Qianzhou】: This school looks pretty good, right? Right next to Qianjiang University.

【Qianzhou】: I just asked a clothing shop owner on the street—still a key high school? You must be doing pretty well in your studies?

To be fair, during his time as an editor at Wenxue Group, Qianzhou had heard plenty of industry gossip from senior editors.

It wasn't especially rare for minors to write Online Novels.

It was just uncommon for them to achieve real success.

But if someone could write an Online Novel that earned well—and still excel academically in high school—that was truly unheard of.

Still, if Li Luo knew what the editor was thinking, he'd surely burst out laughing.

Even setting aside his own godlike advantage, there was Xu Youyu—a freak even weirder than him.

【Chongran】: Yeah, I just got out of class, I'm at the school gate now.

【Qianzhou】: OKOK.

【Qianzhou】: I'm wearing a black down jacket, right across the street from the school gate.

【Chongran】: I'm wearing a red scarf around my neck, white sneakers on my feet, and I've got an unbelievably gorgeous girl beside me—you'll spot me at a glance.

【Qianzhou】:?

Though he typed a question mark, the moment Qianzhou saw Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng walk out of the school gate, he instantly locked onto them.

Sure enough, he recognized them at a glance.

Fuck!

What kind of life winner is this kid?

Qianzhou stared blankly as Chongran crossed the zebra crossing and approached him, momentarily speechless.

Could that little girl be his girlfriend?

At such a young age, he already has such a beautiful girlfriend, studies at a top-tier high school, and writes an Online Novel earning over forty thousand a month.

And once it goes live on all channels, his income might skyrocket even further.

Thinking of this, Qianzhou, this poor overworked office drone, immediately felt a suffocating wave of pressure—he was mentally dominated by this damn high school student.

Meanwhile, Li Luo, upon reaching Qianzhou, gave his editor a quick appraisal.

In his memory, when he entered the Online Novel industry after college, Qianzhou was already the chief editor of the urban category.

This was Li Luo's first time meeting the future chief editor in person.

He was chubby, not tall—about 1.7 meters, even slightly shorter than Yan Zhusheng.

Two small, squinty eyes, a clean-shaven face, the whole man looked a bit goofy, utterly harmless.

This appearance made it hard to connect him with the future chief lord.

"Editor, hello," Li Luo extended his hand to shake Qianzhou's. "I'm Chongran."

"I'm Qianzhou, nice to meet you, nice to meet you," Qianzhou said, also meeting his author for the first time in his life—he felt even more nervous than Li Luo.

Especially since this wasn't just a simple author-editor meetup—he'd also be meeting Yuan Wanqing, a currently hot singer and celebrity.

Thinking of this, Qianzhou grew even more nervous, unconsciously rubbing his hands as he asked Li Luo: "Shall we head straight to downtown, or find somewhere to eat first?"

"Oh, let's just take a cab," Li Luo walked to the curb, waved down a taxi, then pointed at Yan Zhusheng and told the editor, "To her place."

"Huh?"

Inside the taxi, Qianzhou remained baffled, wondering why they were going to a girl's home for an author-editor meetup.

But Li Luo only smiled: "You'll find out when we get there."

Though puzzled, Qianzhou didn't press further—he wasn't worried Li Luo would betray him.

He'd communicated with Li Luo often before; now that he'd met him in person, he confirmed again: this sixteen-year-old high school student, though young, was mature and methodical.

Recalling his own sixteen-year-old self, Qianzhou felt embarrassed—he simply couldn't compare.

So Qianzhou shed all adult condescension and chatted casually with Li Luo in the taxi, sharing industry news and gossip.

Like which author sold film rights and bought a villa somewhere.

Or how Wenxue Group's upcoming year-end gathering had already invited which famous authors—all top-ranked names.

Here, Qianzhou added regretfully: "If you'd published a few months earlier, you'd have had a chance to attend this year's year-end party."

"When is the year-end party usually held?" Li Luo asked curiously.

He hadn't been eligible to attend in his past life.

But Xu Youyu, after becoming one of the Twelve Heavenly Kings and then advancing to Grandmaster, had been invited every single year since.

By then, however, Li Luo had already failed at Short Drama, owed Xu Youyu a mountain of debt, and was too ashamed to face her—he didn't know the details.

"The date isn't fixed," Qianzhou said. "This year it's around New Year's Day, just around the corner. Invitations went out in October—you were just getting your premium status then, so you didn't receive one. But if you keep this momentum, next year for sure."

Back then, to be invited to Wenxue Group's year-end party, an Online Novel author generally needed a base of ten thousand subscriptions.

Or, if the main site had premium status, sales across all channels would have to explode.

In short, you needed to meet commercial benchmarks to be invited—it was recognition of an author's earning power.

Li Luo found it interesting, but didn't mind missing it.

Meanwhile, as Li Luo and Qianzhou chatted, Yan Zhusheng sat quietly beside Li Luo, listening intently without saying a word.

Until the taxi stopped at the entrance of Yan Zhusheng's residential complex. All three got out and walked to her front door.

"So why are we here…" Qianzhou watched Yan Zhusheng open the door, finally unable to hold back his question again.

But before he finished speaking, Yuan Wanqing, hearing the noise inside, rose from the sofa and came to the door to greet them.

"You're here," Yuan Wanqing looked at Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo, then turned her gaze to Qianzhou, puzzled. "Who's this?"

"This is Li Luo's editor," Yan Zhusheng said seriously. "He's here to accompany Li Luo for the interview."

"Oh, I see," Yuan Wanqing smiled gently, took out another clean pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet. "Come in, welcome."

At this moment, Qianzhou stood frozen at the door, mouth slightly open, unable to recover.

Only when Li Luo waved his hand in front of his face did Qianzhou snap back, stammering involuntarily: "Yuan… Yuan… Yuan…"

"That's my classmate's mother." Li Luo patted Qianzhou on the shoulder and introduced him personally, "Let's have a meal together, then we'll head into the city for the interview later."