Chapter 296: The Four Families

At 8:20 a. m., ten minutes remained until the parent meeting began.

By this time, most parents had already entered the school gate.

Xu Youyu began directing the student council members, keeping only a few people behind while the rest could return to their classrooms to assist their homeroom teachers.

Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had already planned to return to their classroom, but at that moment, a familiar car drove past the school gate and parked in an empty spot by the roadside.

"My dad's here." Ying Chanxi pointed to the car.

With his Memory Palace, Li Luo recognized the car at a glance—it was Ying Zhicheng's—but when the car stopped, two people got out.

Besides Ying Zhicheng himself, there was Yuan Wanqing.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi froze for a moment, then quickly understood.

After all, she had already met Yuan Wanqing twice before: once at last year's parent meeting, and another time on the plane returning to China during winter break; she knew Yuan Wanqing was an artist from her father's company and that they had a good personal relationship.

Coming to the parent meeting together in the same car was perfectly reasonable.

While Ying Chanxi was still stunned, Li Luo stepped forward to greet them: "Good morning, Uncle Ying, Aunt Yuan. I was just about to head back to the classroom with Chanxi—shall we go together?"

"Good morning," Yuan Wanqing smiled upon seeing Li Luo and greeted him.

Ying Zhicheng also nodded to Li Luo, then walked over to Ying Chanxi and patted her back: "What's wrong? Standing here daydreaming?"

"Nothing," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "Dad, why are you here with Aunt Yuan?"

"We were going the same way, so I gave her a ride," Ying Zhicheng said casually, his expression unchanged. "Let's go—time for your parent meeting."

"How did it go with Teacher Sun's call yesterday?" Ying Chanxi asked as she followed her father into the school.

"Don't worry, I've made everything clear—the school won't pressure you. We're applying to Qianjiang University," Ying Zhicheng patted his daughter's head reassuringly. "Tsinghua and Peking are great, but they're far from home. Besides, Qianjiang University is still..."

The father and daughter walked ahead, while Li Luo accompanied Yuan Wanqing from behind.

Listening to Uncle Ying speak, Li Luo glanced at Yuan Wanqing beside him and felt their relationship was more than just a simple ride.

But adult matters weren't his place to meddle in.

Moreover, whether it was Ying Zhicheng or Yuan Wanqing, raising a child was never easy; finding a new meaningful relationship was surely a good thing for them both.

He just didn't know how Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng would react when they found out.

Arriving at the third-floor corridor of the Grade One teaching building, Li Luo mentioned lunch plans to Ying Zhicheng before they parted.

Ying Zhicheng nodded in response: "I know. We'll eat together at noon."

Then the two groups went their separate ways.

Ying Chanxi accompanied her father upstairs to Class One, while Li Luo walked with Yuan Wanqing to Class Eight.

After exchanging pleasantries with Kong Junxiang at the podium, Yuan Wanqing walked over to Yan Zhusheng's side.

Seeing her mother arrive, Yan Zhusheng stood up early to offer her a seat.

Behind her, Li Luo had already brought over a cup of water and handed it to Yuan Wanqing.

"I'll go now," Yan Zhusheng whispered to Li Luo.

"Will you study on your own or go to the rock band club?"

"I'm going to the rock band club," Yan Zhusheng said. "Huanhuan's waiting for me there—I'll play guitar a bit."

"Alright. See you after school."

As class monitor, Li Luo had to stay in the classroom to help run the parent meeting.

After seeing Yan Zhusheng off, Li Luo stepped up to the podium and, following Kong Junxiang's instructions, distributed the meeting materials alongside Hua Xiuxiu.

After sitting down, Yuan Wanqing greeted Li Guohong, and the two parents began chatting casually.

Speaking of the new college entrance exam reforms, Yuan Wanqing smiled and said: "Zhusheng told me not to worry—Li Luo has already planned out her study strategy for the new exam system."

"I barely finished middle school myself—I can't really help her much."

"Thanks to your Li Luo's help, otherwise I'd be completely lost with this sudden change in the exam policy."

"Not at all," Li Guohong quickly demurred. "To be honest, my wife and I were just as confused—we ended up leaving the decision entirely to the kids. Today's children are far smarter than we were; we don't need to interfere."

As they chatted, Li Luo noticed this exchange while distributing materials, and felt a quiet sense of wonder.

Dad, oh Dad.

I wonder what expression you'd have if you knew the idol standing right in front of you was now involved with your childhood best friend.

