Chapter 911: Goodnight

After showering in the bathroom, Li Luo returned to bed with Xu Youyu.

For the first time in a long while, the four of them shared a bed; Li Luo lay in the center, while Ying Chanxi curled sideways against him.

Yan Zhusheng also found a comfortable spot nestled in Li Luo's arms, while Xu Youyu looked utterly drained, sighing deeply as she collapsed onto the bed.

She had been thoroughly bullied by Li Luo in the bathroom and was now too exhausted to move, wanting only to sleep.

Li Luo himself had no extra thoughts—he had already exceeded his energy budget today and needed to conserve his strength.

Ying Chanxi also thought little of it, simply leaning against Li Luo and whispering small topics.

Yan Zhusheng, curious about what Ying Chanxi had done on her birthday yesterday, joined in, asking questions left and right.

Li Luo answered each one, but whenever Ying Chanxi felt embarrassed by something he said, she quickly reached over to cover his mouth.

But upon hearing that both of them had worn their junior high uniforms the night before, Yan Zhusheng suddenly became excited, her mind already turning to plans.

Her eyes darted as she recalled where she had packed away her high school uniform.

At this moment, Xu Youyu's strength had slightly recovered; she no longer felt so tired and finally rolled onto her side, resting her chin on Ying Chanxi's shoulder as she asked Li Luo curiously: "Isn't your new book about to launch? Your old one's nearing its end too, right?"

"Yeah," Li Luo nodded. "Today's the 15th. By month's end, Night Watch of Great Qian will conclude, and on April 1st, The End of the Sequence will launch."

"How are the numbers on your books right now?" Xu Youyu asked again.

"Night Watch of Great Qian has already hit 120,000 average subscriptions," Li Luo said. "Since breaking past 100,000, its growth rate has actually accelerated compared to the past few months."

This was probably some kind of bandwagon effect.

The 100,000 average subscription milestone had been heavily promoted by Qidian for a long time, with substantial promotional resources invested.

Any reader who had downloaded the Qidian app had almost certainly seen or heard of Night Watch of Great Qian.

Even if they originally thought it wasn't their taste, seeing it break past 100,000 subscriptions made them curious enough to take a peek.

For many readers, reading fixed genres had become a habit, causing most to only pick books from a few specific genres.

They rarely actively broke beyond genre boundaries to explore something they normally wouldn't read.

For example, Li Luo himself hardly ever read historical fiction; what he had read before were all alternate-history stories.

But if a 100,000-average-subscription historical novel suddenly appeared, Li Luo would definitely go take a look.

And often, it was precisely this kind of beginning that led readers who normally avoided such genres to expand beyond their usual reading boundaries.

In reality, as long as the plot is compelling, genre restrictions aren't that obvious.

But most works simply lack a trigger that draws in readers from outside their usual circles.

Authors have their comfort zones, but readers do too.

The better an author's reputation and success, the more likely other readers are to voluntarily break out of their own reading comfort zones to try their work.

Night Watch of Great Qian's continued growth efficiency after surpassing 100,000 subscriptions is closely tied to these factors.

The Night Watch of Great Qian's ability to maintain such growth efficiency after surpassing one hundred thousand average subscriptions is inseparable from these factors.

"For the new book, I already have over 50,000 paid follow-reads," Li Luo added.

"What? Really?!" Xu Youyu's eyes widened in shock, her mouth hanging open as she struggled to speak. "My book's almost done and I only have 25,000 average subscriptions—you're already double that in your new book's early stage!"

"It's just a combination of factors," Li Luo laughed. "After all, I have two books running simultaneously."

"Night Watch of Great Qian's current four-hour follow-read data is around 60,000 to 70,000."

"I Am Really Not a Star has been steadily holding around 20,000-plus follow-reads."

"Even with overlap, at least 70,000 to 80,000 readers are reading my books every day."

"And even with that, The End of the Sequence has only 50,000 follow-reads—many of whom haven't even read my old books—so the conversion rate is actually pretty decent."

Xu Youyu wanted to roll her eyes at him; she felt the gap between her and Li Luo in online novels was growing wider by the day.

When her previous book, Literary Era, ended, it had around 15,000 average subscriptions; now it's over 20,000.

Her current book, Gu Dao Changqing, with 25,000 average subscriptions, ranks among the top twenty currently serialized on Qidian.

Last year, her selection as a Grandmaster author was fully deserved.

But compared to Li Luo, the difference was glaring.

Even his earliest book, I Am Really Not a Star, now has over 70,000 average subscriptions.

For a cultural entertainment novel, this was absurd—especially since the book has been running for nearly four years and is approaching eight million words.

To still have 70,000 average subscriptions was terrifying.

Other cultural entertainment authors on Qidian couldn't even come close.

After all, no one else could create songs and films that went viral in the real world.

If someone had that ability, who the hell would still write online novels?

So long ago, the online novel circle had already declared I Am Really Not a Star the undisputed #1 cultural entertainment masterpiece.

