Be Passionately In Love

04

By the time they returned to Qingyi, it was already December 2021.

Professor Liu had given Chen Luzhou an early short break, and Xu Zhi was so excited she nearly jumped three feet in the air. "So we’re buying tickets for tomorrow?"

Chen Luzhou tossed the car keys onto the coffee table and perched on its edge, looking down at her. "Don’t get too excited. I might not be able to go back for New Year’s. Professor Liu wants me to stay here during the holidays. Don’t you have work at the design institute?"

"My professor went out of town this week to supervise a construction site," Xu Zhi said, shutting her laptop and grabbing her phone to check flight tickets. She sighed. "But they found a close contact case on-site, so now he’s in quarantine. He told me and a few senior students not to come in for now. If anything comes up, he’ll reach out. I just need to take my laptop home."

So, the group flew back to Qingyi the next day.

Zhu Yangqi overslept and missed the flight. By the time Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi landed, their phones were nearly blown up by his calls. Even without speakerphone, Xu Zhi could clearly hear his hysterical voice messages on WeChat: "Damn it, you guys were discussing flight tickets in the group chat in the middle of the night! I was already asleep!!! Where are you now? Call me back ASAP."

Chen Luzhou held Xu Zhi’s hand as they weaved through the crowded airport to collect their luggage. With his other hand, he pressed the voice message button and replied, "We’re at the airport. Buy your own ticket back."

After pocketing his phone, he glanced down at her. "Is your dad picking us up?"

Xu Zhi nodded.

Zhang Yu and Li Ke had already taken a taxi.

Old Xu stood outside the terminal, waving his arms and beaming with the enthusiasm of welcoming a world champion. Only this time, he wasn’t shouting just her name.

"Xu Zhi!! Chen Luzhou!!" His voice boomed—clearly, he’d been taking good care of his health lately.

Old Xu had once whispered something to Director Wei that Xu Zhi happened to overhear: "With Chen Luzhou around, it feels like I’ve gained another son. I don’t feel like he’s taken my daughter away at all. In fact, Chen Luzhou might love me even more than Xu Zhi does."

Thinking of this, Xu Zhi tightened her grip on Chen Luzhou’s hand amidst the sea of people.

He noticed and looked down. "What’s wrong?"

Xu Zhi smiled. "Nothing. Just suddenly feeling like I really love you."

He grinned. "Oh? I’m flattered."

"Cut it out."

"Remember winter break freshman year?"

"Huh?" Xu Zhi had genuinely forgotten.

"Chen Luzhou, I think I love you more in Beijing. Back in Qingyi, I don’t miss you as much," he teased, looping an arm around her neck and leaning down to whisper in her ear, his tone unbearably smug. He even mimicked her voice, "Go focus on your competition! I’m off to enjoy winter break! Who was it? Who’s the heartless one?"

Xu Zhi kicked him. "Are you done?"

He laughed uncontrollably. "Annoying, right? And yet you’ve liked me all these years."

"Pushing your luck, huh?"

Xu Zhi trailed behind him and delivered another resentful kick.

Unfortunately, Old Xu saw it. Chen Luzhou immediately put on an innocent face and tattled first. "Uncle Xu, see? Doesn’t Xu Zhi have a tendency toward domestic violence?"

Xu Guangji chuckled, wrapping an arm around each of them. Chen Luzhou was so tall that he had to crouch slightly to match his height.

"Let’s go, let’s go! Home! I’ll cook you both something delicious!""Where's Director Wei?"

"She's fighting on the front lines. Where else would she be? There've been several close contacts quarantining in our city recently, though no confirmed cases yet. Remember to wear masks when you go out these days."

"So Wei Lin really joined the military?"

"Absolutely. That kid left during his sophomore year. Probably won't see him for a few years. By the way, Luzhou, your mom came by a few days ago."

"Mm, I'll go see her later."

"No rush. A new Star Week Mall opened near our place. You two can check it out after dinner, and Xu Zhi can pick up some New Year gifts while you're there."

Chen Luzhou said, "Alright."

Xu Zhi asked, "Star Week Mall? When did that open?"

"Early this year. Since you weren't back, some model entrepreneur—I forget the name—has been developing all over our city. Building malls, welfare homes, you name it."

