Chapter 320

In the room, the sound of dripping water filled his ears.

In the bathroom, on the phone, the sounds of two people showering sounded like a duet, playing simultaneously in Li Luo's left and right earpieces.

Even just listening could stir the imagination.

For teenagers whose bodies were still developing, such stimulation was genuinely intoxicating.

Just as Ying Chanxi was about to continue speaking to Li Luo, she heard a knock at the door on the other end of the call, and asked instead, "Who's coming to see you now?"

"I don't know," Li Luo said, puzzled, but he didn't forget he was "in the middle of showering," so he told Ying Chanxi, "I'll turn off speakerphone and go check."

"Oh, okay, be careful!" Ying Chanxi quickly warned, "Ask first if it's a boy or a girl—otherwise, you're naked in the shower, and if it's a girl, that'd be bad."

"Got it."

Li Luo replied, turned off the speakerphone, and called out toward the door, "Who is it?"

"Class monitor, it's me," came Zhu Yufei's sneaky voice, "Zhu Yufei."

Hearing that voice, Li Luo was speechless. He opened the door and said irritably, "You dare come here? I haven't even settled accounts with you yet."

As he looked closely, he realized it wasn't just Zhu Yufei—beside him stood Zhang Guohuang, Xu Guangtao, Fang Chen, and Lin Yuan.

Seeing these five, Li Luo couldn't help but smile coldly. "You've got guts, huh? Coming to see me at a time like this?"

After all, in this incident where the class's secret identities were exposed, these five were the true "root of the trouble."

And yet here they were, wide awake in the middle of the night, coming to find him.

"We just wanted to play computer one last night," Zhu Yufei chuckled, rubbing his hands. "Class monitor, you're so generous—just treat us like a fart and let us go?"

"Alright, alright," Li Luo waved his hand. "Go find the staff on the first floor, same rules as yesterday—hurry up, don't bother me."

"Got it!"

As if granted imperial decree, Zhu Yufei and the other four dashed off joyfully, waving goodbye to Li Luo as they left.

But after Li Luo closed the door, Lin Yuan, who had been last, frowned suspiciously. "Didn't you notice something?"

"What?" Fang Chen asked, puzzled.

"The class monitor's bathroom!" Lin Yuan hurriedly reminded them. "Didn't you hear the water running just now? Someone's showering!"

"Huh?" Xu Guangtao scratched his head, confused. "Isn't this room just for the class monitor? Maybe he's just running water to shower?"

"You probably didn't notice," Zhang Guohuang smiled mysteriously. "I saw it—besides the class monitor's shoes, there was a pair of girls' shoes left by the door."

"What?!" Zhu Yufei blurted out. "Could it be Yan Zhusheng?"

"Who else could it be?" Lin Yuan rolled his eyes.

"So Ren Zheng's story was true?" Fang Chen suddenly realized, stunned.

The other four turned to look at Fang Chen: "What did Ren Zheng tell you?"

"Uh… Ren Zheng told me secretly last night—don't tell anyone else."

"Who are we to each other?" The other four chuckled, immediately slinging arms around Fang Chen's shoulders, their heads huddling together. "Spill it, spill it."

"It's not much," Fang Chen whispered. "This evening, when Ren Zheng and the others went back to their room to change clothes and came downstairs, they saw Yan Zhusheng following Li Luo to the first-floor room door. She took a keycard from her own pocket and swiped open the class monitor's door, then they went in together."

"Holy shit!"

"Awesome!"

"No wonder the class monitor…"

"Is this real? Has it really gone this far? They're so bold," Xu Guangtao blurted. "Teachers and parents are all here!"

"They're all on the third floor," Lin Yuan rolled his eyes. "They say the room assignments were arranged by the class monitor himself—looks like he planned this all along."

"Really?" Xu Guangtao scratched his head. "Didn't the class monitor say privately that he put us guys on the first floor so we could hang out at night and play computer?"

"Those two aren't mutually exclusive," Zhang Guohuang chuckled. "We do our thing, and the class monitor does his."

"Damn," Lin Yuan muttered, suddenly feeling uninterested in the computer. "Why does the computer suddenly seem boring?"

"Then go find Hua Xiuxiu," Fang Chen grinned.

"Get lost! You want me killed, just say it!" Lin Yuan's face flushed red as he laughed and scolded. "Why don't you go find Ren Zheng?"

"I—I'm not with her," Fang Chen stammered, face reddening.

