Chapter 425

Noon.

The second-floor restaurant of the Edison Hotel.

After meeting Editor Qianzhou at the restaurant entrance, Li Luo and Xu Youyu were led by a server to a window seat facing the sea.

"This hotel has seven or eight restaurants in total," Qianzhou said as he flipped through the menu. "The second-floor restaurant is the most standard; there's another French restaurant next door."

"Besides that, there are specialty restaurants on the hotel's artificial lake, by the beach, on the rooftop, and in the small grove."

"But those restaurants mostly open only at night—we'll have dinner at the French restaurant on the second floor tonight; if you want to try them, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"But won't you be leaving early tomorrow if you go to bed early?"

"Yeah," Xu Youyu nodded, "but it doesn't really matter—we don't have to experience them all."

What matters most is who you're with.

Xu Youyu glanced at Li Luo and was quite happy; she wasn't some foodie, and the specialty restaurants might not even taste better than Li Luo's cooking.

"What's the exact schedule for the annual banquet tonight?" Li Luo asked Qianzhou across from him after they'd ordered a few dishes from the menu.

"After dinner, everyone gathers in the conference hall," Qianzhou said. "The hotel has already set it up as the banquet stage—I'll tell you both your seat numbers in advance."

"There'll be an entrance ceremony: when you enter the conference hall, there's a signature wall at the door—make sure to sign your names there, then pose for a photo with the cameraman."

"Then you'll sit and listen to speeches. Around eight p. m., according to the schedule, they'll announce this year's Platinum and Grandmaster lists."

"As one of the top Grandmasters this year, you'll need to go onstage and say a few words—I've read your script, just read it as written."

"After you finish, the host will signal you to return to your seat. Then you're done—just wait until the banquet ends."

After hearing this, Li Luo found it all quite simple.

His prepared script was just thanks to the platform, to readers, and to his parents and friends who supported him.

So far, it seemed this banquet wouldn't have any surprises.

At least nothing like the previous panel discussions or author salons that left him on edge.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu exchanged a glance; after hearing the banquet itinerary from the editor, they both sighed in relief, thinking they could finally enjoy themselves properly this time.

After a simple lunch, Li Luo told Qianzhou: "We're going to stroll along the beach after eating—just letting you know."

"Fine," Qianzhou nodded. "I'll come with you, but once we reach the beach, you two do your own thing—I'll just walk nearby, as long as you don't leave my sight."

Li Luo and Xu Youyu were still minors; the company had instructed Qianzhou to ensure their safety and prevent any incidents.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu understood this and didn't mind Qianzhou tagging along.

After tidying up, the three left the restaurant and took the hotel's shuttle to the beach.

Near the beach, the hotel had a low outer wall; the entrance gate opened with a room key card.

The three passed through the gate, took a few more steps, and stepped directly onto the beach.

"It's really close to the sea," Xu Youyu said, walking barefoot on the sand and turning back to look at the hotel—she could even roughly tell which room they were in.

"But this is just an ordinary beach—the sand quality isn't good," Qianzhou warned. "Near the water's edge is fine, but here the sand is full of trash—better not take off your sandals."

Li Luo and Xu Youyu nodded.

Xu Youyu had originally planned to kick off her sandals and feel the sand underfoot, but now she temporarily abandoned the idea.

"Just step in the seawater—definitely don't go swimming," Qianzhou added. "There are hotel staff watching; swimming isn't allowed in this area. If you want to swim, go to a designated beach resort."

"Got it. We'll just stroll around," Li Luo said, breathing in the sea breeze.

Qianzhou wasn't worried about them—after all, someone who wrote I Am Really Not a Star and the Literary Era must be far more mature than their peers.

After giving a few simple reminders, Qianzhou waved to them, signaling he wouldn't disturb their date, and wandered off to one side.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu paid no more attention to Qianzhou; they exchanged a glance, said nothing, and silently took each other's hands.

The emerald-green sea rose and fell, wave after wave washing over the shore.

Near the hotel, the sand was dry, hard, and coarse—walking barefoot on it hurt, let alone with all the trash.

But as they neared the water, the sand gradually became finer and softer.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu walked to the shore, holding hands, their feet washed by the waves, leaving footprints on the sand that were quickly erased by the tide.

Li Luo had seen this seascape in his past life.

Even this—holding Xu Youyu's hand, walking on the beach, stepping into the damp, soft sand.

This had happened before.

But for various reasons, Li Luo had never taken such moments seriously, and Xu Youyu had never truly revealed her true feelings to him.

Li Luo looked at Xu Youyu, whose hand he now held, and sighed softly.

Though he'd already learned her answers to certain questions from this version of Xu Youyu, she was no longer the Youyu from his past life.

