Be Passionately In Love

Don't lose it, keep it together. Chen Luzhou tried to calm himself. He refused to believe Xu Zhi had no feelings for him—this might just be some high-level fishing technique he wasn’t familiar with.

Perhaps sensing the awkward tension, the last few people idling in the bar’s corners stood up and trickled out, leaving only their group behind. The atmosphere stiffened like a thick, unyielding liquid, heavy and lifeless.

Leaning back, Chen Luzhou picked up a peanut and began peeling it, his eyelids lowered indifferently. He asked casually, “So why did you break up with your boyfriend?”

Stop making excuses for yourself. Dare to admit it—don’t you have even a little bit of a thing for me?

Xu Zhi had no idea Chen Luzhou was trying to regain his footing, nor did she know she had nearly been labeled a player these past few days. She was currently editing a contact name when she looked up at him in surprise. “Break up?”

Zhu Yangqi’s mind was still a mess, unable to sort things out. He hastily chimed in, “Yeah, why’d you suddenly break up with him?”

Xu Zhi had no clue they had already raced ahead in their assumptions. Suspicious, she eyed them both. “Break up? I just made things clear with him. He was never really my boyfriend. That night, Yingying only said I had one because she was afraid you wouldn’t come out otherwise—to make you feel more at ease.”

Damn. Zhu Yangqi cursed under his breath and glanced at Chen Luzhou. The young master said nothing. He lifted his head, showing no intention of settling scores later, brushing peanut crumbs off his hands before fixing a cold gaze on the person across from him. The real culprit in this mess was Cai Yingying, yet his eyes locked onto Xu Zhi alone. “You lied to me?”

Those deep black eyes, like the brimming sea under daylight, appeared calm and unremarkable on the surface, yet beneath lay the breathtaking wonders of coral reefs and hidden currents.

Xu Zhi’s heart trembled.

Oh no. She had really pissed him off.

Her thoughts derailed—this wasn’t the point. None of this mattered. Don’t you want to hear about my mom?

But before Xu Zhi could speak, Cai Yingying suddenly started causing a drunken scene.

No one knew how many mojitos she had downed, gulping each one in a single go. The alcohol hit hard, turning her face a deep purplish-red, her neck mottled with flushed patches. Out of nowhere, Cai Yingying produced a microphone. Xu Zhi instinctively glanced at the stage—sure enough, the standing mic stood bare, like a lone commander stripped of its troops.

Clutching two empty glasses, Cai Yingying lightly tapped them against the mic. Two sharp, crisp dings later, she raised the microphone and began spouting nonsense. “So what if we lied to you?”

The mic amplified her voice, booming and clear. Chen Luzhou was certain the entire villa could hear her. Suddenly, he understood why Fu Yuqing refused to hire live singers—it really was a public nuisance.

Chen Luzhou’s emotions were complicated. The earlier sense of conflict had vanished, replaced instead by an unexpected hollowness. It was as if a little fish had been darting around his heart, stirring waves of restlessness, making everything else tasteless. Just as he was about to open the door, the fish swam away, and the pond harboring his youthful turmoil returned to stillness in an instant."You men are all the same! Falling for every girl you see!" Cai Yingying was clearly drunk. Zhai Xiao had just given her a "slap," and she seized the chance to vent her grievances at Chen Luzhou. "Boys from your school are no good! Zhai Xiao is like this, Tan Xu is like this! Don’t think I don’t know, Chen Luzhou! You just want to chase our Xu Zhi! Otherwise, why would the two of you go play whack-a-mole alone that night—"

Xu Zhi immediately snatched the microphone from Cai Yingying’s hand, pinning her down despite her flailing protests, and explained to Chen Luzhou, "You should ask Zhu Yangqi about this. His ears might as well be decorations. I already explained it to Yingying, but she’s probably drunk now. Just listen to me—"

Chen Luzhou: "Talk about your mom."

Xu Zhi froze. "Why are you cursing?"

Chen Luzhou sighed, took off his cap, and let her see his expression clearly. His gaze wasn’t exactly soul-baring, but it was undeniably sincere. "Weren’t you going to tell me about your mom?"

...

About twenty minutes later, Xu Zhi had recounted everything in meticulous detail—Lin Qiudie’s past, her speech habits, even down to that goose-yellow dress. Zhu Yangqi was utterly lost, but Chen Luzhou understood. She wanted to meet his mother but was afraid of tipping anyone off. He’d seen the Indian movie she mentioned—the female protagonist never found the so-called spiritual redemption and instead fell into a capitalist trap. The symbolism was far from positive.

"So you just want to confirm if she’s your mom?" Chen Luzhou asked.

"Honestly, there’s no need to confirm anymore. I know it’s highly unlikely," Xu Zhi said. "Like you said earlier, my mom passed away a few years ago, and you’ve been with yours for over a decade. The odds are minuscule. If you don’t mind, maybe I could meet her someday. I just really want to know why they look so alike. Just once would be enough."

Chen Luzhou was the only one who hadn’t been drinking. A glass of lemon water sat in front of him. He leaned forward, resting one elbow loosely on his knee, his shoulder dipping slightly as he finished the water with a straw. Internally, he thought, Alright, that’s enough for today. But as he reached for his cap, he glanced at Xu Zhi and asked coolly, "So you wouldn’t mind being my girlfriend either?"