"Ohhh~ not with her~" Lin Yuan teased, puckering his lips. "Who was it this afternoon, rowing a boat with Ren Zheng?"

"Didn't you row with Hua Xiuxiu too?" Fang Chen shot back without hesitation.

"No wonder you two didn't come play computer this afternoon," Xu Guangtao couldn't help but complain. "I thought you two had some secret plan."

"Alright, alright, let's go—time's precious," Zhu Yufei waved his hand, cutting off the topic, but added one last warning: "Don't tell anyone about this, or the class monitor will punish us again."

The other four exchanged glances and nodded firmly.

"Understood!"

…

In the room, after closing the door, Li Luo turned the speakerphone back on and told Ying Chanxi, "It's fine—my classmates wanted to play computer, came to ask for permission."

"Oh, okay," Ying Chanxi nodded, confirming nothing was wrong on Li Luo's end, then returned to the topic, curious. "So what did Yan Zhusheng mean when she said you died? That's not even a good joke."

"Uh… that thing," Li Luo tugged at his lip, not expecting to have to reopen his wound in front of Ying Chanxi after the incident.

But since it had already happened, he had nothing left to hide, so he sighed: "Tonight, I really did die once…"

After he briefly described what happened, Ying Chanxi fell silent on the other end, the sound of running water still continuing.

Li Luo paused for several seconds, receiving no reply, and asked curiously, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Hahahaha~" Ying Chanxi could no longer hold back. At his question, she burst into loud, joyful laughter. "I—I was trying so hard to hold it in, but… but… hahahaha~ it's just too funny."

"Stop laughing!" Li Luo's face flushed with anger. "You're going too far, Ying Chanxi—even if you can't empathize, at least comfort my wounded soul!"

"Alright, alright," Ying Chanxi giggled. "Don't cry, don't cry. Anyway, it'll come out eventually—might as well expose it early."

"You make it sound so easy," Li Luo snorted. "If you were in my position, you'd know how awful it feels."

"Haha," Ying Chanxi teased. "If you gave your royalty money to someone else, most people would jump at the chance to swap places with you."

Li Luo was left speechless by her words, with no retort to make.

If you put it that way, then it's certainly not wrong.

It's just social death at school—what's more important than making money?

In his past life, Li Luo would have gladly accepted, even eagerly sought, a monthly income of hundreds of thousands—no, even just tens of thousands—if the price was social death in front of the entire nation.

Now, reborn into this life, looking at it from this angle, he seemed rather petty.

"You've got a point," Li Luo sighed. "But your words still cut me deep. What are you going to do to make it up?"

"How do you want me to make it up?" Ying Chanxi asked. "When you get home tomorrow, I'll comfort you, okay?"

"How will you comfort me?"

"Hmm… j-just… hug you?" Ying Chanxi felt the warm water streaming over her body; as she spoke those words, her whole frame trembled slightly.

Li Luo fell silent for a moment, then smiled in relief: "Alright."

Hearing this affirmative reply, Ying Chanxi curled her toes tightly, clenched her fists, and trembled with eager anticipation.

Her entire being was immersed in the joy called elation.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside Ying Chanxi's bathroom door.

The next second, the door swung open and Xu Youyu walked in.

She glanced at Ying Chanxi in the shower, then sat cheerfully on the toilet: "Xixi, I'm just gonna use the restroom."

Ying Chanxi didn't mind Xu Youyu or Yan Zhusheng coming in to use the toilet while she bathed.

After all, the three of them had bathed together before; they never made a fuss over such things.

But right now, she was still on the phone with Li Luo!

Seeing Xu Youyu already shedding her undergarments and dropping them at her feet, Ying Chanxi had no time to warn her—she quickly turned off the speakerphone on the phone resting on the shelf, so Xu Youyu wouldn't hear Li Luo's voice.

On the other end, Li Luo clearly heard Xu Youyu's voice and immediately fell silent.

Time seemed to freeze.

The two people who had been chatting suddenly stopped speaking.

Half a minute later, Xu Youyu let out a long breath, glanced at Ying Chanxi in the shower, her eyes darting, then grinned and began undressing herself as she walked toward Ying Chanxi.

Ying Chanxi, who had expected Xu Youyu to leave after using the toilet, was utterly shocked at this sight, scrambling backward until she pressed against the wall: "S-senior… what are you doing?"

