Chapter 640: Xixi, I

"Little Joy" has premiered.

Of the seven people sitting in front of the TV, apart from Li Luo, the original author, the other six had all read Li Luo's novel.

So before watching the drama, they already had expectations for the plot.

Starting at 7:30 PM, Qianjiang Satellite TV and Oriental Satellite TV aired two episodes total.

Each episode is 45 minutes long, plus commercial breaks and other interruptions, totaling exactly two hours.

After "Little Joy" officially aired on TV, Li Luo checked his author backend and confirmed the new chapter had been automatically published on time.

As soon as the latest chapter was released, the chapter comments became lively.

【I never thought I'd ever have a day like this—watching TV while reading the novel's TV drama…】

【Hahaha! Who is this? How so awesome? "Little Joy" just aired and he already copied it?】

【I'd call you the number one plagiarism master in literature】

【What if there's nothing left in reality I want to plagiarize? Just create one myself, then plagiarize it—easy! (doge)】

【Copying songs before was fine, no long setup needed, but now he's doing a whole TV drama—truly built up from last year all the way to now!】

【Finally premiered! I loved the original novel of "Little Joy," now I'm thrilled!】

Where there are fans, there are skeptics—after all, not everyone is interested in "Little Joy"'s subject matter.

But Li Luo didn't care much; after confirming the new chapter was published smoothly, he leaned back comfortably between Yan Zhusheng's legs, hugging Ying Chanxi close, and quietly watched the drama.

The first two episodes of "Little Joy" moved at a brisk pace: starting with Gao San's return to school, the conflict between Fang Yifan and Ji Yangyang led to their two underachieving mothers being called in by their homeroom teacher to discuss holding back.

Then Fang Yifan's mother took her son to his childhood friend's house for dinner, hoping to consult with the friend's mother, Song Qian, about her child's studies.

Song Qian, a top-tier teacher, also rented out apartments in her school district; she had two units available, one of which was rented to Ji Yangyang's family.

Meanwhile, Ji Yangyang's father and Qiao Yingzi's father also made their appearances.

In just these two short episodes, "Little Joy" swiftly clarified the specific circumstances of all three families.

The characters were vivid and multidimensional; each child and parent had distinct traits, and viewers instantly immersed themselves as they watched.

Especially since Li Luo deliberately reduced the wealth level of the three families from the original setting.

Only Qiao Yingzi's family remained relatively affluent due to narrative needs; the other two families were slightly toned down to avoid the feeling of "why don't they just eat meat?"

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

At the end of the second episode, during the Gao San motivational assembly, Fang Yifan climbed onto the stage roof to find the perfect angle to film his goddess.

He accidentally slipped and slid all the way down, about to crash to the ground—when at the last moment, he grabbed the edge and barely avoided falling.

Just then, the drama ended and cut to commercial.

"Damn! You really know how to end on a cliffhanger." Xu Yinghuan hadn't paid close attention to the original novel before, and after so much time, she'd forgotten most of the details.

Seeing this ending, she couldn't help complaining: "So did he fall or not?"

"Register for a Tencent Video membership and you can watch the early release—episodes three and four are available immediately," Li Luo chuckled. "It's getting late; clean up and head home."

After all, he couldn't be blamed for the cliffhanger—his memory of the original "Little Joy" from his past life was exactly like this; it's an old tradition in entertainment.

Just like how Online Novels end chapters.

Even if criticized, the effect was undeniably good.

Xu Yinghuan stood up from the sofa reluctantly, gathered her things, and walked toward the door with a sigh: "I should've just waited until it finished airing, then binged it all at once."

Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan followed behind her, exchanged shoes with Xu Yinghuan at the door, and bid farewell to Li Luo.

On the way downstairs, Xu Yinghuan received a call from her father and said into the phone: "Coming, coming—we just finished watching, we're at the gate now."

"Yeah yeah, they're right here beside me."

"Oh right, let me ask them."

At this point, Xu Yinghuan turned to the two beside her and suggested hopefully: "We drank wine at dinner—why don't you two just ride home with my dad? He can drop you off."

When Qiao Xinyan heard this, she hesitated slightly inside—she actually wanted to refuse.

After all, every time they left Li Luo's house, once Xu Yinghuan was dropped off, it was just her and Zhao Rongjun walking home together.

