Be Passionately In Love

At that moment, Chen Luzhou signaled Zhu Yangqi with his eyes—Let’s go, I haven’t shaved.

Zhu Yangqi sighed, shaking his head with a hint of schadenfreude, thinking, What a drama queen.

Just as the two were about to leave, Xu Zhi, biting her straw, suddenly asked Chen Luzhou, “Did you see the WeChat message I sent you?”

Chen Luzhou glanced at Zhu Yangqi— See? It’s not that I don’t want to leave, but she’s talking to me —before leaning back against the chair like a stubborn piece of adhesive plaster.

Zhu Yangqi: “…”

If you had any backbone, you’d stand the hell up right now!

Chen Luzhou cleared his throat pretentiously and said, “No, I left my phone in the room.”

Xu Zhi gave an indifferent “Oh,” leisurely sipping her watermelon juice without looking at him, poking at the crushed ice at the bottom of the cup with her straw.

Chen Luzhou: “Did you leave something at the bar again?”

Xu Zhi shook her head, holding the straw as she downed the watermelon juice in one go, refreshed. “No, I just wanted to ask if there’s any progress on that money-making project you mentioned. I talked to Yingying about it yesterday, and she’s interested too. We’re about to start college—wanted to earn some living expenses.”

Chen Luzhou: “…”

So you’re planning to latch onto me now, huh?

You like my mom, you like my money—just not me, is that it?

“Dunno. We’ll see. Still working on my brother’s first bucket of gold,” Chen Luzhou said as he stood up, this time genuinely intending to leave. He rapped his knuckles against the table in front of Xu Zhi, teasingly smug. “Aren’t you going to grab some food? Cai Yingying’s almost done eating.”

Cai Yingying, who had been stuffing her face nearby with a steamed bun in her mouth: “…”

Xu Zhi had spent the morning picking baskets of tea leaves under the scorching sun, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Beads of sweat still dotted her forehead, and she had no appetite. “Forget it, I’m not hungry.”

Chen Luzhou glanced at her. “Suit yourself.”

What’s with the act? Like I care. “Not hungry,” my ass.

Chen Luzhou went back to his room to pack his equipment for filming at the tea plantation. He was currently shaving in the bathroom while Zhu Yangqi squatted by the doorway organizing his art supplies, clicking his tongue and daring to tease, “So concerned about whether she eats breakfast, huh? What, afraid Cai Yingying’ll hog the entire buffet? Didn’t know you had it in you to be so considerate.”

Chen Luzhou rinsed his razor and splashed water on his face. “You’re delusional.”

Zhu Yangqi chuckled. “I think Xu Zhi’s pretty cool, and fun too. Look how scared Chen Xingqi is of her. But what’s this money-making project about?”

“Just something I made up to mess with her. It’s not even half-baked,” Chen Luzhou said, stepping out after cleaning up. He packed his drone into its case, zipping it shut with exasperation. “Who knew she’d actually want in? Does she have zero self-awareness? Do I look like I want her tagging along?”

Zhu Yangqi grinned. “You do.”

“Your eyes are broken. I just find her mildly interesting. If I really wanted to date someone, it’s not like I’m short on options,” Chen Luzhou said, grabbing his phone from the bedside where it was charging. He noticed a glaring “1” over Xu Zhi’s chat but didn’t open it, casually slipping the phone into his pocket. “Can’t be bothered with you. I’m taking Chen Xingqi with me. You’re on your own today.”

Zhu Yangqi couldn’t have been happier, clasping his hands in exaggerated gratitude. “I’ll never tease you again. Words can’t express my thanks—I’ll owe you for life.”"I don't expect you to slave away for me, just be a decent person and stop spouting nonsense in front of Xu Zhi," Chen Luzhou said as he closed the door.

Chen Xingqi turned to leave, "I think I'll go back to painting instead."

