Chapter 470: Ying Dao

Even setting aside the relationships among the four children, the six parents' relationships were now quite good.

Of course, the six still centered around Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong as a couple.

Ying Zhicheng and Li Guohong had been close childhood friends.

Yuan Wanqing, in the past few days, had been living and entertaining with Lin Xiuhong here, and their bond had grown much closer.

As for Cui Suling, since the summer when Li Luo's seven-person study group fully formed and Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling began cooking for them daily, the two had quickly become close girlfriends.

They often went out shopping and played mahjong together.

Xu Rongsheng and Li Guohong maintained a relatively normal relationship, because Li Guohong had given Xu Rongsheng many hot pot coupons, causing many of Xu Rongsheng's colleagues to frequent Chuan-Yu Old Hot Pot.

Added to that, since Lin Xiuhong and Cui Suling cooked at Bihai Lanting, the two often went over there to piggyback meals, and over time, they frequently sat together chatting.

Now that all six parents had finally gathered, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong led them upstairs and gathered around the sofa to exchange pleasantries.

Xu Rongsheng and Cui Suling brought plenty of New Year goods to pay New Year visits; after a bit of polite exchange, the atmosphere quickly became warm.

Although today was only the fifth day of the New Year, Li Luo's cousin Li Dao had already left with his wife, as his factory still needed work and couldn't stay until the seventh.

Chen Yongqi worked at Li Dao's factory, so he left too.

In addition, Li Luo's aunt Li Xuemei had already taken Chen Sijia to her grandmother's house and would stay there for two days.

Li Xiang and Chen Lu remained to spend the New Year here; they had just finished breakfast early in the morning when they heard commotion downstairs.

Then they saw Li Guohong and the others bringing two people upstairs, followed by Li Luo and Xixi Zhusheng… hmm? Why was there an extra person?

When Li Xiang and Chen Lu saw guests arriving, they obediently vacated the sofa and slipped over to sit on the chairs by the balcony, exchanging glances and whispering to each other.

"That's Xu Youyu, right?" Chen Lu whispered.

"Yeah," Li Xiang nodded. "Those two elders over there seem to be Xu Youyu's parents."

"Holy shit, the whole family showed up?" Chen Lu's face was full of shock. "How come their parents' relationships are still this good? Don't they notice their daughter's situation?"

"How would I know?" Li Xiang was equally stunned, then fell into deep thought. "Could it be they've realized how sought-after my little uncle is and want to strike first?"

"That's overblown…" Chen Lu said, unimpressed. "Li Luo and the others are still in high school—why think so far ahead? They're probably just close."

The two whispered to each other, eavesdropping on the living room conversation, and soon learned some new information.

"Xu Youyu's dad is actually a professor? Which university?" Chen Lu asked, surprised.

"I've never met them before—why ask me?" Li Xiang rolled his eyes, then got up and sidled over to Li Luo, quietly asked, and rushed back to report. "Asked him—Qianjiang University's Literature Department professor!"

"Holy shit! That's impressive?" Chen Lu blinked, looking from Li Luo to Xu Rongsheng. "Still think Li Luo can juggle three girls? I don't believe it—would a professor from Qianjiang University allow this?"

"I was just saying that," Li Xiang muttered. "Who knows what the future holds? Besides, two years ago, when I told you Li Luo would make millions, did you believe me?"

Chen Lu: "…"

This wasn't about belief—it was outright impossible!

Yet such an impossible thing had truly happened to Li Luo.

But Chen Lu quietly corrected him: "It's ten million annual income."

"What? That much?" Li Xiang, having only read Li Luo's novels and occasionally lurked in reader groups, had only a rough idea of authors' income levels.

Logically, Li Luo's I Am Really Not a Star should earn a few hundred thousand per month at best—four or five million a year?

Where did ten million come from?!

"Don't look at me like that—it's definitely over ten million," Chen Lu shook his head. "Chongran Culture has an account with our bank—their cash flow is huge. Don't forget, Li Luo writes songs too."

With Chen Lu's reminder, Li Xiang finally realized.

Li Luo wasn't just a novelist—he was also excellent at writing songs.

But Li Xiang didn't know how much Li Luo actually earned from songwriting.

