Chapter 918

After the first family dinner following the revelation, Li Luo's life returned to its usual calm, once again highly regular.

Every morning upon waking, he would wake up the three girls, and the four of them would go together to Qianjiang University for the Sunshine Long Run, taking Xu Youyu along to log his running counts.

Afterward, they'd head to the Qingxi Dormitory cafeteria for breakfast, then Xu Youyu would immediately return to his room for a nap.

If Li Luo and the other two had morning classes, they'd go to their respective lectures; if not, they'd go to the company.

Although Ying Chanxi could handle everything at the company on her own, ever since Li Luo tried helping once, he fully understood how hard she worked.

So whenever he had free time, he'd voluntarily come over to lend a hand.

Even something as simple as buying Ying Chanxi a milk tea, some fruit, or a small surprise was better than leaving her alone at the company all the time.

As for Yan Zhusheng, she was just tagging along for fun.

But she was now a minor celebrity of sorts, and the employees at the company were quite pleased to see her.

Especially since Yan Zhusheng had no airs about her, treated the female staff kindly, and had collected no small number of photos with them.

Yuan Wanqing has now officially flown to Qiongzhou City to spend her pregnancy there and will not appear in public again until after the baby is born.

Originally, Yuan Wanqing had planned to transfer some variety show resources to Yan Zhusheng for her to try.

But Yan Zhusheng had no interest in appearing on variety shows; seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Li Luo politely declined, thinking it was fine this way.

In fact, Li Luo had never intended to give the new song to Yan Zhusheng in the first place—he didn't want her to become too famous, just keeping her at the level of a small internet celebrity was enough.

But plans change; what could be done? Yuan Wanqing was pregnant.

Fortunately, singing alone didn't make much of a difference.

After all, most listeners rarely cared who the singer actually was.

It was normal for the song to be more popular than the singer.

As for variety shows and such, Yan Zhusheng wouldn't be participating.

On one hand, Yan Zhusheng herself wasn't interested; on the other, they feared she might say something inappropriate.

But Yan Zhusheng wasn't completely idle at the company—Ying Chanxi assigned her specific tasks, nothing difficult, just watching the new videos.

The company had assigned someone specifically to cut weekly clips of Yan Zhusheng's livestreams, mainly focusing on singing segments and interesting interactions.

As the host herself, Yan Zhusheng would review the clips, confirm they were correct, and only then would the staff upload them to a dedicated small account for Yan Zhusheng's livestream clips.

This small account now had hundreds of thousands of followers; many fans who missed the live broadcasts loved coming here to catch up.

After finishing work at the company or attending morning classes, Li Luo and the others usually ate and did activities together with their roommates.

Afternoon classes followed.

When Li Luo had free time, he'd wander over to Xu Rongsheng's office.

Sometimes, if he couldn't find Xu Rongsheng in his office, he'd head straight to the Research Center—and he'd always find him there.

The Research Center had been preliminarily established, but everything was still in its early stages.

To truly get it running, it seemed they'd have to wait until next semester.

Although the next Dean election was still two years away, it sounded like a long time, but in reality, it was extremely urgent—Xu Rongsheng didn't have much time left.

Other faculty members in the college, upon hearing Xu Rongsheng had started the Research Center, were surprised he'd only begun now, but internally they all thought his chances were slim, and the other Vice Dean had higher priority for the election.

Li Luo wasn't sure whether it would succeed—he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Xu Rongsheng, however, remained calm; his mindset was peaceful, neither rushed nor anxious. Whenever Li Luo came to visit, he'd slowly put down what he was doing and brew a pot of tea.

He'd pour one cup for Li Luo, one for himself, then sit down and chat with him casually.

Ever since that one argument with Xu Rongsheng about marriage, Li Luo didn't know why, but he'd grown increasingly fond of chatting with Xu Rongsheng.

Talking with Xu Rongsheng was comfortable—no matter what he said, Xu Rongsheng could always pick up the thread and offer surprising new perspectives, expanding his imagination and boundaries.

