Chapter 803: Sisters Compete for the First Time

Sisters Compete for the First Time

"In Gu Dao Changqing, when does the male lead kill someone for the first time?"

"Ah~ hmm…"

"Then, uh, the protagonist makes incense—what kinds of incense did he make throughout the whole book?"

"Mmm~ how do you even know that? Ah!"

"Which famous scenic spots have the male and female leads traveled to?"

"Wait! Slow down… ah~"

Xu Youyu asked many questions about Gu Dao Changqing while lying in bed.

The later the questions got, the more obscure they became, yet Li Luo always answered them precisely and correctly.

Some answers, she herself wasn't even clear on, yet Li Luo could recite the details flawlessly.

As a result, Xu Youyu was completely overwhelmed and utterly defeated in bed.

"Are you satisfied with sleeping early, Big Boss?"

After the battle ended, Li Luo held Xu Youyu's bare body against the headboard, one hand gently stroking her, and asked with a grin.

Xu Youyu lay limp in his arms, breathing lightly as she rested, weakly replying: "I'm exhausted… but you remembered all of it? That's insane."

"How else would I dare say I'd help you organize the later plot outline?" Li Luo said with a smile. "Now do you have faith in me?"

"Mmm… I guess I could give it a try." Xu Youyu nodded lightly, nuzzling against him.

She had planned to keep resting, but when she looked down and noticed signs of his energy reviving, she quickly scrambled out of bed: "I'm going to take a shower!"

"Then let's go together," Li Luo said, flipping over and following her, laughing as he scooped her up and carried her toward the shower before she could lock the bathroom door.

…

Several more minutes later, Xu Youyu emerged from the shower, supporting her aching lower back, and complained with a resentful expression: "If I ever take a shower with you again after we're done, I'll be a dog!"

"Then bark a couple times first?"

"Get lost!"

The two bickered playfully as they returned to the room; it was nearly evening, and Li Luo had no appetite to cook.

Just then, Ying Chanxi called. Li Luo picked up his phone and replied: "I'm at home with Youyu."

"How are you two handling dinner?" Ying Chanxi asked over the phone.

"Order takeout," Xu Youyu said, slumping into a chair and flopping her upper body onto the desk with a sigh. "I don't want to go out."

"She says order takeout," Li Luo said honestly.

"That won't do—takeout should be eaten sparingly," Ying Chanxi immediately replied. "How about I buy some groceries and come back?"

"I'm a bit reluctant to cook," Li Luo twisted his waist, feeling today's physical exertion had been considerable.

"I'll cook," Ying Chanxi said at once with a laugh. "I haven't cooked in ages—tonight I have no class, and work's done. Just wait for dinner."

"Oh, by the way."

"Ask Zhusheng if he's coming back—I need to know how much to buy."

"Alright, I'll ask." Li Luo nodded, hung up, and then called Yan Zhusheng.

Normally, on a Wednesday—not a weekend—Yan Zhusheng would stay in his dorm unless he actively sought out Li Luo for a rendezvous.

But since Li Luo had called, Yan Zhusheng naturally chose to return home without hesitation.

So Li Luo sent Ying Chanxi a WeChat message, telling her to buy enough ingredients for four people, then put away his phone, pulled Xu Youyu up, sat in the chair, and drew her into his lap.

"Don't you dare do anything naughty again," Xu Youyu warned, turning her head with a wary expression.

"Relax, I'm temporarily out of steam," Li Luo patted her thigh, his hand beginning to creep upward—until Xu Youyu slapped it down.

"Stop touching me," Xu Youyu shot him a glare, then turned back, grabbed the mouse, opened her outline software, and wiggled her hips to signal him to focus. "Help me check this out."

"I've been stuck for days trying to outline the later plot, but everything's too scattered—I can't tie it all together. It's driving me crazy."

"There are too many subplots and characters—I don't even know where to start."

Once an Online Novel reaches a long length, unless it's a slice-of-life type with few characters, it almost always faces the same problem Xu Youyu has.

Take Xu Youyu's Gu Dao Changqing—it's already over 2.5 million characters and heading toward 3 million.

Under the Qi Restoration setting, though the main story still centers on the protagonist's Phoenix Mountain, the number of plot-related characters is enormous.

Minor characters who appear briefly are fine.

But key supporting characters often tie into entire factions and networks, weaving together into the book's entire framework.

