Be Passionately In Love

Early the next morning, Chen Luzhou forcibly dragged Chen Xingqi downstairs for breakfast. Chen Xingqi was full of morning grumpiness and about to throw a tantrum when he saw his brother leaning against his doorway with a cold, ruthless expression, looking ready to execute him on the spot. Gone was his usual carefree demeanor. Sensing something was seriously wrong, Chen Xingqi immediately scrambled out of bed obediently.

The dining hall was sparsely populated, with only a handful of people having breakfast. The vast space echoed with the occasional clatter of plates. Fu Yu Mountain Villa boasted a privileged location—not only was it a scenic summer retreat, but it also attracted art students like Zhu Yangqi and Chen Xingqi, who came to roam freely and seek inspiration.

Zhu Yangqi had been interested in aesthetics since childhood, but Chen Xingqi wasn’t. He simply wanted to leverage art to get into a good university. His academic performance was abysmal; there was no way he could make it through conventional studying. Unlike his brother—having such an intimidating older sibling would weigh on anyone. The day before, he had thrown a fit with Zhu Yangqi, his makeshift tutor, refusing to paint anymore and impulsively hurling his brushes and drawing board down the mountainside in a fit of pique.

"I only said a couple of things to him. He’s so half-hearted when he paints—after a while, he starts playing with his phone," Zhu Yangqi seized the moment while Chen Xingqi was off getting food to complain to Chen Luzhou. "With this slapdash attitude of his, skipping more than he practices, he might not even pass the provincial art exam by senior year. And if he fails that, it’s game over—no college entrance exam for him, just straight to repeating the year."

Chen Luzhou wore a baseball cap and the same loose T-shirt and sweatpants from the day before, clearly unkempt and unbothered. Ms. Lian Hui had repeatedly reminded him that Chen Xingqi had a weak stomach and wouldn’t eat breakfast unless supervised, so he had to make sure his brother ate.

See? He was nothing but a full-time "three-accompanying" babysitter.

Chen Luzhou picked up a piece of bread, a hot dog, and some lettuce leaves, assembling a sandwich on his plate. Hearing this, he frowned and shot Zhu Yangqi a look. "He threw the brushes and drawing board down? What’s he going to use for the next few days then?"

"Who knows? I’m done teaching him," Zhu Yangqi said, eyeing the sandwich greedily. "Make me one too." Ignoring him, Chen Luzhou set his plate down and moved to confront Chen Xingqi, but Zhu Yangqi pulled him back, advising, "Hey, hey, scolding the kid first thing in the morning is bad luck. Let the little boss finish his breakfast first. Going after him now would be pointless—wait till he crosses you again, then tear into him."

"That art set was bought in Spain. Do you have any idea how much it cost? I scrimped and saved, even skipped buying the sound system I really wanted, just to get him that set—and he tosses it like it’s nothing?"

Chen Luzhou felt like he could cough up blood from sheer rage.

Only then did Zhu Yangqi realize, "Damn, that Faber-Castell set was the real deal?"

"No shit, what did you think?""I thought you just randomly bought it off Taobao. I casually mentioned it was a limited edition of only a few thousand sets—how was I supposed to know you’d actually get one?" Zhu Yangqi hadn’t even dared to buy that Faber-Castell set himself. It was expensive, and they said it was artist-grade. He felt his current skill level wasn’t up to par yet—he didn’t deserve to use it. What the hell did that brat Chen Xingqi do to deserve it? Without hesitation, he picked up a Western-style dinner knife from the buffet table and handed it to Chen Luzhou, saying murderously, "Here, stab him to death."

As soon as Chen Xingqi sat down, he noticed Chen Luzhou’s empty plate and asked suspiciously, "Bro, you’re not eating?"

Chen Luzhou was wearing a baseball cap, unshaven, his jawline sharp but dotted with faint stubble from neglect. He leaned back, arms crossed, and looked at him with a sarcastic tone, "How dare I? You eat up."

If Chen Xingqi couldn’t detect the sarcasm after all these years together, he’d have wasted his time. Glancing at Zhu Yangqi, who was gleefully shoveling food into his mouth, he knew immediately who had snitched.

"He started it! That guy’s painting was worse than mine, but he insisted it was better," Chen Xingqi argued.

Chen Luzhou gave him a cold look. "So you threw away the art supplies I gave you? You’re the one who sucks, yet you’re this competitive?"

The words were harsh, especially for someone as fragile as Chen Xingqi. Even Zhu Yangqi couldn’t help but sneak a glance. The thing was, though Chen Luzhou and his brother usually bickered, he rarely spoke to him this sharply. Especially the word "sucks"—Chen Luzhou might use it on anyone else, but never on Chen Xingqi. They all knew Chen Xingqi wasn’t the brightest, not just in academics but in everything. That’s why he was trying to get into a prestigious school through art—he didn’t want to fall too far behind his brother.

Chen Xingqi was stunned. He couldn’t process his brother’s words. Had he swallowed dynamite or something? Zhu Yangqi tried to mediate, "His color work isn’t bad, though."

"Stop playing the nice guy," Chen Xingqi snapped, ungrateful, then turned on Chen Luzhou. "Yeah, I suck. You’re the best. But even you aren’t good enough for that sister to like you."

Chen Luzhou turned to Zhu Yangqi expressionlessly and sneered, "Can’t you keep your mouth shut? If not, I’ll pay someone to do it for you."

