Chapter 910

This dinner itself wasn't particularly special; the chef Butler Liu hired was quite skilled, and the flavor wasn't worse than Li Luo's cooking from his past life.

But today was different.

Since the 20th of last month, when they had confronted the elders and the three girls were taken away by their families, this was the first time in nearly a month the four of them had gathered again.

The meaning was naturally different.

Not to mention Xu Youyu, who loved drinking, even Ying Chanxi drank a full glass of cocktail tonight.

When it ended, her small face was flushed red, looking bright and lovely.

Fortunately, the cocktail Xu Youyu mixed for Ying Chanxi was the lowest-alcohol kind, so Ying Chanxi didn't get drunk outright.

After dinner, the four of them suggested going upstairs to play mahjong.

When Li Luo heard mahjong, his heart jolted—he nearly wanted to refuse.

After all, he'd been drained by Xixi last night, pushed down again this morning, and then aggressively pursued at Xu Youyu's house in the afternoon.

If they kept this up tonight, Li Luo really wouldn't be able to take it.

But fortunately, the girls were all immersed in the joy of reunion and weren't thinking about that.

Even though Ying Chanxi's face was flushed, she wasn't completely irrational—when two sisters were present, she still couldn't bring herself to mention such things.

Let alone actually doing them.

Upstairs in the entertainment room, they sat at the mahjong table and began chatting while playing.

Yan Zhusheng brought out karaoke microphones and didn't bother selecting songs—she just sang a cappella.

Listening to Yan Zhusheng sing while playing mahjong, Ying Chanxi curiously asked, "Are these all songs from Li Luo's new album?"

"Yeah," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "More than ten songs. I feel like I'll need to practice for a long time—today, Aunt Luo Fei was coaching me at home."

"So have you planned when to release the album?" Ying Chanxi ate a little bird, lined up the three birds beside her, then said, "I'll arrange the promotion plan."

"Promote it together with 'The Beginning,'" Li Luo discarded a newly drawn East Wind. "The album can be released before 'The Beginning' premieres—perfect chance to include a few songs from the drama."

"Mm, that's a good idea," Ying Chanxi nodded. "I'll instruct people these few days to draft a promotion plan."

"Tell Uncle Ying too," Li Luo said. "Have them coordinate and provide some resources."

"Of course," Ying Chanxi nodded.

"And Mom's studio," Yan Zhusheng suddenly reminded. "Today, Aunt Luo Fei told me the studio will move here in the second half of this year. The office space can wait, but the recording studio should be renovated as soon as possible."

"The recording equipment at home is already excellent, but we can't always work entirely at home."

"Some work requires coordination with other studio staff—Aunt Luo Fei coming to our house doesn't mean she can bring all her employees."

"So you need to arrange this, Sister."

"Understood," Ying Chanxi nodded. "Mom mentioned it before—I'll have people handle it these two days."

"Besides that, I've also rented another section in the 10th floor of the Shidai Tianjie office building."

"For the studio staff in the city, others don't need to rush, but the team handling music production and promotion can be transferred over first."

"This involves employee relocation, so we need to notify and explain in advance."

Ying Chanxi had already become adept at handling these work matters; though she'd briefly left the company for a month, her influence had never been interrupted.

She managed affairs with calm order, each task clear and precise in her mind, handled steadily and without haste.

"Oh, by the way," Ying Chanxi, after finishing talk about the studio, remembered something and turned to Li Luo.

"Dad has secured some variety show resources."

"In the coming period, Ruan Lin will take Bai Lixuan to participate in some variety shows, to get some exposure for 'The Beginning.'"

"I'll also arrange some GG endorsements, but nothing urgent."

"Especially Bai Lixuan—I plan to consider major endorsement deals only after 'The Beginning' premieres."

"Mm," Li Luo nodded after listening, seeing no need to interfere. "Do as you say."

After that, Ying Chanxi brought up film rights, turning to Xu Youyu with a smile: "Xu Youyu, Tencent Video has nearly settled everything—now it's just negotiating the details."

"That means your 'Master Gu's Longevity' should finally sell, right?"

"You'll probably make a lot of money."

"Really?" Xu Youyu, who had been silent while listening to Ying Chanxi and Li Luo report work, perked up at this good news, her eyebrows lifting as she grinned. "Then my mortgage is finally covered—hurry up and let me pay off my loan!"

"Just have Li Luo pay it for you," Yan Zhusheng blinked, glancing at Ying Chanxi, then at Xu Youyu. "Didn't Li Luo pay for your house when you bought it?"

"I used my own money to buy it," Xu Youyu said. "Of course, if he insisted on gifting me one, I wouldn't refuse."

Li Luo gave her a look, thinking: you refused when I offered before.

But Xu Youyu saying this was probably meant to reassure the two younger girls not to feel resentful.

Interestingly, Li Luo also noticed how Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng addressed Xu Youyu just now.

"Xu Youyu-sis"————

Li Luo smiled, thinking that after a month's effort, the four of them had finally taken another solid step forward.

And this change had unfolded so quietly, like spring rain nourishing without sound.

They played mahjong until ten o'clock, when Xu Youyu declared it over.

Because she had to write.

"Just one more week left!" Xu Youyu said cheerfully as she left the mahjong room. "I'm doing the final edits now—I should finish by month's end, and then I'll rest for at least half a year!"

"Finish today's writing first," Li Luo chuckled, then accompanied her to the second-floor study, letting Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng return to their rooms to bathe and sleep.

——

Sitting at the long study desk beside Xu Youyu once again after so long, Li Luo turned to look at her, legs curled together, and smiled knowingly.

Before sitting down, Xu Youyu had already opened the cat passage connecting the cat room to the study, watching the four little ones scramble onto the desk, her face lighting up with relief as she scooped up A Li into her arms.

