Chapter 519: The Two Daughters

Contrary to Li Luo's expectations.

The negotiations regarding the platinum contract progressed unusually smoothly.

Even on copyright-related demands, Wenxue Group didn't hold firm, which surprised Li Luo greatly.

But at dinner after the afternoon negotiations, Chief Editor Nan Feng spoke plainly.

"Wenxue Group is backed by Penguin, and our influence in China's film and TV industry is substantial."

"For example, your novel 'Little Joys,' which you sold this year—it's produced by Huayue Film and Television, right?"

Nan Feng sipped his juice and continued, "A simple TV drama production might be handled by one company alone, but every subsequent step—approval, distribution, promotion—involve other companies."

"Even production itself—if Penguin sees investment potential, someone will come to negotiate."

"In short, for higher-ups, the real value of copyright lies in consolidating their market position."

"As long as you remain with Wenxue Group, as our platinum author, the copyright will likely stay within Penguin's internal circle—that's enough."

After listening, Li Luo nodded lightly.

When he first returned from rebirth, it was already 2014, and he was just a third-year middle school student preparing for the high school entrance exam.

In his previous life, he hadn't studied computer science or any related field, and his family's financial situation didn't allow him to make prior arrangements.

Learning from the achievements of Reborn predecessors—punching Alibaba and kicking Penguin—was clearly a fantasy.

Fortunately, he had no Reborn superiority complex; he was content earning small, manageable money within his means.

He alone could do nothing to change the dynamics of copyright competition.

Being able to seize control of his own copyright direction and hold the operational rights in his hands was already a good outcome.

Lawyer Tian had bought a ticket for the day after tomorrow; originally, he expected to stay at least three days to finalize the broad framework.

Now it seemed he'd overestimated.

"You can stroll around nearby—have you ever been to Chongqing City before, Lawyer Tian?" Li Luo smiled. "Consider it a trip."

"I've never been before," Lawyer Tian chuckled. "Then I won't be polite this time."

Since this was a business trip, all of Lawyer Tian's travel expenses were covered by Chongran Culture.

After signing the legal outsourcing contract with Chongran Culture, these benefits had already been clearly stipulated.

He had taken on virtually all legal matters related to contract signings by himself.

For a lawyer, such long-term connections and channels were still very valuable.

…

On the afternoon and evening of the 9th, authors attending the salon gradually arrived at the hotel.

Many authors invited Li Luo to dinner; unable to refuse, he told Ying Chanxi and the others, then brought Xu Youyu along.

During the annual meeting in Qiongzhou City, many authors had noticed the suspicious relationship between Li Luo and Xu Youyu—everyone understood.

One was a future platinum author, the other showed signs of becoming a grandmaster; rumor had it both were top students from Yuhang City.

"Holy shit?! Top 50 in the whole province?"

At dinner, a female author who got along well with Xu Youyu blurted out the curse upon hearing his college entrance exam score—she couldn't hold back, her face filled with shock.

"Did you take the college entrance exam this year?"

"Yeah."

"That's seriously impressive—top 50 in the province? You're definitely getting into Tsinghua or Peking University, right?"

"Probably," Xu Youyu demurred. "But I didn't plan to apply there—Qianjiang University is right at home; I'll just go there."

"Qianjiang University is also great."

"Damn! This top student aura is too dazzling—I'm a junior college student and my eyes are going blind!"

Everyone joked and teased, but no one took it seriously.

In fact, online novel authors were probably the group most disillusioned with university diplomas.

No matter your diploma level, whether you're a donkey or a horse, take you out for a run—you'll show your true worth.

There was no shortage of top students from prestigious universities among online novel authors.

But there was an interesting phenomenon: among famous online novel authors, those with science backgrounds outnumbered those with arts/humanities backgrounds significantly.

This was probably because writing online novels required more scientific thinking.

"The girl beside me asked if I was dating you," Xu Youyu leaned over during dinner, whispering with a grin into Li Luo's ear. "What should I say?"

"Tell the truth," Li Luo turned and whispered back. "Or say you're my sister-in-law?"

