Chapter 795

In the morning, he spent a while playing the role of Boss Li, then emerged from the bedroom feeling refreshed, went downstairs, and drove to the market to buy plenty of vegetables.

After returning, he went straight into the kitchen and got to work, reviving his old skills to cook a good meal for the four of them.

Xu Youyu, meanwhile, lay in bed for a long time; only after smelling the aroma of food drifting from the hallway did she reluctantly roll over, get up, walk to the bathroom for a quick rinse, and change clothes.

By the time she reached the living room, Ying Chanxi had just finished work at the company and walked in through the door, slipping off her shoes.

"Did you just wake up?" Ying Chanxi set her bag on the entryway cabinet and asked Xu Youyu casually.

"Yeah." Xu Youyu plopped onto the sofa, then collapsed sideways with a yawn. "My back and waist ache—I'm exhausted."

Ying Chanxi assumed Xu Youyu's discomfort came from long hours hunched over her computer, her habit of working late into the night, and occasionally sneaking beer to spark inspiration.

So she kindly reminded her: "You used to go jogging with us before National Day. It's been two months now, and you haven't joined us even once since."

"What if your health keeps getting worse like this?"

"Look at Li Luo—he still goes to the gym regularly. Even if he works long hours at his computer, he's fine."

"Alright, alright." Xu Youyu sighed dramatically on the sofa. "You sound just like my mom—once you get home, you turn into a nagging housewife."

"I'm just concerned about you," Ying Chanxi said, sitting beside her with a helpless expression. "At least I'm better than Aunt Cui, right?"

"Definitely," Xu Youyu chuckled at the reminder, sat up, and pulled Ying Chanxi into a hug. "Fine, I'll listen to you—I'll go jogging with you tomorrow, how's that?"

"Really?" Ying Chanxi was surprised. She hadn't expected Xu Youyu to actually change her mind just because of a casual remark—she couldn't believe it and scrutinized her closely. "Don't just promise and do nothing, Senior."

"What kind of talk is that? I promised, so I'll deliver," Xu Youyu patted her chest. "I'm your senior after all—would I break my word?"

"Good," Ying Chanxi beamed. "Tomorrow morning I'll wake you up—we'll all four go together."

"No problem!" Xu Youyu lifted her chin proudly, as if she'd decided to jog solely because of Ying Chanxi's kind advice.

At that moment, Li Luo finished cooking and came to the kitchen doorway, calling out to them to come help carry the dishes.

So Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu both got up, entered the kitchen, and began carrying dishes out—while Ying Chanxi mentioned how Xu Youyu had agreed to join the morning jog.

Li Luo heard this and looked at Xu Youyu with a wry smile; when she winked at him, he found it amusing too.

This double benefit had been perfectly arranged for Xu Youyu.

It was originally a promise to him to jog as repayment, but now she was framing it as listening to Ying Chanxi's advice.

Still, since this would make Ying Chanxi happier and strengthen their sisterly bond, Li Luo decided to pretend he knew nothing and let them have their way.

Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu cleared the table, set the steaming dishes on it, and went to fetch bowls and chopsticks.

Li Luo walked to the piano room door, knocked, then pushed it open and said to Yan Zhusheng: "Come eat."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng obediently stopped playing, stood up, washed her hands, and came to sit at the table.

The four of them sat around the table, eating and chatting.

"This afternoon, Zhusheng and I are going to visit Aunt Yuan. What are you two planning?" Li Luo asked.

"I'm going with you," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes. "This livestream is TikTok's first time opening livestreaming features—they're taking it seriously. Miao Yifeng brought the entire TikTok tech team over to provide on-site support."

"If any issues come up during the livestream, they can fix them immediately."

"So even if you two didn't come, I'd still have to go over and coordinate with the TikTok team."

"Aunt Yuan's studio isn't even under our name yet, and you're already taking charge?" Li Luo chuckled.

"Aunt Yuan told me privately," Ying Chanxi whispered. "It'll be officially transferred to us next year, so she wants me to get used to it early and meet the studio staff."

"Sounds good," Li Luo nodded, then turned to Xu Youyu. "What about you, Youyu? Want to tag along for the fun?"

