Chapter 779: In Front of Chanxi

Sunday morning.

Li Luo woke early as usual, ran a lap around Xihu after going downstairs, then returned to the room with breakfast to wake up Xu Youyu.

"What time is it?" Xu Youyu was still half-asleep, reluctantly sitting up in bed, munching the breakfast Li Luo fed her mouthful by mouthful.

"It's past eight. Let's check out and head home after we eat."

"Aren't your flights at one?" Xu Youyu yawned. "As long as we get home by eleven, right? Let me sleep a bit longer."

"We still have to pack our luggage."

"Ying Chanxi has definitely already packed everything for you." After quickly finishing breakfast, Xu Youyu pulled Li Luo back into bed, cuddled for a while, then fell asleep again, not rising until half past nine.

While brushing his teeth in the bathroom, Xu Youyu stared at the mirror, then glanced at Li Luo standing behind him, unable to suppress two chuckles.

"What are you laughing at?"

"A little bit of pride."

"Why?"

Xu Youyu didn't answer, just raised his arm and held up four fingers, making a "four" gesture toward the mirror.

"What does that mean?"

"Four times," Xu Youyu turned and winked at Li Luo. "Don't let me drain you dry—can your body handle it?"

"Fine enough. Better than someone who screams for mercy in bed," Li Luo chuckled, standing behind Xu Youyu and straightening his posture, blowing warm breath into her ear. "I could even raise your fifth finger right now, if I wanted."

"No!" Xu Youyu jolted away as he pressed against her. "Don't go wild! It's almost ten—if we miss your flight, it'll be bad."

"Then let's make it quick?"

"Get lost!"

Under Xu Youyu's whimpering pleas, Li Luo finally let her off the hook.

After checking out downstairs, Xu Youyu drove, picking up Li Luo, and headed straight for Bihai Lanting.

They arrived home at half past ten.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had already been waiting a long time, sitting on the sofa with three suitcases beside them.

When the sound of the door opening reached them, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng both stood up and walked toward the entrance.

"Hi~" Xu Youyu walked in beaming, saw Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng approaching, grinned, and rushed forward to hug Ying Chanxi. "Did you miss me, Xixi?"

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi was momentarily smothered, struggling slightly, her peripheral vision catching Yan Zhusheng launching herself into Li Luo's arms.

"I missed you so much," Yan Zhusheng nuzzled against Li Luo, then still felt unsatisfied, tilted her head up, and pouted at him.

Li Luo laughed softly, bent down, and kissed her thin lips.

"Again."

Li Luo kissed her a few more times, until Yan Zhusheng clung to his neck and bit him for a long while, finally satisfying her longing.

When Yan Zhusheng pulled away from Li Luo's arms, she turned and saw Ying Chanxi staring at them with a forlorn expression.

"Sister missed you too," Yan Zhusheng said with great understanding. "Li Luo, go kiss your sister too."

"I didn't miss him!" Ying Chanxi stomped off to the side. "Who wants him to kiss me?"

"That's exactly how she is," Yan Zhusheng mercilessly added. "When Li Luo wasn't even here, she insisted on sleeping in the master bedroom—and even dragged her panda plushie over there."

"You—you stop talking!" Ying Chanxi's face flushed crimson, grabbed Yan Zhusheng's arm, and begged her not to say more.

Li Luo found their interaction amusing, then handed Xu Youyu the clothes she'd bought him: "Put these away for me—take both outfits."

"Did your senior buy these for you?" Ying Chanxi reached out to take them, turned, opened Li Luo's suitcase, stuffed the two outfits inside, then added, "I brought your laptop, charger, keyboard, mouse, extra underwear and socks—all set. Check if anything's missing."

Li Luo glanced briefly, then nodded, satisfied.

He usually relied on Ying Chanxi to pack for him anyway; if he packed himself, he'd probably miss half of what she included.

Things like nail clippers, razors, face wash, umbrellas—he sometimes forgot them entirely.

Only Ying Chanxi could make sure nothing was missing, packing everything perfectly for him.

While Xu Youyu went to the bathroom and Yan Zhusheng casually said she'd go too, Li Luo walked over to Ying Chanxi and pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing~" Ying Chanxi leaned against him, hands pressing lightly against his shoulders, half-resisting, half-accepting.

Li Luo smiled, bent down, kissed her soft lips, then pressed his forehead to hers. "Did you miss me?"

"No."

Hearing her answer, Li Luo kissed her again and asked: "Did you miss me?"

"No," Ying Chanxi turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

He pinched her chin and turned her face back, kissing her again.

"Did you miss me or not?"

"I didn't miss you," Ying Chanxi huffed. She knew if she kept denying it, he'd keep kissing her, so she refused to admit it.

But this time, Li Luo didn't kiss her again. He sighed, loosened his hold with a hint of disappointment. "Guess you really didn't miss me. A little hurt."

Seeing him stop kissing, Ying Chanxi panicked, grabbed his shirt hem, and pressed herself back into his arms, whispering: "I was just teasing—you actually believed me?"

"So did you miss me or not?" Li Luo pulled her tightly against him, resting his chin on top of her head, smiling softly. "I want the truth."

"Missed you~"

"Missed what?"

"Missed you~"

"How much?"

"So much! So much!" Ying Chanxi's voice grew louder, but she buried her face in Li Luo's chest—only then did she feel brave enough to say it.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Li Luo loosened his grip slightly, then lifted her snow-white chin with one finger and kissed her soft, fragrant lips deeply.

Long moments passed. When the bathroom door down the hall opened, Ying Chanxi reluctantly pulled away, lips slightly parted, whispering: "That's enough… we should go."

"Alright, let's go," Xu Youyu said, glancing at Yan Zhusheng emerging from the master bedroom, then at Ying Chanxi's flushed, swollen lips. She waved cheerfully. "Let's head to the airport!"

