Chapter 926: Rebirth

The thrilling, intimate night in the motorhome had passed.

The next morning, Li Luo woke up in the bedroom on the second floor of the motorhome, turned his head to look at Xu Youyu, who was sprawled atop him, then glanced at the scenery beyond the transparent small bed, a happy smile spreading across his face.

He pinched Xu Youyu's sleeping cheek, leaned in and kissed her, then carefully pried her arms and legs off him.

After re-covering Xu Youyu with the blanket, Li Luo climbed down from the second-floor entrance to the first floor, closed the entrance door, and stretched out in the vehicle.

Looking at the mess inside the motorhome, Li Luo recalled the wildness of last night, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Stepping out of the motorhome, he did a few simple stretches, locked the vehicle door, and headed up the trail leading into the hills from the campsite.

Using hiking as his morning run, he exercised on the mountain, and after descending, ate breakfast at a nearby diner, then brought back a portion for Xu Youyu.

When he returned to the motorhome and climbed back up to the second floor, Li Luo woke Xu Youyu, had her lean against his chest, and made her eat the breakfast quietly.

"Still tired?" Li Luo asked after she finished eating.

"Mm." Xu Youyu nodded weakly, then asked, "Did you go for a morning run?"

"No, I went hiking," Li Luo said, kissing her forehead, "then had breakfast."

"Oh." Xu Youyu murmured, pulled back under the covers, and lay there lazily.

"Aren't you getting up?"

"How can you even ask?" Xu Youyu grumbled under the covers, "You wore me out so much yesterday—I'm dead tired."

"Then sleep some more," Li Luo chuckled, "I'll go downstairs and clean up."

Saying that, Li Luo returned to the entrance, climbed down, and casually slapped Xu Youyu's firm buttocks.

Xu Youyu grunted like a piglet, gave him a light kick, and went back to sleep.

Li Luo went downstairs, cleaned up the mess from last night, tidied the outdoor barbecue grill, put it back inside the vehicle, then folded up the outdoor canopy.

Once the motorhome was ready to depart at any moment, Li Luo picked up the collected trash and walked to a nearby recycling station to dispose of it.

When he returned to the motorhome and checked the time, it was only just past eight in the morning.

Xu Youyu wouldn't wake up anytime soon, so Li Luo took out his laptop, sat down in the first-floor dining area, and squeezed in some writing.

More than two months have passed since The End of the Sequence was published; its average subscription growth has gradually slowed, but still remains far ahead of any other novel.

Now, The End of the Sequence's average subscriptions have reached 120,000; at this rate, it won't be long before it surpasses the final numbers of Night Watch of Great Qian.

What frustrates other authors is that, due to The End of the Sequence's strong performance, combined with Night Watch of Great Qian occasionally releasing a side chapter,

Li Luo's three novels have remained in the top ten of the bestseller list since then, never dropping out.

Back in April, at its peak, the top three books on the entire site were all Li Luo's.

Night Watch of Great Qian was ranked first after its completion.

The End of the Sequence debuted with 60,000 subscriptions upon release, with consistent updates, ranking second.

I Am Really Not a Star averaged over 70,000 subscriptions; though it only posted 4,000 words daily, it experienced a small surge at the time because Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng's album had just launched, pushing it to third place.

Even now, in June, The End of the Sequence has taken over the top spot from Night Watch of Great Qian.

I Am Really Not a Star still hovers in the top five, occasionally slipping a few ranks but always staying between third and eighth.

Night Watch of Great Qian often ranks ninth or tenth; sometimes it drops out, but immediately climbs back up after a side chapter is released.

No author isn't envious of these results.

Especially after Night Watch of Great Qian's film and television rights were sold, and Tencent Video publicly announced project preparations—authors were utterly envious and jealous.

Now, relying on the contract signed earlier with Tencent Video, Li Luo received a portion of investment shares; last month, he completed the exchange and acquired part of Huayue Film and Television's equity.

Li Luo is no longer just a partner of Huayue Film and Television—he has become someone who can attend Huayue Film and Television's board meetings.

But he doesn't hold the shares personally alone; they're split into two parts: one held personally by him, the other held under the name of Chongran Culture.

