Chapter 538

With the start of the semester in Appendix One, the cast and crew of "Little Joy" smoothly moved into Appendix One High School and began a series of filming activities.

Naturally, such news could not be contained.

When the first-year freshmen returned to school from the military base, they quickly heard about it.

Added to this, the classroom used for filming was on the top floor of the first-year teaching building—an empty room that made it even easier for the freshmen to go watch.

On this point, director Wang Jun didn't mind, and the school was very cooperative; even clubs like the school dance team actively applied to join as extras.

After receiving approval from school teachers and the production crew, "Little Joy" gained a batch of free extras.

Coupled with the vigorous club recruitment during the first week of the semester, Appendix One High School was happy to see students actively participate in this rare filming experience.

In this regard, the school leadership at Appendix One was indeed quite open-minded.

Although third-year students were strictly forbidden from going to the set, first- and second-year students were not blocked at all.

Soon, the new first-year students learned a truly remarkable piece of news.

"I heard the TV drama this crew is filming is based on a novel written by an upperclassman from our school."

"No way! That's awesome?"

"That's not even the best part—this upperclassman's pen name is Chongran. You know Yuan Wanqing, right? All her songs were written by Chongran!"

"You might not believe it, but Chongran is in third year and ranks second in the entire grade—a guaranteed Tsinghua or Peking University candidate."

"And he plays guitar too. During club recruitment these past few days, you can go to the rock club—you'll occasionally see him. He used to perform on stage every year."

Although Li Luo had barely shown his face in front of the first-year freshmen, just one week had passed and legends about Li Luo already filled the first-year wing.

As a result, even though Li Luo was in third year and about to leave both clubs, the rock club and literature club unexpectedly saw a surge in new sign-ups.

Especially after newcomers came drawn by Li Luo's fame, they saw Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi—beautiful girls—and were instantly captivated.

"Li Luo, won't you even show up for the literature club's first meeting this year?" Jiang Liuxian looked helplessly at Li Luo across the cafeteria table.

"I'm going to check on the set this evening. The literature club is all yours," Li Luo gave Jiang Liuxian a thumbs-up for encouragement, "You're already the designated president—start taking responsibility early, get used to it."

"But I'm busy too," Jiang Liuxian sighed. "Ying's student council duties are falling on me now."

"Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared," Li Luo said gravely. "You're clearly over-prepared."

Jiang Liuxian: "..."

"Aren't you going to the rock club either?" Yan Zhusheng turned to ask.

"I won't go. Last year's rock club already recruited plenty of new members, and this year there are even more—no need to worry about lacking people," Li Luo waved his hand. "But have you decided who to make president?"

"I had them vote among themselves," Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Jiang Songhe became president, Lin Suifeng vice president."

"Then that's settled," Li Luo smiled. "Now you can relax."

"But I still want to sing," Yan Zhusheng pressed her lips together, reluctant.

"Didn't Aunt Yuan invite you to perform at her concert this year?" Li Luo reached out and patted her head. "Go enjoy it on a bigger stage."

Across from him, Jiang Liuxian saw Li Luo giving Yan Zhusheng the head-pat and immediately turned her gaze to Ying Chanxi sitting beside her.

Seeing Ying Chanxi narrow her eyes slightly and bite her chopsticks hard, Jiang Liuxian struggled to suppress her grin, ready to watch the drama unfold.

The next second, Li Luo turned to Ying Chanxi: "Why did you decide to hand over the student council president position to Jiang Liuxian?"

"Because I've worked hard, of course!" Jiang Liuxian immediately protested. "Don't make it sound like I got this position through backdoor connections!"

"I know her better," Ying Chanxi said. "But there was also an internal vote—Jiang Liuxian earned the position herself."

"Exactly!" Jiang Liuxian lifted her chin slightly, primly.

Li Luo nodded. "Greater ability means greater responsibility. Giving you the literature club was clearly the right decision."

Jiang Liuxian: "..."

She already felt she was going to die from exhaustion.

"Xixi has worked hard all year," Li Luo reached out again and patted Ying Chanxi's head. "Relax properly in third year."

"Hmph," Ying Chanxi let out a soft hum but clearly enjoyed the head-pat, her eyes half-lidded in comfort. "Still can't slack off—at least not let someone else surpass me in grades."

Across from them, Jiang Liuxian stared silently at the scene, lost in long silence.

Club recruitment after the semester's start quickly drew to a close.

The filming content required by the "Little Joy" crew at Appendix One High School was also hurriedly completed within this week.

