Chapter 772: If There

Li Luo had recently accompanied Ying Zhicheng to several dinners.

Most were people related to the "Beginning" project.

When preparing "Little Joys," all these external factors were handled entirely by Ying Zhicheng, managed with perfect order behind the scenes.

Now that Li Luo was beside Ying Zhicheng and had truly experienced it firsthand, he understood how many subtle clashes and maneuvers lay beneath.

Ying Zhicheng told him to speak less at the table, so Li Luo sat quietly beside him, responding briefly only when Ying Zhicheng signaled, mostly just eating while listening to Ying Zhicheng converse with others.

He was there solely to accompany them in drinking.

Many times, Li Luo didn't catch the implied meanings at dinner; only after the meal ended and they returned to the car did Ying Zhicheng point them out, and only then did Li Luo realize.

The ways people asked for favors were so varied.

After tonight's dinner ended, Li Luo followed Ying Zhicheng out, walking through the night breeze along the street to the car.

Once inside the car, as the driver pulled off, Li Luo sat with Ying Zhicheng in the back, chatting casually all the way back to the company.

The dinner lasted over two hours, but the actual food had long been finished; the rest was all drinking and bonding.

By the time they returned to the company, his stomach had mostly digested the meal, so Ying Zhicheng immediately took Li Luo to the gym's boxing ring, quickly changed into his training gear, looking eager to fight.

Li Luo smiled helplessly and stepped onto the ring to spar with Ying Zhicheng.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, who had been waiting at the company since after dinner, came down to watch upon hearing they'd returned; even Yuan Wanqing, Luo Fei, and Xiao Wen followed curiously.

Watching the two men trading hard punches on the ring, Yan Zhusheng glanced at her sister and whispered, "Does Dad know something? He's hitting Li Luo so fiercely."

"Isn't boxing just like this?" Ying Chanxi herself was doubtful, but still defended her father, "I saw them spar like this last time—Li Luo said it was fine."

Yuan Wanqing, listening to her two daughters' conversation, barely kept her expression composed, quickly raising a hand to wipe her face and hide her guilt.

Yan Zhusheng stole a couple glances at Yuan Wanqing but couldn't detect any oddness on her mother's face, so she set aside her suspicions for now.

When Li Luo and Ying Zhicheng took a break and stepped down from the ring, the two girls immediately approached, handing water and towels to the boxers.

Looking at the bottled water his daughter handed him, Ying Zhicheng glanced over at Yan Zhusheng handing water to Li Luo, then couldn't help clicking his tongue.

If Yan Zhusheng weren't there, Ying Chanxi would've already turned and handed water to Li Luo herself.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhicheng felt another wave of irritation.

His two precious daughters, Yuan Wanqing's and his, had been won over by Li Luo—those two straight punches earlier were still too gentle.

He should've hit harder from the start.

Ying Zhicheng mentally planned how to punish Li Luo with his boxing next time, feeling increasingly that the boy's technique was growing sharper.

He'd trained in this for years, and how many times had he sparred with Li Luo now? Yet he could barely suppress him.

How does this brat learn and adapt so fast at everything?

Even in social graces, Ying Zhicheng had only taken him to a few dinners recently, and he'd already absorbed and learned a great deal.

Though he could see Li Luo still disliked such things—typical for a young man.

Especially someone like Li Luo, who had achieved so much so young, he naturally despised such matters.

But exposing him to these things early would benefit his future development.

He didn't need to engage deeply later, but he couldn't remain completely ignorant—this was Ying Zhicheng's mindset.

He still had years before retirement; for now, these matters would still be led by him.

But someday in the future, Li Luo would have to face these things himself—better to train early.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhicheng sat on the sofa, leaning against Yuan Wanqing, and exhaled deeply.

Then he heard Yuan Wanqing say beside him, "Did you vent your frustration?"

"What frustration?" Ying Zhicheng snorted. "Do you think I'm that petty?"

"You're generous in other areas, but when it comes to your daughters, it's clearly a different matter," Yuan Wanqing sighed with a smile. "Don't get so worked up you hurt him—your own daughter will be the one who suffers."

Ying Zhicheng's mouth twitched at this: "I held back—I have my limits."

He said that… but in truth, if he didn't go all out now, he might not even handle Li Luo.

The boy's boxing wasn't aggressive, but his defense was solid—Ying Zhicheng might land one solid hit out of ten.