"That wouldn't be bad either?" Xu Youyu smirked—but she wouldn't actually say it.

After whispering to another female author, Xu Youyu turned back, smiling at Li Luo, clearly having said something.

Li Luo couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked quietly, "What did you say?"

"I said you're my reserve boyfriend," Xu Youyu grinned. "If you get into Qianjiang University next year, then you get promoted."

"Is that so?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "If I do get into Qianjiang University next year, what benefits come with promotion?"

"Benefits are, of course…" Xu Youyu grabbed his hand, slid it under the table, and placed it on her thigh, winking at him.

"Whatever a boyfriend can do, you'll be able to do after promotion."

Xu Youyu smiled at him, felt his mischievous hand start wandering, and immediately pulled it away.

Li Luo felt a pang of regret, but seeing the other authors at the table, he calmly returned to his seat and resumed eating seriously.

After dinner with the authors, they rose to leave and returned to the hotel first.

The next day, the afternoon salon event officially opened.

Similar to last year, this year's event also featured a writing contest, but Li Luo wasn't interested and didn't pay much attention.

Such contests, from their own purpose, could generally be divided into two categories.

One was Qidian's own attempt to explore future directions, designing themed contests to guide authors toward specific genres.

And another category is officially endorsed, requiring online novels to set a certain example, just like last year's realism-themed writing contest.

But now Li Luo's attention is split: a small part goes to continuously updating I Am Really Not a Star, while the rest is entirely focused on the TV production of Little Joy, leaving him no interest in the writing contest at all.

……

After the two-day salon event ended and the platinum contract framework was preliminarily settled, Lawyer Tian toured Chongqing's Yuzhong District before boarding a flight back to Yuhang City. Li Luo saw off several author friends, then quickly welcomed Ying Chanchi and Yuan Wanqing.

He accompanied Ying Chanchi and Yan Zhusheng downstairs to meet them at the hotel entrance, where he saw a taxi parked beside the road in front of the gate.

Ying Zhicheng stepped out first, retrieving two suitcases from the trunk.

Ying Chanchi and Yan Zhusheng both stepped forward to help their parents carry the luggage.

Then, wearing a mask, Yuan Wanqing got out of the car and followed beside Ying Zhicheng; the two headed straight to the front desk to check in.

Because their check-in time differed from Li Luo's group, Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing's hotel room was assigned to the ninth floor.

Li Luo and the three of them escorted Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing up to their room, helped them settle in briefly, then called the others to go out for lunch together.

After lunch, the group of ten returned to the hotel to rest, then set out to visit nearby attractions.

Starting from the Ximen of Jiefangbei's Tongyuan Gate, Ying Chanchi and Yan Zhusheng had prepared extensive travel itineraries, which now finally came in handy.

They strolled along the streets of the distinctive old district, and whenever they reached a scenic spot, Ying Chanchi would raise her camera to take photos of everyone.

In front of their parents, the three girls dared not make overly intimate gestures with Li Luo while taking photos.

Please… collect… (! )

But occasionally, when the parents weren't paying attention, Yan Zhusheng would boldly press close to Li Luo and beg Ying Chanchi to take their picture.

Ying Chanchi took the photos while gritting her teeth, and later in the itinerary, she began seeking opportunities to take intimate photos with Li Luo herself.

Xu Youyu didn't care about any of this—he just strolled beside Li Luo, occasionally buying snacks from roadside vendors and feeding them to Li Luo.

From Tongyuan Gate, the group passed through Consulate Lane and arrived at Shancheng Lane in the south.

Here, foreign consulates, Western churches, Sichuan-Chongqing stilt houses, old residences, air-raid shelters, and lanterns hanging along the streets were all characteristic architecture of old Sichuan-Chongqing, offering a unique charm at first glance.

Li Luo had little interest in these sights; with his Memory Palace, a single glance was enough to memorize them, so there was no need to stare intently.

Along the way, Ying Zhicheng watched the children having fun—taking photos, buying snacks, strolling—and his mood relaxed.

But even so, he didn't forget his work.

