Chapter 397 [Extra Story·Yuyu] (2) Renting a girlfriend?
Ever since that day when he met the guy from the Early Sleeping Club, Li Luo found that he chatted with him more frequently.

Although the two had known each other for more than half a year, their usual communication was limited to things related to online literature and the entertainment industry.

When we are having fun, we can chat for more than an hour, but when we have nothing to do on weekdays, it is normal not to chat for several days.

But since they met in person, the two of them have obviously advanced from online friends to real friends.

As a result, the topics of daily conversation became richer.

For example, the two grew up in Yinjiang District, they went to the same junior high school, and they complained about their families' pressure to get married.

No longer limited to online literature itself.

But after that first meeting, the two never met again.

It was not until the average subscription of Li Luo's new book exceeded 6000 that the editor arranged it to be recommended in the "Daily Reading" on Friday of next week.

Li Luo finally plucked up the courage and sent Gao, the head of the early-bed club, an invitation for dinner.

【Li Luo】：Are you free this weekend?

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Yes, what's wrong?
[Li Luo]: I’m going to give a reading introduction next Friday. How about I treat you to a meal to celebrate?

[Li Luo]: Last time we met, I said I would treat you next time, but I never found the opportunity.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Sure, but why on the weekend?

【Li Luo】: What happened to the weekend?
[Going to bed early will make you taller]: You are so stupid...

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: We are full-time online writers. Others rest on weekends and go out for entertainment. Why should we go out on weekends?
【Li Luo】: So?
[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Monday.

【Li Luo】: Okay, no problem for me.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Where to eat?

[Li Luo]: Over at Yintai City?

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: OK, let’s have dinner together. I can’t get up at noon.

【Liluo】: Good.

……

Boom boom boom!
"what?"

"I'm going to the bathroom!" Lin Xiuhong shouted at the bathroom door, "What are you doing in there?"

"Can't you hear me? I'm taking a shower!"

"No..." Lin Xiuhong glanced at the time and asked in surprise, "Why are you taking a bath at 4:30 in the afternoon?"

"I'm going out soon and won't be home for dinner." Li Luo said loudly in the bathroom, "Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

"Oh, I remember." Lin Xiuhong nodded, "With whom?"

"A friend." Li Luo said, "Didn't I meet him last month? He's also a novelist."

"I have some impression..." Lin Xiuhong frowned and recalled it. It seemed to be true. Then she couldn't help asking, "Could it be a girl?"

At this moment, there was no sound in the bathroom.

Seeing that Li Luo had stopped moving, Lin Xiuhong immediately raised her eyebrows and couldn't help asking, "She's really a girl? How old is she? Where is she from?"

"You're so annoying. Why do you ask so many questions?" Li Luo responded while wiping his body after taking a shower.

"I'm just asking. It won't hurt if you tell me."

"It won't get you any more meat even if you ask." Li Luo changed into clean clothes, walked out of the bathroom, put a cell phone in his pocket, and prepared to go out.

"You little brat..." Lin Xiuhong was in a hurry to go to the toilet. Seeing Li Luo walk to the door and change his shoes quickly, she immediately complained, "It won't hurt to say it, really."

……

Yinjiang District, Metro South Station Exit C.

Li Luo came out of the subway exit and faced Yintai City on the South Station side.

It’s different from the Yintai Department Store near his home, which has almost no traffic.

Yintai City is a new landmark in Yinjiang District which was built in 2018. Like Times Tianjie to the north, it is close to the subway entrance and immediately siphoned off traffic from the entire surrounding area.

Especially near the South Station, once the weekend comes, the entire Yintai City suddenly becomes lively.

By Monday, the situation was much better.

Li Luo walked into the gate of Intime City in the evening. There were not many people coming and going, so he did not have to worry about there being no empty seats in the restaurant.

He walked into the gate closest to Exit C, looked up at the still very hot weather outside, took out his cell phone and looked at the chat history on it.

[Li Luo]: I'll be out soon and will be here around five o'clock.

【Going to bed early will make you taller】: Eh? So punctual again?
【Li Luo】: Take your time, it’s okay.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: I’m still packing!
[Li Luo]: You didn’t just get up, did you?

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: You are underestimating me a little bit! I woke up at around 3 o'clock!

【Li Luo】: But he never got up.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Shut up!

