Chapter 437

In the master bathroom on the third floor, Li Luo rinsed off briefly, then changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Seeing that Butler Liu hadn't come to call him for dinner, Li Luo sat at the desk, turned on the computer, and typed a few lines to relax.

He also glanced at his QQ messages to check for anything important.

He ended up seeing a message from his editor, Qianzhou.

【Qianzhou】: The copyright department wants your contact info—I gave them your phone number and QQ. They said they'll notify you in advance if there's any copyright negotiation coming up.

【Chongran】: Oh, I know about that. The chief editor mentioned it to me before.

【Qianzhou】: Good, since you know, no problem. If everything goes smoothly and the copyright sells, next year's conference you'll probably be a Platinum author—and at just eighteen years old!

【Chongran】: Cough… why do you sound more excited than I am?

【Qianzhou】: How could I not be excited? Ask any other editor—they've spent their whole careers and still haven't had a single eighteen-year-old Platinum author under them.

【Chongran】: So do you get a bonus?

【Qianzhou】: Of course I do. If you land a big-name author or a Platinum, your commission rate goes up permanently—that's real money, okay?

【Chongran】: Then work harder and give more resources to Zao Shui. Her next book could make her a big-name author.

【Qianzhou】: Haha! Of course I'm backing her—but you're secretly boosting your girlfriend's resources. That's too nice to her.

【Chongran】: You're wrong. I'm doing this for you—it's showing you a clear path to higher commission bonuses. No need to thank me; I don't care about that.

【Qianzhou】: …You write well, that's for sure—but your thick skin? No one else can match it.

After a brief chat with the editor, Li Luo ended the conversation, then thought for a moment and called Tian Li, the lawyer.

After discussing over the phone, the two reached a preliminary verbal agreement.

When Wenxue Group's copyright department contacts him, Li Luo will refer them to Lawyer Tian, so they can communicate directly with him going forward.

He was clear about the positioning of "Little Joys": use Qidian's backing to establish his copyright value.

Following the advice of that previous Platinum author, once an author successfully sells one copyright, future copyrights become far easier to sell than for other authors.

If the adapted film or TV drama based on the sold copyright achieves decent success,

then it's no longer a question of whether the copyright is easy to sell—it's about how high the price can go, and how many companies will secretly fight over it.

For Li Luo, writing "I Am Really Not a Star," with an average subscription of over fifty thousand, had already been a pleasant surprise.

Originally, he'd simply wanted to write books to save up some startup capital, so he could open a stock trading account after turning eighteen.

He hadn't paid much attention to the stock market in his past life, only occasionally hearing Xu Youyu talk about how he traded.

Thanks to his Memory Palace ability, he could still recall the general future trends of certain stocks.

And with Xu Youyu's investment experience to guide him, whether he made money or not, at least he could perfectly avoid all the "cancer stocks" Xu Youyu had invested in.

But all of this was derailed by that unexpected song, "Year Rings."

Not only did he use this original song to connect with Yuan Wanqing through Yan Zhusheng's connections,

but he also, for the first time, achieved a kind of breakout effect through the linkage between reality and his novel's content.

This effect reached unprecedented heights in subsequent collaborations with Yuan Wanqing.

As a result, "I Am Really Not a Star" brought Li Luo far more profit than he'd expected.

At the same time, it opened another door leading to financial freedom for him.

Who would willingly wait for future wealth if they could earn it early?

Look now.

If he hadn't earned money ahead of time, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong would still be working overtime at their breakfast shop.

How could they now be freed from grueling labor, enjoying retirement's good life ahead of schedule?

Thinking of the smiles on his parents' faces today, and the overall improvement in their vitality since they abandoned the breakfast shop nearly a year ago, Li Luo's lips curled slightly, his mood unusually bright.

Rebirth… isn't that exactly what it's for?

…

At six-thirty in the evening, Butler Liu came upstairs to invite them to the dining room.

Soon after, Li Luo and the others came downstairs and gathered at the table.

Once confirmed that everyone had arrived, Butler Liu clapped his hands toward the kitchen, and the maids began serving the dishes.

"This is Lamb Pot Fish Soup—made from the two sea fish Mr. Li caught, simmered with sour bean tree fruit, tomatoes, sour bamboo shoots, and sour starfruit. The flavor is exquisite."

Butler Liu pointed to another dish of fish beside it: "This is steamed grouper—the one Mr. Xu caught. Since its flesh is naturally tender, steaming it alone is enough to make it delicious."

After briefly introducing the dishes, Butler Liu took his leave, not disturbing them as they enjoyed the meal.

Li Guohong eagerly tasted the fish he'd caught, then smiled contentedly: "Something you catch yourself tastes better—this is really delicious. Try some."

