Chapter 319: It

"In short, this matter is known to heaven, known to earth, known to you, known to me, known to him, known to her."

"But!"

"We absolutely cannot let anyone else in the school find out!"

"And as for the parents eating on the second floor, if they come down later, don't go blabbing about this."

After roughhousing with Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang, Li Luo finally cleared his head, stopped walking, and hurriedly warned his classmates.

Meanwhile, Xu Yinghuan and Kong Junxiang, who had just been briefed by Hua Xiuxiu and Ren Zheng, fell into deep thought.

"Li Luo secretly writes stuff like this?" Xu Yinghuan held her phone, scrolling through the Qidian app that Ren Zheng had just downloaded for her, found the novel I Am Really Not a Star, and couldn't help muttering in amazement.

When Kong Junxiang saw the title on the screen, his expression froze, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

"You're saying Li Luo wrote this?" Kong Junxiang quickly pressed Ren Zheng for confirmation.

"Yeah." Ren Zheng nodded. "Look at how the monitor is acting now—he's admitted it himself. The answer's obvious; everyone in class already knew."

Li Luo clearly noticed the commotion here; after receiving nods and smiles from his classmates, he could only trust their discretion, then rushed over to Kong Junxiang, rubbing his hands awkwardly: "Teacher Kong, uh… this…"

"Did you write this?" Kong Junxiang's expression remained strange; he pointed at the title displayed on Xu Yinghuan's phone and asked again, unable to believe it.

Li Luo glanced at it, sighed, and since the cat was out of the bag, he could only nod in admission: "Yeah… I wrote it."

"This book…" Kong Junxiang hesitated, words catching in his throat.

What he wanted to say was: this book must be making a fortune, right?

After all, as a seasoned legitimate reader and a failed author himself, he had a general sense of how wildly popular I Am Really Not a Star was—and how much money it made.

Most of the students in class only read pirated copies; even if they knew a book was popular, they remained vague about the author's earning potential and didn't grasp what this book truly meant.

But Kong Junxiang, who had been repeatedly rejected by Qidian as a part-time writer and had over a decade of online novel reading experience, knew perfectly well the book's true value.

Especially as a longtime reader of this very book…

Still, if he let the students know he secretly read this kind of thing himself, it would be a bit embarrassing, so Kong Junxiang wisely kept his mouth shut.

But… this book was written by his sixteen-year-old class monitor, Li Luo… that made it hard to believe.

After all, from his personal reading experience, it was hard to imagine someone so young could produce such prose.

In his estimation, the author must be at least thirty years old!

But recalling Li Luo's unusually mature demeanor and conduct, Kong Junxiang felt somewhat relieved.

It wouldn't make sense for anyone else, but for Li Luo, it somehow fit.

Still… this kid was only young but already writing harem novels, juggling three female leads with intricate emotional games—he clearly had plenty of experience in this area.

Kong Junxiang tugged at his lips, thinking of Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi, who were always around Li Luo, and suddenly connected them to Mo Qinghan and Shen Dongdong in the novel.

Everything suddenly made sense.

No wonder… the romantic plotline felt… how to put it… even though it was a harem novel, it somehow gave off a "pure" vibe.

Remember, in 2015, online novels hadn't yet undergone the massive purge; censorship was still very loose.

Other books went as explicit as they could, but I Am Really Not a Star stood out as a refreshing stream among urban novels.

Despite having three female leads, the romantic plot advanced slowly and deliberately, never rushing, and the protagonist treated romance with rare sincerity.

It was actually quite fitting for young people's fantasies.

Thinking of this, Kong Junxiang nodded, finally finding a logical explanation for Li Luo being the author.

But Li Luo clearly hadn't thought this far; he was enduring social death while whispering to Kong Junxiang: "Teacher Kong, can you keep my novel-writing a secret? Don't worry—my parents already know, but I don't want too many others to find out..."

"Mm, I understand." Kong Junxiang snapped back to attention, heard this, nodded, and chuckled. "I won't say anything."

After all, even his own casual, failed writings had never been shown to Ding Xiang—he could somewhat understand Li Luo's feelings.

But thinking that he, a full-fledged Chinese language teacher, wrote online novels worse than his own student, Kong Junxiang felt a bit ashamed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ding Xiang, returning from the restroom, noticed the odd atmosphere and asked curiously, "What's going on?"

