Chapter 776: Sister, Just Satisfy Your Junior a Little

Xu Youyu drove Li Luo and arrived punctually at the Municipal Writers Association at 1:30 p. m.

The Online Writers Association, as an affiliated body, shares the same location as the Yuhang City Writers Association.

With the continuous development of online literature in recent years, traditional literary writers who once completely looked down on online novels have gradually split into two factions in their attitudes toward it.

The relatively moderate faction advocates inclusiveness; as early as over three years ago, they joined forces with renowned online novelists to establish the Yuhang City Online Writers Association.

In short, status is earned through one's own efforts.

The development of the internet has increasingly highlighted the economic and unifying value of online novels, while the decline of traditional publishing has greatly weakened the discourse power of traditional literature.

The growing convergence and adaptation between the two is an inevitable outcome of the times.

After Li Luo got out of the car and entered the building with Xu Youyu, he heard Xu Youyu remark with deep emotion:

"When we were both in first year of high school, we came to attend the founding of the Online Writers Association—can't believe how fast time flies."

"Yeah," Li Luo squinted, smiling as he looked up at the sign above the main entrance, also feeling nostalgic, "Back then, Sister Youyu was discovered writing here by Uncle Xu, exposing your secret identity as an online novelist."

"There's no need to bring that up again," Xu Youyu's face darkened at this, and she shoved Li Luo irritably, "If you can't speak properly, just shut up."

"Don't you find it funny?" Li Luo asked, suppressing his laughter, "Especially how Uncle Xu pretended so well—we both thought he hadn't noticed."

"Hmph, it's all your fault," Xu Youyu pouted. "You ruined my lifelong reputation."

"It was your own carelessness."

"Enough," Xu Youyu grumbled, pulling Li Luo quickly inside, "The meeting's about to start—hurry up, don't be late."

After the two entered the building together, they quickly found the conference hall according to the on-site signs.

Seeing Li Luo walk in, the platinum-level author who was close to him stepped forward to greet him, exchanged pleasantries, then led them to their seats.

Despite Li Luo being under twenty and, by age, still a greenhorn, no one in the room dared underestimate him, given his current strength and status in the industry.

In fact, aside from the few people seated on the stage, Li Luo was likely the person with the highest influence and recognition in the entire venue.

If the comparison weren't limited to the online novel circle, no further qualifiers would even be needed—Li Luo was undeniably the absolute peak.

Yuan Wanqing's two blockbuster albums, the hit TV adaptation of "Little Joy," and now the number-one cultural entertainment novel "I Am Really Not a Star," along with "Great Patrol of the Night Watch," which shattered Qidian's subscription ceiling.

Simply listing Li Luo's achievements, any single one of them is enough for many here to spend their entire lives chasing and never attain.

Yet Li Luo, under the age of twenty, has already achieved all this.

It's truly enviable and moving.

"Is everyone here?" Chairman Xia Lie, current chair of the Yuhang City Online Writers Association, spoke into the microphone. "Let's not delay—let's begin the meeting."

Meetings themselves are still rather boring.

Although the main purpose of this members' congress is to elect a new vice-chair and add several new council members, other minor matters will also be resolved during this meeting.

Li Luo had no interest in these trivialities; he slumped back in his chair, bored, and secretly played with Xu Youyu's small hand under the table.

Xu Youyu let him fiddle with it, whispering teasingly, "Everyone's paying attention to the meeting—what are you doing?"

"I'm being serious too," Li Luo said earnestly, stroking her hand, spreading open her palm to examine its lines, "I can read palm lines—do you believe me?"

"Then tell me what mine says."

"Hmm, let me see," Li Luo pretended to examine her palm, then pointed his finger at the lowest curve, resembling the latter half of a parabola. "This is the life line."

"Your life line is even and uncluttered, with no branches in the middle, and a beautifully smooth arc—it means you'll live a life free of illness and disaster."

