Chapter 605: Old Bull Eats Tender Grass

Night.

Li Luo showered in the bathroom, letting the cool water rinse over his body; he ran his hand through his hair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

After a satisfying shower, Li Luo dried himself, changed into his pajamas, and stepped out of the bathroom to find Ying Chanxi already curled up in bed.

Seeing that Yan Zhusheng hadn't finished showering and Xu Youyu was still typing, Li Luo glanced at Ying Chanxi, who was scrolling on her phone in bed, and sat on the edge of the bed, tentatively asking, "What are you reading?"

"I'm reading your new novel," Ying Chanxi replied, leaning against the headboard and showing him her phone screen, where the latest update at ten p. m. had just appeared: "Who's the real culprit behind this case?"

"I haven't written that part yet."

"So the culprit isn't anyone who's already appeared?" Ying Chanxi asked, surprised.

"Obviously not."

"Isn't that a bit bad? I remember someone saying…" Ying Chanxi recalled, "In detective stories, you can't just introduce a brand-new culprit out of nowhere—you need to lay proper groundwork."

"That's true," Li Luo smiled, "but I'm not writing a detective story."

"Though the plot revolves around investigations, the main focus is building a court framework."

"The investigations are more of a gimmick—they don't follow the conventional structure of detective fiction."

Here, Li Luo paused, then continued: "Readers who truly enjoy solving mysteries themselves are relatively niche in Online Novels."

"Most just want the protagonist to solve the case and prove he's smarter than everyone else in the plot."

"If I write more interactions with the female characters, readers will probably be even happier."

Li Luo smiled and added, "I'm not looking down on readers' taste—I read the same way myself."

"Thinking deeply while reading is a pleasure; reading without thinking is also a pleasure."

"The point of reading light novels is simply to have fun—that's all."

Ying Chanxi rolled over under the covers, propped up her tiny feet, and said, "You've got a lot of big ideas—so that's why today's update was so full of suggestive hints?"

"What did I update today?" Li Luo blinked.

He scheduled his drafts for automatic updates; without revisiting his memory palace, he didn't even recall exactly what had been posted tonight.

"Hmph," Ying Chanxi huffed, "Just fawning over women in the Lu Ming Academy, right?"

"Flirting with a fox spirit posing as a noble daughter, teasing a dragon princess who came to the imperial capital to study in human form, then sitting down for a philosophical chat with Princess ZhaoYang."

At this, Ying Chanxi burst out indignantly: "And yet you won't even meet your fiancée! Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

Li Luo: "... Let me explain."

"No," Ying Chanxi pouted, kicking her raised foot toward his stomach.

He caught it instantly and began to play with it lovingly.

As he rubbed her translucent toes and smooth instep, Li Luo said, "Meeting the fiancée is the biggest emotional highlight of the early plot—I have to lay proper groundwork for it."

"Besides, they've already met."

"You just didn't notice."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi froze, momentarily confused.

She frantically scanned her memory of earlier chapters but couldn't recall where the fiancée had appeared.

"Cough…" Li Luo cleared his throat, "I can give you a hint—but that's spoilers. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Y-You can tell me," Ying Chanxi said, her curiosity fully aroused. "Who is it?"

"Let me give you a clue," Li Luo said, his voice calm as his hands kept caressing her foot. "Her father is the Vice Minister of Justice."

"Hmm," Ying Chanxi nodded, still clueless.

"Earlier, when the protagonist was solving a case, the Ministry of Justice assigned several constables," Li Luo continued gently. "Two of them—I described them in detail. Many readers already figured it out."

"Disguised as a man?" Ying Chanxi raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What else?" Li Luo spread his hands. "A cliché, right?"

"But in ancient times, women disguising themselves as constables… isn't that…"

"That's why it's a fantasy world," Li Luo smiled. "And with a cultivation system in place, women aren't physically weaker—logically, it can't be bound by real-world ancient norms."

"So the fiancée's been secretly observing the protagonist all along?" Ying Chanxi's eyes lit up with anticipation; she wanted to reread every earlier chapter. "No wonder that constable's tone felt weird before!"

