Chapter 443

Ashamed to the point of near-death, Ying Chanxi scrambled off the bed and fled into Li Luo's bathroom.

She seized the excuse of bathing to escape the awkward scene before her.

So she wouldn't be further tormented by Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng, the two drama queens.

Li Luo was left beside the bed; he placed his hands on his hips, glanced at the two girls on the bed, and sighed with a faint smile: "Don't always pick on Xixi."

"Where are we picking on her?" Xu Youyu grinned. "Didn't you see how tenderly I hugged her just now?"

"What's there to be tender about?"

"I feel bad for her—she has to direct the MV and act in it too. It's just too exhausting."

"Enough, let's drop it." Li Luo coughed; since he hadn't bathed, he didn't get into bed but walked over to the desk, sat down, and turned on his computer. "If you two are tired, go ahead and sleep. I'll write some words."

"You're way too obsessed," Xu Youyu complained from the bed. "You saved up so many drafts just so you could relax and have fun when you're out, right?"

"Then what did you think I saved up so many drafts for?" Li Luo shot her a look. "There's a phrase: 'accumulated day by day, month by month.' Besides, writing now doesn't stop me from having fun."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu let out a sharp "tsk," but said nothing more.

After all, Yan Zhusheng was right there—some Online Novel topics weren't convenient for Xu Youyu to bring up.

For instance, she couldn't possibly mention right now that she'd taken another day off from updating.

But while the two were chatting, Yan Zhusheng pulled out her phone and began scrolling through it, leaning against the headboard.

Seeing Li Luo truly begin writing seriously, Xu Youyu stopped bothering him and turned to Yan Zhusheng, curious: "You follow Li Luo's books every single day?"

"This isn't written by Li Luo," Yan Zhusheng said, blinking after hearing Xu Youyu's question.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu paused, surprised. "You read other stuff besides his? I thought this was Qidian—do you read other Online Novels too?"

"I do," Yan Zhusheng nodded, showing her phone screen to Xu Youyu. "I've been reading this one lately, but the author keeps taking breaks—I've already finished it once and am on my second read."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu felt astonished—what book could make Yan Zhusheng read it twice?

She leaned closer to Yan Zhusheng, glanced at the book's homepage on her phone, and immediately froze.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Yan Zhusheng noticed her strange expression and asked curiously. "Is there something wrong with this book?"

"N-nothing's wrong…" Xu Youyu stared at the four large characters on the screen—Literary Era—and forced a smile, trying to appear normal, though her heart churned. She couldn't help asking, "How did you even find this book?"

"Li Luo recommended it in his book," Yan Zhusheng said innocently. "I saw the author gave Li Luo a Silver Alliance reward—I got curious, so I checked it out. It's actually pretty good."

"R-really…" Xu Youyu forced a smile, desperate to end the conversation.

But Yan Zhusheng continued: "Sis, you should read it too—it's really great."

Li Luo had been typing, but his ears were still tuned to the girls' chatter.

When he heard Yan Zhusheng say "Silver Alliance," he turned around in surprise and saw Xu Youyu's strained expression—he instantly guessed which book Yan Zhusheng was reading.

He quickly got up, walked back to the bed, leaned curiously beside Yan Zhusheng, and glanced at her phone: "You're reading this book?"

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded.

"Already the second time?" Li Luo asked.

"Yeah," Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Li Luo exchanged a glance with Xu Youyu, saw the panic and despair in her eyes, gave her a reassuring look, then said: "Nothing. The author attended the year-end party with me—we met offline."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "He writes some parts really well—much more detailed than you do."

Li Luo paused slightly, then asked instinctively: "What parts are more detailed?"

"The bed scenes," Yan Zhusheng said, blinking innocently. "You never write any in your books, but this one has tons—I feel like I learned a lot."

Li Luo: "... The writing in books is exaggerated—don't go copying that stuff!"

After saying this, Li Luo's face darkened with exasperation; he lightly patted Yan Zhusheng's head, then gave Xu Youyu a helpless look.

He thought: So all those sudden physical advances Yan Zhusheng made lately—this whole time, you taught her?

Xu Youyu's face flushed crimson at Yan Zhusheng's words, embarrassed; after meeting Li Luo's gaze, she felt even more guilty.

After all, some of her own scenes were written from fantasies of herself and Li Luo entangled together.

The moment she imagined Yan Zhusheng reading those exact scenes, she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

Luckily, Yan Zhusheng didn't know the book was written by her—if she did, Xu Youyu was certain she'd have already clawed the bed to shreds.

Just as Li Luo was about to give Yan Zhusheng more advice, the bathroom door opened a crack, and Ying Chanxi's voice came from inside.

"Li Luo."

"What is it?" Li Luo turned, puzzled.

"My pajamas are in the other bedroom—can you go get them for me?"

"Oh, got it." Li Luo nodded, temporarily setting aside the situation on the bed, and turned to leave the room.

As he passed the bathroom, Ying Chanxi reached out a pale, lotus-like arm and grabbed him.

Li Luo stopped. Ying Chanxi poked her head out, revealing most of her bare shoulder, blushing softly as she whispered: "And grab me a clean pair of underwear too."

