Chapter 784: Wants to Be Bullied by Li Luo

Early the next morning, Li Luo woke the two girls for a morning run; after breakfast, they went to the professional recording studio where Yan Zhusheng had been the night before.

Yuan Wanqing was already waiting there early.

The arranger and sound engineer were both ready.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and coordination, the recording of "Displaced Space-Time" officially began.

It was exactly eight in the morning; Ying Chanxi had nothing else to do, so she came along to the studio to listen in.

While Yan Zhusheng went in to record, Ying Chanxi leaned against Li Luo's side, whispering to him.

"How long will you be recording for?" Ying Chanxi asked softly.

"It depends on the results—I don't know how strict the sound engineers here are," Li Luo said. "But Yuan Auntie and Zhusheng's skills aren't something to worry about; probably just one or two days will be enough."

Li Luo was being conservative in saying that.

In truth, as long as the person in charge didn't demand perfection, for Yuan Wanqing and Yan Zhusheng, even if they couldn't nail it in one take, recording a few times would already yield excellent results.

The lead vocals posed no difficulty for either of them; afterward, they'd only need to record some backing harmonies and ad-libs.

But that wasn't what Ying Chanxi cared about.

"What about you?" Ying Chanxi asked again. "Will you be recording too?"

"I don't need to record this," Li Luo shook his head. "Douyin probably told you already—I'll just need to post a fifteen-second cover video as the songwriter and composer, and the key is authenticity."

"Authenticity?"

"Meaning no excessive audio processing," Li Luo explained. "For example, recording vocals directly with a phone—since phones aren't professional microphones, they inevitably pick up some background noise."

"But the audio they're recording now will definitely filter out that noise, making the song sound very clean."

"But Douyin short videos don't want clean sound—they want authenticity. So recording directly with your phone, with the noise included, will sound more real, more down-to-earth."

"Oh, I see." Ying Chanxi nodded. "So it doesn't really matter whether you stay here or not?"

"What's going on?" Li Luo finally caught her implication. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't want to go anywhere," Ying Chanxi shook her head, then whispered softly, "At nine-thirty, Douyin wants us to attend a meeting—will you accompany me?"

"You built up all these questions just for this?" Li Luo couldn't help laughing, then reached out and pinched her slightly flushed cheek.

Soft.

"I'm just asking if you're coming," Ying Chanxi pouted. "Stop all this nonsense—just answer yes or no."

"That depends on how much you really want me to come," Li Luo leaned close to her ear and whispered, "How much do you want me to go with you?"

"You…" Ying Chanxi's ear tingled from his breath; she clenched her small hands on her thighs, hesitated for a long while, then finally whispered, "I really, really want you to."

"Saying it out loud doesn't feel real—can you show me just how much you want me?"

"You're terrible," Ying Chanxi gave him a light shove, then glanced shyly at the others nearby.

The arranger and sound engineer were focused on Yan Zhusheng's singing; Yuan Wanqing rested on a sofa on the other side, preparing.

No one was paying attention to them.

So Ying Chanxi finally gathered her courage, cupped Li Luo's face in both hands, and kissed him quickly.

Very forcefully.

If someone had been closer, they might have heard a soft "pop."

After kissing him, Ying Chanxi immediately glanced around to confirm no one had noticed, then whispered to Li Luo, "Is this enough?"

"Hmm, barely," Li Luo suppressed his smile, pressed his lips together for a moment to savor it, then bent down and kissed Ying Chanxi's soft lips. "That's enough."

"You… be careful…" Ying Chanxi, like a thief caught in the act, blushed furiously after being kissed, glancing left and right, whispering, "There are outsiders here!"

At the hotel or at home, Ying Chanxi had grown increasingly bold—even daring to steal food from her own little sister.

But with outsiders present, she still held onto her innocence and reserve.

Mainly because both Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng were public figures; it was better to be cautious in public.

