Chapter 574

Very early in the morning.

Li Luo woke up precisely at six a. m. due to his biological clock.

Opening his eyes to the clean white ceiling of the master bedroom in the executive suite, he briefly came to his senses and reluctantly stretched his limbs on the cramped double bed.

This movement naturally disturbed the two girls beside him.

Yan Zhusheng opened her eyes, turned her head to look at Li Luo, saw he was already awake, and climbed onto him.

On the other side, Ying Chanxi rubbed her eyes drowsily; by the time she fully woke from her foggy state, she saw Yan Zhusheng already lying atop Li Luo, about to kiss him.

"Hurry up and get up," Ying Chanxi gently pushed Yan Zhusheng under the covers, whispering, "Zhusheng, don't always do this first thing in the morning—you haven't even brushed your teeth."

"I'm not sticking out my tongue," Yan Zhusheng sat up on Li Luo, blinking. "Don't you want to kiss him yourself?"

"I don't want to," Ying Chanxi huffed stubbornly. "Get off the bed. Didn't we agree last night that today we'd try Tianhe City's breakfast?"

"Mmm… breakfast?" Xu Youyu had just woken up, and the first thing she heard was breakfast. "Let's go! Let's eat!"

It was rare for Xu Youyu to be so proactive—she'd actually gotten out of bed so early—so the other three quickly rose and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

The executive suite had three bathrooms: one in the master bedroom, one in the secondary bedroom, and one in the living room.

The three girls each picked a bathroom to use; Li Luo, not wanting to waste time, followed Ying Chanxi into the master bedroom's bathroom.

But before he could even wash up, Ying Chanxi hugged him and kissed him several times.

"You haven't brushed your teeth yet," Li Luo laughed.

"I'm not sticking out my tongue," Ying Chanxi grumbled, satisfied, then turned to brush her teeth and wash her face.

The master bedroom's bathroom was the most luxurious one, with two sinks—no need to wait in line.

After a quick wash-up, the four changed clothes and got ready to go.

Xu Youyu pulled out her phone to check the address, then waved her hand decisively and led them out of the room.

Tianhe City's morning tea culture was an essential experience since arriving here.

This morning's breakfast outing had been Xu Youyu's own idea last night.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were both surprised—they hadn't expected their senior to actually get up early—but Li Luo found it perfectly normal.

After all, in his past life, when they traveled together, Xu Youyu's goals were rarely the attractions themselves, but the local culinary cultures.

This time in Tianhe City, she'd beforehand tagged everyone in her reader fan group, asking if any locals were around.

She'd then received several recommendations for authentic roadside breakfast spots not far from the hotel.

After leaving the hotel, Xu Youyu had originally planned to just take a taxi.

But Yan Zhusheng said she hadn't gone for her morning run yet, so the three of them dragged Xu Youyu along, jogging slowly toward their destination.

This level of exertion was no problem for Li Luo and the others, but by the time they arrived—less than two kilometers—the entire journey had left Xu Youyu nearly collapsed.

"I—I should've… just taken a taxi…"

Xu Youyu clung to Li Luo's shoulders, half hanging off him, gasping for breath.

"That's why you really need to exercise more," Li Luo laughed. "If you'd been jogging with us since Gao Er, your stamina would be much better by now."

"Heh… I'd rather just die."

The four chatted as they walked into the small Xiao Wei Morning Tea Shop.

The name was plain, the shop not particularly tidy.

The breakfast spot occupied two storefronts, with over a dozen plastic tables and chairs outside; at just past six-thirty, eight out of ten seats were already filled.

Business was truly good.

"This place doesn't have many reviews on Dazhong Dianping," Xu Youyu said as they entered, "but locals here eat breakfast here all the time."

Following her readers' recommendations, Xu Youyu ordered four portions of the shop's most classic cheong fun, with four different meat fillings—each one tried.

