Chapter 626

Li Luo did not tell Ying Chanxi about Xu Yinghuan possibly confessing early, nor did he mention Qiao Xinyan's plans to Zhao Rongjun.

After all, both matters were others' secrets, and Li Luo felt it was better to let things take their natural course.

If he interfered with either side and the outcome turned out unsatisfactory, he would be blamed by everyone.

Before long, it was June 24th.

After lunch, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi packed their luggage and prepared to depart for Changning City to attend Yuan Wanqing's concert tomorrow evening.

"Sigh… I'm so envious," Xu Youyu said, washing the dishes and stepping out of the kitchen to watch the two dragging their suitcases; he sighed deeply, "I'm just a poor college student still stuck with final exams—so miserable."

"You could skip the exam and come with us, then retake it next semester," Li Luo grinned, offering a bad idea.

"My dad would kill me," Xu Youyu pouted. "Hurry up and go, then come back fast—remember to say hello to the editor for me."

"OK," Li Luo made a gesture. "I asked Zhusheng to send a few concert tickets to Qianzhou, so he can give them to a few editors he knows well."

"Are you bribing editors?" Xu Youyu smirked. "Trying to get votes for me?"

"Don't put it so crudely," Li Luo shook his head. "It's just normal social exchange—why are you overthinking it?"

"I know you mean well, but I still want to win by real strength," Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow and lifted her chin. "Lately, I've been interacting more with readers of your book—it's actually drawn some traffic."

"Qianzhou also arranged the recommendation slot he promised me; the results these past two days have been good—I gained a thousand average subscriptions."

"If we get another recommendation next month, we should hit twenty thousand average subscriptions."

"As long as we can hold steady at twenty thousand until the year-end evaluation, the chances are still high."

Li Luo nodded in understanding; he had no doubt about Xu Youyu's abilities.

Yet in his memory, in the last life, without the advantages Li Luo had provided, Xu Youyu's "Gu Dao Changqing" had only reached an ordinary ten-thousand-subscription level by this point in 2017.

So she only made it into Grand Master status during the 2018 Grand Master evaluation.

Even though this life was already different from the last, Li Luo still wanted an extra layer of insurance, just in case.

Although Xu Youyu, despite her young age, had already developed driving skills nearly identical to the Youyu-jie Li Luo knew in the last life.

But in terms of understanding this domain, she had not yet matured fully.

Li Luo only learned some of the hidden rules later, after Xu Youyu told him about the behind-the-scenes details of the 2017 and 2018 Grand Master evaluations.

Especially when two authors had nearly identical results, either could be chosen—but slots were limited, so one had to be eliminated.

At that point, it became entirely a test of how much favor the author held in the eyes of the editors who controlled the votes.

Even… it tested the personal relationships of the author's direct editor within the company.

For example, if Qianzhou was disliked by other editors and had poor interpersonal relations.

Then, in situations where a choice was optional, other editors might simply refuse to let Qianzhou gain credit and instead vote for another author.

These things were entirely possible.

But Li Luo had no intention of elaborating—he just smiled and nodded, agreeing that he wouldn't make any more such small moves.

"Oh, by the way," Xu Youyu glanced at Ying Chanxi, who was already ready to leave, then walked straight to her bedroom and turned back to Li Luo. "Come here—I have something for you. Remember to bring it."

"What is it?" Li Luo walked over, puzzled, following Xu Youyu into the room.

The next second, the door slammed shut.

Ying Chanxi heard only a loud bang; she turned her gaze in confusion, wondering why they needed to close the door just to hand something over.

Curious, she walked to the door and knocked. "What are you two doing? What is your sister giving you?"

The door opened quickly.

Seeing the two with wet lips, Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes, then snorted coldly and turned away in a huff.

"Is Xi Xi mad?" Xu Youyu peeked out at Ying Chanxi's retreating back. "I didn't even kiss you in front of you like Zhusheng did—don't be so petty."

"I'm not mad!" Ying Chanxi dragged her suitcase toward the door.