Normally, even if the arranger or sound engineer saw, it wouldn't matter much.

As long as no photos or videos were taken and spread, mere word-of-mouth rumors held far less power than imagined.

But Ying Chanxi still preferred caution—stealing a kiss like this required vigilance, like sneaking snacks.

At this moment, Yan Zhusheng had finished her third take and stepped out, handed over to Yuan Wanqing, and sat down in the empty seat beside Li Luo.

As soon as she sat down, she reached over and kissed Li Luo.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ying Chanxi whispered a warning. "Zhusheng, be careful—don't do this in public."

"Didn't sister just kiss him too?" Yan Zhusheng leaned toward Ying Chanxi. "What's wrong with me kissing him?"

"I just… I was forced by Li Luo," Ying Chanxi pouted.

"Really?" Yan Zhusheng turned to look at Li Luo.

"No," Li Luo shook his head, suppressing a laugh. "I just asked her to show sincerity—and she kissed me."

"Then what was I supposed to do?" Ying Chanxi punched him playfully. "Isn't that exactly what you meant?"

"You could've shown sincerity by massaging my shoulders or rubbing my back," Li Luo smiled teasingly. "You just wanted to kiss him yourself."

"You're lying!"

"So sister doesn't want to kiss him anymore?" Yan Zhusheng countered. "If you don't want to, I'll do it for you."

"N-No, that's not what I meant… tone it down a bit, okay?"

"While I was singing inside, I saw you two stealing kisses," Yan Zhusheng said flatly. "That huge floor-to-ceiling glass—you think I'm blind?"

"I thought you'd be fully focused on singing," Ying Chanxi muttered. "Then if you saw us, didn't Yuan Auntie see you kiss him too?"

"So what?" Yan Zhusheng glanced at Yuan Wanqing, who was now singing inside, then said, "Mom already knows anyway."

Even if Yuan Wanqing already knew, Ying Chanxi still wouldn't dare act too affectionately in front of her. So now that Yuan Wanqing had gone in to sing, Ying Chanxi abandoned any further gestures and told Yan Zhusheng: "Li Luo promised to accompany me to the meeting—stay here and work hard."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng nodded naturally. "What about lunch?"

"We'll be back," Ying Chanxi said. "He has to meet Director Wang this afternoon—need to check out the male lead auditions for 'The Beginning.'"

"Mm, I understand." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "Then I'll record with Mom here—these two days, I won't be able to leave."

…

Near nine-thirty, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi took their leave and headed straight to TikTok's headquarters after leaving the recording studio.

At this time, the staff from Yuan Wanqing's studio responsible for coordinating this event had also arrived, greeted Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, then sat down with them.

According to Yuan Wanqing's instructions, if Li Luo was present, his opinion should take precedence.

After quietly consulting with Li Luo, the staff leaned back comfortably in his chair, feeling the work had become much easier.

Meanwhile, Miao Yifeng had also entered, shook hands warmly with Li Luo and the others, sat down, and quickly got to the point.

"Based on our previous discussions, today's meeting mainly focuses on clarifying procedural details."

Miao Yifeng said, "First, we need to confirm the official launch date, since it must align with preliminary warm-up and promotion—we plan to do it one week before the end of the month."

"Second, our overall operational strategy, including how each account will be onboarded, the style and content of short videos, and so on."

TikTok's operational strategy was quite reliable and largely matched Li Luo's own ideas.

After briefly offering a few suggestions, Miao Yifeng nodded in agreement, saying there were no issues.

As for Ruan Lin, TikTok indicated the onboarding could be delayed—first fully leverage Yuan Wanqing's traffic, then later launch a dedicated theme for "Little Joy," bringing out all the "Little Joy" members, including Ruan Lin.

ByteDance's internal "big middle platform, small front-end" model allowed TikTok to maintain highly efficient operations even during its rapid expansion phase.

Projects like this were led by senior members of Miao Yifeng's core team.