Li Luo glanced at the menu and added a char siu bao, a small steamer of shaomai, and a serving of shrimp dumplings.

The four sat at a vacant plastic table outside; soon after, steaming hot breakfast arrived, carried by Li Luo to the table.

Xu Youyu had no appetite at first—she'd just finished intense exercise and her body was still recovering.

She watched as Li Luo and the others devoured their food, eating only small bites herself.

Once she'd recovered enough, she finally began eating heartily—and ended up eating the most of all.

"Ahhh~" Xu Youyu patted her small belly, sighing contentedly. "When can we take a nationwide trip? We'll eat our way across the whole country!"

"We'll have to wait until after the Gaokao," Li Luo chuckled.

"That's only half a year away," Xu Youyu said. "I was even thinking about buying a Motorhome—wouldn't two be more spacious for the four of us?"

"Let's think about that later," Li Luo said. "We'll be going to university too—only two months of summer vacation. Buying a Motorhome now isn't practical."

"Then wait until graduation!"

"That's still far off."

"You talk too much—I'm just imagining the future!"

"If we're imagining the future, I've been thinking about looking at villas in Yinjiang District," Li Luo suddenly said. "Small three- or four-story ones—want to check out some together?"

"Why would we go look?" Ying Chanxi sniffed. "Your house isn't ours."

"I can rent you rooms inside," Li Luo blinked, grinning shamelessly.

"I don't need one," Yan Zhusheng said immediately. "I'll just sleep in your room."

The four chatted some more, then rose after a brief rest to stroll along the Pearl River.

They returned to the hotel by just after eight a. m.

Xu Youyu collapsed into bed the moment she stepped inside.

Li Luo took Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng out again, using the morning's free time to visit nearby attractions.

Midway, Yan Zhusheng told them: "I'm leaving tonight—Xiao Wen is picking me up."

"Huh?" Li Luo paused, then realized. "Going to Nanshan City early?"

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "Go over tonight; you can still attend rehearsal tomorrow morning."

"Alright, should I drop you off at the subway station tonight?"

"Xiao Wen will come pick me up at the hotel."

After confirming Yan Zhusheng's safety for the evening, Li Luo brought the two of them back to the hotel.

They had lunch at the special dining hall prepared by Wenxue Group and chatted for a while with a few familiar big-name authors.

Because Xu Youyu had always been close to Li Luo during past annual meetings and salons, everyone tacitly accepted the relationship between Chongran and Zao Shui.

So Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had no choice but to accept the title of Li Luo's cousin at Xu Youyu's turf and met the other family members nearby.

After inviting several well-connected big names and informing the editors, Li Luo received about four or five confirmed replies—they would go together to Nanshan City to watch Yuan Wanqing's concert tomorrow night.

Although he was about to become a Platinum author at Wenxue Group, he still had connections with Yuan Wanqing and Yin Zhicheng on the side.

But making more connections never hurt.

After lunch, the group of authors was taken by editors and supervisors to a small meeting; the room was filled mostly with the hottest authors from the past two years.

In addition, senior executives from film and game companies also participated in the meeting.

In short, it was a small networking event—Wenxue Group acted as a matchmaker, connecting these companies with Li Luo's group of authors.

If any company was interested, they could exchange contact details and discuss further later.

To Li Luo's surprise, several companies showed interest in his novel I Am Really Not a Star, saying they had intentions to adapt it into a film or TV series.

Li Luo knew well that adapting an online novel of his scale into a TV drama was extremely difficult.

Imitating Summer's troubles and turning it into a movie might have some chance—but it would require an excellent screenwriter to integrate the plot.

If adaptation were truly to happen, Li Luo even thought his book might have more potential as a short drama, the kind that later became wildly popular.

But TikTok had only just emerged, barely gaining traction; the short drama market hadn't even shown signs yet, so there was no point thinking about such distant possibilities.

Still, if some fool wanted to buy it, Li Luo wouldn't mind much…

Film and TV adaptations, for these capital players, were basically like lottery tickets.

