Chapter 624: Yuan Wanqing: Sister Is So Stingy

After teasing Ying Chanxi at dinner, Li Luo returned to the table to eat again.

Ying Chanxi sat on the sofa for a long while before finally getting up, her lips still bright red from kissing.

After dinner, Ying Chanxi pushed Li Luo back to the bedroom, telling him to focus on writing and leave the cleaning to her.

So Li Luo sat back down at his desk, organizing his outline while checking his author backend.

From the beginning of the month when it went live until mid-June, half a month had passed.

On its first day of subscription, "Night Watch of Great Qian" reached nearly thirty thousand initial subscriptions.

But since this was boosted by a launch promotion, the numbers were artificially inflated; the average subscription over the next two days was only around twenty-five thousand.

Yet within less than a week after launch, "Night Watch of Great Qian"'s average subscription smoothly surpassed thirty thousand.

It was rising by nearly a thousand per day.

Because Yuan Wanqing had held a concert in every city she visited over the past year, Li Luo had been consistently incorporating concert plotlines for Mo Qinghan into "I Am Really Not a Star," mirroring reality.

Recently, "Don't Waste the Prime of Life" added another surge of traffic, causing "I Am Really Not a Star"'s monthly vote ranking to rise instead of fall.

At over six million words, it was still ranked among the top five on the entire site.

With the launch of "Night Watch of Great Qian," Li Luo achieved an unprecedented milestone in the site's history.

On both the monthly vote and bestseller charts, "Night Watch of Great Qian" held the number one position, while "I Am Really Not a Star" ranked fourth and fifth.

Two serialized novels from the same author both made it into the top five of both charts.

This was truly unheard-of, absurdly exaggerated.

Running two series at once was already extremely difficult.

Worse, Li Luo wrote one novel at four thousand words daily and the other at ten thousand.

Other authors couldn't fathom how this guy managed to write so much—he didn't even seem human!

Especially since this guy is a real, genuine eighteen-year-old Gao San student who took the college entrance exam on the 7th and 8th!

Normal authors claiming they're eighteen are just joking, teasing readers for fun.

But Chongran here was serious.

Worse still, his academic performance is good—he even said that if any reader from Jiangsu Province scored higher than him on this year's college entrance exam, he'd add ten thousand words.

If any classmate got into a 985 university, he'd add an extra chapter.

Showing off! Unabashed, reckless showing off!

Li Luo's launch message really did go viral.

The term "【Online Novel】 Author Takes College Entrance Exam" even trended on hot search not long ago.

This caused "Night Watch of Great Qian" to ride a massive wave of traffic, compounded by the platform's inherent support for platinum authors and exposure from both the monthly vote and bestseller charts—its new book's success soared.

Now, halfway through its subscription period, its average subscription has smoothly surpassed thirty-five thousand.

Watching the rapid growth of his new book's performance, Li Luo felt a quiet excitement.

Because he realized something: this time, riding the wind, he might truly rewrite Qianzhou's history.

【Qianzhou】: The current average subscription record on the main site is over eighty thousand.

【Qianzhou】: Your "I Am Really Not a Star" has just over sixty thousand—too many words, it's unlikely to surge much further.

【Qianzhou】: Your new book is gaining momentum fast, and with fewer words, if you can maintain this pace, you might actually break the record.

【Chongran】: Let's just see how it goes—no pressure.

In public, Li Luo still maintained humility.

Besides, Qianzhou was only referring to main site subscription numbers.

It's currently 2017, and with mobile internet becoming increasingly widespread, online novel channel platforms are still at peak revenue.

After 2019, when channels began slashing commissions, main site subscription performance became increasingly important.

Before that, many of Qianzhou's platinum authors had books that performed exceptionally well not just on the main site but also across numerous channel platforms.

Even big names like Tudi, after finishing "The Great Master" in 2017, didn't renew with Qianzhou for his new book "Yuan Zun"—he released it exclusively across all platforms.

Reports say the combined subscription total across all platforms for "Yuan Zun" reached as high as five hundred thousand average subscriptions.

But Li Luo is easily satisfied—this level of success is already excellent.

With the Memory Palace, writing isn't exhausting, and it doesn't interfere with his daily life.

Thinking this, Li Luo checked the chapter comments on his recent chapters.

Readers were still asking if he'd checked his exam answers, how much he estimated he scored, and some claimed they'd contacted Jiangsu's top students to make "Ran Shen" pay a bloody price.