Even Zhang Nan, TikTok's founding incubator, occasionally participated in actual decision-making and operations.

This flat management structure truly suited TikTok's current path of explosive growth.

Collaborating with such a team was comfortable—you didn't need to beat around the bush; any concern could reach the top directly, without being blocked by layers.

After the morning meeting ended, the subsequent procedures and details had been largely ironed out; now it depended on execution efficiency and results.

After Yuan Wanqing and Yan Zhusheng finished recording their songs, Li Luo would join them to record all required short video content in Jingzhao City, then submit it to TikTok's team for preliminary review.

After that, they would cooperate with TikTok on necessary promotional work.

Back at the hotel for lunch, Li Luo had lunch with Yan Zhusheng; in the afternoon, Yan Zhusheng returned to the recording studio to work.

Li Luo took Ying Chanxi to meet Wang Jun and attended today's audition, meeting in person over twenty male lead candidates who had advanced from the open selection.

Five candidates were finally selected to proceed to Friday's final audition round.

After the auditions ended, with time still left before dinner, Li Luo took Ying Chanxi for a casual stroll through Jingzhao City's streets.

"Feels like it's been ages since we wandered around like this," Ying Chanxi hugged Li Luo's arm, happily stepping along the lines of the sidewalk tiles. "Since school started, we've been busy nonstop—no free time at all."

"But aren't you still always with me?" Li Luo chuckled. "We just sleep at home on weekends."

"That's different," Ying Chanxi said. "Shopping is shopping—it's not the same as being at home. Right now, holding hands like this, walking together—that's what being a couple feels like."

"Is that so?" Li Luo chuckled, lifting her chin with his finger and asking softly, "When did we become a couple? I seem to remember never confessing—did you confess to me without me noticing?"

"You're terrible," Ying Chanxi punched him twice, frowning. "I've figured it out—you were pretending to be clueless all along, weren't you? You knew perfectly well…"

"Knew what?"

"See? You're pretending again!" Ying Chanxi huffed slightly, but didn't press the issue further.

Given the situation, she had already convinced herself to accept Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng's presence—there was no need to argue with Li Luo over it anymore.

"Then tell me," though she knew arguing was pointless, Ying Chanxi still couldn't help whispering, "If I had confessed to you back then, would you have accepted me?"

"Hmm…" Li Luo stroked his chin and smiled. "You'd probably get reported."

"Huh?"

"You didn't know?" Li Luo said. "My editor warned me—recently inspections are strict. Though there's no official rule yet, high school students aren't allowed to date; any clear romantic relationship triggers a high-risk alert."

Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes at this: "I think you're asking for a beating."

Saying that, she pulled out her phone and began searching for something.

Li Luo leaned over and saw the girl was searching for nearby boxing gyms.

"What are you doing?"

"My hands are itching."

"Can I say it's no surprise you're Ying Shu's daughter?" Li Luo sighed. "You two are cut from the same cloth."

"What's wrong with that?" Ying Chanxi punched him irritably. "Isn't it normal for a daughter to resemble her father? Wait till I learn boxing—you'll know pain."

"Your dad couldn't beat me, let alone you?" Li Luo chuckled.

"Aren't you always getting beaten by my dad?" Ying Chanxi frowned suspiciously. "He even said you couldn't beat him."

"You believe him?" Li Luo snorted. "I was just letting him win—so he could vent. Otherwise, how would he ever agree to us?"

"You're always thinking about this stuff," Ying Chanxi blushed faintly, muttering softly. "So you were just letting yourself get beaten?"

"As long as it's worth it," Li Luo smiled, pulling Ying Chanxi close and pressing a firm kiss on her lips. "Every punch I take from your dad, I'll collect double interest from his precious daughter."

"Hmph~" Ying Chanxi leaned into Li Luo's arms, pouting softly, but didn't argue.

She actually hoped he'd tease her even more.