Chapter 725: Xu Youyu: Can You Come Home Tonight?

After eating lunch at the school cafeteria, Li Luo drove Xu Youyu back to Qingxi Dormitory.

Watching Xu Youyu enter the dorm building, Li Luo turned and walked through the opposite dorm entrance to his own room.

Unlike Xu Youyu, who needed to nap, Li Luo sat at his desk upon returning, opened his laptop, and began writing.

No one else was in the dorm room; Bai Haoran spent most of his time on campus, returning only to sleep at night.

When Cheng Xin had nothing to do, he studied alongside Bai Haoran on campus.

As for Wen Zexuan, he clearly wouldn't be in the dorm at a time like this—he was probably flirting with some girl right now.

After writing for a little over half an hour, Li Luo's QQ avatar on his computer began to flash.

When he opened it, he saw a message from the editor Qianzhou.

【Qianzhou】: Your "Night Watch of Great Qian" has recently attracted multiple visits regarding film and television adaptation rights.

【Qianzhou】: Besides that, smaller rights—such as manga, anime, and print publishing—are also being negotiated.

【Qianzhou】: The leadership still wants to hold off for now, since your average subscription count keeps rising; at this rate, you might break the main site's 100,000 average subscription threshold next year.

【Qianzhou】: Once your performance crosses that threshold, the rights price will be completely different.

【Qianzhou】: But it ultimately depends on your preference—if you want to proceed now, we can keep pushing forward.

After reading Qianzhou's message, Li Luo had no hesitation.

He wasn't short on money right now, so there was no need to rush selling the rights to "Night Watch of Great Qian"—he could just hold onto it.

"Night Watch of Great Qian" currently has over 80,000 average subscriptions, and it's only been online for three months.

At over 1.7 million words, and with his gradually decreasing daily update volume, if he plans to reach three or four million words, it'll take at least until next April or May to finish.

That's roughly a year and a half of serialization.

When "Night Watch of Great Qian" breaks 100,000 average subscriptions, the rights price will likely skyrocket to an absurd figure.

Especially since he's deliberately suppressing the cultivation system's power ceiling to reduce adaptation difficulty.

Then, with the right director and crew, the film and television adaptation might turn out quite well.

From Li Luo's perspective, the pure rights price is no longer his main concern.

If he could leave a mark in the history of online novel adaptations, it would be a worthwhile life experience.

So Li Luo replied without hesitation.

【Chongran】: We're not in a hurry about rights for now—I agree with your leadership. Let's resume negotiations next year.

【Qianzhou】: OK, I'll relay your message.

After finishing the chat with Qianzhou, a little while later, Li Luo received a call from Lawyer Tian.

The message was simple: the copyright cooperation for "The Beginning," which he'd been following, had made new progress—with excellent results.

"The confirmed price is twenty-five million," said Lawyer Tian on the phone. "This portion of the copyright fee will be converted directly into investment in 'The Beginning' based on the project's capital contribution ratio."

"Huayue Film and Television has roughly estimated their total funding plan, including this copyright fee."

"The final estimated total investment will be between seventy and eighty million; based on the twenty-five million copyright fee."

"At that point, Chongran Culture's investment share will reach one-third of the total."

After hearing Lawyer Tian's explanation, Li Luo was quite satisfied with the outcome.

From the initial twelve million copyright fee for "Little Joy" to today's twenty-five million for "The Beginning," it's clear Chongran's brand has become extremely attractive.

Previously, Huayue Film and Television and Chongran had mutually benefited each other, each needing something from the other.

Now, it's simply Huayue Film and Television needing to maintain its partnership with Chongran, this money tree.

Otherwise, given "Little Joy"'s success, countless film companies would be lining up to collaborate with Chongran.

For capital, authors who've produced blockbusters carry far less risk and naturally become highly sought-after targets.

Of course, Ying Zhicheng's mediation played no small part.

Especially with "Little Joy"'s copyright price—Ying Zhicheng barely bargained at all.

But with "The Beginning," Ying Zhicheng deliberately, if subtly, instructed Lawyer Tian to push the price as high as possible, increasing Chongran Culture's investment share in this project.

As general manager of Huayue Film and Television, Ying Zhicheng's move was somewhat disloyal.