Unprecedented, and unlikely to be surpassed.

This 70,000-average-subscription power was truly Chongran's due.

Then there was Li Luo's other book with the worst paper performance, Little Joys, which totaled only 700,000 to 800,000 words and, during its original serialization on Qidian, relied entirely on traffic from I Am Really Not a Star readers to scrape up a mere 3,000 average subscriptions as a quality work.

But after the Little Joys TV series aired, over seven or eight months later, its average subscriptions had risen steadily—by the time university started last year, it had already hit 10,000.

Now it has over 18,000 average subscriptions, not far from 20,000.

Keep in mind, the book's content didn't even meet the typical online novel audience's standards; its later success was entirely due to TV series traffic.

Although its numbers still lag behind Xu Youyu's two books, at Wenxue Group, it had already won countless awards.

Every so often, they notified Li Luo to go collect another prize.

Sure, they were all obscure awards from unknown organizations, but they still counted as proof.

In short, Little Joys didn't need these awards—but the awards themselves carried the name of Wenxue Group.

Although they were just some random awards from who-knows-where, they still counted as proof.

Put plainly, "Little Joys" didn't need these awards, but the awards that had been launched bore the name of "

The book "Little Joy" is a very important matter.

This alone is enough to demonstrate the value of "Little Joy."

After that came "Night Watch of Great Qian," the true work that made Li Luo a Platinum Author.

An undisputed breakout hit.

It broke the subscription limit on Qidian's main site, becoming the first novel to surpass 100,000 average subscriptions.

Today, its average subscription stands at a full 120,000—Xu Youyu is merely a fraction of Li Luo's numbers.

His new novel, "The End of the Sequence," has only been out for less than a month, yet paid serial reads have already surpassed 50,000.

If this trend continues, by the time it officially launches, the book will likely break the 100,000 average subscription threshold even faster than "Night Watch of Great Qian."

If the film and television rights to "Night Watch of Great Qian" are sold again—

Xu Youyu, thinking of this, couldn't help but sigh.

If things continue along this path, Li Luo truly will be the treasure that Wenxue Group fears to drop.

Yet Li Luo clearly feels little real sense of accomplishment from these achievements.

After briefly summarizing his current success, he brought up again what he had mentioned earlier to Xu Youyu in the study.

"Don't forget about the Motorhome," Li Luo said to Xu Youyu. "This weekend, take some time to go with me to the factory and talk directly with the designers."

"Got it," Xu Youyu replied, her face lighting up with anticipation.

Ying Chanxi, sitting between them, asked curiously: "What Motorhome?"

"It's the birthday gift Li Luo prepared for me," Xu Youyu said, lifting her chin slightly with quiet pride, wrapping her arms around Ying Chanxi's shoulders. "He specifically reached out to a Motorhome manufacturer to customize one just for us."

"By the way, when we travel, you two should come too—Chenxi and Zhusheng, join us on weekends?"

"Share your ideas now, so the design and layout won't disappoint us later."

After hearing Xu Youyu's words, Ying Chanxi nodded in understanding, then thought carefully: "I don't really have any specific requirements. You say that, and I can't think of anything right away."

"Didn't we use a Motorhome twice before?" Li Luo reminded her. "After using it, did you notice any design features that felt uncomfortable?"

"I thought it was fine," Ying Chanxi recalled, remembering only how she had secretly helped Li Luo while sleeping beside him in the vehicle.

Thinking of it, her cheeks flushed slightly.

"Can the space be a bit more spacious?" Yan Zhusheng leaned in to ask. "Sister's small, so she wouldn't notice, but sometimes I can't even stretch my legs out in the car."

"That's something I wanted to mention too," Li Luo mused. "I've watched plenty of Motorhome videos—I think the kitchen inside is pretty useless. Just keep a fridge space."

"After all, when we travel and visit attractions, we'll mostly eat local food. No need to cook ourselves."

"If we ever end up somewhere with no food, we can just camp outdoors and use a portable stove to cook outside the vehicle."

We could even order takeout right from inside the car.

Cooking inside the vehicle, Li Luo felt, was unnecessary.

We could save that space entirely and use it to expand the bathroom and living area.

The bed doesn't need to be bigger—both the head bed and cross bed are enough for four people.

At this point, Xu Youyu also pitched her idea, eager to speak: "If that's the case, what if we put the bathroom at the rear?"

"Then redesign the living area into one that can lift up into a bed surface."

"That way, at night, when the living area becomes a bed and connects with the middle cross bed, all four of us can sleep together."

Li Luo, hearing this, couldn't help but laugh and groan: "So if we do that, when we need to use the bathroom, we'll have to climb over a bed?"

"If we make it a vertical bed by the window, connecting it to the living area bed won't help at all."

"Unless we redesign the cross bed too—make it split open in the middle to form a passage, then lower the panels at night to form one whole bed."

"That makes sense," Xu Youyu snapped her fingers, nodding in agreement with Li Luo's idea. "But no rush—we can discuss this with the designer this weekend."