Missed opportunities are missed.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Youyu adjusted her straw hat, glancing curiously at Li Luo beside her with a smile. "Why sigh when we're at the beach?"

"Nothing," Li Luo shook his head, pulled her gently toward him with a slight tug, and wrapped his arms around her. "Sometimes I still wonder if I'm being too greedy."

"But I don't want to leave regrets behind, only to regret them later."

"So I can only try to hold onto everything I can."

Li Luo rarely voiced his inner thoughts like this; Xu Youyu, leaning against him, froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Why so melancholy all of a sudden?" Xu Youyu reached up and patted Li Luo's head. "Everyone's greedy—it's whether you have the ability and responsibility to match that greed that matters."

"The key," Li Luo rested his chin on her shoulder, holding her tightly, "is that I don't know if I'm qualified enough—or if I'm still not good enough."

"I think you are," Xu Youyu grinned. "Whether others think you are isn't up to me—but I can work with you, little brother."

"…Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Mmm~ What are you talking about?" Xu Youyu pulled away from his embrace, stepped back two paces into the waves, smiled sweetly at him, then turned around and said with a laugh, "Catch me, and I'll consider telling you."

Saying that, Xu Youyu ran forward, stepping through the waves.

She still wore her light blue swimsuit and a white, sheer outer jacket; as she ran, the jacket's hem and swimsuit skirt fluttered in the wind.

Li Luo watched Xu Youyu's receding figure and gradually broke into a light run to catch up.

The two chased and fled, playing and laughing on the beach; after several minutes, Li Luo finally pulled Xu Youyu back into his arms.

Xu Youyu, exhausted from just running a short while, panted heavily, her face flushed as she leaned against Li Luo, gripping his shoulders weakly. "Let me rest a bit—I'm dead tired."

"Classmate, what was your answer to that question just now?" Li Luo asked softly, holding her.

"What should you call me again?" Xu Youyu replied with a light laugh, avoiding a direct answer.

"Wife?" Li Luo whispered into her ear, blowing gently.

"Mmm~" Xu Youyu nodded contentedly, wrapping her arms around his neck, her gaze fixed on him with burning intensity.

The waves continued relentlessly washing the shore, tireless, endless.

Xu Youyu looked at Li Luo and said softly, "For me, chasing something has never been about the outcome."

"I only know that if I like it, I go after it—whether I get it or not, either result is acceptable."

"But even if I end up not getting it, I'll still find a way to touch it, to use it—even if only for a brief moment, it's far better than watching it walk away."

Looking into Xu Youyu's earnest eyes, Li Luo wrapped his arms around her slender waist, momentarily lost in thought.

"What?" Xu Youyu wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her whole body against his chest, her face close to his, smiling. "After hearing that, don't you have any thoughts?"

"A little." Li Luo looked down at her and nodded gently.

"What thought… mm!"

On the beach, the girl's eyes widened in disbelief. Amid the sound of waves and their rhythmic rise and fall, her gaze gradually lost focus, growing hazy and intoxicated, until her eyes closed completely, surrendering fully.

Far away, Qianzhou strolled along the shore, yawning occasionally and glancing toward Li Luo and Xu Youyu to confirm they remained within sight.

Just moments after chasing and play-fighting, the two had already embraced again.

Embracing was one thing—but when Qianzhou turned back to look, he realized they weren't just embracing; they were kissing right out in the open!

This was outrageous!

He, a twenty-five-year-old young man, had never even kissed anyone, yet this Chongran—so young—had already sampled everything!

Qianzhou cast one glance and quickly looked away, unwilling to suffer further psychological trauma.

He figured this paid vacation had already been worth it, and decided not to dwell on Li Luo and Xu Youyu's antics.

He just wondered whether the company would offer him extra compensation for emotional distress.

"You're so naughty."

On the beach, Xu Youyu was finally released by Li Luo. Panting lightly, she tilted her flushed face upward, eyes soft and lips slightly parted, biting her lip in shy embarrassment, giving him a light punch on the chest—only for him to instantly catch her hand.

"What's wrong with kissing my own wife?" Li Luo said with unshakable boldness.

Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, then huffed, "Fine, no problem—but this is your wife's first kiss. How are you going to take responsibility?"

"This is my first kiss too."

"You're lying to ghosts!" Xu Youyu pinched his waist hard. "Don't think I don't know—you've kissed Chanxi and Zhusheng countless times behind my back!"

"But this is my first kiss today," Li Luo's face was as thick as a city wall. "And isn't it normal for me to kiss my own daughter?"

"You really have the nerve to say that," Xu Youyu snapped, punching him hard.

Li Luo held her tightly. Seeing she was still pouting, he kissed her deeply again, leaving Xu Youyu limp in his arms.