But the massive success of "Little Joy," and the enormous profits it brought, were enough for Ying Zhicheng to silence all opposition within the company.

He now understood clearly—he truly couldn't underestimate Li Luo's talent in this area.

When investing in "Little Joy," Ying Zhicheng had half-heartedly treated it as a last-ditch effort, never expecting such tremendous success.

Now, like Yuan Wanqing, he could no longer doubt Li Luo's creative ability in this regard.

So regarding "The Beginning"'s pricing, Ying Zhicheng privately hinted to Lawyer Tian to quote as high as possible, ultimately settling at twenty-five million—more than double "Little Joy"'s original price.

"When will we sign the contract?" Li Luo asked on the phone.

"According to Director Ying's suggestion, if you're free during National Day holiday, you can come over to sign," said Lawyer Tian. "I've already sent the contract details to your email—feel free to contact me with any questions."

"Alright," Li Luo nodded. "Let's schedule it around the third of next month."

"Got it, no problem."

After hanging up, Li Luo leaned back in his chair, stretched, and checked the time—it was around 1:30 p. m.

He sent Xu Youyu a WeChat message asking if she was awake, then packed his things, gathering his swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles.

Soon after, Xu Youyu replied, saying she'd just woken up and would meet him downstairs in ten minutes.

Li Luo had nearly finished packing, so he went downstairs early, got into the driver's seat of his Audi, and waited a moment before seeing Xu Youyu walk out of the neighboring dorm building.

Li Luo pulled up to the dorm entrance, rolled down his window, and smiled: "Miss, where are you headed? If it's on the way, I can give you a ride."

"Really?" Xu Youyu didn't get in right away, one hand resting on the window, leaning in with a smile: "What if it's not on the way?"

"Wherever you want to go, it's on my way."

"Do you say the same thing to other girls?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"I never flirt with girls—I just like making friends with beautiful women like you."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu didn't press him further, opened the car door, and slid into the passenger seat. "Then could you drop me off at the swimming pool?"

"Huh?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow with a smile. "What a coincidence—I'm heading to the swimming pool too. This is really convenient." "Really?" Xu Youyu played along. "You're not just changing your destination on the spot, are you?"

"Why would I? Look, I even brought my swimming gear." Li Luo pointed to the bag on the backseat. "This must be fate—we're so connected. Want to swim together later?"

"Hmm~ How good are you at swimming?" Xu Youyu turned to look at him. "If you're really skilled, could you teach me a bit? I'm still not very proficient."

"Of course." Li Luo chuckled. "It's an honor to be your swimming coach, miss."

As Li Luo played along with Xu Youyu, he drove, entered the campus through the south gate, and headed north toward the fitness center.

The swimming pool sat right beside the fitness center. Li Luo parked and led Xu Youyu to the entrance, walking into the pool's lobby.

At Qianjiang University, every semester students can choose swimming as a course; any student currently enrolled in swimming class—whether for credit or extracurricular—may swim at the pool for free.

Other students who wish to swim must pay, just like at a regular public pool.

However, on-campus students and faculty receive discounts; off-campus visitors pay rates nearly identical to those of other public pools.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu approached the front desk. Li Luo purchased a monthly pass; Xu Youyu showed her student ID.

The part-time student at the front desk took Xu Youyu's ID, swiped it, confirmed she was enrolled in swimming this semester, and activated her free access.

The two received locker keys, then proceeded to the turnstile, swiped in, and entered.

"When you go in, wait for me at the entrance to the shallow end," Xu Youyu told Li Luo.

"OK." Li Luo nodded, then parted from Xu Youyu behind the turnstile, heading left toward the men's locker room.

In the men's locker room, Li Luo found his locker, quickly changed into his swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles, then went to the shower area for a quick rinse.

Wearing slippers, he stepped out into the pool area, glanced at the eight lanes ahead, located the ladder to the shallow end, and sat on the edge, waiting while admiring the bodies of Qianjiang students swimming around.

After about ten minutes, Xu Youyu finally arrived, late as ever.

She wore a very conservative one-piece swimsuit, scanned her face at the biometric check-in, then strolled up behind Li Luo. While he wasn't looking, she leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Who are you peeking at?"