[Li Luo]: Okay, okay, I won’t dare to say anything more in front of Boss Wan Ding.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Now do you remember that I am a big subscriber of 10,000?
[Li Luo]: We were talking purely from a friend's perspective before, but suddenly I realized that there was a thick barrier between us.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Just break it (funny.JPG)

【Hedge】：……

……

After glancing at the chat history from around four o'clock, Li Luo pressed a few buttons on the phone screen and sent the latest message to the other party.

【Li Luo】: I’ve arrived.

[Go to bed early to grow taller]: So fast?! It’s not even five o’clock yet!

[Li Luo]: I'll stay at the gate near Exit C first. There's a Starbucks next to it. I'll sit inside for a while.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Haha~ It’s Starbucks again, don’t bump into me again later.

[Li Luo]: I dare not contradict the boss.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Stop calling me boss!
[Li Luo]: Go to bed early, sister!
[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Haha~ We are real friends now, so there is no need to call me by my pen name. Just call me Woyu.

【Li Luo】: There is a fishing sister.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: You really have to make me look older than you, right?

【Li Luo】: Isn’t this true?

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Humph!
[Go to bed early to grow taller]: I'm out! I'll be there soon! Five minutes!
[Li Luo]: So fast?
[Going to bed early will make you taller]: The house I rent is in the neighborhood next door. Didn’t I tell you?
【Li Luo】: This is the first time I heard of it.

[Go to bed early to grow taller]: Then wait a minute! Come out from Exit C, hurry up.

【Li Luo】: What's wrong?
[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Look at the residential area across the road to the north, the second building from right to left, the 18th floor.

Looking at the message on his phone, Li Luo walked out of Gate C with a curious look on his face and looked in the direction Xu Youyu said.

Soon, he saw a vague figure waving at him from the window of the opposite building.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Did you see it?

【里落】: I see.

[Go to bed early to grow taller]: I saw you too, haha~ I'll be down right away~
Putting away his phone, Li Luo looked towards the community opposite.

It’s a neighborhood close to the South Station subway entrance... I estimate the housing price to be around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per square meter.

This is due to the decline in housing prices in the past two years.

In the early years, when housing prices were rising most rapidly, it was normal for this place to cost more than 40,000 yuan per square meter.

Judging from the housing prices, the rent probably won’t be cheap either.

However, compared to Xu Youyu's income, it is just a drop in the bucket.

Li Luo thought so while waiting for Xu Youyu to come over, fantasizing in his mind that his next book would become a hit and the royalties from the book would be enough to buy the house here in full.

But this is just a thought.

On the contrary, Xu Youyu is quite likely to achieve this goal.

"Hello! What are you looking at?" Xu Youyu appeared behind Li Luo and patted him on the shoulder.

Li Luo turned around and looked at Xu Youyu. He was stunned for a moment, then responded: "I didn't see anything. I was wondering if you would buy a house across the street."

As he spoke, Li Luo's eyes fell on Xu Youyu. Although he had tried to control his gaze, he still couldn't help but look him up and down.

Xu Youyu was still wearing a very simple T-shirt today, with a black background and white letters on it. There was a string of English words written on it, which was distorted by Xu Youyu's plump chest. Li Luo couldn't understand what was written in English.

The lower body is a pair of light blue denim hot pants, revealing a pair of white and tender slender legs. The tight thighs look very fleshy, making people want to pinch them.

"Why buy a house?" Xu Youyu waved his hand after hearing what Li Luo said, "I still prefer to rent a house. When I get bored, I can move to another place."

"So go to bed early... um... has Sister Youyu ever moved to another place to live?" Li Luo took Xu Youyu inside and asked as they walked.

"I've always lived in Yinjiang, but I might rent a new house every few months." Xu Youyu followed Li Luo into the gate, took out his mobile phone, took a photo of the door, and then walked towards the restaurant on the fourth floor together.

"Isn't this too much trouble?"

"It's okay? It's mainly because I don't have much stuff." Xu Youyu said, "After all, most of my stuff is still at home. I only have a computer, which is more important, and two cats."

"And the cat?"

"Very cute." Xu Youyu said with a smile, "Do you like cats?"

"It's OK, but it would be a bit troublesome for me to raise it."

"That's true." Xu Youyu nodded.

"So Sister Youyu, you are so lazy, how can you still have the time to raise a cat?"

"I feel like you have a big misunderstanding of me?" Xu Youyu narrowed his eyes, glanced at him, and snorted twice, "Besides, I bought fully automatic equipment."