The rest were all blocked by Li Luo.

If he still held back, how would he relieve his anger?

He'd end up being the one vented on.

"So you're agreeing then?" Yuan Wanqing glanced at the others on the other sofa, then asked softly, "About Xi Xi, Zhu Sheng, and Li Luo."

"I haven't said anything," Ying Zhicheng narrowed his eyes, watching Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng sit on either side of Li Luo—one handing him water, the other feeding him fruit—his fingers tightened on the towel.

Yuan Wanqing saw his stubborn expression and understood his thoughts.

In truth, neither Yuan Wanqing nor Ying Zhicheng had any real way to oppose this.

They weren't the type of parents who enforced strict home discipline.

After years in the entertainment industry, their thinking had grown more open.

Having consumed too many celebrity scandals, their values had been subtly reshaped.

After careful thought, both easily realized that, aside from the issue of dating two girls, Li Luo was truly an outstanding person.

So outstanding that they could hardly find another his age who surpassed him in every aspect.

Li Luo might not be the most talented, the richest, or the youngest—but when viewed across multiple dimensions, he was a perfect hexagon warrior.

No glaring flaws could be found.

Even in matters of romance, though he dated both girls, he hadn't deceived either to achieve this.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng both knew each other's feelings, and had even accepted each other's existence.

These three had already progressed this far—what could parents possibly do to oppose it?

Yuan Wanqing couldn't think of anything. Ying Zhicheng couldn't either.

Now that Li Luo had bought a villa and finished renovating it, once they move in, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng can no longer be considered tenants.

After graduating from university, Ying Chanxi will fully take over Chongran Culture, and Yan Zhusheng will happily sing the songs Li Luo wrote for him.

These three people complement each other perfectly; after living together, their future happiness seems entirely foreseeable.

Isn't finding a partner for your daughter simply so she can live happily in the future?

If this goal can be achieved, how the process unfolds matters little.

Once he grasped this point, Yin Zhicheng had already tacitly accepted the relationship among the three.

But as a father, he still found it hard to accept that both his daughters would share the same man, letting this bastard enjoy the fortune of three wives—so now, whenever Yin Zhicheng saw Li Luo, he got angry.

He wanted to punch him right in the face—bang, bang—two solid hits.

But boxing with gloves on felt somehow insufficient.

"Enough. I've rested enough—I'll fight him again." Yin Zhicheng didn't want to continue this topic and immediately stood up.

But Yuan Wanqing pulled him back down: "Don't rush—they're busy."

"Huh?" Yin Zhicheng paused, then turned his gaze toward Li Luo after being pulled back onto the sofa.

At that moment, Li Luo and the others had stood up; beside them, Ying Chanxi had already donned her boxing gear and was enthusiastically stepping onto the ring, humming and hawing as she struck at Li Luo.

But Li Luo defended perfectly, blocking every one of Ying Chanxi's attacks.

This left Ying Chanxi slightly unsatisfied, so she moved to the edge of the ring and taunted Yan Zhusheng below: "Zhusheng, come on up! Let's spar—Li Luo's too strong, it's no fun."

Yan Zhusheng received his sister's boxing challenge and immediately narrowed his eyes suspiciously: "Sister, you just want to beat me up, don't you?"

"What? No!" Ying Chanxi's face flushed with guilt as she denied it instantly. "It's just exercise—afraid?"

"I'm not coming." Yan Zhusheng shook his head. "If I make you cry, that wouldn't be good."

"Who's going to cry who? We'll see!" Ying Chanxi widened her eyes, furious. "Dare you come up?"

"No."

"Boring." Ying Chanxi pouted, her face showing a hint of regret.

Watching the harmonious interaction among the three young people, Yin Zhicheng's expression softened with emotion as he sighed softly: "How did it come to this?"

"Actually, if you think about it, it's not so bad?" Yuan Wanqing rested her chin on her knees, gazing at them, speaking quietly.

"A man's desires are hard to predict." Yin Zhicheng's gaze on Li Luo grew deep as he whispered to Yuan Wanqing. "If it's just this, fine—but if he dares to touch another woman outside, I'll kill him."

Yuan Wanqing: "... Li Luo isn't that kind of person."

"I hope he isn't." Yin Zhicheng snorted.

…

November 2, Thursday.

Two days had passed.

In the morning, Li Luo accompanied Xu Youyu to class.