"I won't go," Xu Youyu shook her head. "I've got to write this afternoon."

"You were writing yesterday afternoon too—didn't you still drag it out until midnight to finish?" Li Luo teased.

"Do you think everyone's a freak like you? You write novels without any outline or draft at all?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him. "I'm deep into the later chapters now—I'm completely overwhelmed!"

Gu Dao Changqing had already reached one million eight to nine hundred thousand characters and was about to surpass two million. The plot was gradually shifting from the middle to the later stage.

Since the protagonist's cultivation had nearly reached the peak of the mortal realm, his rising status and power had begun to reduce reader immersion and dilute the intensity of satisfying moments.

So Xu Youyu had to maintain the pacing and keep the satisfying beats coming, while also recalling key foreshadowing and setups from the earlier and middle chapters.

Then, one by one, she had to weave those scattered threads back into a coherent structure.

This was an immense challenge for any author.

In fact, online novel readers, except when they're just starting out, rarely read an entire book from beginning to end.

As their reading experience grows and they consume more novels, it becomes harder and harder to finish even a single one.

Usually, they stop halfway—or in the later chapters—suddenly feel bored, and abandon the book.

Or they think they'll just set it aside for now, but the longer they leave it, the less likely they are to pick it up again.

One reason is the excessive length of online novels—once you pause, it's easy to forget the plot and characters from earlier.

Another is that authors often write the early and middle chapters effortlessly, but their ability to handle the later chapters varies wildly.

Few can properly tie up the ending.

Just giving a decent conclusion counts as above-average skill.

Most rush through it, wrap it up hastily, or simply lose interest and abandon it entirely.

In short, they never considered how the novel should end while writing.

As a result, they leave no groundwork in the early and middle chapters, let the plot spiral out of control, and then find themselves utterly helpless when trying to tie it all together later.

Xu Youyu, raised under Xu Rongsheng's influence and steeped in traditional literature, always valued a proper beginning and ending.

But her previous novel was a cultural entertainment story, with characters based on real people and a plot grounded in real-world developments.

So even though the later chapters were hard to write, they still had clear references and ended normally.

But Gu Dao Changqing is set in a world of spiritual revival, with entirely original plotlines—making the challenge of crafting a satisfying ending even greater.

And Xu Youyu is the kind who refuses to ruin her own work, so she now spends more time every day pondering it than before.

"When I have time, I'll help you reorganize the plot structure," Li Luo said with a smile, guessing her problem. "Outline the later chapters clearly—it'll help a lot."

"Can you even do that?"

"Why not?" Li Luo chuckled. "Try it and you'll see."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him, but remembering his strength—whether in writing or in bed—she knew she couldn't match him, so she fell silent and tacitly agreed.

After finishing the meal, Li Luo prepared to leave with Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, heading toward Yuan Wanqing's studio.

Xu Youyu took charge of washing the dishes, waving them off to hurry along.

After going downstairs, Ying Chanxi didn't want Yan Zhusheng to mess around with Li Luo in her car, so she had Yan Zhusheng drive her own vehicle, then pulled Li Luo into the backseat of the Mercedes.

"Big sister's so stingy," Yan Zhusheng said from the driver's seat, watching Ying Chanxi cling to Li Luo's arm and raise an eyebrow at her. "Li Luo, she's showing off to me."

Li Luo had long since seen through these two sisters' antics. He chuckled, glancing at Ying Chanxi in his arms—she leaned against his chest with downcast eyes, showing not a trace of boasting.

"Let's go," Li Luo said, pinching Ying Chanxi's cheek as he told Yan Zhusheng, "Don't stare at the backseat while driving—pay attention to the road."

"Okay," Yan Zhusheng pouted but obediently drove.

Ying Chanxi rarely saw Yan Zhusheng look so flustered; she secretly delighted in it, slowly understanding why her little sister always enjoyed doing this.

Li Luo noticed the faint, adorable upturn of Ying Chanxi's lips and smiled inwardly.

But this was a good thing.

Although Ying Chanxi had forgiven Ying Zhicheng for hiding Yuan Wanqing's identity from her, she still harbored some lingering resentment.