But she felt awkward refusing Xu Yinghuan and her father's kindness, so she turned her gaze to Zhao Rongjun, silently hoping he'd politely decline.

But Zhao Rongjun hesitated only briefly, noticed Xu Yinghuan's hopeful expression, and finally nodded gently under Qiao Xinyan's gaze: "You're right—it's not safe to walk home after drinking."

"Then come with me~" Xu Yinghuan grinned happily, stepped out of the building, and bounced ahead, pulling both of them toward the community gate.

Qiao Xinyan trailed behind them, slightly disappointed, but by the time they reached the community gate, she had regained her composure.

Xu Rongbin's car was parked at the gate; Qiao Xinyan watched Xu Yinghuan approach the car—not sit in the front passenger seat, but open the back door and climb in.

This made Qiao Xinyan pause for a moment; seeing Zhao Rongjun also get into the back seat, she hesitated at the car door, then mustered a little courage and squeezed in after them.

Xu Rongbin in the driver's seat blinked in surprise, glanced at the empty front passenger seat, then at the rearview mirror filled with three people in back—he opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.

"Dad, I'll guide you," Xu Yinghuan leaned forward, hands gripping the front seat headrest, and called ahead, "Drop off Xinyane first, then A-Jun."

"Mm," Xu Rongbin glanced at his daughter in the rearview mirror, stared at Zhao Rongjun for a few seconds, until Zhao Rongjun nervously looked away—then he pressed the accelerator.

Their homes weren't far apart; Zhao Rongjun still lived at his grandfather's because he was working in Tianjie this summer.

So after Xu Rongbin dropped off Qiao Xinyan at her door, within minutes he smoothly arrived at Zhao Rongjun's grandfather's community gate.

But as soon as he stopped the car, Xu Yinghuan opened the door and got out too, walked to the driver's window, and said to Xu Rongbin: "Dad, I'm going inside to grab something—wait for me a bit."

"Got it," Xu Rongbin nodded. "Hurry back."

After getting her father's permission, Xu Yinghuan turned around, smirked slyly, and immediately followed Zhao Rongjun into the community.

After stepping out of Xu Rongbin's car, Zhao Rongjun exhaled deeply, feeling the pressure lift.

But when he turned his head, he saw Xu Yinghuan had followed him—he jumped in surprise: "Why are you here?"

"Shhh…" Xu Yinghuan quickly hushed him, then whispered, "I told my dad I was coming to your place to pick something up."

"Huh?" Zhao Rongjun blinked. "I didn't know about this."

"Idiot," Xu Yinghuan rolled her eyes. "Of course I lied to him."

After saying that, Xu Yinghuan glanced around to confirm her father could no longer see them, and finally, as if she had been holding it in for a long time, she quickly slipped her soft little hand into Zhao Rongjun's rough large palm.

In the dim night, Zhao Rongjun felt the warmth in his palm, and his whole body seemed to catch a fever; his heart burned so intensely that he couldn't make a sound.

"Still not used to it?" Xu Yinghuan asked with a sweetly blushing face. "Anyway, at the very latest when we go traveling together, I won't be able to hold it in anymore. Today I almost wanted to tell Zhu Sheng."

Zhao Rongjun stayed silent, silent, his mind completely occupied by the girl's light, cheerful voice and soft touch, already unable to think.

When he came back to his senses, he belatedly nodded: "Mm, th-then we'll tell them when the time comes."

……

After seeing Zhao Rongjun and the others off, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng began tidying up the living room.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu each returned to their bedrooms; they still had some time left in the evening to type out a few more words.

However, Li Luo had plenty of chapters saved up and wasn't in a hurry to write. After returning to his room, he logged into Weibo and his author backend on the computer to check the response after "A Little Reunion" premiered.

It had to be said, this drama truly lived up to its reputation as a phenomenal hit from its premiere year in his previous life. Combined with the groundwork and promotion Li Luo and Ying Zhicheng had laid in advance, it dropped an absolute bombshell on viewers right at this point in the summer break.

Especially since the college entrance exam results had only just been released a few days ago, this period was when exam-related topics were at their hottest, with related content climbing the trending charts every day.

The past few days were also the window for filling in college preferences, so the moment "A Little Reunion" aired, it rode this massive wave of traffic and surged straight to the top of the trending charts.

Not only did the tag 【"A Little Reunion" Premieres】 claim the number one spot, but the third, seventh, and positions in the teens and twenties were also all content related to "A Little Reunion."

