Chapter 739

Carefully counting, after the villa is ready for occupancy and Li Luo's group officially moves in, there will be quite a few banquets to host.

You must invite Elder Ying Zhicheng and the other elders.

You also need to invite Zhao Rongjun and the other members of your study group.

If Ying Chanxi and her roommates get along well at school, you might even invite them over to your place.

Including Li Luo's own roommate.

Then there are the high school classmates he got along with, like Zhu Yufei and the others.

Of course, some aren't strictly necessary to invite, but Li Luo had already noted them all in his Memory Palace's memo list, to decide later.

"Isn't your birthday December 21st?" Xu Youyu leaned close to Li Luo's ear and whispered, "We could wait until then to officially move in—it feels meaningful."

"It's fine, but why are you whispering like that?" Li Luo rubbed his slightly itchy ear, puzzled.

"What I mean is…" Xu Youyu leaned even closer, speaking in an unusually suggestive tone, "On the first day of the move-in, just the four of us, celebrate your birthday."

If Ying Chanxi had said this, Li Luo wouldn't have imagined anything improper.

But hearing it from Xu Youyu's mouth, Li Luo's mind instantly flooded with all sorts of tempting images.

Villa, girl, birthday, swimming pool…

Just those few words flashing through his mind were enough to generate a flood of fantasies.

"Someone looks like they've got some unhealthy thoughts," Xu Youyu teased with a grin. "Already fantasizing?"

"Cough… don't say things like that," Li Luo coughed twice to cover his wild imaginings. "I just think your suggestion is good—I'm considering how to celebrate the birthday."

"You don't need to worry about that," Xu Youyu smiled sweetly. "The Birthday Person just relax and enjoy the day—I'll coordinate with Chanxi and the others."

"... Don't go causing trouble."

"Do you really trust me so little?"

"It's not just a little." Li Luo pulled at his lip. "I'm seriously suspecting you have some hidden agenda."

"You're overthinking," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like you're getting the short end of the stick—you'll see when the time comes."

While the two whispered, Yan Zhusheng pulled out her phone and showed photos to Xu Yinghuan and the others.

They were all photos and videos from the villa's renovation.

Lin Yuan and Zhao Rongjun also glanced curiously.

After looking, Lin Yuan couldn't help sighing in the corner: "Sigh… comparing people is just depressing. The monitor and us really aren't from the same world."

"We're still just diligently studying at university, and he's already bought a villa."

"Bro Zhao, since you're so close with the monitor, get him to pull you up—you could soar to success."

"Then you'd be perfectly matched with Xu Yinghuan too."

Zhao Rongjun immediately shook his head: "Li Luo earns money through his own ability—why should I butt in?"

"He's got talent—he writes Online Novels, composes songs, makes albums."

"I can't help him much. Better not cause him trouble."

"That's true," Lin Yuan nodded. "By the way, you were aiming for Zhu Academy, right? I remember Zhu Academy at Qian University is pretty awesome—can you still take the entrance exam after enrolling?"

"It's possible, but it's really hard," Zhao Rongjun scratched his head. "I've been studying hard lately—Yinghuan says I'm spending less time with her."

"Won't that hurt your relationship?" Lin Yuan whispered cautiously. "Don't pick up sesame seeds and lose the watermelon."

"I'm aiming for Zhu Academy so I can be worthy of Xu Yinghuan."

"If this causes less time together and weakens your feelings, it'd be counterproductive."

"It's fine," Zhao Rongjun whispered. "She's been coming with me to the library to study."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan's face darkened: "... Damn it, I shouldn't have warned you—you've even started picking up bad habits from Li Luo?"

Always throwing dog food around.

If he didn't have a girlfriend himself, he might not be able to handle it.

But his Hua Xiuxiu was also a wonderful girl—Lin Yuan felt zero envy toward Zhao Rongjun or Li Luo.

It's just that Hua Xiuxiu was dominant and highly proactive, while Lin Yuan was the playful type.

Since they got together, Hua Xiuxiu had started planning their future, and sometimes Lin Yuan felt uncomfortable.

