Chapter 379: Is This Book Written by My Senior?!

"Wait a moment~ I heard it's very windy up ahead~"

When "Under the Flying Clouds" reached its finale, Yan Zhusheng took Li Luo's hand and quietly interlocked their fingers.

Li Luo leaned close to Yan Zhusheng, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, and nonchalantly moved their clasped hands behind his back, blocking the view of the parents in the stands.

But the members of the rock band behind them saw it all clearly.

Upon seeing Senior Yan and Senior Li so boldly interlock fingers on stage, Lin Suifeng, who was finishing up, nearly missed his beat.

After they barely managed to finish smoothly, not just Lin Suifeng but the others also stared blankly at the two in front.

Then, at Li Luo's nod, everyone gradually walked forward from behind and lined up to bow to the parents in the stands.

After the performance ended, Yan Zhusheng finally let go of Li Luo's hand.

As they stepped offstage, Li Luo finally asked: "We didn't have a hand-holding part during rehearsals."

"I just felt the mood called for it," Yan Zhusheng said with a perfectly innocent expression. "I grabbed your hand without thinking much."

Li Luo: "..."

The rock band's performance ended successfully, and the parents in the stands departed orderly under the Student Union's arrangement.

Near noon, the Gao Er parent meeting concluded, and Li Luo and the others gathered on campus before heading to Bihai Lanting.

Along the way, Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling went to the market to buy groceries, and Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng wisely followed along.

Xu Youyu, however, looked perfectly at ease, ignoring multiple glances from Cui Suling and refusing to budge from her plan to nap.

After seeing Lin Xiuhong and the others off to buy groceries, Li Luo and Xu Youyu returned to Bihai Lanting with the two dads.

As soon as they entered the house, Xu Youyu stretched and slipped back to her room for a nap.

Li Luo, however, turned to Xu Rongsheng and invited him into his bedroom, then sent the complete manuscript of "Little Joys" to Xu Rongsheng's email.

But Xu Rongsheng had nothing else to do, so he borrowed Li Luo's computer and sat at his desk reading "Little Joys."

Li Luo went outside to get a glass of water and then let Xu Rongsheng read undisturbed.

At lunch, Xu Rongsheng emerged from Li Luo's room with a distracted expression, still lost in thought.

Seeing this, Cui Suling asked in confusion: "Are you eating, or do you expect me to feed you?"

"Oh, just thinking about something," Xu Rongsheng snapped back to reality, ate two bites, then looked at Li Luo and said, "Your 'Little Joys' is quite good—I didn't expect it to unfold in this way."

How to put it.

Xu Rongsheng originally thought Li Luo, to cater to the so-called "realism-themed writing contest," would use a slightly more traditional approach.

Including earlier when he mentioned it would center on three families and a series of stories revolving around the Gaokao.

If Xu Rongsheng were to write it, he'd likely pick three families: wealthy, middle-class, and impoverished—to highlight their contrasts.

Especially under the Gaokao context, three families with utterly unequal economic conditions and social status, yet whose children attend the same school.

What kind of sparks would that create?

Xu Rongsheng's initial concept was precisely this kind of angle—socially sharper, more jarring.

But by comparison, Li Luo's choice was far gentler, just like his book's title, "Little Joys."

Among the three families, the one with the highest social status was a father who held the position of section chief and was likely to be promoted.

The other two families: one was a divorced household—the father a businessman with relatively comfortable finances, the mother a teacher with strict discipline;

the protagonist's small family leaned toward middle-class comfort, but both parents were ordinary workers, with neither civil servants nor wealthy entrepreneurs at home.

Although there were differences, clearly, none of these three families were exceptionally well-off or particularly poor.

Thus, from the perspective of family contrast, it was nowhere near as sharp as Xu Rongsheng had imagined.

And in terms of content, although Xu Rongsheng had read the comments section and many readers said this wasn't an Online Novel but felt more like a print book,

Xu Rongsheng could clearly sense that Li Luo's storytelling style still leaned toward Online Novel techniques—just without any so-called "godlike advantages."