This time, finally, it was Xu Youyu's turn to take the stage and deliver her lecture.

Si Huayuan spoke briefly after class, then invited Xu Youyu up.

Li Luo listened from below as she lectured on a host of topics related to I Am Really Not a Star.

There were pure content analysis pieces, as well as marketing analyses on how the songs released in the novel were linked to real-world releases.

Xu Youyu had originally intended to create content to counter Li Luo, but as she prepared, everything turned into praise.

Besides, Li Luo had already fully revealed his identity as Chongran in class.

No matter how Xu Youyu spoke, its impact felt limited.

So when she returned to her seat after finishing, she felt slightly dissatisfied.

"I should've told Dad ahead of time," Xu Youyu muttered. "He shouldn't have exposed you so early."

"If I'd just said during my lecture, 'Actually, the great Chongran is right here among us.'"

"Oh my, what a scene, what an effect—it would've exploded."

"If you want to dream, go home and sleep early," Li Luo chuckled.

The two bantered back and forth, and as they talked, Xu Youyu leaned close to his ear: "When we get home this afternoon, you'll see just how impressive I am."

"Can someone stop being so boastful every time, only to find their mouth is the only thing that's really impressive?"

"You know my mouth is the most impressive, huh?" Xu Youyu snorted. "Aren't Xi Xi and Zhusheng's mouths impressive too?"

The direction of this conversation nearly overwhelmed Li Luo.

Though he did compare them internally, actually saying it out loud still made him a little embarrassed.

"Around mid-month, I'll need to go to Jingzhao City," Li Luo said to her as they walked to the cafeteria after class. "Want to come along and sightsee?"

"How many days?"

"Probably about a week?" Li Luo guessed. "I need to choose the male lead for a new drama."

"You're going for real work—I won't tag along," Xu Youyu shook her head, then hugged his arm tightly and whispered, "But you'll have to make up for a week's absence with extra today."

After eating lunch in the cafeteria, the two went home and took a nap.

Had Li Luo not had an evening class, Xu Youyu would've likely screamed her voice hoarse.

After finishing his evening class, Li Luo ate dinner with his roommates and returned to the dorm together.

But as soon as he walked in, Wen Zexuan and the other two surrounded him, blocking him at his desk.

"What are you doing?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"Luo Ge really is a busy man," Wen Zexuan chuckled. "Not being in the dorm on weekends is one thing, but you didn't come back to sleep all three days—Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Looks like you're working hard."

"Just say what you want," Li Luo laughed. "Stop teasing."

He hadn't been in the dorm much this week—Monday night, Xu Youyu dragged him home; Tuesday was Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng's turn.

Yesterday, Yan Zhusheng secretly came to get him.

Today was supposed to be Xu Youyu again, but she cried and begged for mercy after he got to her in the afternoon, so he finally came back to the dorm.

It really is quite busy.

"Luo Ge," Cheng Xin said beside him, less sarcastic, unable to suppress his curiosity, then asked, "Where were you last Saturday afternoon during the music festival?"

"Nowhere special—just with the band."

"But did you go anywhere alone with anyone at the music festival?"

"Uh…"

"Enough with all the questions," Wen Zexuan waved his hand aside, cutting straight to the point, "That day, Cheng Xin and I saw a masked couple—was that you and Yan Zhusheng?"

Hearing this, Li Luo fell silent, surprised they had noticed this.

Several days had passed, and Li Luo had thought they hadn't found out.

"Is it true or not?" Cheng Xin, seeing Li Luo hesitate, grew anxious and pressed urgently.

But Wen Zexuan beside him let out a long sigh, turning away with a lifeless wave: "If he won't even answer, what other answer could there be?"

"Really?" Bai Haoran still couldn't believe it. "Li Luo really has three girlfriends?"

"Since you've all found out, I won't hide it anymore…" Li Luo coughed helplessly. "It's just like this—don't spread it around."

At the moment Li Luo admitted it, Cheng Xin felt his entire worldview violently shaken.

Thinking of Li Luo dating and being intimate with three such outstanding, beautiful girls every day, Cheng Xin felt he was about to die of envy.

At that moment, Wen Zexuan turned his head and asked Li Luo in a haunting tone: "Luo Ge, be honest—do you have a fourth?"

"This time, really not…," Li Luo raised three fingers and coughed. "Only three."

"Three is three," Bai Haoran grumbled from his chair. "You should drop those words 'only three.'"