Chapter 263: Yan Zhusheng

Li Luo's bedroom echoed again with knocking.

This time, unlike before, the sound was especially loud, instantly waking all four people in the room.

"Uncle, your mom's calling you to get up—she says to pack your bags and head back to the city this afternoon," Li Xiang's voice came from outside the door.

"Got it!" Li Luo replied quickly, "I'm up, you go ahead downstairs."

"Alright!" Li Xiang wouldn't push the door open; after receiving Li Luo's reply, he turned and went downstairs.

This gave Li Luo some relief.

"What are you afraid of?" Xu Youyu sat up on her ground mattress, smiling at Li Luo. "So what if someone saw? It's just the last day of a group sleepover with good friends."

"The fewer misunderstandings, the better," Li Luo shot her a look. "Get up quickly—we'll have lunch, then head back."

"Sleepy." Yan Zhusheng, just woken, closed her eyes again, pulling the blanket up to cover half her face, leaving only her eyes and tiny hands exposed, still wanting to sleep.

Xu Youyu got up, slipped on her shoes, walked out of the bedroom to the bathroom, then returned to her ground mattress, yawning: "Wake me for lunch—I slept way too late last night, and Chanxi kept stealing the covers, waking me up cold several times."

"Sorry, sorry," Ying Chanxi said, slightly embarrassed. "I can't control it when I'm asleep."

"Just sleep with her," Li Luo offered a perfect solution.

Xu Youyu glanced at him, then asked with a half-smile: "Judging by that, you've tried it?"

"Don't make things up," Li Luo looked exasperated. "Zhusheng tried it."

"Fine." Xu Youyu climbed onto the bed, crawled over Li Luo, and squeezed into the space between him and Yan Zhusheng, wrapping her arms around Yan Zhusheng. "I'm sleeping with Zhusheng this morning—you get off."

Li Luo was shoved off the bed and landed on the ground mattress.

Ying Chanxi opened her eyes and looked at him, instinctively opening her mouth to say something—but remembering yesterday's incident when Yan Zhusheng had stolen the bed, she immediately pulled the blanket up again and changed her words: "You wanna sleep a bit longer?"

"Uh… you guys sleep. I'm getting up," Li Luo picked up his clothes and pants from the desk, showing no intention of going back to sleep.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi pursed her lips, let out a quiet huff of displeasure, then turned her body away from Li Luo and closed her eyes to sleep again.

Li Luo changed into his clothes and shoes, stood at the door, glanced inside, saw the three of them still wanting to nap, sighed faintly, stepped out of the bedroom, closed the door, did a quick wash-up, then went downstairs to the living room.

Li Xiang was sitting on the sofa playing with his phone; seeing Li Luo come down, his expression turned strange, his mind flashing back to the surreal scene he'd witnessed earlier, filled now with deep admiration for Li Luo.

"Is there something on my face?" Li Luo noticed his gaze, touched his face, and asked curiously.

"Nothing," Li Xiang shook his head quickly, then asked curiously, "Uncle, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"At the end of your book, which heroine will the male lead end up with?"

"Huh?" Li Luo paused, then laughed. "Come on, once someone's the protagonist, why choose just one? Obviously, all of them."

"But the heroines you've created don't seem like they'd accept that situation calmly," Li Xiang pressed on.

"It's just a novel—why take it so seriously?" Li Luo waved his hand. "By the time you reach that stage, you're already hundreds of thousands of words in. Instead of forcing realism and making all three heroines tear each other apart, it's better to write a more sci-fi-style happy ending."

"Sci-fi-style?" Li Xiang blinked, not understanding what that meant.

"It means not chasing so-called realism—just giving readers a peaceful, happy ending," Li Luo explained briefly. "After all, people come to online novels for fun. If you insist on realism, depth, and meaning, why even write online novels?"

"If readers are happy, I'm happy too."

"I make money, I live comfortably—everyone wins."

Hearing this answer, Li Xiang's mouth twitched involuntarily.

