Chapter 639: My Feet Don

"Hello~ We're here~"

At six-thirty in the evening, Zhao Rongjun and the other two finally arrived late.

Xu Yinghuan led the way, walked in, and cheerfully greeted everyone else in the room.

"So fragrant~" Xu Yinghuan said as she changed into slippers, "Is it Li Luo cooking again?"

"Yes, Li Luo is cooking," Yan Zhusheng said, walking out of the kitchen carrying a dish and nodding at Xu Yinghuan, "We've been waiting for you."

"Sorry," Qiao Xinyan said last as she entered, still apologizing, "There were too many customers today, so I got off work late."

"It's fine," Ying Chanxi said, coming out with bowls and chopsticks, "Xu Yinghuan told us ahead of time. Li Luo deliberately delayed cooking—perfect timing."

"The Little Joy hasn't aired yet, right?" Zhao Rongjun lowered his head, about to look for slippers, when he saw Xu Yinghuan already holding a pair out to him—he glanced nervously at the others.

Seeing no one noticed this small detail, he silently slipped on the slippers under Xu Yinghuan's wink.

"It starts at seven-thirty—still early," Li Luo said, taking off his apron and walking out of the kitchen with a pot of crucian carp and tofu soup, placing it on the table. "Just finished—let's eat."

Li Luo called out, then went straight to Xu Youyu's room, knocked, and opened the door: "Youyu, dinner's ready."

"Got it~" Xu Youyu replied, typed a few more keys, smoothed out the sentence on her screen, then ended her writing, hurriedly slipped on slippers, and followed Li Luo out.

After the college entrance exam, the seven of them had rarely gathered for a meal and fun.

"By the way, have you all filled out your college applications?" Xu Yinghuan asked after sitting down, ladling fish soup into Zhao Rongjun's bowl first, then her own, before turning to the others: "Newyan, want some?"

Qiao Xinyan hesitated, saw Xu Yinghuan reaching out, and handed her bowl over to be filled: "Thanks."

"I applied to Zhu Academy at Qianjiang University," Ying Chanxi said. "If you apply, Newyan, you'd probably get in too?"

"Mm," Qiao Xinyan nodded lightly. "I applied too—chose humanities and social sciences."

"Same as me," Ying Chanxi smiled, then shot a slightly resentful glance at Li Luo. "Someone insisted on applying to humanities science at the College of Literature."

Li Luo heard her complaint and gave a helpless smile.

Zhu Academy at Qianjiang University is among the top-tier colleges nationwide, even more so within Jiangsu Province.

But for Li Luo, Zhu Academy held little appeal.

His purpose in attending university wasn't for academic pursuit—he simply wanted to enjoy college life, so there was no need to secure a spot at Zhu Academy.

Besides, Xu Youyu was already in the College of Literature, and Xu Rongsheng was a professor and Vice Dean there.

If he joined the College of Literature, with an upperclassman and the Dean himself watching over him, things would be easier and more convenient, with fewer constraints.

"What about you two?" Li Luo asked Zhao Rongjun and Xu Yinghuan, offering no further explanation for his major choice.

Zhao Rongjun confessed honestly: "I picked the Engineering Experimental Class. Xu Yinghuan also chose humanities science, like you, plus added journalism and communication and marine science as backups."

Though Xu Yinghuan's ranking was already secure, she naturally added extra options for safety, placing humanities science first.

Qianjiang University's admissions system uses broad major categories—similar majors are bundled together, and applicants only need to select a general direction.

The specific minor major is chosen later, after a period of general education following enrollment.

Those like Qiao Xinyan, Li Luo, and Ying Chanxi, ranked in the top three hundred province-wide, could even apply to Zhu Academy.

Zhu Academy employs elite education: small classes, personalized curricula, and richer teaching resources.

If Li Luo had needed these things, he would have chosen Zhu Academy.

When the admissions office staff learned of his choice, they thought he misunderstood Zhu Academy and spent great effort persuading him.

