Chapter 98: My Mom Wants to Invite You to Dinner

"The contract has two copies; keep this one."

In the piano room, Yan Zhusheng accepted one copy of the contract: "The payment should arrive in one or two weeks; just watch for the bank notification."

"Mm." Li Luo nodded in satisfaction.

He hadn't expected that a single theme song would earn the company eighty thousand yuan.

And this wasn't a full buyout of the song's copyright—only rights related to the TV drama's theme song.

That means if anyone later wants to perform his song in profit-driven venues, like variety shows, those royalty earnings still belong to Li Luo.

"My mom said she wants to invite you to dinner when she has time," Yan Zhusheng said after finalizing the contract. "But she's been busy lately, so the timing isn't certain yet."

"Sure," Li Luo nodded, not thinking much. "Just call me when your mom's free."

"She's currently preparing a new album," Yan Zhusheng added. "And after signing your song, the company assigned her to sing the theme song, so she'll be busy for a while."

"Huh?" Li Luo paused, caught off guard. "Your mom's a singer?"

To be honest, in his previous life, Li Luo had worked at Yan Zhusheng's house for about half a year.

Later, Yan Zhusheng went abroad for heart treatment.

During that time, Li Luo never met Yan Zhusheng's mother and had no idea what she did.

"Yes," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "But she hasn't been active in the industry for a long time. She went abroad for treatment and recovery due to illness, and only recently has her health gradually improved."

"May I ask, what's your mom's name?"

"Yuan Wanqing."

"Hmm..." Li Luo thought for a moment. In his memory, there hadn't been much news about her in the past two years.

Judging by this, Yuan Wanqing's new album was probably not doing well.

"Oh, by the way, there's another thing I want to ask you," Li Luo said. "About the song 'Wait for You After Class'—could you ask your mom if anyone at the company is interested?"

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded understandingly. "Alright, I'll ask for you tomorrow."

After saying that, Yan Zhusheng sat back at the piano, then suddenly remembered something and looked up at Li Luo, whispering: "Um... Miss Luo Fei thought I wrote the song myself, so she arranged the music for free."

"Once your royalty payment comes in, could you give her a fee for the arrangement?"

"She didn't ask for it, but if you write new songs later, it'd be good to stay on good terms with her—Miss Luo Fei is really skilled at arrangement."

"How much should I usually give?" Li Luo asked.

"Not much, really," Yan Zhusheng wasn't sure. "A few thousand yuan should be enough as a token."

"Got it," Li Luo nodded. Then he heard the sound of the front door opening.

"Li Luo! Where are you?"

Ying Chanxi's voice came in: "I bought the groceries—time to cook."

"I'll go cook now. You can play the piano for a bit to pass the time."

"Alright."

Li Luo waved his hand and stepped out of the piano room.

The next moment, a melodious tune drifted from behind him.

Ying Chanxi's gaze instantly locked onto Li Luo. She stepped closer, examining his collar and face: "What were you doing in there?"

"Chatting with a guest," Li Luo grabbed Ying Chanxi's head and pulled her toward the kitchen. "Come help me cook."

"I know, let go," Ying Chanxi pouted and slapped his hand away. "Don't touch my hair—it'll stop me from growing taller."

"So superstitious?"

Li Luo took down an apron from the kitchen wall and handed it to Ying Chanxi.

But Ying Chanxi didn't take it with her hands—she simply bent her head and slipped it over, putting it on, then turned around and said: "Tie it for me."

The two helped each other tie their aprons and began bustling in the kitchen.

Lunch was lavish. Qiao Xinyan had never eaten food cooked by Li Luo before; she ate while marveling.

"Li Luo, were you a chef in your previous life?" Qiao Xinyan swallowed a bite and couldn't help saying. "It tastes even better than restaurant food."

Li Luo: "... As long as you think it's tasty."

After lunch, Ying Chanxi felt sleepy and dragged Qiao Xinyan back to the bedroom for a nap; the two girls snuggled on the bed.

Xu Youyu sidled up to Yan Zhusheng, hugged her, and grinned: "Zhusheng, come wash dishes with me? Let's chat."

"Oh, okay," innocent Yan Zhusheng didn't think twice. As soon as Xu Youyu invited her, she obediently went into the kitchen to help, leaving Li Luo speechless.

With the living room now empty, Zhao Rongjun felt much more comfortable—he relaxed his posture, leaning back against the sofa, no longer sitting stiffly as before.

"How about going to play basketball at school later?" Li Luo plopped down beside Zhao Rongjun, glancing at the two slender backs washing dishes in the kitchen. "What do you think?"

"Aren't you studying this afternoon?" Zhao Rongjun asked, puzzled.

"What? Are you addicted to studying now?" Li Luo glanced at him. "Didn't you used to hate studying?"

"Was I hating studying?" Zhao Rongjun's face darkened. "You were the one who lied about the numbers."

"You didn't even ask how many people there were yesterday."

"That's still concealing information—it's all your fault."

"Fine, fine," Li Luo laughed. "Then let's play basketball this afternoon and leave the four of them here."

"Isn't that a bit rude?" Zhao Rongjun whispered. "After all, I'm not the only guest."

"I think you need to adjust this habit of always putting others first," Li Luo patted his shoulder. "Besides, Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu are the hosts here—aren't they each entertaining one person? I'll just hang out with you."

Hearing this, Zhao Rongjun felt much better: "Alright then. What time should we go?"

"Let's rest for half an hour to digest," Li Luo stretched out on the sofa, then went to the piano room to fetch his guitar. He lightly plucked the strings and hummed a tune.

But soon, Ying Chanxi's bedroom door opened, and her complaint rang out: "Li Luo! Ying Chanxi and I are napping—keep it down!"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot," Li Luo sheepishly put away the guitar.

Unable to play music for relaxation, Li Luo returned with Zhao Rongjun to the main bedroom and played a two-player online browser game on the computer.

When the time was right, he got up and set out, heading out to play ball.

"Where are you two going?"

Xu Youyu, chatting with Yan Zhusheng in the living room, saw the two tying their shoes at the door and asked in confusion, "Sneaking around like that—why didn't you call us?"

"We're going to school to play basketball," Li Luo rolled his eyes at her. "Can you even play? If not, don't bother."

"Just because we can't play doesn't mean we can't watch!" Xu Youyu puffed out her chest, glaring defiantly. "Wait for us—you two. Yan Zhusheng, you coming?"

"Hmm," Yan Zhusheng nodded. She didn't care what they did; she stood up and walked toward the door. "Should we call them too?"

As she spoke, Yan Zhusheng pointed toward Ying Chanxi's bedroom.

"They're still asleep—no need to wake them," Xu Youyu shook her head, went back inside to change clothes, then returned to the door to slip on her shoes. She slapped Li Luo hard on the back. "Let's go!"