"Ah, if you don’t mind," Xu Zhi studied his expression, then clarified, "You mean like that time we pretended, right?"

Chen Luzhou coughed, looked away, and fired back icily, "As if I’d have nothing better to do than fake a relationship with you."

Xu Zhi gave him a look that said Comrade, your awareness is truly commendable , finished her Long Island Iced Tea, and said, "Perfect. I don’t want a relationship either. Scared, scared."

As she turned around, she noticed Cai Yingying was now completely wasted—her neck flushed red, even her arms and legs tinged with an unnatural rosiness. Xu Zhi frowned. "Is she allergic to alcohol?"

Chen Luzhou pushed his chair back and went over to check. The bar was dim, and Cai Yingying’s yellowish skin made it hard to tell. He turned on his phone flashlight and shone it on her. Though barely conscious, Cai Yingying vaguely understood what was happening. In that moment, she felt like nothing more than a slab of pork in Chen Luzhou’s eyes—another blow to her pride."Has she never had alcohol before?" Chen Luzhou asked.

"No, it's her first time."

Chen Luzhou said, "Ask her if she feels itchy. If she does and has trouble breathing, she needs to go to the hospital. If it's just redness, it's fine—it'll fade soon."

Cai Yingying said she wasn't itchy, just felt a bit uncomfortable in her chest.

Chen Luzhou asked where exactly she felt uncomfortable.

Cai Yingying: "A dull, throbbing pain."

Chen Luzhou glanced at Xu Zhi before saying, "Dull pain? Heart condition?"

Cai Yingying shook her head: "No, it's just my 'NetEase Cloud time' hitting."

Zhu Yangqi: "..."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Without another word, Xu Zhi quickly dragged her away. "Sorry, I’ll take her back first. It’s time—she needs to take her meds."

**

The moment Zhu Yangqi stepped inside, he burst into laughter, doubling over until he could barely stand. He eventually stumbled and flopped onto the bed. Chen Luzhou followed him in, ignoring him as he stripped off his clothes and headed straight for the shower. By the time he came out, Zhu Yangqi was still laughing. Chen Luzhou finally lost his patience, balling up the clothes he’d just changed out of and hurling them at him, his voice icy. "Are you done yet?"

Zhu Yangqi clutched his stomach, convulsing with laughter on the bed. Once he’d finally caught his breath, he sat up and said with mock seriousness, "So, lesson learned—don’t assume things. Not every girl is going to fall for you. Chen Luzhou, you’ve met your match this time. And the best part? You can’t even reject her—she rejected you, clear as day."

Chen Luzhou had to admit he’d been pretty stupid. Lately, he’d probably been brainwashed by Gu Yan. She kept texting him about how much she liked him, how many girls around him had crushes on him. It was true that plenty of girls had expressed interest in him over the years, but actual pursuit? Not so much. Maybe it was because he’d always been in academically rigorous schools where everyone was more focused on studying. But now, right after the college entrance exams, it was like these girls had sprouted up like weeds—his WeChat had been flooded with long, heartfelt messages lately, from middle school classmates, high school classmates, people he kept in touch with, people he didn’t.

So…

He’d ended up making a fool of himself.

Zhu Yangqi lay sprawled on the bed, swinging his legs leisurely. "Well, Young Master Chen, now that the misunderstanding’s cleared up—do you still feel that tingly, irresistible pull toward her?"

Chen Luzhou’s hair was still wet, dripping water. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a towel wrapped around his waist. Droplets slid down his shoulders and chest, tracing the clean, defined lines of his torso. He towel-dried his hair absently, then unplugged his phone from the charger on the desk, intending to text Chen Xingqi to come down early for breakfast tomorrow.

As soon as he opened WeChat, aside from a few group chats blowing up with notifications, the top contact was Xu Zhi’s newly added profile—her avatar was a field of gardenias. On impulse, he tapped into her Moments. Remembering how Xu Zhi had scrolled through his entire feed earlier, practically desperate to prove she wasn’t interested, he thought, What’s the harm? I’ll look if I want to. Leaning against the edge of the computer desk, he idly swiped through her posts and said to Zhu Yangqi, "Yeah, fine. I’ll admit defeat."Xu Zhi's WeChat Moments had only about ten posts in total—either "Happy New Year" or "Happy Birthday, Dad"—extremely simple, devoid of any emotion. It was impossible to tell what she liked or disliked. If anyone wanted to pursue her, where the hell would they even start?

Alright, let’s just drop this whole thing between you two. She genuinely has no feelings for you. Talking to you was just to get your WeChat, and adding you was just to talk to your mom. The power bank really was left in the shop. Chen Luzhou thought to himself, resigned, as he exited her Moments and returned to their chat. Then he noticed the words displayed at the top of the dialog box—

Xu Zhi is typing…

Chen Luzhou stared expressionlessly at his phone. Fine, what else do you have to say?

That everything just now was a lie?

But after waiting forever, no message came through.

Finally, Chen Luzhou sent a "?"

Xu Zhi replied just as quickly.

Cr: ?

Xu Zhi: ?

Cr: ???

Xu Zhi: ????

Chen Luzhou sent her a screenshot of the "typing" notification.

Cr: Something to say?

Xu Zhi: No, just now Yingying said she left her bag at the bar. I was about to ask if you guys picked it up for her, but before I could send it, she found it—turns out she never took it out in the first place.