Chapter 410: The Answer Across a Lifetime

High school, campus, rooftop, senior sister.

A few simple images can conjure a beautiful scene, a storyline, or a buried memory in many hearts.

But for Li Luo right now, it was the immediate, real present.

The rooftop at Fuyi Middle School was unlike those in anime—no decoration at all, just bare concrete flooring.

The railings around it were haphazard, some even leaning crookedly.

After all, this place was usually locked and students weren't allowed to come up on their own.

Yet no one expected that during Fuyi's most lively New Year's event, two students would skip their class games and come up here to freeze in the cold wind.

And Li Luo was suffering terribly—he'd been stirred up by the senior sister, but she refused to put out the fire, leaving him in unbearable agony.

Only after temporarily removing Yan Zhusheng's scarf and breathing in the rooftop's cold air did Li Luo slowly calm down, the flame in his heart gradually dying out.

He'd figured it out: the senior sister didn't dare go through with it.

Last time, during his birthday at home playing Flying Chess, he'd only gotten relief once because he'd gotten too heated during their match and lost control.

Every time he was completely at Xu Youyu's mercy like this, she'd tease him into a state of unbearable tension, wearing down his young body.

"School's still too dangerous," Xu Youyu leaned back beside Li Luo, grinning. "I was just teasing you. I'll reward you when we get home, okay?"

"No thanks," Li Luo quickly shook his head, refusing to give her a chance to hook him again. "I still have to prepare for the launch of 'Little Joys' at midnight tonight."

"Oh right, your book's going live." Xu Youyu nodded in realization. "By the way, how's the performance?"

"Average—just over two thousand follow reads."

"You call two thousand follow reads average?" Xu Youyu looked incredulous. "When my book launched, I didn't even get that many."

"The exposure levels are different—you can't generalize," Li Luo chuckled. "I started with maximum exposure, preferential promotion resources, and my personal reputation as backing—and still only got two thousand follow reads. That shows my potential is limited."

"When we both started last year, we had no pen name reputation, no traffic advantages—we just fought our way onto recommendation slots through pure skill."

"Those are completely different scenarios, senior sister—don't undervalue yourself."

"Alright, alright, stop talking," Xu Youyu waved her hand dismissively. "I was trying to comfort you, but your mindset's too good—I thought your new book's performance would upset you."

"After all, it's just a realistic fiction novel—it doesn't fit well in the online novel scene," Li Luo said. "'Little Joys' was written purely for potential film/TV adaptation, and so far, reader feedback has been decent."

"Film/TV rights…" Xu Youyu couldn't help sighing at the word.

Once, when she was still in the signed author group chat, she'd heard stories of top online novel masters selling their IP rights for tens of millions.

Now, barely a year and a half later, her own little junior had already risen to master status—and might soon sell his first film/TV rights.

Given Wenxue Group's nature, they always inflated IP valuations, holding onto their IPs tightly.

For mid-to-upper-tier authors, this was actually a trap.

Because high valuations meant the rights would likely never sell.

Only top-tier masters and Wenxue Group itself, which artificially inflated IP prices, truly profited.

Yet Li Luo, in just over a year, had already crossed into master tier.

To put it bluntly, he'd entered the circle of vested interests.

Compared to lower-tier authors, his film/TV rights naturally sold more easily.

Not to mention this time there was the writing contest endorsement and government cooperation support.

"You'll be a great writer someday," Xu Youyu sighed. "I'll fall farther and farther behind you."

"Not far at all," Li Luo grabbed Xu Youyu's hand and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly as he whispered in her ear, "Still far now?"

"Heh," Xu Youyu laughed at his move, then felt a flicker of warmth—but ended up patting his back to comfort him. "I didn't say anything would change. I'm not that insecure—I won't run away just because someone close to me becomes better."

Her words made Li Luo instantly embarrassed.

Though Xu Youyu spoke without intent, every sentence pierced his deepest pain.

In his past life, wasn't it precisely because the gap between them widened—and because Li Luo owed her a mountain of debt—that he grew increasingly distant?

Thinking of this, Li Luo couldn't help asking: "Senior sister, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Suppose you meet someone and fall for them," Li Luo carefully said. "But you grow stronger, achieve more and more."

"Yet the person you like can't earn much money—even if they start a business or invest, they lose heavily and end up in debt."

"Would you still like him?"

Xu Youyu blinked, thought for a moment, then looked up at Li Luo: "I don't know why you'd ask this."