Xu Zhi instinctively glanced at Chen Luzhou.

"Is the surname Chen?"

"Maybe. Why so curious? Oh, there are apples in the car that Uncle Cai bought for you to eat on Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve is still a week away. And Dad, you should go online less. Apples eaten at night are poisonous."

"You're the one who should stop listening to those so-called experts."

Xu Zhi: "Can't you be nicer after not seeing me for so long?"

Xu Guangji: "Eat them or don't."

"I'm going back to Beijing."

"Turn left when you leave. Chen Luzhou, get in the car."

"..."

Chen Luzhou pulled her back, smiling as he guided her into the passenger seat. "Why so childish? Your dad's just teasing you."

This was one of the things Xu Zhi loved about him.

He always knew how to maintain boundaries and courtesy around elders. Even now, Chen Luzhou wouldn't thoughtlessly drag her to sit with him in the back but let Xu Zhi accompany Old Xu in the front.

Sitting in the car, Xu Zhi exchanged a glance with Xu Guangji—

See, Old Xu? The respect he shows you is the respect he shows me—

Nannan, you've won. He doesn't need Dad to nitpick; he's already removed all his own thorns.

Ah, what has this kid been through?

Old Xu thought distractedly as he started the car.

05

The next day, at the seafood and pork bone hotpot restaurant.

The shop was steamy and lively, with clinking glasses casting reflections on the floor-to-ceiling windows. Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi had been busy over the years, as had Li Ke with his startup and love life. Cai Yingying was happily settled in Sichuan, while Jiang Cheng and Hang Sui had already gotten married, with Hang Sui eight months pregnant. The only idle one, Zhu Yangqi, occasionally wanted to gather everyone for a meal, but they were rarely all available. Today was a rare exception, and the group chattered nonstop upon meeting.

"So, Zhu Yangqi, aren't you planning to move your art studio back to Qingyi? Small studios like yours struggle in Beijing, and isn't Yingying teaching in Qingyi?"

"Don't—don't drag me into this. He can go wherever he wants. I don't want him blaming me later if he can't make money."

Zhu Yangqi set down his glass. "Cai Yingying, do you even have a heart?"

Cai Yingying: "Says the one with a heart."

Zhu Yangqi: "Fine, I'll just mooch off Beijing and never come back!"

Cai Yingying laughed. "You just can't bear to leave Chen Luzhou in Beijing, can you? Zhu Yangqi, you're such a follower."

"Is Chen Luzhou planning to stay in Beijing?" Jiang Cheng asked. "Isn't he still studying?"

Hang Sui glanced up at this but noticed Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi were no longer there.The table was a mess, with a half-eaten cake sitting to the side. It seemed they had eaten their fill and were now just chatting.

Li Ke shook the wine bottle, listening to the sloshing inside to gauge how much was left. As he shook it, he said, "His advisor struck gold—no way he’d let him go. Wants him to stay at the university, but Chen Luzhou probably wants to work outside. Most likely, he’ll stay in Beijing. His advisor has high expectations, and Chen Luzhou’s under a lot of pressure. What others take four or five years to do, Old Liu expects him to finish in two."

"What about Xu Zhi?" Hang Sui asked curiously.

"She’s at the design institute. Probably staying in Beijing too. Her dad remarried—got the certificate early this year—so I doubt she has any worries holding her back. Both of them will probably be in Beijing."

Meanwhile, Zhu Yangqi was still bickering with Cai Yingying.

"Are you even capable?"

"..."

"Maybe I should just change my last name. My mom’s surname is Niu—Niu Yangqi. How’s that sound?"

"..."

Outside the barbecue joint, the street was one of the few in Qingyi City that still felt alive. Most of the downtown area had been overhauled in recent years, with commercial districts sprawling endlessly, leaving no escape from the clutches of profit-driven entrepreneurs.

The rolling shutter door clattered shut behind them. On this winter night, some shops had already closed early, leaving only a few bustling barbecue joints—a unique blend of quiet and liveliness in Qingyi City.

Years of wind and rain had left the alleyways mottled with moss, the gaps between the stone slabs reeking of dampness. But in winter, the scent was sharper, the cold wind biting.

