Chapter 250: Really Can

"You didn't tell me earlier that Zhusheng and Xuejie are coming over to hang out with us?"

After hanging up the phone, Ying Chanxi pouted, slightly annoyed.

"I was going to mention it to you during the third month of the lunar year," Li Luo scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "Yan Zhusheng spent the New Year with Aunt Yuan, but as soon as Aunt Yuan finished the holiday, she had to get back to work—Zhusheng would be lonely alone at home."

"Xuejie came along because she's never experienced a rural New Year and really wants to feel the atmosphere."

"I thought having more people would be livelier, so I agreed."

Li Luo said so much that Ying Chanxi didn't even notice he'd changed the subject, and unconsciously began thinking of something else: "Then where will they stay?"

"There's still an empty room on the third floor of my house," Li Luo said.

In this area, villas are all four stories, but the fourth floor is usually converted into rental units, specifically for migrant workers employed in nearby factories.

Some families even rent out the third floor too, keeping only the second-floor living room, while the elderly live on the first floor.

Like Li Luo's grandfather's house—the fourth floor is rented out; even though the tenants aren't around during the New Year, it still can't be used to host guests.

"But that's only one room," Ying Chanxi said.

"Don't forget your uncle's place—they've got plenty of empty rooms."

"Better to have them stay at my place," Ying Chanxi thought it over, then said, "But we only have one empty room on our third floor."

"Perfect! One room each for them."

Perfect? … Ying Chanxi muttered inwardly, then reluctantly said, "Then Zhusheng can stay with me, and Xuejie can stay with you."

Zhusheng runs with Li Luo every morning; as for Xuejie… they've lived together in Bihai Lanting for so long that Ying Chanxi believed she understood her well enough.

"Whatever, I'll follow your decision."

Dinner started at eight p. m. and lasted until nearly nine, when Li Luo finally put down his chopsticks.

At that point, Lin Xiuhong picked up a cup of wine and pulled Li Luo over to the homes of Second Grandpa and Third Grandpa across the way to offer New Year greetings.

The three families visited each other, drinking; the men quickly gathered to boast and joke, bursting into laughter now and then, then blushing and urging each other to drink more.

Li Luo found them too noisy, so he called Ying Chanxi and the others outside, brought out the huge pile of fireworks bought before the New Year, and lit a lighter to set them off.

"Save the big ones for midnight," Li Luo said. "Play with the small ones first."

Chen Yongqi had no interest in firecrackers and sneaked home to play video games.

Chen Lu pulled Chen Sijia, who had just returned from Grandpa's house, to play with sparklers, holding the shimmering sticks and writing letters in midair.

Ying Chanxi didn't play with sparklers; instead, she went home to fetch the instant camera Li Luo had given her and captured photo after photo.

By around ten p. m., the drinking party upstairs finally ended.

When Li Luo and the others went upstairs, the living room was a mess—bottles and trash scattered everywhere.

Lin Xiuhong and the others had already started a new round of mahjong.

Li Luo and the others, tired from the fireworks, sat around the coffee table and continued playing cards.

"Where's Qiqi?" Li Xuexian spotted immediately that her son was missing.

Li Luo coughed twice: "Probably on a date."

"What date?" Li Xuexian snapped. "He just went home to play video games."

He did go home to play video games—but he really was on a date, because Li Luo from his past life knew Chen Yongqi's favorite games were all kinds of galgames.

Saying he was dating in a game wasn't wrong.

The family couldn't do anything about him.

"By the way, Brother, do you have any connections with landlords of the shops on Xijie?"

In the living room, some played mahjong, others played cards, but Li Guohong still remembered Li Luo's earlier mention of this matter and now asked Li Guoru about it.

"Why are you asking about that?" Li Guoru asked curiously. "Shops on Xijie… you're thinking of buying one?"

"Ahem," Li Guohong leaned close to Li Guoru's ear and whispered, "Actually, yes—I've been thinking about it."