To weave all these threads into the ending without getting flamed for a botched finale, you must burn every last brain cell and think it through carefully.

Especially since Online Novels are published daily—this means the later you get, the harder it becomes.

The core issue lies in how many plot details, foreshadowing, and character subplots were written on a whim during initial drafting.

Some authors make detailed outlines and record everything—those are fine.

But many inspiration-driven authors write as they go; after two or three million characters, they've forgotten everything and rely entirely on readers to remind them.

But digging holes is so much more fun than filling them.

In the end, they end up with a botched, abandoned finale—weak, directionless, and unresolved.

Xu Youyu is facing this exact problem now.

Previously, she wrote entertainment fiction, where the main plot relied on real-world settings and was easier to organize.

Now she's writing a Qi Restoration novel—a genre only recently developed in the past two years—with almost no reference material.

She must figure it out herself.

"In short, first set a final goal," Li Luo said, holding Xu Youyu. "For example, the male and female leads attain immortality, right?"

"Then we work backward from that goal, defining all the conditions needed to achieve immortality."

"Then we create the elements that generate those conditions."

Then, by connecting various elements with previously introduced characters and foreshadowing, the entire later-stage resolution is completed.

Although Li Luo had been a failed entertainment writer in his previous life, under Xu Youyu's influence and through practical training in the Night Patrol Bureau, his skills had greatly improved.

Added to this was his extraordinary ability—the Memory Palace—giving him a tremendous advantage in resolving the later-stage plot arcs of online novels.

Following Li Luo's guidance, Xu Youyu slowly organized the details.

Whenever she forgot or was unsure of something, Li Luo, like an encyclopedia, could instantly supply the missing content and details.

The outline came together as smoothly as a river flowing into the sea, filling Xu Youyu with deep satisfaction, and she soon became fully immersed.

She didn't even notice Ying Chanxi had returned.

After finishing her work at the company, Ying Chanxi bought groceries and drove home.

She placed the ingredients in the kitchen, then went to the doorway of Xu Youyu's room.

Li Luo and Xu Youyu hadn't closed the door; Ying Chanxi glanced inside and saw Xu Youyu sitting in Li Luo's lap, yet there was no intimate display.

They were instead earnestly and deeply discussing the craft of novel writing.

Watching the two converse like kindred spirits, Ying Chanxi stood at the door, pursed her lips, and a hint of envy flickered in her eyes.

But after watching for a while, she didn't disturb them, quietly retreated to the kitchen, and obediently began preparing dinner.

Not long after, Yan Zhusheng also drove home; after entering, she glanced at her sister cooking in the kitchen, then went to the doorway of Xu Youyu's room.

Like Ying Chanxi, Yan Zhusheng saw the two absorbed in their creation, said nothing, and turned to walk into the kitchen.

"Do you need help, sister?"

"What can you possibly help with?" Ying Chanxi shot her a look. "The ingredients are all prepped—if you'd come home earlier, you could've washed some vegetables."

"I can help carry the dishes."

"Then go set out the bowls and chopsticks first," Ying Chanxi nodded toward the cabinet beside her. "Once ready, you can call Li Luo and Senior out for dinner."

"Okay." Yan Zhusheng nodded, stepped forward to fetch the utensils, then turned and asked, "Had Senior and Li Luo been like that just now?"

"Yes, why?"

"They didn't sneak off to do anything naughty," Yan Zhusheng said. "They were genuinely talking about writing."

"Senior's book seems to be in its final editing phase," Ying Chanxi said. "But she's already written two books—why hasn't Li Luo finished his first one? It feels like it's heading toward ten million words."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded vigorously, fully agreeing. "And all three heroines still haven't slept with the protagonist—readers are begging for it daily, yet he refuses to write it."

"Well, it doesn't really matter," Ying Chanxi said, her cheeks slightly flushing. "Do online novel readers really come just for that kind of plot?"

"Li Luo said the censorship is strict now—even if he did write it, it'd just be a passing mention. What's there to write?"

"I just never thought a book could be this long."

"How can that not matter?" Yan Zhusheng replied seriously. "Don't you want Shen Dongdong to be the first one to sleep with Li Yang?"

"You—" Ying Chanxi's face turned crimson. A faint wish stirred in her heart, but she couldn't voice it, nearly burning the vegetables.

