Chapter 546: Compare Sizes

Just as Li Luo was sharing the plot of his new book with Ying Chanxi, Xu Youyu finally finished writing today's update.

He also wrote a bit of tomorrow's update along the way.

Checking the time, it was nearly midnight; after thinking it over, Xu Youyu gave up on writing the rest in one go and decided to finish the remainder tomorrow.

He stood up, stretched, took a shower in the bathroom, then left his room and headed straight for Li Luo's room next door.

On the bed in the next room, after Li Luo finished discussing the general idea of his new book with Ying Chanxi, someone knocked on the door.

Hearing the knock, he quickly pulled his warm hand back, rolled off the bed, and went to open the door.

It was nearly midnight; when Li Luo opened the door, Xu Youyu slipped inside and wandered over to the bed.

"I'm here~" Xu Youyu chuckled, glancing at Ying Chanxi's flushed face, and asked, "Why is your face so red, Xixi?"

"Mmm… the AC's set too high—I'm just hot." Ying Chanxi adjusted her clothes under the covers, then lifted the blanket and sat up, slipped on slippers, and headed for the bathroom, "I'm going to use the restroom."

"Really?" Xu Youyu frowned, sat down on the bed, and turned to Li Luo, "What were you two just doing?"

"Cough…" Li Luo returned to the bed and crawled under the covers beside Xu Youyu, "You really want to know?"

"What?" Xu Youyu rolled onto her side, gazing at Li Luo beside her, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Just tell me straight."

"We were just talking about the specific plot of the new book," Li Luo said, pulling Xu Youyu into his arms.

"You talk about the book, why are you hugging me?" Xu Youyu chuckled, glancing at him, but her body showed no resistance.

"That's exactly how we were talking," Li Luo whispered in her ear, tightening his hold on her soft body, "You asked what I was doing—I'm showing you."

"Then keep going," Xu Youyu huffed, "Let me see how you talk about the book."

"Like this… and like this."

Just as Li Luo's protagonist once again ascended the Golden Throne, a common man's rage spilling blood five paces wide, Ying Chanxi emerged from the bathroom.

Seeing Li Luo and Xu Youyu lying together in bed, she immediately pressed her lips together, rushed to the bed, and slipped under the covers as well.

Snuggling tightly against Li Luo's other side, Ying Chanxi turned to look at Xu Youyu on that side and asked, "Senior, why is your face so red?"

"Mmm…" Xu Youyu secretly glared at Li Luo, then whispered, "The AC really is a bit too hot."

"Alright, alright," Li Luo signaled for Ying Chanxi to turn off the bedside lamp, then said, "Sleep, sleep—we're going to visit the Forbidden City early tomorrow."

Ying Chanxi obediently turned off the light, and all three lay down completely.

In the dimness, Li Luo closed his eyes, still savoring the moment.

Compared to Ying Chanxi, Xu Youyu's one hand was clearly insufficient.

It simply couldn't be held in one hand—no matter how wide he spread his palm, it would overflow elsewhere.

As Li Luo was savoring it, the door was knocked on again.

Ying Chanxi, closest to the door, heard the sound, lifted the blanket, turned on the light, and peered through the peephole.

Confirming it was Yan Zhusheng and not some elder, Ying Chanxi exhaled in relief and opened the door: "Zhusheng, why are you here?"

"Rehearsal's over," Yan Zhusheng said seriously, "I came back, took a shower, and came to sleep."

Saying this, Yan Zhusheng walked in from the hallway and returned to bed with Ying Chanxi.

The once spacious bed suddenly became cramped.

Li Luo watched Yan Zhusheng climb onto the bed, his eyes flickered unconsciously over her chest, then quietly withdrew—he no longer had any urge to compare.

"Are you coming to the Forbidden City tomorrow morning?" Ying Chanxi asked from under the covers.

"No," Yan Zhusheng shook her head, "I want to sleep in, then do one final rehearsal tomorrow afternoon—the concert starts tonight."