Li Luo hadn't checked his answers—he'd already taken the exam, so he'd just wait patiently for the results.

But he had his own expectations—he believed his score wouldn't be bad.

So after thinking it over, Li Luo added a note to today's update.

【Author's Note】: Please stop asking about the college entrance exam—I feel I performed better than usual, so readers hoping for a ten-thousand-word bonus will likely be disappointed. Better put your hopes on the 985 admission letter.

【WTF? So arrogant!】

【Don't get too cocky—we already have top ten from the second mock exam in the comments!】

【To make you add, I specifically recommended your novel to our class genius—he's hooked!】

【Can someone find out what Ran Shen's actual academic ranking is across the province?】

【He's at a provincial key school, right? If he's second in his grade, he's probably top five hundred in the province?】

【Top five hundred isn't impressive here in the comments】

【He says he did well—probably checked his answers already, otherwise how's he so bold?】

【When will the college entrance exam results come out?】

【In Jiangsu, I think it's the 26th this month】

After posting today's update, Li Luo grinned as he watched the readers' chapter comments, finding it amusing.

Considering the burst-update bet tied to the Gaokao, the upcoming promotional activities linked to Yuan Wanqing, and the thematic content of "Little Joy," Li Luo developed some new ideas.

He pulled out his phone, weighed his words carefully, thought it through, then called Ying Zhicheng.

…

After finishing his writing for the night, Li Luo waited for Ying Chanxi, who had just finished her bath.

He pinned her to the chair and dried her hair himself, then the two snuggled onto the bed.

To be honest, this was a rare night with just the two of them alone.

Previously, either Yan Zhusheng, that annoying little sister, was around, or even Xu Youyu was there—all four of them crammed onto one bed.

Today, after seeing off Yan Zhusheng and with Xu Youyu staying overnight instead of going home, Ying Chanxi finally had Li Luo all to herself for an entire evening—her mood was naturally delightful, and she kept snuggling deeper into his arms.

After kissing and cuddling Ying Chanxi on the bed for a while, Li Luo suddenly said: "Why don't you wear that maid outfit again?"

"Don't you dare bring that up again!" Ying Chanxi immediately went on high alert at the mention of the maid outfit and clamped her hand over Li Luo's mouth.

Li Luo was somewhat exasperated, thinking it was all his mother's fault—otherwise he could've had a proper treat today.

But this interruption jolted Ying Chanxi out of her dazed, kiss-induced haze; she suddenly remembered she still had something important to do.

So she picked up her phone, still charging on the nightstand, and excitedly dialed a WeChat video call to her good little sister.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng had just finished rehearsing for the concert and returned to the hotel with Yuan Wanqing; she had taken off her clothes and was about to shower when she received Ying Chanxi's video call invitation.

Puzzled, she answered the call, walked into the bathroom with her phone, and saw Ying Chanxi's face.

"Chanxi, what's up?" Yan Zhusheng placed her phone on the sink, turned on the showerhead, adjusted the water temperature, then walked back.

"Nothing much, just showing you." Ying Chanxi had already climbed onto Li Luo's lap, held her phone with her right hand aimed at herself and Li Luo, then puckered her lips and kissed him.

Yan Zhusheng watched this scene calmly, watching Li Luo being pinned beneath Ying Chanxi and kissed, and slowly took a breath.

Then she picked up her phone, stood in front of the mirror, and pointed the camera at the reflection.

As Ying Chanxi pulled away for a breath and glanced sideways at the phone to see Yan Zhusheng's reaction, she saw her little sister's naked body reflected in the mirror.

"Ah!" Ying Chanxi let out a startled cry at the sight.

But Yan Zhusheng remained calm, lowered her phone, and displayed her long legs with deliberate flair.

Li Luo turned his head and took two glances; his eyes nearly glazed over.

Only when Ying Chanxi snapped back to reality did she quickly snatch the phone away and cover Li Luo's eyes with one hand: "You're not allowed to look!"

"Sister's so stingy," Yan Zhusheng said calmly. "Letting Li Luo glance twice won't make him lose a pound of flesh."

"Who's ever seen anything like you!" Ying Chanxi snapped. "Can't you be a little more modest, girl?"

"You didn't seem very modest just now," Yan Zhusheng retorted.