Li Luo thought that in his past life, Li Guohong must have eventually found out—but when he mentioned it at dinner, he'd already calmed down, so Li Luo hadn't noticed anything unusual back then.

Too bad he hadn't seen his father's first reaction—it must have been incredible.

After all, something like this happening right beside you was quite extraordinary.

A celebrity getting married wasn't unusual.

But if the celebrity marrying you was your childhood best friend, that was downright absurd.

As the time reached 8:30 a. m.,

the parent meeting officially began.

Regarding midterm exam results and performance, Kong Junxiang merely mentioned them briefly at the podium—including Li Luo's rank of 16th in the entire school—barely touching on them.

For the rest of the time, Kong Junxiang focused entirely on explaining the details of the new college entrance exam reforms to the parents.

After roughly an hour, once he had thoroughly clarified how the new exam system worked, Kong Junxiang asked parents to consider, based on their child's performance in recent major exams over the past year, which subjects to choose.

Only after carefully weighing the child's intended major, personal interests, and academic strengths could they make a suitable decision.

Because Yan Zhusheng had already prepared her in advance, Yuan Wanqing listened carefully but wasn't overly concerned.

On one hand, she had Li Luo's help.

On the other hand, Yan Zhusheng wasn't following the conventional college entrance exam path—she was preparing for the arts admission exam.

No matter how the new exam system changed, Yan Zhusheng's current scores placed her among the top tier of arts applicants.

As long as she performed steadily in the arts exam, with her current academic scores, gaining admission to Qianjiang University's Music College was virtually guaranteed.

When the parent meeting reached past 10 a. m., Kong Junxiang announced its conclusion and invited any parents with questions to stay behind for further discussion.

Li Guohong and Yuan Wanqing didn't worry about this; after greeting Professor Kong, they followed Li Luo out of the classroom, just bumping into Ying Zhicheng and Ying Chanxi at the stairwell.

If Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had no reason to worry, then Ying Chanxi certainly had no reason either.

After reuniting with Xu Rongsheng and Xu Youyu on the second-floor teaching building, they went to the rock club's activity room in the gymnasium to pick up Yan Zhusheng, then headed to Bihai Lanting 1502.

At this moment, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling were cooking.

The dining table in the living room was adjustable by design—normally a long table, but it could be flipped into a round one when more people came; it had already been adjusted to the right size.

Seeing them return, Lin Xiuhong began stir-frying, while Cui Suling assisted beside her.

The four families totaled ten people; one round table was just perfect—not too many, not too few.

With dinner still not ready, Xu Rongsheng, the moment he returned, eagerly pulled Li Luo onto the sofa, pulled out several documents from his briefcase, and handed them to Li Luo with a smile: "Take a look—this is the paper I mentioned to you before; I've just finished the outline and summary."

Li Luo twitched his lips and reluctantly took the documents.

Nearby, Li Guohong and the others asked curiously: "What paper is this? Why does this kid need to see it?"

"It's my recent paper on online novel creation theory," Xu Rongsheng smiled at them. "I'm using Li Luo's novel as the research subject to validate some conclusions about online novels. Thought I'd show it to him."

"What's so worth studying in his novel?" Li Guohong laughed. "I've read it—half the songs the protagonist writes are plagiarized."

"Cough…" Yuan Wanqing reminded from the side, "There are original ones too."

"Oh right, right," Li Guohong quickly corrected himself. "There's 'Year Rings'—I know that one."

"I know the commercial value of his book," Ying Zhicheng spoke up now, curious as he probed Xu Rongsheng. "But in literary merit, isn't it just like today's online dramas—far worse in reputation than traditional literature? Why even study this?"

"Heh…" Xu Rongsheng shook his head. "Today's popular trends are tomorrow's traditions. It's just the general law of world development."

"This is also tied to media evolution—in the internet age, people demand richer content."

"Back when people carved characters on bamboo slips, who could have imagined that thousands of years later, someone would write a novel with millions of characters?"

"Era after era evolves. To remain stuck studying only past classics while ignoring today's literary forms is to shut yourself off from progress."

"I believe online novels still hold significant research value for the literary field."

As a literature professor, Xu Rongsheng's words naturally carried weight.

Li Guohong had no real depth—he just thought it sounded good.

Ying Zhicheng, however, could sync with Xu Rongsheng's thinking; they chatted casually on the sofa, and Ying Zhicheng gained new insights into Li Luo's novel.

Previously, he'd only thought Li Luo had written a book that could make big money—but still couldn't be taken seriously on another level.

