Chapter 542: Affair?

The two people in the lounge didn't seem to be fighting intensely, but they were certainly entangled.

Ying Chanxi always liked to gently nuzzle against Li Luo, seemingly savoring this soft, tender feeling.

She didn't much enjoy being overly aggressive herself, but if Li Luo pinned her against a wall or bed and treated her forcefully, she would deeply enjoy and sink into it.

But now she was sitting on Li Luo's lap, so the two were merely affectionately pressed together, mostly just softly.

Occasionally, she flicked her little tongue.

Ruan Lin's right foot, just about to step into the room, quietly retracted after she saw this scene.

Although this angle only showed Ying Chanxi's back, Ruan Lin recognized the girl at a glance—Li Luo had come to the set so many times.

Later events proved she and her mother had overthought it; the girl wasn't even here for an audition.

But this girl named Ying Chanxi seemed to have a very good relationship with Li Luo.

Every time Li Luo came to the set, a girl accompanied him, and Ying Chanxi came more often than any other.

Previously, they'd even introduced her as Li Luo's cousin…

Seeing this, Ruan Lin bit her lip and couldn't help muttering inwardly.

Can a sister do this kind of thing with her brother?!

If she hadn't learned some truths earlier from classmates in Class 8, Grade 3 over lunch, Ruan Lin might have had her worldview shattered upon seeing this scene.

But…

Isn't it normal for someone like Li Luo—talented, capable, and witty—to already have a girlfriend?

He never said anything outright, probably just because he's a high school student.

Ruan Lin thought this way, and her mood sank—she felt a bit resentful, a bit unwilling.

She didn't think she was inferior.

Besides, she'd seen her classmates date before; relationships lasting one or two months were considered long-term anyway.

Although the set wraps tomorrow, there are still promotional and preparatory tasks for the drama ahead—there'll surely be chances to meet Li Luo again.

Ruan Lin thought maybe after a while, Li Luo would grow tired of that girl, and then she'd have her chance, wouldn't she?

She quietly left the lounge door, and a few minutes later, saw Li Luo and Ying Chanxi walking out from that direction.

Then she heard Ying Chanxi call a middle-aged man "Dad."

This surprised Ruan Lin—did Ying Chanxi's father work on the set too?

"Director," Ruan Lin tiptoed over to Wang Jun's side, curiously asking, "Who's that uncle?"

"Hm?" Wang Jun followed Ruan Lin's gaze, saw Ying Zhicheng's figure, and immediately stiffened, whispering urgently, "That's General Manager Ying of Huayue Film and Television—our project was initiated under his leadership. Be careful."

At these words, Ruan Lin's face turned pale, and she instantly fell silent.

So this girl named Ying Chanxi… her father is the top boss of the entire "Little Joy" project?

And Li Luo is dating his daughter—even just now, the two were affectionate in the lounge…

What is this called?

Advance investment and arranged marriage with the father-in-law?

Does he think Li Luo's future is limitless, so he supports his daughter's romance?

Ruan Lin knew well: the original novel of "Little Joy" was written by Li Luo, and from casual dinner chatter with the director, she'd heard rumors that it was General Manager Ying of Huayue Film and Television who pushed through opposition to buy the adaptation rights from Wenxue Group.

She had actually wanted to steal someone else's daughter away?

Thinking of this, Ruan Lin suddenly felt a chill of fear.

Thank goodness she hadn't done anything too extreme before.

Otherwise, if Ying Chanxi took a dislike to her and complained to her father, even a slight whimper from her could make General Manager Ying wave his hand and have her replaced.

Thinking of this, Ruan Lin immediately abandoned all her hidden desires and dared not covet further.

…

"Strange."

As they left the set, Ying Chanxi twisted her head left and right, scanning the entire crew, frowning slightly with confusion.

"What's wrong?" Li Luo looked at her, equally puzzled. "What's strange?"

"Where's the girl who played Qiao Yingzi?" Ying Chanxi asked curiously. "Every time you came to the set, she always ran over to you. Why didn't I see her today?"

"If you didn't see her, then you didn't see her," Li Luo took her small hand. "You probably won't see her much after tomorrow anyway."

"Dad's here," Ying Chanxi quickly pulled her hand back, blushing slightly and whispering, "Where are we going for dinner?"

