Chapter 600: Where Did the Fourth Woman Come From?

After the release of "Night Watch of Great Qian," Li Luo's life remained unchanged as usual.

Only among classmates at Fu Yi, it became another topic for casual chatter.

Most girls weren't particularly interested in Li Luo's books.

Even "I Am Really Not a Star" was the same—if not for later rumors revealing the male and female leads were based on Li Luo and someone close to him, many girls probably wouldn't have bothered reading it seriously.

But "Little Joy" appealed to both genders, and many Fu Yi students read it attentively.

When "Little Joy" was filmed on campus, many had eagerly anticipated its premiere.

The appearance of "Night Watch of Great Qian," however, sparked another wave of binge-reading enthusiasm among Fu Yi boys.

Not all the boys liked the kind of fame-by-plagiarism in "I Am Really Not a Star."

But "Night Watch of Great Qian," with its aristocratic fiancée, Princess Zhaoyang, the Dragon Palace's dragon princess, and the fox spirit queen of the southern ten thousand mountains, was far more captivating to these hot-blooded boys.

Added to that, the protagonist is a government official who later gets absorbed into the Emperor's direct Night Watch.

Leveraging his past-life investigative experience and his golden finger's ability to sense grievance qi, he solves cases with divine insight, quickly establishing a righteous image.

Although Li Luo also wrote about places like the Teaching Bureau, he didn't fully replicate the approach of "Da Feng."

Back then, readers' demand for "pushing girls" hadn't reached the obsessive levels of later eras.

And if you carefully examine the romantic arcs in "Da Feng," you'll notice something interesting.

Except for the protagonist's visits to the Teaching Bureau, not a single major female character in the plot was ever "pushed" during the first and middle arcs.

This was the author's clever trick.

The existence of the Teaching Bureau, beyond plot necessity, also served as proof that "the male lead isn't a eunuch."

"My protagonist isn't a eunuch—he'll act when he needs to," was the message the author wanted to convey through the Teaching Bureau scenes.

But those more compelling female characters—the two princesses, the Jianzheng's two female disciples, the later princess consort, the Tianzong Holy Maiden, the Daozong Daozhu…

All of them, throughout the first and middle arcs—over two million words—were never "pushed."

Only after the book's biggest climax—the protagonist killing the Emperor—did the author begin laying groundwork for the Daozong Daozhu's dual-cultivation.

Many outsiders say the author relies on steamy scenes and dirty jokes, and that's understandable.

But if insiders think the same, they're foolish.

In his past life, Li Luo often discussed these things with Xu Youyu, learning these insights from her.

Outsiders usually only see the surface of a hit book's underlying logic.

If you simply copy the author's steamy scenes, even if the book isn't banned, its performance won't be good.

With Xu Youyu's past-life training, Li Luo won't take wrong turns in this area.

Otherwise, merely absorbing popular elements from hit books doesn't guarantee high-quality online novels.

"So there's no character based on me in the new book?" Yan Zhusheng asked seriously during a class break.

"There is in the old one."

"What about the new one?" Yan Zhusheng pressed on, then added, "I think the fiancée suits me perfectly."

Ying Chanxi, sitting in the front row, turned back around—clearly also following the new book closely—and said, "The fiancée's family has been a longtime ally of the protagonist's family, but the protagonist's side has declined in recent years."

After saying that, she continued, "If you're asking who the fiancée suits best, it certainly wouldn't be you, Zhusheng."

"Why not?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, earnestly arguing, "My family is also a longtime ally of Li Luo's family."

Ying Chanxi: "…"

Li Luo: "…"

What a brilliant "longtime ally"!

No wonder it's Yan Zhusheng.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's eyelid twitched.

You're just grafting on a "longtime ally" connection—how dare you say that?

Qiao Xinyan beside her was utterly confused: "How is Zhusheng a family ally of Li Luo's?"

"Because I'm Xi Xi's cousin," Yan Zhusheng said. "I'm part of Xi Xi's family. Since Xi Xi's family is a longtime ally of Li Luo's, then I am too."

You can calculate it like that?

After hearing this, Qiao Xinyan couldn't help but laugh and sigh, and seeing her best friend's expressionless face, she covered her mouth and giggled.

"The fiancée in the book resembles Xi Xi more," declared the author's official confirmation. Li Luo glanced at the slightly disgruntled Ying Chanxi and smiled.