At lunch, Xu Rongsheng spoke at length on this, and Li Luo listened and chatted along with Uncle Xu.

Xu Rongsheng, as a literature professor at Qianjiang University, offered many incisive insights, analyzing everything with clarity.

But Li Luo also approached it from an Online Novel perspective, explaining why Xu Rongsheng felt "Little Joys" leaned more toward Online Novel style.

After all, modern entertainment works—whether novels, TV dramas, films, or anime—center on stirring the audience's emotions.

Making the audience follow the plot and experience emotional ups and downs, so they can immerse themselves in the story's perspective.

To make this emotional effect more efficient, modern entertainment often doesn't restrain or obscure like traditional literature; instead, it deliberately caters to human nature.

In simple terms: if it's satisfying, just be satisfying.

"Little Joys" may not have the extreme satisfaction points of an Online Novel, but in some ways, it still resembles one.

It's perfectly normal for Xu Rongsheng to have this impression.

After lunch, Xu Rongsheng immediately left to go home, planning to finish reading Li Luo's "Little Joys" within the next two days.

Before leaving, he smiled at Li Luo and said: "I probably won't write a paper on this topic anytime soon, but if your book turns out well, I'll recommend it to my students—two elective courses would be perfect for discussing it."

Li Luo: "..."

For some reason, he now had a very bad feeling.

Would he, once he entered university, have to write analytical research papers using "Little Joys" as an example?

What if his paper turned out worse than his classmates'? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

In mid-November, after the sports meet ended, the weather turned cool.

By month's end, after the parent meeting concluded and December arrived, temperatures plummeted sharply.

Everyone gradually switched to sweaters and thermal pants; their school uniforms no longer looked light.

Just as winter arrived, Ying Chanxi, with the photography club, approached Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng to plan the documentary shoot.

"Shoot separately?"

Hearing Ying Chanxi's plan, Yan Zhusheng blinked, furrowing her brow slightly: "Aren't we all filming the rock band? Why do I have to shoot separately from Li Luo?"

"It's not just about filming the rock club," Ying Chanxi explained calmly. "Didn't Li Luo write a novel called 'Little Joys'?"

"Previously, the vice principal thought promoting online novels in the school documentary might have a bad influence, so we only planned to film the rock club."

"But now it's different—Li Luo wrote 'Little Joys.' Although it's still being serialized online, the content truly revolves around high school and the college entrance exam, with no overly inappropriate plotlines."

"After reading it, the vice principal thought it was good, so he decided to include the literature club too."

Here, Ying Chanxi paused, glancing at Li Luo, then immediately looked away, her face stiffening as she continued seriously: "Li Luo is the soul of the literature club. If he appears again in the rock club footage, it would be redundant."

"So according to Principal Liu, the rock club documentary will focus on you, Zhusheng."

"For the literature club, it'll focus on Li Luo. We'll pursue both paths simultaneously—music and literature—to broaden the scope of promotion."

In this regard, the vice principal's planning was indeed thorough.

But Li Luo gave Ying Chanxi a slightly skeptical look.

Although the vice principal knew he wrote novels and songs, 'Little Joys' was only uploaded on the 20th of last month—barely over ten days ago.

Is the vice principal really this idle, spending his days watching him specifically?

How could he know about 'Little Joys' so quickly—and even have read it?

Unfortunately, Yan Zhusheng, though clever, didn't catch the issue, so he merely pouted and obediently followed the president's orders.

Watching the photography club members follow Yan Zhusheng toward the rock club's activity room, Li Luo turned to look at Ying Chanxi beside him and fell into thought:

"You said we'd film separately, but why did all the photography club members go with them?"

"I'll film you for the literature club," Ying Chanxi blinked. "You forgot? I'm your official MV director."

Hearing this answer, Li Luo wasn't surprised—only amused. "Then, Director Ying, how are we going to film this?"

"The literature club's activities are starting too. Let's head over," Ying Chanxi glanced at the sky—it was already evening, and club activities were underway.

