Chapter 478

【Ying Chanxi:】

【When you receive this letter, if the courier hasn't been delayed, it should arrive exactly on your birthday.】

【On a special day, I'll greet you with a proper address.】

【While writing this letter, there were many postcards to choose from at the Love Post Office.】

【When I saw the image of a sunrise over the sea, I felt it was perfect as a gift for you.】

【Humans come from water; childhood is like the morning of a day—just as the rising sun emerges from the sea, so too has our companionship been since childhood.】

【This trip to Qiongzhou gave me many insights; it will surely become one of the most unforgettable beautiful memories of my life.】

【On your birthday, I hope I didn't disappoint you too much, and helped you have an unforgettable birthday.】

【If you found your birthday joyful, please reply to me—right now, as you read this, say nothing, just give me a smile.】

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi's heart warmed, and she couldn't help but smile, turning her head to give Li Luo a smile.

But as she turned her head, she saw Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng secretly passing notes during morning self-study; instantly, Ying Chanxi's expression hardened, and she silently turned back, huffing.

【Of course, if your birthday left you in a bad mood, you can punch me.】

Seeing the next line, Ying Chanxi raised an eyebrow, nearly turning again to punch Li Luo.

But considering they were still in morning self-study, she suppressed the urge and let him off for now.

Li Luo's letter continued.

【If you're lucky, this letter might arrive at your home early in the morning.】

【But knowing your nature, you'll probably wait until school to read it, since you still have morning running.】

【Little Xi, you're so well-behaved—you wouldn't read it during morning self-study, right?】

【You probably finished reading it before morning self-study began—I wonder if I guessed right?】

At this point, Ying Chanxi huffed.

He makes it sound like she's not well-behaved—but it's all his fault for writing that line on the postcard, making her reread it so many times she couldn't finish before morning self-study.

Thinking this, Ying Chanxi kept reading the letter.

If, by bad luck, this letter arrives at night, our little Xi will probably clutch it, sneak back to her bedroom, and read it secretly under the covers.

Hmph.

I would never read it under the covers!

At most, I'll just go back to my room and read it sitting at my desk!

【If the letter doesn't arrive on your birthday, it's fine—I'll rewrite it that same day and secretly arrange for someone to deliver it.】

【I'll also ask Butler Liu to leave a bad review for the Love Post Office at the hilltop park.】

【Back to the point.】

【Today is your birthday—I hope everything goes well and your mood stays smooth.】

【This isn't the first time I've celebrated your birthday, and it certainly won't be the last.】

【I hope every year in the future, I can wish you this way.】

【Now you're in Gao Er; in no time, you'll be in Gao San, and university feels just around the corner.】

【If possible, I hope days like these can last forever.】

【Finally, happy birthday.】

【—Li Luo】

Throughout the entire morning self-study, Ying Chanxi did nothing else but secretly reread the letter Li Luo wrote her.

When morning self-study ended, Qiao Xinyan walked down from the podium and returned to her seat, laughing: "You really should learn to be more discreet—Teacher Kong looked at you several times already."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi blinked, momentarily confused, then stammered, "Why was Teacher Kong looking at me?"

"What else could it be?" Qiao Xinyan said, exasperated, and poked the Chinese textbook on her desk. "You hid the letter inside the book—do you really think no one noticed?"

"Is it really that obvious?" Ying Chanxi flushed with embarrassment, scratching her cheek awkwardly. "Did Teacher Kong see it?"

"You're top in your studies, but in this area, you're clueless," Qiao Xinyan said, wagging a finger with a smile. "From the podium, you can instantly tell who's seriously reading and who's sneaking around—Teacher Kong just didn't bother scolding you."

"Then why didn't you warn me?" Ying Chanxi's cheeks turned red as she quietly tucked Li Luo's letter away.

"I winked at you multiple times!" Qiao Xinyan rolled her eyes, grinning. "But you? You kept staring at that Chinese textbook like it was the most important thing in the world—your expression was so rich, you looked completely immersed in the story's emotion. No wonder you're class rank one."

Ying Chanxi's face burned red; she stammered helplessly, then finally turned around and punched Li Luo: "It's all your fault!"

Li Luo stared at her, bewildered—what had he done? Why was she suddenly hitting him?

Women are truly inexplicable creatures—always so hard to understand.

……

March 14th was Ying Chanxi's birthday; although Li Luo and the others had already celebrated it on the weekend, some other classmates at school still prepared gifts for her.

But for Ying Chanxi, no gift could be more precious than Li Luo's letter.

She had already read it several times during morning self-study, then read it again during lunch break, and after finishing her homework in evening self-study, she read it several more times—she couldn't understand why she kept rereading it, leaving Qiao Xinyan utterly baffled, only able to sigh inwardly that this girl was hopeless.

After evening self-study ended, Ying Chanxi returned home with Li Luo and the others; after bathing, she took out the letter again and sat at her desk to read it once more.

Then she placed the letter into a special box, alongside all the previous letters Li Luo had written her as a pen pal, storing them all carefully.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi's phone rang; she looked closely and saw it was her father calling, so she immediately picked it up.

