Chapter 856: So Soon?!

When the date arrived at New Year's Day, the online novel circle experienced a significant shake-up.

It wasn't anything major—just that Li Yang, the protagonist of I Am Really Not a Star, had finally broken his own invincibility.

Starting from last night's update of the chapter 【A Night Without Words】 through the late-night hours, countless QQ groups related to online novels spread the content of that chapter.

As the undisputed top flow in entertainment novels on Qidian and a long-standing top-ten bestseller with sixty thousand average subscriptions, I Am Really Not a Star's influence had been steadily rising over the past three to four years.

Any reader seeking entertainment novels would inevitably be recommended this book by fellow fans.

Eventually, it had become so entrenched that "if you haven't read this book, you haven't truly read entertainment novels."

After all, in an era when most entertainment novels peaked at just one or two thousand average subscriptions, I Am Really Not a Star emerged three and a half years ago and dominated its genre for years without ever slipping.

Other entertainment novels from the same period had long since vanished.

Later works mostly bore the shadow of I Am Really Not a Star.

Whether in plot structure or pacing, they were all heavily influenced by I Am Really Not a Star.

Although Li Luo did not invent the entertainment novel genre, even if he himself denied it, the title of its ultimate master was already an acknowledged fact among many other authors.

Even the most skilled imitators of I Am Really Not a Star's pacing and plot could not come close to matching it.

This was not only because, with the aid of the Memory Palace, Li Luo had honed his craft over three to four years of writing online novels and had become exceptionally skilled.

More importantly, he possessed an advantage completely unmatched by other entertainment novel authors.

This advantage was again confirmed after the upload of The Unknown.

Qianjiang University's New Year's Eve gala had never generated much buzz on major platforms.

After all, every major TV station released its own New Year's Eve gala, each vying for attention on a night full of spectacles—how could they give a university gala any chance to stand out?

Yet under these circumstances, the stage video of The Unknown uploaded by Yan Zhusheng last night, combined with Ying Chanxi's covertly deployed video matrix, successfully thrust this song into countless people's view.

Especially after Yuan Wanqing posted a solo a cappella cover version the next day, it gave the song a major boost.

With TikTok's traffic promotion, these videos immediately surged to trending topics, followed by more snippets casually posted by classmates from last night's event, which were then seen by even more people.

The synergy between The Unknown and I Am Really Not a Star reappeared, merging with the plotline of the protagonist's first loss of virginity, producing a curious chemical reaction.

As a result, I Am Really Not a Star achieved another minor breakout effect.

Even Li Luo hadn't anticipated this—after over a week of fermentation, I Am Really Not a Star had genuinely attracted many new readers.

Although the average subscriptions had been slowly climbing, they had been crawling at a snail's pace, reaching only about sixty-five thousand after so long.

Yet in this short period of less than a week, it rose another two thousand subscriptions—equivalent to last year's entire year's growth.

Judging by this trend, while reaching one hundred thousand subscriptions might be out of reach, by the time the novel concluded, it might actually break through the seventy-thousand-subscription barrier.

The key point was that I Am Really Not a Star had already surpassed eight million words, and when it finally ended, it would likely approach ten million words.

Perhaps even more.

At that point, a seven-thousand-subscription average for over ten million words would be an astonishing figure.

But Li Luo merely glanced at these developments briefly and then stopped paying attention.

His current mindset had grown calm; he cared more about daily interactions with the three girls and the one thing he had resolved to do during the New Year holiday.

Everything else was unimportant.

When Friday morning arrived and Xu Youyu finally finished her last morning run, panting and laughing as she collapsed onto Li Luo's lap, Li Luo congratulated her:

"Finally done—wasn't that tough?"

"Yeah…" Xu Youyu replied weakly, "I thought adding facial recognition this semester would be the end of me."

"That's exaggerated," Li Luo chuckled. "If you keep at it and continue running with us, your stamina will improve quickly."

"No way," Xu Youyu grumbled. "After today's run, I'm staying home—unless it's exam time, I'm going nowhere!"

"Your dad and Aunt Cui are both so diligent—why are you, their daughter, so lazy?" Li Luo said helplessly.

"Laziness is the primary productivity of modern society," Xu Youyu shot him a look. "Think about it—if lazy people didn't demand convenience, how could modern technology develop?"

Li Luo laughed, finding it pointless to argue further; after the run, he and Xu Youyu returned home.

Ying Chanxi went to work; Yan Zhusheng headed to the opposite campus for class.

Back home, Xu Youyu immediately went upstairs for a nap; Li Luo went to the study, typed a few pages, and outlined his new book.

When Xu Youyu woke up at noon, they had lunch together, then went to the study.

By now, the four kittens were scampering around the study; at four or five months old, they were no longer the tiny creatures they once were and had grown large enough to require both hands to hold.

Orange was the laziest of the four, sprawled lazily on the windowsill basking in the sun.

Ali, however, was endlessly curious and energetic—his sprinting form could be seen at any moment.

Cotton Candy and Baiji were constantly chasing each other or huddling together.

Among them, Cotton Candy's favorite activity was grooming Baiji's fur.

When Xu Youyu grew bored typing, she loved watching the four kittens run around—it instantly healed her heart.

Now, the two sat side by side at the same desk, their computer screens aligned.

When Xu Youyu grew tired of writing, she turned her chair sideways, propped her legs on Li Luo's thighs, and sighed deeply: "When will this ever end? I'm exhausted."

"You've got to keep going," Li Luo chuckled. "I'll finish the ending of Night Watch of Great Qian in about half a month, before this semester ends."

"What? Already?!" Xu Youyu's eyes widened; her feet instinctively poked his stomach a few times. "Are you even human?"

"Whether it's fast or slow—you're the one who knows best."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, then asked, "What about your new book? I remember you said you planned to release it before Night Watch of Great Qian ended?"

"Mm." Li Luo nodded lightly. "After finishing Night Watch of Great Qian, I'll have about five to six hundred thousand words in reserve."

"I'll release this reserve slowly—two chapters a day, six or seven thousand words daily."