"Didn't you just buy…?" Li Guoru began, then suddenly realized something and cut himself off, pausing to think. "Hmm… I don't personally know any Xijie landlords, but I can introduce you to a friend."

"How so?" Li Guohong raised an eyebrow, surprised there might actually be a lead.

Although Li Guoru hadn't done business in many years, his past travels across the country had given him plenty of acquaintances.

After learning Li Guohong's need, Li Guoru thought for a moment and said, "I know a few friends who work as agents—they likely have plenty of listings. I can arrange for you all to meet and chat?"

"That'd be perfect," Li Guohong quickly agreed.

"But…" Li Guoru leaned close to his brother's ear and whispered, "I know Li Luo earned a lot from his royalties last month, but are you really planning to buy a new house so soon? Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

Li Guohong froze—he hadn't expected Li Guoru already knew about Li Luo's royalties: "It's not that urgent. We just want to look around first—we might not buy anything in the end."

"I understand," Li Guoru nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll introduce you to a few agents—don't get tricked; those guys are slick talkers."

With this settled, Li Guohong felt a weight lift off his mind.

If Li Luo's royalties could maintain the 370,000-yuan level over the coming months, Li Guohong would definitely want to try buying another shopfront before the Yinjiang District subway line was officially confirmed.

That way, even if he and Lin Xiuhong stopped running their breakfast stall, they could earn a stable monthly income just from renting out the breakfast stall and the two shopfronts near the subway entrance.

Once the subway station was completed, the rent for the Xijie shops might rise sharply—possibly even more than what he and Lin Xiuhong earned by working dawn to dusk.

Li Luo didn't yet know his father was worrying about shopfronts during the New Year holiday.

He was now fully immersed with the children, thoroughly enjoying their simple joys.

In his memory, only childhood New Years had ever been this joyful.

As one grew older, the older generation gradually passed away, parents aged, and the younger generation each formed their own families—reuniting for the New Year became harder and harder.

At that point, the New Year would truly lose all its flavor.

New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival would become nothing more than just a long holiday, no longer a festival with deep meaning.

And once truly grown, since Li Luo and his siblings hadn't grown up together in the same village like Li Guohong and Ying Zhicheng had done in their youth,

their relationships with their older brothers and sisters had gradually grown distant after the older generation passed away.

Only now, while the family structure had not yet fully collapsed and urban atomized families had not yet fully taken shape, could Li Luo, still young, fully savor this rich, deep New Year atmosphere once more.

After that, there would be only a few more occasions where dozens of people gathered for New Year's Eve dinner year after year.

As a child, he had believed such New Year's Eve dinners would last forever, returning every year without end.

But now Li Luo knew clearly: the wheel of history rolled forward relentlessly; before the tide of the times, no one could stand in its way.

So he cherished the present even more.

"New Year's is almost here," Ying Chanxi glanced at the time—it was already 11:57 p. m. —"Only three minutes left."

"Come on, let's go downstairs and set off the fireworks," Li Luo glanced at the watch Ying Chanxi had given him, then immediately stood up and called for them to follow.

Ying Chanxi followed behind Li Luo, leaping down the steps with eager anticipation into the courtyard.

Some people, unable to wait, had already started setting off fireworks over half an hour ago.

Boom boom boom—they erupted nonstop in the night sky.

Lighting up the night of Li Family Village as bright as day.

Ying Chanxi stood beside Li Luo, gazing up at the fireworks filling the sky, her heart leaping with joy.

She looked at the time displayed in her hand, while Li Luo had already crouched beside a box of fireworks, waiting for her instruction.

As Ying Chanxi counted down "three, two, one," Li Luo lit the fuse with a lighter, then sprinted back to her side.

The impact on the eardrums of fireworks exploding elsewhere was utterly unlike those detonating just a few meters away.

Ying Chanxi hadn't seen fireworks this close in ages; when the first burst exploded with a "Bang!" she let out a startled "Ah!" and shuddered all over.