"Underwear?"

"Shh! Lower your voice!" Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed deeper; she hurriedly explained, "They got wet from seawater—I need to change. Just hurry up!"

After saying that, she pulled back into the bathroom and shut the door.

Left alone outside the bathroom, Li Luo fell into thought. He recalled in his memory palace: that night by the sea with Ying Chanxi, they'd only walked along the waves at first, holding hands.

Later, when they kissed passionately, the rising tide had splashed their feet.

Beyond that, they hadn't really touched seawater at all, had they?

Could seawater really have soaked them this much?

Li Luo's expression turned peculiar—he immediately thought of another possibility. But remembering Ying Chanxi's adorable, blushing face just now, he let out a soft laugh.

He stepped out of the room, entered Ying Chanxi's bedroom, opened her suitcase, and found her pajamas and a cute Pikachu.

Carrying both items, he returned to the bathroom door of his own room and knocked: "I brought them."

"Mm." Ying Chanxi quickly opened a crack in the door, reached out, snatched the pajamas and Pikachu inside, then slammed the door shut again.

Not long after, Ying Chanxi finished bathing, put on a pajama set, and came out; Li Luo gestured for her to sit at the table, picked up the room's built-in hair dryer, and dried her hair.

After helping her dry her hair, Li Luo went into the bathroom to bathe, while Ying Chanxi climbed into bed.

Because she didn't want to sit too close to Yan Zhusheng, who had read her book, Xu Youyu shifted slightly to the side, leaving the middle spot for Ying Chanxi.

After Ying Chanxi slipped under the covers, Xu Youyu asked, "Xixi."

"Mm?"

"What scenes did you and Li Luo film on the beach tonight?"

At this question, not only Ying Chanxi but also Yan Zhusheng next door paused her novel-reading, put down her phone, and turned her head.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's mind instantly filled with images of Li Luo kissing her; she stammered, "It's just… by the sea, you know, those kinds of scenes."

"For example?" Xu Youyu chuckled, pressing further.

"For example… holding hands walking, chasing waves, stuff like that," Ying Chanxi said, growing quieter, her voice lacking confidence, "maybe even hugging a little."

"What about the kiss scene?" Yan Zhusheng asked, puzzled. "Why no kiss scene?"

"Of course there was one," Xu Youyu grinned. "Xixi's just too shy to say it."

"N-No there wasn't!" Ying Chanxi instinctively denied it.

But Xu Youyu said, "Li Luo said you both stuck out your tongues, Xixi—stop pretending."

"Huh?!" Ying Chanxi's face flushed bright red at this, even growing annoyed. "He—he how could he say that?! How could he say that?!"

"Huh?" Xu Youyu froze, stunned by Ying Chanxi's reaction.

Yan Zhusheng beside her blinked, then narrowed her eyes at Ying Chanxi: "Xixi, did you really stick out your tongues during the kiss scene?"

Hearing Yan Zhusheng ask this, Ying Chanxi's mind went blank; she hesitated: "But Senior—"

"Cough…" Xu Youyu looked at Ying Chanxi with a mix of exasperation and amusement, patted her head, and said apologetically, "I was just joking—I said it offhand."

"Ah!" Ying Chanxi finally realized, her face burning even redder; she buried herself entirely under the covers, too embarrassed to face anyone. "I didn't say anything!"

"So you really did stick out your tongue?" Xu Youyu asked curiously.

"No!"

"What does sticking out your tongue feel like?" Yan Zhusheng followed up.

"I don't know!"

"If Xixi doesn't know," Yan Zhusheng rolled her eyes, "then I'll go ask Li Luo to try it later."

Ying Chanxi: "…?!"

…

When Li Luo finished bathing and stepped out of the bathroom, he picked up the hair dryer, blew his hair dry, and glanced toward the bed.

He saw Ying Chanxi had buried her head under the covers, leaving only her forehead exposed.

Li Luo assumed Ying Chanxi was still embarrassed from when she first entered the room, and chuckled: "Don't keep your head buried like that—it's bad for your health."

Ying Chanxi didn't answer.

Instead, Xu Youyu chuckled, waited until Li Luo dried his hair and came to the bed, then hugged Ying Chanxi and shifted her further aside.

Seeing Li Luo slip under the covers, she asked, "What did you two film on the beach tonight?"

"Just normal MV content—what else could we film?" Li Luo said calmly. "Didn't you all film some of it this afternoon? Tonight was just adding night scenes."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded, then asked, "Did you film the kiss scene?"

"Yes," Li Luo admitted. "Off-angle."

Hearing Li Luo say this, Ying Chanxi, still buried under the covers, felt embarrassed; she reached out a small hand and gently tugged his sleeve.

But Yan Zhusheng on the other side wasn't letting them off: "Can you stick out your tongue even with off-angle?"

"Was Xixi's tongue tasty?" Xu Youyu grinned at him.

Li Luo: "…"

Hearing the two girls' questions, Li Luo quietly pulled back the covers and looked at Ying Chanxi, buried inside.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi guiltily covered her face, refusing to look at him, whispering: "I—I didn't say anything…"