"Hmph! I'm not wasting words on you." Ying Chanxi, unable to argue further, was about to hang up.

But Li Luo reached out, held her hand, and asked the other side: "How's it going over there?"

"We arrived in the afternoon, rested a bit, then had dinner and rehearsal," Yan Zhusheng replied honestly. "I just got back to the hotel and was about to shower."

Then she added: "If you want to see, I can show you the showering footage."

"He doesn't want to!" Ying Chanxi snorted and hung up decisively.

But Yan Zhusheng immediately sent a string of photos—Ying Chanxi panicked and shut off her phone, afraid Li Luo might see them.

Soon after, Li Luo's phone vibrated repeatedly—someone was sending messages nonstop.

Ying Chanxi instantly went on alert, snatched up Li Luo's phone, effortlessly entered his birthday as the unlock code, and saw the private photos Yan Zhusheng had sent Li Luo.

Ying Chanxi: "?!"

She swiftly deleted all the photos and exhaled in relief.

But at that moment, Li Luo had quietly picked up Ying Chanxi's phone, entered his own birthday as the unlock code, and seen the photos Yan Zhusheng had sent her.

"Li Luo! What are you doing!" Ying Chanxi had just put down Li Luo's phone when she saw this—she snatched it back in fury and quickly deleted the photos.

But Li Luo had the Memory Palace; he had already scrolled through them rapidly and imprinted them in his mind, then firmly saved them to his personal collection—now thoroughly satisfied.

But just then, Li Luo's phone vibrated again.

This time, it was Yan Zhusheng calling for a video chat.

Li Luo wanted to tap open the call—maybe he'd catch Yan Zhusheng showering.

But seeing Ying Chanxi, perched atop him, pouting angrily at him, he reluctantly tapped decline.

Still, it was clear Yan Zhusheng had a fierce sense of revenge…

Ying Chanxi just made a video call to kiss him face-to-face—and Yan Zhusheng immediately launched an equal counterattack.

In front of Yan Zhusheng, Ying Chanxi was as innocent as a raw recruit.

【Li Luo】: Shower properly, get some sleep, don't overexert yourself for the concert.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Okay.

…

The next morning, Li Luo woke up on time and roused Ying Chanxi, who was curled up in his arms.

After waking, they lingered on the bed for a while, then got up for a quick wash, changed into sportswear, and went downstairs together for a morning run.

Since they always ran around the Bihai Lanting neighborhood daily, they'd grown bored—so recently, Li Luo and the others had started changing their running routes.

Today, after stepping out, they simply jogged slowly along the path between Fuyi High School and Qianjiang University, reached the Yin River, then ran all the way toward Shidai Tianjie.

As June arrived, the under-construction Shidai Tianjie had been fully completed; with many shops now settled in, the area had recently become much livelier.

But the subway still hadn't opened, so foot traffic hadn't yet reached its future peak.

"By the way, Xin Yan and the others seem to be working part-time over there," Ying Chanxi said, jogging beside Li Luo as they passed Shidai Tianjie. "It should be that KFC."

"Really? They're doing part-time jobs now?" Li Luo was surprised. "What about Zhao Rongjun and Huanhuan?"

"Huanhuan didn't go," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "Only Xin Yan and Zhao Rongjun are working part-time—but Huanhuan seems to visit the KFC every day to see them."

Li Luo chuckled in amazement, thinking Zhao Rongjun's fate had been completely altered by him.

This lifetime, he resolved his fear of women early on, and now had two close female companions—his days were quite pleasant.

He just didn't know who he'd end up with in the end.

Li Luo understood his best friend's personality well; he doubted the man would ever tread two paths at once.

There was nothing Li Luo could do to help in this matter—best to let things unfold naturally.

"If you have time, you can go take a look," Li Luo said, then took Ying Chanxi for a stroll around Tianjie, before strolling slowly back to the gated community entrance and having breakfast.

By noon, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi returned from buying groceries together; halfway through cooking, they heard the front door open.

Xu Youyu walked in, sniffing the air, following the scent to the kitchen doorway, and peered in at the two preparing lunch: "So delicious~ When's dinner ready?"

"Almost done—go wash your hands," Li Luo said.

"Got it!" Xu Youyu gave a thumbs-up, then turned to Ying Chanxi with a mischievous grin. "Huh? Xixi, why aren't you wearing your maid outfit? Didn't someone tear it apart yesterday?"

(End of Chapter)