He poured himself a bowl of fish soup, then sampled the steamed grouper, and couldn't help praising it again.

Midway through the meal, Xu Rongsheng steered the casual conversation toward "Little Joys."

Upon learning that Li Luo's "Little Joys" might soon sell its copyright, Xu Rongsheng was slightly surprised, then nodded: "If it becomes a TV drama, I think it'll look great—especially since your Aunt Cui would love it."

"How do you know I'd like it?" Cui Suling asked, puzzled.

"You watch even the worst-quality TV dramas." Xu Rongsheng glanced at her. "So Li Luo's drama won't be worse than those."

Cui Suling: "... You make it sound like I have terrible taste."

"Exactly." Xu Youyu chimed in from the side, making Cui Suling nearly snap and expose her on the very first day.

"But the copyright's still under negotiation—we don't know how it'll turn out," Li Luo laughed. "Even if it sells, it'll be years before it's filmed and aired. It's too early to talk about this now."

"Ask my dad during the New Year," Ying Chanxi said beside him. "Have his company pay more to buy your copyright—after all, the shareholders foot the bill anyway, and you'll make even more."

Li Luo: "... That's not necessary."

If the board ever found out Ying Zhicheng was pulling such shady moves, he might not even keep his CEO position—and might even get sued.

All one can say is that Ying Chanxi is truly Ying Zhicheng's little devoted darling.

Except when it comes to Li Luo, she's a little drafty.

After dinner, the eight of them, full and satisfied, went upstairs to take a leisurely stroll.

Li Guohong and Xu Rongsheng, tired from afternoon sea fishing, decided to get a massage first.

Li Luo and the others accompanied the two mothers into the mahjong room.

Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu sat by as observers; Li Luo and Ying Chanxi joined the game.

Xu Youyu sat between Cui Suling and Li Luo, glancing here and there as they played.

As Li Luo hesitated over which tile to play, Xu Youyu whispered softly: "Play the nine of bamboos."

Cui Suling heard this and stared blankly: "You little brat, how can you be so disloyal? You saw my tiles and still speak up?"

"I'm just making a suggestion—what if it forces him to discard the tile you need? Li Luo doesn't have to believe me," Xu Youyu replied seriously, earning only a side-eye from Cui Suling.

But as the mahjong game continued, Lin Xiuhong chuckled: "I thought we came here for a vacation, yet we're playing mahjong more than anything else."

"The most important thing about travel is who you're with and whether you're having fun—everything else is secondary," Li Luo said, playing the nine of bamboos. "We're here for joy, not to check off some tourist spot just to say we visited Qiongzhou City."

"Exactly. I agree," Xu Youyu nodded. "Travel should be about having fun. Honestly, most tourist spots are boring—the real point is us being together."

Because in his past life, his few trips were always with Xu Youyu.

So Li Luo had absorbed Xu Youyu's attitude toward travel, disliking and rejecting the "special forces" style of rushing to landmarks for photo ops.

If traveling is just to rush to popular attractions, squeeze through crowds for photos and souvenirs, it's truly better to stay home, turn on the air conditioning, and invite a few friends over to play cards and drink.

If traveling meant only pushing through crowded hotspots to snap photos, it was better to just stay home, turn on the air conditioning, and invite a few friends over to play cards and drink.

Xu Youyu clearly agreed with Li Luo; upon hearing his words, she immediately chimed in.

After speaking, she glanced at Li Luo, her eyes smiling—clearly delighted by this another alignment of views.

The feeling that, no matter what they did, their thoughts always matched perfectly, was simply too comforting.

After accompanying the two mothers for over an hour of mahjong, when Li Guohong and Xu Rongsheng returned from their massages, the four youths stood up and left, letting the two fathers take over.

Li Guohong sat in Li Luo's seat, opened the mahjong table drawer, poked around idly, and said blankly: "You've lost almost everything? Only one chip left?"

"Challenge makes it fun, Dad. Good luck! We're off," Li Luo said cheerfully at the door, then vanished in a flash.

The four returned to the third floor, where Xu Youyu clapped her hands: "I already told Butler Liu—the indoor hot spring is ready with hot water. Let's shower, change into swimsuits, and head straight over."

"Then hurry up and change," Li Luo said. "I'll go in and wait for you once I'm done."

"OKOK," Xu Youyu gave a thumbs-up and headed to her bedroom.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng also immediately returned to their rooms.

Watching the three girls' backs, Li Luo slowly walked back to his room, showered, changed into his swimsuit, slipped on a bathrobe, and went downstairs to the indoor hot spring entrance.

A maid was already waiting there, opening the hot spring door for him and briefly explaining the things to note.