"How about dinner at Yintai?" Li Luo suggested. "Zhusheng ate dinner at her teacher's place, and Youyu and her roommate made plans to eat together—so it's just us two for dinner."

"Great!" Ying Chanxi bounced happily, then turned to look at Ying Zhicheng, who followed them out of the set. "Dad~ Are you free now?"

"Not right now," Ying Zhicheng shook his head, then remembered something. "But I've already made dinner plans with someone—you two handle it yourselves."

"Oh, I was just wondering—could you drive us to Yintai?" Ying Chanxi nodded, then asked again.

Ying Zhicheng checked the time and nodded. "Sure, no problem. Get in."

Ying Zhicheng had now grown somewhat desensitized to his daughter spending all her time with Li Luo.

Today, Yuan Wanqing had just finished work and had planned dinner with him; dropping Li Luo and Ying Chanxi off in Yinjiang District would let him conveniently stop by Yuan Wanqing's place too.

"By the way," Ying Zhicheng started chatting again as he started the car and headed toward Yinjiang District, "Have you considered adapting your book 'I Am Really Not a Star' into a drama? The book's performance has been excellent, right?"

"This one's different from 'Little Joy,'" Li Luo shook his head. "For one, the song plagiarism content creates copyright issues for adaptation; for another, the plot is too long and unsuitable for adaptation."

In the entertainment genre, plot templates are nearly identical: just set up a stage, introduce some stereotypical side characters and extras, and provide positive or negative emotional triggers.

Finally, the protagonist releases a work impressive enough to silence critics, completes the arrogance-and-revenge arc, and wraps up—while laying groundwork for the next cycle.

This works fine for online novels, but adapting it into a TV drama might lead to all kinds of cultural mismatches.

Thinking of this, Li Luo suddenly recalled his earlier conversation with Xu Youyu about his new book.

He turned to Ying Zhicheng in the driver's seat and asked, "Uncle Ying, what genres are currently popular in the TV drama market?"

"Well," Ying Zhicheng thought for a moment, "the current genres are all very fixed."

"First, revolutionary war stories—we have no experience with those, can't film them."

"Second, costume dramas—this area is mainly driven by female-oriented online novels, and many companies prefer to buy the copyright from the female-oriented side."

"Third, suspense and detective stories—the audience here is quite stable, and it's also a solid genre."

"Fourth, modern urban dramas—this genre encompasses everything, mainly workplace romance and family ethics dramas, but there are still many other subgenres."

"Little Joy" is of the fourth type, about the college entrance exam and family.

But if he were to write a new book, Li Luo had two ideas.

"For costume dramas and urban dramas, I have some ideas," Li Luo considered carefully before saying, "especially in urban, I have a concept close to crime investigation, but not quite. It might involve something like a time loop, similar in scale to "Little Joy," maybe even less content."

"Oh?" Ying Zhicheng frowned slightly; hearing "crime investigation" and "time loop" combined made him feel uneasy. "What about your idea for costume dramas?"

"Well..." Li Luo thought, seeing Ying Zhicheng didn't seem interested in the previous idea, he switched gears. "Do you know "Nirvana in Fire," Uncle Ying?"

"Huh? It was pretty popular last year," Ying Zhicheng nodded.

"A fictional ancient setting, with Jingcheng as the main stage, entangling court intrigues and martial world grudges, interwoven with love, hate, and emotional entanglements," Li Luo said. "What do you think of something like this?"

"That's not bad," Ying Zhicheng nodded. "But isn't the female-oriented side better at this kind of thing?"

Li Luo: "…Not better, just that women are better at writing romance and harem struggles."

"So you have ideas in this area?" Ying Zhicheng asked. "Are you planning to write a new book, to wrap up "I Am Really Not a Star"? "

"Not at all," Li Luo shook his head. "Updating "I Am Really Not a Star" doesn't pressure me—I already have over three hundred thousand words in reserve. Dual updating doesn't affect me much."

"I see," Ying Zhicheng nodded slowly. "But still, think it over. Don't rush. Wait until after the college entrance exam to write—it's not too late."

Although Li Luo's academic performance was excellent now, Ying Zhicheng didn't want his grades to suffer because of dual updating.