At the same time, the parents upstairs, having finished eating, drinking, and chatting, emerged behind Ding Xiang, taking advantage of the last moments of the bonfire party to soak in the atmosphere.

"Oh, nothing." Kong Junxiang coughed twice. "We were talking about class reassignment."

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately shot Kong Junxiang a grateful look.

The classmates present all stifled laughter, enjoying the monitor's embarrassment.

Fortunately, it was already nearing ten p. m.

After enduring his social death, Li Luo promptly fled back to the dormitory area, unable to bear the humiliation any longer.

The thought that these guys had already read his novel in secret while he remained clueless made his skin crawl.

Especially when he, completely unaware, had strutted around class like a perfect monitor.

Who knew that behind his back, his glorious image had already been utterly shattered among his classmates.

At this thought, Li Luo wished he could just jump into the nearby fish pond.

Watching the monitor flee in panic, the students behind him burst into laughter.

Xu Yinghuan held her phone, sighing and muttering in dismay, then complained to Yan Zhusheng: "How come you didn't tell me about this big thing sooner? You left me in the dark for so long!"

"Li Luo told me not to say anything." Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Did you just find out?"

"What else?" Xu Yinghuan gave a deadpan look.

"But everyone else knew—why didn't you?"

"... Don't stab me in the heart." Xu Yinghuan snapped. "We're together all the time, yet you know more than I do—your betrayal cuts deep."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng, clearly used to Xu Yinghuan's already shattered heart, felt no guilt at all, only cheerfully said: "Then make sure you read Li Luo's novel."

"Is it good?" Xu Yinghuan asked skeptically.

"It's great." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "But after you read it, you must support Mo Qinghan."

"Who's Mo Qinghan?"

"Me." Yan Zhusheng pointed confidently at herself.

If Li Luo were here, he'd probably immediately press her fingers back down.

But unfortunately, Li Luo wasn't here.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yinghuan immediately raised her eyebrows in surprise, and her interest in reading was fully sparked.

"Alright, alright, alright—I definitely need to read this carefully." Xu Yinghuan rubbed her hands together, ready to dive in, wondering if this was exactly how Li Luo had taken inspiration from Yan Zhusheng and expressed his affection in such a subtle, indirect way.

Mo Qinghan… that name's kinda nice.

Xu Yinghuan nodded firmly, already resolved: once she got back to her room and finished her bath, she'd start reading right away!

As she thought this, the two had already reached the first floor of the dormitory area.

But as they passed by Li Luo's room door, Xu Yinghuan saw Yan Zhusheng stop, pull out a key card, and swipe it with a soft *zī* sound—the door unlocked.

"Wait… what?" Xu Yinghuan's mouth dropped open in disbelief; she instinctively stepped back half a pace, pointing at the key card in Yan Zhusheng's hand, stammering speechless.

"What's wrong?" Yan Zhusheng looked at her in confusion. "Li Luo's mood is definitely bad today, so I'm going in to comfort him. If you're sleepy, go ahead and sleep—I'll come back later."

Is that the point?

Shouldn't you first explain where the hell that key card came from?!

Xu Yinghuan opened her mouth but had no idea where to begin—then she helplessly watched Yan Zhusheng walk into Li Luo's room and shut the door.

The next second, the door opened again.

Yan Zhusheng poked her head out and said to Xu Yinghuan: "Huanhuan, can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Can you bring me a change of clothes?"

"Aren't you just going in to comfort Li Luo?" Xu Yinghuan's face darkened at this.

"Huanhuan is the best."

"But you two can't just do that here!" Xu Yinghuan glanced around—since they'd walked slowly, the hallway was empty now—and after confirming it was safe, she added, "Can't you two be a little more careful? This is just too much!"

"What are you thinking?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head in confusion. "I'm just worried that if I go back to your room too late, the shower will wake you up, so I'm planning to use Li Luo's bathroom."

"Do you really think I'd believe that?" Xu Yinghuan eyed her skeptically, then suddenly remembered Yan Zhusheng's neatly made single bed that morning, and couldn't help asking, "Didn't you sleep in our room last night at all? After I fell asleep, you sneaked over here to Li Luo's?"

Exposed so bluntly, Yan Zhusheng's small face tightened, and she said seriously: "Huanhuan, don't say things you haven't seen with your own eyes."

"That means I'm right!" Xu Yinghuan had figured out Yan Zhusheng's personality by now—if she didn't give a direct answer, it usually meant she'd been caught.