She stroked its head, rubbed its back, then buried her face in the kitten's belly, her expression turning blissfully content.

"It's been so long since I saw them—I feel like they've grown bigger?" Xu Youyu reached out to pat Cotton Candy and Ju Bao's heads, then pulled Bai from afar into her lap.

After petting all four kittens, Xu Youyu sighed contentedly: "It's been over half a year since last September. They've grown so much."

"They can be spayed in another half-year," Li Luo said. "Remember the date."

"Got it~" Xu Youyu grinned at Li Luo. "You're so mean—you've got three wives cuddling you on both sides, yet you won't let your white furballs enjoy the harem treatment?"

Li Luo rolled his eyes at her: "If they breed recklessly, we'll end up with several litters we can't possibly raise."

"Heh————" Xu Youyu sneered, a rare cold laugh. "I wonder who didn't use protection last night—aren't you afraid of Xixi getting pregnant?"

Li Luo fell silent, embarrassed, cleared his throat twice, and said: "Don't talk about it. Get back to writing."

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu stopped teasing him. She was tempted inside, but she didn't want to get pregnant too soon, nor did she want to take pills—so she just let the thought fade.

She lowered her crossed legs, placed her hands on the familiar keyboard, and focused intently on typing.

Li Luo didn't need to write—he had plenty of drafts saved—but he was afraid to return to the bedroom. What if Zhu Sheng or Xixi did something while bathing together? His body just couldn't take it.

Logically, with Xixi around, it shouldn't be that bad.

But tonight, Xixi was different—she'd drunk a little wine at dinner—so Li Luo dared not gamble.

Better to stay in the study and keep Xu Youyu company while she wrote.

He'd just fed her in the afternoon, so he wasn't too worried she'd cause trouble here.

Thinking of this, Li Luo felt a sudden pang of melancholy. He never imagined that being together could bring such a happy kind of trouble.

So Li Luo decisively pulled out his phone and sent a message to Butler Liu, asking him to find a few reliable fitness coaches—he planned to design a proper workout routine.

After giving the instruction, Li Luo picked up the keyboard and began typing alongside Xu Youyu.

Time passed quickly.

As it neared midnight, Xu Youyu hurriedly finished four thousand characters, clicked publish, then checked the time.

Seeing there was still one and a half minutes until midnight, she smiled with satisfaction, let out a long, blissful breath, and slumped back in her chair.

"Finally done~" Xu Youyu sighed. "These hellish days won't last much longer—I'll be completely free soon!"

"Don't rush," Li Luo said, pausing his typing and glancing at her with a grin. "When you start your next novel, you'll be back to this exact situation."

——

"You don't need to remind me," Xu Youyu muttered, squinting and poking his lower back. "So talkative—you ruined my good mood. What are you going to do about it?"

"Should I apologize?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

"Hmm~ Not out of the question," Xu Youyu crossed her arms, lifted her pale chin, and huffed twice. "But it depends on your sincerity."

"How about a customized Motorhome?" Li Luo said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"I said—a Motorhome. Our own customized one," Li Luo repeated.

Xu Youyu froze, stunned. Then her face lit up with delight. She grabbed his arm and asked: "Really? You already bought it?"

"Not yet," Li Luo pinched her cheek and explained. "I originally planned to give it to you as a birthday gift, so I had Butler Liu contact a Motorhome customization company."

"But then I thought—if it's custom, we should design it ourselves based on our needs."

"So I decided it's better to tell you first. What do you think?"

Xu Youyu's eyes sparkled like a puppy's as she nodded frantically, then confirmed again: "Motorhome?"

"Mm."

"Customized?"

"We design it ourselves?"

"Mm."

"Aha!" Xu Youyu threw her arms around Li Luo, wriggling joyfully in his embrace. "Li Luo, you're amazing~ I love you so much!"

Then she smacked a loud kiss on his cheek.

Li Luo hadn't expected such a strong reaction—he wiped the saliva off his face, half-laughing, half-exasperated: "Why so excited? Didn't you already rent a Motorhome before?"

"It's different," Xu Youyu snuggled fully into his lap, nuzzling and whining. "Our own customized Motorhome will be perfect—and it's ours, not rented. That feeling's totally different."

"Besides, I've dreamed of owning my own Motorhome since long ago."

"I planned to wait until after college—back then, I had classes and couldn't easily travel with one."

"I never thought you'd already prepared it."

Seeing her eager expression, Li Luo was reminded of Xu Youyu's face in his past life—full of longing and hope when she'd talked about Motorhomes.

But in that past life, Xu Youyu never ended up owning one.

She could've afforded it—but she never bought one.

Li Luo didn't know why.

But now, seeing the smile on her face, he knew this Motorhome was worth it.

"You like it—that's all that matters."

Li Luo kissed her, then said: "Now that you've finished writing, shall we go wash up and sleep?"

"Okay~" Xu Youyu replied, but didn't move. Instead, she clung tighter, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Carry me back~"

Li Luo smiled, exerted slight force, and easily lifted her from the chair.

After herding the four kittens back to the cat room and shutting the Cat Door, he carried Xu Youyu upstairs to the third floor. In front of Xixi and Zhu Sheng in bed, he walked into the bathroom with her.

While bathing, Xu Youyu suddenly remembered something and turned to Li Luo: "This was supposed to be your apology gift—why did it turn into my birthday present?"

"You don't get it," Li Luo said, hugging her from behind while lathering her with shower gel. "The Motorhome is your birthday gift—but the surprise? That's the apology."

"Hmph—smooth talker," Xu Youyu huffed, but leaned into his touch, eyes half-closed in pleasure. Her hand reached behind her, curious—what would it feel like if he just came in right now?

Her insides tingled again.