So his uncle knew full well how surreal and illogical this ending was, right?

Then how the hell did he manage to get three girls to sleep in the same room with him?

This truly left Li Xiang utterly baffled.

Perhaps only such an extraordinary, dramatic life experience could produce a work like I Am Really Not a Star.

¤￠O

Li Xiang sighed deeply, finally making up his mind, and opened the novel's comment section.

【SisterKicksMe】: Today I realized something new—whether it's Shen Dongdong, Mo Qinghan, or Jiang Ming, they're all great girls.

【SisterKicksMe】: But if Li Yang ends up choosing only one, then no matter which girl is chosen, or which two are left behind, it's just a sadder ending for everyone.

【SisterKicksMe】: The chosen one gets Li Yang's body, but perhaps only one-third of his heart. I believe Li Yang will be a good husband, but I also believe he still loves the other two.

【SisterKicksMe】: As for the other two, having met a man like Li Yang, they'll likely never accept another man's approach, ending up alone and full of regret.

【SisterKicksMe】: If that's the case, why not take them all? The three girls aren't even hostile toward each other—living together as four, aside from Li Yang's kidneys suffering a bit, is already the best possible ending!

After a series of mental shocks over these past days, Li Xiang's worldview had been shattered and rebuilt multiple times, finally reborn—he had attained a new enlightenment, completing his own transcendence.

But clearly, few could understand this guy's fickle behavior.

【Bro, I've followed you for days—you flip-flop faster than turning a page】

【I thought the plot was pushing Shen Dongdong's arc these past few days—how are you jumping around like this?】

【Probably just started reading—when one heroine's romance moves fast, you immediately bet on her, then when another catches up, you lose your resolve】

【Laughing so hard—you've been totally played by Chongran, right? Do you really need to be taught "take them all"?】

【I've read countless novels where the hero doesn't let go of his mother-in-law or auntie—this book is practically wholesome compared to those Hua Yu bulldozers】

【The OP is still a kid—leave him alone. Also, Dongdong is cutest! I'm claiming her first】

【Who says if Li Yang picks one, the other two will die alone? Don't worry—I'll take care of them】

【No problem—let Li Yang die alone. I'm happy to be the guy who picks up the pieces!】

The comment section was buzzing.

Since surpassing 15,000 average subscriptions last month, as this month neared its end, Li Luo's I Am Really Not a Star was about to cross the 20,000 average subscription threshold.

Among all currently serialized novels, fewer than ten had achieved this level.

Li Luo had become a true rising star in the Qidian online novel scene.

He could no longer be called merely a new star.

In the eyes of most authors, Chongran, if continued, was virtually guaranteed to become a legendary masterpiece.

As a result, when Li Luo occasionally popped up in the author group, they were already calling him "Burn God."

On the website's monthly vote and bestseller rankings, he was consistently within the top ten, and often in the top five.

At this rate, his main site royalties alone amounted to over a hundred thousand yuan each month.

On various distribution channels, he had also benefited from the massive traffic generated by his collaboration with Yuan Wanqing during the New Year, firmly establishing his presence on those platforms.

In this kind of arena, where traffic and exposure are contested, the strong tend to grow stronger.

The higher your exposure, the more money you make, and the more those channel sites will naturally place you in better promotional positions.

This virtuous cycle meant Li Luo's channel royalties would likely always be significantly higher than his main site royalties.

Especially now, with mobile internet rising and desktop web still retaining its residual glory, both sides' channel sites were flourishing.

The traffic on Qidian's main site was far less than the combined traffic of all these channel sites.

Although Li Luo had heard of the outrageous channel royalties during this period in his past life, only after experiencing it firsthand did he realize just how insane it truly was.

It was no wonder this was the golden age of online novels.

With channels hot, copyright hot, and capital flooding into the market, the top authors of this era were making fortunes.

Now that Li Luo had become one of them, he naturally enjoyed the same treatment.

With novel royalties to support him, buying a shop on Xijie near Qianjiang University was no longer a problem.

He might even buy several more.