But seeing Li Luo already successful and Zhao Rongjun striving for Zhu Academy, Lin Yuan wondered if he should also step up his game.

"Come on, look over here."

At that moment, Xu Yinghuan stood up, took her phone, walked around the room, and pointed the camera at everyone. "I'm posting a TikTok video—give me a peace sign~"

Watching Xu Yinghuan enthusiastically use TikTok, Li Luo's mind stirred—he recalled the conversation he'd had with Yuan Wanqing two days ago.

"Yinghuan, what's your TikTok account?" Li Luo asked after she finished filming. "How many followers do you have?"

"Huh? Followers?" Xu Yinghuan blinked, then scratched her head. "Just over fifty, mostly people I know."

She handed her phone over so Li Luo and the others could take a look.

The account name was refreshingly plain: "Yinghuan Loves Rongjun."

Zhao Rongjun, watching Xu Yinghuan display the account, immediately blushed, his embarrassment nearly overwhelming him.

Seeing the account name, Yan Zhusheng looked thoughtful, then said to Li Luo: "I want to pick a nickname like that too."

Yan Zhusheng had always used "Shengsheng Buxi" as her online handle since childhood—this was the first time she'd ever considered using another.

Li Luo imagined Yan Zhusheng creating an account named "Zhusheng Loves Li Luo," and his skin prickled with goosebumps.

"Forget it," Li Luo coughed. "You're a public figure—just use your real name as your account."

"I've noticed you mentioning TikTok a lot lately," Xu Youyu leaned over, glancing curiously, then asked, "What's special about this app?"

"It's a recent viral app," Li Luo said. "High potential. With 4G widely available, video streaming costs keep dropping—it'll become wildly popular."

"It's already popular," Xu Yinghuan added. "I and Ren Zheng both use it—there are tons of fun videos, and we post our own sometimes."

"No editing needed?" Ying Chanxi asked. "Isn't video production a hassle?"

"This one's different," Xu Yinghuan said. "Look at my videos—they're all just ten seconds long, no editing needed at all. I film them and upload straight away. He even adds the music for you, and there are all kinds of templates."

"This is dummy-proof shooting," Li Luo said with a smile. "Making video creation something anyone can easily pick up is the only way to greatly increase user participation in posting videos."

"Interesting," Xu Youyu nodded. "It's about lowering the barrier—just like the difference between Online Novel and traditional literature."

At this point, Li Luo's gaze returned to Xu Yinghuan's account, and many thoughts stirred within him. Perhaps…

"Ah, it's mealtime," Xu Yinghuan glanced at the time and said. "I'll ask Auntie if dinner's ready—we can go down and get started."

Li Luo had been about to say something, but Xu Yinghuan called him downstairs for dinner, so the words on his tongue were swallowed back.

When they reached the dining table on the first floor, Li Luo ate while thinking.

After dinner, Hua Xiuxiu and Lin Yuan left first—they had to go home.

Ren Zheng, seeing this, simply followed Hua Xiuxiu out.

Qiao Xinyan had also wanted to leave, but Xu Yinghuan held her back, and they went back upstairs.

Now only the seven members of the study group remained. The girls huddled together singing, while Li Luo pulled Zhao Rongjun aside to chat.

"I remember you said your living expenses weren't quite enough before?"

"It's not that it's not enough…" Zhao Rongjun replied quietly. "My own food and drinks are fine—I can even save a little. But when I go out on dates with Yinghuan, I have to spend some money too, otherwise she's always the one paying."

"Exactly," Li Luo chuckled. "I've got a good suggestion that might give you two some date funds."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Zhao Rongjun blinked, confused. "Are you giving me money?"

"Dream on," Li Luo rolled his eyes. "Go get Yinghuan."

"Oh…"

Zhao Rongjun went to call Xu Yinghuan, and the two came over to Li Luo.

Li Luo immediately leaned close to Xu Yinghuan's ear and whispered a string of things. Her eyes brightened, and she nodded eagerly.