"But I think if he were so far behind me, my mom probably wouldn't approve."

"So back then, I'd probably work hard to improve myself, earn more money, and ensure I could pursue what I wanted—without family interference, while still living comfortably."

"As for whether I'd still like him…"

Xu Youyu suddenly laughed, tapping Li Luo's head.

"Why do you ask such a silly question?"

"If I like someone, why would I care how much money they make?"

"Whether they succeed or fail in business or investment—he's still him."

"I'd worry more about whether he himself can handle it than whether I'd still like him."

"The person I like must be gentle-hearted, empathetic, and considerate of others."

"So I'm more worried that if he fails, he'll feel unworthy of me and distance himself on his own."

"That's what's truly troubling."

Saying this, Xu Youyu burst into laughter and patted Li Luo's shoulder. "Answer complete—so why'd you ask such a question?"

"N-nothing…" Li Luo shook his head, holding Xu Youyu tightly, resting his head on her shoulder, inhaling deeply as his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu seemed to sense his emotion and laughed softly. "Did my love philosophy just move you?"

"I just feel…" Li Luo calmed his emotions and smiled faintly. "Senior sister rarely seems so serious."

"Pfft, you say that?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "Then how would you answer the question I just asked?"

"I'd have no problem with it."

"Exactly," Xu Youyu nodded. "The world is just strange like that."

"They claim men and women are equal, but when a man achieves more, he can downwardly compatible with a woman less accomplished than him without any guilt."

"But when a woman achieves more, even if she's willing to downwardly compatible, many men still won't agree—or if they do, they're still uncomfortable inside."

"In short, in terms of character and mindset, we're still a bit short of true equality."

Although Li Luo wanted to refute her, he recalled his own actions in his past life and felt a twinge of guilt.

It felt as if Xu Youyu had nailed every point.

…

The two talked for a long time on the rooftop.

Normally, Li Luo and Xu Youyu didn't spend much time alone together, let alone like this—just talking with nothing else to do.

So without realizing it, they covered many topics they rarely spoke about in daily life.

And from Xu Youyu, Li Luo learned answers to questions he'd never dared to ask in his past life.

Although this life's Xu Youyu was six or seven years older than the Xu Youyu of his past life,

in certain deeply formed beliefs and ideas, they were probably quite similar.

When the time neared eleven in the morning,

Li Luo and Xu Youyu descended from the rooftop together, relocked the door, returned the key to its place, and walked downstairs.

Li Luo's face carried a hint of relief, though he quickly masked it.

The two found Ying Chanxi on the second floor and, together, took the aerial corridor directly to the cafeteria's second floor.

Not long after, Yan Zhusheng and the others arrived from the Gao Er teaching building, joined Li Luo and the other two by the window, and sat down to eat.

"Why are you here too, senior?" Yan Zhusheng glanced at the three of them, then asked curiously.

"Senior was alone on Gao San and didn't join the class game, so I asked Li Luo to accompany her," Ying Chanxi said simply, then turned and asked, "Did you guys draw lots?"

"There wasn't enough time," Xu Youyu smiled. "But thanks anyway—it was fun this morning, wasn't it?"

As she spoke, Xu Youyu nudged Li Luo's arm and winked at him.

"Ah… yeah…," Li Luo snapped back to himself, nodding rapidly. "It was fun."

"This afternoon is the club experience activity," Ying Chanxi said. "What are your plans?"

"I need to keep an eye on the rock club," said Yan Zhusheng, the de facto president. "I probably won't have time to play around."

"I need to patrol and check on each club's status," Ying Chanxi nodded.

"I've got nothing to do," Xu Youyu said, having finished eating, one hand propping up her chin. "But I feel exhausted—I think I'll sleep longer in the classroom this afternoon."

"Then this afternoon," Li Luo glanced at Xu Youyu, then at Ying Chanxi, "I'll accompany Xi Xi on patrol first, and we'll visit all the clubs."

"Sure," Ying Chanxi smiled and nodded, then added, "After senior wakes up, you can accompany her for a stroll."

Yan Zhusheng across from them had no objections and nodded naturally in agreement.

Sitting beside them, Xu Yinghuan and Qiao Xinyan watched the harmonious exchange and division of labor, fell silent, exchanged glances, and wondered: What's going on?

It felt like the four of them had grown closer lately.

They were even starting to kindly divide up Li Luo's time?