She had just finished the math competition, so she didn't need to attend the advanced class this semester.

With suddenly more free time, Ying Chanxi began nursing other intentions.

Now, with a perfect excuse at hand, she had, quite naturally, secured Li Luo's usage rights.

In a way, just as Li Luo had once been an unofficial member of the rock club during his first year, Ying Chanxi was much the same to the photography club.

After all, having already joined the math and literature clubs, adding the photography club would have been too much for her.

But she had classmates in the photography club and occasionally kept an eye on their activities.

She'd even used those connections to ask them for photos and videos of Li Luo taken during school events.

Now that she was freed from the math competition, she felt considerably lighter.

The literature club wasn't busy anyway, so she had extra time to hang around the photography club.

In the evening, after filming some footage at the literature club, once the activity ended, Ying Chanxi took Li Luo's hand and walked with him along a campus path.

When they reached the small pond beside the Gao Er teaching building and stopped at the pavilion nearby, Ying Chanxi called to Li Luo: "Here's fine. Sit down for a moment."

Li Luo sat on the stone bench beside the pavilion's stone table, propping his chin as he gazed sideways at Ying Chanxi bustling about.

Ying Chanxi wore a plain blue-and-white school uniform; the white collar of her high-neck sweater peeked out from beneath the uniform's collar, guarding her snow-white neck.

Her youthful, radiant figure stood carefully at the pavilion's entrance, setting up a tripod and placing the camera atop it, then adjusting the angle with a serious little face.

Then Ying Chanxi dashed over to Li Luo and clipped a small microphone onto his collar.

She leaned forward before him, her hair slipping down with her movement.

As she attached the microphone, her pink little tongue unconsciously licked her lips, then her lips pressed together—adorable and captivating.

"All set?" Li Luo looked down at the microphone and asked.

"Mm-hmm," Ying Chanxi nodded, then pulled a small notebook from her pocket, opened it on the stone table, and showed it to Li Luo. "I'll ask you these questions later. Think over your answers first—we'll record the interview afterward."

"You've prepared thoroughly," Li Luo laughed, flipping through the notebook, curiously turning to earlier pages.

But the moment Ying Chanxi saw this, she panicked, lunging forward to clamp her hand over his: "T-There's nothing on the earlier pages! All the questions are on this page—don't flip around!"

Li Luo's expression turned strange, and he obediently retreated to the page with the interview questions.

But in his brief, casual glance, while others couldn't make it out, his Memory Palace had recorded every word.

Though incomplete, he clearly saw someone had written in this notebook—

"December 2: I can talk to Principal Liu at noon. Li Luo's 'Little Joys' is perfect for promotion—then I can film him alone."

Seeing Li Luo's odd expression, Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed red. She asked timidly: "D-Did you see something just now?"

"See what?" Li Luo said at once. "I just flipped through a couple pages—I hadn't even read anything. You're not hiding anything embarrassing, are you?"

"N-No!" Ying Chanxi immediately denied it loudly, but her cheeks grew even redder, so she hurriedly changed the subject. "Look at the questions quickly—don't waste time!"

Li Luo glanced at the few simple questions listed in the notebook and mentally concocted vague answers.

Once ready, he cooperated with Ying Chanxi and finished recording the interview segment inside the pavilion.

"Is that it? Finished?"

"Of course not," Ying Chanxi shook her head immediately, packing up the camera and tripod as she spoke. "We've only recorded your footage from the literature club and the interview. We still need to film more."

"Isn't the literature club documentary just supposed to film these things?"

"The more varied, the better," Ying Chanxi said firmly. "Whenever I ask you to film, you have to cooperate, understood?"

"Alright, alright," Li Luo laughed and nodded. "I'll follow Director Ying's orders."

When the two returned to Class 8 of Gao Er, Yan Zhusheng had already finished filming at the rock club and returned to his seat.

Seeing Li Luo and Ying Chanxi walk back together, Yan Zhusheng stared at them until Li Luo sat down.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Who filmed you?

After evening self-study began, Li Luo received a note passed over by Yan Zhusheng.