Thinking of this, Xu Yinghuan couldn't help pressing her forehead, wondering how wildly different high school lives could be.

While she was still struggling to study and improve, someone else was already looking for her future husband.

That said, from another perspective, this could also be considered a form of "striving for progress."

"Huanhuan." Yan Zhusheng blinked, gazing at her with an innocent, hopeful expression.

Such delicate features, combined with her usually cool demeanor and this intimate expression, made even Xu Yinghuan—a girl—feel slightly overwhelmed by Yan Zhusheng's charm.

In the end, Xu Yinghuan gave in, waving her hand: "Fine, fine, I'll go get them for you—but be careful, don't do anything reckless."

"Huanhuan, you're the best."

"Hmph! I wonder who kept saying bad things about me before."

Yan Zhusheng nodded: "True, I don't remember."

Xu Yinghuan: "..."

After watching Xu Yinghuan head upstairs, Yan Zhusheng retreated back into the room, closed the door, and walked inside.

At this moment, Li Luo lay on his back with a look of utter despair, staring blankly at the ceiling, his mind still struggling to process the aftermath of tonight's catastrophic event.

"Are you okay?"

Yan Zhusheng walked to the bedside, bent down, and waved her small hand above his eyes, asking in confusion: "It's just that classmates found out—what's the big deal?"

"You don't understand." Li Luo moved his lips, voice hoarse. "All the good image I built up at school is gone in an instant."

"But your novel is really good," Yan Zhusheng kicked off her shoes, shuffled onto the bed, and knelt beside Li Luo. "I think everyone will love it."

Hearing this, Li Luo's mouth twitched: "I'd rather none of them read it."

For strangers online, no matter how much they read his novel, they were still strangers in real life—it didn't feel so bad.

But if someone you knew in real life read your novel, it was pure public execution.

Like your Chinese composition got a perfect score, and your teacher insisted on reading it aloud in class—there'd be some embarrassment.

And that's just a regular composition.

If it were an online novel packed with sensual content, the shame would be unbearable.

If only people close to him found out, he could get used to it—everyone would just joke about it and move on.

But if someone who barely knew him found out, it was pure torture.

Li Luo had begged his classmates not to spread it, but who knew if others at school would find out later.

Especially after class reassignment—Class Eight was a fire when gathered, stars when scattered—his novel-writing would be exposed across the school with far greater probability.

From now on, for Li Luo, Fuyi High wouldn't just be a school—it would be a dark forest.

Everyone else would be like beasts hiding in the shadows.

And he? He'd be the firefly glowing brightly in total darkness, completely exposed to all eyes.

And you never knew whether the person staring at you even knew about his novel.

Thinking of this, Li Luo felt overwhelming despair.

"What should we do now?" Yan Zhusheng frowned, watching Li Luo's lifeless expression, beginning to worry about his mental state.

"What can we do… Life is like **—if you can't resist it, you might as well learn to adapt." Li Luo spoke with resigned acceptance.

"Not to enjoy it?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head. "I remember you wrote that in your book."

"You really shouldn't remember that so clearly!"

"Are you feeling better now?" Yan Zhusheng asked.

"No." Li Luo rolled his eyes, then simply closed them, waving at Yan Zhusheng. "I'm dead today. Don't disturb me. Go back to your room and get some rest."

That's what he said.

But the moment Li Luo finished speaking, he felt something suddenly press down on him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found Yan Zhusheng had straddled his waist, leaning down to gently hug him.

"W-what are you doing?"

"You look upset. Let me comfort you," Yan Zhusheng whispered. "When I was down before, my mom would hug me."

"... I suddenly feel like my mood's not so bad."

"Really?" Yan Zhusheng hugged tighter. "I don't feel it."

Li Luo: "..."

How was he supposed to prove he was in a good mood?

Li Luo fell silent, closed his eyes again, and let Yan Zhusheng comfort him.

Meanwhile, the phone Li Luo had casually placed beside the bed when he entered the room suddenly vibrated.

Yan Zhusheng heard the noise, turned her head, glanced at the caller ID, then kindly pressed the answer button—and turned on speakerphone.

In Room 1502 of Bihai Lanting, Yinjiang District, Ying Chanxi had spent the day shopping with Qiao Xinyan, buying Li Luo several new pairs of pants, then returned home happily.