Startled by her voice, Li Luo nearly jumped into the pool.

He turned to Xu Youyu, annoyed. "Can't you say something when you walk up?"

"Hmph~ At least I didn't push you in." Xu Youyu giggled, sitting beside him and dipping her feet into the water, kicking up splashes. "You haven't answered my question—who are you peeking at?"

"I'm just marveling," Li Luo said. "All the other girls in the pool combined don't amount to one ten-thousandth of your beauty."

"Hah, smooth talker." Xu Youyu pushed off the edge with both hands and dove into the pool, splashing water as she turned to Li Luo and waved. "Come on—let's see if your swimming is as impressive as your mouth."

Seeing her in the water, Li Luo jumped in too and swam over to her side.

Though her swimsuit was conservative, her chest was still impossible to hide, easily drawing glances from passersby.

Li Luo caught a few of those glances, said nothing, and pulled Xu Youyu toward the deeper end of the pool.

When the water reached her chest, he stopped.

Xu Youyu was always sensitive to stares; now, with him leading her to this depth, she instantly understood his intent and grinned, poking his chest. "Oh? Is someone jealous?"

Li Luo didn't answer. Instead, he asked: "Are your swimming classes co-ed?"

"Hahaha~ They're separated by gender," Xu Youyu covered her mouth and giggled. "Didn't realize someone's jealousy ran this deep."

"Enough. Let's start swimming." Li Luo neither confirmed nor denied, and pulled her into motion.

Honestly, the swimming class had some use.

Xu Youyu's breaststroke form now was far more standard than when they'd traveled to Qiongzhou City.

Li Luo guided her direction, but even walking couldn't keep up with her pace.

Back when they'd gone to Qiongzhou City for the Wenxue Group annual meeting, they'd swum in the hotel pool.

Back then, Xu Youyu's breaststroke was clumsy—after swimming for ages, she'd barely covered ten meters, unable to catch up to Li Luo.

Now, she swam with real skill.

The only flaw? Her stamina was poor.

After swimming less than fifty meters, Xu Youyu had to stop, panting and waving her hands. "That's enough, that's enough—I'm exhausted."

Li Luo: "... Have you even checked how far you've gone? You're already tired?"

"Just coming here to exercise is already a huge step for me!" Xu Youyu pouted. "Don't crush my motivation."

"Alright, alright, I won't say more." Li Luo chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "So what now? To meet the requirement for the sunshine running program, you need to stay in the pool for forty-five minutes."

"You go swim too—I'll just watch you," Xu Youyu grinned. "If you swim, it counts as me swimming."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he still led her to a suitable spot and left her there. "Fine, I'll swim for a bit."

"Go on, go on~ Good luck!"

Li Luo dove in and began swimming swiftly, gliding back and forth along one lane for several laps.

When he felt he'd swum enough and turned toward Xu Youyu, he saw a boy approaching her, chatting her up from afar.

Seeing this, Li Luo immediately increased his speed.

"Hi," the boy offered a polite smile. "I noticed you've been standing here alone. Are you by yourself? Would you like to swim together?"

Xu Youyu glanced at the boy, then smiled brightly. "I'm not alone—my boyfriend came with me. Look."

As soon as she spoke, Li Luo arrived at her side.

Xu Youyu immediately wrapped both arms around his, turning to the boy. "Sorry, thanks for the offer."

The boy, realizing she had a boyfriend, awkwardly smiled, waved quickly, and left.

Xu Youyu raised a hand and poked Li Luo's cheek, laughing. "You swam over here way faster than you did before."

Li Luo didn't take the bait. He simply said: "From now on, if you come to the pool outside of class, you must invite me along."

"Got it~" Xu Youyu laughed heartily, loving his jealous reaction. She leaned into his arms and whispered softly: "I had a great time today. Want a reward?"

"Wha—no!" Li Luo instantly pulled his arms back, grabbing her mischievous hand. "Don't you dare here in the pool—what if someone sees?"

"Then after we finish swimming, let's go home tonight?" Xu Youyu licked her lips, whispering in his ear. "We've rested for days already."

Li Luo, increasingly aroused by her teasing, pulled her tightly against him and whispered into her ear: "Just don't regret it when we're in bed tonight."

(End of chapter)