Li Luo pinched Xu Youyu's firm buttock; under her retaliatory clawing, he scrambled away, grabbed his suitcase, and chased after Ying Chanxi ahead.

"Then we're off!"

…

At around three in the afternoon, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi arrived at Changning City's high-speed rail station, took a taxi to their hotel, and checked in.

After a short rest, the two had dinner in the evening, and Li Luo prepared to go to the concert venue for rehearsal.

"Aren't you coming?" Li Luo asked, surprised, looking at Ying Chanxi, who showed no intention of joining him.

"You go alone—I'll stay at the hotel," Ying Chanxi shook her head. Thinking that Yan Zhusheng hadn't seen Li Luo for half a month, she guessed he'd pounce on him the moment they met, so she decided to avoid the confrontation.

Li Luo was a bit confused, but he left alone, took a taxi, and arrived at the concert venue.

The moment he stepped out of the car, he saw a tall, slender figure standing gracefully by the roadside, gazing at every vehicle passing by.

As soon as her eyes landed on him, she rushed toward him without delay, flinging herself into his arms from afar.

The impact—if Li Luo hadn't trained his body hard in this life—he would have been knocked over.

But then again.

Li Luo held tightly to Yan Zhusheng, who had thrown herself into his arms, and couldn't help sighing, unconsciously comparing her to Xu Youyu, who had flung herself into his arms at lunch.

Well… no need to compare at all.

After holding her for a while, Li Luo loosened his embrace and rubbed his chest slightly.

But Yan Zhusheng hadn't had enough—she clung to him again, pressing herself into his chest, saying nothing, burying her head against him, feeling his heartbeat and scent.

Seeing he couldn't shake her off, Li Luo laughed and held her, gently patting her back: "It's not like we'll never see each other again—it's only been ten days."

"I miss you," Yan Zhusheng rubbed her cheek against his chest, then lifted her head in his arms, gazing into his eyes with burning intensity, speaking plainly without restraint: "I miss you so much."

In truth, since accompanying Yuan Wanqing abroad for a medical checkup during the previous New Year, Yan Zhusheng had never left Li Luo's side.

They saw each other almost every day, and most nights they slept together—there had been no separation at all.

This time, leaving Yuhang City to accompany Yuan Wanqing for three concerts, traveling nonstop across the country, Yan Zhusheng's longing for Li Luo had accumulated day by day.

And now, this accumulated longing had transformed into boundless attachment—once she flung herself into Li Luo's arms, she clung like a sticky rice cake, impossible to shake off.

"How much did you miss me?" Li Luo smiled, lowering his head to gently kiss her soft lips.

That single touch, like a spark striking flint, instantly ignited the entire grassland.

Yan Zhusheng didn't answer at all—she rose onto her toes and pressed her lips firmly against Li Luo's, using over half an hour of action to show him the answer.

"You two… oh my… really… I thought something was wrong…"

A voice from his side—assistant Xiao Wen—brought Li Luo back to reality; he finally pried Yan Zhusheng's lips away and turned his head.

Xiao Wen stared at the two tightly embracing, a mix of exasperation and amusement on her face, then raised her watch and sighed, "My dear, you've been waiting outside since six p. m. —it's nearly an hour now!"

An hour already?!

Li Luo was startled—he wondered how time had flown so fast; one kiss after another, and an hour vanished.

But when he checked his phone and recalled the time he got out of the car, it had clearly been only half an hour.

Where did the hour come from?

Realizing this, Li Luo paused, then looked down at Yan Zhusheng: "What time did you come out to wait for me?"

"Six," Yan Zhusheng replied, still clinging tightly to him.

"I remember I was just about to leave the hotel at six," Li Luo said, half-amused, half-helpless as he pinched her nose. "Didn't I say I'd arrive around half past six?"

"I wanted to see you," Yan Zhusheng buried her head back into Li Luo's chest. The simple words struck his heart like a small hammer—direct, unyielding, heavy.

"Now you've seen me—let's go inside," Li Luo gently patted her back. "Look, Xiao Wen came out looking for you. Don't keep the others waiting for rehearsal."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently and finally pulled away from his arms.