"You were pretty decisive when you threw your drawing board yesterday. Anyway, no painting today. Perfect timing—Boss Fu is short-handed right now," Chen Luzhou adjusted the camera lens, aiming it squarely at Chen Xingqi. His tone was light but laced with sarcasm, "Come on, smile for me."

A few clicks of the shutter. In that split second, Chen Xingqi hurriedly flashed a peace sign.

Chen Luzhou put the camera away and lazily leaned against a shady tree, scrolling through the photos. He nodded with mild satisfaction, "Not bad. The lighting's good. Now get to work."

Chen Xingqi reluctantly put on his straw hat, "Make sure you take good photos. I want to post them on my feed."

"You don't trust my skills? People beg me to take their photos, and I usually refuse."

That much was true. His brother's photography skills were top-notch. Otherwise, Chen Xingqi wouldn’t have been lured here just by his casual, "Come on, I'll take you out for photos today."

But Chen Luzhou was never one to play fair. He had no intention of indulging Chen Xingqi. After tricking him into working, he immediately busied himself with setting up the drone to capture the tea plantation.

Half an hour later, Chen Luzhou expertly maneuvered the drone into the air. Fu Yuqing, who was supervising nearby, had never played with one before. He wasn’t sure if all drones were this loud or if Chen Luzhou’s equipment was just subpar. The guy seemed well-off, so it couldn’t be that he couldn’t afford better gear. Still, the noise was deafening.

As soon as he started, a crowd gathered to watch. Some tea farmers grew nervous at the buzzing overhead, too distracted to work. To avoid disrupting them, Chen Luzhou had to find a more secluded spot to launch the drone. But that meant he couldn’t capture the full, centered view of the plantation. He kept adjusting angles, and Fu Yuqing found this amusing—no, fascinating. Here he was, the boss, standing right there. Chen Luzhou could’ve easily asked the farmers to pause, but he didn’t. Nor did he cut corners with the footage. Instead, he kept making the shoot harder for himself.

Later, Fu Yuqing learned why from an experienced tea picker nearby.

"Boss Fu, he didn’t want to delay our work. He asked me earlier what time we usually finish. I said before eleven, since the sun gets harsher by noon. I told him we didn’t mind if he filmed first, but he said it was fine, he’d find another angle. He didn’t want to hold us up. That kid’s really considerate. Much better than that film crew that came last time."

**

Xu Zhi had planned to visit Fu Yuqing’s teahouse after her afternoon nap, but then she remembered he was probably still at the tea plantation with Chen Luzhou for the shoot. Since Fu Yuqing rarely brought his phone to the plantation, she stretched under the covers and reached for her phone to ask Chen Luzhou if they’d finished.

Just as she unlocked her phone, Cai Yingying gasped dramatically while scrolling through her feed.

"I—wow, just—wow. Chen Luzhou’s photos are incredible."

Xu Zhi: "He’s done shooting?"Cai Yingying stared intently at the enlarged photo on her phone. "No idea, I don't even have his WeChat yet. I saw these photos from Uncle Fu's post—he said they were all taken by Chen Luzhou."

"Rare for Uncle Fu to bring his phone today," Xu Zhi muttered as she opened Fu Yuqing's Moments feed.

Fu Yuqing was quite the active poster on social media, fitting right in with modern middle-aged folks. His latest update featured a panoramic shot of tea mountains taken by Chen Luzhou. At first glance, it looked grand and majestic, but upon closer inspection, there was a distinct atmospheric quality to it. The sky seemed freshly washed by rainclouds, a vivid clear hue that contrasted beautifully with the emerald-green mountain forests. He hadn't bothered to edit out the slanting shadows of people, instead capturing the beams of light bursting through—the misty woods and mountains brimming with life.

Xu Zhi had to admit he had a real talent for photography, creating tangible moods with his shots.

But Cai Yingying wasn't analyzing this particular photo. Instead, she pointed to another one: "Look, Chen Luzhou is seriously so romantic. Even when photographing pheasants, he makes sure to capture them in pairs."

Xu Zhi: "..."