Chapter 708: Wanting to Go Into Brother

After two and a half hours of the elective class, Shi Huanian finally laid out the entire twenty-year development history of online novels since their inception.

To be honest, there was actually some substance to it.

After all, Li Luo and Xu Youyu both started writing online novels only from 2014, and Li Luo didn't even begin until after graduating university in his previous life.

So regarding the early development of online novels, they knew little beyond a few major events.

Now, after hearing Shi Huanian's introduction, they realized how many grudges and rivalries lay hidden within.

"Okay, we'll stop here for today," Shi Huanian said after finishing the history of online novels, glancing at the clock—two or three minutes remained before class ended.

She closed her slides and, using the remaining time, said, "Everyone should have joined the QQ group already, right? If you haven't, apply now."

"Then you can start looking for teammates in the group—before next week's class, everyone must form a team, and the team leader must privately message me the member list and the online novel they plan to study."

"Considering online novels have massive word counts, the novels you've read may not all be the same."

"So I suggest you first share your reading lists in the group, then find classmates who've read the same book to form a team."

"This ensures all team members have read the novel you'll analyze—if someone hasn't read it, the group assignment loses all meaning."

"If a student really wants to present a specific book but can't find anyone else who's read it, they can form a team alone."

"Since we started this course in the second week, any group that presents their online novel analysis before the tenth week can be rated as outstanding in the midterm evaluation."

After explaining the basic rules, the dismissal bell rang precisely.

Shi Huanian announced class was over.

Everyone immediately stood up, gathered their belongings, and left the classroom.

"Huh? Youyu? Li Luo?"

As they walked out of the classroom, Li Luo and Xu Youyu heard a familiar voice.

They turned to see it was Jiang Feiya.

"Xiaoya?" Xu Youyu blinked in surprise, seeing Jiang Feiya had exited the same classroom—she hadn't expected it, "Why are you in this class? I thought you'd signed up for a different elective?"

"Oh, this…?" Jiang Feiya's expression flickered, then she explained, "I changed it on Sunday—I thought this course seemed interesting too, didn't expect you two were here."

"Small world," Xu Youyu smiled. "Are you heading back to the dorm?"

"No," Jiang Feiya shook her head. "I have an appointment this afternoon—I'll go ahead."

"Okay, bye." After saying goodbye to Jiang Feiya, Xu Youyu stepped out the building's main door and asked Li Luo, "You're going to find Zhusheng, right?"

"Mm." Li Luo nodded. "I promised her I'd meet her after class and take her to dinner tonight."

"Don't forget—we have our department's regular meeting tonight," Xu Youyu reminded him.

"I haven't forgotten," Li Luo said, nodding. "I'll come right after dinner."

"You really are a busy man."

"After all, I've got three girlfriends—I've got responsibilities to uphold."

"Why do you say that like you're asking for a punch?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "You're getting worse at hiding it."

"Have I ever hidden it?"

"Heh." Xu Youyu poked his head. "You know better—your mind's full of schemes."

"That's all thanks to Youyu-jie."

"Good to know." Xu Youyu huffed, looping her arm through his as they walked toward Qingxi Dormitory. "Your car's parked near the dorm, right?"

"Mm."

"Then walk back with me."

"Why are you going back to the dorm?"

"My roommates are all out."

"So you can write?"

"I can sleep," Xu Youyu said. "No one to bother me."

Li Luo: "... You really are lazy."

"I'm working hard, okay? My average subscription count is already over twenty thousand!" Xu Youyu retorted.

"Yes, yes, you're working hard," Li Luo chuckled. "Mine's already over eighty thousand."

"Get lost—who asked you to compare?" Xu Youyu snorted. "Always picking on people."

"So it looks like this year's Grand Master invitation is locked in?" Li Luo said. "Since 'Literary Era' ended, your average subscriptions have gone up too, right?"

"Thanks to someone who keeps shilling my book in every chapter," Xu Youyu laughed. "I'll probably break twenty thousand before year-end."