"For example, automatic drinking fountains, automatic cat food machines, and automatic cat litter boxes."

“Basically, it only needs to be dealt with once a week.”

"Oh." Li Luo nodded, "That's quite convenient."

The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked to the fourth floor. Li Luo took her into a restaurant called "Daoxiang Chuiyan" and found a seat by the window and sat down.

After sitting down, Xu Youyu took out his mobile phone and took a photo of the dining table.

Li Luo thought it was just because girls liked taking photos as souvenirs, so he didn't think much about it.

He also took out his mobile phone, scanned the QR code on the table, and ordered food with Xu Youyu.

After ordering about four or five dishes, Xu Youyu looked around and then at the name of the restaurant. Then he suddenly said, "Have you been to this restaurant before?"

"Yeah." Li Luo nodded, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Xu Youyu laughed and shook his head, "I just suddenly remembered that the name Daoxiangchuishan seems to have appeared in your book. The hero and heroine often go here for dates."

"Ah... well." Li Luo felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, "I just used it for the material and was too lazy to think of a name myself."

"Haha~same as me." Xu Youyu said with a smile, "The restaurant name in my book has always been the one downstairs from my house. I can change it to yours in the future. It's a bit fresh."

After the dishes were served, the two of them chatted while eating.

Because they have similar hobbies and jobs, they always have things to talk about.

They talked about each other's latest updates, various gossips in the online literature circle, and then commented on the works that have been popular recently.

The topic then jumped from online literature to the entertainment industry, and we had some exchanges and summaries based on the new entertainment books released in recent times.

Li Luo can often only see the surface, such as which new book idea is good, and if it is written in a certain way, the results may be better.

Xu Youyu goes more in-depth, often combining the content trends of new books with the dynamic developments in the entertainment industry in recent years to analyze and infer the future direction of the entertainment literature category.

As the scandals of celebrities in the entertainment industry have become a regular entertainment focus and they appear frequently in people's field of vision, the halo that everyone has for celebrities is now fading little by little.

In particular, most readers of male-oriented online novels basically do not have too many filters for celebrities, and are most likely not fans of a certain celebrity.

They may be fans, but they are just fans of the other person's work or appearance, not too brainless.

Under this trend, Xu Youyu felt that if entertainment works were to continue to be created according to the original model, the results might not be very good.

Instead, there are three directions that you can try.

One is purely imaginary entertainment.

One is the entertainment of the times.

Another type of entertainment is variety shows.

When talking about these topics, both of them were very excited, after all, they were all matters related to their own jobs.

Although Li Luo does not have as strong a subject-summarizing ability as Xu Youyu, he can occasionally express his own opinions and provide Xu Youyu with some inspiration and thinking directions from other angles.

The two chatted happily. After they had enough food and drink, Xu Youyu touched his stomach, checked the time, and said to Li Luo, "How about we go watch a movie? It's still early."

"Ah?" Li Luo was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Xu Youyu to ask him to go to the movies. He originally planned to go home and write after dinner... After all, because he was going out to eat with Xu Youyu, he didn't write during the day. He kept thinking about this matter in his mind and was not in the mood at all.

"What's wrong?" Xu Youyu tilted his head and asked, "Don't you want to see it?"

"Of course not!" Li Luo shook his head quickly, "You can watch it. I haven't been to the cinema to watch a movie in a long time."

"Haha~ Then I go to see it often." Xu Youyu smiled, supporting his chin.

"...Really?" For some reason, Li Luo felt a little disappointed when he heard Xu Youyu say this.

But Xu Youyu said next: "But I usually come here alone, mainly because I am close and it is more convenient."

"Watching it alone?" Li Luo blinked, not quite reacting. "Wouldn't it be boring to watch a movie alone?"

"It's okay?" Xu Youyu said with a smile, "It's mainly for collecting materials. It's more interesting to watch it on the big screen. If it's just for watching a movie, it's definitely better to go with friends, but I don't have many friends."

"Well, now we have it."

"Yes, now I have it." Xu Youyu smiled at him happily, "So? Can you show me your light?"

"Of course." Li Luo nodded vigorously, "It's you who are honoring me."

"Don't be polite to each other." Xu Youyu stood up and patted his shoulder. "Let's go, let's go and see what's good to see today."