The meeting ended around three in the afternoon; Li Luo was then taken to tonight's annual meeting venue for a simple rehearsal.

In the evening, Li Luo brought back Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, who had just returned from shopping nearby, to their hotel room.

At this point, Xu Youyu had already spent the afternoon typing in the room and finally finished today's update, even boasting about it in her author's note.

After all, many authors attending the annual meeting had taken leave, but she was among the few who hadn't.

Of course she had to lift her chin proudly.

"Change your clothes," Li Luo said, but Ying Chanxi had already dashed into the master bedroom, found Li Luo's suitcase, and pulled out the suit he had prepared.

Because he rarely wore suits, this gray suit was still the one Xu Youyu bought him last year.

Xu Youyu herself was too lazy to buy new formal wear and wore last year's outfit again.

As for Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, as family members, they could attend the banquet and annual meeting, but the banquet was held in the family section in the adjacent hall, and they didn't need to go on stage for the annual meeting, so casual clothes were fine.

Otherwise, with their looks, if they showed up in formal gowns at the annual meeting, they'd overshadow everything else.

After all this preparation, Xu Youyu added: "At lunch, a few authors asked me to go out shopping after the annual meeting, maybe even play mahjong."

"Who?" Li Luo looked puzzled. "Men or women?"

"All female authors," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, then grinned and leaned close to his ear, whispering, "Are you jealous?"

"I'm not," Li Luo shook his head quickly. "Then go ahead."

The four of them left the room.

On the way downstairs to the dining hall, Li Luo pulled Ying Chanxi aside and whispered to her: "Since Yan Zhusheng is leaving tonight and Youyu won't be around, let's go for a walk together."

Hearing she'd have a chance to be alone with Li Luo, Ying Chanxi happily nodded again and again: "Sure! Let's go to the riverbank? I brought my camera."

"OK."

The banquet was a buffet; authors and their family members were assigned to two separate dining halls, so Li Luo parted ways with Xu Youyu, Ying Chanxi, and Yan Zhusheng at the fork.

After enjoying the banquet, they regrouped at the entrance to the annual meeting hall.

The annual meeting's content was always much the same: announcing annual titles, showcasing best-selling works, and showing potential to capital investors.

At halftime, they announced this year's Big Names and Platinum authors.

Special emphasis was placed on Chongran, who had just turned eighteen and had already earned the Platinum title this year.

For Wenxue Group, this was a major publicity point.

A high school senior, barely eighteen, had received one of the highest honors in online literature.

Li Luo himself didn't want to draw attention, but Wenxue clearly thought otherwise.

After all, an eighteen-year-old author who had written online novels for only two and a half years had earned the Platinum title purely through his own talent.

This not only proved Li Luo's exceptional ability but also showed their platform still had a constant stream of fresh blood.

It was a perfect living advertisement to attract more new authors.

It further solidified Qidian's reputation as the place where online novelists attain the Dao.

Li Luo himself didn't react strongly—he went on stage to accept several awards, including Annual Best-Selling Author, Annual Blockbuster Work, and the first prize in the Realism Theme Contest for Little Joy.

Overall, the annual meeting left Li Luo with a full trophy cabinet.

Even now, internet buzz about it had already begun spreading.

Eighteen-year-old Platinum author—most outsiders might just think the title sounded impressive.

But add one more detail: annual income of ten million?

That would shock nearly everyone.

But the outside noise had little to do with Li Luo tonight.

After the annual meeting ended, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi saw off Yan Zhusheng, who was heading to Nanshan City, and Xu Youyu, who had plans to go out with the female authors, then left the hotel with the camera.

Feeling the warm touch of Li Luo's hand clasped in hers, Ying Chanxi bounced happily.

Li Luo turned his head to look at her lovely, delicate profile, falling into thought and unconsciously gripping tighter.

(End of Chapter)