When the first burst shot into the sky and burst brilliantly, the second followed with a "Boom!"—making Ying Chanxi's heart jolt again.

"Idiot, cover your ears," Li Luo stood behind Ying Chanxi and wrapped both hands around her ears.

Ying Chanxi felt a fuzzy sensation on her ears, turned her head left and right, and realized Li Luo had somehow put on gloves.

And… the style seemed to be exactly the pair she had given him.

"What are you looking at? Look at the fireworks," Li Luo whispered beside her ear.

"I am looking," Ying Chanxi replied, then turned around, blushing, and gently covered his ears with her own hands.

The two of them foolishly covered each other's ears, then tilted their heads to watch the fireworks continuously blooming in the night sky.

"Happy New Year!"

"Mm, happy New Year."

"Jiajia," on the stairs leading to the small balcony upstairs, Chen Lu sat with her chin propped on her hand, watching the two younger siblings in the courtyard—"When do you think we'll get to drink their wedding wine?"

Chen Sijia followed Chen Lu's gaze, then fell into thought: "At least until after university graduation?"

"But I feel like by the time they get to university, I'll already be an aunt."

"Mm, maybe," Chen Sijia nodded.

"Hey, Jiajia," Chen Lu poked Chen Sijia's waist—"Look how amazing Li Luo is, raising his wife by his side since childhood. What about you?"

"I'm not getting married. As long as I can support myself, that's enough," Chen Sijia shook her head. "LuLu, you should worry more about yourself."

"True," Chen Lu gazed at the two in the courtyard and couldn't help sighing—"Why don't I have a childhood sweetheart? How nice… Watching them makes me feel young again."

The two sisters murmured on the stairs.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang leaned against the balcony railing, occasionally looking up to admire the fireworks, occasionally lowering his head to eat dog food.

"Uncle's really shameless," Li Xiang muttered under his breath—"Can you really use plotlines from novels in real life?" He wanted to take a photo of them and post it in the review section of I Am Really Not a Star.

Previously, Li Luo had written a New Year scene in his novel, where the protagonist Li Yang and his childhood sweetheart Shen Dongdong set off fireworks—those two had also covered each other's ears.

Now, watching Li Luo and Ying Chanxi in the courtyard, it truly felt like fantasy had stepped into reality.

But…

"Then what about my Jiang Ming?" Li Xiang whispered to himself—"Shen Dongdong's too strong in real life; no wonder she had to be toned down in the novel."

While Li Xiang muttered upstairs, the fireworks below had ended.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi instinctively let go of each other's hands and stepped back half a pace.

At that moment, Li Luo had planned to light the second box of fireworks—but suddenly heard Ying Chanxi let out a delighted "Wah~"

"Li Luo! It's snowing! Look!" Ying Chanxi jumped up excitedly, pointing to the sky—"It's really snowing!"

Li Luo looked up and saw delicate flakes drifting down in the air.

Chen Lu and Chen Sijia on the stairs also noticed this, descended quickly to the courtyard, and gazed up at the snow falling from the sky.

At that moment, Li Luo's phone vibrated.

He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, then answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Li Luo, happy New Year," Yan Zhusheng's voice came from the other end.

"Mm, happy New Year."

"Did you see it?"

"Huh? See what?"

"It's snowing," Yan Zhusheng said. "Is it snowing where you are too?"

"Yes, we just saw it."

"So are we watching the same snow?"

"Of course," Li Luo smiled—"Ancient people shared the same moon across a thousand miles; now we're sharing the same snow."

"Li Luo, who are you talking to?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled by his bright smile.

"Oh, it's Zhusheng," Li Luo handed the phone to Ying Chanxi's ear—"Say hello."

"Zhusheng?" Ying Chanxi greeted her—"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Xixi," Yan Zhusheng replied—"See you on the third day of the New Year."

At those words, Ying Chanxi froze in confusion: "Wasn't it supposed to be the fourth day?"

"I talked it over with my senior, and since there's nothing much to do at home, I decided to come early for the third year." Yan Zhusheng said honestly, "Li Luo said it's fine."