What he didn't know was that since Li Luo's album propelled Yuan Wan to stardom, with every track a smash hit, invitations to compose for Chongran Culture had poured in nonstop.

Then came "A Small Luck," the theme song of My Girlhood, sung by Yuan Wan, which became one of the most popular sad songs recently, again proving Li Luo's talent.

In addition, Li Luo had sold seven or eight other songs—songs he felt were unsuitable for Yuan Wan and Yan Zhusheng, and that he himself didn't particularly like—but which had performed well at the time.

Each song's base price was over 200,000 yuan, sometimes including royalty-sharing contracts.

Just from this alone, he'd already earned a substantial amount.

Not to mention the ongoing revenue from Yuan Wan's album.

Songs like "As Wished" and "Empty Heart" frequently appeared on stages and music variety shows—all requiring royalty payments.

Moreover, Yuan Wan's album Sky Has No Limits had already sold over ten million copies.

Even if Li Luo's royalty share wasn't high, it was still a very substantial income.

Ten million annual income was perfectly normal.

This year, Li Luo's A Little Joy is about to sell its adaptation rights, likely fetching over ten million.

Even after deductions, Li Luo's share would be at least several million.

His annual income surpassing ten million again was virtually guaranteed.

Li Xiang and Chen Lu grew increasingly silent, their gazes fixed on Li Luo, who sat quietly in the living room, still dazed.

In just one and a half years, how had everything changed so suddenly?

Honestly, when Li Xiang first visited Li Luo's home with his grandfather for dinner and learned I Am Really Not a Star was written by Li Luo, he'd only felt mildly surprised.

At that time, the book hadn't even reached ten thousand subscriptions; monthly income was probably just a few ten thousand yuan.

For a Gao Zhongsheng like Li Luo, that was impressive—but not astonishing.

How could he have imagined this was only the beginning?

"Let them play mahjong—we three will go fishing," Li Guohong stood up and called out. "There's a small pond outside the village—great for fishing. Come on, let's go."

"Coming," Xu Rongsheng laughed and stood up, looking genuinely eager.

Ying Zhicheng followed, glancing at Yuan Wanqing before leaving.

After last night's conversation with Li Guohong, Lin Xiuhong had been especially attentive to the relationship between Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing; now seeing their eye contact, she immediately noticed.

Yuan Wanqing gave Ying Zhicheng a reassuring look, then joined Lin Xiuhong at the mahjong table.

Cui Suling also sat down, leaving this side one player short.

Lin Xiuhong's gaze turned toward Li Luo; the three girls exchanged glances, none wanting to sit down.

After all, if they got trapped at the mahjong table now, who knew what Li Luo might get up to with the other two?

So in the end, Li Luo volunteered himself, taking the vacant seat at the three parents' table.

To his left was Yuan Wanqing, to his right Cui Suling, across from him Lin Xiuhong.

Yan Zhusheng naturally sat in the corner between her mother and Li Luo.

Xu Youyu sat on Li Luo's other side.

Ying Chanxi, seeing this, reluctantly walked over to Lin Xiuhong's side and sat diagonally opposite Li Luo to watch.

Mahjong began.

As Li Luo drew and discarded tiles, he glanced around the table.

His mother across from him, the two aunts on either side, and three lovely girls.

Thinking of his own goals, he couldn't help feeling a pang of emotion.

If he could always see scenes like this in the future, he would have no regrets in life.

?

"I heard your book's copyright is about to be sold?" While playing mahjong, Yuan Wanqing initiated a topic, asking Li Luo.

"Yeah, it should be soon," Li Luo nodded, taking Yuan Wanqing's Eight of Characters, then discarding a One of Dots. "According to Uncle Ying, we'll have results before April."

"That book? Our Old Xu still praises it often," Cui Suling chimed in. "Last time we talked, we wondered—if it really becomes a TV drama, would they film it here?"

"That depends on how Uncle Ying arranges it," Li Luo smiled. "I think it'd be great if they filmed it around Fu No. 1 High School, since many locations in my story were directly based on places here."

When revising the original drama's character and setting, Li Luo had changed the setting from Beijing to Yinjiang District.

All three families made corresponding adjustments, trying to make things more grounded and avoiding any out-of-touch content.

If filming really happens, Fu No. 1 High School could be considered.

It's just unclear whether it'd be feasible.