"Let's bathe together~" Xu Youyu chuckled, squeezing in and wrapping her arms around Ying Chanxi's petite frame. "We haven't bathed together in ages, right? Today's perfect—Li Luo and Zhusheng aren't here. Let me scrub your back~"

"N-no… senior…" Ying Chanxi's face flushed crimson as she whispered, "scrubbing my back… why are you touching there… please…"

"Xixi, you need more massage here—it'll help you grow," Xu Youyu said cheerfully, hugging her from behind.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi's face was blazing red.

She wanted to tell Xu Youyu that her phone was still connected to Li Luo.

But the moment she thought of how that would expose the fact that she talked to Li Luo while bathing, she clamped her mouth shut.

No no no!

Too embarrassing!

If Senior Xu found out she liked to talk to Li Luo while bathing—let him hear the sound of her showering—she might as well just find a block of tofu and bash her head in.

But right now… Ying Chanxi's face burned crimson. She turned around and gently pushed Xu Youyu back a little: "Senior, let me scrub your back instead—you turn around."

On the other end of the call, Li Luo had fallen completely silent, his whole body burning with heat.

Inside his own bathroom, Yan Zhusheng was bathing.

On the phone, Ying Chanxi and Senior Xu were bathing together.

Though he often passed by the bathroom door while they bathed, he had never felt this agonized before.

The most proper thing to do now would be to hang up immediately.

But for a normal guy, making such a decision felt profoundly unnatural.

Besides… if Ying Chanxi truly didn't want him to listen, she could've quietly hung up.

Since she didn't, wasn't that tacit permission?

Li Luo reasoned with a bold face.

One can only say that when men get worked up, they always fabricate every possible excuse for themselves.

Li Luo was no exception.

Yet, after a while, the flustered Ying Chanxi regained a sliver of clarity and finally remembered she could hang up.

And so, to Li Luo's disappointment, Ying Chanxi quietly ended the call midway.

…

"Li Luo, I'm done showering."

When Yan Zhusheng stepped out of the bathroom, Li Luo was already seated at his desk, fingers flying over the keyboard with intense creative fervor, clacking away.

Yan Zhusheng changed into fresh clothes, her damp hair hanging loosely. She kicked off her slippers at the foot of the bed and crawled all the way up to the head, settling beside Li Luo.

Then she turned her back to him, letting her long hair fall toward him, and said over her shoulder: "Can you blow-dry it for me?"

"Oh." Li Luo replied, paused his typing, pulled out the complimentary hairdryer from the drawer, turned toward Yan Zhusheng seated cross-legged on the bed, and said, "Sit still. I'll dry your hair."

"Where's Ying Chanxi's call?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously. "Did you finish talking?"

At the mention of it, Li Luo's ears once again echoed with the laughter and teasing from Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi in the bathroom, and he instinctively bowed his head in respect.

But he quickly shook off the distraction, cleared his throat twice, and said: "Yeah, we're done for now. Let me dry your hair first—then go back to your own room and sleep."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded.

But after he finished drying her hair, she immediately dove under the covers, leaving only her eyes visible, blinking up at Li Luo: "You go shower. I'm going to sleep."

"Didn't you just say 'oh'?" Li Luo stared at Yan Zhusheng, who had unhesitatingly crawled into his bed, his forehead darkening with exasperation. "You don't keep your word, do you?"

"You told me to go back to my own room," Yan Zhusheng blinked innocently. "But I slept here last night, so this is my room—I even have the keycard."

Li Luo opened his mouth but couldn't think of a reply; after a moment of silence, he said, "... Aren't you the one who has the keycard to Xu Yinghuan's room too?"

"I don't have it anymore," Yan Zhusheng pointed to his changed-out pants. "When Yinghuan brought me clothes just now, I gave her the keycard. Now my pocket only has your keycard."

Li Luo: "... You did that on purpose?"

"No way, it's all Yinghuan's fault," Yan Zhusheng blinked his innocent big eyes. "She rushed in to bring me clothes and forgot to take her own room key, so she just took mine instead."

Li Luo: "..."

"Yinghuan's probably already asleep," Yan Zhusheng whispered. "If I go back, I'll have to wake her up to let me in."

Li Luo: "..."

"I slept here yesterday too. It's fine if I sleep here again today, right?" Yan Zhusheng added.

Li Luo: "..."

"Li Luo..." Yan Zhusheng cautiously glanced at Li Luo's face, then slipped one foot out from under the covers and gently rubbed it against his thigh. "Why don't you go take a shower first?"