"Clearly, you're destined to live to a hundred."

Xu Youyu rolled her eyes: "Living to a hundred doesn't matter—what about the other two?"

"This middle one is the career line," Li Luo chuckled. "It starts thick and strong, then extends long and steady—your main profession has real strength. But…"

"But what?"

"The tangled, intersecting lines in the middle show you're not fully focused on your main job—you also enjoy side projects," Li Luo said seriously, "but you're not very good at them."

Xu Youyu's face darkened: "Are you shooting first and drawing the target later? Are you deliberately provoking me?"

"That's just what the palm lines show," Li Luo grinned.

"Get lost," Xu Youyu snapped. "What about the last one?"

"The last one," Li Luo's finger traced it gently, then said softly, "This is the love line. Yours is faint but free of clutter—meaning you're deeply loyal, but your fate is hard to grasp."

"Are you hinting at something?" Xu Youyu glanced at him.

"I'm just analyzing your palm lines," Li Luo coughed and released her hand.

But Xu Youyu didn't pull her hand away—instead, she grabbed his, spread it open, and glanced at it: "And what about yours?"

"Your life line is this short? It breaks right in the middle—don't tell me you'll die young?"

"Your career line is a mess too, and your love line? Why so many branches? No wonder you're such a scoundrel."

Li Luo: "... These are all feudal superstitions—just for fun, don't take them seriously."

The two whispered to each other in their seats, chatting idly for over an hour, until the meeting finally reached the nomination of council members.

Once the new council member list was finalized, the host on stage announced: "Given that our vice-chair, Teacher Cao Sheng, is advanced in age, he has decided to step down from the vice-chair position. Therefore, this meeting will elect a new vice-chair to replace Teacher Cao Sheng."

"The following five individuals are the candidates for vice-chair this time."

"First candidate: pen name Chongran, real name Li Luo, author of 'I Am Really Not a Star,' 'Little Joy,' and 'Great Patrol of the Night Watch.' At just eighteen, he is already a platinum author on Qidian; the TV adaptation of 'Little Joy' was this summer's breakout hit."

"Second candidate..."

The host quickly introduced all five candidates.

Li Luo and the other four stood and bowed to the audience; then the chairman of the Online Writers Association announced the voting would begin.

Five ballot boxes were placed in front of the stage; each member received two votes, which could be cast for one person or split between two.

As a candidate, Li Luo naturally had no ballot; but Xu Youyu, after receiving her two votes, smiled sweetly at Li Luo, lifted his chin with the ballots, and teased:

"Call me 'sister,' and I'll give both votes to you."

"Sister."

"How spineless are you?"

"Anyway, you were already older than me to begin with."

"That's not very nice to say," Xu Youyu huffed. "Like I'm some old woman."

"Age never determines how young someone is—at least not in your case, Youyu-jie. You're clearly still very young," Li Luo chuckled. "When we go out together, everyone will think you're younger than me."

"You've got quite the sweet tongue," Xu Youyu smirked, then stood up and joined the line to cast votes, dropping both of her ballots into Li Luo's ballot box.

Once everyone had voted, the tallying phase began.

Unsurprisingly, Li Luo won the vice-chair position.

As the newly elected vice-chair, Li Luo stepped up to deliver a brief speech, then remained on stage and took his seat officially on the podium.

Xu Youyu sat below, gazing at Li Luo, who seemed to glow on the podium, propping her chin up and never blinking, unwilling to look away.

To be fair, if Li Luo hadn't run for vice-chair, the other four candidates would have been somewhat competitive.

But once the name "Chongran" appeared, there was no longer any room for comparison.

Added to that, the platinum-tier senior vice-chair had actively backed him behind the scenes, and Chairman Xia Lie himself had prior ties with Li Luo—this election was as easy for Li Luo as eating and drinking, and he won by an absolute landslide.

At around four in the afternoon, the members' representative conference officially ended.

