Chapter 77

In the evening, following Xu Youyu's request from last night, Li Luo went to the literature club's dedicated classroom.

He knocked on the door and glanced inside.

Besides Xu Youyu, familiar faces like Hua Xiuxiu had also come as newcomers to get acquainted with the club.

"You're Li Luo, right?" Duan Qintian, hearing Xu Youyu's reminder, turned toward the door and waved at Li Luo, "Come over and fill out the form."

"Oh, alright." Li Luo stepped forward, took the membership application form, and filled it out quickly.

Duan Qintian wasn't at all surprised by Li Luo's decision to join the literature club—it was Xu Youyu who had asked, after all.

Qin Yawei, glancing at Li Luo from beside him, let out a cold snort and chuckled, "Last night, who was it that rejected us so decisively? And now you're scurrying over here?"

Li Luo glanced at the petty vice-president and merely smiled. "Maybe Xu Xuejie's invitation method is just more persuasive."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, thinking: Is offering to handle cleaning for a whole month really that persuasive?

But to Qin Yawei, Li Luo's words meant something entirely different.

Isn't it just because Xu Youyu is good-looking?

Thinking of this, Qin Yawei looked down on Li Luo even more.

Another vulgar man!

"We're still in the recruitment phase these two days. On Saturday noon, we'll hold a simple welcome gathering." Duan Qintian said, "Make sure you come."

"Got it."

Li Luo had only come to go through the motions; after finishing the form, he immediately took his leave.

Xu Youyu also made an excuse about student council business and walked out with him; on the way downstairs, she teased, "You've been marked by Qin Yawei now."

"Huh? Marked how?"

"As a man easily seduced by beauty." Xu Youyu stretched, her school uniform outlining an astonishing figure, "And I even promised to do cleaning for a whole month."

"Looks like a month might not be enough," Li Luo clucked. "Add another month to cover the emotional damages I've suffered from that vice-president."

"Get lost!" Xu Youyu shot him a look, then said, "I'm heading to the student council first. Remember to come home together tonight—you and Chanxi wait for me."

"Alright, got it." Li Luo nodded. "Go ahead, busybody."

"Heh." Xu Youyu turned and walked toward the student council, glancing back with a grin, "There's a regular student council meeting next week. Your class monitor from first year has to attend—it's your official induction. You'll be the busy one then."

"You're imagining things," Li Luo waved dismissively and strolled off slowly. "I might not even be class monitor next week."

…

During evening self-study, Li Luo worked diligently on his homework.

Since classes officially began yesterday, students at Fuyi High had settled into their normal study rhythm.

During the first week of first year, most courses were still in their early stages, with no high-difficulty content.

After finishing his homework easily, Li Luo still had extra time to do some previewing.

He flipped through textbooks for various subjects and used his Memory Palace to replicate them.

Li Luo had specifically carved out a room in his Memory Palace to store high school knowledge, organizing it by subject.

Having lived his life again, he intended not only to enjoy it fully but also to study seriously this time.

With the help of his Memory Palace and two academic gods—Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu—at home, Li Luo couldn't find a single reason to become a poor student.

He just wondered how Yan Zhusheng's grades were.

After finishing his homework and while flipping through his textbook, the thought struck him; he turned to glance at Yan Zhusheng, suddenly curious.

He looked at Yan Zhusheng's desk; since her homework was light, she had already finished and had quietly put on her headphones to listen to music.

Seeing Li Luo turn to look at her, Yan Zhusheng assumed he wanted to listen too, so she took off one earbud and offered it toward him.

Li Luo quickly waved his hand, then thought for a moment, pulled out a scratch pad, and wrote something on it.

Li Luo: How many points did you score on your high school entrance exam?

Yan Zhusheng glanced at the scratch pad Li Luo handed her, then picked up her pen and wrote a reply.

Yan Zhusheng: 547 points

Oh?

Seeing this score, Li Luo raised an eyebrow, thinking: Finally, someone who isn't on Ying Chanxi's level.

Then again, if Yan Zhusheng were truly brilliant, she wouldn't be in the parallel class.

Li Luo: What subject are you good at?

Yan Zhusheng: English

Li Luo: How good?

Yan Zhusheng: Is a perfect score on the entrance exam good enough?