……

After the four of them went downstairs, they stuffed the suitcases into the trunk, and Xu Youyu drove them toward the airport.

Li Luo sat in the middle of the back seat, sandwiched between Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, helplessly enjoying the bliss of being embraced on both sides.

On the way, Ying Chanxi occasionally probed indirectly, asking what they had done over the past two days.

Xu Youyu listened to Li Luo making things up, rolled her eyes while driving, thinking: What else could Li Luo have done but just… do it?

Yan Zhusheng hugged one of Li Luo's arms, nodding occasionally, fully playing along as if she believed him, never mentioning the secret phone call where Li Luo and Xu Youyu had clapped.

Ying Chanxi believed him completely, felt it wasn't really a big deal, and instantly felt much more at ease.

Thinking that although they were still stuck with that annoying little sister on this trip to Jingzhao City, it was still a rare chance to travel with Li Luo, her mood brightened.

After successfully fooling her, Li Luo smoothly changed the subject and asked Ying Chanxi: "What's the itinerary for this trip to Jingzhao City?"

"To be safe, we booked a week," Ying Chanxi said, instantly becoming serious the moment work came up, and confessed honestly, "but under normal circumstances, we probably won't need that long."

"The contract details with TikTok were already confirmed back in Yuhang City."

"This trip to Jingzhao City to sign the contract is just a formality—plus, we'll get to meet TikTok's senior leadership, just to get familiar with them."

"After all, with a star of Yuan Auntie's caliber joining, they're taking this seriously—the meeting standards won't be low."

"Tomorrow is Monday; the signing ceremony will be held at the venue TikTok arranged in the afternoon, followed by a banquet in the evening."

"According to TikTok, they hope to begin preparing for the new song recording as soon as the signing is done."

"So starting Tuesday, for the next few days, Yuan Auntie and Zhusheng will be stuck in the recording studio they've prepared."

"The work ends whenever the recording is finished."

"They'll also provide some short video scripts and hope you'll film short video content based on those."

"Of course, this isn't mandatory—Yuan Auntie has recently hired several professional photographers and editors; we'll still be better off controlling the short video content ourselves."

Ying Chanxi spoke with unusual seriousness, clearly laying out TikTok's plan, then paused slightly before continuing: "As for Director Wang, the preliminary auditions are over."

"He's already selected around twenty or so suitable candidates; further screening will happen this Wednesday, and you'll need to go over as well."

"Once we narrow the candidates down to five or fewer, I'll handle the negotiations regarding contract terms and intentions, then hand it over to you to make the final decision on who's best."

After listening, Li Luo nodded in understanding, stroked Ying Chanxi's head with his right hand, and smiled: "No wonder you're Xi Xi—you thought of everything."

"It's all pretty simple stuff," Ying Chanxi said humbly, lowering her head, but thoroughly enjoying Li Luo's praise and touch, gently pressing her head against his warm palm like a well-behaved kitten.

After finishing business talk, the group resumed casual chatter in the car, beginning to plan which places in Jingzhao City they might visit over the weekend if time allowed after work.

As Xu Youyu neared the airport, Ying Chanxi suddenly remembered something and reminded Li Luo: "I forgot to mention one thing."

"TikTok said they're paying eight million to sign Ruan Lin."

"Later, you had Director Wang recommend two actors from 'Little Joy' to approach TikTok."

"Recently, TikTok has contacted several other actors from 'Little Joy'—apparently they've secured all members of the three families in the drama."

"They're probably planning a major marketing campaign around the 'Little Joy' IP—the scale will likely be substantial."

"Oh, that?" Li Luo nodded in understanding. "Good thing—let TikTok handle it."

This kind of arrangement is a win-win.

TikTok leverages 'Little Joy's' fame and influence to break out of its niche and attract more users.

Meanwhile, 'Little Joy' can expand its audience through TikTok and further enhance its brand effect.

Although 'Little Joy's' premiere ended months ago, the discussion about it has remained high these past few months.

Especially with subsequent TV reruns and new viewers drawn in by word-of-mouth, they're still pushing 'Little Joy's' ceiling higher.

After months of aging, 'Little Joy' has become like a rich, aged wine—the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

For Li Luo, this isn't just about boosting 'Little Joy's' brand effect—it's real, tangible future income.

Whether from ad revenue sharing or selling rerun rights, both carry strong long-tail effects, providing him a steady stream of earnings.

Add to that Ruan Lin's role as the female lead in 'The Beginning'—as long as 'Little Joy' stays hot, next year's release of 'The Beginning' won't lack initial traffic.

"We're here."

Xu Youyu pulled up to the airport entrance, stopped the car, and got out to help retrieve the suitcases.

After being apart for a week, when the moment of separation truly arrived, even Xu Youyu couldn't help showing a hint of reluctance.

So as Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng picked up their suitcases and walked toward the nearby pedestrian walkway, Xu Youyu grabbed Li Luo's arm, stepped in front of him.

She adjusted his collar with both hands, leaned into his chest, and whispered: "With two sisters keeping you company, don't get so distracted you forget me—call me when you miss me."

"Mm."

Li Luo also reached out and hugged Xu Youyu, responding gently.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi immediately turned her head away, choosing not to see.

Yan Zhusheng, however, watched openly, unwilling to miss any opportunity to learn.

"Senior," Ying Chanxi finally couldn't hold back and reminded the two clinging together, "you can't park here too long."

"Got it," Xu Youyu glanced at Ying Chanxi, then chuckled, wrapped both arms around Li Luo's neck, and deliberately kissed him full on the lips right in front of Ying Chanxi.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi puffed out her cheeks but said nothing—only huffed and turned away.

If she couldn't see it, then it never happened.

(End of Chapter)