The indoor hot spring room was large, the pool itself about ten square meters, square in shape, surrounded by artificial rock formations mimicking a natural outdoor hot spring.

At each corner of the pool were four water outlets shaped like stone lions—actually filtration devices that kept the water circulating and warm.

Since the hot spring room sat at the villa's corner facing the sea, the two walls bordering the ocean had been entirely replaced with floor-to-ceiling glass.

Pulling back the curtains revealed the night sea and moonlight instantly.

The view opened up countless times, making it feel less like an indoor pool and more like soaking by the seaside.

One could only say the boss really knew how to enjoy life.

When Li Luo reached the pool's edge, the maid who had escorted him asked if he wanted fruit or drinks.

Li Luo nodded affirmatively; the maid walked to the poolside, pressed a button he couldn't see, and suddenly bubbles rose from the center of the water as a circular stone table slowly surfaced, leaving Li Luo stunned.

"So high-tech?" Li Luo glanced at the table and saw it was carved with a xiangqi board. "Can we actually play xiangqi here?"

"Yes," the maid smiled and nodded. "The boss likes xiangqi, so he had this table built into the pool. If you'd like, I can bring the pieces later."

"Then please do," Li Luo said, amused. He really wanted to try.

"Of course," the maid nodded, then added, "There are four stone chairs around the table, but they're underwater and hard to see—please be careful when you enter the water."

"Understood, thank you for the warning."

After the maid left, the indoor hot spring was temporarily empty except for Li Luo.

He took off his bathrobe, hung it on the rack, stepped to the pool's edge, kicked off his slippers, climbed the steps, and stepped into the warm water.

As the water rose past his knees and thighs, Li Luo sighed deeply in relief, then fully sank in, leaving only his head above the surface.

"So comfortable…" The afternoon had been full of filming, playing volleyball, and playing in the sand—he was truly tired.

Now soaking in the hot water, every trace of fatigue vanished, as if his spirit and soul were being gently soaked.

After enjoying it for a while, Li Luo remembered the maid's warning and moved toward the central stone table, feeling around in the water.

Sure enough, his hand touched a stone pedestal.

He sat on it, settling beside the table, the water reaching his chest, his arms resting naturally on the table's surface—perfect height.

The table was about a fist thick, three-quarters exposed above water, the rest submerged.

From afar, it looked like a stone slab floating on the surface.

Li Luo had never seen such a hot spring design before—even in anime or films.

Not to mention the Edison Hotel where he'd stayed with Xu Youyu; though it had a bathtub, it paled in comparison.

One could only say the rich really knew how to play—custom-building hot springs to suit their needs.

In truth, the boss probably visited only once or twice a year; the villa otherwise sat empty.

Lending him the private villa for free was, in fact, a sensible use of resources.

As Li Luo pondered this, the indoor hot spring door opened again.

Yan Zhusheng entered, wrapped in a bathrobe; seeing Li Luo soaking, she immediately shed her robe, stepped in with long legs, and entered the pool.

Yan Zhusheng now wore a swimsuit: a pink top with ruffled edges, skillfully concealing her flaws.

But this time it wasn't a one-piece; it was a two-piece set—her bottom half was a triangle bikini, similar to Xu Youyu's.

The only difference: her bikini had side ties; a gentle pull from the side would easily remove it.

But clearly, none of these were the point.

When Yan Zhusheng stepped into the hot spring and arrived before Li Luo, the water rose to her knees, exposing most of her thighs.

To Li Luo's eyes, it looked exactly like those photo scams where two sliced ham sausages are arranged to pretend they're beautiful legs—pink, smooth, and delicate, making one want to take a bite.

She looked utterly delicious.

"Li Luo, is it nice to look at?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, noticing Li Luo's gaze fixed on her thighs, and showed him without the slightest hesitation, "Want to touch?"

"Cough… that's really unnecessary."

"It's fine," Yan Zhusheng said, taking Li Luo's hand and guiding it onto her own thigh.

Li Luo was forced to squeeze her thigh flesh a few times—it felt too good, and he couldn't help but squeeze two more times.

Just then, Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi walked in together through the door, and saw this scene—

Yan Zhusheng stood with her back to them, in the hot spring pool.

Li Luo sat in the water, his hands stroking Yan Zhusheng's thighs, most of his body hidden behind her.

Fortunately, Li Luo reacted quickly; upon hearing the noise at the door, he immediately gripped Yan Zhusheng's thighs with both hands, felt around in the water with his feet, found another stone bench, and said:

"Hold steady, come this way—yes, yes, this way, there's a stone chair, just sit down, careful not to bump your leg."

As he spoke, he supported Yan Zhusheng's thighs, helping her find and sit on the stone chair, then turned his gaze to Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi at the door and said calmly, "Why are you standing there? Come in."