Chapter 783

After formally signing the contract, Zhang Nan and Miao Yifeng from Douyin shook hands with Yuan Wanqing's studio and Chongran Culture's Yuan Wanqing and Li Luo.

Under the flashbulbs of reporters, the group answered a few minor questions, then concluded the signing ceremony.

By the time Li Luo and the others followed the Douyin team to the hotel restaurant for dinner, news of Yuan Wanqing's upcoming arrival on Douyin had already spread across the trending list.

Clearly, Douyin had pushed this behind the scenes—the press corps invited to attend the interview were all arranged by Douyin.

After dinner, when they left the banquet, Ying Chanxi joined the studio team to continue working overtime with Douyin's staff at the company.

They discussed numerous details regarding the onboarding and collaboration, confirming the artists' upcoming schedules and plans.

From Yuan Wanqing's entire promotional campaign schedule ahead to the content of her first short video upon onboarding, everything required further preparation.

While Ying Chanxi was busy, Yan Zhusheng accompanied Yuan Wanqing to the professional recording studio Douyin had arranged, to scout the location, get accustomed to the equipment, and have an initial chat with the composer and sound engineer.

After dinner, Li Luo was left alone, so he went upstairs to his hotel room, rested briefly, then started typing.

But he had barely begun tapping the keyboard when his phone on the desk vibrated.

He picked it up, glanced at it, smiled, and tapped the answer button.

"Hello?" Li Luo teased into the phone, "Why'd you suddenly think to call me?"

"Who else but someone who never bothers to call me first?" Xu Youyu replied with a plaintive tone, yet her voice carried a playful, teasing edge, "You've probably forgotten all about me, having fun with your two little sisters."

Hearing this, Li Luo could almost picture Xu Youyu's smiling expression right then.

"So did you call me because you missed me too much?" Li Luo asked with a light laugh, stood up from his chair, sat down on the sofa, adjusted into a comfortable position, and paused typing.

Xu Youyu huffed twice: "Don't get the wrong idea—I just saw your news online and came to check in."

"What news?"

"That you're joining Douyin," Xu Youyu said. "It's already on Weibo's trending list."

"Oh, right." Li Luo had been at the banquet and hadn't paid attention.

He tapped the speakerphone button, exited the call interface, opened Weibo, and saw Yuan Wanqing's arrival on Douyin ranked third on the trending list.

Chongran's arrival didn't make the trending list at all—only when you clicked into Yuan Wanqing's topic did media reports mention Chongran.

Clearly, everyone found this astonishing, and the discussion was heated.

Li Luo glanced at the comment section and saw some skepticism, but mostly anticipation and support.

Hmm… given Douyin's behind-the-scenes influence, the comments weren't the most authentic reflection.

At present, Douyin's reputation online wasn't particularly good—it was often seen as a synonym for "low-tier."

Of course, there were even "lower-tier" platforms like Kuaishou.

In comparison, websites that hosted long-form videos gave users a greater sense of superiority.

Still, if sites like Bilibili came knocking later, joining wasn't out of the question.

Li Luo rubbed his chin, thinking—how much could he possibly milk from Bilibili?

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Youyu asked over the phone. "Why'd you go quiet?"

"About you."

"Smooth talker," Xu Youyu spat playfully, then laughed, "If you missed me, why didn't you call me?"

"Then I'll call you every day from now on?"

"Hmph, only acting now because you were reminded—how lazy."

"Then I won't call anymore?"

"Can't even fix your mistake? Guess I'm not that important to you."

Li Luo: "... Where did you learn this?"

"Hahaha~ Isn't this just a woman's instinct?" Xu Youyu giggled over the phone. "Sweating yet?"

"Act normal," Li Luo sighed. "I should've just let you take the day off and come along."

"No way," Xu Youyu chuckled. "Without me coming, I get two whole days alone with you. If I did come, we'd just be four people hanging out anyway."

"Right now, Chanxi and Zhusheng aren't here."

"Huh? Where'd they go?"

"One's handling Douyin coordination and in a meeting; the other's at the recording studio scouting the place. So I'm the only one left in the hotel."

"Oh~ Now that the two little sisters are gone, you finally miss me?" Xu Youyu's plaintive voice reached Li Luo's ears. "So am I just some replaceable afterthought?"

Li Luo: "... Wait till I get back—you'll be begging me not to."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Want."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu instantly understood, let out a soft grunt, flopped onto her bed and wiggled her hips. "We'll talk when you get back. Oh, by the way."

"What?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Xu Youyu said enthusiastically. "I counted my savings—excluding my stock investments—I still have over a million."

"We already bought a villa at Sky Ridge Elegant Residence."

"I heard from Zhusheng that Aunt Yuan is thinking of buying another unit there too, to move in with Uncle Ying someday."

"So I thought—I'll buy one there too, so I can bring my parents over later."

"But the prices there are a bit steep. If I really want to buy, I'll need to wait a while longer—I'm still short on the down payment."

"When you get back and have time, help me figure it out."

Hearing Xu Youyu's words, Li Luo fell silent for a moment, his emotions complicated.

He thought of Xu Youyu from his past life—until her thirties, she never had any intention of buying a house.

In that past life, her reason was simple: she disliked staying too long in one place; she preferred renting so she could move whenever she wanted.

But this life's Xu Youyu was different.

"Youyu-jie."

"Hm?"

"Really buying a house?"

"What's wrong?" Xu Youyu grinned. "Isn't buying a house perfectly normal?"

"Besides, Uncle Ying and Aunt Yuan will move there too, so it makes sense for my parents to move in with them, right?"

"In the future, we'll all live in the same neighborhood—it'll be so convenient to visit each other. If you ever bully me, I'll just go straight back to my parents' place~"

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help but laugh.