But now, with a professor from a prestigious university's literature department endorsing him, the meaning was entirely different.

At least for Ying Zhicheng, he now had to regard Li Luo with higher respect.

After all, none of the films and TV shows his company had produced had ever been seriously studied like this.

Even their earlier work, "Yaochi Immortal Affinity," had been savagely criticized.

So Ying Zhicheng found it genuinely surprising that Li Luo's book had caught the eye of a literature professor and inspired an actual paper.

"Cough… it's not quite as exaggerated as Uncle Xu says," Li Luo flipped through the documents and said modestly. "As a literature professor, Uncle Xu is mostly analyzing the broader impact of online novels."

"I just happen to be the first online novel he read. There are many others far more suitable for research."

"I'm just lucky—I got noticed by accident."

"You can't say it that way," Xu Rongsheng chuckled. "You always play humble in this area—it doesn't suit you."

"I haven't just been reading your work—I've read other online novels too. I've looked at all the award-winning ones from the symposiums."

"But in terms of creative structure, your plotting and narrative construction clearly show deliberate design."

"Unlike some other books, which feel like they're written purely by instinct—rough, unrefined in plot structure."

Li Luo understood what Xu Rongsheng meant.

After all, in his previous life, he'd only started reading online novels after graduating from university.

Back then, research and technique summaries on online novels were already highly refined; it was mostly about whether you were willing to settle down and learn and practice.

But in this era, online novels had just emerged from a wild, primitive stage—commercially, they'd reached a golden age.

Yet in terms of theoretical research on online novels themselves, they were still in a very early phase.

People's analyses of online novels were either shallow summaries—golden first three chapters, humiliation arcs, pretending to be weak, or similar clichés.

Or they used the ancient method of deconstructing stories by the three traditional elements: characters, plot, and setting—methods that naturally didn't fit well.

Only later, as they evolved, did they begin integrating key elements unique to online novels—information asymmetry, emotional pacing, interpersonal networks—and slowly built a complete theoretical framework.

Looking through Xu Rongsheng's paper, Li Luo noticed he was still analyzing it through the lens of traditional novel's three elements, so he offered his own insights.

After Li Luo pointed out the key points, Xu Rongsheng suddenly understood: "You say emotion—yes, you can find equivalents in traditional novels. Even information asymmetry has traces."

"Exactly," Li Luo smiled. "For example, in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals—or the scene where he kills Hua Xiong while his wine is still warm—both are masterful manipulations of emotion."

"But previously, research focused mostly on plot itself, rarely on these emotional details."

"But for online novels, they're serialized literature—readers read as the author writes."

"To keep readers hooked, authors must carefully consider how emotion affects readers, ensuring that even after putting the book down, they can't help but return the next day."

Xu Rongsheng pondered Li Luo's author-level insights, falling into deep thought, his mind brimming with inspiration.

Xu Youyu had originally just been hanging around, peeking at the documents in Li Luo's hands, hoping to catch him embarrassed or humiliated.

But as the conversation went on, he actually stumbled upon real substance.

Watching Li Luo chat easily with his father, Xu Youyu's eyes sparkled.

Though the junior often flustered her with teasing, at moments like this, he seemed unexpectedly mature.

If you ignored his youthful appearance and just listened to the conversation, few would believe this was a discussion between four adults and a child.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, for instance, barely had anything to add—only Li Luo could respond fluently and engage fully.

"Alright, alright, let's eat," Cui Suling said, placing two dishes on the table and calling out to those on the sofa. "Dinner's ready."

Hearing Cui Suling's words, the eight people on the sofa all stood up.

Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling sat together; Xu Youyu sat beside her father.

Yan Zhusheng sat down beside Xu Youyu, then Yuan Wanqing, Ying Zhicheng, Ying Chanxi, followed by Li Luo and Li Guohong.

Lin Xiuhong sat in the empty seat between Li Guohong and Cui Suling.

The ten people sat in a circle; theoretically, as head of the family, Li Guohong picked up his chopsticks to begin eating, and everyone else followed.

Meanwhile, the two mothers responsible for cooking began asking about the parent-teacher meeting.

On Xu Youyu's side, Gao Er's situation remained normal; her mid-term exam performance was steady, and she still held first place in the humanities.

Cui Suling asked a few brief questions, then reminded her to sleep early and rise early, ideally joining Li Luo and the others for morning runs.

Saying this, Cui Suling turned to Li Luo and said with a smile, "Li Luo, I'm begging you—every morning, don't care about her little moods, just drag her out of bed and take her jogging with you."