Carrying the new pants into Li Luo's bedroom, she opened the wardrobe, neatly put them away, nodded in satisfaction, then went downstairs with Xu Youyu to have dinner.

After returning home, Ying Chanxi flipped through Li Luo's novel and checked her QQ, but saw no latest message from him—she felt bored.

Thinking of the class trip itinerary Li Luo had shared with her, they were probably enjoying the bonfire party and barbecue right now?

How envious...

Ying Chanxi lay on her bed, gave Pikachu two firm punches, then rolled onto her side, hugging the panda plushie and burying her face in it.

Then she took a deep breath, got up from the bed, sat at her desk, patted her cheeks, pulled out some practice worksheets, and focused entirely on studying—so she wouldn't keep thinking about someone's figure.

She worked until ten p. m., when her alarm rang. She immediately grabbed her phone again and checked the messages.

Li Luo still hadn't reached out to her.

He'd called her yesterday at over ten p. m.

Ying Chanxi lay back down, clutching her phone, tossing and turning, but waited and waited—Li Luo never called.

Finally, she couldn't hold back. A thought struck her. She grabbed fresh clothes from the wardrobe, took her phone, and walked straight to the bathroom.

After closing the bathroom door, Ying Chanxi took a deep breath in front of the mirror, gathered her courage, turned on the shower, then called Li Luo.

The call connected quickly.

But the voice on the other end was one she knew well—yet not the one she most expected—

"Hello? Is this Xixi?"

Hearing the voice, Ying Chanxi froze. "Y-you're Zhusheng? Why are you answering his phone? Where's Li Luo?"

"He?" Yan Zhusheng glanced down at Li Luo beneath her, then said, "He says he's dead. Told you not to disturb him."

Ying Chanxi: "?"

Li Luo: "?"

"Stop saying nonsense!" Li Luo quickly interrupted Yan Zhusheng, explaining to Ying Chanxi, "Xixi, don't listen to her."

"Hmm..." Ying Chanxi fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Why is Zhusheng still at your place so late?"

"It's a long story," Li Luo coughed twice, patted Yan Zhusheng's butt, signaling her to get off, then asked casually, "From the sounds, are you taking a shower?"

"Mm." Ying Chanxi nodded, cheeks slightly flushed.

If it were just Li Luo alone, it'd be fine—after all, they'd already listened to each other's shower sounds while eating last night.

But now Yan Zhusheng was there too. Ying Chanxi felt even more embarrassed, as if her little secret had been exposed.

Just then, Yan Zhusheng's voice came through: "Li Luo, why are you touching my butt?"

Ying Chanxi: "?!"

"I'm hitting you! To tell you to get back to your room!" Li Luo shouted loudly, sweating. "Don't twist my words!"

After hearing Li Luo's explanation, Ying Chanxi relaxed slightly.

But even hitting her butt... was that really necessary?

Ying Chanxi pouted. Li Luo had never hit her butt before... well, maybe when they were kids, but definitely not since middle school.

Wait—no... during hide-and-seek, he had hit her butt before—actually pinned her on his lap and spanked her.

Remembering that, Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed red, and her butt felt faintly numb.

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng replied.

Just then, someone knocked on Li Luo's door. Yan Zhusheng immediately climbed off him and ran to the door.

As she opened it, Xu Yinghuan's voice came from outside: "Zhusheng, here."

"Thanks, Huanhuan."

"Did she leave?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled.

"Mm..." Li Luo, hearing Xu Yinghuan's voice, assumed she'd come to take Yan Zhusheng back. He sighed in relief. "Xu Yinghuan came to get her."

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi also relaxed, and finally gathered courage to whisper, "I'm going to shower too. I haven't even taken off my clothes yet."

"I should shower too," Li Luo said, getting up from the bed. Soon, the soft rustle of a girl undressing echoed in his ears again.

But the next second, Li Luo froze.

Because after closing the door, Yan Zhusheng hadn't left—instead, she now held a fresh set of clothes.

Turning to see Li Luo out of bed, Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, nodded at him, then walked straight into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Soon, the sound of running water filled the bathroom.

On the other end of the phone, Ying Chanxi heard the sound and immediately asked: "Have you already started washing?"

Li Luo listened to the water sound in the bathroom, and to the sound of bathing on the other end of the phone, and fell silent.

Finally, he nodded heavily and replied: "Mm… yeah… I've started."