Only after confirming his decision was firm and his own did they relax slightly, but they assured him that if he changed his mind during freshman or sophomore year, Zhu Academy would welcome his application anytime.

Ying Chanxi had originally thought they'd be in the same college, but this guy turned around and went to the College of Literature—making her furious.

If Li Luo hadn't promised her they could take the same elective courses, she might have switched to humanities science herself.

In the past, Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong might have tried to dissuade him from skipping Zhu Academy for the College of Literature.

But now, with his status, achievements, and how he handled people, his parents had stopped worrying.

After all, the few things parents should truly worry about, Li Luo had already handled during high school.

He was successful and had no money problems; the house was bought and under renovation.

As for marriage, others struggled to find good girls, but Li Luo had too many options.

With these two major life matters settled, a college major? Let him do as he pleased.

"Jun, you're studying computer science, right?" Li Luo picked up a cola chicken wing for Xi Xi to calm her down, then asked Zhao Rongjun: "What about Newyan and Yinghuan?"

"Yeah, I'm doing computer science," Zhao Rongjun said without hesitation—he'd long decided.

Qiao Xinyan thought a moment before saying: "I'm leaning toward law."

"I'll wait until I'm sure I can get in," Xu Yinghuan grinned. "What I study doesn't matter—as long as I'm at the same school as you guys, and graduate safely, that's the goal~"

For Xu Yinghuan, getting into Qianjiang University already exceeded her parents' expectations.

Major choice held little meaning for her family background.

Especially as an only child, even if she did nothing afterward, her father would never let her go hungry—her concerns about major selection were far fewer.

Originally, she'd wanted to apply for the Engineering Experimental Class like Zhao Rongjun, but then feared she might struggle and fail to graduate—that would be embarrassing.

So in the end, she quietly chose the major she was relatively better at.

The seven ate while chatting about college and their future dreams.

Li Luo knew Zhao Rongjun had talent in computer science; in his past life, after graduating from Qianjiang University, he worked at a big company in Yuhang City with a high monthly salary.

As for Qiao Xinyan, Li Luo didn't know her well and had no idea about her past life.

As for Xu Yinghuan, Li Luo vaguely remembered this junior high classmate—she likely didn't get into Qianjiang University in his past life, instead attending Yuhang Finance, another first-tier school, not bad at all.

"Since everyone's drinking, let's raise a toast," Li Luo said, raising his cup with a smile. "To smooth sailing ahead and everything going well."

The seven clinked their cups together.

At Xu Youyu's urging, everyone had poured themselves a drink earlier.

Now, under the mood, even Ying Chanxi, who couldn't handle alcohol, lifted her cup and drank it all.

Xu Youyu cheered happily and poured herself another cup.

"Don't drink any more." Li Luo smiled as he saw her face flushed after just one beer, swapping her cup for a glass of juice. "We're going to watch TV soon—don't pass out before it starts."

"My alcohol tolerance isn't that bad." Ying Chanxi blinked reluctantly, her head slightly dizzy after the drink; though she argued, her body obeyed, quietly clutching the juice cup.

Zhao Rongjun noticed Qiao Xinyan's flushed face, no less red than Ying Chanxi's. He raised his hand to pour her some juice, then paused, as if remembering something.

After hesitating, he turned to Xu Yinghuan beside him. "Huanhuan, want some juice?"

"No thanks, I can drink a lot." Xu Yinghuan tilted her chin and waved dismissively.

"Oh." Zhao Rongjun nodded, then turned again. "Qiao Xinyan doesn't seem to handle alcohol well—should I pour her some juice?"

"Oh… yeah…" Qiao Xinyan nodded lightly, picked up her water cup, and accepted a bit of juice from Zhao Rongjun.

Xu Youyu clearly saw something—he glanced between Zhao Rongjun, Qiao Xinyan, and Xu Yinghuan, then squinted and smiled with interest.

After three rounds of drinks, it was nearly half past seven. Everyone was full and satisfied, rising to gather on the living room sofa.

The long central sofa couldn't hold all seven; the two single sofas could only seat two people.

