Chapter 182: Who Is the Clown?

The bonfire party reached its climax amid Yan Zhusheng's loud singing.

After the song ended, the bonfire party concluded with a full-school chorus of the school anthem.

The principal took the stage for a summary and blessings, declaring the evening's successful conclusion.

Then, under the guidance of the vice-principal's microphone, everyone orderly departed the basketball court in class order, carrying their chairs.

On the way back to the classroom, Kong Junxiang and Ding Xiang were surrounded by classmates from Class Eight.

As they prepared to head up to the teaching building, Kong Junxiang suddenly remembered something and asked Ding Xiang curiously, "By the way, where did you get this flower you gave me?"

"Huh? This one?" Ding Xiang's gaze swept through the crowd of Class Eight students and settled on Yan Zhusheng. "You have Yan Zhusheng to thank—she handed it to me on the spot."

"Yan Zhusheng gave it to you?" Kong Junxiang was surprised. He turned to look at Yan Zhusheng in the line and asked, "Yan Zhusheng, where did you get this flower?"

Suddenly called out, Yan Zhusheng blinked and pointed to the flowerbed beside the recently passed teaching building. "From there."

Kong Junxiang, Ding Xiang, and the other students all turned to look in the direction Yan Zhusheng indicated.

Zhang Guohuang even rushed over to the flowerbed and exclaimed, "Holy crap, it really is! There are clear signs of digging here."

At this, Kong Junxiang fell completely silent.

He glanced at the bright sign beside the flowerbed: "Though small, flowers carry great life—nurture and cherish them, share beauty."

In the lower right corner of the sign, four small characters were added, as if afraid someone might miss it: Do Not Pick Flowers.

"Can't you see that sign?" Kong Junxiang tugged at his mouth, unsure what to say.

Yan Zhusheng blinked and confessed honestly, "I said the same thing, but Li Luo said, though flowers carry great life, human life matters more—in an emergency, we can make up for it later."

Kong Junxiang looked at Li Luo, who was whistling, pretending not to hear, and carrying his chair into the teaching building.

Miss Ding smiled, covering her mouth.

The other students also snickered, finding this entirely in line with the monitor's style.

"Stop laughing, hurry back to the classroom," Li Luo called out to them. "Don't block the classes behind you."

"Hah." Kong Junxiang chuckled and shook his head as he walked upstairs. "Only you could think of this—sending Yan Zhusheng to dig up the flowerbed. Why didn't you do it yourself?"

"Teacher Kong, you're being a bit unfair," Li Luo said, exasperated. "I was backstage drumming for you—how else would you have smoothly hit the chorus? I'm sacrificing my sleep for your lifelong happiness."

At these words, Kong Junxiang fell silent, coughed once, and quickened his pace upstairs.

Ding Xiang's gaze toward Li Luo softened further; the more she looked, the more satisfied she became, delighted that Kong Junxiang had such a monitor.

She recalled how she had often deliberately called on Li Luo, amazed and skeptical of his miraculous memory and ability to multitask, and couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

Perhaps there really are such outstanding young people in this world.

To be honest, while Xueba like Ying Chanxi are truly brilliant in studies, Ding Xiang had seen such prodigies before.

But someone like Li Luo—exceling in studies while also possessing high emotional intelligence, humor, and wit in speech—all at fifteen or sixteen—was truly rare.

Even though Li Luo's current grades rank only fifteenth, with fourteen others ahead of him, Ding Xiang held a clear intuition.

In the future, Li Luo's personal achievements would be the highest among this group of students.

…

Back in the classroom, everyone placed their chairs back in their seats and entered the self-study and rest period as arranged by the teachers.

Once all faculty and students had returned to their classrooms and attendance was confirmed, the vice-principal announced dismissal over the loudspeaker and wished everyone a happy New Year's Day in advance.

At nine p. m., Fuyi Middle School went on holiday.

Of course, boarding students without parents to pick them up still had to return to their dorms for the night and could leave only the next morning.

Others returned home and could begin enjoying the New Year's holiday.

"Are you staying on campus tonight?"

Li Luo packed his bag and waited in the classroom for Ying Chanxi to come down, chatting casually with Yan Zhusheng.

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "Mom is busy—she definitely won't have time to pick me up. I'll go home tomorrow morning."

"Will Aunt Yuan come back to spend New Year's Day with you?" Li Luo asked.

Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "New Year's Day is the busiest—there'll be many appointments to attend."

"I see." Li Luo thought for a moment. "Then don't go home tomorrow morning—come to our place first, have lunch with us, and leave afterward. I'm going back with Xi Xi in the afternoon."