"And she watched him being taken to the entertainment quarter by his colleagues," Li Luo chuckled.

"Oh right!" Ying Chanxi suddenly tensed. "I remember that constable muttered something under her breath—I thought she was just jealous!"

"So she thought the protagonist was a playboy, wandering among courtesans?"

"But he only drank wine at the quarter—he didn't touch a single woman."

"That's what I mean," Li Luo patted Ying Chanxi's soft, pale foot. "These are all time-worn tropes—but rearranged, they stay fresh."

Originally, Li Luo had planned to follow the "selling the news" route and let the protagonist loosen up a bit in this area.

To avoid readers accusing him of being a eunuch.

But then he remembered he'd been a virgin in both lifetimes—he feared he couldn't capture that carefree, rakish vibe.

If he failed to get the tone right, he might end up drawing a tiger but looking like a dog—far worse than the cost.

After much thought, he decided to follow his heart.

As Li Luo thought of this, he noticed Ying Chanxi's phone vibrated.

His heart jumped; he cautiously asked, "Someone messaging you?"

"Nope," Ying Chanxi shook her head and showed him the screen. "Just a sales text."

"Oh," Li Luo exhaled slightly—he was glad it wasn't Qiao Xinyan privately messaging her.

But just waiting wasn't a solution.

Reluctantly, Li Luo let go of Ying Chanxi's foot and stood up. "I'll get a glass of water. Want some?"

"I'll drink yours—pour more," Ying Chanxi said, still lying face-down, feet curled up; she rubbed her soles together, as if the sudden chill after losing Li Luo's warm hands felt strange.

"Alright."

Li Luo walked toward the bedroom door, and as he passed the bathroom on the hallway, he heard the shower water fall silent, guessing Yan Zhusheng had finished bathing.

He first went to the living room and poured himself a full cup of water, then arrived at Xu Youyu's bedroom door, knocked lightly, and pushed it open.

"What is it?" Xu Youyu was typing her final few hundred words for the night and had no time for Li Luo; she didn't turn around, asking casually after hearing the noise.

"Just checking what you're up to."

"What else could I be doing?" Xu Youyu tapped her keyboard and shushed him. "Shut up for now, let me finish first."

Fortunately, Xu Youyu had just been flooded with inspiration and swiftly typed through the last few hundred words.

After uploading, Xu Youyu let out a long sigh, then remembered there was someone else in her room, and turned to look at Li Luo: "What's up?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Hmm?"

"When you went to the concert tonight, didn't Xu Yinghuan and the other two go too?"

"I know."

"The girl sitting next to Yinghuan is your roommate."

"Huh?"

"Jiang Feiya."

"Uh… and then?"

"They seemed to be chatting quite happily."

"Hss…" Xu Youyu drew in a sharp breath, then her expression changed drastically.

"Do you realize how serious this is?" Li Luo reminded her.

"I realize it," Xu Youyu nodded slowly, her face grim, helplessly rubbing her forehead as she sighed deeply. "We're done—my affair with a younger girl has been exposed…"

Is THAT what I meant by serious?!

Li Luo's eyelid twitched; he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Chanxi doesn't know about this yet," Li Luo said helplessly. "Qiao Xinyan might tell her any moment."

"Oh, this?" Xu Youyu finally caught on after Li Luo's reminder. "So what are you planning? To tell her ahead of time?"

"Of course I have to tell her."

"Alright," Xu Youyu gave a resigned expression. "Then I'll just have to tell her you're already my boyfriend."

"…Isn't that just pretend?"

"Huh?" Xu Youyu tilted her head, then grinned mischievously. "Oh right—it is pretend. I guess I've just gotten used to it without realizing."

"Don't pretend to be dense," Li Luo said flatly.

"How's that pretending?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "Besides, isn't it really you who's scared? When you first pretended to be my boyfriend during my military training, you looked so proud."

"That's called immersion—it shows my professionalism," Li Luo corrected sternly.

"Fine, fine, you're professional," Xu Youyu waved her hand. "I still need to shower—let's talk later."

"Do you have any good plan?"

"Plan?" Xu Youyu blinked. "What plan do you need to deal with Chanxi?"