As long as the subway plan hadn't been officially finalized, buying as many shops as possible was never too many.

It all depended on how well his father negotiated.

Especially since the opposite side of Xijie, Tianjie, had not yet broken ground—it only began construction after the subway plan was announced.

This meant most people weren't sensitive to the matter.

If he could securely acquire several shops, even if he never sold them after the subway opened, just renting them out to his parents for income would be a good option.

It would also give them something to do.

Moreover, Xijie bordered Qianjiang University and was very close to Bihai Lanting.

If Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong were interested, after Li Luo entered university, they could open a shop on Xijie according to their own interests.

Being their own bosses, they could stroll by daily, occasionally meet their son for meals, and it would all be very convenient.

Qianjiang University itself was open to the public; if his parents were interested, they could visit the campus during shop setup, soak in the youth atmosphere, and their mental state would improve greatly.

Maybe they wouldn't get serious illnesses again.

"I told your uncle about the shops on Xijie," Li Guohong said, pulling Li Luo onto the balcony. "In a couple days, I'll go over there, meet a few agents, and have them introduce some options."

"By next month, when my February royalties come in, our family will have over a million yuan," Li Luo said. "If we maintain this level over the next few months, I'll earn three million before summer vacation—Dad, be bold, don't hold back."

"How come you're even more aggressive than me?" Li Guohong gasped, his hands trembling slightly at the thought of over three million yuan.

He had never seen so much money in his life.

"Dad, don't worry too much—investments always carry risk, but we're not limited to just this money," Li Luo reassured him. "I'll be writing this novel for a long time—think about how much in royalties that means."

"Besides, I have some agreements with Aunt Yuan, including the two songs I sold her and two others already reserved."

"If I get more inspiration later, it won't be just four songs—the earnings won't be less than from the novel."

Without Li Luo's reminder, Li Guohong had nearly forgotten this.

His son didn't just write novels well—he wrote songs too.

Moreover, whether it was Yuan Wanqing or Huayue Film and Television, both were familiar names to Li Guohong.

"Speaking of that, Uncle Ying mentioned it to me these past few days," Li Guohong said. "He said you're no ordinary kid—do you have some future plan with Yuan Wanqing? But he didn't elaborate, thought it sounded a bit far-fetched."

"It's understandable Uncle Ying feels that way," Li Luo smiled. "After all, no one's ever done this before. Even I'm not sure—it's just an experiment."

"So what exactly are you planning?"

"Nothing much," Li Luo grinned. "I just want to arrange a new song release event for Aunt Yuan in the novel."

…

At noon, Li Luo went upstairs to wake up the three girls.

Unlike Ying Chanxi, who liked to steal the covers, Yan Zhusheng slept peacefully, while Xu Youyu's sleeping posture was completely unpredictable.

From the few times Li Luo had slept with her, each night brought a different pose.

And they were all bizarre.

For instance, now she was half-turned, one arm forward, one arm behind, legs spread wide—as if walking on the bed, but with arms and legs moving in sync.

How she even managed to sleep like that was a mystery.

"How did Zhusheng and Xixi get downstairs?" Lin Xiuhong asked, surprised as Li Luo brought the three girls down.

"Yesterday was our last day here," Li Luo coughed lightly, giving a simple explanation. "They insisted on sleeping together."

"Oh, I see," Lin Xiuhong laughed. "You girls are so close—come eat lunch."

After lunch, Lin Xiuhong tidied the kitchen and told Ying Chanxi and the others: "Xixi, pack your bags—we leave at two sharp. Remind your dad too."

"Got it, Lin Yi," Ying Chanxi replied, turning to Yan Zhusheng. "Zhusheng, let's go pack."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng nodded, then added, "You go ahead—I need to use the restroom."

After Ying Chanxi left and Xu Youyu went upstairs to pack, Yan Zhusheng walked over to Lin Xiuhong and whispered, "Auntie, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? What is it?" Lin Xiuhong looked at her, smiling. "No need to be so formal—just say it."