"You can ask your Uncle Xu," Cui Suling said. "He has plenty of connections with Qian Da—Fu No. 1 is affiliated with Qian Da, and he knows people in the Ministry of Education, so it'd be easier to arrange."

"Mm," Li Luo nodded. "If they really plan to do it, I'll have to trouble Uncle Xu."

"What trouble?" Cui Suling chuckled.

"Any new songs this time?" Yuan Wanqing, having finished their conversation, interjected. "Like the drama's theme song?"

"Still thinking about it, no rush," Li Luo said, glancing between Cui Suling and Yuan Wanqing, his expression odd, yet he continued: "If I write one, I'll probably have to trouble Aunt Yuan again."

"No trouble at all," Yuan Wanqing smiled.

Watching Yuan Wanqing and Cui Suling take turns chatting with Li Luo, Li Luo gradually realized something—suddenly feeling uneasy.

Yan Zhusheng and Xu Youyu were close friends—why were their mothers starting to show signs of a romantic rivalry?

Li Luo's eye twitched; he truly hadn't expected this.

Especially since Yan Zhusheng was peeling oranges for him, and Xu Youyu was pouring him water—he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Cough—Chanxi, come here," Li Luo said after finishing a round, waving to Ying Chanxi across the table.

When she came over, he stood up and pushed her into his seat: "My stomach hurts—I'm going to the bathroom. You play for me a bit."

After saying that, Li Luo immediately escaped to the bathroom, planning to avoid the heat for a while before returning.

But just as Li Luo slipped onto the rooftop to catch some cold air and calm down, Xu Youyu wandered up, peeking over and spotting him.

"Didn't someone say their stomach hurt? Why are you on the rooftop?" Xu Youyu asked with a grin.

"Xiao Yu," Li Luo stood by the rooftop railing, turning to see Xu Youyu, and sighed helplessly. "Why'd you come up here?"

"I came to use the bathroom too," Xu Youyu strolled over to Li Luo's side, her figure still shapely beneath her down jacket. She exhaled a puff of white mist, rubbing her hands. "So cold."

"So you're staying two days before leaving?" Li Luo took Xu Youyu's small hand, wrapping it in his palm to warm it. "Uncle Ying's family still has spare rooms."

"Sure," Xu Youyu smiled. "My mom probably wants to stay a few more days too—both of them don't go back to work until the eighth."

"So you're leaving on the seventh?"

"Probably," Xu Youyu blinked, tilting her head up to look at Li Luo. "What about you?"

"We have to stay until after Lantern Festival—we rarely come back, so we need to spend more time with Grandpa and Grandma."

"True," Xu Youyu nodded, then added, "So after we leave on the seventh, we won't see each other for ten days or so?"

"Yeah, we won't see each other for… mm…"

The wind howled across the rooftop.

But their bodies were warm, like a furnace, impossible to chill.

Yet as Li Luo gazed at Xu Youyu's dazed eyes, he couldn't help recalling Yan Zhusheng from a few days ago.

They had kissed like this on the rooftop—only now, it was a different girl.

I'm really bad…

Thinking this, Li Luo lowered his head again, delving deeply.

…

A few minutes later.

Xu Youyu returned first to the second-floor mahjong table, resuming her seat and pouring Ying Chanxi a glass of water.

Soon after, Li Luo returned.

But he didn't ask Ying Chanxi to move—he pressed her shoulders down, telling her to keep playing, while he stood behind her as advisor.

"You're one tile away! Let me draw for you!" Li Luo saw Ying Chanxi about to self-draw, volunteered, reached out, drew a tile, and slapped it onto the table with a sharp crack.

Ying Chanxi stared at the glaring East Wind on the table and frowned in disgust: "Don't draw for me anymore—your luck's terrible."

"Alright, alright, I won't touch anymore." Li Luo withdrew his hand and began massaging Ying Chanxi's shoulders, "Let me give you a good massage, okay?"

"You don't have to..."

Ying Chanxi said that, but her body clearly enjoyed it—especially in front of Yuan Wanqing and Cui Suling. Though slightly embarrassed, she still subtly lifted her chest.

Xu Youyu glanced at Ying Chanxi's profile and silently poured her more tea: "Xixi, have some tea."

"Oh, thanks, senior sister~"