Soon after Yan Zhusheng finished a high note, Xu Yinghuan paused the KTV music, turned on the lights, and gathered everyone. She pulled Zhao Rongjun to sit in the middle of the sofa.

Then she opened her TikTok, handed her phone to Ying Chanxi: "Chanxi, you're better at filming—could you shoot this for me?"

"Huh… what are you guys doing?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled.

"A little game," Xu Yinghuan grinned. She turned to Zhao Rongjun. "Let's play a 'don't laugh' challenge."

"Ten seconds. I'll try to make you laugh, but you can't."

"If you hold it, you win. If you laugh, I win."

Surrounded by everyone, Zhao Rongjun shifted uncomfortably. "Why are we suddenly playing this game?"

"Just play, don't ask so many questions."

Xu Yinghuan tugged his arm, pouting. Zhao Rongjun immediately gave in with a sigh.

Watching this, Qiao Xinyan quietly moved her seat farther away.

Under Ying Chanxi's camera, the game began.

Xu Yinghuan made all sorts of silly gestures in front of Zhao Rongjun—even poking his waist—but he held his expression firm.

He stared straight ahead, face serious, refusing to smile.

Ten seconds passed in a flash.

As the final second approached, Xu Yinghuan saw she was about to lose. Frustrated, she leaned close to Zhao Rongjun's face, glaring into his eyes.

The next instant—

Pop.

Xu Yinghuan kissed him.

In that moment, Zhao Rongjun's eyes widened, his face flushed crimson, and he froze completely, stunned.

"Huh? Why didn't you laugh?" Xu Yinghuan blinked, then poked his waist again.

"Y-you…" Zhao Rongjun stammered, unable to speak. After a long pause, he whispered, "Everyone's right here…"

"We've kissed before," Xu Yinghuan blinked innocently. "Why are you so shy now?"

"I'm going to the bathroom," Qiao Xinyan stood up and murmured to Ying Chanxi, then turned and walked outside.

Beside them, Li Luo patted Ying Chanxi's shoulder. "That's enough filming."

"Let me see, let me see!" Xu Yinghuan took back her phone, replayed the video, and burst out laughing. "Ah Jun, your expression is so funny—how can you look so dumb?"

"It's not that bad…" Zhao Rongjun muttered, leaned over to glance, then blushed. "You're really going to post this on TikTok?"

"So what?" Xu Yinghuan grinned. "Then I'm posting it?"

"Yeah, fine," Li Luo nodded. "Just trim the beginning and end a bit."

"Will this really work?" Xu Yinghuan asked as she operated her phone.

"I don't know," Li Luo laughed. "Try it. Worst case, you lose nothing—zero cost."

"True," Xu Yinghuan nodded, then enthusiastically posted the video.

"So what exactly are you doing?" Ying Chanxi asked, confused.

"An experiment," Li Luo said. "We'll see if it works—if it does, we'll talk later."

…

It has to be said that, with his future-oriented vision, Li Luo grasping the viral logic of short videos is still a very easy thing for him.

【114】 It had to be said: with his future perspective, Li Luo grasped the logic behind viral short videos with ease.

The couple's "don't laugh" challenge video, jointly produced by Xu Yinghuan and Zhao Rongjun, reached over two hundred thousand views within just half a day of posting.

Compared to Xu Yinghuan's previous videos, most of which got only a few hundred views, it was a world apart.

By the last day of the National Day holiday, this video surpassed one million views, with 150,000 likes and over ten thousand comments.

Her follower count also quickly broke past ten thousand.

Even the hashtag "couple don't laugh challenge" was adopted by TikTok's official platform as a video template.

【Xu Yinghuan】: There's even a cash reward! The original content incentive program—now we can go out for a nice meal~

In the WeChat group for the study group, Xu Yinghuan sent a good news update.

After seeing it, Li Luo smiled knowingly and recommended several video templates ideal for couple bloggers to Xu Yinghuan and Zhao Rongjun, suggesting they try them out.

He then put down his phone, opened his email, and opened the file sent to him by Xiao Wen.

It contained the official quotation and detailed terms from TikTok for Yuan Wanqing's registration on the platform.

(End of chapter)