Li Luo didn't leave immediately with Xu Youyu; after the meeting, he stayed behind to get to know the other members of the presidium.

Chairman Xia Lie smiled warmly and extended his hand to shake Li Luo's. "Do you still remember me, Chongran? Three years ago, I was already deeply impressed by you."

"You two knew each other before?" the platinum-tier senior exclaimed. "How come Ren Shen never mentioned it to me?"

"I hadn't paid much attention to the Writers' Association's affairs before—I didn't realize you were this term's chairman," Li Luo said, his Memory Palace instantly recognizing Xia Lie. "But I still clearly remember that meeting three years ago."

Back then, when Li Luo and Xu Youyu first attended a live meeting, Xia Lie and Xu Rongsheng had both been invited guests giving speeches.

Unlike Xu Rongsheng, who later focused solely on online novel research, Xia Lie had not only conducted extensive research on online novels but also actively participated in their practical affairs.

Li Luo, who had never paid attention to this field, only now learned that Xia Lie had already been elected chairman of the Online Writers' Association.

After the meeting, Li Luo took Xu Youyu out to dinner with the presidium members.

Over dinner, Li Luo brought up the Provincial Writers' Association and proposed recommending Xu Youyu.

After learning of Xu Youyu's achievements, Xia Lie nodded cheerfully. "Her credentials are more than sufficient. She could apply normally—just submit her application during the review period next January."

Since the Provincial Writers' Association had been mentioned, Xia Lie continued: "Next January, the Provincial Writers' Association will hold its members' representative conference. You should nominate someone for their council."

"We'll also reserve a spot for you in the National Writers' Association."

"Thank you, Chairman," Li Luo smiled, rising to raise his glass.

As glasses clinked and laughter flowed, the dinner was filled with warmth.

Because Ying Zhi Cheng had recently taken Li Luo to numerous banquets, Li Luo now handled this dinner with ease, mimicking what he'd seen without difficulty.

The others at the table couldn't help but look at Li Luo with new respect.

They'd assumed he was merely a young prodigy—talented, but likely low in emotional intelligence, or too lazy to cultivate it, preferring blunt honesty.

But Li Luo had no flaws in this regard—he handled everything superbly, leaving everyone feeling as if bathed in spring breeze.

Moreover, most at the table were online novelists with outstanding records and financial freedom; their interactions carried no friction.

The dinner ended in perfect harmony; around six in the evening, Li Luo and Xu Youyu took their leave.

Since she would be driving, Xu Youyu hadn't drunk alcohol. Now she drove Li Luo to the Liu Yingli Hotel by Xihu, specifically choosing a room with a direct view of the lake.

"Not drunk, are you?" Xu Youyu walked into the room with Li Luo, tossed her bag onto the table, opened the balcony door to gaze at the night view, then turned and smiled at him.

"I didn't drink much—how could I get drunk?" Li Luo laughed, shaking his head, perfectly sober. He pulled Xu Youyu into his arms. "Wanna take a stroll by Xihu tonight?"

"Sure," Xu Youyu leaned into his embrace, her arms winding around his neck like vines. She breathed softly against his ear, teasing: "Want another one-hour couple's experience this time?"

At those words, Li Luo's memory instantly jumped back to three years ago.

Back then, they'd first come to a live meeting to collect their contest prize, and had taken a trip to Xihu together.

Under the pretense of gathering material, they'd done a couple's experience.

For the first time in both his lives, Li Luo held a girl's fingers in his—taken from him by Xu Youyu.

"Does that even need an experience?" Li Luo laughed.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"We're already an old married couple—how about a senior-junior date experience tonight?" Li Luo whispered into Xu Youyu's ear.

"Now that you mention it," Xu Youyu grinned, "someone hasn't called me 'senior' in a long time."

"Then… Senior, may I have the honor of strolling by Xihu with you tonight?"

"Mmm~ Then I'll indulge my junior."