Li Luo paid for the meal and followed Xu Youyu all the way to the cinema on the fifth floor of Yintai City.

The two of them chose a movie that had been widely discussed recently. Xu Youyu took the initiative to buy the ticket without giving Li Luo a chance to pay.

"I'm inviting you out for dinner, but actually I should be the one paying for the movie tickets." Li Luo smiled helplessly.

"You treated me to a meal, so I'll treat you to a movie." Xu Youyu said with a smile, "Next time I treat you to a meal, you have to treat me to a movie."

Li Luo was stunned for a moment, looked at Xu Youyu, and then nodded gently: "... Yeah, okay."

The movie ticket Xu Youyu bought had an early start time, so he had to wait until 8 p.m., which was more than an hour away.

So Xu Youyu suggested going shopping in Yintai City.

Li Luo accompanied Xu Youyu to the women's clothing store on the second floor. He watched her choose clothes and asked her from time to time whether they looked good.

In a trance, Li Luo almost thought he was on a date with his girlfriend.

But when he realized that the other party was a big online writer with two books that had tens of thousands of subscriptions and a senior who earned tens of thousands of yuan a month, Li Luo's fantasies and thoughts disappeared in an instant.

How could anyone possibly fancy him...he's just a small gem.

Even just this brief moment of similarity was enough to make Li Luo happy for a while.

When was the last time I went shopping with a girl and watched her pick and choose clothes in the store?

It seems to date back to junior high school?
Li Luo recalled a familiar figure in a trance, then shook his head, smiled bitterly, and stopped thinking about it.

As for now...just treat it as collecting materials.

Don’t dream of anything else.

"How about this one?"

Xu Youyu changed into a dress and came out. She turned around in front of Li Luo, then pinched the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly, making a farewell gesture to thank the audience.

"Hmm...very pretty."

"As an author, could you please use more adjectives?"

"You're making things a bit difficult for me."

"How does it compare to the one just now?" Xu Youyu asked.

"That one is still more beautiful than before."

"Is it because you show too much thigh?"

"Cough...cough..."

"Haha~" Xu Youyu couldn't help laughing when he saw him embarrassed, and then said to the waiter, "Then please help me pack the miniskirt I just wore."

"Are you really buying it?"

"Didn't you say it looks good?" Xu Youyu said with a smile, "Next time I go out, I'll wear that one, how about that?"

"When is the next time?"

"It depends."

When it was almost eight o'clock, the two finished shopping and walked towards the cinema on the fifth floor.

When he was at the entrance of the cinema, Xu Youyu took out his mobile phone again, took a picture of the door, and then took another picture of the movie ticket in his hand.

It looks like you're planning to put together a nine-square grid and then post it on your Moments?
Li Luo glanced at Xu Youyu's little movements, thinking so in his heart, he actually understood the girl's thoughts.

However, although Li Luo and Xu Youyu have known each other for such a long time, they have never added each other on WeChat, and they usually communicate through QQ.

So Li Luo couldn’t see Xu Youyu’s circle of friends.

He wanted to add WeChat, but he didn't know what reason to give.

It would be a bit embarrassing if someone rejects me.

Since they could contact each other through QQ anyway, Li Luo gave up the idea.

After entering the cinema, Li Luo bought a meal for two, and then the two of them queued up for ticket checking, came to Theater No. 6, found seats and sat down.

When the movie started playing on the big screen, Li Luo turned her head from time to time to look at Xu Youyu next to her, watching the light from the screen fall on her face, outlining her delicate profile.

Li Luo was in a trance.

Even now, I still have the illusion that I am in a dream.

……

By the time the movie ended, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening.

Yintai City was already closed. The two people followed the crowd, took the elevator, and walked out from the side passage.

Under the cover of night, Li Luo and Xu Youyu walked side by side on the road.

Seeing Xu Youyu take out his phone and take a few photos, Li Luo subconsciously said, "Nine photos."

"Hmm? What nine?"

"A nine-square grid." Li Luo said, "Is it for posting on WeChat Moments?"

"Haha~ Why do you think so? I seldom post on WeChat Moments." Xu Youyu said with a laugh.

"That's just taking pictures as a souvenir."

"Not really." Xu Youyu smiled, then looked at Li Luo, restrained his smile, and said in a low voice, "Actually, there is something I want to ask for your opinion on."

"Ah?" Li Luo was stunned for a moment, "What's the matter?"

