Chapter 259

After waking up in the morning, Yan Zhusheng followed Li Luo downstairs to the living room.

Since Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi were both asleep, the living room contained only the four elders playing mahjong, Li Xiang leaning on the sofa reading a novel, and the two who had just come down.

Chen Lu had taken Chen Sijia out to play with friends from the village.

Chen Yongqi had to go to work at the factory and was not around during the day, having gone with Li Dao to handle the factory relocation.

Seeing Yan Zhusheng arrive, Aunt Li Xuefeng, who was playing mahjong, waved at her and said to Li Luo, "You two take over—I've made plans to dance and need to leave."

"Alright." Li Luo nodded, gesturing for Yan Zhusheng to sit, greeted his aunt, then pulled up a chair and sat beside her, rolling up his sleeves with a grin, "Come on, let you all witness the synergy of the strongest brain and the strongest luck."

"Yan Zhusheng's luck is indeed good," Lin Xiuhong said, "but how can you possibly claim to be the strongest brain?"

"I ranked 17th in my school exams," Li Luo said proudly. "Since Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu aren't here, I'm the strongest brain here—what's wrong with that?"

Yan Zhusheng nodded seriously and said, "When there are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys become kings."

Li Luo's forehead darkened with exasperation—he thought, How can a teammate undermine me like this? "... If you can't speak well, say less."

Lin Xiuhong and the others laughed until their bodies shook: "Yan Zhusheng really knows how to speak—what a vivid way to put it."

Four women sat in a circle playing mahjong. Li Luo had intended to direct them, but suddenly realized Yan Zhusheng seemed quite skilled—her level was utterly different from yesterday's.

"You're playing pretty well—why were you so bad yesterday?"

"I had an epiphany," Yan Zhusheng said solemnly.

By noon, Li Luo woke up Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu, and they all came downstairs for lunch.

Lin Xiuhong immediately started playing mahjong again.

This time, Auntie had gone for her nap, and Li Xuexian had gone out to dance, leaving only Lin Xiuhong as the middle-aged woman at home.

So she simply pulled over Ying Chanxi and the three girls to sit with her and play mahjong.

But Yan Zhusheng's mahjong skills had turned terrible again.

"What are you playing?" Li Luo sat beside Yan Zhusheng, pointing at her tiles. "Why keep the nine bamboo? Don't you discard it?"

Yan Zhusheng blinked and whispered, "I think I've become dumb again—teach me again."

"Li Luo," Ying Chanxi suddenly said from across the table, "I want fruit."

"Oh, wait a moment," Li Luo replied, rising while still pointing at Yan Zhusheng's tiles, "You're ten tiles away—when that tile comes, if you don't have it, win; if you do, declare a kong and then blossom."

Only then did he head calmly to the kitchen to wash fruit, then walked to the mahjong table and shoved a grape into Lin Xiuhong's mouth: "Mom, eat this first."

"You've got some decency at last," Lin Xiuhong said, swallowing the grape, then drawing a tile—her eyes locked onto it: a East Wind. Her face darkened instantly. "Is this grape poisoned? My luck just tanked."

"You're blaming me for this?" Li Luo was speechless. "Is the East Wind really targeting me? They say 'all is ready except the east wind'—Mom, you're definitely going to win this hand!"

"Kong," Yan Zhusheng blinked, took the East Wind Lin Xiuhong had discarded, laid out her three other East Winds in a row, drew a kong tile from the end of the wall, and tapped it lightly on the table. "I win."

Lin Xiuhong looked and shot Li Luo a sidelong glance, scoffing: "Indeed, all is ready except the east wind—you're quite calculating, aren't you?"

Li Luo smiled awkwardly: "I forgot Yan Zhusheng was ten tiles away—here, Mom, have another."

"Get lost, you're annoying," Lin Xiuhong glared at him and refused to eat more.

So Li Luo walked over to Ying Chanxi and cheerfully shoved a grape into her mouth.

"Ouch…" Li Luo had barely seen Ying Chanxi open her mouth to bite when he yanked his hand back in pain. "Are you a dog? Why'd you bite me?"

"Accidental," Ying Chanxi said flatly, chewing the grape.

"Want one, Senior?"

"Thanks," Xu Youyu reached out, grabbed a grape, and popped it into her mouth.

Then Li Luo walked over to Yan Zhusheng and held out the plate before her.

Yan Zhusheng glanced at Ying Chanxi, then reached out and took one herself.

"Li Xiang, want one?" Li Luo called to the guy lounging on the sofa.

"No no," Li Xiang waved him off, still reading his novel while sneaking glances at the mahjong table.