"Then sleep well and rest up," Li Luo said from bed, "Good night."

The three girls all said goodnight, and the room finally fell silent.

…

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Li Luo woke early, reluctantly stretched in bed, and stared at the hotel ceiling.

Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng were still fast asleep; only Ying Chanxi had been woken by Li Luo's movements, snuggling into his arms and rubbing her cheek against his chest.

"Awake?"

"Mm," Ying Chanxi lifted her face in his arms, pecked his cheek, and immediately blushed, looking adorable, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Li Luo smiled, pinching her cheek gently, "Let's get up—try not to wake Zhusheng, let her sleep a bit longer."

"Okay."

Since Yan Zhusheng had slept on Ying Chanxi's other side the night before, Ying Chanxi now had to carefully sit up first, then pull her legs out from under the covers.

Once fully out of the blankets, she stood on the bed and stepped down from the foot of the bed, walking on the covers.

As for Li Luo, he simply pulled back the left side of the covers, patted Xu Youyu's cheek, and whispered, "Youyu, time to get up."

"Mmm… you're annoying… let me sleep a bit longer."

"If Aunt Cui wakes up and finds you gone from your room, she might come looking for you."

At those words, Xu Youyu instantly woke up and scrambled out of bed.

But then she paused, narrowed her eyes at Li Luo: "If Mom comes looking, shouldn't you be the one panicking? What's it got to do with me?"

After all, if Cui Suling discovered Li Luo sharing a bed with her daughter and two other girls, her worldview would be shattered.

"Cough… that just proves you still care about me," Li Luo said brazenly, "You got up instinctively—you're worried about me."

"Hmph," Xu Youyu shoved him away, yawned sleepily, barely rolled out of bed, and trudged toward the bathroom, "You say that stuff so easily."

After coaxing Xu Youyu up, Li Luo turned to Yan Zhusheng on the bed and saw she had already opened her eyes, watching him.

"Did I wake you?"

Li Luo returned to the bed and asked softly.

"Still a little sleepy," Yan Zhusheng shifted toward the center, pulled Li Luo closer, then slammed her head into his chest, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist.

"Then sleep a bit more—we'll wash up and head to the Forbidden City first. I'll call you when it's nearly lunchtime to wake you up."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nuzzled against him, arms tightly wrapped around him, as if making up for not sleeping beside Li Luo last night.

Li Luo returned the embrace, gently patting her back, gradually lulling her to sleep.

Only after Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu had finished washing up did Li Luo release Yan Zhusheng.

After getting out of bed, he tucked the blanket around Yan Zhusheng, then went into the bathroom to wash up.

Meanwhile, Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu left Li Luo's room first, returning to their own rooms to change into today's outfits.

Around half past eight in the morning, Li Luo and his group of eight gathered at the hotel entrance.

That's right — eight people.

Today, Yin Zhicheng had come too.

After all, his beloved daughter had come to Jingzhao City; as a father, he couldn't possibly stay forever at Yuan Wanqing's place — he had to come and keep her company.

Otherwise, with Li Luo and Xu Youyu both accompanied by their parents, it would be too sad for Ying Chanxi to be all alone.

As for Ying Chanxi, though she had long known about her father's little schemes, seeing him come to accompany her on a visit to the Forbidden City, her face still couldn't help but light up with a happy smile.

At exactly half past eight, they lined up at the Meridian Gate, entered the Forbidden City, and first toured the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony along the central axis.

Then they went to the eastern section of the Forbidden City and visited the Treasure Gallery.

Near noon, Li Luo called Yan Zhusheng, reminding her not to oversleep and to wake up for lunch.

Afterwards, they dined at the restaurant inside the Forbidden City.

After eating, their only comment: it was worse than last night's Quanjude.

After lunch, they toured the western section of the Forbidden City, visiting the Cining Palace, said to have been the former residence of the empress dowagers.

All around were the residences of the emperor's concubines.

Standing on high ground, Li Luo looked around and thought: the emperor really knew how to enjoy life — even this small courtyard before him was far larger than the house they lived in at Bihai Lanting.