Viewers who had just finished the first two episodes online quickly sparked the first wave of plot discussions across the internet.

Under the deliberate attention of Huayue Entertainment and Ying Zhicheng, several related topics were quickly pushed up the popularity charts.

For instance, one of the most entertaining threads was that many netizens began claiming the mothers in the show as their own, saying that Dong Wenjie and Song Qian in the drama were practically their own mothers, almost cut from the same mold.

【Isn't this the guy who took the provincial top score? My mom heard from somewhere that the provincial top scorer's novel had been adapted into a TV series, and it was about the college entrance exam too.】

【Then when it premiered tonight, my mom insisted on dragging me to watch "A Little Reunion."】

【When I saw Dong Wenjie scolding Fang Yifan in the car, I almost couldn't hold it in. The way she talks is exactly the same as my mom, down to every word. I was dying of laughter.】

【The key thing is my mom and I were watching it on Tencent Video, and the bullet comments flying by were all "isn't this just my mom?" So basically all the moms across the country are the same.】

Li Luo watched the online response with great interest. Seeing the discussion was so heated, the big stone in his heart finally settled completely.

After all, although "A Little Reunion" had been extraordinarily successful in his previous life, and this time Li Luo had the director film it completely according to the original plot, the cast was different and the premiere timing wasn't the same, so many things could have produced entirely different results.

Not to mention Li Luo had invested several million in this project.

Seeing such a grand discussion online now, Li Luo also broke into a satisfied smile.

Readers of "I'm Really Not a Celebrity" who had finished the first two episodes of the TV series also rushed to the chapter comments immediately, leaving their glowing reviews.

【It's only been two episodes since premiere, it's not nearly enough to watch!】

【They really did film it well. Song Qian is exactly like my mom, watching her is giving me PTSD.】

【Tencent really knows how to make money. I opened a membership through tears, already on episodes three or four. Can God Ran reimburse me?】

Li Luo cheerfully scrolled through his chapter comments, and shortly after, received a stream of WeChat messages.

When he opened them, he found they were from Ying Zhicheng and director Wang Jun.

【Ying Zhicheng】: The premiere went smoothly, and the results are even better than expected. The director has already posted the specifics in the group.

Li Luo replied with a "received," then opened the production crew's WeChat group and saw director Wang Jun's @everyone message.

【Wang Jun】: Announcing great news! Our "A Little Reunion," on its first day of broadcast, has broken a 1% viewership rating on both Qianjiang Satellite TV and Dragon TV! One at 1.1%, one at 1.3%!

【Wang Jun】: At the same time, on Tencent Video and iQiyi, the play count for "A Little Reunion" has also rapidly broken into the tens of millions!

After sharing the good news, director Wang Jun sent out several big red packets in the WeChat group to celebrate.

The crew members popped up one after another, exchanging congratulations, the atmosphere quite lively and cheerful.

Li Luo also took the opportunity to send a big red packet, then exited the group chat and checked his other WeChat messages.

Most of these were congratulations and thanks from the show's actors. For example, Ruan Lin, who played Qiao Yingzi, sent Li Luo a long string of thank-you messages.

Li Luo politely replied with one line and left it at that.

After confirming that "A Little Reunion's" takeoff was unstoppable, he gathered his composure and threw himself back into writing.

As a result, as it neared eleven at night, just as Li Luo had finished writing and was about to get into bed, he received a message from Xu Youyu.

【Early Sleep Helps You Grow Taller】: I feel like I've mostly recovered. Want me to come check on someone's fitness results? (shy. jpg)

Seeing this message, Li Luo instantly sprang up from his chair.

Ying Chanxi, who was still waiting in bed for Li Luo to come sleep, glanced at him in confusion and asked, "Done writing?"

"Mm, pretty much…" Li Luo's eyes drifted. His mind racing, he quickly changed the subject and said, "Sister Youyu seems to have some plot issues again. I'll go take a look for her."

"Oh." Ying Chanxi didn't suspect anything, since Li Luo and Xu Youyu did often discuss plot together. So she nodded and said to Li Luo, "Well, don't chat too late. We still need to head to Changning City tomorrow morning."

"Mm, don't worry." Li Luo glanced at the time, calculating in his head. "I'll definitely be back to sleep before midnight."

(End of chapter)