So normally, Li Luo doesn't attend Huayue Film and Television's board meetings; Ying Chanxi attends them as CEO of Chongran Culture.

From April until now, two months have passed, and many things have happened.

After finishing his writing, Li Luo didn't wait for Xu Youyu to wake up; he sat by the motorhome window, gazing outside, and recalled the past.

Xu Rongsheng's Research Center has already launched part of its operations; originally, Jian Chun was only meant to be a figurehead, but Li Luo's aunt proved highly capable and helped immensely.

By the second half of this year, the Research Center will officially begin operations, and the Chongran Rongyin Student Aid Fund will also launch officially.

One part is poverty-student scholarships, just like before: any impoverished student in the College of Liberal Arts who meets the criteria can apply.

The other part is a dedicated scholarship for the Research Center: any student participating in its research projects and performing exceptionally well can apply.

Students who receive this scholarship may, before graduating with their bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees, choose to sign employment contracts with Chongran Culture.

This also serves as a talent pipeline for Chongran Culture.

Honestly, science and engineering students from Qianjiang University would most likely not choose a small company like Chongran Culture.

But for liberal arts students, Qianjiang University graduates don't have much advantage—they can only rely on their diplomas to compete for positions that don't require specialized expertise.

Under these circumstances, Chongran Culture, a company founded by Qianjiang University alumni and similar to an MCN, offering training as an internet influencer and resource support, appears quite attractive.

After all, many MCN agencies on the market are terrible; even Li Luo's contract, which isn't particularly outstanding, is still far better than most MCN companies out there.

But that's not Li Luo's concern—he leaves it to Ying Chanxi to handle.

Li Luo only checks for promising talents and helps plan their video style and content.

In his past life, he used to scroll through TikTok all day, especially when researching Short Drama, where he often scoured TikTok for inspiration.

Now, whenever he wants, he can search his Memory Palace and find reference models for any type of influencer.

The most difficult part of the internet—content—is the cheapest thing for Li Luo.

Moreover, students who graduate from Qianjiang University, no matter what, have far better personal qualities than ordinary people.

Combined with Chongran Culture's superior contracts compared to other MCN companies, there won't be too many problems.

Even if, in the future, they cultivate a major influencer who insists on going solo and refuses to be exploited by the company, Li Luo doesn't mind—he just wants a clean parting.

Thinking of this, Li Luo pulled out his phone and scrolled through TikTok, and happened upon Xu Yinghuan and Zhao Rongjun's couple account.

Xu Yinghuan has now managed this account for over half a year; after Li Luo gave her some initial suggestions, she has since developed a video framework perfectly suited to the two of them.

A fan base of a hundred thousand is quite substantial, and the monthly income is never insignificant.

This semester, Zhao Rongjun also took his developed software system to the Dandelion Innovation Competition and won second prize—it's pretty impressive.

At Li Luo's urging, Zhao Rongjun teamed up with a senior he'd previously collaborated with to form a small studio, continuing to refine the software while beginning development of other campus applications.

During this time, Xu Yinghuan took on the role of marketing director for the studio—effectively the only one—and she dragged Zhao Rongjun all over Yuhang City's universities.

Thanks to her sales efforts, she actually sold over a dozen copies of the software, earning the studio a good deal of money.

Xu Rongsheng had helped facilitate some connections, but Xu Yinghuan's own efforts were no less significant.

Watching the young couple work hard to build their business, Li Luo felt deeply satisfied.

Though it was tough on Qiao Xinyan—

Ever since her confession plan died in the womb, Qiao Xinyan had barely contacted Zhao Rongjun.

Although she still attended group meals, in daily activities, Qiao Xinyan mostly stuck with Ying Chanxi, and her relationship with Xu Yinghuan gradually grew distant.

Xu Yinghuan probably sensed something, so she said nothing more, quietly accepting the state of their relationship.

For Li Luo, no matter which girl Zhao Rongjun ultimately chose, he would support him.

Just don't learn from him and try to keep two at once.

After all, he himself had used all his strength to get things to this point.

With Zhao Rongjun's personality, if he truly got stuck between two, he'd likely end up in a miserable mess.