She quickly scooped the stir-fried dish onto a plate and glared at Yan Zhusheng. "You talk too much—I'm nothing like you, so boring."

"Then I'll talk to Li Luo about it later," Yan Zhusheng said, lifting the dish. "Have him arrange for Mo Qinghan and Li Yang to be the first to sleep together. You wouldn't mind, right? You said you didn't care."

"How can you do that?!" Ying Chanxi immediately objected. "Don't interfere with his writing—he writes however he wants. You're not allowed to say anything."

The sisters argued over this trivial matter for a long while.

Only when Ying Chanxi began stir-frying the last dish did she finally cut off the topic, urging Yan Zhusheng: "After you carry out the dishes, go call Li Luo and Senior for dinner. Stop talking nonsense."

"Okay."

Yan Zhusheng obediently carried the dish out, placed it on the dining table, then returned to the doorway of Xu Youyu's room to call the two out for dinner.

At that moment, Li Luo had just helped Xu Youyu outline the basic framework and was about to pause, so he replied, stood up, and held Xu Youyu in his arms.

"After this sorting-out, my thoughts feel so much clearer," Xu Youyu scratched her head, a happy smile spreading across her face. "I probably won't get stuck today."

"Good if it helps," Li Luo smiled. "Let's go eat."

The two stepped out of the room, washed their hands with Yan Zhusheng, and sat down at the table.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi carried out the final dish from the kitchen.

Once all four were seated, Li Luo picked up his chopsticks and announced dinner.

"Li Luo, how much longer will you write I Am Really Not a Star?"

Yan Zhusheng brought up the book while eating.

Li Luo raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Why ask suddenly? This book won't end anytime soon—it'll keep going."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi froze. "What do you mean, 'keep going'?"

"Cough… well, the performance is still decent. The later parts just reuse the same templates anyway—it can go on forever," Li Luo coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Once the performance stabilizes, as long as you update regularly, new readers will keep coming."

"That income flows endlessly—far better than finishing it outright."

"Besides, writing this book no longer pressures or burdens me—I only spend about forty minutes a day. It takes almost no time."

Li Luo's I Am Really Not a Star has gradually expanded from a purely domestic setting toward a global scope.

There's still plenty left to write.

If he truly wanted to, even writing twenty or thirty million words would be no challenge.

Don't be fooled by his claim that the later parts just repeat formulas—thanks to his Memory Palace, the actual plot quality hasn't noticeably declined.

As long as the content isn't sloppy, even a two- or three-million-word novel still draws plenty of readers willing to pay.

The clearest example is the later-era Mythological Three Kingdoms, which has consistently ranked among the top sellers on Qidian.

"Just now, sister said," Yan Zhusheng continued, "she wants to see Shen Dongdong and Li Yang sleeping together. Li Luo, will you fulfill her wish?"

Before Li Luo could react, Ying Chanxi's face turned bright red as she interrupted: "What are you talking about?! You're the one who wanted to see Mo Qinghan and Li Yang! I never said that!"

"But you definitely think it."

"I don't! Don't make things up!"

The sisters began bickering again at the dinner table.

Li Luo sighed helplessly, glanced down at the foot rubbing against his thigh, then looked up at Xu Youyu, who was smirking across from him, and rolled his eyes at her.

"Alright, alright, stop fussing," Xu Youyu said, barely holding back her laughter. "Fine, in I Am Really Not a Star, let Shen Dongdong come first, and later when Li Luo writes a new book, we'll let Zhusheng's prototype come first."

"What about you, senior?" Yan Zhusheng turned to ask.

"I don't mind at all," Xu Youyu said cheerfully. "Big sisters always have to give way to little sisters."

"Look at senior," Yan Zhusheng turned to Ying Chanxi. "You never give way to me."

"I'm only five months older than you—what's there to give way about?" Ying Chanxi huffed. "Besides, it's just fiction. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

"You're the one taking it seriously."

"I'm not!"

"How about letting Shen Dongdong and Mo Qinghan share a bed with Li Yang?" Yan Zhusheng suddenly suggested, her mind taking a bizarre turn.

Ying Chanxi: "..."

Li Luo: "..."

Xu Youyu: "..."

"You're all silent—that means you agree?"

"Get lost! Agree with your big head!" Ying Chanxi snapped.

(End of Chapter)