Watching Lin Xiuhong and the three girls play mahjong made him feel a little uneasy.

Lin Xiuhong probably didn't notice the undercurrents—her focus was still on the game.

But Li Xiang, the detached observer, caught every tiny detail with every glance.

This scene was far more entertaining than any novel.

The cultivation arena drama Li Luo had barely even written about had already appeared in real life.

Speaking of which… if Uncle has gathered this material, won't he soon be writing similar scenes into his book?

Hmm hmm hmm.

Li Xiang thought this, yet kept reading *Literary Era*.

So he wouldn't get his eyes cut by the swordlight and dagger shadows.

When evening came and Lin Xiuhong went to the kitchen to cook, and Ying Chanxi went to help, Xu Youyu collapsed onto the single sofa and sighed: "Why does this feel different from what I imagined?"

"What's different?" Li Luo laughed.

"I thought the countryside would have something fun to do—turns out it's just mahjong?" Xu Youyu sighed. "Just like my mom."

"There are still several more days," Li Luo said. "But the countryside isn't that exciting—maybe we can go fishing at the pond, or set off fireworks at night."

"Fishing, fireworks," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "Anything else?"

"Anything else…" Li Luo thought. "Do you know how to play pool?"

Yan Zhusheng shook her head.

Xu Youyu also shook her head.

But after shaking her head, Yan Zhusheng said, "You can teach me."

Xu Youyu nodded vigorously—clearly seeing this as a great source of material.

"Then tomorrow I'll take you," Li Luo pointed to the house next door. "My uncle has a pool table—we can play."

"What about tonight?" Xu Youyu asked.

"At night," Li Luo pointed toward the kitchen, "come keep my mom company while she plays mahjong—she's got the itch today and will definitely play again tonight, but my aunt and the others went dancing, so you'll have to keep her company tonight."

"Of course, if you find it troublesome, I can take your place tonight."

Li Luo added this after recalling Xu Youyu's slightly bored expression earlier.

But Xu Youyu shook her head: "It's not troublesome at all—playing mahjong with Auntie is actually fun, as long as we don't have to do it every day for the next few days…"

After dinner, then.

Ying Zhicheng and the others drank their wine and went next door to play pool and chat.

The women who wanted to dance went dancing; those who wanted to play mahjong stayed behind to play.

Li Luo sat nearby, serving them tea, pouring water, and washing fruit.

Lin Xiuhong was delighted—three young girls playing mahjong with her made her feel as if she herself had grown young again.

By ten at night, Lin Xiuhong finally grew tired. After finishing her last round, she cleared the table, stood up, and waved them off.

Ying Chanxi walked over to Yan Zhusheng, hugged her arm, and smiled: "Zhusheng, let's go take a bath."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded, glancing at Li Luo one last time before leaving.

Li Luo noticed her gaze and immediately felt a headache coming—he wondered if he should lock the rooftop door.

But as he was thinking about this, Ying Chanxi had already pulled Yan Zhusheng back to her own house and went into the bathroom with her to bathe.

After bathing, she dragged Yan Zhusheng into her room and affectionately insisted they sleep together.

Yan Zhusheng wanted to return to her own room, but couldn't find a good excuse, so she ended up being hugged and falling asleep beside Ying Chanxi.

Ying Zhicheng, returning late at night, knocked and entered his daughter's room to speak with her, only to find the two girls lying in bed—he froze for a moment.

Seeing how close they were, Ying Zhicheng suddenly felt a deep sense of relief, his mood lifting considerably.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Li Xiang had spent the entire day reading "Literary Era"; by the time the mahjong table broke up, he still hadn't finished his snacks.

As Lin Xiuhong went upstairs, she reminded Li Xiang to lock the front door of the second-floor living room when he returned to his room.

Li Xiang replied and leaned back on the sofa, continuing to read with great enjoyment, but gradually sensed something odd.

The beginning of the book was fine—just a normal cultural entertainment novel, about a male protagonist reborn in the late twentieth century and stepping into the world of art-house cinema.

The writing style was extremely delicate, yet the pace of romantic development was blistering fast, with some word choices so bold it was hard to believe a woman had written it.

But as Li Xiang reached the paid chapters after chapter two hundred, he grew increasingly uneasy.

Then he came across a passage of playful, teasing, laughing-and-cursing daily interactions between the male and female leads—and suddenly it clicked.

Damn!

This was totally written about his uncle!

The personality was carved from the exact same mold.

And crucially, in the early part of the book, the male lead was quiet and reserved.

But as his relationship with the female lead progressed and their daily interactions increased, the male lead's personality slowly changed.

For readers, this transformation felt subtle and acceptable, since there was a plausible explanation.