Conversely, Xu Rongsheng also enjoyed chatting with Li Luo, because he noticed Li Luo's progress was astonishingly rapid.

And every time he casually mentioned a book or material to Li Luo, the next time they met, Li Luo could recite it flawlessly.

This gave Xu Rongsheng a strong sense of accomplishment, as if he were mentoring an exceptionally gifted student.

As a result, their conversations didn't feel like those between a father-in-law and son-in-law, but rather like those between old friends of different generations—easily and naturally flowing.

Generally, if he had no afternoon classes, Li Luo would either drink tea with Xu Rongsheng or go to the company to see Ying Chanxi.

By evening, they'd return home and have dinner together with the three girls.

After dinner came the four of them's leisure time.

Playing mahjong, singing, or watching a movie together.

If they gave Butler Liu advance notice, they could prepare the rooftop pool and throw an open-air party up there.

Sometimes, on a whim, they'd play an intense and exciting game of flying chess in the first-floor living room.

Or they'd simply sit together, watching TV—also fine.

Occasionally, Xu Youyu would invite Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng to the study, each with their own computer, and enjoy a fun gaming session.

After gaming, they'd sit on chairs, or on the sofa, or even lie on the floor, petting the cat, chatting, teasing each other.

Until around nine at night, it was Li Luo and Xu Youyu's work time.

Li Luo wrote, while Xu Youyu prepared his new book.

Since fully escaping the depths of the later stages of "Gu Dao Changqing," these past few months had been Xu Youyu's most comfortable period.

Preparing a new book was, after all, the happiest phase for any author.

In this phase, the author could freely let their imagination run wild, continuously brainstorming all sorts of plot ideas they found interesting.

No need to consider whether it was reasonable or logically sound—just make it as fun as possible.

Once enough material and inspiration had been scattered, they'd begin slowly unraveling and piecing together the main storyline and framework.

Little by little, outlining the book's silhouette, settling on its theme, then formally beginning to polish its opening.

Xu Youyu was the type of writer who thrived on inspiration, and he loved nothing more than this state of emptying his mind and letting it wander freely.

When a flash of inspiration struck, he'd quickly jot it down, then continue drifting through the boundless sea of emptiness.

Many times, Xu Youyu was just entertaining herself—watching anime, movies, and playing games.

But now, the anime, movies, and even games she chose were the ones she usually wasn't interested in.

She only took the time to look at them because these works might contain content she needed and could use later.

Li Luo understood this well.

After all, in her previous life, Xu Youyu had talked to him about this very thing.

For such matters, Xu Youyu was still willing to give them a try.

Because often, though certain works initially bored her, after sticking with a few episodes, she'd become completely immersed.

Only after finishing them did she realize it wasn't that she disliked them—she'd simply disliked the information conveyed by their packaging.

So when creating her own works, she needed to pay special attention to this point.

A work needs not only excellent quality but also clear positioning, understanding of its audience, and careful packaging and promotion that doesn't send the audience misleading signals.

Otherwise, the work's potential would be greatly diminished.

One can only say that successful people all have their own reasons for success.

Xu Youyu had become a Grandmaster in her previous life thanks to her talent—clearly because she was simply outstanding.

Even while preparing her new book, Xu Youyu still loved slacking off.

She'd keep slacking until just before midnight, when Li Luo finished writing, then take her upstairs to bathe and return to bed for a sweet sleep, welcoming a brand-new day.

But today was slightly different.

"Tomorrow's your birthday," Li Luo said, stretching after finishing his writing, turning to Xu Youyu. "The manufacturer said the motorhome will be ready for pickup this afternoon. After you get it, is there anything you want to do?"

"When Xi Xi had her birthday, you spent a whole day alone with her, right?" Xu Youyu, who had been sitting cross-legged, propped her hands on her shins, turned her head, and smiled at him. "My request is simple too."

"Spending a whole day alone with you?"