This way is fine.

After scrolling through videos of Xu Yinghuan and Zhao Rongjun for a while, Li Luo was lost in thought when he heard movement above.

By the time he turned his head, Xu Youyu had already climbed down from the second floor.

"Sleep well?"

"Mm." Xu Youyu, still half-asleep, murmured and walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

After washing up, she returned to the living-dining area, plopped down on Li Luo's lap, and hugged his neck. "Going home now?"

"Mm—sort of."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?"

"Going to another home." Li Luo smiled, then took Xu Youyu's hand to the front of the motorhome, got into the driver's seat, started the vehicle, and drove toward Jincheng Community.

Li Luo kept her guessing until they arrived at Jincheng Community, when Xu Youyu finally realized.

"Why are we here?" Xu Youyu asked, watching Li Luo drive through the community gate. "Isn't this your house?"

Come to think of it, during high school for three years and university for one, Xu Youyu had never actually been to Li Luo's home.

Yan Zhusheng had visited a few times, but Xu Youyu had never come—though she went every year to the countryside.

"You've never been here before. Today I'm taking you for a meal," Li Luo said casually, parked the motorhome, got out, walked to the passenger side, and waved to Xu Youyu.

Xu Youyu opened the door, stepped out, followed Li Luo into the stairwell, and climbed up to the fourth floor, glancing curiously around.

This is your place, and across the hall is Xi Xi's home, right?

"Right."

"Aww, I'm so jealous," Xu Youyu giggled. "Why don't I have a childhood friend like that?"

"So you want a childhood friend?"

"I want you to be my childhood friend," Xu Youyu hummed, following Li Luo into the apartment. "Why did you think to bring me here? Are your parents home?"

"Not sure if they're home," Li Luo said, already slipping on slippers and looking around. "Looks like they left early—Dad's probably at the hotpot restaurant, Mom's either at the mahjong parlor across the street or went to visit your mom."

"No one's here," Xu Youyu said, pulling out a pair of pink slippers from the shoe cabinet. "Can I wear these?"

"Wait." Li Luo stopped her, pulled out a pair of pale yellow slippers from another cabinet, and handed them to her. "Wear these."

"What's the difference?" Xu Youyu asked, puzzled.

"Those are Xi Xi's," Li Luo smiled. "These are yours."

"? You have your own slippers?" Xu Youyu blinked, slipped on the pale yellow pair. "You're not just grabbing any pair to fool me, are you?"

"My mom bought them all on purpose," Li Luo said. "Xi Xi always wore the pink ones. When Yan Zhusheng came a few times, Mom just bought matching pairs for both of you—the white one over there is Zhusheng's."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Xu Youyu stepped into the living room wearing her exclusive pale yellow slippers. "These slippers must've been bought a long time ago—and I only just got to wear them now."

"Just wear them," Li Luo said, watching her step in the slippers, a nostalgic expression crossing his face, then a smile.

He took Xu Youyu on a tour of the apartment, explaining each room's function, after which she disappeared into his bedroom and didn't come out.

"Hehe, it's all your scent," Xu Youyu burrowed under his covers, sniffing.

Li Luo sighed deeply, watching Xu Youyu lying on the bed.

"Why sigh?"

"Nothing. Just really happy."

"Who ever expresses happiness by sighing?"

"Can't I? That's just how I am." Li Luo laughed, leaned forward, and pinned Xu Youyu to the bed.

"No—what if your parents suddenly come back?"

"So what?"

"You're so naughty~" Xu Youyu whimpered, not resisting, but Li Luo didn't go further—only climbed onto the bed and held her.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Just hold you for a while."

"Didn't you get too tired last night? Can't you anymore?"

"Heh—just don't beg me to stop."

They wrestled a bit more, both breathing heavily.

Xu Youyu leaned against Li Luo's chest, thinking how this room was where he'd grown up—and it felt thrilling.

"What are we having for lunch? I'm a bit hungry."

"I already decided—I'll go buy the groceries."

"What dishes?"

"Maple Tofu, potato stewed with beef brisket, garlic sprouts stir-fried with twice-cooked pork, and a tomato and egg drop soup, plus two small bottles of wine."