"Oh, I see…" Ying Chanxi chuckled softly, squinting at Li Luo.

At that moment, Li Luo still had no idea what was going on; he was walking over to the fireworks, ready to light them, when suddenly he felt a surge of killing intent on his back.

After he lit the fireworks and stepped back beside Ying Chanxi, everything returned to calm.

"Here, take it." Ying Chanxi handed him back his phone.

Li Luo took it and continued the call, hearing Yan Zhusheng say: "I sent you a gift."

"What gift?"

"Consider it a New Year red envelope," Yan Zhusheng said. "Check your author backend—you'll see. Gotta go now."

After the call ended, Li Luo opened his author backend, puzzled and guessing.

Then he saw a donation message.

＿C〇

【BlossomNeverCeases】donated 1,000,000 Qidian Coins to I Am Really Not a Star.

What the hell?

Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, million… one million?!

Converted to RMB, that's a full ten thousand yuan!

Thinking of this, Li Luo quickly opened the Qidian app and clearly saw a full-site banner floating across the top.

【BlossomNeverCeases】supported I Am Really Not a Star with a Silver Chest, becoming the Silver Grand Patron of this work!

Although ten thousand yuan was now ordinary for Li Luo.

Still, this was the first time in both his lives to receive a Silver Grand Patron—Li Luo felt dazed.

This girl… a ten-thousand-yuan red envelope… why not just hand it to him in cash?

What a waste of money!

The site takes half of it anyway.

So reckless!

But while Li Luo was stunned and heartbroken, Ying Chanxi had already seen Yan Zhusheng's donation.

And soon…

【SleepEarlyGrowTaller】supported I Am Really Not a Star with a Silver Chest, becoming the Silver Grand Patron of this work!

【ChanxiNeverLaughs】supported I Am Really Not a Star with a Silver Chest, becoming the Silver Grand Patron of this work!

Damn!

Li Luo stared at the two subsequent Silver Patrons flashing by, frozen in place, then couldn't help but laugh and groan.

"Ying Chanxi!" Li Luo said irritably to her beside him, "Who told you to spend so much money? You could've just given it to me directly."

"It's none of your business!" Ying Chanxi pouted. "I'm donating, whether you like it or not. Yan Zhusheng can do it—why can't I? And what about SleepEarlyGrowTaller? Didn't they donate too?"

"Fine." Li Luo shrugged helplessly. The grace of a beauty—he'd just have to bear it alone.

But at that moment, Ying Chanxi grew puzzled and suspicious: "Could SleepEarlyGrowTaller be the senior? I've noticed her posts always support Jiang Ming."

"But she also writes on this site—I don't think she's the senior."

"Li Luo, do you know this person?"

"Hmm…" Li Luo, hearing Ying Chanxi's logical analysis, felt a cold sweat break out for Xu Youyu. "I know her—she's my same editor, but I don't know who exactly she is."

"You donated a Patron to her?!" Ying Chanxi followed SleepEarlyGrowTaller's profile to the review section of Literary Era, then spotted Li Luo's pinned long review.

And the avatar of 【Chongran】in the review section was unmistakably a Patron.

"She donated me a Patron first, so out of politeness, I returned the favor—it's just social reciprocity," Li Luo explained seriously.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi stopped suspecting.

After all, Xu Youyu didn't seem like the type to write Online Novels.

It was just that Ying Chanxi had become overly alert, so she'd instinctively thought so.

"Now explain this other thing," Ying Chanxi snorted at Li Luo.

"What else?" Li Luo, relieved she wasn't digging deeper, sighed inwardly for Xu Youyu—he'd done his best. It was all the senior's fault for being so flashy, donating a Silver Patron in the first place.

Ten thousand yuan!

Didn't that make your contest prize money pointless?

As Li Luo thought this, Ying Chanxi asked: "Just now, Zhusheng told me she and the senior will come early for the third year—what's that about?"