So Xu Youyu went to the room and brought out a clean blanket, directing Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun to push the coffee table toward the TV, clearing space, then spreading the blanket on the floor before the sofa.

"There." Xu Youyu clapped her hands happily. "Four on the sofa, three on the floor—perfect~"

Li Luo took the sofa without hesitation, leaving it for the girls, and plopped down squarely in the center of the floor.

Zhao Rongjun clearly wouldn't fight for the sofa, so he sat to Li Luo's left.

Ying Chanxi acted swiftly, snatching the spot to Li Luo's right, sitting on the floor beside him to watch TV.

On the sofa, from left to right, sat Qiao Xinyan, Xu Yinghuan, Yan Zhusheng, and Xu Youyu.

Minutes remained before "Little Joy" aired. Li Luo used the remote to switch the TV to Qianjiang Satellite TV—still in an advertisement.

He returned to his room, fetched his laptop, opened it, and confirmed the scheduled chapter release for tonight.

Once "Little Joy" officially began, he would simultaneously update "I Am Really Not a Star," creating another real-world linkage in the novel.

Meanwhile, the startup screen of Qidian App had been replaced with a promotional interface for "Little Joy."

Since it was a joint production with Tencent Video, "Little Joy" would air simultaneously on Qianjiang Satellite TV, Oriental Satellite TV, Tencent Video, and iQiyi.

Users with Tencent Video memberships could even watch early episodes—seeing episode four on day one.

Other platforms could only show the first two episodes.

Huayue Film and Television launched a full-scale campaign across all platforms, building on months of meticulous planning and generating massive traffic, propelling "Little Joy"'s premiere to an unprecedented peak.

This was also the first time Li Luo had attempted a real-world linkage in "I Am Really Not a Star" with a TV drama that had never existed before.

If writing songs and plagiarizing his own novels was still within the realm of imagination for entertainment genre authors,

then if "Little Joy," which Li Luo plagiarized from himself, became as wildly popular as his earlier songs, "I Am Really Not a Star" would truly become a divine book in the entertainment genre.

"Li Luo, ah~" Yan Zhusheng, watching the next program's preview on TV, opened a bag of snacks and tossed one toward Li Luo, who sat on the floor before her.

Li Luo opened his mouth and caught the snack she tossed.

At the same time, Yan Zhusheng lifted her feet, swinging them over Li Luo's shoulders and planting them squarely in his lap.

Ying Chanxi, sitting beside him, had just leaned toward his shoulder—now she impatiently slapped her sister's smooth, slender calf. "What are you doing? Stinks."

"It doesn't stink!" Yan Zhusheng retorted, pushing her foot toward Li Luo's nose. "Ask Li Luo—is it stinky?"

"Even if it isn't, don't do that while I'm chewing snacks!" Li Luo shoved her foot down, expressionless.

In the end, Yan Zhusheng only draped one foot over Li Luo's shoulder; the other had to be given to her sister.

Xu Youyu sat unbothered at the far end, legs crossed, happily watching the scene.

On the other side, Xu Yinghuan, seeing Yan Zhusheng's actions, felt tempted.

But in the end, she held back, simply opening a bag of snacks, feeding two bites to Zhao Rongjun, then one to Qiao Xinyan.

Seeing Xu Yinghuan willingly feed Zhao Rongjun snacks, Qiao Xinyan felt uneasy, a sour taste spreading from her heart.

But when Xu Yinghuan leaned over again to feed her, Qiao Xinyan thought she'd imagined it.

Huanhuan was always this carefree and lively—feeding snacks wasn't anything special.

Qiao Xinyan bit her lip, recalling her earlier idea mentioned to Chanxi, her gaze falling on Zhao Rongjun's earnest, simple profile—she couldn't help feeling both anticipation and shyness.

It was only a little over a week until their trip to Thousand Island Lake…

As Qiao Xinyan thought of this, "Little Joy" finally began on TV.

The opening theme, "Little Happiness," sung by Yan Zhusheng, drifted from the television.

(End of Chapter)