"After the protagonist is thrown into prison, although the fiancée has never met him since childhood, she still uses every connection she can to try to save his family."

"Her temperament matches Xi Xi's more closely."

Hearing Li Luo's affirmation, Ying Chanxi's earlier annoyance vanished completely; a small, smug smile appeared on her face, and she deliberately glanced at her sister.

Yan Zhusheng wasn't convinced, so she pressed on: "What about the other few mentioned in the synopsis?"

"The others?" Li Luo thought for a moment, his gaze landing on Yan Zhusheng's unnaturally exquisite face, then concluded, "You're more like the young daughter of the Dragon King of the Dragon Palace."

Naive, raised all her life in her chambers, rarely interacting with outsiders, leading to a thought process unlike ordinary people's.

Although Li Luo didn't deliberately model her after anyone while writing, when he actually put pen to paper, he still unconsciously used familiar elements.

"What about the senior sister?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously.

"The fox spirit," Li Luo said. "After transforming into human form, she took over the body of a noble family's legitimate daughter and infiltrated the Lu Ming Academy to steal human classics."

"So the female scholar in the Lu Ming Academy you recently wrote about… is actually a fox spirit?" Ying Chanxi added, then her face lit up with sudden realization as she muttered under her breath, "And she deliberately seduced the protagonist."

"Hey hey hey…" Li Luo quickly raised his hand to stop her. "Don't spoil it, okay? Let's not talk about it anymore."

"Then who is Princess Zhaoyang?" Yan Zhusheng asked, puzzled. "That's already three—why is there a fourth?"

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi instantly narrowed her eyes, giving Li Luo a dangerous look: "Right—why are there four female leads this time?"

"What are you thinking? Did I say how many female leads there are?" Li Luo said, exasperated. "Besides, this book leans toward court and martial world drama—romantic subplots will be relatively restrained."

"On the surface, there's only one clear romantic thread: the protagonist and his fiancée."

Other important female characters will only serve as pivotal figures in the main plot, not merely as romantic objects for the male lead.

Emotional content will be handled in later chapters or side stories.

In this regard, Li Luo is also laying groundwork for potential future film or television adaptations.

He writes harem fiction, but prioritizes the main plot in content, with romantic arcs centered primarily on the male lead and his fiancée.

Romantic subplots for others are kept minimal—just a light touch, barely mentioned.

If expansion is needed, do it in the side stories.

When Ying Chanxi heard the main plot focused mainly on the fiancée's romance, her face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically: "I think this approach is excellent."

Yan Zhusheng looked displeased and said bluntly: "If the fiancée were me, Xixi wouldn't say that."

"I—I'm speaking purely from a creative standpoint. Don't misrepresent it, Zhusheng." Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed as she denied it outright.

The two were about to start arguing.

Fortunately, the class bell rang just in time; Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng each huffed, and when the teacher entered the classroom, they fell silent.

Li Luo watched the two girls with a headache, wondering why, since they'd clearly established their cousin relationship, they'd become even less courteous in speech.

Especially after Yin Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing got married, the two were now effectively sisters under the same roof.

Yet their words to each other had grown increasingly sharp.

He couldn't figure out why.

…

On the Saturday at the end of the month, Fuyi High School unusually suspended afternoon self-study, allowing students to freely gather on the playground and basketball court to watch the finals of the three major ball sports.

According to past tradition, all faculty and students had gone to the gymnasium to watch the finals.

It was also meant to help the graduating seniors relax before the college entrance exam.

But since Li Luo's class entered their second year, the gymnasium had been torn down and rebuilt—and even now, completion remained uncertain.

Rumor had it the gymnasium would be finished this summer, integrating not just a sports facility but also a school cultural center and club activity hall.

Especially, a tunnel would connect directly underground to the dormitory complex across the street.

In the future, Fuyi High students would no longer need to cross the public road between dorms and classrooms, avoiding many potential dangers.

But this had little to do with Li Luo's cohort.

"You're going to take your driving test this afternoon—I bet you'll pass on the first try?" Li Luo stood at the northernmost edge of the stadium bleachers, glancing toward the basketball court while speaking to Ying Chanxi beside him.

"No problem," Ying Chanxi nodded. "I've never worried about the written exam."