"... That's what you said."

"We'll see."

…

When Li Luo returned to the master bedroom, someone else was already in his bed.

Ying Chanxi, seeing him enter, asked: "Why were you out so long?"

"I made Xu Youyu a glass of milk," Li Luo lied casually, sat on the edge of the bed, then lifted his leg and lay down.

Yan Zhusheng, seeing this, instinctively climbed onto Li Luo, rolled over to his other side, and joined Ying Chanxi in pinning Li Luo between them.

Xu Youyu had just gone to the bathroom to shower.

Li Luo lay in the middle, glancing left and right; seeing no unusual expression from Ying Chanxi, he felt slightly relieved.

It was already past eleven at night—Qiao Xinyan probably wouldn't contact Ying Chanxi about this now.

Tonight should be safe for now.

As Li Luo thought this, he noticed Yan Zhusheng lying beside him, scrolling rapidly on her phone, chatting happily.

Yan Zhusheng noticed Li Luo's gaze and blinked at him: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Li Luo shook his head subtly.

Normally, by this time, Yan Zhusheng would already have snuggled into his arms.

But now she was just on her phone…

Yan Zhusheng made no effort to hide it; sensing Li Luo's curiosity, she showed him her screen.

As expected—it was her chat log with Xu Yinghuan.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Zhusheng! Zhusheng! Big news! Big news! I feel I absolutely have to tell you!

【Yan Zhusheng】: What's up?

【Xu Yinghuan】: I went to your concert tonight, and the girl sitting next to me was Xu Xuejie's college roommate!

【Xu Yinghuan】: Guess what happened?

【Yan Zhusheng】: She said Li Luo is Xuejie's boyfriend?

【Xu Yinghuan】: …?

【Xu Yinghuan】: Wait… how did you know?!

【Yan Zhusheng】: I already knew.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Then… then… aren't you angry?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Li Luo said he's just pretending, acting as a shield for his senior.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Huh? Is that really so...?

【Yan Zhusheng】: But even if it's true, it doesn't matter—we sleep together every day anyway.

【Xu Yinghuan】: Stop! Cut it out! Don't tell me stuff like this! Don't rape my sense of morality! Goodbye!

Li Luo: "..."

After reading the chat log, Li Luo could only silently give Yan Zhusheng a thumbs-up.

Even someone like Xu Yinghuan, a social expert, could only bow in defeat before Yan Zhusheng.

Then Li Luo carefully checked the timestamps on the chat log and realized this happened around nine at night.

That meant Xu Yinghuan sent the message right after leaving the concert venue.

Thinking again, since Qiao Xinyan hadn't told Ying Chanxi about this, could it be that Xu Yinghuan had lied to her about the fake boyfriend story?

If that's the case, maybe I don't need to rush and confess to Ying Chanxi?

But just as Li Luo thought this, his own phone vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw it was another message from Zhao Rongjun.

【Zhao Rongjun】: Are you okay now?

【Li Luo】: No major issues for now. What's up?

【Zhao Rongjun】: I just asked on your behalf—Xinyan hasn't told Xixi yet, so I asked her to hold off, and she agreed.

【Zhao Rongjun】: But Huanhuan already told Zhusheng about it, and I didn't get a chance to stop her. You'd better watch yourself.

Seeing this, Li Luo was suddenly moved.

Brother Jun is still as reliable as ever.

Best bro, for life!

【Li Luo】: Don't worry, thanks for your help. I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow!

【Zhao Rongjun】: No need to treat me—you're using Xixi's card at the school cafeteria.

【Li Luo】: That money's my rent income, okay? Don't be ungrateful.

【Zhao Rongjun】: Got it, got it. I'm going to sleep. Bye.

After exchanging information with Zhao Rongjun, Li Luo relaxed a little and pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms.

"Who were you chatting with?" Ying Chanxi asked, leaning against his chest.

"Brother Jun," Li Luo said. "He was telling me about tonight's concert."

"Oh," Ying Chanxi nodded, not thinking more of it.

Soon, Xu Youyu finished showering and walked in from outside.

(End of Chapter)