On the second floor, in Xu Yinghuan's room.

Xu Yinghuan, about to enjoy once again the privilege of sleeping alone in a double room, had just finished her bath and was lying on the bed scrolling through her phone.

Her phone screen displayed the page for I Am Really Not a Star; she was eagerly reading the first chapter of this Online Novel.

When she saw the protagonist, upon arriving in the new world, immediately appear at a concert by Mo Qinghan—the Little Queen of Pop—Xu Yinghuan instantly became interested.

Especially since she knew Mo Qinghan's prototype was her good friend Yan Zhusheng, and the male lead Li Yang was Li Luo, her immersion in the story skyrocketed.

But unlike most male readers, Xu Yinghuan immersed herself not as the protagonist, but as a third-party observer, thoroughly enjoying the Mo-Yang CP.

Even though at the start, Li Yang and Mo Qinghan were merely concertgoer and performer, their interactions limited to strangers who had just met.

Yet Xu Yinghuan could still extract sweetness from the faintest traces, imagining romance where none was explicitly stated.

Especially when she pictured Yan Zhusheng right now inside Li Luo's room, the two of them doing who-knows-what shameful things, Xu Yinghuan bit her lip and grew even more eager for the next interactions between the two characters.

But for some reason, she didn't know why.

Maybe she'd caught a chill in the shower.

While lying in bed reading, Xu Yinghuan kept sneezing intermittently; she felt like she might be coming down with a cold.

Still, it didn't dampen her enthusiasm for reading.

But after finishing the opening chapters and gradually moving into later plotlines where Shen Dongdong and Jiang Ming appeared one after another, Xu Yinghuan finally began to catch on.

This wasn't Li Luo's subtle affection for Yan Zhusheng at all!

This was Li Luo's ambition to juggle three girls!

Scumbag!

On the other side.

In the room on the third floor.

Kong Jun sat at his desk, holding his phone and rereading the opening of I Am Really Not a Star, then couldn't help sighing.

He checked the rankings of I Am Really Not a Star across various charts.

Monthly vote ranking: fifth overall.

Bestseller ranking: sixth overall.

Only Platinum-level masters ranked above him.

Below him, numerous Platinum masters had already been overtaken.

With these numbers... based on rumors from the struggling author groups Kong Jun occasionally frequented, this wasn't just "excellent."

It could rightly be called "phenomenal."

And if Kong Jun were to announce in his struggling author group that the author of such a book was his student, he'd be laughed out of the room.

What could he even say?

Tell others that Chongran was his student—a minor about to enter Gao Er?

Normal people would think he was insane.

But the facts were right before him—he couldn't deny them.

Honestly, he'd never paid attention to authors when reading novels; after finishing an Online Novel, he often didn't even remember who wrote it.

After all, it was just casual entertainment—he read, relaxed, then tossed it aside.

This was the first time he'd ever cared so much about who wrote an Online Novel.

"Reading another novel again?"

Ding Xiang stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, curious, leaning over Kong Jun's shoulder. Seeing him sigh and muse, she asked, "What's wrong with you today? You seem weird."

"Nothing..." Kong Jun shook his head with a faint smile. "Just something utterly unbelievable happened."

"Though looking back, it does make sense."

"But when you think about it carefully, it's still insane—the kind of thing no one would believe if you told them."

Ding Xiang stared at him blankly: "Why are you dragging this out with me?"

"Can't say it. Can't say it," Kong Jun shook his head. "I promised them—I have to keep it secret."

"It's about the bonfire party, isn't it?" Ding Xiang rolled her eyes, guessing. "Something to do with Li Luo? I noticed everyone was staring at him then."

"Just don't ask. It doesn't concern us anyway," Kong Jun waved his hand, put his phone away, and stood up. "I'm going to shower."

"Now you've made me even more curious," Ding Xiang groaned. "I can tell the others in Class Eight already know. If you won't tell me, I'll ask them."

"You..."

"Tell me, tell me—I won't tell anyone," Ding Xiang pressed against his back, wrapping her arms around his waist, and whispered seductively. "Want me to wash you? But first, tell me what happened."

"Hmm..." Kong Jun's heart fluttered. He suddenly felt Ding Xiang was one of his own in Class Eight—telling her probably wouldn't hurt. "Fine, I'll tell you—but you can't tell anyone else, got it?"

"Mm-hmm, I definitely won't say anything."