As she spoke, Ying Chanxi stood beside Li Luo, rising on her toes to look toward the basketball court.

Yan Zhusheng, meanwhile, stood on the higher step behind Li Luo, resting her hands on his shoulders as she gazed into the distance.

"Is Li Luo buying his sister a new car?"

"Yes."

"No, it's not," Ying Chanxi explained. "It's actually for Lin Yi—just that I said it was for me, because I knew she'd refuse if I told her it was for her."

"What if," Yan Zhusheng blinked, glancing between Ying Chanxi and Li Luo, then said, "Li Luo really wants to buy it for you, but fears you'll refuse, so he says it's for Lin Yi?"

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi froze, then sharply turned to look at Li Luo.

Li Luo coughed at Yan Zhusheng's remark; seeing Ying Chanxi's suspicious gaze, he waved his hand. "The car's already ordered. Why talk so much? Besides, it's not expensive."

"Over a hundred thousand isn't cheap," Ying Chanxi murmured, biting her lip, feeling tricked again—but warmth spread in her chest. "So Zhusheng's right?"

"Both," Li Luo sighed. "You and my mom are the same—if I said I'd buy you a new car, you'd both refuse. But if I phrase it differently, it works."

"No problem," Yan Zhusheng wrapped both arms around Li Luo's neck from behind, pressing most of her body against him. "I'd never say no to anything you buy me."

"Then get your license after your birthday this year," Li Luo laughed. "I'll buy you a new car too, okay?"

Yan Zhusheng shook her head: "I'll just ride in your car. Senior and Xixi can drive their own."

"You've got quite the plan," Ying Chanxi huffed.

"Sister is so smart," Yan Zhusheng praised.

"Enough, enough," Li Luo cut in as he saw them about to argue again. "Butler Liu sent the renovation plans—let's review them tonight and give our opinions."

"When can we pick up the new car?" Ying Chanxi asked.

"If you get your license this afternoon, I'll take you to pick it up tomorrow."

"Won't Lin Yi be angry? We didn't even tell her about the car."

"Why would she be angry?" Li Luo chuckled. "It's bought for you—she's just borrowing it for now."

"Who said I won't drive it? I can drive on weekends too," Ying Chanxi said. "Sometimes I need to go shoot MVs—I won't have to call a taxi."

"Director Ying really thinks ahead."

…

After the afternoon driving test, Ying Chanxi successfully obtained her license.

That evening, back at Bihai Lanting, they received the renovation plan emailed by Butler Liu.

From the villa's 3D blueprint to the detailed layout of every room, down to the required base materials and furniture—it was all complete.

One could only say: no wonder he was a professional.

Butler Liu was indeed exceptionally capable in this area.

After preliminarily confirming the renovation plan, on Sunday, Li Luo accompanied Ying Chanxi to the 4S dealership to pick up the car.

When they'd first looked at new cars, Li Luo's budget had been under one million.

But Ying Chanxi considered more factors.

On one hand, it was bought for her; on the other, it was also meant for Lin Xiuhong.

So she leaned toward an economical, fuel-efficient model suited for women.

After much deliberation, they settled on a white Honda Fit.

Even if Li Luo maxed out all the configurations and upgrades, the final price would be around 140,000.

Compared to the Mercedes SUV Li Luo had bought for Li Guohong, it was indeed much cheaper.

Yet the compact Fit suited Ying Chanxi's petite frame well, and it would also suit Lin Xiuhong fine.

After mentioning the car, Ying Chanxi immediately sat in the driver's seat and took Li Luo for a drive.

The speed wasn't fast; she drove carefully.

Li Luo sat in the passenger seat, his right hand propped behind his head, leaning sideways to watch Ying Chanxi, his gaze slightly dazed.

In his past life, Xi Xi must have learned to drive.

Unfortunately, he never got to see it.

Now, from this present Ying Chanxi, he caught a hint of the mature elegance she would one day become as a city woman.

As Li Luo thought this, Ying Chanxi had already driven back to the parking spot beneath Bihai Lanting.

Just then, Lin Xiuhong arrived to cook them lunch and saw the couple stepping out of the car, freezing in place.

"Hey! You two!" Lin Xiuhong walked over, surprised, circling the white Fit, "Where did this car come from?"

(End of Chapter)