By Saturday, the crew left Appendix One High School and returned to their previous studio to continue shooting the remaining scenes.

On the morning of September 11, Xu Youyu's side welcomed the final drill presentation of their military training.

Around noon, Li Luo and the others welcomed Xu Youyu back home from school.

"Finally free!" Xu Youyu, still in her military training uniform, collapsed onto the sofa with a long, drawn-out groan.

"You're covered in sweat—go take a shower," Li Luo glanced at the lifeless Xu Youyu on the sofa and patted her shoulder.

"You find me disgusting?" Xu Youyu puffed out her cheeks, pulling Li Luo down to sit beside her. "Smell me—do I stink?"

"You smell wonderful."

"... Well, not that much," Xu Youyu blushed at his words, scrambled up from the sofa, and headed toward the bathroom, glancing back halfway. "I made plans with my roommate to have lunch together—come with me?"

"Your roommate's having lunch—why don't you go alone?"

"You're my boyfriend now, you know~" Xu Youyu winked mischievously. "Treating my roommate to lunch is perfectly reasonable, right?"

"Alright, alright!" Li Luo hurriedly pushed Xu Youyu into the bathroom and shut the door, then glanced around nervously.

Luckily, Yan Zhusheng wasn't home—she was at her private art tutor's place.

Ying Chanxi had left early that morning for Appendix One High School to help Jiang Liuxian with student council handover work.

After National Day, Ying Chanxi would fully step down as student council president and have much more free time.

It was fortunate neither of them was home—if they had been, Xu Youyu's earlier words alone would've ignited two bombs.

Thinking this, Li Luo changed into fresh clothes in his room and waited for Xu Youyu to finish her shower.

About twenty minutes later, a shout suddenly came from the other end of the hallway.

"Li Luo! I didn't bring any clean clothes!" Xu Youyu called out to Li Luo's bedroom, "Go get them from my room for me~"

"Coming." Li Luo stood up and walked out of his bedroom toward Xu Youyu's room, "What do you need?"

"Open the closet—there's a white shirt, and underneath it are pants. Just grab the top pair of jeans."

"Got it."

"Also, open the drawer under the closet."

"Oh." Li Luo reached out, "What for?"

"Just look and you'll know!"

Li Luo: "..."

He had already pulled open the drawer, fell silent for a few seconds, then quietly picked out one item and carried it to the bathroom door.

Xu Youyu opened the door, reached out to take it, and then a sigh came from inside: "So you like purple?"

Li Luo, waiting outside, immediately scowled: "Don't say nonsense—I just grabbed the top one at random."

"Then what color do you prefer?" Xu Youyu asked curiously from inside the bathroom.

"Hmm… red?" Li Luo actually thought about it.

If it were Ying Chanxi, he preferred her in white, because her skin was that soft, tofu-like white—white wouldn't hide her natural smoothness.

For Yan Zhusheng, black would suit her best—paired with her long, cold-white legs, the contrast would be incredibly alluring.

As for Xu Youyu, her fair skin leaned toward pale with a hint of pink—she needed red, and preferably with lace patterns… just imagining it made her seem seductive.

The next second, the bathroom door opened again; Xu Youyu reached out, holding up the purple item, and said to Li Luo: "I have red ones in the drawer—go find one."

Li Luo: "... Isn't this a bit too much trouble?"

"Just go!"

"Fine, fine."

Li Luo took the purple item back, returned to Xu Youyu's room, found a red pair matching his taste, and brought it back to her.

After Xu Youyu finally got dressed, they tidied up and set off from Bihai Lanting, heading first to Qianjiang University's Qingxi Dormitory to meet up with the others.

Because each dorm room had only one bathroom.

To save time, Xu Youyu went straight home to shower after military training, leaving the dorm bathroom for her roommates.

Xie Xiuying and Zhao Letian washed quickly, but Jiang Feiya was the slowest—not only did her shower take over twenty minutes, she also had to reapply her makeup.

After dawdling for ages, they finally came downstairs and met up with Xu Youyu.

"By the way, where are you planning to have lunch?" Li Luo asked.

"To the hot pot restaurant," Xu Youyu declared, wrapping her arm around Li Luo's in front of her roommates.

Zhao Letian and the others knew that the Sichuan-Chongqing Old Hot Pot was owned by Li Luo's family, so they were happy to eat there.

Last time, with Xu Youyu there, they got it for free.

This time, with Li Luo—the big shot—present, there was no way they'd pay.