If this kid messed up and didn't get into Qianjiang University, his own daughter would probably be heartbroken.

And after all, young people are still young.

"Little Joy" hasn't even been released yet, and its success is still uncertain—yet he's already thinking about a new drama.

Even if "Little Joy" performs well, it doesn't mean Li Luo can easily succeed in other genres.

Crime investigation and time loops, plus costume drama court intrigues.

Although Ying Zhicheng had to admit Li Luo was excellent at writing online novels and incredibly talented at composing songs.

But even with talent, you still have to follow basic rules, right?

Ying Zhicheng worried that after selling the million-yuan copyright for "Little Joy," this kid had gotten carried away, thinking he could just write another novel, snap his fingers, and earn another million.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhicheng decided it would be better to let Li Luo cool down for a while—don't let him dig himself into a corner.

After hearing Ying Zhicheng's words, Li Luo wasn't in a hurry at all.

He wasn't short on money now; writing was mostly about satisfying his own preferences.

Since Ying Zhicheng had no urgent demand for now, he didn't need to rush into starting a new book—he could prepare slowly.

…

At five in the evening, Yintai Department Store.

Song Yu walked along the second-floor clothing corridor, following Jiang Feiya and her best friend, carrying two shopping bags.

Seeing the time was nearly up, Song Yu quickened his pace, stepping slightly behind Jiang Feiya, and whispered, "Xiao Ya, it's already five. We've shopped all afternoon—we must be tired. Let's go upstairs for dinner."

Jiang Feiya glanced at him, then turned to ask her best friend. After a brief discussion, they decided to finish browsing the next store before heading to dinner.

Song Yu's face fell, but he obediently followed.

Half an hour later, Song Yu finally stepped out of the store, leading the two girls upstairs to a Sichuan restaurant.

Although today's date had a third wheel, overall, Song Yu still felt relatively satisfied.

They met at the school gate after lunch; Song Yu generously hailed a taxi, paid the fare, and came to Yintai.

He bought milk tea for Jiang Feiya and her best friend, and to save money, he didn't even treat himself.

Thinking of the scene back at the hotpot restaurant where Xu Youyu and Li Luo shared one drink, Song Yu couldn't help fantasizing—would Xiao Ya notice he had no milk tea, and offer him a sip?

But reality proved he'd imagined too much.

The entire afternoon was spent just accompanying Jiang Feiya and her best friend shopping and buying clothes.

Fortunately, Jiang Feiya still had some conscience—she didn't make Song Yu pay for the clothes.

But at dinner, Song Yu still held up his end of the deal: the three ordered a meal worth over two hundred yuan, which made him ache inside.

But seeing Jiang Feiya enjoy her food with relish, Song Yu felt it was all worth it.

"How's your roommate?" the best friend asked Jiang Feiya. "I'll tell you, my roommate is so disgusting—she just throws her sanitary pads right on top of the trash can. The can was already full, and she just dumped them on top!"

"Eww~ Don't talk about that while eating," Jiang Feiya wrinkled her nose. "My roommate's fine—we get along pretty well."

There was just one girl who was prettier than her, which annoyed her.

But she would never admit that.

And just then.

Two more customers walked into the Sichuan restaurant.

Song Yu glanced over instinctively and saw one was a very beautiful girl—she looked even prettier than Jiang Feiya.

And the person beside her…

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I think I saw someone I know," Song Yu hesitated, pointing toward the window seat. "Isn't that Senior Li Luo?"

"He and Xu Youyu came here to eat too?" Jiang Feiya turned curiously to look.

Then Song Yu said, "It doesn't look like Xu Youyu."

"Then who?" Jiang Feiya now saw Ying Chanxi's figure, and immediately narrowed her eyes.

The next moment, she silently pulled out her phone.

"Xiao Ya, what are you doing?"

"Of course I'm recording it," Jiang Feiya's eyes glinted with malice, "to show Xu Youyu."

Although she was slightly annoyed that Xu Youyu was prettier than her, if one of her own sisters was being cheated on, Jiang Feiya felt she had to expose this bastard severely.

"This… this isn't very good," Song Yu couldn't help but urge, "we don't even know what kind of relationship he has with that girl."

"Shut up."

"Oh…"