Even so, she clung tightly to his arm, sticking to him like glue, before following Xiao Wen toward the venue.

Xiao Wen watched the two of them with a smile, secretly overjoyed, stealing glances whenever she could.

But she remembered her job—on the way into the venue, she said to Li Luo: "Rehearsal has already started. You'll need to get ready soon and join Zhusheng. By the way, are you using your own instrument?"

"Did you bring it?" Yan Zhusheng turned to ask.

"I brought it, but it's still at the hotel," Li Luo nodded. "Do we need it for today's rehearsal?"

"Not today—you can use something else as a substitute," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "Bring it tomorrow afternoon for the rehearsal."

"Alright."

…

The concert rehearsal lasted until past nine p. m.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng got into the chauffeured car with Yuan Wanqing, while assistant Xiao Wen reported the upcoming schedule to her.

Yan Zhusheng sat beside Li Luo, holding his arm tightly, unwilling to let go for a second.

Not even in front of Yuan Wanqing did she loosen her grip.

Yuan Wanqing seemed unconcerned—she already knew her daughter was deeply dependent on Li Luo privately, and she didn't oppose their intimacy.

She even welcomed it.

If she had to pick a son-in-law right now, Yuan Wanqing felt no one else could compare to Li Luo.

But…

After the car returned to the hotel, Yuan Wanqing watched Yan Zhusheng follow Li Luo straight to his room without looking back—and fell silent.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

Forget it.

Let things take their course.

That's what Yuan Wanqing thought.

Just now in the car, Li Luo mentioned that Ying Chanxi had come too; with both girls present, nothing improper should happen.

Otherwise, watching Yan Zhusheng's clinginess, Yuan Wanqing feared she might soon become a grandmother.

"Miss Yuan, shall we head back to our room?" Xiao Wen watched Yan Zhusheng's retreating figure beside Li Luo, her heart racing—but her face remained calm.

"Mm," Yuan Wanqing nodded, then glanced at Xiao Wen. "Don't talk about Zhusheng's business outside. Keep your mouth shut."

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Wen quickly made a zipping motion across her lips, nodding vigorously. "Miss Yuan, I promise—I'm very discreet!"

On the other side.

After returning to their room, Li Luo swiped his key card to open the door and saw Ying Chanxi sitting on the living room sofa, scrolling on her phone.

He had booked a luxury suite—the space was spacious.

Ying Chanxi turned at the sound of the door, and seeing Yan Zhusheng still clinging to Li Luo's arm, let out a soft huff.

"Good evening, sister," Yan Zhusheng finally released Li Luo and walked behind the sofa, glancing at Ying Chanxi's phone. "Did you show Li Luo the photo I sent you?"

"How dare you bring that up," Ying Chanxi shot her a look. "How could you send such a photo so casually!"

"I didn't send it casually—I only sent it to you two," Yan Zhusheng replied honestly.

"Hmph!" Ying Chanxi snorted. "I deleted every single one you sent to Li Luo."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded indifferently—and suddenly began undressing.

Her clothes and pants fell instantly to her feet.

Ying Chanxi, hearing the noise, turned and saw her already pulling off her camisole—she rushed forward and grabbed her wrist. "If you're going to shower, take your clothes off in the bathroom! Li Luo's still here!"

"Li Luo likes watching."

"Is this about whether he likes it or not?" Ying Chanxi was utterly exasperated. "If he liked licking feet, would you let him lick yours too?"

"Sure," Yan Zhusheng nodded.

"Hey hey hey!" Li Luo interrupted. "What kind of talk is this? Who said anything about licking feet?"

"Li Luo," Yan Zhusheng turned to him, wrapping her arms around his arm again. "Want to shower together?"

"Cough…" Li Luo was tempted—but seeing the little jealous girl about to explode, he shook his head firmly. "I still have to write. You two go first."

Sitting down at the desk, opening his laptop, Li Luo watched the backs of Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi heading toward the bathroom—and sighed. This life, he thought, was truly not meant for humans.

(End of Chapter)