The father and daughter chatted warmly; Ying Zhicheng clearly remembered it was his daughter's birthday, wished her a happy birthday, then reminded her: "I've transferred ten thousand yuan to your account—it's spring now, remember to buy some new clothes."

"Mm-hmm, I know," Ying Chanxi nodded obediently. "I already have enough money."

Besides, when she went shopping with Li Luo, he often just paid for the clothes outright.

Ying Chanxi rarely had a chance to spend money herself—she could only treat Li Luo to meals by topping up his school meal card.

Ying Zhicheng didn't think much of it and continued: "Is Li Luo beside you? I have something to tell him—if he's there, I won't call him separately."

"He's probably writing," Ying Chanxi quickly stood up, slippers slapping as she walked toward Li Luo's bedroom.

Knocking on Li Luo's door, Ying Chanxi stepped inside and found Yan Zhusheng lying face-down on Li Luo's bed, kicking his feet in the air while scrolling through an Online Novel on his phone.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi puffed out her cheeks slightly, but remembered her priority—she immediately walked over to Li Luo and handed him the phone.

"What's wrong?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"My dad wants to speak with you. Take the call."

"Oh, okay." Li Luo snapped to attention, quickly taking the phone and greeting the other end, "Uncle Ying, you wanted me?"

"Mm." Ying Zhicheng nodded, getting straight to the point over the line, "The film and television rights for your novel *Little Joys* are nearly settled—the contract details are mostly finalized. You'll likely need to confirm a few things on your end afterward; ask your lawyer for specifics."

"If there are no issues, wrap it up soon and set a time to sign the contract."

"The sooner you confirm, the sooner I can start production—the director has already prepared to launch the project."

"Oh, alright, no problem." Li Luo nodded, understanding, his right hand moving the mouse as he reviewed messages he'd already received. "Lawyer Tian just spoke with me—there shouldn't be any major issues. If everything's good, I can sign the contract this weekend."

"Good, as long as there are no problems." Ying Zhicheng smiled and nodded. "Director Wang Jun has high hopes for you. Besides his usual go-to screenwriter as your assistant, they won't interfere much with the script."

"But you're new to TV drama creation—this has slightly different logic than Online Novels."

"So if they offer opinions or suggestions, you can listen to them appropriately."

"It's not just about the script—it's about teamwork. This is completely different from writing an Online Novel alone."

"If you ever face something you can't handle, just tell me privately."

Ying Zhicheng's words were slightly softened, but Li Luo understood the implication clearly—he nodded and said, "My request is simple: don't alter the core plot."

"That…" Ying Zhicheng paused, then asked, "Do you remember something you mentioned during the New Year?"

"What?" Li Luo thought back, and with the help of his Memory Palace, he recalled instantly. "The investment matter?"

"Yes." Ying Zhicheng's tone grew serious. "Some members of the board aren't confident in your project."

"At Huayue Film and Television, there's another TV project in development at the same time—a work by a female-audience author we've collaborated with before. In terms of quality and adaptation experience, her project scores higher with the board."

"Our company's investment model mostly provides personnel; the financial contribution is relatively small. The bulk of TV funding comes from board members."

"Besides the film and television rights, *Little Joys* will need roughly fifteen million in additional funding."

"Of course, some board members haven't yet expressed their stance—they may increase investment later if circumstances allow."

"If you, as the original author, were to invest a sum yourself, it might change some minds—and the funding pool could become more substantial."

"On the other hand, you wouldn't just be a screenwriter or original author in the crew—you'd become one of the project's primary investors."

"The difference in influence, before and after, would be significant."

"But think carefully before deciding—even if you're confident in your novel, Online Novels and TV dramas aren't the same thing."

"To be blunt, I'm just an employee. I'm using company money—if we lose, it might affect my position—but nothing more."

"But if you invest, it's your own real money."

As the son of his childhood friend and someone close to his daughter, Ying Zhicheng spoke sincerely, considering every angle for Li Luo.

After listening, Li Luo paused to think, then looked again at his chat history with Lawyer Tian, and confirmed: "Uncle Ying, is the final price for the rights definitely twelve million?"

"Of course." Ying Zhicheng smiled. "Since it's your book, I didn't push hard on the price."

Since they were family, Ying Zhicheng spoke plainly—no need to hide anything.

Normally, Wenxue Group quoted fifteen million; with effort, I could have negotiated it down to ten million.

But on one hand, I'm under time pressure to move the project forward; on the other, it's your book—I didn't haggle over this.

As Ying Zhicheng put it, it's not my money anyway.

After receiving the confirmed answer, Li Luo smiled and nodded into the phone: "Then I'm confident—I'll invest five million."

Hmm… that's roughly the amount I'll receive after selling the rights.

Maybe a bit less after taxes—but if needed, I'll top it up. I'm not short on cash right now.

If I don't spend it, the company still has to pay taxes. Better to invest it like this.

At least for the *Little Joys* project, as long as Director Wang Jun doesn't pull any nonsense, I'm confident.

"Alright, then let's leave it at that." Ying Zhicheng nodded. "We'll discuss the details in person this weekend."