"That's pretty good."

Li Luo is currently serializing two novels.

One, 'Night Watch of Great Qian,' has over eighty thousand average subscriptions and frequently recommends 'Gu Dao Changqing' to readers.

In the other, 'I Am Really Not a Star,' Li Luo has gone so far as to directly plagiarize 'Literary Era' into his own text.

He's directly driving traffic to Xu Youyu's novel.

Readers noticed that Chongran enthusiastically promotes 'Early Sleep President Gao's' new books—and now even her older ones—so many are asking if he's romantically interested in her.

Meanwhile, Early Sleep President Gao's readers are brilliant detectives: every time they spot Li Luo's chapter promotion, they suspect the two are dating, accusing Early Sleep of whispering sweet nothings to Chongran to get him to promote her daily.

Though the truth isn't that simple, in a way, they're not far off.

But currently, the most popular fan pairing online is Chongran & Yan Zhusheng, followed by Chongran & Early Sleep.

As for Chongran & Qingmei, the fan pairing is far less common—Ying Chanxi isn't a public figure, appears rarely, and mostly stays behind the scenes.

Xu Youyu doesn't appear publicly either, but her pen name is still well-known on Qidian.

"By the way," Xu Youyu asked curiously, "how are you planning to handle Shi Laoshi's group assignment?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You know me well, don't you?"

"If you dare present 'Gu Dao Changqing' in class, see if you live to see tomorrow," Xu Youyu said, narrowing her eyes with a cold laugh.

"Is it that scary? I won't expose you." Li Luo said sincerely, "When the time comes, I'll praise it with solid reasoning—you love it when I analyze your books, don't you?"

"Then I'll analyze your Night Watch of Great Qian too!" Xu Youyu gritted her teeth.

"Do as you like, I'm fine with anything." Li Luo, no longer worried about the consequences, chuckled, "Why don't you open the QQ group and see what books these people are sharing?"

Hearing this, Xu Youyu immediately pulled out her phone to take a look. Soon, she understood what Li Luo meant.

Because among the thirty or forty people in the group, about a third of their book lists included Night Watch of Great Qian.

And almost all of them were boys.

Male students in humanities were already few; this elective course, Online Novel Appreciation and Research, had fifteen male students—already quite a lot.

Among these boys, Night Watch of Great Qian was nearly mandatory reading.

After all, it was Qidian's undisputed flagship work, having topped the charts for months—its popularity was only natural.

"No wonder you don't care." Xu Youyu's lip twitched slightly, speechless.

Judging by this trend, several groups might end up analyzing Night Watch of Great Qian.

But soon, Si Huayuan posted a group-wide notification on QQ.

【Si Huayuan】: Each online novel can be analyzed by at most two groups. No repeats beyond three. First come, first served—if a third group picks the same book, that group must switch. @All Members.

Seeing this notice, the boys immediately erupted in groans; the swift ones had already formed groups and messaged Si Huayuan privately.

Those who were slow could only reluctantly give up.

"Heh." Li Luo laughed at the scene. "Youyu, it looks like your plan to present my book is already ruined."

"You don't only have one book." Xu Youyu huffed.

"But Little Joys also has quite a few readers—many girls have read it too."

"Then I'll present your I Am Really Not a Star." Xu Youyu narrowed her eyes, snarling, "I'll dissect every one of your foot-in-three-boats fetishes and let everyone see."

Li Luo: "... Then I'll have to bring out Literary Era."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu's face changed instantly, then immediately softened into a sugary smile as she clung to Li Luo's arm and squeezed tightly. "Don't be like that, big brother~ I'm sorry~ Please don't mention that book?"

Although Gu Dao Changqing had some steamy content, it was ultimately a qi-revival novel with a leveling system and farming elements—such scenes were few and not overly explicit.

But in Literary Era, Xu Youyu's descriptions of many film plots included such scenes—let alone the constant affectionate moments after the protagonists confirmed their relationship.