The male lead had been influenced by the film industry, shaped by the characters he portrayed, and infected by the passionate, exuberant female lead—gradually shedding his initial dullness.

But from Li Xiang's perspective, this was clearly a character modeled directly after Li Luo.

Looking at it this way… Li Xiang clicked his tongue—he thought this book might very well have been written by Xu Youyu.

But to confirm this, Li Xiang felt he needed to quietly ask his uncle.

Especially after seeing how fast the romantic scenes progressed—far more direct than Li Luo's "I Am Really Not a Star."

In Li Luo's book, the male lead was still tangled with three female leads, and even a kiss required dozens of chapters of buildup before any payoff.

In "Literary Era," there were already multiple sex scenes during film shoots, and the female lead had decisively slept with the male lead—no hesitation, no dragging out the romance.

The scenes, the descriptions—so intense!

If Xu Youyu drew inspiration from this, then what exactly was her relationship with her own uncle like?

The thought sent a strange thrill through Li Xiang.

Could it be… that his Jiang Faction still had hope?!

He'd thought the Qingmei Faction was unbeatable, when suddenly the Mo Faction descended out of nowhere and caught him off guard.

But now, having read "Literary Era," Li Xiang couldn't help but imagine wildly.

Could it be that the Jiang Faction was actually the true final answer?

After all, both were novelists—surely they shared deeper soul resonance?

Calling them soulmates or kindred spirits wasn't wrong at all!

Thinking of this, Li Xiang could no longer contain himself—he put away his phone, jumped off the sofa, took several deep breaths, and instead of going home, headed toward Li Luo's third-floor bedroom.

He didn't know if his uncle would tell him the truth.

But if he didn't ask, he'd never forgive himself.

Soon, Li Xiang arrived at Li Luo's bedroom door, about to knock—

When the next second, a familiar voice came from inside, making him freeze mid-knock.

"Aren't you writing tonight?"

"Guess what time I went to sleep last night?" Xu Youyu smiled. "I didn't sleep until four a. m. —I finished all today's update right then."

Outside the door, Li Xiang's heart pounded violently as he heard Li Luo and Xu Youyu's conversation.

He didn't need to knock or ask anymore—the answer was already clear.

Who would've thought? The truth had been so easily uncovered.

Li Xiang shook his head in amazement—people really couldn't be judged by appearances.

Never thought that Xu Youyu, who seemed so serious, had written such things behind closed doors—how surprising, how surprising...

Li Xiang, this college student, thought of those contents and couldn't help but blush, unable to speak them aloud.

But he realized eavesdropping on someone's private conversation wasn't right.

So Li Xiang quietly stepped back, thinking that since he already knew the answer, he shouldn't keep listening—better to slip away quickly.

But the next second, he froze in place.

"No wonder you weren't in a hurry playing mahjong today—you'd already finished writing."

"Moved? I didn't come find you last night because I was busy writing."

"... Why did you want to come find me at night?"

"Huh? Brother~ Don't you know why I wanted to find you? You're so naughty~ Do I really have to say it out loud? It's so embarrassing~"

At these words, Li Xiang's pupils dilated in shock, his face filled with astonishment; he opened his mouth wide, feeling his entire worldview violently shaken.

He pressed his hand to his chest, took a deep breath, held it, stepped back several paces, and finally leaned against the wall in the stairwell, forcefully exhaling the heavy air from his lungs, then gasping for breath as his mind struggled to process the explosive information.

What Qingmei Party…

What Mo Party…

Were nothing but clay chickens and broken dogs…

Look at the progress of the Sister Party over here!

This damn thing is, is, is…

Li Xiang felt his whole body burning hot, wanting to keep eavesdropping to find out what was happening inside, yet his heart was torn.

After all, Li Luo and Xu Youyu were still Gao Zhongsheng—if something like that really happened, should he really inform Lin Xiuhong and the others?

If this led to a fatality, it would be terrible.

In novels, Li Luo could write whatever he wanted.

But in reality, one must know the limits—can't go too far.

Li Xiang pondered, deciding he needed to find an opportunity to warn his uncle.

Though Li Luo was his junior by generation, Li Xiang was older in age, and on this matter, he had to steer Li Luo right—he couldn't let him go down the wrong path.

Once he'd made up his mind, Li Xiang trembled as he pulled out his phone, opened the Qidian app, and with firm resolve, returned to the embrace of the Jiang Party.

【Sister Kicks Me】: The Jiang Party is the truth of the world! The ultimate answer of the universe! The creator god! The primordial One! The beginning and end of all things!

【Sister Kicks Me】: Brothers, believe me! This time I'm certain! Guaranteed win!