【Li Luo】: Xi Xi filmed me.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Weren't the photography club members supposed to film?

【Li Luo】: Xi Xi is an unofficial member of the photography club.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Oh.

【Li Luo】: Upset?

【Yan Zhusheng】: A little. Comfort me.

Li Luo: "…"

If this were Ying Chanxi, she'd definitely deny it.

But Yan Zhusheng? He's not shy at all… and he's surprisingly proactive.

Before Li Luo even asked how to comfort him, Yan Zhusheng had already undone his ponytail and slipped his hair tie into Li Luo's hand.

Li Luo looked down at the hair tie in his hand, then at Yan Zhusheng, who had turned his side toward him, his long hair cascading like a waterfall, and sighed with a helpless smile.

Thus, under the confused gaze of Zhu Yufei next door, Li Luo carefully tied Yan Zhusheng's hair into a neat, beautiful ponytail.

But at the same time.

【Little Empress Mo Qinghan Fan Club】

【Zhu Yufei】: This is insane… I was just calmly doing my homework, and they're already doing this.

【Ren Zheng】:???

【Zhang Guohuang】: Damn! He's just tying his hair—why are you freaking out?

【Zhu Yufei】: It's not about what they did—it's how their interaction totally damaged my fragile heart. I had zero preparation, and I turned around to see this.

【Lin Yuan】: I thought you were used to it by now.

【Hua Xiuxiu】: Doesn't it feel like they're getting less and less discreet? Back in freshman year, it wasn't this extreme.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Because someone already gave up pretending. Before, he wouldn't let anyone know he wrote novels—now we all know. Why should the monitor hide anything?

【Zhu Yufei】: I'm starting to suspect all three families have reached an unspoken agreement, tacitly accepting the relationship between the monitor, the vice-monitor, and Yan Zhusheng.

【Zhang Guohuang】: Huh? What about Senior Xu?

【Xu Yinghuan】: Huh? What senior?

【Ren Zheng】: Shut up! @Zhang Guohuang

【Xu Yinghuan】: Speak up, @Zhang Guohuang

【Xu Yinghuan】: You guys didn't already know Senior Xu is Jiang Mingyue, did you?

【Ren Zheng】: Huh? You knew this, Yinghuan?

【Xu Yinghuan】: Of course I knew…

【Zhang Guohuang】: So you already knew Senior Xu wrote Literary Era?

【Xu Yinghuan】: Huh?

【Zhang Guohuang withdrew a message】

【Zhu Yufei】: 6

【Ren Zheng】: Someone go confess in hell.

【Lin Yuan】: Keep Your Mouth Shut

【Xu Yinghuan】: What's Literary Era?

【Zhang Guohuang】: Cough… pretend you didn't see it. Nothing happened here.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Is it an Online Novel? Can Senior Xu write Online Novels?

【Xu Yinghuan】: (screenshot)

【Xu Yinghuan】: Did Senior Xu write this book???

【Ren Zheng】: It's all your fault, big mouth! @Zhang Guohuang

【Hua Xiuxiu】: We were told to keep it secret—some people's mouths are as loose as if they had no teeth.

【Zhang Guohuang】: Damn! I really thought you knew! After all, Xu Yinghuan hangs out with them every day—it's normal you'd know, right?

【Ren Zheng】: Senior Xu clearly doesn't want anyone to know. Even whether the monitor knows is up for debate.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Fine, fine—you all knew already and didn't tell me? Are you guys hiding some secret group chat without me?

【Ren Zheng】: Of course not. Zhu Yufei only mentioned it privately before.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Why would Zhu Yufei know something like this?

【Zhu Yufei】: Cough… this is a long story. Listen carefully, and don't tell anyone else.

…

During the second evening self-study session, Li Luo and the other two went downstairs for a night run.

After the run ended, the three of them strolled around the track field.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng both pulled out their phones and checked their chat logs.

Soon, both fell silent, then sneakily glanced at the two people beside them, quietly noting down the secret about Senior Xu.