"I remember there's also a design where the roof can lift up. After parking at a Motorhome campsite, you raise the roof to create a second-floor space."

"Then we could sleep right on the second floor—whole vehicle area, plenty for all four of us."

"That works too," Li Luo nodded. "Let's talk about it this weekend."

With that, the four began discussing their future travel plans.

At this point, Yan Zhusheng said: "Mom's still working these two months, but once she starts showing, she'll have to stop appearing in public."

"Then Dad will probably send her to a specialized hospital in Qiongzhou City to rest during her pregnancy."

"Why not make that our travel's final destination?"

Hearing this, Li Luo calculated carefully. According to Yuan Wanqing's words, she was now one and a half months pregnant.

By the time this summer vacation ends, she'll be about seven and a half months along.

By then, she'll likely be very pregnant—if we have time, we really should go visit her.

Xu Youyu beside him nodded: "Good idea. Then let's set off during summer vacation, starting from Yuhang City and traveling along the coast."

"Taking a ferry to Qiongzhou City won't be a problem."

"This year, let's do it like this. Next winter break, or next year—no, every year from now on, we'll pick a route and take the Motorhome on a trip!"

"Great," Ying Chanxi, who loved traveling and especially loved taking photos, nodded eagerly, her face bright with anticipation. "I'll start planning our routes these next few months."

"I'll help you~" Xu Youyu nuzzled against Ying Chanxi's cheek, grinning. "I'll just handle which local foods we eat—route planning's all yours, Chenxi."

"I'll handle singing while you drive," Yan Zhusheng leaned in. "Sister, you do the planning."

"You're not lifting a finger," Ying Chanxi shot her sister a disgruntled glance.

"Sister, you're the capable one," Yan Zhusheng said. "By the way, if you ever get pregnant, won't you have to go to Qiongzhou City early to rest like Mom? Then it'll just be me and Youyu accompanying Li Luo on the Motorhome trip."

At Yan Zhusheng's reminder, Ying Chanxi's expression changed instantly. She blushed, then muttered shyly and irritably: "H-how could that happen—don't say nonsense."

"So you don't want to have Li Luo's baby?"

"That's not what I meant!" Ying Chanxi glared at her, quickly reaching out to cover her mouth.

Yan Zhusheng immediately ducked behind Li Luo's other side, clinging to his arm: "Li Luo, look—Sister's being mean to me."

"It was you who accused me first!" Ying Chanxi pouted angrily.

"Alright, alright." Li Luo chuckled helplessly as he pulled Ying Chanxi into his arms. "If you really are pregnant, I'll drop the motorhome trip and accompany you straight to Qiongzhou City to rest."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu's face fell at these words. "It's all your fault, Xixi—why didn't you wear protection last night? Don't ever skip it again."

"I didn't mean to—" Ying Chanxi, seeing Xu Youyu's disappointment, felt a twinge of guilt and muttered softly, "It was just uncontrollable at the time—"

"Then let me be uncontrollable with Youyu too," Yan Zhusheng blinked and leaned in again. "Let's see who gets lucky and hits the mark on the first try."

"Do you think this is a soccer penalty kick?" Ying Chanxi snapped. "Go back to sleep and stop talking nonsense."

"You're so mean, sister."

"You're the one who speaks without thinking."

"At least I don't skip protection in bed."

"You—" Ying Chanxi glared at her in fury.

Yan Zhusheng stuck out her tongue silently in retaliation.

Xu Youyu chuckled from the side, watching the drama unfold.

"Alright, enough," Li Luo quickly intervened, hugging both girls and kissing each on the lips, finally calming them down.

Then Xu Youyu leaned over Ying Chanxi, blinking innocently. "What about me? You're only focused on Xixi and Zhusheng—you don't even think of me."

"How could that be?" Li Luo leaned in and kissed Xu Youyu's lips, then pinched her cheek with a smile. "Time to sleep. Morning run tomorrow?"

"Goodbye," Xu Youyu instantly rolled over and buried herself under the covers. "If you dare wake me up tomorrow morning, I'll—"

"You'll what?"

"I—I'll bite you to death!"

"Why does Youyu get a reward?" Yan Zhusheng asked.

"What reward?" Ying Chanxi frowned, then realized—her face flushed as she shot Yan Zhusheng a glance. "What kind of filth is in your head?"

"I learned it from reading Youyu's books."

"From now on, when we're out, don't tell anyone you've read my books," Xu Youyu poked her head out from under the covers, scowling at Yan Zhusheng.

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently. "Then I'll say I learned it from reading Li Luo's books."

"So now I'm the scapegoat?" Li Luo stared blankly, but still pushed Yan Zhusheng's head back onto the pillow. "Enough talking. Sleep now."

"Sleep, sleep," Ying Chanxi was already half-asleep; after all that talking, her eyelids were drooping. She snuggled into Li Luo's arms. "Goodnight~"

"Goodnight."

"Nighty-night~"

"Goodnight—"