Li Luo led the four of them slowly strolling to the entrance of the Sichuan-Chongqing Old Hot Pot.

The waitstaff clearly recognized Li Luo; seeing him enter, they hurriedly led them to a very spacious table.

The five of them sat around the hot pot; Li Luo chose a split pot, then handed the menu to Xu Youyu.

After the menu went around the four girls, Li Luo glanced at it, added a few more meat dishes, and told the server to bring them out.

Their last meal outside had been two weeks ago—and also at this hot pot restaurant.

After two weeks of military training, the smell of hot pot made Zhao Letian the first to lose restraint; she picked up her chopsticks without hesitation and started adding food.

Jiang Feiya followed suit, while Xie Xiuying, sitting at the edge, cautiously glanced at Li Luo.

Only after Li Luo picked up his chopsticks did Xie Xiuying dare to take hers and pick up a few vegetables to drop in.

Li Luo wasn't very hungry; he ate one bite himself, then served Xu Youyu four or five times.

Zhao Letian watched this and clucked her tongue: "You two really have great chemistry."

"Mmm~" Xu Youyu, hearing her roommate's comment, smiled sweetly and turned to look at Li Luo, then picked up a slice of meat with her chopsticks, dipped it in her sauce, and held it straight to his lips.

Li Luo opened his mouth and swallowed it whole, then casually picked up Xu Youyu's drink and took a sip.

Jiang Feiya couldn't stand their clinginess and secretly rolled her eyes.

Midway through the meal, her phone buzzed; Jiang Feiya glanced down, thought for a moment, then quickly typed a reply on the screen.

"By the way, now that military training's over, your new novel… uh…"

Li Luo's sentence was cut off mid-syllable as Xu Youyu clamped her hand over his mouth; only then did he realize his mistake and fell silent.

Xu Youyu's face was anxious; after covering his mouth, she sighed in relief and sneaked a glance at her roommates.

Fortunately, Jiang Feiya was replying to a message, Zhao Letian was devouring meat, and Xie Xiuying hadn't heard what Li Luo had said.

Confirming all was safe, Xu Youyu shot Li Luo a silent, warning glare—reminding him to mind the setting.

Li Luo had forgotten: Xu Youyu's three roommates didn't know she secretly wrote online novels.

Judging by her reaction, Xu Youyu was still a bit embarrassed.

Li Luo sighed helplessly; he thought Xu Youyu still wasn't relaxed enough.

Everyone at Fuyi High already knew—three roommates wouldn't make a difference.

But since Xu Youyu didn't want to say anything, Li Luo naturally wouldn't expose her; after eating enough, he stood up and went to the bathroom.

Just as he stepped out of the bathroom and passed the restaurant's cash register, Li Luo suddenly spotted a familiar back figure talking to the front desk clerk.

Li Luo leaned closer—and sure enough, it was Song Yu.

"What are you doing here? Looking for Jiang Feiya?" Li Luo asked curiously.

Hearing Li Luo's voice, Song Yu's face lit up with delight, then she raised a finger to her lips, hushed him, and whispered: "I just heard from Xiao Ya that you're having hot pot here, so I came over to check—also, uh… cough… I wanted to treat you all. Senior, since you found me, don't argue with me about paying."

Li Luo: "... Could it be Jiang Feiya sent you over to pay the bill?"

"Not at all," Song Yu shook his head. "But when courting a girl, you've got to read her mind—paying the bill is always the right move!"

If you were eating hot pot together, then paying would make sense.

But you didn't even take a single bite, yet you came all this way to pay the bill—I seriously wonder if you're going to buy breakfast and send Smurfs to Jiang Feiya and her boyfriend next!

Li Luo's lip twitched; inside, he muttered curses, feeling this brother was beyond saving.

"Didn't make him pay, right?" Li Luo asked the front desk server.

"Nope," the server shook her head innocently. "Your table was comped—why would we let him pay?"

"Good, then it's settled." Li Luo waved his hand.

But Song Yu panicked.

"Hey, senior, I already said I'm paying!"

"This hot pot restaurant is my family's," Li Luo sighed, patting Song Yu's shoulder. "There's still food left over there—why don't you go eat a bit?"

"This… I need to ask Xiao Ya. If she doesn't approve, I won't disturb you."

Awesome.

Li Luo watched Song Yu pull out his phone to ask Jiang Feiya's opinion, then immediately raised a hand to press his forehead, utterly speechless.

This brother is truly beyond help.