"Little Joy starts filming next month," Ying Zhicheng said. "The script is fine. As for the actual shooting, will you come to the set?"

"I'll take a look," Li Luo nodded. "Not sure if it'll be convenient."

"Of course it's convenient," Ying Zhicheng laughed. "You're the screenwriter and investor—how could it not be convenient? Just don't let it interfere with your studies."

"It's just the Qianjiang University entrance exam—I won't be distracted."

Ying Zhicheng glanced at Li Luo's confident face and felt a deep sense of emotion.

Two years ago, if someone had told him Li Luo would one day get into Qianjiang University and become his daughter's classmate again, Ying Zhicheng would never have believed it.

But sometimes, perhaps miracles really do exist?

He couldn't figure out how this kid's brain was built.

Since Li Luo's birth, Ying Zhicheng could say he'd watched this boy grow up.

He never imagined that after middle school entrance exams, this kid would change so drastically.

Leaving aside his achievements and earnings in online novels and music, even just his academic performance was astonishing.

A former middle-school underachiever had suddenly risen to become the second-highest-ranked student in the district's most prestigious high school.

Such a transformation would be a textbook, classic rags-to-riches story anywhere.

Ying Zhicheng was very satisfied with the current Li Luo.

But… there was just one thing…

Looking at the three girls walking beside Li Luo, Ying Zhicheng rubbed his temples, feeling a touch of helplessness.

Is this kid's romantic luck really that excessive?

Isn't having our own XiXi enough?

Why is he flirting everywhere?

Especially since one of the girls is Yan Zhusheng…

Ying Zhicheng's expression was utterly resigned—after all, that was Yuan Wanqing's daughter.

Come to think of it, she's even his niece!

If the two sisters ever quarreled over romantic issues in the future, who should he and Yuan Wanqing support?

This was truly a headache.

Fortunately, the kids are still young—this problem can wait until after university graduation.

……

In the afternoon, the group strolled from Tongyuan Gate all the way to Bai Xiang Street, then to Dongshui Gate.

At dusk, they had dinner, then headed to Hongyadong in the evening.

Although it was peak summer and Chongqing's Yuzhong District was unbearably hot, tourist traffic during the summer break remained enormous.

Upon arriving at the famous Hongyadong attraction, they were practically shoulder-to-shoulder in the crowd.

Combined with the flashing lights all around, in the blink of an eye, the ten of them got separated.

Li Luo was pulled away by Xu Youyu to buy snacks; when he returned, he couldn't find anyone else.

Xu Rongsheng and the other parents were gone; they messaged in the group chat to locate each other, but since no one knew the area well, they couldn't use nearby buildings to pinpoint locations.

After confirming everyone was safe, they agreed to wander freely and regroup at Jiefangbei at 9 p. m.

"Didn't expect we'd get to stroll alone together," Xu Youyu was delighted, immediately wrapping his arm around Li Luo's and grinning.

"Be careful—not a single drop of ice cream on my clothes."

"I didn't." Xu Youyu held up the ice cream. "Here, take a bite too."

Li Luo took a sip, then called Ying Chanxi to confirm again that she was with Yan Zhusheng and had no safety issues, only then relaxing.

After briefly telling her where he would go next, Ying Chanxi responded with a murmur, indicating she and Yan Zhusheng would head that way.

Perhaps they wouldn't need to meet at Liberation Monument—they could rendezvous earlier.

But just as Ying Chanxi was on the phone with Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng yanked her arm hard, pulling her abruptly into a narrow alley.

"Zhusheng… what are you doing?" Ying Chanxi hung up the call, frowning at Yan Zhusheng, who was holding her breath, staring intently at some point outside the alley, silent.

Yan Zhusheng said nothing, only silently raised a finger toward two figures in the distance.

Ying Chanxi was confused, thinking she might have seen Li Luo and Xu Youyu, yet couldn't understand why she'd been pulled into hiding.

But when she looked up and recognized the two figures Yan Zhusheng was pointing at, her breath caught, and she froze in place.

(End of Chapter)