Hearing this, Yan Zhusheng's eyes brightened slightly, and she nodded. "Okay."

She then pulled out her phone and sent a message to the cook, telling her not to come prepare lunch tomorrow.

Probably because she saw a message from Yuan Wanqing when she opened her phone, Yan Zhusheng put her phone away and said to Li Luo, "Mom told me to remind you—tomorrow is New Year's Day, the same day the interview goes live."

"Wenxue Group will likely upload the interview video at midnight."

"Mom says she'll post a Weibo at midnight, then repost it at noon, and reply to comments again in the evening."

"She said you should ask Wenxue Group whether they can give you a verified author tag on Weibo, so you can also comment and interact."

After listening, Li Luo nodded in understanding. "Thank you for passing on my gratitude to your mom."

"You're welcome."

After finishing this topic, Ying Chanxi appeared at the back door of Class Eight and called out to Li Luo.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng both stood up and descended the stairs with Ying Chanxi.

"Lin Yi said to come home for dinner tomorrow night—don't forget," Ying Chanxi reminded him as they went downstairs.

Li Luo nodded and told her about inviting Yan Zhusheng over for lunch tomorrow.

"Great," Ying Chanxi smiled and hugged Yan Zhusheng's arm. "Too bad school rules are strict—if not, you could've just stayed over at our place tonight."

"It's not impossible," Li Luo thought. "I heard Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang, whose parents didn't come, are planning to sneak home tonight."

"Hmm…" Ying Chanxi shook her head. "Better not. It's a school rule—if you get caught, it'll be trouble."

"It's fine—I'll go to your place tomorrow morning," Yan Zhusheng said.

So Ying Chanxi happily hugged Yan Zhusheng's arm again, praising her performance on stage.

Yan Zhusheng happily accepted the compliments, already looking forward to lunch at their house tomorrow.

After going downstairs, the three of them met up with Xu Youyu, walked out of the campus gate together, and Yan Zhusheng bid them farewell before heading toward the opposite dormitory area.

Li Luo and the other two returned to Bihai Lanting 1502.

On the way back, Li Luo repeated tomorrow's schedule to Xu Youyu, then asked how she felt about it.

"Then I'll join you for lunch tomorrow too," Xu Youyu said with a smile. "I'll sneak back home for dinner in the evening."

Her home was inside the Qianjiang University staff housing, just a few steps away—she could return anytime she wanted.

But she estimated she'd only go home for one or two days before slipping back.

Otherwise, she'd be scolded daily by her parents.

After returning home,

Li Luo quickly washed up, sat down at his computer, and checked his QQ.

As expected, the editor had sent him a message during the day.

【Qianzhou】: (video)

【Qianzhou】: This is the interview video—I've blurred your face in post-production and processed the audio so no one can recognize you.

【Qianzhou】: And here's the detailed event schedule.

【Qianzhou】: (image)

【Qianzhou】: If you're willing, we've also discussed it with Yuan Wanqing—we can help you quickly verify your Weibo account. Once the event goes live tomorrow, you can comment and interact with her.

【Qianzhou】: Ultimately, it's up to you.

【Qianzhou】: Then at midnight, your book will be uploaded simultaneously across all channels—any website affiliated with Wenxue Group will be able to find your book.

【Qianzhou】: Whether you truly take off depends entirely on this push.

After reading the editor's message and watching the video, Li Luo confirmed that no one could tell Chongran was him, and he nodded in relief.

Then he opened the image and carefully studied the event schedule.

According to Wenxue Group's plan, besides heavy promotion on Weibo and major platforms, Qidian Reading App also had a dedicated reading event prepared specifically for I Am Really Not a Star.

After all, this was Wenxue Group's first time using this method to link a book with a celebrity for promotion.

If this campaign succeeds, it might open up a new direction for Wenxue Group's marketing and promotion strategies.

According to the image Qianzhou sent, this single reading event on the main site included exposure through app splash screens, event page promotions, and small icon recommendations on bookshelves.

It was a full-on traffic surge.

Under these circumstances, Li Luo decided not to pretend anymore.

After replying to the editor, he pulled out 100,000 words—exactly fifty chapters—from his 200,000-word draft and began setting up scheduled releases.

He set it to publish one chapter every half hour, nonstop for the entire 24 hours.

To give his readers a massive surprise.

And to put some pressure on the other authors on the same platform.

Just after Li Luo finished these tasks, Ying Chanxi, freshly out of the shower, knocked and walked into Li Luo's bedroom, asking him with eager anticipation: "Are you staying up tonight? Let's welcome the New Year together?"