Yet now, with these petty squabbles and jealous teasing between her and Yan Zhusheng, though Ying Chanxi seemed to enjoy opposing Yan Zhusheng more and more, their sisterly bond had grown closer than ever.

This brought Li Luo great relief.

Xu Youyu had always gotten along well with the two sisters; when only the four of them were home, everyone coexisted peacefully.

But as for the elders, a solution would still need to be found.

Li Luo rubbed his temples, suffering another headache in the car, then set the matter aside for now and turned his thoughts to tonight's livestream.

As he held the warm, soft body in his arms and pondered, time slipped away quickly. When he finally came to his senses, Yan Zhusheng had already driven into the underground parking lot.

The three got out and walked to Yuan Wanqing's studio. Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng headed straight to the recording room, planning to use the afternoon's free time to re-record several new songs for "The Beginning" with Luo Fei.

Ying Chanxi went directly to the staff office area, where Yuan Wanqing happened to be. She hurried over to Yuan Wanqing's side and whispered, "Mom, I'm here."

Yuan Wanqing had been standing alone by the window, holding a cup of water, gazing at the street scene outside, reviewing the livestream guidelines discussed in the morning meeting.

Hearing someone call her "Mom," she instinctively thought it was Yan Zhusheng.

But she quickly realized the voice was wrong. When she turned and saw Ying Chanxi, a sudden warmth bloomed in her heart, and her smile instantly spread across her face.

"Xixi's here? Did you drive yourself?" Yuan Wanqing asked, walking to the water dispenser to pour Ying Chanxi a cup of warm water and hand it to her. "Drink some water."

"Mm," Ying Chanxi accepted it obediently, took a small sip, then said, "Li Luo and Zhusheng came too. Today Zhusheng drove, but they went to see Aunt Luo Fei, so I came ahead to check in."

"I see," Yuan Wanqing nodded, then shifted to business. "Miao Yifeng said he'd arrive at 2:30 p. m. It's still early. Do you have anything else to do? If not, come sit with me in the lounge."

Originally, Ying Chanxi had wanted to say she had something to do—besides worrying about the Douyin livestream, she intended to secure some business resources for Chongran Culture.

She'd been planning to speak with a staff member from the business department she knew.

But then she reconsidered and temporarily set it aside, nodding gently in agreement and obediently following Yuan Wanqing to the lounge.

Yuan Wanqing smiled warmly, taking Ying Chanxi's small hand. In the lounge, she brought out snacks and fruit, brewed a pot of fruit tea, then pulled a beautifully packaged bag from a cabinet and handed it to Ying Chanxi.

"What's this?"

"I just took on a brand endorsement. The company sent me some skincare products—I can't use them all. Take them back and try them," Yuan Wanqing said with a smile. "I also bought you and Zhusheng a few outfits. They're in the car—remember to take them when you go home tonight."

"Oh, thank you, Mom," Ying Chanxi accepted it sweetly and bowed her head in gratitude.

Hearing this, Yuan Wanqing's smile could not be contained; she felt happiness overflowing from her heart.

Although Ying Chanxi had called her "Mom" once before, in daily interactions afterward, she usually still unconsciously called her "Aunt Yuan."

Yuan Wanqing didn't mind—she knew such a change couldn't be forced.

So today, when Ying Chanxi called her "Mom" again, she was especially delighted.

"Big sister's here too."

At that moment, Yan Zhusheng pushed open the door and peeked in. Seeing Ying Chanxi, she said, then turned to Yuan Wanqing: "Mom, Aunt Luo Fei and Li Luo are calling you over. You still have time this afternoon—could you chat about those few songs from 'The Beginning'?"

"Oh, coming," Yuan Wanqing rose. "Xixi, come along too. And ask Xiao Xuan to bring these snacks and fruit over."

Saying this, Yuan Wanqing led Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng out of the lounge. Looking at the two daughters beside her, her smile grew even brighter.

But as soon as they entered the recording room and saw Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng both rushing eagerly toward Li Luo, Yuan Wanqing's smile slowly faded, and finally she pressed her palm to her forehead, letting out a deep sigh.