Not to mention this was merely a small residence for a single concubine.

Ahead, row upon row stretched endlessly — the dwellings of three thousand beauties, stretching beyond sight.

Compared to that, wasn't his own life relatively modest?

He secretly thought this, glancing at Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu still taking photos beside him.

Soon enough, Ying Chanxi dragged him off to take photos together.

By the time they stepped out of the Forbidden City, it was already three in the afternoon.

The parents still wanted to take another stroll around Tiananmen.

Xu Youyu quickly took his leave, planning to return to the hotel to write and finish today's remaining content, so he wouldn't have lingering worries before the concert tonight.

As for Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, they took a taxi to the National Stadium.

At the main entrance, Yuan Wanqing's personal assistant was waiting to greet them and lead them inside.

"Miss Yuan and Zhusheng are still rehearsing inside, so she sent me out to pick you up," said the assistant, Xiao Wen, leading them through a side entrance into the staff passage. They weaved through quickly and soon arrived at one side of the stage.

The venue, capable of holding eighteen thousand people, was still empty, with only the stage lights illuminated.

Since the concert was set to begin tonight, this final afternoon rehearsal was merely to go over the entire flow — no actual singing required.

Thus, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi heard no songs, only Yuan Wanqing reciting lines for transitions.

They climbed the stairs beside the stage and soon spotted Yan Zhusheng backstage.

At this moment, Yan Zhusheng was not wearing her usual clothes, nor was she dressed in any conventional stage outfit — instead, she wore the uniform of Fu Yi Middle School.

But remembering she would be duetting with Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi were not surprised.

Under Yan Zhusheng's guidance, they familiarized themselves with the backstage and stage environment of the concert.

Li Luo had now gathered firsthand on-site data for a concert.

When he wrote about concerts in I Am Really Not a Star in the future, he could add more words from this professional perspective.

As he thought this, Li Luo had already wandered out onto the main stage.

Yuan Wanqing had finished running through the flow and was about to return backstage to rest; seeing Li Luo, she walked over with a smile to greet him.

"I originally planned to release only one new song today," Yuan Wanqing said with a smile. "But Zhusheng begged me — she really likes one of the songs you wrote for me, so I gave it to her to sing."

"Really?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, surprised, turning to look at Yan Zhusheng beside him.

But Yan Zhusheng looked displeased, pouting at her mother: "Don't tell him ahead of time."

"I already told him."

"Then…" Yan Zhusheng turned to Li Luo, blinking her eyes, "pretend you didn't hear anything just now."

"Alright, alright," Li Luo raised his hand to cover his ears. "I didn't hear anything. I know nothing."

But.

Which of the songs Li Luo had newly written for Yuan Wanqing had Yan Zhusheng picked out?

After thinking it over, Li Luo couldn't come up with a definite answer.

But he had no intention of digging deeper — he'd save this anticipation for tonight's concert.

As evening approached, Yuan Wanqing and Yan Zhusheng still had work to do.

Especially Yuan Wanqing — since she'd be singing continuously for two or three hours tonight with little rest, her entire diet had been strictly managed by the team since this morning.

After finishing their tour, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi returned to the hotel to meet up with Xu Youyu and the others, then went to a authentic hotpot restaurant in Wang Fujing.

After eating their fill, they finally set out, arriving at the National Stadium at just after six in the evening.

Seeing the crowds thronging the streets, Lin Xiuhong couldn't help but exclaim: "Wanqing really is popular — how many audience members are there for this concert?"

"Eighteen thousand seats," Li Luo said beside her. "When tickets went on sale, they sold out in seconds."

Of course, Li Luo and his group didn't need to buy tickets — after messaging Yuan Wanqing's assistant, they were led inside by Xiao Wen through the side staff entrance.

No queuing — they went straight to the front-row seats, the best viewing position.

Audience members around them gradually took their seats.

By seven o'clock in the evening.

Yuan Wanqing's first nationwide concert tour officially opened.