Li Luo: That good?!

Yan Zhusheng: I lived abroad with my mom for a few years as a child.

During second period, the two of them chatted casually through the scratch pad.

They didn't talk nonstop.

Whoever thought of something would write two lines on the scratch pad between their desks, and the other would reply.

The rest of the time, Li Luo read diligently, while Yan Zhusheng listened to music, occasionally closing her eyes and swaying slightly—her expression cold, yet her movements oddly cute.

Back and forth like this, Li Luo gradually learned about Yan Zhusheng's situation.

Like Ying Chanxi, she came from a single-parent family, but her father had died early; she was raised by her mother alone.

Now, due to work, her mother lived in downtown Yuhang City.

Yan Zhusheng chose boarding school partly out of personal preference, and partly because her mother had moved downtown.

Just as the two were chatting happily, the evening self-study bell rang.

Li Luo packed his bag and waited briefly at his seat, until Ying Chanxi came downstairs to find him and head home together.

The two of them walked down the stairs, waited a moment at the intersection of Houde Road, then met Xu Youyu, who hurried over, and headed home together.

"Fried noodles~ fried noodles~" On the way home, Xu Youyu chanted happily under her breath.

"You two eat late-night snacks every day—aren't you afraid of gaining weight?"

"I've never even reached a hundred jin, okay?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him. "The school cafeteria food is terrible, so I usually eat very little."

"Never reached a hundred jin?" Li Luo was slightly surprised; he instinctively glanced past Ying Chanxi beside him, took a quick look at Xu Youyu's chest, then bowed his head in respect.

Adolescent girls, if they manage themselves well, are indeed quite easy to keep slim.

After all, they're young, and their metabolism is fast.

Ying Chanxi, for instance, has always been around ninety jin.

Li Luo himself weighed only about one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty jin—standard build, so he wasn't worried about gaining weight.

"What are you looking at?" Ying Chanxi fixed her gaze on him and glared, whispering through clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" Xu Youyu asked curiously from the other side.

Li Luo quickly shook his head: "Nothing, nothing."

Back home, Li Luo cooked fried noodles as usual; after eating, he went to his bedroom, leaving the dishes to the two girls.

He sat down in front of the computer, rubbed his hands together, his face still showing a hint of anticipation.

On one hand, Yan Zhusheng had already uploaded the audio of "Nianlun" to his email—he could release it on all major platforms today.

On the other hand, today was September 3rd, the day Qidian Chinese Network announced monthly royalties.

Li Luo sat down at the computer, opened his author backend, and skillfully clicked open the royalty section.

A number glared brightly on the screen.

—7061.83

Over seven thousand yuan!

Li Luo clenched his fist in satisfaction and silently cheered: Nice~

He uploaded his novel on the 22nd last month, and for about ten days, he updated ten thousand characters daily.

His average subscription count surged from an initial 2,000 to around 2,500; due to the high volume of updates and rapid performance growth, his royalties reached exactly seven thousand yuan.

Of course, after school resumed in September, he reverted to his lazy update pace of four thousand characters per day.

After all, writing after returning home from school each night, he could manage only three or four thousand characters—he couldn't keep burning through his stored drafts.

So if his average subscription growth slows further, Li Luo's monthly royalties will likely settle around seven or eight thousand yuan.

But for him right now, that's more than enough!

Li Luo was in high spirits, already thinking about how to explain the situation to his mother.

If he used this money to pay the monthly mortgage, it would greatly ease the financial pressure on his parents and spare them from excessive hardship.

Of course, the 3rd was only the announcement date—the actual royalties wouldn't be deposited into his account until around the 12th.

So Li Luo wasn't in a hurry; he planned to wait until National Day, when September's royalties were announced, proving the sustainability of his income, while holding August's royalties in hand, before explaining everything clearly to his parents.

Thinking this, Li Luo opened major music platforms and websites like Weibo and Bilibili, spending some time uploading the song "Nianlun."

At the same time, he posted a note at the end of tonight's latest chapter of I Am Really Not a Star.

【Author's Note】: Dear readers, the song "Nianlun" mentioned earlier in the story has, thanks to a friend's help, been uploaded to all major music platforms—if you're interested, feel free to listen.