The musical fountain roared as enthusiastically as ever, spewing water as if it were free. Even in the dead of winter, a few kids crouched nearby, playing in the spray. The night market street next to it was lively and chaotic, the telephone poles plastered with ads as usual. The dog named Lucy had been found by its owner, replaced now by a missing poster for one named Toy—still nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, that Lucy dog from before got home," Xu Zhi said, circling the telephone pole to check.

"Are you subtly insulting me?" Chen Luzhou leaned lazily against the pole, holding Xu Zhi’s leftover cake and slowly finishing it bite by bite. He chuckled and said, "No."

"Then what was it?"

"Probably something like ‘User1576382002.’"

"..."

Countless late-night snack stalls lined the street, bustling from dawn till dusk, brimming with life and warmth. Every face glowed with enthusiasm and contentment, though the pancake vendor had been replaced by a younger man. A couple argued heatedly at one of the stalls, and Xu Zhi sighed enviously.

"Haven’t had a fight in so long."

"Don’t start trouble."

"I really want to argue."

"How about we fight for real with our mouths?" Chen Luzhou tossed the empty cake plate and spoon into a nearby trash can, still leaning against the pole, grinning as he offered the ridiculous suggestion.

Xu Zhi: "..."

The next second, from another ad-covered telephone pole, the sound of a verbal spat erupted.

"Is that Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying?""Right."

The two of them leaned leisurely against the telephone pole, wearing expressions as if they were admiring a world-famous painting.

"Oh, by the way, do you know why your mom came to see my dad the other day?" Xu Zhi suddenly remembered to ask.

Chen Luzhou didn’t answer her. Instead, he abruptly asked, "Want to watch the sunrise?"

At that moment, looking into his deep, earnest eyes, Xu Zhi felt an inexplicable intuitive spark—she sensed he might do something. Her calm heart instantly began pounding, filled with fervent anticipation. What would he say?

This intuition mainly stemmed from the conversation she’d had with Xu Guangji the night before, after Chen Luzhou left. He had pulled her into the room and talked for a while, the gist being that Chen Luzhou’s mother had proposed they get engaged first. Of course, she meant they could even marry directly, but Old Xu thought that since Xu Zhi had just graduated and Chen Luzhou was still in school, marriage wasn’t the best timing at this stage. He suggested engagement first.

So Lian Hui must have told Chen Luzhou too.

What would he say?

06

On the day of the sunrise, Xu Zhi was 80% prepared—certain that Chen Luzhou was going to propose. She even texted Cai Yingying, saying, "Did Chen Luzhou ask you to keep it a secret from me?"

Cai Yingying replied with an "Ah? No."

Xu Zhi: "Come on, stop pretending. I already know."

Cai Yingying: "Really, I didn’t."

Xu Zhi: "Hmph, your acting is terrible."

Cai Yingying: "……"

But there really was nothing.

Chen Luzhou had genuinely just wanted to watch the sunrise.

"And then?" Xu Zhi asked patiently.

Chen Luzhou looked baffled. "Huh? What do you mean, ‘and then’?"

Xu Zhi: "……"

Earlier, when Chen Luzhou called her name while taking photos, Xu Zhi had almost thought he was about to kneel. She had even stretched out her hand—that was the first time she guessed wrong.

The second time was when they went to Qingyi’s seaside in winter. If it wasn’t a proposal, who in their right mind would go to the beach in winter? But he really had just gone to see the ocean.

Xu Zhi: "……"

During those days, he was like a volcano—dormant for half a year, then erupting and staying active for another half. His activities were endless.

But Xu Zhi guessed wrong every single time.

It wasn’t until the day before they returned to Beijing—Christmas Day, as Xu Zhi remembered—that things finally unfolded.

After dinner outside, Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, watching her eat unhurriedly. Then, glancing at the high school students passing by outside—this time of day, it was mostly seniors—he casually asked, "Want to go back to the senior year building for a look?"

Xu Zhi hadn’t expected that he still had the passcode to that apartment and could still enter.