Going back to her parents' place? Really?

It's just a couple steps away—that's certainly convenient.

"Have you thought about how to tell your uncle and aunt?" Li Luo suddenly asked. "Or... should I find a chance to talk to them..."

"Oh, why rush something like this?" Xu Youyu interrupted. "Let it happen naturally. Besides, my parents already adore you."

"But... what about Chanxi and Zhusheng?"

"You're worried my parents won't approve?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "So what? Who I choose to be with doesn't need anyone's permission."

"Even if my parents get so angry they threaten to cut ties with me..."

"When I show up later pregnant, do you really think they'll disown me?"

Li Luo: "..."

Listening to Xu Youyu, Li Luo found himself at a loss for how to refute her.

Xu Youyu thought things through with remarkable clarity—she seemed utterly unconcerned about all this.

After hearing Xu Youyu's words, Li Luo felt considerably more at ease.

Still, he had to keep making efforts; this pressure couldn't possibly rest entirely on Xu Youyu's shoulders.

As Li Luo thought this, his inner resolve grew even firmer.

"About the house..." Li Luo considered carefully, then said, "Why don't I buy it?"

"No way!" Xu Youyu immediately refused. "This house is for my parents—I'm not letting you interfere."

"We're family now, aren't we?" Li Luo smiled. "If I buy it, it's the same as you buying it."

"No, it's completely different. No way," Xu Youyu shook her head. "If I'm buying it, I'll pay for it myself. You don't need to worry about it."

"Really not?"

"Really not," Xu Youyu said, kicking her feet up. "You already bought me a car—over a million yuan—and I haven't even told my parents yet."

"If they found out you spent over a million on a new car for me before we even got married, they'd probably beat me to death."

"I left my old car at my mom's—she's been driving it ever since. Recently she asked why I never come to use it anymore. I just brushed her off."

"What's the problem?" Li Luo blinked, confused by the logic. "I just bought you a car. I'm not short on money—why would they beat you?"

"It's family tradition," Xu Youyu laughed. "My dad is strict about this—he forbids me from accepting gifts from boys."

"I'm your boyfriend, though."

"Boyfriend doesn't count," Xu Youyu said. "You can treat me to meals and dates, but you have to repay him later. A million-yuan car? Absolutely not."

"My dad taught me this since I was little: if a girl uses her beauty to easily take things from men, she'll inevitably pay an equal price—sooner or later."

"When you bought me the new car, I actually thought about buying you one too."

"But Chanxi told me privately that if you ever want to drive her Audi, she'll let you—so I dropped the idea."

"Anyway, I'm stuck with you for life—I'm not worrying about it anymore."

Hearing this, Li Luo was deeply moved.

But he still said: "If you're already stuck with me, what's one more house?"

"Who goes around buying houses for people?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "I want to buy it myself—otherwise why bother writing to earn money? I could just live off you."

"How much do you still need for the down payment?" Li Luo asked again.

"Hmm... maybe about eighty thousand yuan short?" Xu Youyu calculated roughly. "Once my next book finishes next year, I should have saved enough."

"Of course, if someone could generously teach me the divine art of stock trading and help me double my capital sooner, that'd be great too."

"Think about it?"

"No need to think," Li Luo smiled. "I remember you have a bank card with the same bank my cousin works at, right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Check if you got a text message."

"Hm?" Xu Youyu frowned, then her phone vibrated—a message had arrived.

She opened it and instantly widened her eyes: "What the hell did you do?!"

"You're short eighty thousand, right?"

"You didn't have to transfer it directly to me!" Xu Youyu complained. "I already said I want to buy it myself!"

"Then consider it a loan," Li Luo said, his gaze carrying deep meaning—as if shifting to some distant past. "Write me an IOU."

Though she grumbled, Xu Youyu felt a sweet warmth in her heart after receiving Li Luo's eighty thousand.

But she still said: "I'm definitely writing you an IOU—I won't take your money for free."

"Of course," Li Luo nodded with a smile. "Now I'm your creditor."

"Oh~" Xu Youyu giggled. "So you like this kind of thing?"

"Hm?"

"Creditor my lord~ I'll pay you back next month~ Please give me a little more time~" Her sweet, cooing voice came through the phone. "If you really won't budge... I could help you out... hmm~ Please~"

Li Luo: "..." "Don't get too carried away. Don't just tease me over the phone and forget to land."

"That's not my problem," Xu Youyu laughed, kicking her feet wildly on the bed. "Wait until Chanxi or Zhusheng get back to the hotel—they can help you release some steam."

"You'll regret this," Li Luo snorted. "Wait till I get back—you're in for it."

"Eh-ya~ Don't be like that~" Xu Youyu pouted in response, "I just helped you, my lord—why won't you let me off the hook~?"

"What? You mean if it gets real, the interest can be waived?"

"If that's the case… then…"

"Enough already," Li Luo said, his temples throbbing, feeling as if his body was about to explode.

Xu Youyu laughed heartily on the other end of the line, clearly delighted by Li Luo's reaction.

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng returned from outside, heard Li Luo's voice, and walked into the living room, asking curiously, "Who are you talking to?"

Hearing Yan Zhusheng's voice, Xu Youyu burst out laughing, "Oh, Zhusheng's back? Don't forget to help little Li Luo—I'm hanging up now."

Li Luo's phone was on speaker, so Yan Zhusheng clearly heard everything Xu Youyu said.

After Xu Youyu hung up, Yan Zhusheng instinctively looked down at Li Luo on the sofa, then tilted her head and asked, "Want a shower first, or should you start writing?"

Yan Zhusheng's question was perfectly serious.

But Li Luo knew her meaning was anything but.

"Shower first, then writing."

"Oh~"