"You know my mom is always urging me to get married, right?"

"I know."

"But I don't want to get married," Xu Youyu said. "I have no interest in getting married. I just want to live alone forever."

"so?"

"But I have to deal with my mom's nagging." Xu Youyu shook his phone and smiled helplessly, "So can I borrow the photos of this date?"

"Ah, this..." Li Luo was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "You don't mean to..."

"Hmm." Xu Youyu winked at him playfully, "You know what I mean, help me."

"Is this a pretend date?"

"Haha~ It's not really pretending, we were actually dating." Xu Youyu said with a smile, "I just wanted to give my mom the illusion that I'm trying hard to find a partner so that she won't nag me all the time."

"Is that so..." Li Luo was silent for a moment, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. "Okay, I don't mind."

But I still feel a little lost.

Li Luo looked at the girl in front of him with a sweet smile. She was enthusiastic, cheerful, generous, considerate, and good at driving...

If.

Well, no ifs.

Li Luo smiled helplessly, and then Xu Youyu suddenly hugged his neck, and he was stunned for a moment.

"Come on." Xu Youyu smiled and moved closer to him, standing side by side, holding up his phone. "Since you agreed, let's take another photo together, so that my mom won't suspect that I went out with another girl."

"……it is good."

The two took a photo together with their backs against Yintai City in the night.

Li Luo received the photo sent by Xu Youyu. Looking at the two people standing side by side on the screen of his mobile phone, he said goodbye to Xu Youyu at the street corner and sighed softly.

The subway was no longer in operation at this time.

Yintai City is neither close to home nor far from home.

He walked on the street in the night and slowly strolled home.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: I'm home~
【Li Luo】: I’m walking back and am still on the way.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Then you should be careful.

[Li Luo]: Have you sent the photos... to your aunt?
[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: It’s a little late today, and she hasn’t nagged me in the past few days.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: When she nags again one day, I will send her the photo hahaha~
【Li Luo】：Can I use it then?
[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Eh? Are you showing this to your parents?

[Li Luo]: They always nag me.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Of course, haha~
[Going to bed early will make you taller]: But what should I do if my uncle and aunt are too satisfied with me?
[Li Luo]: Then I’ll have to ask you to just pretend.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: OK, OK, this is a familiar feeling.

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Renting a girlfriend, right?
[Li Luo]: ...What do you usually watch?
[Going to bed early will make you taller]: Hmm~ It seems like someone knows a lot about this.

【Li Luo】: I don’t know anything.

[Go to bed early and you will grow taller]: Please share your list of books next time.

【Li Luo】: Don’t even think about it!

[Going to bed early will make you taller]: I can also share mine.

【Li Luo】: Then I’ll think about it.

The two of them chatted along the way, and the journey that should have taken more than 20 minutes seemed to be completed in the blink of an eye.

When Li Luo came to his senses, he found himself standing at the gate of Jincheng Community.

【Li Luo】: I’m home.

【Go to bed early and you will grow taller】: OK, then I’ll go take a shower.

【Liluo】: Good.

Li Luo put away his phone, returned to his home, took out his key and opened the door.

The next second, his eyes turned to the sofa in the living room and saw Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong sitting there.

Li Guohong was holding a cup of tea in his hand. When he saw Li Luo coming back, he didn't say anything, but just sipped the tea carefully.

Lin Xiuhong crossed her arms and glanced at Li Luo. After he changed into slippers and closed the door, she cleared her throat and said, "Ahem... Li Luo, come here."

"What's wrong with you guys?" Li Luo glanced at his parents, slowly walked to the sofa, and sat down on the single sofa next to it.

"Before, you were in a hurry to eat, so I didn't stop you." Lin Xiuhong said, "The person you were having dinner with was a girl?"

"Yes." Li Luo nodded.

"how old are you?"

"One year older than me."

"Older than you?" Lin Xiuhong frowned slightly, "Besides eating, what else did you do? Don't tell me you've been eating until now."

"I watched a movie."

"Where are you from?"

"local."

"What does it look like?"

"promise."

Xu Youyu's consent had been obtained before, so Li Luo did not have any psychological burden. He honestly took out the photo and handed it to Lin Xiuhong and Li Guohong.

The couple came over to take a look.

The next second, Lin Xiuhong's originally frowned brows suddenly relaxed.

"Oh...little girl...she's pretty..."

(End of this chapter)