"Alright… alright…" Xu Youyu, though a seasoned veteran in novels, had never experienced anything like this in real life.

Dizzy from Li Luo's kisses, disoriented and lost, she pleaded in his arms, "Shouldn't we go back? I'm a bit tired from walking."

"Mm." Li Luo stopped pressing her, simply holding her close, feeling more fulfilled than ever before.

He kept glancing at her rosy lips, still feeling as if it were all a dream.

After all, it was Youyu-jie…

Though he had imagined this moment countless times since his rebirth, now that it had truly happened, Li Luo still felt a sense of unreality.

"Still staring? Stop looking," Xu Youyu, unusually shy, noticed his gaze and covered his eyes with her hand, preventing him from gazing further.

The two returned to the hotel entrance, met up with Qianzhou, who had wandered over, swiped their room cards, and boarded the shuttle to return to the hotel.

After greeting Qianzhou, they took the elevator to the fifth floor, swiped into Room 5008, washed up in the bathroom, and changed into clean clothes.

It was already around three in the afternoon.

"Distance?"

"Hmm…" Xu Youyu hesitated, then whispered, "Why don't you go down? I'll stay in the room and write a bit."

Li Luo paused, then nodded. "I'll be back around five. I'll need to change into a suit then."

"Go ahead," Xu Youyu stepped forward, straightened his collar, then rose on her toes to press a light kiss to his lips, blushing as she smiled. "I'll wait for you in the room."

"Alright."

After seeing Li Luo leave the room, Xu Youyu took a deep breath and slowly walked to the bed.

The next moment, she flung herself onto the bed, squealing and wriggling wildly, releasing the pent-up excitement she had held back.

Once she'd finally calmed down, she lay sideways on the bed, tousled-haired, hugging the pillow tightly, legs clasped together, giving a soft punch, murmuring, "I was going to wait until tonight to…"

As she spoke, she touched her lips again, unable to help a faint smile curling upward as she recalled every moment on the beach, secretly delighted.

Write?

She definitely wouldn't write.

Today, she'd just write a leave request.

【Sleep Early to Grow Taller】: Attending the annual meeting, exhausted from travel, airplane ride caused back pain. Requesting one day off for rest.

That was her writing done.

…

Meanwhile.

After leaving the room, Li Luo took the elevator downstairs, occasionally touching his own lips, savoring the lingering sweetness.

How to put it.

Senior sister's lips, like her thighs, are very plump, or rather, bouncy.

When you kiss them, they're especially soft, especially when you have to hold her tight.

So not only are her lips soft, but her chest is soft too.

That sense of fullness is truly different from Chanxi and Zhusheng.

Thinking of this, Li Luo quickly shook his head, silently murmured "sinful, sinful," then strolled to the door of the third-floor conference hall.

At this moment, the conference hall had already been set up for the annual party; at the entrance stood a massive autograph wall, with the logos of Wenxue Group's various reading websites on the top row, and the cover art of various best-selling Online Novels below.

Among them, Li Luo's I Am Really Not a Star was printed right in the center of the second row, and at a glance, it stood out clearly.

After glancing at the autograph wall, Li Luo pulled out his phone, took a photo, and sent it to Xu Youyu, then stepped into the conference hall.

Conference Hall No. 1 of the Edison Hotel was very large; not only had a stage been built, but the seats below had been replaced with high-end, comfortable leather sofas.

It was still early for the evening banquet and annual party; the seats in the conference hall were sparsely occupied, mostly by authors under Wenxue Group.

When Li Luo entered the conference hall's main door, many eyes turned toward him.

Those who knew Li Luo saw him and waved enthusiastically, shouting loudly: "Chongran! Over here! Come chat!"

As soon as those words were spoken, others quickly realized.

Many in the room began whispering among themselves, shifting their conversation topics and content entirely to Li Luo.

"Who's that? He looks so young."

"Chongran. Don't you know him?"

"Huh? Which Chongran?"

"The one who wrote I Am Really Not a Star—the one who wrote songs for Yuan Wanqing!"

"He's really this young? No way!"

"He's still a Gao Zhongsheng, I heard."

"I thought this was all hype… so it's real?"

"It's real. He attended last year's salon—oh right, you didn't attend last year."

"People like this kill me—I was still dodging my homeroom teacher at my age."

"Calm down—he's probably going to be a Grandmaster this year."

"... Stop stabbing me in the heart."

After entering the conference hall, Li Luo went over to the authors he was familiar with from previous roundtables and salons, joining their casual chat.

But after chatting for only a short while, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, clearly out of place among the authors, walked up to Li Luo and handed him a business card.

Seeing Li Luo reach out to take the card, the middle-aged man smiled and said: "I'm Wang Jun, a director. Ying Zhicheng showed me your book Little Joy—I really liked it."