Yet, before opening the door, Chen Luzhou paused after inputting the code, not pulling the door open immediately. Instead, he gave her a meaningful look. Xu Zhi only then began to react belatedly—but before she could fully process it, he swung the door open. The warm light from inside instantly flooded her vision, and the sound of party poppers erupted one after another around the room. Dazzling confetti swirled through the air, fluttering and drifting down to the ground.

Familiar faces filled the room, and colorful fragments danced everywhere. Xu Zhi truly hadn’t expected Chen Luzhou to return to this place in the end.

The place where they first met.

In truth, the entire proposal plan derailed the moment Xu Zhi stepped inside. Originally, as soon as Chen Luzhou entered and spoke, Zhu Yangqi was supposed to play music to set the mood. But Chen Luzhou didn’t say a word.

He didn’t say anything at all.Since Xu Zhi entered first, Chen Luzhou slowly closed the door behind her and followed. When Xu Zhi heard the door shut and realized what was about to happen in this room, she turned to look at him. Chen Luzhou was leaning quietly against the edge of the dining table, silently meeting her gaze.

Not a word was spoken.

The way they looked at each other—so intimately that no one else could intrude—was deeply moving. In an instant, the room fell silent. Cai Yingying covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn’t explain why, but the moment she saw the two of them, so alone yet so steadfastly focused only on each other, she couldn’t hold back. Large teardrops fell one after another.

Later, Cai Yingying understood.

The look in their eyes at that moment was one of relief—and lingering fear.

Relief, because you love me.

Fear, of what if we had never met.

……

Chen Luzhou walked toward her slowly, each step deliberate yet steady, until he stood right in front of her. There was no hint of smugness, no desire to claim credit. With her, he never sought recognition for anything he did. He rarely calculated gains and losses with others, which was why he had often lost more in the past.

But Xu Zhi was the first person he didn’t keep score with—yet she gave back to him in every way.

Standing there, he looked down at her, gently brushing off the colorful confetti from her hair. As he did, he asked out of the blue, "Are you cold?"

Xu Zhi replied, "The heater’s on."

"Oh. Merry Christmas."

Xu Zhi laughed, though her heart was pounding wildly, her ears ringing as if drums were beating loudly. Faced with such a moment, who could remain calm? Especially when the man before her was Chen Luzhou.

"Chen Luzhou, are you nervous?"

"Yeah. Heart rate’s at 180."

"Should we call 120 just in case?"

After clearing the last bits of confetti from her hair, he straightened her up and nodded toward the camera nearby. "Want to check yourself in the bathroom mirror? There’s a camera over there."

"Do I look pretty?"

"Don’t ask me. I’m biased. Even when you think you don’t look good, I think you’re breathtaking."

Rarely did he sweet-talk like this. Tonight was special. Xu Zhi couldn’t stop smiling. "Hurry up and kneel already," she urged.

"Wait. Give me your phone first."

She handed it to him.

Chen Luzhou took it, removed the felt ornament from the phone’s port, and reached out. Someone nearby passed him a pair of scissors.

The room was dead silent. Everyone watched, curious and captivated, as Chen Luzhou carefully cut out a small felt dog.

"Chen Luzhou!" Xu Zhi called.

Without looking up, he said, "I’ll make you another one."

When Chen Luzhou finally revealed what he had been working on, Cai Yingying burst into tears again. Even the usually gentle and composed Zhang Yu couldn’t help pounding Li Ke’s back. "Look at him! Learn from him!"

Xu Zhi: "Why did you hide it there?"

Chen Luzhou: "You never do things the conventional way. I had to be prepared."

……

That day was Christmas 2021.

Xu Zhi, Chen Luzhou—Merry Christmas, and happy marriage.

Let time pause here.

———

Epilogue:

Some of us spend our lives dim and dull, borrowing light from others.

Some shine brilliantly their whole lives, yet never mind sharing their glow.Those who seem dull and unremarkable may have quietly traversed endless long roads in their ordinary lives, while those who bask in the limelight may have only truly lived for a fleeting moment.

We are all insignificant, yet we are all magnificent.

Because we have hearts of steel, burning hot under the sun.

Our actions are our own, and so are our joys and grievances.

We may remain small forever, but we will always believe in the power of tears.

Life is still wonderful!

Keep going, everyone!

(The End.)