Zhu Yangqi felt utterly wronged. "Damn, this really isn’t my fault! Last night, he texted me saying he heard someone shouting your name while getting a fish spa in the next pool. That’s the only reason I told him. Seriously, you can’t go to that bar—once the mic’s on, the whole resort can hear you. Good thing no one here knows you, or it’d be so awkward."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Chen Xingqi, ever the instigator, asked, "Do you like that sister?"

"None of your damn business," Chen Luzhou shot back. "We’re talking about your problem right now. If you don’t want to learn, just say so. We can head down the mountain early and go our separate ways. I don’t have time to waste on you.""You're just afraid of running into your sister and feeling awkward here. Well, I'm not leaving. I threw away the drawing board anyway—I won't paint, and I'll piss you off," Chen Xingqi retorted, his temper flaring as he smirked provocatively. "If I can’t turn in my sketches, I’ll just tell Mom it’s because you yelled at me, said I was useless, that I’d never get into college anyway, and that learning is a waste of time. Why bother wasting my effort?"

Zhu Yangqi couldn’t take it anymore. "That’s going too far. Your brother never said those last things."

"Fine, suit yourself." Chen Luzhou was genuinely furious with him and didn’t want to waste another word.

Just then, the wind chime at the restaurant entrance tinkled softly as two familiar figures pushed the door open. Zhu Yangqi noticed and whispered in his ear, "Fate’s really playing games with you, Young Master Chen. Your schedules seem perfectly matched."

"Piss off." Chen Luzhou coldly averted his gaze, fixing his eyes on the window to avoid the irritation.

There wasn’t much to see—Fu Yu Mountain Villa’s scenic spots were all near the tea fields, while this area was overgrown with weeds, dotted with a half-dilapidated public restroom. Still, he pretended to be engrossed in the view as if admiring a world-famous painting, because he had no intention of greeting her or initiating conversation.

Zhu Yangqi remarked, "Looks like they’re heading our way."

If she’s not interested in me, there’s no need to greet each other. We’re not that close, are we?

Zhu Yangqi teased relentlessly, "What’s she holding? Could it be a gift for you?"

"Will you shut up?" Chen Luzhou snapped impatiently, shooting him an annoyed glance.

The next second, Xu Zhi placed something in front of Chen Luzhou. "Is this yours?"

It was the drawing board and brushes Chen Xingqi had thrown away. Zhu Yangqi instinctively glanced at Chen Xingqi, whose lips were puckered in displeasure—annoyed that someone had picked them up. Serves you right for bullying your brother. Our Sister Xu is the real deal.

"How did you get these?" Chen Luzhou finally looked up at her.

"Yingying, you explain. I’m dying of thirst," Xu Zhi said, her throat parched after descending from the tea fields. She didn’t bother elaborating and headed straight for the buffet. "What do you want to drink? I’ll grab it for you."

"Just watermelon juice," Cai Yingying replied.

Both girls were drenched in sweat. Zhu Yangqi chimed in, "Did you two go farming or something?"

"Uncle Fu took us to pick tea leaves in the mountains this morning," Cai Yingying said, fanning herself vigorously. "Oh, right, Chen Luzhou, aren’t you supposed to go take photos there today?"

Chen Luzhou gave a noncommittal hum and gestured at the art supplies. "You found these in the tea fields?"

"Yeah, a lot of people were sketching up there earlier. We thought it might be yours since it looked new, so we picked it up. We wanted to ask if you still needed it—if not, at least don’t litter, since there are people picking tea leaves down below."

"We hadn’t made it back yet, but since we saw you guys eating here, we brought it over," Cai Yingying added.

Chen Luzhou glanced at Chen Xingqi, who kept his head down and didn’t stir. "I’ll go apologize to Boss Fu later."

Xu Zhi returned with the watermelon juice and, overhearing him, took a seat beside him. Sipping her drink, she said, "No need, actually. Uncle Fu said he understands."The restaurant had a round table with seating for six, but only five chairs—one must have been borrowed by another table. Cai Yingying sat next to Zhu Yangqi, leaving just one seat available.

Chen Luzhou muttered, "What does he understand?"

And also, why are you sitting next to me?

Xu Zhi sipped the refreshing watermelon juice, her throat like a dry sponge soaking up moisture, her voice turning sweet and clear: "He said, if the drawing looked like that, he’d throw it away too."

Zhu Yangqi: "..."

Chen Xingqi: "..."

Chen Xingqi left, but halfway out, he turned back, grabbed his drawing board and brushes, and stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh, so it was your brother's?" Cai Yingying watched the kid’s retreating figure.

Xu Zhi also realized belatedly, turning her head in confusion. "Ah, well, I wouldn’t have said anything if I’d known."

Chen Luzhou shot her a sidelong glance. "Right, you’d just say whatever if it were me."

The restaurant was getting busier now, the clatter of plates and cutlery filling the air. Xu Zhi was pondering what to eat next when she heard him speak. She slowly turned her gaze toward him.

"You’re an adult, can’t you handle a little criticism?"

Chen Luzhou hadn’t expected Xu Zhi to suddenly look at him. Instinctively, he tilted his head slightly to the side, pulled his cap lower, and leaned back in his chair, shifting uncomfortably as he lifted his feet slightly off the ground. He cleared his throat.

Because in that unexpected moment when their eyes met, it belatedly dawned on him—

He hadn’t shaved.