"The body is the foundation of revolution."

"Before, it was just her, but now you've got such good companions to run with—how could you not keep up?"

Facing Xu Youyu's deeply wounded expression, Li Luo grinned and gave an OK sign: "No problem, Auntie Cui, I'll wake her up for jogging every day from now on."

Xu Youyu let out a soft huff and glared at him angrily.

Yan Zhusheng, sitting beside her, was also a little unhappy.

Originally, it was just her and Li Luo—how did so many more people keep showing up?

Fortunately, there were night runs; thinking of this, Yan Zhusheng's frown eased.

After discussing Xu Youyu's situation, Lin Xiuhong brought up the new college entrance exam reforms.

Li Guohong explained what Teacher Kong had suggested, then turned to Li Luo and asked, "Your Aunt Yuan said you already have your own plan? Have you arranged Yan Zhusheng's subject choices yet?"

"Yeah, sort of," Li Luo nodded, putting down his chopsticks. "Including Xi Xi—we three plan to choose Physics, History, and Geography."

"We chose Physics mainly to ensure broad coverage of university majors—95% of majors allow applications if you've taken Physics."

"Geography is Yan Zhusheng's strength—it will help her score well and maintain her advantage."

"As for the third subject, Politics isn't her forte, and Chemistry and Biology are more exhausting to study, so we chose History."

"For me and Xi Xi, it doesn't matter much which we pick, so we might as well pick the same."

Here, Li Luo paused, then added: "I plan to take Zhusheng through intensive training this summer, and push with Xi Xi and the others before the exams."

"By November this year, during Gao Er's first elective exam, Xi Xi and I will try to finish all three elective subjects."

"Zhusheng will assess her review progress and at least take Geography first, then complete the remaining electives—this will make her art exam easier later, and when she returns, she'll only need to prepare for Chinese, Math, and English."

After listening to Li Luo's analysis,

Yuan Wanqing had no objections.

Ying Zhicheng asked: "Xi Xi, is that your thinking too?"

"Yeah," Ying Chanxi nodded. "My Biology is average among electives, Physics is my strength and easy to score high on, and the other subjects don't really matter which two I pick."

For her, at top-of-grade level, all electives essentially scored 100 after normalization.

There really was no need to worry.

But all the parents present could tell these three kids deliberately chose identical electives—they clearly wanted to be placed in the same class when Gao Er was reorganized.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhicheng glanced at Li Luo, then said nothing more, nodding slightly to tacitly approve his daughter's choice.

Seeing her father didn't press further, Ying Chanxi quietly exhaled, her clenched fingers under the table relaxing.

She stealthily poked Li Luo's waist and gave him a thumbs-up.

Li Luo looked down, smiled, extended his own hand, and gave a thumbs-up, gently touching hers.

After dinner, it was finally Ying Chanxi's turn to wash the dishes.

Seeing everyone head to the sofa to rest, Ying Chanxi immediately followed Lin Xiuhong, helping her clear the table, then trailed her into the kitchen to assist with washing.

The others gathered around the sofa, using the post-meal afternoon leisure to continue chatting.

Ying Zhicheng glanced at the research paper left on the coffee table, thought of Li Luo's novel, and asked him: "About what your Aunt Yuan talked to you about—how's your preparation going? Any issues with the novel's content?"

"Already in setup," Li Luo gave an OK sign. "I've got 300,000 words in reserve; once that's published, it'll be around the end of June."

"The plot for 'I Am a Singer' is already being laid out."

"With a bit of control over the storyline, we can confirm alignment with Aunt Yuan's show on August 21st."

Listening to them, Li Guohong was utterly confused: "What are you two talking about? I don't understand."

Li Luo glanced at his father, then at Ying Zhicheng, silently asking if this could be said.

Ying Zhicheng nodded and said directly: "Wanqing will participate in the challenger round of 'I Am a Singer' this summer."

"Huh?" Li Guohong blinked, then realized, his face lighting up with delight. "That singing competition where they fight for the title of King of Singers? I love that show!"

Watching his father's exaggerated reaction, Li Luo couldn't help laughing.

Beside him, Yuan Wanqing smiled and said: "The songs I sing? They were written by my son."

"What?!" Li Guohong gasped, turning to Li Luo. "You wrote new songs again?!"

"Not just new songs," Ying Zhicheng said flatly, arms crossed. "This kid wrote all nine songs for her entire new album."

At these words,

The living room fell silent.