If Li Luo displayed any of it publicly—even if no one knew the book was written by her—she'd feel her cheeks burning fiercely.

Especially since her roommate Jiang Feiya was sitting in the audience.

If Jiang Feiya ever found out she wrote online novels, her image would be completely destroyed!

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Li Luo drove Xu Youyu back to the dormitory complex, then headed toward his car. "I'm going to find Zhusheng first—you go rest."

"Hmph! Dog man, scram!" Xu Youyu saw him to his car. After he opened the door and sat in the driver's seat, she leaned in to fasten his seatbelt and gave him a quick kiss. "Drive safely."

After leaving Qingxi Dormitory, Li Luo drove across the river to the Yinjiang Campus and soon arrived at the building where Yan Zhusheng had class.

Yan Zhusheng had known he was coming and waited by the door right after class ended.

Seeing his car arrive, she bounced over, opened the passenger door, and climbed in.

Before Li Luo could even start driving, Yan Zhusheng had already thrown herself into his arms.

"I missed you." Yan Zhusheng breathed in his familiar scent, closed her eyes, and rubbed against him contentedly.

Since classes began on Monday, apart from morning runs, Yan Zhusheng had specifically gone to Ningshan Campus to meet Li Luo and Ying Chanxi—they'd barely seen each other.

They hadn't been alone together for three full days.

Li Luo turned off the engine and pulled her into his arms.

It was the peak time after class; students from the Music College streamed past everywhere.

The afternoon sun blazed at three o'clock, shining on the black Audi, drawing glances from passersby.

Cars on campus were already rare, mostly parked underground.

Parking directly in front of the classroom building was uncommon.

Fortunately, when Ying Zhicheng bought the car, he chose double-glazed windows—outside viewers couldn't see inside.

Otherwise, if a celebrity like Yan Zhusheng were seen clinging to Li Luo, she'd be on the news the next day.

They didn't know how long they'd held each other.

Until Yan Zhusheng started squirming in his arms, rubbing down toward his stomach—and showing clear signs of moving lower—Li Luo quickly grabbed her head, lifted her up, and plopped her back into the passenger seat.

"Don't you see where we are?" Li Luo said helplessly. "What if someone sees?"

"But Li Luo, you clearly like it." Yan Zhusheng pointed at his pants. "No one will notice."

"Still no." Li Luo scowled, started the car, and sped away. "Calm down. Don't always jump straight to the soup when we meet."

"Soup?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, blinked twice, then realized what he meant. "Li Luo, you're so naughty."

"It's basic author behavior." Li Luo chuckled, thinking Xu Youyu would've understood instantly.

As for Ying Chanxi… she probably wouldn't even get it—she had no practical experience in this area.

"Where do you want to go?" Li Luo asked as he drove out of campus.

"I want to go into your heart."

"... Where did you learn that line?"

"Jinyan taught me." Yan Zhusheng blinked innocently. "Don't you like it?"

"She's read too many romance novels." Li Luo's lip twitched. "Don't pick up tricks from single people."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded, pulled out her phone, and sent Cheng Jinyan a message, repeating exactly what Li Luo said.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Li Luo says not to listen to single people's advice anymore.

【Cheng Jinyan】:???

【Cheng Jinyan】: That's unfair! You two lovebirds flirting, and now you're sending it down the line to kick me?

【Yan Zhusheng】: That line you taught me doesn't work well.

【Cheng Jinyan】: Impossible! I just learned this from a novel! It's super sweet!

"She really did learn this from novels," Yan Zhusheng said, surprised, looking at Li Luo. "You're right."

"Wait… you actually asked?"

"Mm-hmm," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "But I learned a lot from my senior's novels too—why is what Jinyan learned wrong?"

Li Luo: "…"

Yu Jie actually teaches real things—how can that be the same as romantic novels from the female audience?

(End of Chapter)