"Exactly~" Xu Youyu hummed. "And you have to spend it alone with me—in the motorhome."

"Sure," Li Luo chuckled. "But where do you want to go? You won't get far in one day."

"That doesn't matter," Xu Youyu shook her head. "Even if we just park on a highway, it's fine."

"Then it's up to the Birthday Person," Li Luo pointed to the time. "It's already midnight. Happy birthday."

」

"The Birthday Person is tired and doesn't want to walk," Xu Youyu shut her computer, stretched her arms and legs out on the chair, and coaxed Li Luo. "Hurry up and carry me upstairs to bathe."

"Got it," Li Luo walked over and easily lifted her into his arms. "Any other orders for the Birthday Person?"

"I feel like soaking in a hot spring," Xu Youyu wrapped her legs tightly around Li Luo, grinning. "Soak in hot water, eat fruit, and if I could have a cocktail too, that'd be perfect."

"No problem," Li Luo said, carrying Xu Youyu to the master bathroom, turning on the hot spring water, then letting her shower first.

He went downstairs to prepare fruit and mix cocktails.

When he returned to the third-floor bathroom, he placed the drinks beside the hot spring pool, then stepped into the shower with her and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Does the Birthday Person need a back rub?"

"Sure."

"What about here?"

"Mmm~ also… okay————"

"What about here?"

"Mmm————"

After the shower left her limp, the hot spring water was nearly full.

Li Luo lifted Xu Youyu and sat her astride the hot spring pool, then pressed a button on the wall; a small platform slowly rose from the center.

This design was copied from the villa in Qiongzhou City.

Placing the prepared fruit and cocktail on the platform was, indeed, quite practical.

"Nice, nice, hehe~" Xu Youyu leaned comfortably against the edge, soaking in the hot spring, lifting a grape to her mouth.

The two lingered in the hot spring for a long while, finishing the fruit and the cocktail, before finally stepping out, rinsing off briefly, and returning to bed.

The next morning, after finishing her morning run, Xu Youyu unusually didn't go back to her room to nap.

With a smile, she reported to her two good sisters, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, then drove off with Li Luo's arm in hers.

——

"So, where are we going first?" Xu Youyu asked.

"Home first."

"Huh?"

"Not back to Sky Ridge Elegant Residence."

Li Luo smiled and took Xu Youyu back to Bihai Lanting.

He pulled out the key to 1201, took her hand, and opened the door.

Because Butler Liu had always arranged for cleaning staff to come, Bihai Lanting remained exceptionally clean.

Xu Youyu followed Li Luo inside; after months away, the place felt unfamiliar, but seeing the familiar furnishings unchanged, she quickly felt at home again.

"Why did you think of coming here?" Xu Youyu grinned.

"It's where we spent three wonderful years together," Li Luo said, holding her hand as he led her to her room. "And it holds some of our most precious memories."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu blushed faintly—she recalled that sensual night, and couldn't help smiling.

"Let's sleep first and recharge," Li Luo gave her firm buttock a light pat. "Or you'll be too tired to drive the motorhome this afternoon."

"I know~" Xu Youyu said, but didn't let go of his hand—instead, she pulled him onto the bed with her. "You sleep with me."

"Mm," Li Luo didn't refuse. He lay beside her, gazing at the ceiling—strangely familiar yet slightly alien—and soon fell asleep.

When he woke again, it was already ten in the morning.

Li Luo accompanied Xu Youyu downstairs to buy groceries at the nearby market, planning to cook dinner himself for the Birthday Person.

As they went downstairs, Xu Youyu smiled and said, "Do you remember? Our first meeting was probably at the gate of this community, wasn't it?"

"Back then, I was meeting Chanxi inside the house, while you and Zhao Rongjun went to school to play basketball, and Chanxi called you back to help buy groceries."

"That's when I took the chance while you were cooking to ask Chanxi for your QQ number—and I found out it was the same as the one the editor gave me for Chongran. I was stunned."